New LSA Champ manufacured ?

[jerrymjr]

Well, FAA cert is our Schtick. Quite honestly, it would have been harder to use the ASTM cert because we would have to keep everything separate...almost need another building for it. Givin the amount of parts comonality, thats just not feasible.

Advantages to FAA cert:
1) Reduced insurance rates. Seriously, 25% to 50% (50 is a little extreme, but seen it already)
2) Compliance to the requirements is shown upfront and by a true nuetral 3rd party (well, as much as the FAA is nuetral). LSA = shown in court during the lawsuit.
3) Operation into more airspace by default.
4) Night VFR
5) Produced under a production certificate, see 2
6) Normal category limts of operation, for hire, etc.

Disadvantages:
1) Stricter design requirements (no thanks to changed product rule) lead to more complexity and weight
2) Requires a Certified Mechanic
3) Requires Private Pilot (obviously the medical is optional).

There are others that i can come up with for sure, but thats just off the top of my head. the new 7EC met a large portion of FAR 23, change 55. And it shows in the fuel system and flight manual. If you want to look at structures, CAR4a has LSA and Part 23 beat (unless acro category).

As for the Concensus standards, they are a near clone to the normal regulations (a lot like primary category was). I think they are quite adequate. However, its not the standards, its the company meeting them. As a PC holder with no little magic brother company to pay our bills *cough* there is non-compliance on a daily basis. Followed by procedures to monitor and correct this. There is no motivation to worry about this save for an audit or a finding in the field, which tends to be a big deal! Not a lawsuit, we are talking service difficulty reports and service letters. An LSA maker can easily blow off as much as they want while maintaining a semblance of customer service. Not deadly things, but little things. Little things barage a manufacturer on a daily basis.

I would not say its a reconfigured Citabria...more like a Citabria-ized Champ. As the AOPA writer wants to call a Citabachamp. Who knows if he will write that; his article, not mine. Nonetheless one evolved from the other and to say they cannot be mixed together need to stare at the Model 7 drawing list for 10 mins.

I wont refute that the Champ needs a diet though. Waiting on Continental to give us that 20-30 they promised. Plus, it would be nice to retain a champ here to 'mess' with, but they head out the door a day after they are done. I guess thats status quo around here, and part of being self standing (I won't cough again).

[Peashooter]

I talked to one of the ACA dealers on Saturday at Sun 'N Fun and he said that they'd sold five Champs at the show up to that point. They are very nice.

As for urethane leading edges, I have hundreds of hours in front of them in my Long EZ. In my expereince, they stant up just fine. In fact, they resist stone chips better than a metal prop, IMHO. It is true that if you fly in rain, the surface finish (varnish) will erode and the SOP is to reduce RPM in rain. But I had the exact same thing happen this Fall with my wood Sensenich coming home from Lee Bottom in light rain. I will be refinishing the leading edges this summer.

Years ago I was operating a urethane-encapsulated prop on my EZ and I had an exhaust stack separate and go through iit. The 1/16th urethane coating absorbed the majority of the impact, leaving the prop intact and repairable.

I was told that the wood prop on the new Champ is to help keep the gross weight under the LSA requirements. That's also why the brakes were deleted in the back seat.

I plan to be at the Moraine Fly-In south of Dayton, OH on Sunday the 6th. Look me up if you go. Tailwinds, Rudy

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Cub Crafters lists their empty weight as 825 lbs whereas the ACA lists is empty weight as 950 lbs.

I would bet anything that is 850 is something totally stripped and undesirable. While 950 is a fully equipped airplane. We see it all the time in brand A and their weight claims.

The CubCrafter's SportCub is coming off the line at about 850-870 lbs with the average setup. That includes the little Garmin panel (496, sl40, and tx330), 700x6 tires, dual 12 gallon tanks, flaps and a metal prop. Since they went with light sport rules, the ASTM standard mandates the aircraft be 890lbs or less EMPTY. If it weighs more than 890, it can't be certified.

Lightest I've seen so far was a basic SportCub with 600x6 tires, wood prop, standard 7 gauges and an SL40; it weighed 830 lbs.

nkh

[jerrymjr]

The Cub Crafters Sport Cub that Greg Kootz was giving dual in dialed in at 978 lbs, according to what he said at Sun-n-Fun. Perhaps he read that wrong?

I can see where they do the 890 to simplify things over 23.25. However, I don't really see 23.25 as being that difficult to understand either.