“Listen to your customers. They will tell you which way to go with your business.”

These are the words of Kent Pramhus, entrepreneur and pilot.

“When we first started the Light Sport Aircraft Sales, back in 2007, it was to grow our overall exposure and enhance our established used aircraft sales business. Today, Light Sport Aircraft are a gigantic part of our everyday affairs.”

Foothill Aircraft Sales is the collaboration of Curtis Cable, Kent Pramhus and Tony Settember of Foothill Aircraft Sales and Service, Inc. All are pilots and all love airplanes and aviation.

“Good business today requires us to move and change with the times. Nothing can go stale. Nothing is engraved in stone. Everything is on the table.

“We bought our first two LSA’s at Oshkosh in 2007. Since then we have sold over 20 new and used light sport planes across the Southwest.

“We still operate two planes that are on leaseback and with several thousand hours of operations and maintenance experience, the LSA’s have proven to be extremely reliable and profitable.”

Foothill Aircraft repair station is Rotax and LSA certified, so we see a variety of planes in for regular and warranty maintenance. And ... Foothill Flying Club is buzzing daily with LSA flying and training.

We sell, rent and service the American Legend Cub and the Gobosh LSA’s. Factory support has been fantastic.

In our rental fleet, the American Legend Cub is the most profitable aircraft we operate, because its maintenance costs are so incredibly low. In addition, we have sold and serviced Flight Design CT, Sting Sport, Remos, Kappa Skyleader, Tecnam and others.

For all kinds of aircraft sales and acquisitions, call the experts. Foothill Aircraft Light Sport Sales and Acquisition Headquarters.

See our inventory at www.foothillaircraft.com. Call us at (909) 917 5851. Visit us at Cable Airport, KCCB, Upland, Calif

Photo: at left, Tony Settember, Kent Pramhus

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In early 2008 Van’s Aircraft, Inc. began taking orders for their new Light Sport Kit aircraft, the RV-12.

By June, 2010, Four hundred had shipped and more than 50 are already completed and flying in countries from Australia to Zimbabwe. New ones hatch at a rate of five or six a month.

There are several reasons for the success of Van’s newest design. First and foremost, it’s fun to fly. RVs are known for excellent handling and flying qualities, and the RV-12 continues the tradition.

It is agile, docile, roomy and easy to fly.

Several features set the RV-12 apart - and ahead - of other LSA airplanes:

Two people can remove or install the wings in about five minutes. A tow hook attachment on the nose gear allows the fuselage to be pulled onto a trailer by one person.

The whole airplane can be homeward bound on a trailer in about the same amount of time it takes to recover a boat or set up a camp trailer - leaving hangar rent in the rear view mirror.

The cabin of the RV-12 is set forward of the wing, allowing generous space for occupants well over 6’ tall. The seating location and bubble canopy afford tremendous visibility, including a view of the ground that matches most high-wing airplanes.

Experience has given Van’s a deep insight into why homebuilt projects succeed or fail. This knowledge formed the cornerstone of  RV-12 design.

The result is the most complete and accurate aluminum aircraft kit ever manufactured. The “matched-hole” parts come completely pre-formed with every rivet and bolt hole punched.

An entire tailcone can be clecoed together - straight out of the box - in a couple hours.  It can be riveted in half a day.

Start to finish, the RV-12 takes about 800 hours to build and costs about $62,000 Ð$70,000 É less than half of many of the ready-to-fly LSA aircraft imported from Europe (or China).

Better yet É it flies like an RV.

For more information contact Van’s Aircraft, Inc. at (503) 678-6545 or see www.vansaircraft.com.

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By Dennis Hogge

We were in my Lancair 320 so I could get my ticket punched and when we landed, “Pappy” - who flew P-51s in the war - still hadn’t told me if I passed.

I think he made the decision even before we took off. I think it was when I told him I made my first solo cross-country in the Lancair to Las Vegas.

“I haven’t had this much fun since the war,” Pappy said as he flew most of the ride himself. I passed and I’ve been building and flying composite aircraft ever since. I have 2,800+ hours in Lancairs, so I know how they are supposed to work.

I discovered building from my dad, who had me holding things for him as soon as I was able. He started a bicycle repair shop after the war.

By the age of six, I knew how most mechanical things worked and I was building things soon afterward. My first major project was a hotrod that I wanted to put a big V8 in. I asked my dad if I could do it in the back yard.

“No way!” he said. “It will take too long and kill the grass.”

So I did it in two weeks while he was away on vacation.That’s how my building career started.

Airplanes came into my life in 1990. I was building a Lancair and friends kept asking me why I was building an airplane if I didn’t even know how to fly. My response was, “You need an airplane to learn in, so why not a fast one?”

Someone saw my plane and asked me to build them one. Hogge Aircraft was born.

At Hogge Aircraft, we specialize in composite aircraft and we do the complete job, from unpacking the crate to test flying the plane. There are always the custom guys who want to try something different.

Put 1,000 horsepower in a Lancair IV-P? Sure!

At Hogge Aircraft, we can do anything your imagination can think up and do it well. We have experience working on the Lancair IV, IV-P, 360, 320 and 235, the Glasair, Wheeler Express, Legend, Legacy, and more.

For more information call Hogge Aircraft in San Diego, Calif.at (619) 549-9606.

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Dr. Daniel P. Raymer, noted aircraft designer and author of the award-winning textbook “Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach” and the popular layman’s book “Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders,” has written a non-technical book that will be treasured by everyone who loves airplanes, wonders how they get designed, and wants to know how somebody becomes an aircraft designer.

Half the book is Raymer’s warm and personal memoir of growing up in the 60’s as the son of a Navy Test Pilot, discovering his own love of aviation, and entering the rarefied club of those who stare at a blank sheet of paper and turn it into a new aircraft design. The other half covers Raymer’s early involvement in the projects that became the X-31, B-2, F-22, T-45, F-35, and many more.

The book is an easy read, quick-paced, funny and aimed at a general audience. Raymer includes his mistakes, disappointments and downright stupid decisions.

It’s not all airplanes either Ñ read about Raymer’s aborted musical career, his misadventures in exotic destinations like Belarus and Bulgaria, how he got on the Internet early enough to grab www.aircraftdesign.com, and how he came to write his famous design textbook.

An on-line reviewer says, “I highly recommend this book. If you are interested in finding out how preliminary aircraft design is done, and what happens with those designs, then this book is for you. The autobiographical half is engaging both in terms of readability and in just being a good yarn.”

Says another, “You will get to know Dan as if he was a long time friend and get some insider exposure to the strange world of advanced design. Fun, easy to read and highly recommended.”

Descriptions and ordering information for Living in the Future and Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders can be found at www.aircraftdesign.com.

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Historic Flabob Airport is delighted to announce a once-a-month Saturday morning breakfast and hangar crawl held on the third Saturday of every month from 08:00 to 11:00.

Get this: fly or drive in, eat a fresh cooked $5.00 breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and assorted breakfast meats,then take a guided tour of the historic aircraft in Flabob’s hangars as well as the “Flabob Express” DC-3.

Our Flabob Aviation high school students and restoration volunteers will take you to see the famous Thompson Trophy replicas owned by Tom Wathen, the Wright Flyer flying replica, our youth restoration projects, the Aviation High School, and any other interesting antique/classic aircraft available.

Also available are antique/classic display signoffs. If you like hot rods, there is usually a great car show in front of the Airport CafŽ each third Saturday as well. We will also have our new Aero Club open to discover the lowest aircraft rentals in Socal.

You can fly our classic LSA taildragger J-3, an Aeronca 7GC taildragger, or our Classic straighttail Cessna 150 for rates in the $60 dollar range, wet! Our new Technam P92 Super Echo LSA goes for $75 bucks wet.

The objective of the club is to combine the lowest flying rates in the LA basin in a collegial atmosphere of aviation fans of all ages and experiences. So fly in or drive in each third Saturday from 08:00 to 11:00.

Have a hearty breakfast, tour our hangars, sit in the cockpit of the DC-3, and check out our new flying club. For more information on Flabob, see www.Flabob.org.

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Wicks Aircraft Supply began distributing their new 2010 catalog at this year’s Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Fla.

For the first time, the catalog, which is nearly 30 percent larger, is free.

This year there are hundreds of new products which will be listed in a special New Products section. There is a new welding section that focuses on Lincoln welders and supplies as well as new items for aircraft panels and pilots. Builders will have an additional four aircraft designs for which they can procure complete materials kits for construction.

The new designs include Micro Mong, Zippy Sport, the M-19 Flying Squirrel, and the Pietenpol. Wicks will send out cases of their 234-page catalogs to EAA Chapters whose presidents submit requests indicating the quantities desired for Chapter members.

A new section of the catalog addresses issues builders will want to consider before embarking on an aircraft construction project. To compliment the information in the catalog, Wicks has planned a wide range of builder workshops over the next twelve months dealing with welding, wood working, aluminum and the finishing process for tube and fabric aircraft.

Anyone can order a free Wicks Aircraft Supply catalog by emailing: Info@wicksaircraft.com. All materials included in their catalog are also available at  www.WicksAircraft.com.

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We at Just Aircraft are proud of our unique back country design.

The “Highlander” has all the great features required for rugged conditions and maximum versatility. It has one of the highest useful loads of the LSA’s at 650 to 700 lb’s. Wings fold in less than two minutes.

A huge 32 cubic foot storage capacity (you can actually sleep in it). Room for a 6’7” 300 lb. + person with sliding adjustable seats.

The Highlander is a true STOL aircraft with landing and take-off less than 200’ (depending on variable conditions).

Besides the popular tail wheel version we also offer a new nose-wheel option.

For extreme conditions we have optional “extreme” gear legs that are thicker than standard and consist of three leg mounts versus the normal two.

We offer the choices of a kit, complete build or “Build Assist” in the factory.

Kit prices range from $19,800 firewall back to $35,080.00 depending on engine preference.

A complete plane costs as low as $75,000.00.

Our planes are performing in the rugged areas of the Western USA, Alaska, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Ecuador.

If you’re looking for a “Just Plane Fun” aircraft call us at (864) 718-0320 or see our web-site at www.justaircraft.com. You can also see our customer and builders comments at www.wingsforum.com.

Come visit us or take a demo in a plane in your area.

Built in South Carolina, USA. Contact us at: 170 Duck Pond Road, Walhalla, SC  29691 or telephone: (864) 718-0320, Fax: (864) 718-0324 or Email: justaircraft@netzero.net

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KR-2S Kits are now available from a new company that’s taken over kit production from Rand Robinson.

nV Aerospace LLC announced at Sun 'n Fun 2010 it has acquired the rights to produce parts and kits for the popular design first introduced in 1972 by Ken Rand. nV Aerospace offers a fast-build kit, including pre-molded parts and components from a manufacturing facility in Corona, Calif.

Steve and Eric Glover acquired the company in September of 2009. They also purchased all molds and tooling for wings, landing gear, and other components from Deihl Aeronautical to bring everything in house for the fabrication of the KR series of aircraft.

Steve has had a passion for aircraft since a young age and built his first homebuilt in the barracks at MCAS El Toro in the 90’s. He has built three aircraft and is now working on the factory demonstrator and finishing up an A&P program at OCC in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Eric started building a RV-7 until Steve brought him to the dark side with wood and composite construction. As if he didn’t spend enough time around aircraft, Eric is a Division Officer in an Aircraft maintenance facility in the US Navy and is stationed at Pt. Mugu in Ventura County.

For more information visit www.nVAero.com or call (800) 515-4811.

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The Express Series 2000 combines a unique group of design features which offer a very rare combination of speed, utility, comfort and style.
With its sweeping compound curves, the Series 2000 is very aerodynamically efficient, but yet still displays a sense of style, making it one of the most beautiful and stylish airplanes available anywhere.

Roominess was another objective. The Series 2000 boasts the largest and most versatile cabin in a four place piston aircraft - both certified and kit built! In fact, the Express boasts more cabin room and better performance than most retractable certified aircraft ... but with fixed gear and for thousands of dollars less.

Express yourself, come fly with us, you will be amazed.

For more information call (360) 864-6271 Mail to: Express Aircraft Company 148 Skyhawk Dr. Toledo, WA. 98591 or visit us on the web at: www.compairtechllc.com.

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