AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011 - 42

PILOT BRIEFING Flight Design now on floats
During the recent U.S. Sport Aviation Expo I had the opportunity to be one of the first to fly the recently certified Flight Design floatplane, a light sport aircraft (LSA) based on the Flight Design CTLS Lite model. To purchase, buyers will need to buy a CTLS Lite at a base price of $119,980 from Airtime Aviation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and add the $40,000 float conversion option. The conversion is completed in Tulsa. The first one off the line made an appearance in Sebring, Florida, in January, where it attracted enough attention to require 24 demonstration flights. CTLS demonstration pilot Tom Gutmann said the CTLS carries “too much fuel” for a floatplane—32 gallons usable. That limits the full-fuel payload to 302 pounds (it has a useful load of 500 pounds) but is easily remedied by flying with partial fuel for most operations. The floatplane can cruise at 100 KTAS. The floats were especially made for the CTLS by Claymar Floats in Denfield, Ontario. The company has operations in New Zealand, and specializes in floats for aircraft weighing up to 3,500 pounds. With half fuel, the aircraft can easily lift two 200-pound passengers (LSAs are limited to two seats) and fly for 3.5 hours. My flight followed a demonstration flight in the heavier Flight Design CTLS. To produce the Lite model, 50 pounds were removed from the airplane by using lighter parts and removing some of the more sophisticated avionics and systems found in the CTLS. Gutmann flew to a lake west of Sebring. The aircraft slipped smoothly onto the surface with no directional problems after settling in the water. Gutmann used power to tractor the aircraft through the water, partly because of glassy conditions. Using a bit of power is best for directional control, he said. The 100-horsepower Rotax engine had plenty of power to lift the composite aircraft off the surface. On the way back to Sebring I took the controls of the amphibious aircraft, and noticed no vibration from turbulence passing over the floats. Gutmann suggested I keep it high since it comes down quickly with the drag from the floats. Although I had never landed an amphibious aircraft before, Gutmann talked me through a touchdown that took little extra skill. Amphibious aircraft use small wheels beneath the floats for operations on land. Taxi was like that of a conventional aircraft. Gutmann expects that flight schools and individuals who like playing on the water will be among his customers.

Air Tractor founder dies
After more than 50 years of designing aerial application airplanes, Leland Snow, founder and president of Air Tractor, died February 20 at the age of 80. Snow created his first aerial application aircraft in 1951. After manufacturing his own airplanes and working for Rockwell-Standard’s Aero Commander division, Snow founded Air Tractor in 1972 in Olney, Texas, according to a statement on the company’s website. By 2010, the company had delivered its 2,500th aircraft. Air Tractor manufactures the AT–401, AT–402, AT–502, AT–504, AT–602, AT–802, and AT–802F aircraft. “Actively involved in Air Tractor aircraft design and manufacturing until his death, Snow was also a great supporter and contributor to the agricultural spray aircraft industry, helping to promote agricultural aviation, educate the public about the benefits of aerial agricultural spraying and supporting efforts to introduce and train young pilots in agricultural spraying careers,” Air Tractor officials said in a tribute to Snow. —Alyssa J. Miller

Answers from page 40
1. The project known as “Arch Angel” created the A–1 through A–12 aircraft that preceded the Blackbird. 2. None (although 12 were lost in operational or training accidents). 3. The tires are coated with aluminum oxide to reflect heat so that the tires don’t explode in wheel wells during high-speed flight. 4. Quartz. 5. 1,000 degrees F, and the hottest part is the top portion of the engine cowls near the compressors. 6. The Soviet Union.
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Mooney hunkers down to wait out recession
Most of Mooney Aviation Company’s remaining 53 employees, down from 500 in 2008, were laid off at the end of 2010 to await new investment. The company is not shutting down, and continues to support present owners with spare parts. “We are not shutting down,” said Mooney Chief Financial Officer Barry Hodkin. “However, we cannot continue to subsidize the company at the level we have in the recent past. We have been in discussions with potential investors for more than 18 months
AOPA PILOT •

and will continue to work with them. If things change, then the scope of this layoff could change.” Mooney recently foreclosed on itself, a move that eliminated debt and changed the name from Mooney Aircraft to Mooney Aviation Company. The move was aimed at making the company more attractive to investors. “We will continue to protect Mooney’s assets both tangible and intangible,” Hodkin said. “Those assets include the facilities and our certificates for production and manufacturing.”

42 • APRIL 2011

AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2011