Lisa Amphibian Production Back On Track

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Lisa Airplanes, based in France, will be back at EAA AirVenture later this month, the company said on Thursday, but their amphibious Akoya airplane will stay at home to continue flight testing. Lisa, which had entered receivership last year, recently got a $20 million funding boost from Chinese investors. The company said this week it is now able to finalize the airplane and will provide Oshkosh visitors with an overview of its innovations and capabilities. The Akoya is one of several amphibious sport planes that have been working their way to market, along with Icon’s A5 and Independent Aircraft’s SeaDragon.

LSA expert Dan Johnson recently reported there are close to two dozen different light seaplanes either in production or in development. Atol Aviation is working on an update of its 20-year-old seaplane, which won’t be ready to show at Oshkosh, but first flight is expected soon. The airplane will be available in both LSA and ultralight versions. Also in the works are the electric-powered Equator Excursion and the FlyWhale ultralight amphib, both in Europe. Johnson said there are at least three more new seaplane models in development that haven’t been officially announced yet. AVweb posted a video about the Akoya last year.

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