Earl Lawrence, Experimental Aircraft Association
There is one final deadline coming up in a few months regarding the transition to the Sport Pilot program from the Ultralight Exemption programs. That is the sunset on the ability of flight instructors to use their transitioned ultralight trainers that were certified as Experimental-Light Sport Aircraft (E-LSA) for training for hire. This is a big issue for CFI's who may be part time or even full time, but who can not or may choose not to invest up to six figures in order to continue training students. Earl Lawrence explains the issue and what is being proposed to solve the problem. Experimental Aircraft Association (8/25/09)

Jeff Goin, FootFlyer.com
Powered paragliders have a training and rating system unlike any other powered ultralights in the United States. It borrows heavily from the hang gliding and paragliding world and helps measure pilot abilities and experience. Jeff Goin explains the rating system to us. FootFlyer.com (8/25/09)

Jim Sweeney, SweeneyCorp
Many pilots look at airports which have skydiving or glider operations as something to avoid. That does not have to be the case if you know what to look and listen for when flying into those airports. Knowing when the activities take place and how they operate, as well as what you should do when flying there can make a visit to a busy airport a fun experience. SweeneyCorp (8/25/09)

Bever Borne, Air-Tech, Inc.
Getting the fuel from the fuel tank to the engine should be a pretty basic exercise. However, there are plenty of things that can interrupt the life blood of an engine. Bever Borne talks about those things and their solutions. Air-Tech, Inc. (8/25/09)

Ray Johnson, Fly/In Cruise/In
It is time again for the Marion, Indiana Fly/In Cruise/In event. It's a great trip to a great destination with all kinds of things to see and people to visit. And as Ray Johnson will explain, it's also for a great cause. Fly/In Cruise/In (8/25/09)

Roy Beisswenger, USUA
There's been a bit of controversy over the past few weeks concerning the United States Ultralight Association. Roy Beisswenger became a board member this summer and has seen a lot of what has been going on in the recent past and explains what happened, where the organization is, and of course the future. USUA (8/25/09)

Earl Lawrence, Experimental Aircraft Association
An issue that has been of interest to many in the sport aviation world has been the status of the Experimental-Amateur Built rule. The rule mandates that at least 51% of the aircraft be built by, well, amateurs. But of course it isn't that easy. The big question has become how do you measure that 51%. The FAA has been working on guidelines and Earl Lawrence gives us an idea of what is in store. Experimental Aircraft Association (8/18/09)

Richard Meredith-Hardy, FlyMicro.com
The 2009 World Paramotor Championship in Nové Mesto nad Metují, Czech Republic is wrapped up and we visit with Richard Meredith-Hardy to talk about the competition, the organization, the region, and the winners. FlyMicro.com (8/18/09)

Phill Apley, Enflight
Jim Sweeney is always on the look-out for new technical advances in electronics and software for weather information and flight planning. Jim introduces us to Phill Apley, the CEO of Peck Labs, Inc., who are introducing Enflight. Enflight is a product that strives to provide a personalized preflight planning tool for general aviation. The goal is to eliminate information overload and help you make well-informed decisions for your flight plan. Click here to see some of the screens you can see using Enflight. SweeneyCorp (8/18/09)

Mike Stratman, California Power Systems, Inc.
Mike talks about purpose-built engines and using engines that were purpose-built for one use and then adapted for aviation. The emphasis being on 2-stroke engines, there are models that may look very much like aviation versions of the engines, but will perform differently, have different parts, and different maintenance requirements. California Power Systems, Inc. (8/18/09)

Terri Sipantzi, Precision Windsports, Inc
Terri Sipantzi talks to us about training to be a trike pilot and instructor. If you are already a pilot and instructor for another category of aircraft like airplane or powered parachute, the requirements aren't nearly as tough as they would be if you were starting from scratch. Precision Windsports, Inc (8/18/09)

Earl Lawrence, Experimental Aircraft Association
Some of the Sport Pilot news coming out of AirVenture 2009 has to do with flight training by a Sport Pilot Instructor counting towards a Private Pilot certificate. Now while you might think that "flight training is flight training" and you might even remember that one of the promises of the initial sport pilot program was that the sport pilot license would be considered a stepping-stone to higher ratings, you might be surprised that all your thinking and remembering might not be supported directly in the regulations. Earl talks about the details in the regs and the fix. Experimental Aircraft Association (8/11/09)

Tom Peghiny, Flight Design USA
2009 is seeing the introduction of commercially available electric powered aircraft and Tom Peghiny is one of those on the leading edge of the technology. Flight Design and Unique introduced a flyable electric powered airplane that should be available in 2010. Also, the electric powered technology is being adapted to the Flightstar Spyder ultralight airplane. Tom gives us the details. Flight Design USA (8/11/09)

Jim Sweeney, SweeneyCorp
Working as a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) is not all about flying. There are a lot of activities that CFI's need to do to support their students. One area is making sure that the student understands the aviation knowledge needed to be a pilot. Some instructors use third-party training programs, some work for schools, and some create their own ground school courses. We talk with Jim Sweeney, who has done all of the above. SweeneyCorp (8/11/09)

Dan Johnson, ByDanJohnson.com
With all of the possible airplanes available to the sport pilot, how does one choose which one to own? First, pilots have to determine what features are important to them. Then, those features have to be matched with the available aircraft on the market. Dan Johnson talks about how pilots can figure out what is important to them and how his aircraft selection tool, PlaneFinder 2.0 can cut the market survey portion of a search down to minutes. ByDanJohnson.com (8/11/09)

Troy Townsend, i-tec
As the concept of flying cars becomes popular again, we visit with Troy Townsend. He is a part of i-tec, an organization that uses aviation to help people in remote areas of the world. They originally used standard commercial powered parachutes that they converted for their purposes. However, now they have designed the Maverick, an aircraft that is purpose built for their missions. A lot of work has gone into the design of the machine which uses an innovative deployment system for the wing as well as two transmission systems for the one engine so that it can be used for flight or ground travel. i-tec (8/11/09)

Earl Lawrence, Experimental Aircraft Association
Earl Lawrence gives us the first wrap-up on a great AirVenture event. We cover air operations and some really interesting government meetings that happened at the convention. Experimental Aircraft Association (8/4/09)

Brian McCallen, Light Sport Repair Services, Inc.
We talk with Brian McCallen about the inaugural event of the Michiana Fly-In to be held In Plymouth, Indiana. We talk about who is invited (OK, everyone), the facility, and planned activities. Light Sport Repair Services, Inc. (8/4/09)

Jim Sweeney, SweeneyCorp
It's been five years since the Sport Pilot rules were announced at Oshkosh. Jim Sweeney talks about how they have changed the sport and the industry and what the rules have meant to different segments and people in the sport. SweeneyCorp (8/4/09)

Norman Burr, World Directory Of Leisure Aviation
The "Other Half" of the pair of publications that now make up the largest and most complete catalog of sport aircraft in the world has just published its new edition. Norman Burr talks about all that is new in the World Directory of Leisure Aviation. World Directory Of Leisure Aviation (8/4/09)

Dan Johnson, ByDanJohnson.com
This was a big transition year for the Light Sport Aviation industry at AirVenture. Dan Johnson organized the first industry-run LSA Mall at Oshkosh. He talks about that and about a lot of the sport news that came out of the event. ByDanJohnson.com (8/4/09)

Jeff Goin, FootFlyer.com
Electric aircraft were expected to be a big deal at AirVenture and we visit with Jeff Goin, who got to fly the Yuneec E-Pac. The E-Pac is a Chinese built electric Paramotor produced by the same company that introduced the electric airplane, the e430. Jeff tells us what it was like. FootFlyer.com (8/4/09)