Visitors to this year's Sebring Sport Aviation Expo held at Sebring Regional Airport in the U.S. had a grand entrance through the stunning airport Galleria flanked with aircraft parked directly in front of the entrance.
Pilots in search of the next best sport or light sport plane were spoiled for choice by the number of aircraft that were displayed and were available for demo flights. Attendees had time to take classes, listen to many new speakers such as Dr. Jocelyn Dunn, NASA Research Scientist; Scott Farnsworth, DASH Flight Team; Barrington Irving; the youngest person to pilot a plane around the world solo to name a few.
Besides providing the attendees with the opportunity to review and display light-sport aircraft, homebuilts, drones, rebuilt certificated aircraft, and ultralights visitors could also enjoy food at the food court, hear the Flying Musicians Association play on the airside patio or just hang out and people-watch.
One of the highlights of the four day event was the demonstration flight in the A-10 Thunderbolt, AKA "Warthog "on the Friday afternoon by Colonel Dale Stark, Commander of the USAF Avon Park Air Force Range. The A-10 Thunderbolt II outfitted with a seven-barrel Gatling gun the size of a Volkswagen Beetle in its nose has a reputation for tearing apart armoured tanks and clearing the way for troops on the ground with its massive 30-millimeter rounds of ammunition.
Amongst this year's exhibitors were………………
The SportStar RTC is an easy to fly aircraft with outstanding control harmonies, sensitive to the pilot´s commands at both high and low speeds and with uncompromising stability during flight. These characteristics make the SportStar RTC a favourite of both students and CFIs. The SportStar RTC design is based on the EASA JAR-VLA certified aircraft and reflects the latest development in design, safety and cockpit comfort found in modern light sport aircrafts. The useful load being the largest in its category and a flying range of up to 1 300 km make the SportStar RTC the perfect aircraft for tourism and travel.
The Aerotrek™ A220 and A240 are factory-built two-seat aircraft manufactured by Aeropro CZ in Europe. Aeropro has been producing aircraft since 1990 with now over 500 aircraft now flying around the world. The Aerotrek A220-A240 is modern designs with excellent performance and features, built with the finest workmanship and materials resulting in a completed aircraft of the highest quality.
Belite Aircraft's short take-off and landing airplane, the Chipper arrived sprouting a new pair of metal wings, as well as a few other updates. An experimental kit-built airplane, the Chipper can now be created with aluminium-skinned wings riveted at the leading edge and bonded to the wing ribs. The leading edge rivets are added with a technique that guarantees a clean wing and the metal wing offers less drag than the fabric wing. The metal wing is also available with the same wing-folding option as the fabric covered version.
The CGS Hawk, unlike most early ultralight designs, was not a converted hang glider. It was designed from the wheels up to be a proper little airplane. The engineering criteria used were that for conventional airplanes. The construction of the Hawk, utilizing anodized aluminium tubing and gussets held together with pop rivets, allows for easy repair even in the field if necessary. For example, a bent tube can be removed by drilling out the rivets with a battery powered drill and installing the new tube using rivets and a hand operated pop riveting tool. The Hawk features completely anodized tubing which stops corrosion and allows for long life airframes.
Titan Aircraft had its T-51D Mustang replica on display. The P-51D replica incorporates material and systems not commonly found in comparably priced aircraft. This combined with Titan Aircraft's renowned reputation for high quality products, superior aircraft performance, and outstanding customer support, will provide the kit builder and pilot a very pleasurable experience. This kit has a documented build time of 1,600 hours and includes all required materials, components, and fasteners, with the exception of the engine, propeller, and instruments. When equipped with the 245 hp Honda 3.5L V6 engine, a scale 4-blade constant speed propeller, and a full complement of necessary flight instruments, a finished T-51D could cost well under $100,000.
The Super Petrel LS is an amphibious biplane with flight qualities of a low wing, cruise speed of a regular upper wing, easy and safe flying. It has robust structure and corrosion resistance and simplicity of systems. The Super Petrel LS utilizes the Rotax engine model 912 iS with digital panel. In 2002, using much improved technology, building materials and production processes to include the ROTAX 912 engine, Scoda Aeronautica produced the first Super Petrel LS 100, serial number S0001. In 2008 the first Super Petrel LS was built. In 2014 after a team from the FAA visited the SCODA factory in Ipeuna Brazil, the aircraft received certification as an S-LSA.
Vans Aircraft showed amongst others its RV-14 the latest aircraft design from Van's Aircraft, Inc. The RV-14 continues and improves upon the legacy of the most successful side-by-side two-seat kit aircraft in history: Van's RV-6, RV-7, RV-9 and RV-12. Probably the first thing one notice is the airplane's stance: The RV-14 sits tall. The upright seating position and large bubble canopy provide superb visibility in all directions. The large cabin (as wide as many four-seat airplanes) is truly roomy. Lots of headroom, lots leg room, lots of room between the seats. Larger people love this airplane!
Following up on the success the past couple of years with Zenith hands-on workshops at the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in central Florida Zenith returned with tits extremely popular workshops at the 2019 event.
