Letters To The Editor

Dave:

Thanks for the great article on Jeff Baum (Oct/Nov 2011). I learned several things about Jeff I did not know. I’ve known Jeff ever since he started in the FBO business. While at the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics, Jeff was always a person I could call on to give me honest and knowledgeable counsel. Throughout his career, he’s been a leader, not only in Wisconsin, but nationwide. I especially enjoyed working with Jeff to establish the Wisconsin Business Aviation Association.

Bob Kunkel
Former Director (Retired)
Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics
Madison, Wisconsin

Dear Dave:

In my work on a documentary film I’m making about LSA flying, I’m spending a good deal of time around southern Wisconsin guys who own their LSAs and who spent between $7,000 and $20,000 to acquire them used, and in great condition. I therefore wonder why you wrote about the enormous financial difficulty facing aviation newcomers, when LSAs – at least in the used market – seem eminently affordable to anyone serious about joining the brotherhood.

Bob Leff
Video Art Productions
Cottage Grove, Wisconsin

Bob:

Thank you for the feedback, and for your work in producing a video on Light Sport Aircraft (LSAs).

Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate any used LSAs in great condition selling between $7,000 and $20,000. You must be thinking of used ultralights.

The point I was trying to get across is that new or late model LSAs may not be the best entry-level plane for the first-time aircraft owner. The second point I was making is that the LSA rule deliberately leaves out one of the most popular and safe single-engine aircraft in the world – the Cessna 150 and 152 – which could have been a big boom for the industry. If the industry does not make owning that first airplane affordable, we may never recruit some people to take flying lessons, and obviously, that person will never be a prospect to upgrade to a newer or larger aircraft, or better avionics.

New LSAs are great for pilots who can afford them, and are definitely a possibility for someone looking to upgrade to a newer plane. But they may not be the best entry-level aircraft.

DW

Dear Dave:

You have to wonder what he (the filmmaker) is buying for “$7,000 to $20,000 used, but in great condition?” My single-seat Kolb Firestar – a former ultralight turned LSA under the “grandfather” clause – costs at the upper end of his range. It’s powered by a 503 Rotax 2-cycle engine.

I also own a Kitfox IV homebuilt that can be flown as an LSA. It is powered by a 582 Rotax 2-cycle engine, and can carry a passenger. The kit is $15,000, the engine is $7,000, the prop is $1,500. There is no radio, and you still have to build it!

You still have an LSA-powered by a 2-stroke engine, something no commercial operator will rent. These very same aircraft can accommodate a 912 Rotax, but the engine alone is over $20,000. So much for the “affordable LSA.”

It is true that you can buy former ultralights for under $20,000, but the discussion is about safe, supportable airplanes. None of these former ultralights can be rented out as trainers.

I’ve deliberately stayed away from the discussion about the suitability of factory-built LSAs as training aircraft as they are sometimes advertised in the magazines. But the record of success is not good. The price (and the required rate for rental) is high (something I addressed in the first series of articles I have written for MFM). They also haven’t stood up well to the rigors of student training, as Aviation Consumer reports.

If the filmmaker wants a safe aircraft for under $20,000, they are available. The trusty old Cessna 150, a Tomahawk, a Piper Colt. Other than that, he might consider a glider. There are a number of those available for under $20,000.

The marketplace – the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith – has decreed what is a value and what is not. Wishing it were different doesn’t make it true. Witness the sharply increased value of Champs, Cubs, and T-crafts when LSAs were announced; people have chosen those, instead of Euro-designed LSAs, and the price has gone up in return. If the proposal to drop the third-class medical goes through, the same thing will happen with our tried and true simple four-place aircraft…the price will go up. As I mentioned in the earlier series, “who would buy an LSA if you could find a good four-place aircraft instead, for a lot less money?” I would hate to own a factory-built LSA right now for that reason.

The “documentary filmmaker” obviously graduated from the “Michael Moore School of Documentary Filmmaking.” Rather than put forth the truth, he starts out with a pre-conceived notion, then tries to make it fit. He does his viewers a disservice. Common sense says, “You can’t get anything of real value for little or nothing.” Most pilots won’t take the aircraft he champions seriously, and the poor safety record of these aircraft  doesn’t do anything good for the industry. There is a reason there are no factory-built LSAs using 2-stroke engines. He should be advised that for the good of our industry, he should be considering “true ultralights” (those still exist), instead of confusing would-be pilots with something less than a safe and serious aircraft.

On the good side, I have had a number of people comment positively about the series, including some fixed base operators. Barry Bibler, representing the South Dakota Pilots Association, asked for reprint permission for their state newsletter and for their convention. I gave him your contact info.

Jim Hanson
Albert Lea, Minnesota

Hi Dave:

I got “Madame Butterfly” (my V-tail Bonanza) back (from the avionics shop), and I am very happy with the work (slightly used Garmin 530 installed). I just hope everything works, and I will know tomorrow with a flight to Merritt Island, Florida, for our fall fly-in.

Got my Midwest Flyer Magazine today. I agree with your article (on LSAs) completely!

Anthony Restaino
Hollywood, Fla.

Dave:

Received your latest issue today. Very, very interesting information contained therein. Getting better and better every month.

A couple of items really caught my eye, and particularly the one noting that Honeywell is now in the aircraft engine manufacturing business. Really intrigued me since Honeywell had absolutely no involvement in this area of aerospace when I was there, although we did have an excellent aerospace operation. The closet thing we had related to engines was our involvement in the production (and not the design) of the Minuteman Missile.

Do you possibly have any other information on this engine? I’d be interested in reading more.

Ray Rubin
Eagle River, Wisconsin

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