Heart of Texas LSA Expo 2009
Coulter Field was hosting a Light Sport Aircraft fly-in last Sunday (March 8th) and I was planning on flying one of West Houston’s Cessnas there. My dad was coming along as my co-pilot and we were both excited about the event.
The weather forecast called for clouds and rain for Sunday. When I woke on Sunday, I looked out my window and saw nothing but blue skies. I called my dad to tell him we were flying. Unfortunately, as I got closer to the airport, things began to look bad. Once at the airport, my weather briefer mentioned the word “marginal VFR” several times. We might be able to get out but we were not sure if we would be able to get back in. We decided to go with option 2: drive the 100 miles.
Coulter Field turned out to be a really nice airport and being there made wish we had flown. There were quite a few LSAs out there and a few were even giving demo rides. (The ceiling was much higher than in Houston but still cloudy.) We spent three hours talking to LSA reps and other fellow pilots and learning about new airplane designs. For those of you that consider these planes to be glorified ultra-lights, you really need to see these airplanes. The materials, designs, performance and technology used in these planes makes you rethink what you are currently flying:
• For my flights, I tend to plan on a 10-12 gallon per hour burn rate. Many of these LSAs burn around 5 gallons.
• The designs of many of these planes were very smooth and more aerodynamically shaped thanks to the materials used. They make the Cessnas I fly look boxy.
• Taking into consideration fuel usage and maintenance, many of these LSAs were listing operating costs under $30 per hour.
• The interiors of many of these LSAs were decked out with the latest pilot gadgets you can image. I know you can get these in your typical new Cessna, Piper or Tiger but to see these common on so many LSAs should change your opinion of these airplanes as being ultra-lights.
Of course, LSAs have their limitations as far as useful load (you can only bring one friend along), speed and you cannot file IFR. For those of us that generally fly alone or with only one passenger and only in good weather, those are not limitations but a way of life.
I managed to get a ride on one of Paradise Aircraft’s P-1 LSAs. What a treat! Honestly, I was not expecting this sort of performance. For example, I was expecting it to have a slow climb rate but instead it did just the opposite.
Unlike many of the other LSAs at the expo, the Paradise had plenty of room in the back to carry your luggage. If it was not because of the definition of an LSA as being a two-seater, you could easily have room for another seat in the back. The one thing that was a little awkward for me as a pilot-passenger flying in the right seat was what to do with my legs: I could stretch them out but then I worried about being on the pedals. If I bent my legs I was worried about hitting the throttle control or getting in the way of the pilot trying to reach for the throttle.
Flying the Paradise reminded of driving small sports cars: you think you are going really fast when you are not. It’s not because the plane is loud (it’s quieter than planes I am used to flying) but maybe it has more to do with the higher revving engine (it was the first time I saw 5000rpms on a small airplane’s tech). I loved this plane and I would not mind having one … it would definitely bring the price of the $100 hamburger down.
