© 2011 LISA Airplanes
It can take off from a field, a lake or a snow strip – and you can park it in your garage or on your yacht. The Akoya is a new concept in light aircraft, as Peter Mercer reports.
LADY OF THE LAKE
T
his Spring the first potential clients for the Akoya, a new French amphibious Light Sport Aircraft, took their turns for a demonstration flight from Le Bourget du Lac, in the Rhone Alpes region of southeastern France, at the side of test pilot Gerald Ducoin. The prototype of the Akoya first flew in 2007. Now Benoit Senellart, VP of Development at Lisa Airplanes, the French company set up to develop this new aviation concept, was delighted at the response of the first passengers. “I’ve been involved in every step of Akoya’s development and the first delivery will be the most memorable. Therefore it’s with great pleasure that I watched our clients’ first flights. Their feedbacks are all positive on the easiness to pilot as well as on the sensations in flight. They really appreciated the visibility, the comfort and the safe atmosphere of the cockpit. This flight definitely won them over and I am delighted with that.” The Akoya is a two-seat amphibious airplane that can operate from the ground, water or snow; it can reach a speed of 135 knots with a range of 2000km and an average fuel consumption of 5.6 L per 100km. 14 Industry Europe
For a conventional landing it requires only a 200m field and can then fold its wings and be parked in a garage. This Multi-Access capability, as Lisa Airplanes defines its radical concept, is achieved through a unique combination of two hydrofoils, retractable landing gear equipped with skis and folding wings. Lisa Aircraft was established in 2004 by Erick Herzberger and Luc Bernole in the Savoie department of France not just to develop a genuinely innovative light aircraft but also to create a new lifestyle for aviation enthusiasts, a revolutionary Multi-Access system that would allow the aircraft to land with equal ease on land, water or snow without any sacrifice of performance. The two founders assembled a multi-disciplinary team of experts in aeronautics, hydrodynamics, mechanical engineering, industrial production and marketing and established collaboration agreements with technical laboratories, polytechnic institutions and aerospace companies. A key relationship has been with ONERA, the French aerospace laboratory that has supported the project with its expertise in aerodynamics as well as with its wind tunnel facilities and numerical simulation capabilities.
Flight testing First flight for the Akoya was in 2007, from Chambery Savoie Airport; on board were test pilot Gerard Ducoin and test equipment monitoring around 40 different parameters, from speed, angle of attack and temperatures to flight control positions etc. Over the next year more than 50 flights confirmed the efficiency of the aircraft’s aerodynamic surfaces as well as its handling qualities and stability in flight. During 2009 work was completed on the development of the manufacturing processes and systems and the first pre-series prototype was completed in 2010. Production of series aircraft is sub-contracted to aeronautical companies in France, Italy, Germany and Austria. Flight tests of the Akoya began in late 2010 with the first flight from water taking place on the lake at Le Bourget du Lac in 2011. These trials demonstrated that the aircraft could operate from water with a rapid, stable take-off without the pilot having to take any exceptional action; it was clear that the Seafoil system functioned effectively without the need for a hull, floats or steps. Test flights are now under way to prepare the aircraft for LSA (Light Sport Aircraft)
