What
is a Light Sport Airplane?
The Aldera is a “Light Sport Plane.” To be very correct, the
Aldera is a Special Light Sport Airplane, or S-LSA. The term “Special”
in FAA lingo means that the certification process used to ensure that
the Aldera meets rigid safety standards is different than those used in
contemporary airplanes, like a Cessna 172 or Piper Archer.
The standards
utilized in certifying the Aldera were developed over years of negotiations
within the aviation industry and are, therefore, referred to as an “industry
consensus standard.”
An international
standards organization, known as the ASTM, structured the negotiations
which involved not only airplane manufacturers, but also the FAA and aviation
groups representing public safety.
Frequently
referred to as the “ASTM” standards, the certification process
is more correctly called the “ASTM Industry Consensus Standards.”
These standards for an S-LSA airplane consist of five primary documents:
- ASTM F
2245 Design and Performance of a Light Sport Airplane
- ASTM F
2279 Quality Assurance in the Manufacture of a Light Sport Airplane
- ASTM F
2295 Continued Operational Safety monitoring of a LSA
- ASTM F
2483 Standard Practice for Maintenance of a Light Sport Airplane
- ASTM F
2339 Standard Practice for Design and Manufacture of Engines for Light
Sport Aircraft
Any manufacturer
selling a Light Sport Airplane should be completely conversant with all
of the preceding documents. Many off-shore manufacturers will claim that
their nations’ certification standards are the same as the ASTM
standards and, therefore, their airplane can be sold as an S-LSA. This
is not true. The ASTM Industry Consensus Standards are generally tougher
than existing foreign and domestic standards for light airplanes.
The Aldera has been designed from the ground up to meet the ASTM Industry
Consensus Standards. Additionally, the Aldera has been made “Canadian
Tough” to meet the hard use airplanes receive in North America.
But what is it that makes the Aldera a Light Sport Airplane, other than
its design and certification process? The Aldera has been specifically
designed to meet the definition of a Light Sport Airplane contained in
FAR 1. That definition is as follows:
- No more
than two-place, that is a pilot and a passenger, no other seats.
- Max speed
at sea level, at max continuous power (this is called Vh) must not exceed
120 kts.
- The airplane
must have a maximum certified gross weight of not greater than 1,320
lbs. That can go up to 1,420 lbs. if the Aldera is equipped with floats.
- The plane
must have fixed landing gear, although landing gear that can be repositioned
to allow amphibious operations is OK.
- Any engine
HP may be used, just so long as the Vh of 120 kts is not exceeded.
- An LSA
may not have an in-flight adjustable prop.
- The airplane
must not stall at a speed faster than 45 kts with the flaps retracted.
The Aldera
has been designed to maximize its compliance with the preceding definition
so that you get the maximum performance allowed by the FAR definition
of a Light Sport Airplane.
Home
| Contact Us
|
