The light aircraft manufacturer has been working toward CAAC validation for some time, reporting in November that it had passed an engineering audit designed to confirm certification specification compliance with the agency. According to Flight Design, plans are also in place for China-based company FX to build the F2-CS23 in Shenzhen. FX entered into a partnership with Flight Design at the beginning of the F2 project.

• READ MORE: Flight Design Passes CAAC Audit

“This is a great achievement and related to the very good cooperation between CAAC, EASA, and our team,” said Matthias Betsch, head of Flight Design’s EASA design organization. “The F2 is the first model of the F Series which follows the safety requirements of the new EASA CS23 certification specification and [provides] outstanding safety, performance, space and comfort for this kind of private-use and training airplane.”

Flight Design is also pursuing FAA validation for the F2-CS23, which earned its EASA type certificate in December 2021. Offering a top speed of 233 kph (126 knots), 2,000-kilometer (1,080 nm) range with 30-minute reserve, and maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 pounds, the model was developed as a certified version of Flight Design’s F2 special light sport aircraft (SLSA). Powered by the Rotax 912iS engine, the F2-CS23 comes equipped with Garmin G3X flight displays.

The post CAAC Validates Flight Design F2-CS23 Type Certification appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Flight Design noted that successfully completing the audit represents a significant milestone in the CAAC validation process for the company’s F2-CS23 two-seat piston aircraft. Designed to confirm compliance to a certification specification, the inspection was conducted by a four-person, on-site team from the agency and a Flight Design team led by head of design organization Matthias Betsch, head of airworthiness Christian Majunke, head of quality management Alexander Kosolapov, and head of  general aviation China Wu Xiao Dong.

• READ MORE: Flight Design’s F2 is An All-Around, All-Composite Light Sport Aircraft

“We are very pleased [with] the result of the F2-CS23 on-site inspection by the CAAC this week,” said Betsch. “Our design organization is located in Eisenach, Germany, but our team of engineers are truly international. The fact that their great work has now been accepted by EASA and CAAC is a testament to their professionalism and hard work.”

• READ MORE: Flight Design Ramps Up Production of F2, CT Series Aircraft

A certified version of Flight Design’s F2 SLSA, the F2-CS23 received its type certificate from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in December 2021. The model has a top speed of 233 kph (126 knots), a 2,000-kilometer (1,080 nm) range with 30-minute reserve, and a maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 pounds. It is powered by the 100 hp Rotax 912iS engine and comes equipped with Garmin G3X flight displays. Base price for the F2-CS23 is listed as 214,900 euros ($227,150).

The F2-CS23 is also undergoing validation by the FAA.

The post Flight Design Passes CAAC Audit appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to Flight Design, the order list currently stands at more than 100 aircraft, and production is increasing to support four F2 aircraft per month by the end of 2023. The company said this was made possible in part by support from the Lindig Group, a majority shareholder.

“The kind and timely support from the Lindig Group, the staff in Sumperk and Kherson [Ukraine] has made this possible. It takes a lot of commitment to create and sustain an aviation business,” said Daniel Guenther, CEO of Flight Design. “We thank everyone involved, our staff, our dealers worldwide, and especially [Lindig Group CEO] Sven Lindig. He has stood beside us through the most difficult times.”

Not the least of these challenges was retrieving four CTLS airframes from the factory in Kherson and getting them to customers in Europe. The company noted that the completion of airframes will continue through 2023 and then move to production of new airframes by a manufacturing partner.

Flight Design is anticipating an increase in business as a result of the FAA MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) project, in particular regarding its F2 series.

The Flight Design F2 entered the American market in 2021 and its design continues to evolve.

The F2-CS23 is approved as a European Union Aviation Safety Agency type-certified GA aircraft in Europe, and the validation process has progressed with the FAA. It is expected that the F2-CS23 will be popular with flight schools and in rental fleets.

“The F2 in its current S-LSA form can carry a much larger payload,” said Tom Gutmann, owner of Airtime Aviation. “We expect to increase the payload of the new F2-LSA aircraft that are now being delivered under MOSAIC and think there’s even more that can be done within MOSAIC.”

The company is also continuing the development of the Flight Design F4, the four-seat version of the F series. The F4, described as a larger version of the F2, is equipped with a Rotax 916 turbocharged powerplant and designed to carry four adults.

The F4 passed a design review earlier this summer and is moving toward the prototype stage. The company noted the F4’s systems and tooling are identical to the F2, which should make the process go quicker.

The post Flight Design Ramps Up Production of F2, CT Series Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“We’ve closed down Flight Design USA,” said that company’s founder, Tom Peghiny, in an update to FLYING on Wednesday. “Airtime bought the inventory and equipment.” Peghiny also verified that Airtime Aviation would secure the importer license as well, to help ensure the smooth transfer of current orders to the new distributor. “They are the right group to handle [the F2 and other models],” said Peghiny, who will continue on as a consultant.

While Peghiny has collaborated with Flight Design and others in the ultralight world for roughly 35 years—even before the light sport aircraft days—the Gutmanns are also no strangers to the brand. Tom Sr. and Tom Jr. have been in partnership with Flight Design since 2001, before the company’s CT series aircraft were first imported to the U.S. under the new S-LSA guidance in 2004.

Production Interrupted by War

Flight Design certified the F2 light sport aircraft under European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS23 regs—equivalent to FAA Part 23—on December 8, 2021, and at last report had submitted paperwork to the FAA for validation earlier this year. 

However, the company’s plans took a serious turn in early March when production facilities in Kherson, Ukraine, were shut down as a result of the Russian invasion of the country. Flight Design moved manufacturing of parts and completed airplanes to its plant in Sumperk, Czech Republic, which had been primarily a completions center. But, fortunately, it had the required equipment “there to build an airplane,” according to Tom Jr., in an interview Thursday with FLYING. Though the production is moving forward, there has been a necessary delay in delivering aircraft. Gutmann said they anticipate the first airplane from that new line by the end of October.

With 52 airplanes on the order, he estimates that it will take from 14 to 18 months to fulfill those deliveries. But even with the backlog, Gutmann reported that sales remain brisk. “We had the best Oshkosh ever,” he said, with a much higher percentage of new pilots buying into the CT series and F2 than he has seen in 20 years. He considers that very good news both for the company and the industry as a whole.

An LSA With a Certified Future

Flight Design has six of the F2s flying in the U.S. under the S-LSA certification basis, which offers many customers a lot of advanced technology for the $225,000 standard-equipped price. However, the company continues on its path towards FAA Part 23 certification, for the opportunities it will provide in flight training and other light commercial operations.

There are also plans in the works to take it into IFR certification, according to Gutmann, who has fielded the demand for such a version from customers. And Gutmann is a believer: “I have 4,000 hours flying Flight Design airplanes…I’ve talked to a lot of people over the last three weeks [about our future.] It’s a great time to be getting into this.”

The post Flight Design USA Assets Sold, Airtime Aviation Takes on Distributorship appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“This is the important first step in bringing the F2 CS-23 to the United States,” said Tom Peghiny, president at Flight Design USA, in a statement. “We expect the certified version of the F2 to be even more popular than the S-LSA version, which was accepted by the FAA in June 2021.” 

Flight Design USA is known for its LSA imports, starting with those classified as ultralights and later LSAs known as the CTLS. The carbon fiber aircraft, with its relatively wide cockpit and large windows, quickly became a favorite in the LSA market in the U.S.

The F2 series is the newest model from Flight Design. It is slightly larger than the CT versions. It has a larger wingspan and the cabin is a few inches wider, taller and longer which will likely make entry and egress less of an advanced yoga pose for pilots of a certain vintage.

The F2 features an all-composite airframe, passive stall and spin resistance, and advanced safety systems, including an airframe emergency parachute, panel mounted AMSAFE airbags ,and an all Garmin G3X avionics suite with Electronic Stability Protection (ESP).

The Flight Design F2 CS-23 version was certified by EASA in December. CS-23 is the equivalent of the FAA Part 23, the certification standard used for general aviation aircraft in the U.S. 

The validation process allows EASA and other civil aviation authorities to submit certification packages for aircraft already certified under their authority to the FAA, this process leads to the aircraft certification in the U.S. 

According to Flight Design, the recent update and rewrite of both Part 23 and CS-23 has improved the harmonization of the two standards and is generally accepted around the world. 

Flight Design predicts the VFR F2 CS-23 will be attractive to flight schools that are looking for a more affordable option to add a new technology trainer to their fleet. In addition, Flight Design plans to bring an IFR version of the F2 to the U.S. and Canada—with proper certification of course.

In the meantime, Flight Design is gearing up to begin F2 production in Sumperk in the Czech Republic. The factory was temporarily closed due the invasion of Ukraine in early March of this year. Flight Design indicates the factory is intact and a small crew is currently onsite to produce spare parts.

The post Flight Design’s F2 CS-23 is One Step Closer to U.S. Validation appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

A week into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Flight Design USA’s president Tom Peghiny reports that—with the Russian forces occupying Kherson three days ago—work has ceased as the company looks to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its workforce.

Flight Design employs just under 200 technicians, assemblers, and engineers currently at the Kherson plant, and according to Peghiny, the company has been ramping up that number. “We were hiring more aggressively in the past year because of the popularity of the F2, but the other models in the range have been selling well in Europe—simpler, lighter models in particular,” he said in an interview with FLYING.

A Worrying and Tense Situation

But for now, that effort is understandably on hold. When the town of Kherson was occupied beginning on Tuesday, a minimum crew was still completing some final assembly tasks under guard in the plant, with engineers working remotely. But all of that has ceased in the wake of the occupation.

“Fortunately, we have been in contact with all of the management and most of the engineers through WhatsApp or Skype and everybody’s fine at this time,” Peghiny said. “I’ve been going there for nearly 20 years,” he added, and he counts many friends among the team and community there.

Alternate Plans to Build Aircraft

Flight Design intends to keep going in the interim, to ensure the strength to rebuild in the time to come. “We have found a site within Czech Republic and have started working there with plans to move any personnel we can there,” said Peghiny. 

“We have the facility [in Šumperk] already doing our prototype development and where the EASA facility is based.” Flight Design CZ will continue building the F2 and other models, with plans to start manufacture of the first airplanes within six months.

Flight Design will be at the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo 2022 from April 5 to 11.

The post Flight Design Secures Ukraine Plant and Employees appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

We were flying rather well, all things considered; I could maneuver the F2 around within this part of the envelope, practically begging it to fall off and drop its nose past the horizon. It didn’t comply. Instead, with a little push of the stick and throttle, we flew right out of the deep end of the slow flight regime as soon as the airplane was asked.

The Flight Design F2 reflects well the aerodynamic understanding and advanced avionics technology driven into the design. After the company’s CT series gained a reputation as a somewhat fussy airplane to fly, the F2 turns that impression on its head.

1. The 10.6-inch screens can show a full-screen PFD and engine cluster, as well as split into various PFD, MFD or engine-indication formats.

2. An optional Garmin G5 supports the main hardware with a solid backup. A Garmin GFC 500 autopilot can be installed as well.

3. Panel-mounted AmSafe air bags are a unique feature in the class, and they complement the standard BRS ballistic airframe parachute.

4. A Garmin GMA 342 audio panel and Garmin 345 ADS-B In and Out system completes the fully stacked flight deck.

5. The single-lever throttle-and-brake system simplifies power management both on the ground and in the air.

New Ownership

The clean-sheet design that comprises the F2 comes from the rebirth of the company that created it. Flight Design evolved from a small business building ultralights and gliders into an airplane manufacturer in 1988, managed by its founder and visionary leader, Matthias Betsch. However, financial troubles dogged its existence, and while the CT series of microlight (in Europe) and light-sport category (in the US) aircraft proved reasonably successful in both the US and Europe (see sidebar), new designs were hard to fund and get off the ground.

• READ MORE: Flight Design’s F2 CS-23 is One Step Closer to U.S. Validation

Those fortunes changed in 2017, when Flight Design was purchased by Lift Air, a division of Lift Holdings and financially supported by Lindig Group, an industrial manufacturer in Germany. With a new infusion of capital and leadership under managing director Daniel Guenther, Flight Design began the development program on the two-seat F2 series and a four-seat F4. The new models debuted at Aero Friedrichshafen in 2019.

Siemens has joined forces with Flight Design to support an electric version, the F2e, with a proof of concept that debuted in summer 2019. But the first out of the gate will be the traditionally powered F2. As of November 2020, P2—the second prototype of the standard F2 flown for this report, which will meet light sport aircraft standards—has a couple hundred hours on it. The third conforming prototype, P3, is finished and flying in the Czech Republic, and it’s being used to secure European Union Aviation Safety Agency CS23 approval (the rough equivalent to the FAA’s Part 23). The model is now officially in production, and Flight Design expects to have them in the US by the end of January. The F4 project is funded, in development, and projected to debut stateside in summer 2022.

The production quality has kicked up a notch, too, for the all-carbon-fiber airframe. Next-gen CNC machined molds are used to make the fuselage in two pieces—the left and the right sides match exactly. Weight savings derived from the switch to Hexcel pre-preg carbon fiber—reducing the amount of epoxy and filler used—pencil out into a higher useful load on an already generous figure for the LSA category.

“Safety sells the airplane,” Tom Gutmann Jr. says. The Gutmanns—Tom Jr. and Tom Sr.—have been with Flight Design since the aircraft were first imported under the new S-LSA guidance in the US. “We’ve worked together for 18 years. They’re really hardworking and cheerful,” says Tom Peghiny, principal of Flight Design USA. The Gutmanns’ company, Airtime Aviation, in Jenks, Oklahoma, has been the distributor for the central and mountain US since the beginning of Flight Design’s tenure stateside. Flight Design USA serves as the importer and distributor for the northeastern US. A network of dealers spans the country.

The Gutmanns have seen the results of better manufacturing, reporting closer fit on the doors and cowling in particular, which bodes well for maintaining the airplane more easily in the field. The F2′s wider than the CT series too, according to Tom Jr. With a standard BRS ballistic recovery parachute and an AmSafe air-bag system, safety is indeed part of the F2′s DNA.

The main landing gear saw an overhaul as well: Instead of separate gear legs attached to the left and right undersides of the fuselage, a single carbon-fiber strut carries through the belly. The result is much better dampening on landings, which I experienced firsthand during my initial touchdowns during our flight test. This should help the F2′s placement in a flight school lineup, mitigating student errors that the previous designs may have exacerbated.

The Walk-Around

From a few feet away, aerodynamic twists such as the elegant upswept wingtips point to the F2′s potential to handle well at low speeds. A leading-edge cuff on the outboard portion of each wing speaks to this, as do the bigger horizontal stabilizer and sizable vertical fin. The CT series had a stabilator, which contributed to the finesse required to land it well. The F2 moved to a separate elevator system that is split into left and right halves with a “beaver tail” in between.

Hidden beneath the wing structure lies another big change: The F2 has a carry-through spar running the full span, rather than the overlapping two-spar system in previous models. A rugged cockpit capsule in the fuselage continues the Flight Design’s legacy of crashworthiness.

• READ MORE: Flight Design Secures Ukraine Plant and Employees

Up front, the powerplant remains the same—the fuel-injected Rotax 912 iS—but Airtime is testing new propeller combinations. The latest one, from Sensenich, has a sexy scimitar sweep to its tri-blade tips. The team had 10 hours of testing on the new propeller when we flew the airplane, and more testing is needed.

There’s another advantage to the Sensenich prop as well: “We’re trying to increase the US content on the airplane,” Peghiny says. “There’s no downside on US equipment, and it helps insulate the retail price from currency fluctuations. It’s nice to say 45 percent of the aircraft is made in the US—but it also insulates us.”

The oil system has a dry sump, which means that unless the engine has been running, the oil won’t register in range on the dipstick even when there’s enough oil in the system. A “Rotax burp” to move oil up into the system becomes part of the preflight on the first flight of the day, or after it’s been parked a while. A split intake serves both the oil-cooled and water-cooled portions of the engine.

Other than that, there are no real surprises on the preflight. Soon enough, we’re ready to strap in and see how the F2 flies.

First-Flight Impressions

Tom Jr. pointed out a couple of key differences in the F2 cockpit, as compared with other light single-engine piston airplanes. First, the throttle is a single lever—and it also serves as the brake.

Come again?

A full-forward push of the lever gives the pilot full power, as you’d expect. Bringing the throttle back reduces power to idle and then, at the very rearward portion of the throw, engages the hydraulic disc brakes on the main wheels. A valve aft of the throttle charges the system to set a parking brake when needed for a run-up and other actions on the ground.

We started up the Rotax, and I found the system worked surprisingly intuitively once I was taxiing along. Instead of tapping a brake on one side to tighten a turn, I used the steerable nosewheel. Having the system set up this way means you never have a pilot applying power with the brakes on. I weaved my way down the taxiway at Airtime’s home base at Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Airport (KRVS)—known as Riverside—to feel the responsiveness of the steering prior to taking it onto the runway for the first time.

Following a run-up and ticking items from the checklist, we were cleared for takeoff on Runway 19L. The Rotax ran up to 5,300 rpm as we started the roll—it goes into the yellow arc at 5,500 rpm—and when we got to 50 knots indicated, I started to squeeze back on the stick, and we were soon airborne. We used less than a third of the runway, and I wasn’t even going for best short-field effort on this first takeoff run.

Climbing out at the current VX of 60 knots took us up at more than 600 fpm, steeply angled, while a best rate of climb around 72 knots gave us better than 800 fpm. We needed to stay below the top of the Class D at 2,500 feet msl for a moment, so I dialed it back as we headed for a practice area southeast of the airport.

Cruise-climbing up to 3,500 feet once we were free of the airspace, I gave us some clearing turns and enjoyed the fresh roll rate I got from the ailerons. Rudder coordination was almost too easy; I found that it doesn’t take much thought to keep the ball centered, even as we progressed into exploring slow flight and a stall series. And here’s where all the aerodynamics work really has paid off: I tried to mishandle the airplane with that warning sending solid beeps into my headset, but it’s just really hard to make the F2 misbehave.

A power-on stall—even after I slowed it down to 60 knots before the addition of full power—took us skyward, and we were up at such a deck angle before the airplane entered the stall that both Tom Jr. and I expressed how hard it would be to work yourself into that situation. Sure, it can be done, but between the AOA meter on the PFD flashing red arrows and the other cues, it’s hard to imagine getting there unintentionally. The controllability of the airplane in this regime stays positive.

We needed to head back down in order to return to Riverside’s traffic area, so I set up a glide at VG as notched on the airspeed tape. At 75 knots and power to idle, we came down at 800 fpm. Final flap positions were not yet set, but I had a total of 33 degrees to work with on a sliding scale. We used about 16 degrees for takeoff, and that amount could be put in below 90 knots to help slow us down for landing.

Coming into the pattern, the tower sequenced us in between the Pipers flown by the locally based Spartan College, and I found myself high on the VASI for the first landing. At least I was fast too, but getting the F2 below 75 knots for landing isn’t hard once full flaps go in. The last few degrees, in fact, translated into a progressively higher sink rate. My slightly fast touchdown around 65 knots wasn’t bad—but the gear gave me an assist. We did three more touch-and-goes easily on the 4,208-foot runway, and on each one, I got it more dialed in, finding I liked 65 knots on short final, to bleed off to just below 55 for touchdown. Exact specs for landing speeds are a work in progress at press time, but my senses tell me that feels about right.

The F2 demonstrates what’s achievable within the LSA parameters bounding its high and low speeds. With a stall speed (full flaps) at 39 knots, we also see a true airspeed as high as 133 ktas in my cruise-speed test—knowing that the final airplane will conform to the US LSA standard maximum speed of 120 knots indicated. Peghiny sums up the airplane well, “It’s what our customers need: It goes fast, looks cool and is easy to fly.”

Another Look

We had a beautiful early November day for our flight test, and that was a good thing because we needed to get photos as well for this story. After we shot the pictures over the autumn-burnished shores of Keystone Lake west of Tulsa, I flew the F2 from the right seat just to see what the perspective would be from an instructor’s standpoint. No concerns surfaced, and I found the transition to the CFI side to be seamless. With a 50-inch-wide cabin, there’s no need to be shoulder-to-shoulder with a student—though I could reach everything I needed.

I have a feeling the airplane will find a good home in training fleets because of its comfortable size, slow-flight handling and student-error-dampening new gear. In the fully equipped avionics package, having a Garmin G3X Touch flight display on the right side as well as the left helps out instructors too; instead of parallax, you have a full array of PFD and MFD info to work with. From the instructor’s standpoint, there’s another bonus stemming from the combination throttle-and-brake system: You’ll never have a student ride the brakes while applying power or touching down with the brakes engaged. With the Rotax, you can use mogas or 100LL—another potential area of savings and convenience—and the 34 gallons of fuel sipped at roughly 4.5 gph will take you a long way.

From a recreational user’s perspective, the F2 will give you everything it can in terms of load-carrying capability. There’s a lot of room for cargo, and though the LSA weight limits apply in the US, when the Part 23 version in Europe is completed, operations under that category will readily accommodate a few more pounds. The F2 comes out of the gate with the Garmin GTR 225 comm and GTX 345 with ADS-B, and owners can equip with a standby Garmin G5 electronic instrument, the GFC 507 dual-axis autopilot, and either the GTN 750XI or 650XI navcom/GPS. Sporty leather seats and automotive-style inertial-reel seat belts keep it comfortable too.

First Deliveries

Business slowed down in March and April 2020, but then the phone began to ring again at Airtime for the new and used aircraft they broker. “We had some pre-owned airplanes, and they sold out,” Tom Jr. says. As for the F2, Flight Design USA has four on order when they become available; another dealer has two, and a couple more orders are in the works, according to Peghiny. The first are expected to land stateside by the end of January. Airtime has six aircraft that they hope to have by then as well.

FAA has shown they understand the improvements the LSA industry has made. “The experiment, if it was one, has been successful,” Peghiny says. He credits the safety of the LSA industry in no small part to the Rotax engine: “If you keep fuel and oil in them, they are very reliable.”

The line blurs between light-sport aircraft and what we have considered “traditional” single-engine piston airplanes, and I expect that to continue as technology and advanced design sift up through the ranks rather than trickling down. There’s no compromise in this category with the latest generation of light-sport models, and the F2 fits right in.

Flight Design F2 Specs

This story appeared in the January-February 2021 issue of Flying Magazine

The post Flight Design’s F2 is An All-Around, All-Composite Light Sport Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Electric propulsion systems continue to make strides forward in light aircraft, following the successful first flights of a new version from Flight Design and Siemens’ eAircraft division. A version of the Flight Design F2e made its first public flight on June 5 in Strausberg, Germany, powered by a Siemens SP55D-driven electric propulsion system, in partnership with its eAircraft unit and APUS, a Strausberg-based company specializing in systems integration.

The F2, normally powered by regular and turbo versions of the Rotax 912iS, was announced at AERO Friedrichshafen in April 2019, and classified as an Ultralight (600 kg) in Europe, or as a 650 kg CS-23 certified aircraft, and as an S-LSA in the United States. ASTM LSA and UL approval were anticipated early this summer, along with EASA approval later in the season.

The carbon-fiber composite airplane is aimed at the training market, and continues the company’s forays into environmentally driven improvement, to include noise impacts as well as reduced carbon emissions.

The Siemens system includes the SP55D 55 kW direct-drive motor, an inverter, and a modular control system EPUIII. The system has been extensively ground tested as well as flight tested prior to the public unveiling. While performance figures still remain to be determined following the complete flight test program, Flight Design expects the electric propulsion system to add significantly to the overall weight of the airplane. “Loaded with batteries for about 2 to 3 hours of flight with two people on board, a maximum takeoff weight of 1,100 kg is expected,” said the company in a statement.

The post Flight Design’s F2e Makes First Public Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Flight Design, the European manufacturer of light sport airplanes, has completed the sale of all major company assets to the German investment group Lift Holding, allowing for the resumption of work on the C4, a Part 23-certified four-seater with a projected selling price of $250,000.

The newly realigned company, which entered receivership last year, will be based at a new facility near Eisenach in the Thuringia region of Germany. The company will now be called Flight Design General Aviation GmbH.

“We’re excited about this,” Flight Design USA president Tom Peghiny told Flying. “It is the same company as before with new upper management. The first order of business will be increasing the engineering staff.”

Work on the C4 had come to a standstill after the company ran into financial difficulty. Production had also slowed to a trickle as the company workforce was trimmed to 10 people in Germany and around 60 in the Ukraine.

With its expertise in design, production and certification of light aircraft, Peghiny said Lift wants to see Flight Design continue as one of the world’s light aircraft market leaders, using modern marketing and communication concepts to optimize customer experience.

“We have been working with the Lift Air folks for a year planning the comeback for the Flight Design brand and we are very excited about the developments for the future,” he said.

Lift Holding will combine the technical expertise of Flight Design with its other recently acquired aviation asset, gyrocopter producer Rotorvox. Both companies will be headquartered at the Kindel Airport near Eisenach.

The post Light Airplane Maker Flight Design Under New Ownership appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Morning fog gradually gave way to sunny skies and pleasant temperatures near 80 degrees as the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo opened its doors to the LSA community yesterday at the Sebring Regional Airport in central Florida.

It was a marked difference from last year’s show, when wind and rain put a damper on the five-day event. This year’s show, which runs through Sunday, is expected to see more cloudiness and perhaps a sprinkle but nothing like what show organizers had to contend with in 2016.

That’s good news for the approximately 100 exhibitors at the show, which showcases the products of several LSA manufacturers, including Bristell, CubCrafters, Glasair, Jabiru, Just Aircraft, Flight Design, Pipistrel, Zenith and others. Italy’s Tecnam and Aircam maker Lockwood Aviation, both of which are based at the Sebring Airport, are also exhibiting.

There will be dozens of educational seminars and workshops throughout the show, and plenty to do and see. A highlight is the first-ever MultiGP-sanctioned drone race at an aviation event. The top pilots from the main race will qualify to compete for a $5,000 prize purse on Saturday, January 28.

And for the first time ever, Zenith Aircraft brought its two-day hands-on kit aircraft building workshop to the Sebring Expo. During the workshop, participants construct a Zenith Aircraft rudder assembly from a standard kit. Additionally, a free, one-hour hands-on workshop seminar and demonstration will be held daily from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the Zenith Aircraft workshop tent.

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