Sport Pilots, New LSAs Coming To Oshkosh

At least a few new LSA models will be on display at EAA AirVenture in late July. The Nexaer may be flying by then, Johnson said. Also, the Ion aircraft will be there, Steve Schultz, of Minnesota, told AVweb on Tuesday. “We’ve had the engine on and off the plane a few times — we should be doing the (hopefully) final install up in Arlington [Wash.] in a few weeks. We’ll be at Oshkosh with the plane whether it’s flying or not. It would just be a lot easier to fly it there instead of pulling it cross country.” The Ion is a sleek little two-seat composite twin-boom pusher designed to LSA specs. Its two-level tandem seating arrangement gives an unobstructed view to both pilot and passenger. Schultz developed the design on computers, and for the last year has been sleeping on floors in Oregon, working to finish up the actual prototype. “We expected to fly about … three months ago, so anytime in the next few months will be really, really good,” he said. The Ion will be available in several forms, according to the company’s plan: The Ion 100 is a kit aircraft designed to be LSA-compliant. The Ion 105 is a non-LSA variant of the 100, with better cruise performance. The 105 version is meant for the U.S. Experimental category. The Ion 110 is an export version, intended to comply with European rules. All versions feature removable wings for trailer storage and two sets of interchangeable wings to meet differing performance requirements. And all three are suitable for “training, sightseeing, cross-country cruising, making your neighbors weep with jealousy, and generally having fun,” according to Ion’s Web site.