AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 62

“But the fact that Piper won’t be involved in the future isn’t a show-stopper for me. I need the right airplane to train students—and I’m completely convinced that this is the best one for the job.” Met in Florida Fleming was introduced to the PiperSport at the same time Piper introduced it to the world—at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, in January 2010. Fleming had flown his Seneca to the event and planned to take a close look at the Light Sport aircraft models on display there. But when Piper announced with great fanfare that it was entering the LSA market by acquiring the rights to the former SportCruiser—modifying it slightly, renaming it PiperSport, and starting a dealership network to sell and service the airplanes—Fleming took notice. “I liked the way it looks from the very start,” he said. “It’s a sexy, attractive airplane. My flight school was oriented toward

car. Student pilots don’t have any problems with it, but it’s an adjustment for some veteran pilots.” Learning lab Kyle Mitchell of Gaithersburg, Maryland, said he chose the PiperSport as a trainer for both practical and philosophical reasons. Fleming’s was the closest flight school that offered sport pilot training, and he liked the idea of a new airplane with an airframe parachute. “The ballistic recovery system is extraordinarily appealing to someone who has never flown before,” Mitchell said. “And even though it doesn’t matter as much to trained pilots, it still provides the same comfort to my passengers that it once did for me.” The PiperSport has much lighter control forces than most other trainers—especially in pitch. But Mitchell said the control sensitivity isn’t startling or unpleasant, and light stick forces are just

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Competitively, Piper appeared to have beaten rivals Cessna and Cirrus to the punch in the LSA market with the PiperSport.
young people, and it was obvious this airplane would appeal to them. And it has.” Fleming bought a top-of-the-line model (retail price: $140,000) with a glasspanel cockpit, IFR instrumentation, and an airframe parachute. He took delivery in early 2010, and the airplane quickly became a magnet for the kinds of students he sought. At a rental rate of $99 an hour, the new airplane compared favorably to older trainers that required more maintenance and consumed more fuel. “I was busy right out of the gate,” he said, “and I actually had to stop advertising for new students because the airplane was booked all the time on the weekends. Demand has exceeded my expectations from the very beginning.” Even with adverse weather during his flight school’s first autumn and winter, the PiperSport logged more than 200 flight hours. And its engine and airframe have held up to the rigors of the flighttraining environment without protest. The only part he’s had to replace is a fastener on an oil door. “It’s held up fine,” Fleming said of the red-and-white airplane that appears new despite its frequent use. “Starting the Rotax engine is just like starting a
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one of the countless new factors that a new sport pilot must master in learning to fly. The glass panel took some time to learn, Mitchell said. But he also likes the precision and accuracy that the Dynon EFIS and Garmin GPS provide. “My favorite part is a little magenta triangle [on the EFIS] that shows my course corrected for wind,” he said. Mitchell passed the sport pilot flight test on his first attempt and said he feels much more comfortable taking passengers flying in a new and modern airplane than he would a decades-old airframe. “It’s really nice being able to take friends and family up in such a sleeklooking aircraft,” he said. “It gives them confidence when the blue-tinted bubble canopy goes down, the full glass panel lights up, and a soft, automated voice speaks to you through the headset. For a moment they forget I’ve only had a pilot’s license for three weeks.” Czeching it twice Piper said it backed out of the PiperSport program because of ongoing philosophical differences with managers of Czech Sport Aircraft, the production facility that builds the air-

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62 • MARCH

2011

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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2011

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