Hi Ed - I'm honestly not familiar with that segment of the market. If you want a plane of that performance genre, I'd buy a nicely restored Champ, Cub, Chief, T-craft, Vagabond, etc. Any of those, in pristine, restored condition, can be had in the $35 - $40K range, except maybe another $5K for a J-3.
That gets you a tube and fabric, certified airplane of known handling, and repairable almost by any A&P. That's what's amazed me about the sport pilots have have carped about the prices of LSA. If you need to stay under $50K, as many of them say, there are tons of classic airplanes, including Coupes to buy. And $50K will get you one in better than new condition. In fact, $40K will. Jerry E. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Ed Burkhead Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 11:23 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Light weight SLSA now on market Jerry wrote: > I honesty feel that there just isn't room in the market for > any more LSA, and again, once Cessna and Cirrus come > to market, my guess is that many of the existing LSA > manufacturers will be gone in short order. Good point. But virtually all of the current SLSA aircraft are in the Ercoupe and higher performance levels with cruise speeds from 108-138 mph. I think the CGS Hawk SLSA is the first new aircraft in the <87 kt. category with cruise speeds in the 65-70 mph and tube and fabric construction. Perhaps there'll be room for one or two others in that category. I hope QCU develops one and perhaps someone should build an SLSA for Quicksilver type super-slow, wide open, tube aircraft. And, CGS has been in business for 28 years. QCU has been building planes for about 23 or 24 years. Ed ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jerry Eichenberger Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 10:19 AM To: Jerry Eichenberger; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [email protected] Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Light weight SLSA now on market Another factor is that what we've seen in sales of LSA in the last three years has occurred to satisfy a very pent up demand, as people quickly bought something to fly, since no LSA existed before mid 2005, or really into 2006, in any numbers. Now, that pent up demand no longer exists; it has been satisfied. Sales of airplanes from here on out have to only satisfy a sustainable, long term demand. I honesty feel that there just isn't room in the market for any more LSA, and again, once Cessna and Cirrus come to market, my guess is that many of the existing LSA manufacturers will be gone in short order. Jerry E. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jerry Eichenberger Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 11:12 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [email protected] Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Light weight SLSA now on market I've been at a loss on what to do about getting a modern LSA. With so many aircraft in the marketplace, we know that there will eventually be a big shakeout; the only question is when, and who will survive, long term. Sales of new LSA are down this year, and I've heard as much as 20%. Attribute that to economic worries, I guess. But to me, there is no way that the LSA market is large enough to sustain 50+ different offerings that are now available. And, the Cessna and Cirrus airplanes aren't even in the mix yet. Frankly, I believe that once these two gorillas actually start selling airplanes, many of the lesser ones will quickly fold their tents. If you're going to plunk down $100,000+, are you going to give it to someone like Cessna or Cirrus, who is likely to be around for a long time, for product support, etc., or give that much dough to some upstart, or European, who may not be here 5 years from now? Interesting quandary. Jerry E. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 10:40 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Light weight SLSA now on market Hi Al, There is the Thorp T211 manufactured by Indus aircraft. You can slide the canopy back in flight. I flew one at sun & fun and really liked it. I think it is only available as a completed aircraft. Several engine choices. Cheers, Bill Al said: Only thing, though - you can't put the top down while flying it. When something like that comes along, I'll bite. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame - in your browser. Get the TMZ Toolbar Now!
