ANN's Annual Review Of The Year That Was: Sport Aviation In
2009
Final Compilations by ANN News Editor, Tom Patton
Sport Aviation is about fun ... flying for the sheer joy of
being in the air. From new designs to advanced technology, the
sport aviation world made large strides this past year, but had
it's share of sad news as well. Here's a look back at some of the
stories we brought you through 2009.
January
On the opening day of the US Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring,
FL, Paradise USA LLC unveiled its new P1 SP -- a version of the
Brazilian-sourced P1 light sport aircraft, with hand controls for
paraplegic pilots...
Garmin kicked off this year's US Sport Aviation Expo in
Sebring, FL with the announcement of its new GDU 370 and GDU 375 developed for
the light sport retrofit and experimental aircraft segments...
CubCrafters shipped the first three Carbon Cub Wing Kits and the first Carbon Cub
Fuselage Kit...
Following the company's move to a new factory in Woodbridge,
Ontario Canada, Fisher Flying Products said it was ready to begin kit production for two
of the company's aircraft...
February
Lancair announced the company was movings its headquarters to a new, larger
facility near Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM).
Icon Aircraft announced the company had officially completed Phase I Flight
Testing of its upcoming amphibious sport plane, the
Icon A5...
The Oshkosh, WI-based manufacturer Sonex announced new sub-kits for its popular
Sonex and Waiex airframes...
A BRS parachute deployment was used to recover
the sole-remaining flying Cessna SkyCatcher after an as-yet
undefined flight test criteria resulted in an "irrecoverable"
flight condition...
CubCrafters unveiled its new Super Sport Cub, the company's most
powerful aircraft to date... and, it's an LSA...
The National Transportation Safety Board issued an urgent
safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration,
asking the agency to "prohibit further flight" of all CH-601XL
light aircraft...
Kitfox Aircraft LLC provided ANN with a first glimpse of its
new Kitfox Super Sport S-LSA, which will be
formally unveiled at the Lakeland 2009 Fly-In...
Explorer Aeronautique Inc. designed what is a very interesting LSA made
entirely out of composite materials, powered by a Jabiru 3300 and
pushed along by a Sensenich two-blade prop...
The NTSB preliminary report on an Extra 300 fatal accident shed little light
on potential causes for the 45 degree descent and impact into 225
foot deep waters near Santa Barbara, CA. The one person aboard,
Stephen Birch, had reportedly been flying for thirty years...
May
The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) began transitioning to a board that
is comprised of at least 51 percent of directors elected by NAFI
membership...
AVSIM, a website dedicated to flight-simmers and the community
that enjoys aviation simulation, was hacked by person(s) as yet unknown and that
the damage was so great that the site, for now, is down and
unlikely to return any time soon...
Dynon Avionics released two new EFIS products. The EFIS-D6 and
EFIS-D60 offer modern glass panel avionics at the low cost of $1600
and $1900...
An NTSB report made the puzzling details behind a
tragic Alabama Mid-Air involving an RV-8 homebuilt and a
Chinese-made CJ-6A more clear...
June
The FAA began accepting comments on new petitions from three
manufacturers of small gyroplanes, seeking authorization to sell
them as Experimental Light Sport Aircraft in the US...
Wichita, Kansas-based aviation enthusiast and entrepreneur
James Wiebe and his wife, Kathy, acquired the production rights to
the Kitfox Lite, and formed Belite Aircraft to bring it to
market...
The first instruction flight in a Chinook two seat tandem
pusher ultralight trainer aircraft went astray when the aircraft appeared to have
spiraled or spun in while on a down wind leg...
According to a letter sent by the FAA in May, the city of
Creswell, Oregon had to prove skydiving is unsafe at the airport
before it will reconsider its position on a ban on the
activity...
Stratos Aircraft announced the completion of a full-scale cabin mock-up to
be displayed at Oshkosh...
July
Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg unveiled the Solar Impulse HB-SIA at
Dübendorf airfield close to Zurich. It is the first aircraft
designed to fly both day and night without fossil fuel or
emissions...
Fears that Blue Mountain Avionics (BMA), a small company which
created some very powerful and economical EFIS products targeting
the experimental market, might be shutting down were confirmed by company founder
Greg Richter on the BMA website...
LSA manufacturer Flight Design has recently entered the Indian market, and the largest
flight school in India, Academy of Carver Aviation Pvt. Ltd.,
has become a Flight Design Pilot Center and the distributor for
India...
The 'Belite' made a successful first flight after having been
formally unveiled on June 30...
The FAA issued a Special Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) certification to Van's
Aircraft Inc for their newest design, the RV-12...
GAMA President Pete Bunce took himself out of consideration for EAA President...
August
A fatal training accident occurred in which it was unclear
whether the CFI was properly qualified in this
aircraft...
Tom and Mary Noonan went to the Laconia Airport Authority in
the lakes region of New Hampshire proposing a tandem skydiving business they hoped to locate
at the airport. The situation remained unresolved...
A tragic accident claimed the life of aerobatic pilot Vicki
Cruse...
Belite Aircraft completed a
series of tests which statically demonstrated the
structural integrity and durability of the aircraft's carbon fiber
wing under loads of up to 4Gs...
High-performance kitplane manufacturer Epic Air is apparently out of business,
after laying off most of its 160 person workforce over the first
half of this year...
Samson Motors announced it had received its first deposit on the Switchblade MMV (Multi
Mode Vehicle)...
September
A Dutch teenager built and flew human-powered airplane out of
balsa wood, polyurethane, and rip-resistant foil...
The FAA cleared one obstacle in a long-simmering
dispute between the City of Creswell, Oregon and Eugene
Skydivers...
Cessna announced that the first Model 162 Skycatcher fabricated
and assembled on production tooling flew at the factory in Shenyang in northeast
China...
SportairUSA, LLC, the North American distributor for the Sting
S3, announced that the new TL-3000 Sirius LSA is
now available for purchase in the U.S. ...
October
Reno racer Jeff Lavelle set a new speed record at Reno in his Glasair
III...
The FAA released the long-awaited final order that revises the
amateur-built aircraft certification policy known as the 51 percent
rule, as well as Advisory Circular 20-27G, the guide for amateur
builders on how to properly certify every step of the building
process...
Vans Aircraft announced RV-10 kit number 1000 had been shipped to a customer
in Irving, TX...
The Shelton, Connecticut Planning and Zoning Commission said
the White Hills Eagles RC Club can keep flying at a local farm, but they will
have to abide by new rules it says will promote safety...
November
Counsel provided to the EAA by Korn/Ferry International
culminated in the award of the global executive search engagement
for the EAA's next President...
Able Flight and Purdue University's Department of Aviation
Technology have gotten together to offer a joint flight training project...
December
Long-time board member, David Pasahow, originally tasked with
directing the search for EAA President Tom Poberezny's successor,
tendered his resignation...
The NTSB issued a preliminary report in the November 28th
mid-air collision between a tow plane and the glider it had
released over Crazy Creek Private Gliderport in Middletown,
California...
Chinese national XueQiang Si is reported to be building a Sportsman 2+2 at
Glasair's Two Weeks To Taxi program and, upon completion, will fly
it to China...
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