Kitplane manufacturer SkyStar Aircraft is preparing for the US sport pilot rule by creating a division to manufacture and market a light-sport aircraft based on its Kitfox Series 7 two-seater.
Caldwell, Idaho-based SkyStar has split into two parts, with the Experimental/Manufacturing division responsible for making aircraft kits as well as parts for the factory-produced aircraft that will be assembled by the new Sport Plane division. SkyStar will still make the Series 7, Classic 4 and Kitfox Lite kitplanes.
Ed Downs, president of the Sport Plane division, says a version of the Series 7 certificated to the consensus standards for light-sport aircraft agreed by industry could be available within 12 months of the Sport Pilot rule taking effect. The two-seat aircraft is expected to cost around $60,000-65,000, he says.
The sport pilot rule is intended to stimulate recreational flying by making it easier to get a licence and more affordable to buy an aircraft, leading a predicted boom in general aviation. Downs says a survey of Experimental Aircraft Association members indicated that 58,000 intended to buy a light sport aircraft within three years of the rule.
Source: Flight International
