Cool, but I think I'd rather have the Piper Cub lookalike LSA.
It's funny you should post this, I actually have a question about these types of LSA, maybe someone here knows the answer: Do you need a taildragger rating in addition to the LSA license to fly one?
Well the Cub is such a classic, it's a plane that would be awesome to own an original but much cheaper to own the replica. The Storch is an awesome plane, don't get me wrong, it's flight characteristics are just incredible! If memory serves me right one landed on a balcony to save Mussolini!
And intresting about the ratings there, here we just added a year or 2 ago the Light Sport pilot rating which is apparently much easier to obtain and cheaper to earn than the regular private pilots license. It's actually a rating that I want to try to get soon. It's pretty limiting on what you can fly, but the aircraft you can buy with the rating are relatively cheap.
I guess I should email Flying magazine or something to get my question answered lol.
A balcony? More like a plateau. It was not easy getting out of there with Mussolini's bulk in the back seat, but it was not quite the same as landing and taking off from a balcony. ;D Where did you hear that?
Not sure about the taildragger LSA thing... that's a good question. Offhand, I'd say there must be a sub-category, because you couldn't go from a trike to a tailwheel just like that, no matter what the weight. It wouldn't be safe.
A word about the US LSA: you will save money on the rating, that is true...
You'll be restricted in some ways, but with only 20 hours you'll be quite able to get into all sorts of trouble just like PP holders. That is also true.
The snags with buying a "bargain" production aircraft that meets the LSA limitations are:
Now that they meet the LSA limits, "cheap" airplanes like Ercoupes, Cubs, Taylorcraft, and Champs are highly prized, so prices are shooting up for those types, whereas most of them before this new rating were cheap because they were "too small and too slow" for most PP holders.
Meanwhile, if you tie down your Champ in the grass every night, it will soon need recovering and who knows what else. Cha-ching. Unless you buy/rent hangar space. Cha-ching again.
An all-metal plane will generally fare much better outdoors... but all-metal older production planes under LSA limits are few and far between. Ah, but what about Luscombes? Yes, Luscombes and some of the little Pipers and Cessnas are all-metal. But they aren't cheap anymore, especially good ones. Look at the classified ads. These are all LSAs for sale here...some are reasonable, but a champ for over $100K!?!?! Five years ago, people would have laughed... Champs were widely considered to be crap back then. There are some slick composite jobs, many out of Europe, but again: 80, 90, 100 thousand... plus ferrying or shipping... and how do you get parts for them... etc.
http://www.controller.com/listings/fors ... BF43D0CCACHere is the list of FAA-recognized "old GA" aircraft that are LSA-legal. Look at for-sale prices on line (try Aero-Trader, etc.), and also look at how many of these are ragwings and expensive collectibles.
http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory ... craft.html New production aircraft that meet LSA limits are actually pretty expensive... you'd get a lot more airplane for the money, generally speaking, if you bought an old Cherokee or 172. But you can't fly one of those without a PP- which will probably only cost you $3000 more than the Sport ticket.
You can be sure Cessna's proposed LSA will cost near $100K, if not more. You could get a Cherokee
and a C172 for that kind of money.
Kits are a great way to save money... but when you factor in tools, materials, workshop space, etc., etc.. it's still a good hunk of change. And building a kit is no way to save time...
Not ready to buy anything, even after saving money getting the Sport rating? OK, well, you could rent... or maybe not... light-sport aircraft for rent out there, but nowhere near as many as there are rental light singles. Good luck finding a school or FBO with Champs or Luscombes to rent, or new "plastic" LSAs for hourly fees less than for "heavies" like the Skyhawk, cherokee or Tomahawk.
My point is not to discourage you from LSAs or the Sport/Recreational rating so much as to point out that the Sport Pilot rating is not always a bargain. It's a great thing for many pilots, esp. those who bought Cubs when they were cheap but can't pass a medical, and there is a movement to allow Sport pilots to fly any single under 180hp with fixed gear and prop (we'll see if that happens), but I see a disturbing trend of young people who had been contemplating getting the PP on a tight budget suddenly deciding to get half the training- and half the usefulness of a PP- just so they can start flying sooner for less money... it could be a mistake that will cost more in the long run.
Contact AOPA, the EAA, or the FAA for more info... and start thinking about the kind of flying you want to do and the kind of money you want to spend
after you get your rating, and you may change your mind.
Whatever you decide, be sure to get the facts first.
