Expects To Introduce Flyer Super Sport At Oshkosh

The New Kolb Aircraft Company proudly told ANN Wednesday the first production unit of its light sport aircraft, the Kolb Flyer Super Sport, took flight for the first time on April 3. The flight was a milestone in a testing program which started six months ago, should be completed by the first week of July.

Kolb says the flight characteristics of the new LSA surpassed our original goals. S-LSA certification is scheduled for mid-July, with the formal introduction of the aircraft for sale coming at AirVenture 2008.

The Kolb Flyer Super Sport is a result of three years of design and development... with some twists and turns along the way. The project takes its origins from a strategic alliance between The New Kolb Aircraft Co. in the US, Ultravia Aero inc. from Canada and Flyer Industria Aeronautica LTDA from Brazil. Originally, the purpose of the alliance was to produce, promote and distribute the Pelican Sport 600 as a Light Sport Aircraft in the USA.

Between 2003 and 2005, Kolb displayed the Pelican Sport 600 at Oshkosh and Lakeland and collected visitor's comments. Though the Pelican aircraft had an established reputation -- with more than 700 units flying worldwide, in both microlight and experimental categories -- Kolb says these surveys underlined several issues in relation with the flight and ergonomic characteristics of the aircraft.

In 2006, The New Kolb Aircraft Co. purchased the assets of Ultravia which included the intellectual rights of the Pelican line of aircraft and a new alliance was then formed between The New Kolb Aircraft Co. and Flyer Industria Aeronautica LTDA in Brazil to design a new LSA, based on the Pelican, but addressing customer comments and issues collected during the Lakeland and Oshkosh air shows.

Sporting a lightweight (77 lbs.) carbon fiber fuselage, with wing and tail assemblies constructed from 6061-T6 and 2024-T3 aluminum, the Flyer also includes some features uncommon on even higher-end planes... such as electrically-controlled seats (!) and frise ailerons to counteract adverse yaw. The wing's struts are attached to the fuselage behind the doors, which gives a better and more comfortable access to the cabin.

FMI: www.kolbsport.com