Flight Time-Sling LSA Demo Flight

Today I drove up to New Smyrna Airport (KEVB) to see and possibly fly a Sling LSA. I came across the company that is renting it for instruction and time building while doing a Google search for time building in Florida. I've been in contact with the owners over the past several weeks. I was hesitant to go see it until the ink dried on the deal to sell the Cherokee. With the Cherokee sold, it is now time.

Sling LSA at KEVB

I contacted one owner this morning to let him know that I was thinking about driving up today. He got back to me saying that he was out of town, but his partner would be available after 2:00. I decided to go check it out and showed up at the airport at 2:30. Unfortunately, I didn't know where to find their business. It is not shown on Google Maps. I drove around to see if I could find it, but I had no luck. I parked and called the other owner. I was greeted by a message to leave my name and number, and she'd call back later. Then I texted the first owner and told him that I left a message. He said that he would text her. While I waited, I walked to the fence near the ramp. Out on the ramp, I saw a plane that looked a lot like the one on the web site. I verified the registration number and knew that I was getting close. I walked into the FBO to ask if anyone knew where to find Props Aviation. I was met with a bunch of confused looks from the four or five people inside. But then one person spoke up, "Oh, that would be me". And I said, "You must be Anna!" I gave her the rundown of my trying to make contact. She told me that her phone was in the back, and she hadn't looked at it all day. We both had a nice chuckle about it.

Anna grabbed the keys, and we walked out on the ramp. She removed the cover, and we stepped inside. The plane was exactly what I expected. It has the Garmin G3X primary flight display (PFD), a Garmin G5 secondary PFD, a Garmin GTN 650Xi GPS, and a Garmin autopilot. I mentioned that I would like to fly the plane, at least in the pattern, if she had time. She looked to the south and pointed out the massive dark cloud heading our way. She didn't want to get stuck in the air with no way to get back on the ground. For those who don't know, the FAA prohibits Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) airplanes from flying in the clouds. We decided to go back inside and see if the storm would pass quickly.

Thirty minutes later, the storm passed, and the flight was a go. I grabbed my flight bag, and we went back out on the ramp. Anna and I followed the checklists in great detail to preflight the plane. This plane has a fuel injected, water-cooled Rotax engine, so it is different from the "normal" airplane engines that I've flown before. And on the inside, everything is electric and there's redundancy built in. Everything needs to be checked with both the primary and the backup systems.

Soon the engine was running, and it was time to go fly. Before taxiing, I was told how the brakes are different from a "normal" airplane, too. There are no toe brakes. The brake lever is on the console beside the throttle lever. Also, there is no mixture level. The computer takes care of the mixture automatically.

After getting the ATIS information and requesting taxi for pattern work, I taxied out of the parking spot. The plane felt like driving a go-cart. The turn response was immediate and precise. Having the canopy open added to the effect.

Holding short of Runway 11, we did the run-up. Another difference with the Rotax engine is that it runs a lot faster than a "normal" airplane engine. The maximum RPM is 5800, whereas a "normal" airplane engine maxes out around 2600 RPM. I checked the magnetos and the backup systems, then we were ready to fly. Tower cleared us to take off and fly a left pattern. Anna flew the first pattern while I observed and listened.

Back on the ground, I taxied back to Runway 11. This time it would be all me - with plenty of guidance.  We were cleared for take-off, but this time we were told to fly a right pattern. As I slowly pushed the throttle forward, the plane quickly accelerated. We reached take-off speed before I was at full throttle. I pitched up for 80 knots and we climbed into the pattern. I had to be reminded to take out the first notch of flaps because I normally don't use flaps for take-off. I flew the pattern decently well, given the newness and the strong winds at the time.

After this landing, we exited the runway and stopped. The big question was, "What now?" We looked at the sky to the south, discussed our options, and decided to fly 10 minutes south, then come back and call it a day. Anna told Tower our plan and we were on our way again.

This time, I applied the throttle a bit more aggressively. I pulled back gently on the stick at 45 knots and off we flew. I flew out to the river, then followed it to the south while climbing to 2,000 feet. Now it was time to play with the electronics. We started with the autopilot. We set the altitude, then watched as the plane climbed and descended with the roll of a knob. Then we set it to heading mode, and steered left and right with a different knob. Finally, we entered a direct route back to KEVB and put the autopilot in navigation mode. Oh, what a joy to have those features. I'm not a big automation fan, but it is so nice to have it when things get busy, like when ATC starts giving you heading and altitude changes while you are trying to write down the information at your destination airport while briefing an approach.

Anna contacted Tower and we entered the left pattern for Runway 11. This approach was better, but I flared too much, and we ballooned before landing. I taxied back and parked the plane. We did the shutdown checklist and secured the plane for the day.

Now all I need to do is get checked out in the plane and see about finding a partner to share the cost with. :)

Flight Time: 1.2 hours
Total Time: 740 hours