NEWS
T L A I R CR A F T ’ S
S PA R K ER
CZECH AIRCRAFT BUILDER TL Ultralight has worked with their American distributors, TL Aircraft, to release their newest sport plane – the TL Sparker. Power options include the Rotax 912 USL or the 915 iS. A choice of fixed or adjustable propellers are available, with TL’s top recommendations being a 3-bladed PowerMax or two-bladed DuoMax prop. Estimated (albeit optimistic) performance from TL Aviation gives the 915 iS Sparker a range of 1,000 miles, a cruise speed of 175 knots TAS and a fuel consumption of 7.5 gallons per hour. The launch marketing material claims, “Retractable landing gear with a steerable nose wheel make for easy taxi handling, with 24
cubic feet of luggage compartments hungry enough for a trip’s worth of luggage. The cockpit is where the aircraft shines, as the Sparker combines the sportiness of another of TL’s aircraft, tandem-seat, fighteresque Stream with the luxurious, spacious cockpit of a larger aircraft.” The Sparker is claimed to be “a sleek, aerodynamic build with a spacious, high-visibility panoramic canopy that promises at a glance will make the most of every bit of its power. The carbon and Kevlar shell provides maximum crew protection in case of rough off-airport landings should the worst occur, which, given the ballistic parachute recovery system, should be a rare occurrence.” j
The TL Sparker makes ambitious claims.
December / January 2021/22
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