Is it possible for a sport pilot to compete in basic aerobatics in a LSA? If so, are there any recommendations on aircraft.
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Is it possible for a sport pilot to compete in basic aerobatics in a LSA? If so, are there any recommendations on aircraft.
The rules specifically provide for it.
That said, the closest that I have seen to an LSA at an IAC contest is a Clip Wing Cub. Perhaps another poster can offer more info.
Best of luck,
Wes
N78PS
We had a Sonex compete once in the NW.
There are a few LSA designs out there. Clipped Cub & T-Craft, Rans S-9 and -10, Little Toot, FK-12, Renegade... and there are older designs that could be built to LSA criteria.
Murphy Aircraft have two aerobatic tube and fabric biplanes. The Renegade and the Renegade Spirit depending on your horsepower choice. Incidentally, the were the original Renegade. Another company is now also using the name, but they are different aircraft.
Uh, I found this statement on Wikipedia. "In the USA the Renegade is not on the list of Special light sport aircraft, but is eligible for the Experimental Amateur Built category."
Best of luck,
Wes
N78PS
I'm surprised you don't see the Rans in competition. We got one on our little private strip and the guy is frequently up doing acro in it. Seems quite capable to my untrained eye.
Here's a picture our local Rans guy took of my house (mine is the one with the brown roof and the not so green grass right over his head).
http://www.ronnatalie.com/images/rich-house.jpg
It meets the 14CFR Part 1 definition of a Light Sport Aircraft, just not certified under either of the two dedicated categories. Just like the clipped-wing Cub, Taylorcraft, etc. that Smutny mentioned.Quote:
Originally Posted by WLIU
Ron Wanttaja
Thanks for pointing that out. I will guess that a contest tech inspector will have to look at the weight and balance part of the operating limitations to confirm that an Experimental-Amateur Built is LSA eligible. We have not seen anyone show up at a northeast contest to try out this paragraph of the IAC rules.
"I'm surprised you don't see..."
There is some psychology at work here. Most of the pilots who come to contests learn acro in acrobatic category airplanes, then rent or buy one. Competition flights are more than just egg shaped loops and barreled rolls and I know of self-taught pilots who have observed a contest and decided that they were not up to it. I understand that several years ago that there was a local pilot who learned aerobatic in an acrobatic certificated airplane and then tried competition in a RANS. I gather that there were maintenance issues that resulted in that effort being unsuccessful. I do not know more than that.
We are starting to see older competitors move down the competition ladder as their tolerance for negative G decreases and they let their medicals expire. Those pilots are the most likely candidates to start showing up in LSA's. I hear rumblings about Clip Wing Cubs and Sonex more than any other types.
Best of luck,
Wes
N78PS