Aggressive New Evaluation Programs Will Be Featured ON ANN and Aero-TV

E-I-C Note: Over the course of four decades of involvement, first in flying limited sport aviation aircraft that were little more than powered hang gliders, and then going on to eventually test and evaluate hundreds more of them throughout my career, it's become obvious to me that with over 100 LSAs to be had on the sport pilot market, good solid credible information is more valuable than ever. That being the case, we have decided to create and undertake ANN's new 'LSA Challenge' program. -- Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C

The LSA/ Sport Pilot movement has had a tough birth... it started out as a composite of a number of attempts at rule-making through FAA ARAC gatherings, and eventually grew to some prominence after the failures of the Recreational Pilot program. LSA has since been touted as a much hoped for entry-level gateway and (potentially) an indispensable aid to the rebirth of aviation. Despite that; at some points in its genesis, when the ultralight organizations were driving it, the overall concept of Sport Pilot was not only misunderstood but in some cases rejected -- to the point where AOPA was ignoring it, and EAA was trying to kill it. But; with the FAA's final rule-making eventually establishing a realistic Light Sport Aircraft certification and pilot licensing program just a few years back, the powers that be have reminded us of a much feared Chinese proverb, which loosely translates, "Be Careful Of What You Wish For, As You May Get It."

Indeed.

Okay, that being the case we'd like to inject additional credibility and realism into the LSA evaluation process. With over 100 designs and dozens of companies competing for what is still a small and fragile market (that can not possibly support that number for the foreseeable future), we see good solid evaluations and testing to be more critical now than ever before for the potential buyer and/or operator of today's LSA. In an effort to level the playing field on behalf of current and future LSA pilots and owners, ANN is introducing its new "LSA challenge" program.

Shortly, we'll start sending invitations, probably two or three at a time, to a number of the LSA manufacturers to submit their aircraft to a carefully selected committee of pilots and technicians who, over the course of a number of days, will evaluate the current crop of LSA's in terms of their performance, handling qualities, overall fit and finish, construction, ease of maintenance, and their suitability to certain segments of the market.

In the process of evaluating these over the course of a number of days, we will invite a proper number of trusted, experienced and objective aviators, as well as acknowledged technical experts, to look over these aircraft and spend enough time with them to not only understand their technical attributes, but get a handle on the overall personality and capabilities of the aircraft. As a transparent committee, they will render their observations and opinions as to what these aircraft are capable of, and what they may potentially deliver to a new buyer.

We've had some interesting discussions with a number of luminaries from throughout the industry... such as Max Trescott, Bob Miller, Rich Stowell, Phil Lockwood, and so on, who are willing to help us put together a committee (and occasionally serve as evaluation partners) who can meet for a few days at agreed times and places to work according to a carefully defined series of criteria -- and to put their expertise to work in order to render solid credible observations and judgments about today's LSAs.

ANN may also invite a few "Honored Guests" to be a part of this program... flyers with unique insights that may offer some additional value and expertise to this program, as well as some thoughtful counterpoints based on their experiences and backgrounds. Already, several well-known industry leaders with unique backgrounds have indicated an interest in helping out on such a challenge... including a former Shuttle Astronaut.  

ANN and Aero TV will document the process and publish written reports online, as well as make web video presentations available (and eventually a DVD, to provide additional and extensive detail) so that buyers and operators can avail themselves not only of each expert opinion, but the collective analysis of a number of highly knowledgeable professionals working in concert with each other to produce solid insightful data about what a specific LSA aircraft can and cannot do -- and its suitability to today's market. The process will be undertaken several times a year, and will be conducted in a number of areas of the country in order to accommodate manufacturers throughout the nation. We're leaning toward inviting aircraft of similar formats and capabilities to be considered together in small groups -- especially those that seem to be competitive with each other in order to enhance buying decisions, i.e., Cub Replicas will be evaluated with other Cub Replicas, Amphibs will be evaluated with Amphibs, trainers will be evaluated with trainers, and so forth.

We're in the process, right now, of researching and documenting the criteria that we'll be working with, and are soliciting suggestions and questions from those of you who are either involved right now in making purchasing decisions or those who have gone through this process, so that we may represent your concerns and questions as we develop our evaluation criteria. ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell (whose work on a number of SportPlane Resource Guides seems tailor-made for this effort, as well as the fact that he's probably flown more LSAs than anyone) will chair the first few evaluating committees, and invite two or three test pilots/flight instructors to offer flight test evaluations and overall aircraft specification reports to each event, while at least one technical expert will be selected to evaluate each aircraft in terms of overall construction, the ease with which it can be maintained, selection and use of materials and components, and the aircraft's ability to meet its promised specifications.

ANN and Aero-TV plans to get the first LSA challenge conducted early this summer with another tentatively set this fall. More cohesive schedules will be set thereafter, once we've put a few of these under our belts and have had a chance to shake out the evaluation process. We're really looking forward to conducting this program... we think it's been a long time in coming, and because of the committee structure we are utilizing, we expect it will offer a great deal of integrity and credibility not currently associated with some of the associations and organizations who are directly profiting off the LSA community (some with a number of inherent conflicts, which we find questionable). And yes, while ANN and Aero-TV do work with some LSA manufacturers as sponsors, invitations will be sent out without regard for their status as a sponsor while the selections will be discussed/confirmed with a number of people who have no significant relationship with ANN. At no time, during an LSA challenge, will any money change hands, and as a matter of fact no manufacturer will be asked for a dime in order to have their aircraft evaluated by ANN's LSA challenge committee members. A manufacturer will be responsible for getting an airplane to the agreed place of evaluation, adding our eval team to their insurance policies for the duration of the challenge, furnish manuals and aircraft documentation, and being available for questions and feedback -- and that's pretty much it. Heck; we're even going to pay for the gas for our flights. ANN has earned a rep (the hard way) for speaking its mind and telling it like it is, and it's pretty much understood that if we think there's something wrong, we will say so and not be dissuaded by other concerns.

ANN looks forward to presenting valuable info for those of you with an interest in the LSA movement, and we hope we will be able to count on all of you, our readers, listeners, and viewers, for your input in regards to what questions, concerns, tests, considerations, and qualifications you think we need to be undertake when evaluating the LSA industry. We promise you that we will be brutally honest with our observations and opinions.

FMI: Let's Hear Your Thoughts On What An ANN 'LSA Challenge' Should Evaluate