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Why not the SAW Sport Cruiser?
Cost: The Sport Cruiser was reasonable in cost, but though the kit was priced somewhat close to the Lightning, there were a lot of “extras” that were not included in the kit, and would have to be purchased. In the end, this would have driven the price up higher than was acceptable.
Speed of Assembly: You can get the SC “quick build” kit which is about 90% assembled. While this would be great for getting the aircraft in the air quickly, it does not qualify you as the builder under the FAAs 51% rule. You can buy a 51% compliant kit, but this involves the manufacturer shipping a 90% kit and then “disassembling” it to the 51% compliant state; huh? I didn’t like that...
Looks: A nice looking aircraft, and better looking than the Zenith 601 that it draws it roots from. The overall impression that you get when viewing it from above is that it looks fat. Of course, it has a terrific amount of interior cabin space, and this was a welcome blessing when climbing in the cockpit for the first time. I guess you can’t have one without the other.
Performance: In a word, disappointing... I thought the aircraft would be right at the edge of the Light Sport limits as far as cruise. This was not the case. Instead of the advertised 130+ mph cruise, it was more like 120 mph. Later I find out that this is not the only thing that they have exaggerated regarding the specifications. I will say however that the wing design is such that this airplane will get off the ground VERY quickly, and land SLOWER than any of the other aircraft that made my final cut. If I needed that sort of thing, the SC would have been a real consideration.
Materials: In short, very nicely made. The finish of the parts are better than most Light Sport aircraft. Probably in line with Technam, very nice. One thing that I noted. The advertised weight is much less than reality. This drove the useful load down to an unacceptable range. I always hate it when I hear a manufacturer try to make up for this by making statements like; “that may be the advertised useful load, but you can load it up much more than those numbers show”.
Room: What can I say? If lots of room is your primary consideration, then the SC is the champ. Leg room and knee room was very spacious. And getting in and out of the cockpit was as easy as any aircraft I have sat in. Of course, digging a little deeper shows that while you can fit bigger people and more “stuff” in the baggage storage, the “real” useful load prevents you from taking advantage of the extra space.
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