Let me start by saying, I love the Varga Kachina !! I have many hours in them, both in US and Scotland and even have one in the hangar in bits due to an accident (not me, my dipshit brother) many years ago.
Over the years I have toyed with having the damaged one rebuilt or buying a replacement but have never pulled the trigger. Have now just discovered there is a “ready to fly” LSA that will be on the market next year from a company called Haim Aviation (www.haim-aviation.com) that is basically a LSA version of the Varga with the unique feature of having interchangeable wings for X country or STOL. I am really tempted to put a deposit down but have a few concerns:
Anybody any thoughts (before I go nuts and spunk a heap of dough)????
I am reluctant to pay a deposit ie provide an interest free loan to a new company for a new product that is a long way from delivery. I guess though the deposit is relatively small
update: Hopes dashed ! below is an email from the manufacturer
One topic you didn't touch upon: the Varga is aerobatic, but I think a Rotax-powered plane can never be. Not a concern for you, perhaps, seeing the craft you fly today?
As for the type of registration: at those weights it could never be a microlight anywhere in Europe. But wouldn't it perfectly fit the upcoming ELSA class? Might take some time/effort/budget to get certified*, though.
*as a non-native speaker of the English language, I am somewhat confused between "certified" and "certificated". Is there a shade of difference, or is one a UK saying and the other US'an, or is one of them just plain wrong?
Thanks for this info - I know a very experienced old pilot/homebuilder/engineer who did some of he test flying on the original Morrisey Nifty (direct predecessor to the Varga Kachina). I think he'll be interested to learn about this development.
Jan - the term 'certified' applies to aircraft design approval, 'certificated' to pilot and aircraft "licensing". The origin of the term 'certificated' is related to US law. The FAA being a national/federal organization is responsible for interstate commerce including aviation but is specifically not authorized to issue or charge for legal licenses - that is reserved for the states. As a result, the FAA issues a certificate of competence for a US pilot, and nobody licenses him or charges him for a license. Another effect is that FAA pilot or aircraft airworthiness certificates, not being licenses, cannot expire.
