Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Cessna 150, 152 vs LSA

Looks like Cheyenne will have to be part of a deal for Mr.Ed, Bill!

Now, I know you wouldn't easily part with your doggy. So maybe instead of actually putting a crate back there, you could put up some sort of cargo netting to not allow access to the front seats?

I though LSA = 100HP max? How are you going to carry two adults, a dog, and luggage with 100HP?

This way, Mark:

USEFUL LOAD

Cessna 150: 540 pounds
|Highlander/Just Aircraft..... 705 pounds
|Lambada/Urban Air..... 628 pounds
|CTSW/Flight Design..... 649 pounds
|Remos GX/Remos..... 670 pounds
|J170-SP/Jabiru..... 680 pounds
|P92 Eaglet/Tecnam..... 730 pounds
|Virus SW/Pipistrel..... 636 pounds
|CTLS/Flight Design..... 770 pounds
|J250-SP/Jabiru ..... 780 pounds
|J230-SP/Jabiru ..... 800 pounds
|P-1/Paradise..... 815 pounds

I do not believe there is a horsepower maximum. Though most of these are 100HP or less.


Bill
Grants Pass, Oregon

It is 100 continuous HP. Cubcrafters has a light sport with a 180HP engine on front that is limited to 5 minutes of continuous max power. Then the pilot is supposed to pull the throttle back to a value that meets the HP limitation for light sport.

Jim

Where did you find your information on horsepower limitation [sportpilot.org] for Light Sport Aircraft, Jim? Maybe this isn't current data?

Bill
Grants Pass, Oregon

??? I must admit, I'm out of my league here. The above sounds like a way to get around the FAA-imposed arbitrary "limit" of LSA. It amazes me that a C-150, or even a 150HP C150, can't "qualify" to be an LSA, but somehow an airplane with an 180HP engine does "qualify." This all goes over my head.

With an ELSA, you can, with successful completion of a weekend course, do your own condition inspections. There is no 51% rule with ELSA in order to do condition inspections. Anyone can do maintenance and modifications to an EAB or ELSA. With an EAB, you may/will be required to prove you built the aircraft in order to qualify for a repairman's certificate for that aircraft only, but no course is required.If you don't hold the repairman's certificate, an A&P, or the previous holder(builder) of the repairman's certificate signs off the condition inspection, it can not be signed of by an IA. I realize IA's are also A&Ps, but it is signed of as an A&P. FSDO stressed this heavily in an IA renewal I attended this past week.
Terry
One further note a SLSA(factory built) aircraft HAS to be maintained IAW the manufacturers instructions. The manufacturer tells you exactly who and what tasks can/will be done. Failure to follow this theoretically revokes the Airworthiness Certificate. Any modifications or repairs outside of the documentation MUST be approved by the manufacturer, there are no FAA form 337s for SLSAs.

Most LSA's have empty weights MUCH lighter than a 150, usually at most 750 lbs or less from my limited looking. Plus, gross for an LSA is only 1320 lbs, so those same 100 HP aren't having to lift nearly as much.

Jacob

Nope. No horsepower limitation to LSAs, only max performance limitations:

A maximum of two occupants
A maximum take off weight of 1,320 pounds (seaplanes 1,430 lbs)
A 45-knot clean stall speed
A 120-knot top speed at maximum continuous power
A single, non-turbine engine
Fixed landing gear (though amphibious floatplanes can have "repositionable" gear)
Unpressurized cabin

That's basically it. If you can design a plane that meets those specifications, then you have an LSA.

And with some aircraft you have a choice how you want to register it. For example, the Sky Raider Frontier [skyraiderllc.com] can be registered as either LSA or Standard. The only difference being the numbers given for MGW on a piece of paper.

Bill
Grants Pass, Oregon