Its almost a law in aircraft sales that for each level-light sport, piston singles, biz jets-the majority of buyers want the top of that class. LSAs are no different and every manufacturer we talked to over the years has found the same: deluxe models with all the trimmings outsell the budget offerings. Thats why we see $150,000 LSAs out there with Italian leather seats and cockpit avionics rivaling new airliners. No problem for a pilot who managed to sell his Bonanza and has the cash, but wasnt the whole point behind light sport the creation of options for inexpensive flying?
Really Light Sport
X-Airs General Manager, Matt Verdieck, feels thats where his companys LS model comes in. “Weve done everything we can to keep the aircraft fun and affordable.” Affordable is still a relative term, but a fly-away price of $59,995 for a new aircraft is about as cheap as one could hope for these days. That price gets you basic VFR instruments, a Dynon D-10 engine monitor, a panel-mount ICOM radio and a two-seat intercom. Optional brakes on the copilot side and an AirGizmos GPS dock in the panel will cost you $495 and $150, respectively. A GTX 327 transponder is another $2695, but wed probably look at an ADS-B compliant option instead. Thats it for the options list.
X-Air kept the price low by using its proven kit design. The fuselage is aluminum tubing covered with Dacron sailcloth. This makes for some unusual systems. The 15-gallon fuselage fuel tank is behind a zippered flap on the fuselage, and the baggage area is behind a similar zippered flap behind the seats. The cloth also has a tendency to wrinkle in places. This doesnt cause any problems, but its not the sweeping lines were used to on most new LSAs. The wings can fold for storage.
The interior surprised us with its comfort and ease of ingress and egress. Its 43 inches wide (thats one inch narrower than a Cessna 182) and the seats are quite comfortable. Four-point harnesses are standard. The panel is attractively molded and laid out, rather than utilitarian and the sticks, throttles, trim and flap controls are all finished in wood.
Systems are simple; both flaps and trim are manually actuated via overhead levers. Unlike some high-end LSAs weve flown, there was enough trim authority for hands-off flight at any cruising airspeed. We found the copilot throttle between the seats awkward to use in flight, however.
We think the LS hits it just right on the mix of digital and analog instruments: Simple instruments for airspeed and altitude, a spot for a portable GPS, and engine