AERO Friedrichshafen 2007

This year You could see COMP-LET SHARK model and its cockpit mock-up and Flyitalia MD3 Rider at AERO Friedrichshafen .

Although flying COMP-LET SHARK will be possible to see after a year, there was possible to recognize positive comments only : this kind of aircraft can fill the gap in the world market, and together with dateless shapes, nice comfortable cockpit and all steps done to reach perfect performances brought an interest from customers trying to find something a bit unique.

To know more about our MD3 Rider design You could visit Flyitalia stand , located in the hall B2. According to Flyitalia information three airplanes MD3 Rider was already produced in new company facilities in Dovera, and from next month, company wants to produce 3-4 aircraft per month in doubled production facility areas.

Skyboy, offered in Melos Leichtflugzeugbau stand - located in the "glider" hall A1 was from some reason not shown. Although Skyboy is one from our first UL designs, actually is relatively succesful in USA market as LSA aircraft - 8th with 4% of USA market.

Take a look to article LSA Market Shares Based on FAA Registry - April 2007 in ByDanJohnson web pages

Flashback of our COMP-LET Shark exhibition :

Peťo Zelman - stylist of Shark interior was satisfied with great interest about his work.

a lot of known persons from light aircraft community tried Shark's interior and help us to test and improve its features :

Peter Funk - FK Lightplanes - www.fk-leichtflugzeuge.de

Tom Gunarson - the president of Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association - www.lama.bz

Leandro C Vega - SPAIN dealer of MD3 Rider - www.aviationstandards.aero

Jurka Vychopeř and Jozef Vajlík - LAA CZ technician and stressmen of EVEKTOR - and author of a lot of amateurs airplanes and a lot of not believable but real own test-flight stories (both are GRYF club members)

Marek and Roman Ivanov = Interplane - www.interplaneaircraft.com and Flying Machines s.r.o. www.flyingmachines.cz

So... together with composite supplies for some known European aircraft producers, COMP-LET company presented its first complete project - Shark aircraft.

As a bonus there was exhibited in COMP-LET stand aeromobil project of Štefan Klein, Head of Department Design at Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava.

Opposite to a lot of ideas to prepare flying car, his idea is to develop in the streets movable aircraft . Folding of the wings and undercarriage, driven by electrical actuators was interesting for a lot of visitors. This object will be really flying ?

Author told - wants to test fly that proof of concept during this year , but he explained it is only proof of concept, - to show something like that is possible to create.

Every evening there were arranged some afterparties with collaborators, dealers, friends, some of us are so famous , that in the date of their birthday there is organized the biggest airshow in the Europe.

And what was in Friedrichshafen truly new excluding our new baby?

For all information, You will need to find some articles in renowned aircraft magazines, but look what was the most interesting for us :

1) twice there was organized by LAA an international meetings about new European light sport aircraft category , similar to American LSA. With assistance of known persons from whole Europe, and the front representation from USA - Tom Poberezny all listened to the main question, given by European light aircraft community to European officers :

Why we are able to be successful in the LSA in the USA and we are not able to fly these planes in Europe?

We hope the time will come we will be able to use our light planes legally and simple in the whole EU area without restriction for non-real limits.

Next interesting or us there was presentation of some new VLJ - very light jets .

Eclipse , Diamond's bizjet and some other were shown to cover the gap, leaved after older bizjets were step-by-step improved - to better performances, but in the same time to much higher price.

Anyhow this game is played without Czech and Slovak participation.

Can You image some bizjet developed on the background of succesful L-39 Albatros jet-trainer? See L539 SingleBizJet

In the light sport aircraft category we think there was possible to recognize another news :

- it looks, some companies, successful in US LSA market are trying to increase their influence by the presentation in bigger areas, according to classic presentation of sport cars during car shows like in Geneva, Frankfurt or Paris :

In the front line - by the show-window - there were exhibited great areas with often one type of aircraft only, on the pedestals, with the large advertisement background walls, through that there were possible to take nice pictures of that specific aircraft, but all behind was not visible for visitors.

Another cheaper producers was moved to the rear corners, or did not received any areas, stayed at home .

That way , there were introduced airplanes from CT, Alpi Aviation.

TECNAM occupied the greatest area near airport with stand in the style of airport control tower.

In the front line there were presented our Czecho-Slovakian companies too Chip Erwine's CZAW (www.airplane.cz) presented its last hit SportCruiser, Evektor showing its evergreen Euro- and SportStar, Aerospool brought its Dynamic, presented with map and pictures from its flight to South Africa.

Really new in front line there was project Sirius from TL company only. In the company style you could recognize some shapes of Skylane from AirLony, although their assistants told directly about Cessna's look. It seems - TL likes "to use approved solutions".

So - known exhibitors received big advantage to be in front line. But from that reason, visitors , trying to find something new (like our Shark or Shark's direct competitor Millennium) , had to go through - and search :

Although for example Skylark of Jiří Vahalík (DOVA) received exhibition place in the backmost corner, there was great interest about interested persons evaluated not only in detail perfect technology and aircraft finalization, but special transport trailer too. If it will be produced under DOVA name , it could be good appendix to our Shark project for customers.

Will customers learn to pass aircraft in front lines , or will lost some interest to come later, together with next possible exhibitors, removing them to the backmost corners, or to wait if some place will rest for them?

Would be not reasonable to start thinking about some new European airshow, which would not limit any news and amateur exhibitors their esprit I was every time evaluated the most?

Maybe we would need to start discussion about that on the board of LAA, or actually nascent ELA.

And technical matters of interest?

In the time, known Stemme received fixed undercarriage and propeller and lost its interesting aerodynamic shape , Czech company Composite airplanes presented their motorized glider idea under name of VIVA : small engine in the nose, special propeller with bended blades, foldable to the caverns in engine cowlings quite an interesting invention, I have never seen before... able to be patented.

Do You thing, that amphibian has to have big floats, or not aerodynamic boat-like fuselage, decreasing its aerodynamic drag, to have cruise speed 30-50km/hour smaller?

Authors of Hydrofoils concept Akoya thing they know what to do : Two bottom fins outstanding from rounded fuselage without any peeling corners we cross ones fingers.

http://lisa-airplanes.com/index.php

And another interesting for me :

- that object, hanging above EAA stand , with name A-I-R was hang glider in the style , I would like to return a quarter of century back and again stay on the top of the hill - waiting right time to have good opposite wind. Maybe there is nostalgia only ... That time we sketches some machines with similar geometry, but thought it is only not-realizable dream. But in the Aeronautic Innovation Rühle web sites ( www.A-I-R.de ) I did not find that.

Maybe this is still too much innovative to offer that for customers ???

And for the end our Shark was not only one Shark in AERO:

Maybe that name was hanging above Czech and Slovakia...

Czech HpH was coming with Shark sailplane, and as an appendix they offered small jet engine TBS-J40.

Well known Slovakian modeler Šustek from Treněín brought full-scale maquette of four seat GA twin . It seems, he increased scale of his models a little ... The future will show.