3Xtrim Aircraft Factory - High-quality production involves paper documentation called "travelers" (because they follow components through assembly), meant to help track every element used in every airplane. Now, keep all this straight while moving your facilities 1,000 miles while literally under the gun.
A Message of Thanks on a Day of Thanksgiving Does a “simple aircraft” seem a contradiction in modern aviation? Today, a mid-range LSA is commonly equipped with sophisticated digital avionics, autopilot, articulating fowler flaps, carbon airframes, powerful engines, numerous safety items and quite a bit more. Doesn’t everyone want those features? Is is even possible to fly an aircraft without all these advanced devices and services? Who would want such a simple aircraft? You might be surprised. Over the years I’ve come to believe that Part 103 ultralights (see a lengthy list of 103s) are selling at roughly the same rate as Light-Sport Aircraft (market stats). I frequently get pushback when making this statement but I believe part of the answer is that these aircraft don’t fly where larger, more powerful, faster, noisier aircraft fly. Most 103 aviators fly out of fields or airparks.
3Xtrim Aircraft Factory
Specifications: 550 TrenerEngine: 1 × Rotax 912, 73.4 kW (98.6 hp)Wingspan: 10.03 m (32 ft 11 in)Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6½ in)Height: 2.40 m (7 ft 10¾ in)Wing area: 12.40 sq.m (133.5 sq.ft)Empty weight: 325 kg (717 lb)Max. takeoff weight: 550 kg (1,212 lb)Never exceed speed: 220 km/h (118 knots, 136 mph)Cruise speed: 170 km/h (91 knots, 106 mph)Stall speed: 70 km/h (38 knots, 44 mph)Range: 750 km (405 nmi, 466 mi)Service ceiling: 4,000 m (13,120 ft)Rate of climb: 4.5 m/s (886 ft/min)Crew: 1Capacity: 1 passenger
Fifteen years ago, in 2007, Guisset brothers Jean-Marie and Jean-Baptiste were dealers in France and Belgium for a company then known as Aveko. Driven by a passion for flying that started when they were only fourteen years old, the brothers were successful enough that at one point they could claim to have sold more than 85% of the aircraft produced by Aveko. Aircraft seen in nearby images is the VL3, a plane formerly designed by Vanessa Air and produced by Aveko. Americans first came to know a variation of this model as the Gobosh G700S although that faded about the time JMB took over production. Some years went by with no U.S. presence for the European low-wing aircraft. Five years later, in 2012, the Guisset brothers’ acquired Aveko. Shortly after, they started to upgrade the aircraft, pushing the aircraft to fly faster (article). They also upgraded the interior; see current state-of-design in a nearby image.
To eliminate confusion about how to pronounce their company name, Waco wisely made this helpful T-shirt. Here my wife gives one to a childhood friend, whose nickname happens to be Waco. He pronounces it like the biplane.
When the Sebring U.S. Sport Aviation Expo launched back in 2004 — the same year the SP/LSA regulation was released — the central Florida location began serving a then-new aviation segment. For 15 years this show grew and prospered …until it ended in 2019. (Sebring’s timing now appears foresightful because the next year, 2020, started the world down the Covid path that put enormous financial pressure on other events.) Sebring Expo accomplished its principal goal for the race-city airport: to put it on the aviation map in a definitive way. Led by longtime airport manager Mike Willingham, Sebring enjoyed a remarkable run and the young LSA industry benefitted greatly from their event. If you’re curious about how and why Sebring called it quits, check this first and second article on the subject. Not long after Sebring first opened its visitor gates, another small event started in the unlikely town of Mt.
Taking over from longtime U.S. importer Tom Peghiny is the father and son team of Tom Gutman Sr. and Jr. In recent years, Tom Jr. has taken a leadership role. Their company, Airtime Aviation, is the largest seller of LSA in the world. They are centrally based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Evidence of their long time in the business — their super-simple easily-remembered website address: FlyCT.com (vintage image from 2007 with the Gutman's fleet of CT Light-Sport Aircraft)
Once upon a time, I was able to report three or more new Special Light-Sport Aircraft every month. That was more than a decade back when the pace of new arrivals seemed faster than a rocket parachute deployment. Lots of airplane developers from all over the globe wanted a piece of this promising LSA action with its greater freedoms and breathtaking pace of innovation. New models were announced with regularity.
The company name 3Xtrim was intended to be a double entendre, referring to the aircraft designs being "triple trimmed" (or more exactly "triple-tested") during the design, prototype and production stages and also that the aircraft are designed for "extreme conditions". In English the company name is pronounced "Three-Extreme".[1]
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Krzysztof Wieczorek won the 16th FAI World Precision Flying Championship in 2004 and took the 3rd place in the 14th FAI World Rally Flying Championship in 2004 flying 3Xtrim aircraft. In the 17th FAI World Precision Flying Championship in 2006, 3Xtrim took the 1st (Krzysztof Wieczorek) and 3rd (Krzysztof Skrętowicz) places.
We are getting closer to April 2023, which will offer not one but two great affordable aviation events: Sun 'n Fun and Aero Friedrichshafen 2023. My reporting will begin in March as companies begin announcing new projects. Keep clicking or tapping back here…!
One of the most desirable aspects of the Midwest LSA Expo at Mt. Vernon (KMVN) is the opportunity to demo fly aircraft. For my work, it's the #1 event to fly and photograph aircraft. In this view Tom Gutman Sr. and Jr. of Airtime Aviation fly Flight Design CT-series models for a photo shoot.
TOP: Electra One, which first flew almost ten years ago. BOTTOM: One of Pipistrel's earliest electric projects was converting their Taurus motorglider to the tiny motor seen in the image; this is a sensible use of this power source because it is only needed for launching and initial climbout.
We are getting closer to April 2023, which will offer not one but two great affordable aviation events: Sun ‘n Fun and Aero Friedrichshafen 2023. My reporting will begin in March as companies begin announcing new projects. Keep clicking or tapping back here…! You can read everything on this website completely free of charge — though we appreciate your support through membership. Learn which companies lead the light aircraft sector — Tap or click the big blue button. Thanks for your visit. We genuinely appreciate those of you who have become members!
3X55 Trainer Engine: Rotax 912 ULS Wing span: 9.60m / 31.5ftLength: 6.87m / 22.5ft Height: 2.4m / 7.9ftWing area: 11.84sq.m / 127.4sq.ftCabin width: 1.2m / 47.2inWing load: 46.5 kg/sq.m / 9.52lbs/sq.ftMax. take-off weight: 550kg / 1212 lbsEmpty weight: 325 kg / 716lbsUseful load: 225 kg / 496lbsFuel tank capacity std: 18.5Impg / 23.2 US galNever Exceed Speed (IAS) VNE: 109ktsCruise speed max. cont. Power (IAS): 100ktsCruise speed 75% power (IAS): 88ktsStall speed (IAS) Vso: 39ktsManoeuvering Speed (IAS) VA: 75ktsMaximum Flap Extended Speed (IAS) VFE full flaps: 62ktsMaximum Flap Extended Speed (IAS) VFE take-off flaps: 74ktsMaximum climb rate: 1000ft/min / 62kts IASTake-off distance 50ft obstacle: 918ft / 280mRange: 388NM / 720km
When Light-Sport Aircraft arrived on the scene almost 20 years ago, one early model that caught my attention was Kappa KP-5. This was one of the first of several brands unknown to Americans then. Others went on to become fixtures in the LSA space: Flight Design, Tecnam, Evektor, and Aeroprakt, among others. Over some years, light aircraft models that arrived under the name Kappa were rebadged as Jihlavan and then Skyleader. In truth, it’s been Jihlavan all along but Americans have an easier time saying Skyleader. The company has been a busy development engine lead by engineer Antonín Píštěk while the enterprise is lead by CEO Radek Filip, also an engineer. In the center of the model lineup, Skyleader 200 to Skyleader 600 are descendants of that first Kappa KP5. Contrarily, GP One and UL-39 Albi (article) are distinct designs that do not derive from the 200-400-500-600 series.
The company was established by former SZD sailplane engineer Adam Kurbiel in 1996 under the name Wytwórnia i Naprawa Konstrukcji Lekkich - A. Kurbiel. The company hired many of the out-of-work aerospace workers who had been employed at the sailplane manufacturer. The company name was changed to Zakłady Lotnicze 3Xtrim Sp.z o.o. in November 1999. The company seems to have gone out of business in 2014.[1][2]