Popham Microlight Trade Fair

Highlights from the show! Words & Photos Ed Hicks

01 Glorious weather and tremendous attendance on Saturday.

02 The LAA and Dragon Aviation announced they would be working together on CAA registration of the A32 Vixxen as a sub-600kg microlight kit and introducing it as a factory-built ready-to-fly aircraft, the first for LAA.

03 While an EASA LSA version is already available, LX Aviation is seeking type approval for a 600kg version of the WT9 Dynamic for the UK which it hopes to sell for around €140,000 plus VAT.

04 The Skyranger Nynja from Flylight Airsports has a BMAA approval for 600kg which, thanks to it’s light empty weight of around 287kg, means it can offer over a whopping 300kg of useful load.

05 The KFA Explorer imported by Sprite Aviation is currently being assessed as a 600kg type by the LAA and BMAA. This is the second UK example.

06 What might at first have had you thinking it was a regular Pulsar among the visiting aircraft, was in fact the unique Pulse SSDR, built by multiple aircraft project builder, Dave Stephens in 2016. The aircraft uses a modified flap system to meet the stall speed requirements of the SSDR category.

07 The latest and most potent version of the Eurofox, packs a Rotax 915iS engine under its cowl. Developed primarily for the glider-tug market, nine have been sold already. If you’d like one, price is around £115k inc VAT, but popularity means there’s a 20 month wait…

Compiled by Mike Slaughter