What's New With Sting & Sirius Aircraft?

iCub! THE LSA BUSH PLANE (www.icub.aero)
North Little Rock Municipal Airport (KORK) June 23, 2010: SportairUSA, the North American distributor for Sting and Sirius aircraft, is now the USA distributor for the iCub, manufactured in the Czech Republic by Zlin Aviation, s.r.o.

Lightweight, tough and smart, the iCub evolved from Zlin's Savage Cruiser and Classic taildraggers. It is built to ASTM light sport aircraft standards and fitted with the iPad® aviation information center as standard equipment. SportairUSA will debut the iCub at
AirVenture 2010 in Oshkosh, July 27 through August 2.

"As electronics get smarter and more reliable, the line between aviation and consumer products is disappearing," said Bill Canino, President of SportairUSA. “The iPad is a case in point. The aviation applications available for the iPad are remarkable, and the selection and quality are improving every day.”

"We designed the iCub for safety, performance and carrying capacity and with a passion for flying," said Pasquale Russo, CEO of Zlin Aviation. With tandem seating, a generous baggage area and 565 lbs of useful load, the iCub will haul more than other LSAs in its class. Even the Bush iCub, with extended landing gear and heavier balloon tires, features 515 lbs of useful load.

The central feature of the iCub's instrument panel is a dock-mounted iPad, pre-loaded with the WingXPro7 moving map, ForeFlight Mobile HD and ForeFlight Charts, the iHUD heads-up-display and MotionX GPS HD, together with other apps that are useful in the air and on the ground for pilots who fly into the bush, or just around the neighborhood. The iCub is also equipped with backup analog airspeed, altimeter and inclinometer.

The iCub is a newly certified light sport aircraft from Zlin Aviation, evolved from it's fleet of earlier taildraggers. The iCub features leather seating, cross-bracing in the tail and atop the cabin, reinforced landing gear attachments, powerful rudder and vertical tail, panoramic door and window design, full overhead skylight, wooden floors, upholstered baggage area, vortex generators and 18 gallons of fuel tankage, with an option to increase tankage to 24 gallons. The standard engine is the 2,000 hour TBO Rotax 912 ULS (100 hp), with full-time non-power-degrading carburetor heat, which provides short field take-off and landing capability and climb rate exceeding 1,200 fpm. Several fixed and ground adjustable propellers are available to customize the performance of the iCub for varying missions.

The Bush iCub comes with 7" extended landing gear, performance brakes and 26" balloon tires designed for combined pavement and bush flying. Alaskan Bushwheels are available in 29", 31" and 35" sizes

The SportairUSA exhibit at AirVenture 2010 will be located on site #62, across from the LSA Mall. SportairUSA is also the North American distributor for the popular Sting S3, StingS4 and Sirius light sport aircraft, and for the SeaRey amphibian.

More information is available online at www.iCub.aero, or by calling SportairUSA at (888) FLY-SLSA.

INTRODUCING THE TL-3000 SIRIUS LSA
The new TL-3000 Sirius light sport aircraft (LSA) is now available for purchase in the USA. The Sirius was first exhibited at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Today’s announcement marks the completion of testing, tooling and LSA certification of the airplane.

“The Sirius is the perfect travel partner,” according to Bill Canino, President of SportairUSA. “It features ease of entry combined with yoke steering, a generous cockpit, a luggage compartment big enough for golf clubs, a useful load of 600 pounds, 30 gallons of fuel and outstanding flying characteristics.”

The Sirius is the high-wing companion to the low-wing Sting. Both are certificated in the USA as special light sport aircraft and are manufactured by TL-Ultralight, s.r.o., in the Czech Republic. The Sirius, like the Sting, is a two passenger, carbon fiber composite, fixed-wing airplane powered by the 100 hp Rotax 912ULS engine and equipped with the industry’s fastest-opening GRS whole-plane ballistic parachute.

406 MHz ELT & SPOT SATELLITE MESSENGER
The FAA doesn’t require aircraft to be equipped with the new 406 MHz ELTs, but all Sting S3 light sport aircraft sold since the U. S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring are so equipped. Because it puts safety first, SportairUSA, the North American Sting distributor, announced today that it will also include a free portable SPOT satellite messenger along with the installed 406 MHz ELT in every new Sting.

“The search and rescue community has stopped monitoring the 121.5 emergency channel and aircraft owners are still sorting out what it means,” says Bill Canino, President of SportairUSA. “In keeping with our continuous improvement policy, with a strong emphasis on safety, we are installing the new 406 MHz system in new Sting S3s. Every new owner will also receive the portable SPOT satellite messenger at no additional cost. That way we have an installed unit for the airframe and a personal unit that can be carried by a pilot on foot after an emergency event. This combination of SPOT and 406 MHz ELT is the most comprehensive and cost effective protection for plane and pilot that is currently available.”

WIG-WAG RECOGNITION LIGHTS
Wig-wag recognition lights are now standard equipment on the Sting S3 light sport aircraft. The Sting’s wig-wag system, controlled by a switch on the instrument panel, alternately flashes the landing and taxi lights in the airplane’s wingtips.

“Increasing the visibility of an airplane can significantly improve safety, especially in high traffic areas around busy airports,” says Bill Canino, President of SportairUSA. “The addition of the wig-wag system to our already comprehensive lighting package is one more step in our process of continuously improving the safety and enjoyment of flying.”

Current owners of the Sting S3 can easily retrofit their airplanes with a kit available from the company. All S3s and late model StingSports were originally equipped with an extra switch and circuit breaker in anticipation of the availability of the wig-wag kit. For information, owners are urged to call SportairUSA at (888) FLY-SLSA (888-359-7572).

STRAIGHT|LEVEL^TM
The Straight|Level™ system is a significant advance in flight safety for Sting owners. That’s why we’re providing it at no additional cost on all Sting S3s equipped with select EFIS/autopilot equipment.

The latest in a list of safety firsts* for the Sting, the Straight|Level™ system once again brings capabilities formerly available only on much more expensive airplanes to the SLSA market. Press the button labeled S|L on the Sting’s avionics panel and the autopilot takes over, leveling the wings and locking in heading and altitude, giving the pilot a break in the event of spatial disorientation. For a passenger faced with a pilot’s sudden incapacitation, the S|L button is a potential life-saver. The Straight|Level™ system directs the autopilot to bring the airplane into stabilized straight and level flight. Once the airplane is stabilized, the occupants are afforded an opportunity to consider
the appropriate next steps. Pressing the S|L button has the following immediate results:

• Engages the autopilot (if autopilot off), or resets the autopilot (if autopilot on).
• Levels the wings.
• Captures and holds the current altitude.
• Captures and holds the current heading.

AMSAFE INERTIAL REEL SAFETY RESTRAINTS
Standard equipment on the StingSport now includes four-point, inertial reel safety harnesses by AmSafe Aviation. AmSafe's FAA certified inflatable restraints are an available option.