The Bird Is Rock-Solid In Terms Of Its Overall Stability And Control... Especially In Pitch

ANN’s Jim Campbell finally got out of the office this past weekend to visit Deland’s AeroSport operation and check out current versions of the AeroSport Bushcat, as well as TL North America’s Stream tandem and Sting, side by side, two-seater. 

While we’ll have some more info on the TL offerings in the next few days, the little Bushcat, with pricing WELL below $100K, offered some serious surprises. The so-called ‘tube and rag’ two seater is a really rugged aircraft that pushes 800-1000 fpm climb rate at near gross and nearly 90 degrees O.A.T.

Incredibly roomy (REALLY), the aircraft’s wide cabin offers a single shared center stick, and two individual and retractable throttle arms as well as swing-up doors that can remain open in flight if you want some 'natural' air-conditioning. 

The bird is rock-solid in terms of its overall stability and control... especially in pitch. Slow-flight offers NO surprises... and it does about 90 mph in cruise with a Rotax 912 ULS.

It uses 200-300 feet for takeoff and landing with a VERY robust gear that can take the occasional ‘Ooooppss’ with aplomb. The cost-effectiveness of owning and operating this kind of machine can not be overemphasized while the fit and finish we noted on several examples was more than laudable.

Most important, the bird was just plain fun. 

More info to come. 

FMI: www.bushcatusa.com, https://www.fly-aerosport.com/