SkyCraft Airplanes has started production of its new SD-1 single-seat Minisport and expects to receive American Society for Testing and Materials approval for the special light sport arcraft (S-LSA) in September.
The Urem, Utah-based company is already accepting deposits for 2014 production aircraft, says SkyCraft's director of marketing Paul Glavin. One potential challenge for the aircraft is that it is a single-seat machine. Type checks will have to be done on computer-based simulation software, which the company has developed, says SkyCraft's director of engineering, Marshall Peterson,. But it is very easy to fly, he points out.
SkyCraft set out to develop an aircraft with the lowest possible operating costs, says Braxton Excell, the company's director of aircraft compliance. The airm is to provide a cost-effective aircraft for those pilots hoping to eventually move on to larger fixed wing aircraft. The SD-1 boasts a cruise speed of 190km/h, a 63km stall speed. Priced at $54,850, the aircraft operational costs including fuel, oil and maintenance is set at $12 an hour.
Source: Flight International
