Light sport step-downs
I enjoyed your report on stepping down in to the world of LSA models in the April 2025 issue of Aviation Consumer. While I’m not quite at the age of having to part with my piston twin, I am looking ahead at ways to keep flying in my golden years. You make solid points about the Van’s RV-12iS being a good alternative—and I like all the modern tech that’s built in because I have all of that capability in my IFR twin.
But what’s the point of all that stuff—IFR GPS, dual axis autopilot with approach coupling and synthetic vision—when the airplane doesn’t even have a heated pitot tube? I’m not saying I expect the plane to have the same go-anytime mission as my twin, but I would want the ability to punch through layers and shoot an approach when the field goes IFR.