Sun-N-Fun 2013 happened last month and if you attended you know that our booth was manned by Eric Adams of Wild Air Aviation who are our Southern US dealer.   During the show Eric was interviewed and the video can be seen below

You can now download 2013 price lists for our aircraft and accessories.    You will notice that even though we have not had a price increase since 2010, the kit prices have not changed so our aircraft are still the most affordable on the market!

Highlights of the price changes are:

• Plans only pricing has been rationalized.  For simplicity, if an aircraft is a single seat the plans are $350 and all two seat aircraft plans are $400
• Some accessory parts have had price increases due to our suppliers increasing cost to us.  
• Partial kit crating has increased to cover our costs

The new price list can be download by clicking here:  2013 Price List

Hirth Engine pricing and specifications can be downloaded by clicking here: 2013 Hirth Engine Price List

From all indications, it looks like the US aviation industry is finally showing signs of recovery.   For the past 4 years the US market has be very quiet for us with lots of plans and parts orders but very few full kits being ordered.   Starting in January of this year we noticed a strong uptick in complete kit and quick-build inquires from the US which have now converted into firm orders.  Because of this influx of business we have had to temporarily push out leadtimes.

Current leadtimes are as follows:

Partial Airframe Wing or Fuselage - 6-8 weeks

Hardware Kits - 8 weeks

Full Airframe kits - 10-12 weeks

Full Airframe Quick Build Kits - 14 weeks

Plans orders are shipped within two days of receipt of order

Small Parts orders ship within 7 days

We have a Hirth F-23 in house for a customer who is going to install it in an FP-202 Koala.   What an absolutely beautiful engine!   A horizontally opposed 50hp engine that is very light.   We put it on the scale and with exhaust and all accessories it weighed only 73-1/2 lbs including electric start!   If you compare that with the Rotax 503 engine you save 36.7 lbs.   That is a huge saving!   This engine is an excellent choice in any of our aircraft that suggest a Rotax 447 or a 503.  We are a Hirth dealer and can provide these engines paired with an airframe or sold separately.

Here are a few photos of the engine and how it looks in a FP-202 Koala

Builder sites are great resources to show you how an aircraft is assembled and also how others tackle the assembly process.   Here is a great site dedicated to the construction of an FP-303.   It shows detailed photos of the construction each step of the way. The aircraft is still under construction so the site gets updated frequently.

Check out Eric's site at www.buildingthefisher303.com/index.html

The UPAC 2012 convention (Ultralight Pilots Assocation of Canada) was held this past weekend and as always it was a tremendous amount of fun.    The weather was great so the turnout was fantastic.   At the show, Orm Bowman, an FP202 builder gave me a copy of one of the original FP101 sales brochures.    It really drives home how far we have come in 30 years, but also how many things are still the same.   We still use geodetic construction, the same T-88 expoxy, and the planes are still designed for fun!   

I thought I would share this glimpse of history with everyone.  

FP-101 Flyer

Thanks for making the past 30 years for the company a great success!