First Flight in Light Sport Aircraft

Today I took my first flight in a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). An LSA is like any other plane in most regards, but there are a few important limitations:

• Maximum gross takeoff weight of 1320 pounds
• Maximum airspeed of 120 knots
• Maximum stall speed of 45 knots
• Either one or two seats
• Fixed gear
• Fixed pitch propeller
• Single engine

The flight was in a Gobosh 700s, which is made in Poland. My friend Jeremy invited me to fly with him. He is a long-time private pilot just getting back into aviation after a long break. He asked me along as a second set of eyes. It's always nice to have another pilot in the plane. Here's a picture of the plane.

The flight started and ended in Fort Pierce - a few miles south of Vero Beach. The first odd thing I noticed was the gas. This plane can use automobile gas or aviation fuel. We added an additional 4 gallons of high-octane automobile gas and pushed it out of the hangar. With the small Rotax engine, it only burns 4 gallons per hour, so we had over three hours of fuel on board.

The next odd thing was the castoring nose wheel. "Normal" airplanes have steerable nosewheels. To turn this plane, the pilot has to ride the brakes; something I've been taught NOT to do since day one. On the runway, I was surprised at how abruptly it turned left when power was added - so much so that rudder control was not enough to correct it. Jeremy had to apply a bit of right brake to straighten it out. The takeoff roll was very short and we were airborne in well less than 1000 feet.

We flew south down to Witham Field (KSUA) in Stuart. I didn't realize it was Stuart until I saw the name on a hangar. We were down there last November for an air show. I saw the golf course where we parked while on departure. I noticed another odd thing on descent - the Gobosh does not have a mixture control. The GUMP check is pretty easy, too. "Gas" is all there is to do - fuel pump on. There is no Undercarriage, Mixture, or Prop settings to deal with. Here's some birds that caught our attention on downwind.

Then we flew east to Okeechobee. Along the way, Jeremy asked me to take the controls so he could get a drink of water. Without thinking about what he was doing, I started banking and pitching the plane to get a feel for the maneuverability. I think I may have caused him to dump half his water on his shirt. Oops. When we got to the airport, it was pretty busy, so we flew over at 2,500 feet, then turned back to the northeast towards Fort Pierce.

What a fun flight; especially after my last grueling flight. Sometime in the future, I'd like to get checked out in a few LSAs and start teaching in them. There are a lot of fun, easy to fly, and much more affordable than a "normal" airplane.

UPDATE: Jeremy reminded me of something we heard on the radio. A guy, with a strangely British accent, called in on the Fort Pierce ground control frequency from 12,500 feet and asked for flight following to Orlando. I think the Florida heat affects everyone in the cockpit.