Light Sport Aircraft - The Little Guy's Ticket to the Wild Blue Yonder

Their allowed gross takeoff weight is no more than 1320 pounds (many horses weigh more). You could buy eighty squadrons of the most expensive ($200,000.00) for the price of the most expensive ($16,000,000.00) horse ever sold at auction. Fixed wing light sport aircraft, in other words, are the common man's answer to the mythical flying horse Pegasus, and just as much fun to ride.

Fixed wing light sport aircraft provide affordable, energy- efficient (as high as 20 MPG) air travel for a pilot and one passenger at speeds of up to 120 knots (138 mph). The FAA approved design and manufacturing standards for fixed wing light sport aircraft in 2004, and in the nearly five years since the number of people wanting to take to the air in these tiny machines has increased dramatically. Fixed wing light sport aircraft have opened the skies to thousands of would-be pilots who could never have afforded to buy or maintain larger planes.

photo by Observe The Banana

What can you expect from a fixed wing light sport aircraft?

Speeds which will get you to your destination two or three times as quickly as an automobile;

A comfortable pilot/passenger compartment;

An easily readable control panel which removes the nervousness which can accompany night flying; and

A proven safety record. That flying in general is far safer (over 25 times safer) than automobile travel has long been established. Many models of kit-built and manufactured fixed wing light sport aircraft are certified to meet (with proper maintenance) strict safety regulations in countries outside the US, including Australia, Great Britain, Germany, and France.

Many US-produced light sport aircraft comply with the FAA-approved ASTM International standards for structural integrity and flight safety. The Light Aircraft Manufacturing Association (LAMA), in fact, now has an audit program to guarantee consumers that new light-sport aircraft meet established ASTM International standards.

The demand for fixed wing light sport aircraft continues to surge. More and more people tired of the rising prices and decreasing convenience of flying with the established airlines have seen the wisdom of owning their own LSAs. In January of 2008, at the 4th annual Sport Aviation Expo in Florida, eleven new LSA models were introduced.

If you're someone who's always wanted, but could never afford, to own your own plane, your time has come. Why not join the thousands of recreational fliers who, thanks to light sport aircraft, have discovered for themselves the freedom of the wild blue yonder?
All you need to start is an Official Faa Pilot License Training Kit.

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