Phoenix Air USA

http://phoenixairusa.blogspot.com/

2010-07-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

The Phoenix blog has moved to a new address too!
Check out http://phoenixairusa.blogspot.com/ for the new blog, with news of the Phoenix, or go to the website at www.phoenixairusa.com

Thanks for visiting!

www.phoenixairusa.com

2010-06-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Visit www.phoenixairusa.com for more photos and news of the Phoenix motorglider.

Short Span Phoenix

2010-06-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

With the short wingtips, the Phoenix span is 36 feet. It takes about one minute to change from the 15 meter (49 feet) span to the 36 foot span.

The wings retain the full span flaperons with the short span, meaning there are full span control surfaces to control bank. So the roll rate is very fast.

Front view with the long tips laid out in front of the Phoenix.

The Phoenix with the short tips will outperform every single LSA airplane in every regard!

First USA Phoenix to Arrive in July

2010-03-05T08:49:00.000-08:00

Our first Phoenix is due to arrive in Melbourne the last week of July. We are very excited to have it almost ready. The 100hp Rotax 921ULS is being installed, along with the instruments. Current delivery times are about 10 weeks from the order being placed. Due to the amount of interest, we anticipate several orders in the weeks ahead. Don't delay, or you may miss the summer soaring season!

Positive G wing load test. All of the controls must operate normally in this condition!

Phoenix Youtube video link

2010-01-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AZHtdWKHFM

2010-01-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the youtube video of the Phoenix in flight at the link in the title above!

Phoenix Motorglider

2009-12-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

Phoenix in flight photos

2009-12-10T16:46:00.000-08:00

Phoenix Flight Report

2009-10-14T17:51:00.001-07:00

Josef Bostik and Jim Lee flew the big metal tube over to the Czech Republic to flight test the new Phoenix motorglider. We had visited the new factory in Usti nad Orlici earlier in the year to see the first prototype under construction, so we had already taken a close look at the construction of the aircraft. The prototype is mostly fiberglass construction for cost effectiveness. The production aircraft are carbon/aramid, with carbon being the predominant material, and aramid added to the cockpit area for crash protection. Here are Jim’s impressions:
Compared to the Lambada when viewed from the outside, four things are readily apparent. The fuselage is very streamlined, the canopy hinges at the front, the wings have a new shape, they are mounted low on the fuselage and there are full span flaperons. The low wing means that you step up onto the wing from the rear and then have an easy step down into the cockpit. The cockpit tapers back on the aft fuselage much further, so there isn’t the long skinny tailboom like on the Lambada. Also, the Phoenix uses two levers for the spoilers and flaps so that they can be used independently. The wing extensions are twice as long as the Lambada’s, hence the no wingtip span is around 36 feet.
Josef won the coin toss, and got to fly first. I got to take pictures as Josef and Martin taxied through the tall grass. This is one beautiful aircraft!

After they took off, and departed the area I looked at all of the unusual (to me) Czech and Russian built aircraft at the field. Amphibs, biplanes, gliders, motorgliders, towplanes and experimentals were all over the place. There were plenty of Sambas and Lambadas around too, including a tricycle Lambada. Every instrument panel on the field was rather spartan, without a single glass panel in any of them. (Am I a spoiled pilot or what?).
I headed for the end of the runway when I saw the Phoenix returning. There was a Lambda landing just ahead of the Phoenix, and I noticed a huge difference in wind noise between the two aircraft. The Phoenix has a light whistle to it much like a pure glider. It was a lot of fun watching the various angles of the Phoenix in the pattern, and I kept thinking, this is an awesome looking plane! After watching some boring landings it was my turn to hop in.
The first things you notice inside are the plush, black leather appointments, much like a luxury automobile. There are map pockets on the sides, and a large glove box on the panel. A stretched cockpit provides more leg and headroom than in the Lambada. For me, at six-one, it was nice to have a little more legroom. The center console which houses the flap, airbrake, and trim levers is very ergonomic, allowing easy access to these controls from both seats, and will allow an instructor to correct airbrake settings on final approach without excessive arm motions. These controls are far enough forward that the arm and elbow area is padded and comfortable. Just forward of the console on the floor is the tow release lever. The throttle, choke, and switches are positioned normally on the panel.
Starting the 100hp Rotax is straightforward. Throttle at idle, half choke if the engine is cold, no choke if the engine is warm. The Rotax cranks up immediately, as usual. With the forward hinged canopy, there are no worries about starting and taxiing with it open.
After securing the canopy, we advanced the throttle to full, and executed a no flap takeoff on the beautiful grass runway. We were off the ground in about 500 feet, even though the runway needed to be mowed, and climbed at 110kph, achieving 5m/s with two of us and half fuel. We climbed about 1000 meters, and then leveled off for cruise flight. 4700rpm resulted in a speed of 185kph. Slowing to 100kph, a few dutch rolls confirmed a roll authority slightly better than the aileron only Lambada. We shut down the engine and feathered the prop and using 0 degrees of flap we climbed at 2m/s. During the climb we intentionally slowed to the stall buffet (which is a little more pronounced than in the Lambada), and still had good aileron authority.
We headed for the next cloud about 4 miles away. Cruising at 95kph, the sink rate on the vario showed around 1m/s. When we hit the thermal, we again did not use the flaps initially, since I wanted to compare the flight characteristics with the Lambada. About the only change is the view out of the cockpit, with the low wing, and the out-of-sight cowling. Dropping the flaps 1 notch allowed us to slow the plane about 3-5kph with the same bank angle. The climb rate increased as is to be expected, and the roll authority remained good. There are two positive flap positions on the prototype, but this will be changed as explained later.
With the engine running again, we performed a full stall series with flaps up and down, and spoilers up and down, wings level and during turns, which all resulted in stable mushing stalls with no tendancies to spin, just like the Lambada.
Back into the pattern with a bunch of other aircraft, including a tow plane busy hauling gliders aloft, we entered downwind, and flew the approach without flaps. The spoilers rise higher out of the wing than the Lambada, and are more effective. Except for the different sight picture out of the cockpit, the landing went as expected. Full spoilers just before ground effect, and then just keep the plane flying until it touches down on three wheels. Full power, and we were off again in short order. The second landing was with full flaps (position 2 – about 20 degrees). The approach angle was a little steeper, but not much. But the flare angle of attack had a lower nose angle, meaning the mains touched first, then the tailwheel and I bounced it. Adding power, (I could almost hear Josef laughing), we went around for another go with flaps. Same result. OK, forget the flaps, in we came, and another nice 3 point landing. Conclusion; the Phoenix lands just like the Lambada without flaps, you could even call it autoland. Just pull back in the flare, and it lands three point. No special timing is required. But with flaps, the flare angle of attack is not a three point position, so it takes some special timing to pull it off. The second flap position isn’t really good for anything. A full spoiler approach with a slip is going to result in a higher sink rate than the flaps would produce. But one notch of flap is good for thermalling, and negative flap increases glide speed, so the final flap configuration will have this arrangement.
It was a warm day, and the canopy did not have opening side windows, so it got too hot in the cockpit. The vents will be reworked, and the canopy will have sliding windows as well, so that should help.

Much attention has been devoted to drag reduction. The cowling transitions into the canopy without an angle change. The lower bib cowling is also clean around the engine. The gear legs are flush with the bottom of the fuselage, and the legs themselves are cleaner, and stronger than the Lambada’s.

The wheelpants look extremely well designed, and since you don’t stand on the gear leg to get in, the pants should stay unblemished too. As mentioned, the aft cockpit area fairs back into the fuselage with a nice long recovery area, further reducing drag.

There were a lot of things to like about this new aircraft, and the only things we didn’t like (flap angle and air vents) will be changed for the production aircraft. The first production Phoenix is out of the molds, and when a composite junky like me sees all of that beautiful black carbon cloth everywhere, it makes my head swim (no it wasn’t the debrief Pilsners). The second production plane is being laminated in the molds, so epoxy is flying in the Phoenix shop.

The Lambada has always made a big impression among the crowds at airshows amidst the look-alike LSA’s (except for the Evektor SportStar, of course). But wait till the gang sees the new Phoenix; it is guaranteed to blow their minds! I know, it did that to me.

Reno Back to Florida in a Lambada

2009-09-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Bob and I shared some airtime as he grew familiar with the Samba. There was generally a lot of wind, but the last day dawned clear and calm, perfect for polishing landings at Minden.

During the windy days, lenticulars were evident everyday. John Dunham and I have taken a Lambada from 9000msl to 15000msl in the Tahoe Wave (engine off, of course).

This is Steve Lance's primo hangar, my home away from home while in Carson City. The apartment is in the loft above his beautiful Tahoe Special.

Many of the hangars in Carson are stuffed with toys!

Then it was time to fly home to Florida in Lambada N109UA. Bob flew with me as I departed, and we had a little photo session.

After Bob bid me farewell, he wanged it back to Carson, leaving me to negotiate the desert, mountains, and fantastic terrain of Nevada.

Looking past Pilot Peak towards Boundary Peak, the northern mountain of the Owens Valley.

Passing Durango Colorado, this marvelous sight greeted me.

Another shining Lambada wing against the clouds photo.

I landed in Jonesboro, LA to stretch my legs, and revisit my home airport where I soloed in a Cessna 150 40 years ago.

Then it was on to Panama City Florida to spend the night with my parents, before making the final 3 hour leg to Melbourne.

Another fantastic distance flight in the Lambada. Now for some soaring!

Samba flight to Reno

2009-09-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

OK, you are probably wondering about a post of an airplane on a motorglider blogsite. (Actually some folks call the Samba a motorglider). And how about that Phoenix flight report? There are connections here. We are delivering the new Samba to Carson City, just south of Reno, and then picking up a Lambada to bring "home to the nest" in Melbourne, Florida. You can see Bob Johnson above, standing next to his new plane after the ferry flight across the country.

Urban Air Samba XXL and Lambada share the sky over Florida.

Approaching Moab, Utah for a stop at the Canyonlands airport for fuel. Last stop was Liberal, Kansas.

The Samba performed flawlessly across the country. Typical economy cruise settings yielded 110kts. The Samba is as fast as the LSA regs allow!

After some flying with Bob in the Carson/Minden area, it was time to head back to Florida in the Lambada.

Phoenix Motorglider Photos

2009-09-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

This side profile shows the outstanding fuselage aerodynamics. Click on any photo to enlarge. View from seated position only as ensuing encreased pulse rate may cause light-headedness!

Josef Bostik holds the wing extension. Note that it is twice the length of the Lambada extension. The Phoenix will fit easily into any hangar without the extensions in place.

It takes about 30 seconds to secure the wingtip in place.

Forward view of cockpit and panel.

Rear view of cockpit. Note the plush interior, and the center controls. There are individual levers for flaps, spoilers, and trim.
Our next posting will feature a flight report- stay tuned!

www.phoenixairusa.com

2009-08-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

Check out the new Phoenix Motorglider!
The Phoenix is an all new plane manufactured by a new Czech company. You could call it a "souped up Lambada". It is a two seat, 15 meter span aircraft which will be certified as an S-LSA.
The Phoenix has a very aerodynamic fuselage which results in a 35/1 glide ratio.

The cockpit features more legroom and more headroom than the Lambada.

Steve Silverman picks up his new plane.

2009-03-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Steve's company makes the Sky Tracker which Jim flew with across the Gulf of Mexico. Steve is an accomplished glider pilot, and also owns a TBM.

Steve prepares to leave Melbourne for his quick flight home to Baltimore.

Leaving just after dawn.

Happy soaring Steve!

Valkaria, FL Airshow, Feb 21

2009-03-23T18:43:00.000-07:00

Rachel talks about the Lambada to a rapt audience.

Our Lambada and Evektor SportStar parked in the grass.

Barry (on the far side of the plane) talks to customers.

Airshow performer over the Lambada. After the show Rachel and Jim headed to Sebastian Airport for some landings. Rachel did another unassisted landing! She has about 12 hours logged.

Lambada delivery to New Jersey on Feb 6

2009-03-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Leaving Melbourne behind soon after sunrise.

St. Augustine

The Lambada cruises right along!

Crossing the Delaware. Not a big deal after the Gulf crossing, but still a lot of water down there!

Sky Manor airport, new home for a new Lambada. Have fun Peter!

Bostik Industies adds Evektor SportStar to Lineup

2009-03-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

Josef Bostik of Bostik Industries has added the Evektor SportStar to our line of aircraft. We are very excited to offer the best trainer in the LSA market. The SportStar SL Max IFR is a fully ifr capable sport aircraft which is going to revolutionize the flight school environment.

SportStars, Lambadas, and Samba aircraft fill our hangar. Good thing we are sending several aircraft off with their new owners so there will be room for new arriving aircraft.

New SportStar owner Paul Hissey on the left, joins the Bostik Industries team. Left to right, Paul Hissey, Barry Pruitt, Jim Lee, Josef Bostik, Georgia Bostik, and John Sepulveda.

Paul's new plane sits in front of our hangar, prior to departure for LA.

La Ceiba to San Jose, Costa Rica Jan 11

2009-02-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

The fuel stop in La Ceiba forced a vertical climb to 10,000' in order to clear the mountains, and go on course. Then it was on up to 11,000', my assigned altitude from the center controller (Toncontin). It would have been expiditios to do a slow climb from Roatan, and be at cruising altitude before getting to La Ceiba. C'est la vie.

This section of the flight was over dense clouds, but there were large holes over the valleys, displaying plenty of emergency fields to land in. Once again I was comfortable, flying so high and having many options in case of engine problems.

You can see that Honduras is very mountainous, but landing areas abound (for an aircraft that weighs 700lbs, lands at 40kts, and only needs 400 feet).

Back over a fairly solid cloud deck.

Another great feature of the Lambada is the ability to descend at slow speed with the spoilers out, giving a steep descent angle. We can descend through small holes that a faster aircraft is not able to negotiate.

There were 3 airfields shown on the map in this area. Many of the fields have the notation "Not Useable" which pertains to the drug war and the bulldozing of airstrips by the government in a failed attempt to halt drug trafficing. All it halted was the elimination of general aviation.

The large city of Tegucigalpa.

You can see the yellow highlighted route. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Pacific Ocean! This is my second coast to coast flight in a Lambada.

Soon after entering Nicaraguan airspace, the smoking volcano named San Cristobal loomed off my starboard wing 10 miles off the designated airway. I called Managua Center and requested permission to take a closer look and take some pictures, and he said "sure". (Well, that's not the exact wording). So I descended to 8,000' to take a good look.

This has to be the most awesome volcano I have ever flown over.

Nicaragua is full of volcanos.

Crossing Lago de Managua

And then across Lago de Nicaragua

I love taking these sparkling wing photos.

After crossing into Costa Rica, the landscape changed abruptly from brown and mountainous to green rolling hills with lower, more rounded mountains.

Approaching San Jose, Costa Rica.

La Ceiba to San Jose took 4.5hrs to cross 450nm of the most varied, awesome terrain I have ever crossed in one flight. The whole trip was one to treasure always, and I am grateful to new owner David Stewart for letting me bring his Lambada to him. He is sure to have many adventures in his beautiful country in the Lambada.

The entire trip from Melbourne to San Jose took 13.7hrs and covered 1387nm. The Lambada burned a total of 52 gallons of 93octane unleaded automotive fuel (mogas) and 100LL.

An around the world flight looks more possible all the time. After all, it is only 20 of these flights strung together!

Roatan to La Ceiba, Honduras on Jan 11

2009-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

The next morning, Jay and I left at dawn for a short dinghy ride in light rain. Thankfully, the only rain of the trip. It was a small cell, and the weather outlook was good. I took a taxi to the airport, and went through another hour of paperwork. Even though Roatan is an international airport, there was no fuel! So that necessitated a short hop to the mainland to La Ceiba, 43nm away, for fuel. I didn't want to fly 500nm without a good plan to land for fuel, and didn't want to pay more landing fees and go through hours of paperwork.

Leaving Roatan, we buzzed Jupiter's Smile, in the middle of the photo. Note the brown colored reef just off the stern.

Arriving in La Ceiba brought out the usual onlookers. They had fuel here.

Honduras is a very mountainous country, and this shot is taken looking directly on the courseline yet to follow.

Circling in lift, climbing up to departure height of 10,000' before crossing the mountains.

There are mountains hiding in those clouds!

Jupiter's Smile

2009-02-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

Cruising friends Barb and Jay Matheson on their 37' Island Packet, Jupiter's Smile, needed a new battery charger before they could leave Roatan, and head south. Since Roatan was sort of on the way, I offered to bring it down to them, which they readily accepted. Then other friends wanted parts too, and we just managed to get it all into the Lambada. So after landing and clearing into Honduras, we took a taxi to their boat. Jay and I snorkled for an hour on a fantastic reef right off the back of their boat. We didn't even need the dinghy.

Barb (left) and friend relax in the cockpit of Jupiter's Smile.

Jay (foreground) and Bryan look over the new boat parts.

Perfect anchorage at West End, Roatan

After snorkeling and beers, we headed to "town" for dinner. It was a perfect moonlit night, and we could see the bottom 10' under the dinghy. We stopped at Bryan's boat for afterdinner drinks, then back to Jupiter's Smile. I slept like soundly on the gently rocking boat.

Cozumel to Roatan, Honduras

2009-02-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

Leaving Cozumel

Flying down the Mexican and Belize coastlines, I didn't need to be so high in order to glide to land should the engine act up. Once again we were blessed with light winds, producing a good groundspeed. As usual, the flight followed an airway, with center control all the way. So the 21.9nm distance to waypoint is to the next airway intersection.

This is an airstrip off of Northern Cay, off the coast of Belize. I couldn't land here (unless it was an emergency) even though it looked inviting, because it wasn't on the flight plan and it isn't an international airport with customs to clear me into the country. But man, what an awesome place this would be to sail to! Shortly after crossing this island, center gave me permission to fly direct to Roatan. That shaved off a few miles, but it also put me directly into the wind, and the ground speed dropped to 95kts.

Approaching the northern coast of Roatan.

Flying over the southern coast of Roatan.

I had my marine radio out, and called my friend Jay on his boat Jupiter's Smile. I wanted to buzz him on the way in. But he had been following the flight on the Sky Tracker, and knew where I was. He and Barb and friends were at the airport waiting for me.

Leg distance: 290nm Flight time: 3hrs

Rest stop in Cozumel

2009-02-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

This is the courtyard of the motel.
It would have been possible to make the next leg as well, except for the time it took to do the paperwork (almost as long as the flight) which was built into the plan. So after a short taxi ride to the motel, it was time to take in the town.

Some rather large boats dock here.

OK, here I am. Proof that I was actually on this flight, and not making it up like they did with the moon landings.

Scuba diving sculpture

Fellow divers heading out. The man in the street only wanted $20 (after a bit of bargaining) to fill his last seat in the boat. I had just finished a large meal of enchiladas, so a weight belt wasn't needed. The diving was just ok, but to be in Cozumel after a great flight, and looking forward to the next day, I certainly wasn't complaining.

Key West to Cozumel

2009-02-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

January 8. Leaving Key West, with the Tortugas off my right wing. We had a 15kt tailwind, so delayed climbing high into less favorable winds. There were plenty of boats around, and the plane was running smooth. The countries I would be landing in or flying over were given their 72 hour notice, with explicit flight plans. Miami Center told me I could take the shortcut right over the western tip of Cuba.

But an hour later I was handed off to Havana Center, and she told me to turn to a heading of 270 degrees and stay on that course for the next 100 miles. So much for the shortcut. I have heard that some people drop leaflets which drift over the country. One such plane was shot down. So I obeyed Havana Center.

10,500', 96kts indicated, with a ground speed of 114kts. Life is good! We are approaching the intersection 55nm ahead which Havana Center told me to fly to in order to avoid the "inner" Cuban airspace. The outer Cuban airspace goes half way to Houston, and apparently does not pose a problem. Boats were frequent, and I had a 406mhz EPIRB (the boater version of an ELT), life jacket, marine radio, and a 30 to 1 glide ratio. The distance from the west tip of Cuba to Cancun is 100 miles. At the half way point, I would be at the furthest distance from land, or 50 miles. I transited that stretch at 12,500', and therefore could glide 60 miles. So I was very comfortable making this journey.

Closing in on Cancun, the clouds started to tower, but as you can see, it was no problem to steer around them.

Crossing the coast into Cozumel (MMCZ). 3.5 hrs, 382nm. Cleared customs, immigration, El Commandante del Aeropuerto, flight service to close the flight plan, fuel (cash only), immigration (he forgot to stamp one document), flight service again for some unknown reason, and then I was free to leave the airport. Got a motel room a block from the water, and then lucked into a cheap seat in a snorkle boat, and snorkled for 2 hours. What a great way to loosen up! Even got to go face to face with a rather large moray eel. All in all, a day to remember.

Distance Correction

2009-01-15T09:09:00.001-08:00

Blog follower, and Lambada owner, R.J. wrote to tell me my distance and flight time didn't make sense unless the flight involved a large detour. After checking, he was right. This leg distance was 223nm, and the flight time was 2.3 hours. Average speed was 97kts. The winds were 15-20kts, crossing from the northwest.
Thanks for straightening this out, R.J.!
Here are some more pics:

Life jacket co-pilot

Approaching Key West

Okeechobee canal in Florida from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Boats must have a mast height less than 55 feet to transit this canal.

Costa Rica Trip - Leg 1 - Melbourne to Key West

2009-01-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

Key West

Lambada ready to be loaded with gear

Jim is back in Melbourne after a perfect trip to San Jose, Costa Rica. The plane flew without a problem. The weather could not have been better. The sights were fantastic. The Sky Connect Mini-Tracker worked great, and allowed people to follow the track in real time.

Leg one from Melbourne to Key West involved a straight line flight, crossing 80 miles of the Gulf of Mexico.

Total miles: 450nm. Total flight time: 4.5 hours. Average speed: 100kts

More photos and reports will follow as time allows.

Leave Tomorrow for Costa Rica in N26UA

2009-01-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Big trip for tomorrow! Flying a customer's (David) plane to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Melbourne (MLB) to Key West (EYW) Jan 8 250nm
Key West (EYW) to Cozumel (CZM) via G765 Jan 9 430nm
Cozumel to Roatan (RTB) via G521 to Kirap then R899 Jan 10 345nm
Roatan to La Ceiba (MHLC) via R645 Jan 11
La Ceiba to Toncontin (MHTG) via A754 Jan 11
Toncontin to Managua (MNMG) via A502 Jan 11
Managua to Juan SantaMaria (MROC) Jan 11 RTB-MROC=550nm- nonstop 1575nm total Go Rotax!
Fly home Jan 12 on the boring airlines.
A friend has loaned me an Iridium tracker which tracks the flight in real time. To go to the site and see where we are go to:

http://www.skyconnecttracker.us:8080/minitracker/index.php

I'll file a report here with photos when I return on Jan 12.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T06:30:00.000-08:00

Santa wanted a Lambada with the extended baggage tube (7' 10" long) to handle all of the presents. He also wanted to simplify his flying, trading the multi-engine problems for the reliability of the Rotax 912.

Click on any photo to view it full screen. Use one for the background of your computer, send to a friend, or print a copy.

Happy holidays from Josef and Georgia!

Urban Air Samba

2008-12-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

The Samba has the same wing as the Lambada, with about 4 feet removed from the root section. In other words, it is the outer wing section of the Lambada. That means the Samba has very nice flying characteristics too. The slotted fowler flaps really bring it down at a steep angle when fully deployed, while maintaining good airflow attachment. This plane is strong and fast!

Customer test flight

2008-12-20T07:24:00.000-08:00

Joe and Jim flew Peter's new plane to Merritt Island to get the headset jack worked on. Urban Air engineer Martin Stepanek flew alongside to take this photo. Martin shot over 400 photos with his Canon SLR with 10megapixel resolution, during this 1 hour out and return. You'll be seeing more of his shots in the days to come. He flew with Barry Pruitt in Barry's Evektor Sport Star LSA. The headset jack was fixed in no time, so we headed back to MLB just before sunset.

Second Trip to Mexico

2008-11-18T08:06:00.000-08:00

Things are hopping at the Urban Air hangar. Planes are coming in, planes are in the avionics shop getting new instruments, and we are getting ready to certify 3 new aircraft.

Jim headed back to Mexico to fly with Jorge to Valle de Bravo. They met with a new customer and had more great flying. Here is a photo of an interesting volcano between Valle and Chapala. The trip was 235nm which was covered in 2 hours. It is a 7 and a half hour drive. Flying is the only way to get around in Mexico!

This is the paved strip ouside of Valle de Bravo. It is privately owned with a few hangars and an 1800' runway. The elevation is about 7000'msl, but the Lambada has no trouble operating at high altitude.

Soaring around the clouds above Valle de Bravo.

Jaime liked what he saw, and will be purchasing a Lambada.

Winter Soaring Season Begins

2008-11-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

The temps are finally dropping, the air is drying out, and cloudbases are rising. We have had several great soaring flights lately. Joe and Jim spent over 2 hours racing each other over a 50 mile triangle course on one flight. Flying the Lambada is great fun, but flying two is twice the fun!

We spotted GW Meadows on Serenity, his Irwin 37, headed for the Keys.

FIT Airshow

2008-10-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

Finally, an airshow in our own backyard! Florida Institute of Technology hosted Aviation Day across the airport from us. We took the new Samba XXL, and our trusty Lambada. Many interested pilots talked with us about our planes, and several will be back to see us and take a ride.
There was a lot of interest in our Lambada Group. This is a new partnership in our 80hp Lambada demo which currently has 200 hours on it. There are 5 positions available for $25,000 each. We will keep it in our hangar, and take care of it for the owners. It has the full bore glass panel.

Urban Air USA planes and tent.

Here is a nice shot of the new Samba. Pretty good looking plane, eh?

We had a nice 2 hour soaring flight today. Climb rates were 300-500fpm and base was 5000'.

Typical day at Urban Air (if there is such a thing)

2008-10-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Joe dropped Jim off at Merritt island to pick up another Lambada which had an instrument upgrade performed by Sebastian Communications. This presented an opportunity for Joe to buzz the end of the runway on his way back to Melbourne. Click on photo to enlarge, and save if you like. This first shot would probably make a pretty good background for your computer!

Typical climb rate after takeoff with 2 people and half fuel. Note the variometer on the lower left indicating over 12 knots (1200fpm) at the normal climb speed of 60 knots. This is also a good look at the PFD page on the Grand Rapids EFIS.

Kathy Lee talks with Georgia Bostik in the Urban Air Command Center.

Upon arrival back in Melbourne, Joe and Jim went back to work. Current "wrench projects" include finishing the lights and ELT installation on the Samba and final prep work on the Lambada before it heads to Costa Rica.

Colorado Trip

2008-10-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Joe and I left at dawn out of Melbourne, to deliver N22UA to Jamie Jacobson in Crawford, Colorado. Joe flew our demo plane, and I flew Jamie's. We started with a great tailwind caused by Hurricane Ike, and surfed it all the way to Kansas. Our first stop was Drake, Arkansas after 850nm in 6.7hrs.

We then hit some dirty weather which kept us from making Denver in one day, and ended up in Ulysses, KS. We met some great folks, and flew with them the next morning before pushing on to Boulder. Several pilots were able to sample some nice soaring along the foothills, and Joe flew with record holder Larry Tudor along the spine of the Rockies.

Next stop was Salida, where we stayed with JZ and Amy. The next day was fabulous, with a cloudstreet running south along the Sangre de Cristos to the Great Sand Dunes park.

Jeff Shingleton and Don Boardman met us in Crawford after a trip in Jeff's plane from New York. The 3 Lambadas soared up a mountainside together, then made a formation pass over the Crawford airport.

New owner Jamie soared his new plane to 15,000msl, flew to Montrose on a glide, then motored to Grand Junction, Grand Mesa, and home to Paonia.

We circled Joe Cocker's English estate buried in the mountains of Colorado.

After Crawford, it was on to Telluride to visit some good friends and sample more excellent soaring conditions.

Local ace Jeff Campbell flew circles around the virga with strong cloudsuck on the edges of the clouds.

Jeff didn't like the looks of the rain and snow, but the Garmin showed acceptable conditions back over the Telluride airport.
Our Lambadas were comfy under the wing of a Gulfstream, just like ducklings against their mom.

Independence Pass, leading to Aspen.

We landed at Leadville, 9,800msl with a density altitude of 11,800msl.

The 3 of us also visited Eagle, Steamboat, Durango, and all of the mountains in between. We didn't go around the mountains, we went straight over them in our U2 Lambadas. Climb rates using the engine were 500fpm at 17,000'msl. The Lambada is built for Colorado!

Ohskosh

2008-10-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Four Lambadas converged on Oshkosh from Melburne, San Antonio, and Albany. All told, our round-trip flights covered 5100nm. We were too busy selling Lambadas to take many pictures, but here are a few highlights.

We ran into the Red Baron (Terry Presley) in Tennessee.

Joe and Jim shared a few hundred miles as a flight of two.

Terrible weather on the way home forced a quick stop in Georgia. Thankfully, the aviation community is always ready to help.

Melbourne to Mexico

2008-10-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

I left on June 28,2008 to help proud new owner Jorge Gomez Espana ferry his new Lambada to Chapala, Mexico. The first leg was to Rogers, Arkansas which required some routing around cumulonimbus twice during the day. The Garmin 496 with FM weather was indispensable. Total distance for the day was 850nm. The next day was an easy 470nm run to San Antonio, where Jorge met me for the remainder of the trip.

From San Antonio, we flew to Laredo, TX to file our required VFR flight plan across the border to Nuevo Laredo, a total distance of 10nm. This has to be the shortest flight plan I have ever filed! The Laredo, TX tower controller came down to talk with us for 2 hours about the Lambada. Not an unusual occurrence.

Crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico

Jorge arrives in Nuevo Laredo for 3 hours of paperwork.

There are plenty of big mountains in Mexico.

The news media quickly spotted an unusual plane in Saltillo, Mexico, and had to interview the pilot. Jorge is a natural show-boater.

The short flight from Guadalajara to Lake Chapala brought us into some great engine off ridge soaring. We gave rides to six people, with consistent ridge soaring over town.

Chapala airport, new home of N154UA.

Chapala Flying Club welcomes it's new member

Jorge's hometown of Tapalpa, where he plans to build a new airstrip.

Total mileage, 2000nm.

Atlantic to the Pacific in the Lambada

2008-10-05T10:40:00.001-07:00

March 28, 2008. Departed Melbourne, FL bound for Reno, NV to deliver N109UA to Bob Johnson. With several stops along the way to see customers, the total distance flown was 2450 nm to Half-Moon Bay on the Pacific Ocean to make it a true coast to coast flight!

First stop at Wallaby Ranch
VFR on top over New Orleans at 8,500'

Interesting nose art in Houston on a Strikemaster

On April 1, departed Lubbock at 8:30, flew low level (under 3000'agl) to escape the upper level west winds, to arrive in Farmington, NM at noon. 3.5 hours, 374nm. Ate lunch, and gassed up (last fuel stop was outside of Houston) and departed for Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, and the deserts and valleys of Nevada, landing in Ely, NV at 6pm. 4 hours, 394nm.Total for the day, 778nm, 7.5 hours.

Lake Powell

Bryce Canyon

Mountains of Nevada

A frosty canopy at sunrise in Ely, NV

Half Moon Bay, Pacific Ocean! (We did a touch and go)

We circled the Golden Gate, San Francisco, then back to Carson City, NV.

What a trip!!!

P.S. To top things off, we contacted the Minden wave at 9,000', shut down the engine, and soared to 15,000' over Lake Tahoe. Doesn't get any better than that!

Urban Air USA Moves Into New Facility

2008-10-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

On August 25th, we began moving into our new hanger. Construction on the brand new hanger is still ongoing, but we couldn't wait to move in! It includes an air-conditioned office and enough room for several aircraft. In the photo above, you can see the brand new Samba being prepared for the airworthiness certification, with 3 Lambadas in the background. Click on the photo for a full-size view.