Light Sport Aircraft For Sale A New Breed Of Aircraft
The LSA is a classification of aircraft found only in the United States. The FAA defines a light sport aircraft as an aircraft with a maximum gross takeoff weight of less than 1320 pounds for aircraft designed to operate from land. For LSA seaplanes, the FAA sets the weight at 1,430 pounds. And they cannot exceed a maximum airspeed in level flight of 120 knots (222 km/h). The FAA has set a maximum stall speed of 45 knots (51 mph).
These LSA are limited to one or two seats. And so far the FAA has approved these LSA with only a fixed or ground adjustable propeller, a non-pressurized cabin, and a fixed landing gear.
Light sport aircraft can be manufactured and sold ready-to-fly under a new Special LSA FAA certification class. These ready-to-fly LSA must meet FAA regulations and all aviation manufacturers' consensus standards. These agreed to standards are reviewed and revised by a consensus group once a year. LSA under this certification may be used for sport and recreation, flight training, and for rental. Light sport aircraft include: Airplanes (Land or Sea), Gyrocopters, Airships, Balloons, Gliders, Powered Parachutes, plus the type referred to as Ultra Lights. Some "fat" Ultra Lights may be converted to light sport aircraft.
Kits for light sport aircraft for sale ads appear in almost every aviation magazine. These kit built LSA can be assembled and maintained by the registered owner if the owner attends a 16 hour LSA Inspection class. After this class you can do the FAA required annual inspections yourself. These kits are fairly easy to assemble if you have a mechanical aptitude and a variety of hand tools and sufficient place to work it is ideal and in-expensive. Ideally the workplace should be sited close to an airport.
The Airworthiness Certificate is good for the life of the light sport aircraft. LSA registrations are good until you sell your aircraft; the new owner must re-register the LSA using an FAA Form 8050-1 and is submitted with a bill of sale; Form 8050-2. This form must be mailed to the FAA in Oklahoma City. It cannot be faxed or emailed.
Randall Fishman has come up with a unique application to fit a niche in the light sport aircraft market. It is an electric drive one-seat aircraft. He recently demonstrated it at Sebring, Florida. His LSA was a Moni Motor glider that was converted from a 22 hp gasoline engine to an electric motor with direct drive to the propeller. It flies 90 minutes on one battery. With two batteries, the flight time is lengthened to about 2 1/2 hours. The time is not doubled due to the weight of the extra battery.
This new family of light sport planes and ultra lights are a wave of the future in sport aviation. Light sport aircraft for sale signs are proliferating at a rapid pace around General Aviation airports along with LSA kits for sale. You can also expect fast advancements in design technology with more air time for less weight
