Flight Design has been working on a follow-on aircraft to its successful CTLS series LSA and it’s called the F2-LSA. A clean-sheet design from the spinner to the tail, the new F2 is bigger, has near flawless handling and is packed with a long list of safety systems. Aviation Consumer Editor Larry Anglisano recently flew a preproduction version of the F2 with Tom Peghini and prepared this field report video. Read the full report in the October 2020 issue of Aviation Consumer.

Larry Anglisano
Larry Anglisano
Larry Anglisano is a regular AVweb contributor and the Editor in Chief of sister publication Aviation Consumer magazine. He's an active land, sea and glider pilot, and has over 30 years experience as an avionics tech.

8 COMMENTS

  1. Whatever happened to the $100,000 LSA for the average pilot? (That’s a joke, son.) There is a retired airline pilot on our field with a CTLS and he flies the snot out of it. But even he needs to have his wife still working.

    • Want one tomorrow? Buy a Vashon Ranger. And a hundred grand is a lot of money for something you don’t live in, but many airplanes have multiple owners, or belong to a club. Five guys owning a Ranger, with a ten year note … not bad.

      • Like living in a commune, it’s not for everyone. Co-owned until I didn’t have to. It was OK, but now instead of being one of multiple owners of an expensive plane, I own multiple cheap planes alone. One does have to learn to live within one’s means. But airplane manufacturers don’t want to hear that kind of talk.

        • I think they would do it if they could. I also think if they were honest on why they cannot, sales would slow even more.

  2. 8 to 10 hrs TRANSITION!!!
    Wholy crap – That maybe the time from “off the street” to solo, BUT transition?

  3. The biggest problem with all new airplanes is that their limited production of a hand made airframe does not allow any economy of scale. Add to that the high cost of liability insurance and the high expense of avionics and you have a perfect storm for an expensive toy. I wonder whatever happened to the Dynon and Garmin experimental equipment that was supposed to be “affordable”. When the STC’d versions came out they really don’e save much at all. It will be interesting to see what the cost of the future certified plane will be if the LSA version is pushing $200 grand. Yank out the 100 hp Rotax 912 ULS and drop in a 915 turbo engine and they might have something.

    Historically, private buyers of LSAs (not flight schools) have opted for the fully dressed out models rather than a bare bones setup at the minimum cost. I guess if you can afford $150 K for one, you can probably justify another $40-50 grand and get the decked out version.

  4. I am a private pilot with an instrument rating. I logged about 300 hours in the Cirrus SR20 and 22. My last flight was back in 2010. I was able to come back this year to aviation again but the costs of getting back into the Cirrus were a lot higher, between $300 to $400 an hour for the SR20 and SR22. I found a club at KTMB that had a 2016 Flight Design CTLSi, I was a little apprehensive at first since i’ve never flown an LSA before but the Chief pilot assured me I was going to like it specially if I flew the Cirrus. I was blown away by this little plane, it’s definitely a lot more responsive and you DO need the 10hr transition, landing this plane is not as easy as it seems, it takes time to get use to it. I keep flying it and recommend anyone that has a chance to try it it’s awesome!!! I think the club is going to have an F2 in the future, can’t wait.

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