A Four-Part Interview Series Looking At The People Of The LSA World (Part One)
One of the most enjoyable interactions we at ANN and Aero-TV undertake at the dozens of events we attend is the chance to talk NOT with the newsmakers... but to those that the news we report on affects most... YOU. At the 2011 Sebring Sport Aviation Expo, we spent extra time asking the attendees a series of five questions... both to gauge the kind of interest that LSA holds for th aviation community as well as the strength of that interest.
The home of the US Sport Aviation Expo, Sebring winds up being the bellwether of the sport aviation business as the first big flying event of the year -- especially for sport aviation (while Lakeland fades into the dust and Oshkosh becomes more of a 'Tradeshow' and less of a Fly-in). The slow growing LSA movement still shows signs that it may mature into a solid industry, providing a new entry-level option for those who want to become pilots and aircraft owners -- despite an economy that does little to promote either aircraft ownership and operation.
Still; a long-postulated shakeout of the industry, where there are simply still too many manufacturers barely keeping the doors open, has failed to come to pass (though signs are starting to indicate that it may finally be in the offing), and the industry continues to stumble in presenting a professional face to the public... especially in terms of marketing-- where ANN's simple research during the event showed the sale-ability of the products at Sebring to hampered by companies that apparently knew little about how to sell.
In the meantime, though, Cessna is now shipping SkyCatchers in appreciable quantities, a number of hearty and respected manufacturers have fine tuned their designs and some outstanding products and values ARE to be had in the LSA market... so while things ARE tough, there is still great hope that LSA might someday meet its promise.
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