Flight Design USA has claimed the leadership in the fledgling light-sport aircraft market, delivering 45 of its German-designed, Ukraine-built CT all-composite two-seaters in 2005 – the first year in which products approved under new light-sport aircraft (LSA) rules have been available.
The US Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) says around 90 aircraft were registered last year, a mix of new factory-built special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) and existing aeroplanes registered as experimental LSAs. Among S-LSAs, there is “no question” Flight Design’s CT was the market leader, says LAMA president Tom Gunnerson.
Permission to sell S-LSAs was granted by the US Federal Aviation Administration in April last year, and so far 25 designs – many of them European – have been approved under consensus standards developed by the industry and standards body ASTM.
Ellington, Connecticut-based Flight Design says deliveries of the $105,000 Rotax-powered aircraft are continuing at an average rate of eight a month, with the handover of more than 120 aircraft to US customers planned for this year.
A second production line in Ukraine is expected to be operational by year-end, with more than half the total output going to the US market.
GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
