David Dobogai, Jr., is a native of Wisconsin who has deep connections to the Czech Republic, where he has been living and working since 2002. Earlier this year David was appointed by the company’s founder, Jiri Tlusty, to the position of General Manager. In that role he oversees both production and worldwide sales of the company’s aircraft.
David was educated as a mechanical engineer and also holds an MBA jointly issued by the Rochester Institute of Technology and the US Business School in Prague. His interest in airplanes was fueled by his father - a 22,000 hour career pilot - but delayed somewhat by a youth focused on racing automobiles.
We’ve carried on an extensive telephone and email correspondence with David since he hit the ground running in February. Our first chance to get to know him in person was at Sun ‘N Fun earlier this month.
We asked David some questions that were on our minds when we met in Lakeland. Here are his responses.
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The TL-Ultralight Factory
In Hradec Kralove, Czech Rep.
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Sting Notes: How did you come to live in the Czech Republic?
Dobogai: After school I ended up working in the power industry. I was the sales manager for two large investment projects in Egypt as well as other smaller projects mostly in the Middle East. The first time I went to the Czech Republic was in the fall of 2000 while I was working for Allen Bradley, a subsidiary of Rockwell. I‘ve been living and working in the Czech Republic full time from the fall of 2002.
Sting Notes: What is your current role at TL Ultralight?
Dobogai: General Manager.
Sting Notes: What are your primary short term goals for the company?
Dobogai: The most intense focus right now is to bring the Sirius to market. We’re showing the Sirius in Italy in late April, and I’ll bring a flying airplane to AirVenture in Oshkosh this summer.
Sting Notes: What are your primary long term goals for the company?
Dobogai: We’re working to expand our global dealer network and increase manufacturing capacity. It hasn’t been formally announced but we’re getting closer and closer to breaking ground on our expanded manufacturing facilities.
Sting Notes: What are the differences between Stings built for the U.S. market and Stings built for worldwide sales?
Dobogai: The differences are of course the American light sport versus European ultralight specifications. In Europe (and most of the rest of the world) there are no limitations on speed, variable pitch propellers and retractable undercarriage, but the gross weight is less. The added useful load of the LSA class is an advantage, and the LSA wing is adapted for the extra weight. Discussions are underway now that may lead to the adoption of ASTM light sport standards in Europe. The eventual result may be that the differences between European and American airplanes are minimized.
Sting Notes: What else would you like Sting owners to know?
Dobogai: Our slogan is continuous improvement, but I think it is a good idea to stress that this is not only a slogan but the reality of everyday life here at TL-Ultralight. We are continually looking for, and studying, improvements to the entire line. Sometimes it takes a while to get seemingly simple changes finalized and into production, but it’s a meticulous process. For our part, we need to be able to verify that any improvement we make is in fact a step forward and that we will be able to support the change throughout our production. With airplanes, everything is interconnected. To a greater extent than most products, changes in one part of an airplane have ramifications that must be well understood in order to be safely carried out. The result is an airplane like the Sting, the third generation of an airplane first built in 1996. It was a good airplane then, a better airplane today, and it will be even better in the future.
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