Log Book Documents 13,268 Landings For A Single LSA

Some say a Light-Sport Aircraft may fly great as a training aircraft, but can't possibly hold up to years of use by students learning the art of flying. Flight Design recently received documents they say proves the skeptics are wrong.

Flight Design USA received a copy of the latest logbook page for a 2003 CT2K identified as German registration D-MGAC. The CT2K was the first-generation model of the best-selling Light-Sport airplane broadly known as the "CT." The log shows this airplane was delivered in 2003 and has been operated daily at Jesenwang airfield (EDMJ) in Germany as a flight school basic trainer. The plane has accumulated nearly 3,000 hours of flight time and is on its second Rotax engine while still doing daily work at the short 400-meter (1,300-foot) airport. The logbook shows the aircraft has made 13,268 landings.

After the CT2K came the CTsw and in 2008 the third-generation CTLS, with many improvements over prior-generation models. "The latest CTLS aircraft shares this longevity with the earlier models. We made it even stronger and with the longer fuselage and wider landing gear the U.S. version has better handling for flight schools. We have quite a few airplanes in daily revenue generating operations. A flight school operator can expect these airplanes to fully pay for themselves in as few as 20 hours per month. It only takes about five active students to make this plane completely self funding," said Tom Peghiny, President of Flight Design USA.

Flight Design CTLS

National Sales Manager, John Gilmore noted, "Each CTLS airplane comes with dual Dynon glass displays, Garmin GPS, autopilot, transponder and is the ideal platform to train for more complex aircraft. Plus, this airplane is simple to land, simple to fly, and has remarkably low operating expenses. The support structure and parts availability will keep the plane in good operation."
Reliability of the CTLS gets good field reports, as well. According to one of the country's largest distributors, Tom Gutmann, of Airtime Aviation, "CTLS does not spend a lot of time in the shop for any maintenance issue."

FMI: www.flightdesignusa.com