Testimonials | |
|
Robert M. Johnson, Geographer, Reno, Nevada Wow, what a magnificent flying machine! The Lambada is everything you said it would be! My biggest enjoyment, and one that constantly reconfirms my decision to buy the Lambada, is when I transition from a power takeoff to soaring & gliding on "natural" or FREE energy. The Lambada is truly the best of both flying worlds since it gets great fuel economy during cross country yet provides a competitive sailplane when conditions prevail. It gains altitude and transitions to cruise in a flash. In fact last week, on the way to a special event here in the Northwest, I was radioed by another motorized LSA aircraft to slow down so they could catch up with the caravan. The Lambada is a real ego builder !! As you know, here in Carson/Minden Nevada, we takeoff at over 4700 MSL and it doesn't take long to experience 10,000 ft and a view of beautiful Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra mountain range. The elegance of the Lambada can be seen by the shadow it casts as it dances across the snow capped mountains and deserts below. This airplane is pure fun to fly and a joy to own. Kudos to you for the constant progress reports during the avionics upgrades and many thanks to Jim Lee for his first class "coast to coast" ferry flight. It was always a good feeling to know that during your very busy schedules, I could get answers to many of my questions and concerns. Thanks Josef and Jim Dr. Jonathan Braslow, Indio, California I have recently taken the delivery of my Lambada 808JB. I have been a pilot for 40 years, both power and sailplanes- primarily sailplanes, although I have had a Trinidad tb 20, and a Cessna 170 and Ximango in the past. I started soaring with a PIK 20B and flew it for 5 years then had a DG400 for 18 years. I became weary of flying alone. I researched ALL of the planes available and hands down the Lambada is the best and unique in what is available. The construction, and finish is absolutely equal to the best composite ships anywhere!! The Lambada flies like a sailplane!! not like the heavier options out there which are TWICE as heavy empty weight. The ability to explore areas that would be impossible in a sailplane can be done with ease and safety in a Lambada!! I know as I have many hours in a DG400, but now I can share the experience and still have a good performing sailplane. The new distributor Josef Bostik is absolutely terrific to work with -I have worked with others it the past-and he second to none. The design, handling characteristics, and overall value of the Lambada makes it the ONLY choice for me. Jeff N24PV, Auburn, New York In the last 2 years I have flown more than 600 hours in numerous two-place touring motorglider models, including the Lambada, the Aeromot Ximango, the Fournier RF5B, the Scheibe Rotax Falke, the Schleicher SF-28A, and the Grob 109B. For my purposes, my favorite two-place touring motorglider, by a wide margin, is the Urban Air Lambada. The combination of the modest cost, the beautifully simple, light weight and rugged carbon fiber construction, the economical 80 Hp Rotax engine, the feathering prop, the 15m span LSA-compliant design, and the extraordinary visibility make the Lambada the best possible compromise for cross-country powered touring, local flying around the patch, and club-class soaring. Operated as a conventional airplane, using standard piloting skills, the Lambada can cruise comfortably at 100kts, or low and slow at 50 kts, for several hours on the generous 13-26 gallons of Mogas or 100LL. And operated as a self-launch glider, on a good soaring day the Lambada can self-launch and soar all day with the engine off, or self-launch and cruise at 100kts out to ridge and wave soaring sites. Ted Grussing, PA, Sedona, AZ I transitioned from a high performance sailplane to the Lambada and am finding it to be the perfect solution to soaring requirements. I fly out of a high density altitude airport (Sedona, AZ) and seldom have a climb rate under 850' per minute with two persons on board and density altitude in the 9,000' range. I am 6'2", weigh 198 lbs and find the cockpit to be a very comfortable and relatively roomy place to be. The Lambada soars well and handles like a 15m ship; it is exceptionally light on the controls. I'm very pleased with the ship and would never go back to pure sailplanes; I like the options. Ted Grussing Barry Young, Phoenix, AZ N851BY In 2002, I became one of the first American owners of a Lambada MotorGlider - N851BY. I began flying sailplanes in 1988. Like many others, I wanted to be able to share my flying experiences with others, something I could not do in my PW5. I considered a high performance, two place sailplane. But I wasn't satisfied with a tandem seating arrangement. Then, at a Soaring Society of America (SSA) convention, I "met" the Lambada. After only one flight I knew that this aircraft was meant for me. Climbing out (even on a HOT Phoenix, Arizona summer day - 105 F, my airport at 1400 MSL) my Lambada climbs at 1000 feet per minute. In the winter, I've seen N851BY climb at a breathtaking 1600 feet per minute in powered flight. Thermaling a Lambada in the Arizona summer routinely gives me 1000+ foot per minute climbs - WITH THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. Control inputs are light, even with power on. The Rotax 910 is smooth, proven and trustworthy. With the engine off, the Lambada is quiet and responsive. Its stall characteristics are incredibly docile and predictable - every time. With G loadings rated at +6/-3 (and tested to 12Gs), an L/D of 30:1, an 800 NM range under power, there is no question that the Lambada is quite a performer. The aircraft's design is pleasing to look at. The long wings are impressive and perform as good as they look. Phoenix Composites, a top notch custom builder of composite aircraft of all types (Glsair, Viper Jet and others) performs my Lambada's annual inspections and routine maintenance. After my first inspection with them, their experts confirmed what I already knew: The Lambada's quality of workmanship is on par with the best composite lay-up and assembly in the world. Because of my work schedule, I fly N851BY fewer than 100 hours a year. But even though I may have been out of the cockpit for a few weeks at a time, returning to the Lambada is easy. The Lambada simply "wants to fly." Now, a word about the USA dealer who is now behind the Lambada: Josef Bostik is a dealer who is not only sold on and enthusiastic about his product; he is also someone who has provided me with dependable service and follow-though. He does what he promises, when he promises. I am confident in dealing with him and recommend him without hesitation. I love my Lambada and those whom I have taken up (especially power pilots who have limited or no exposure to soaring) all come back seeing General Aviation from an entirely new prospective. For non-pilots, the side-by-side seating gives them the unique 'pilot's perspective" and a great sense of confidence. Bottom line: Fly the Lambada. Randy Newberry, Bland, VA I quit Hang Gliding after 25 years but still had the itch to soar. I always thought that a motorglider would be the ultimate toy if I could just find one that suited me. I wrote down all the things that I wanted in a MG and started my research. The Lambada was the only one that fit my criteria. There was not a strong dealer/importer at the time and no new ships available, but I found a 2001 model (one of the first ones in the US) and bought it. In a year I've flown close to 200 hours with only 45 hours on the engine. The best thing about it is I can take my old Hang Gliding buddies up with me and we can sit there a talk about old times while we climb up to cloudbase. Now, with Bostik Industries, LLC as our dealer/importer, things are getting even better for Lambada owners. It gives owners peace of mind knowing that we can get parts or technical support whenever we need it. (I just bought a new parachute from them) There is no better way to go from "roar to soar" than in a Lambada. Randy Newberry A Limited Evaluation of the Urban Air s.r.o. UFM 13/15 S-LSA Lambada Motorglider My introduction to the Lambada motorized glider came about when I met Josef Bostik, the president of Bostik Industries, LLC, at a dinner honoring a mutual friend. During our conversation, Josef told me about his association with Urban Air USA, the manufacturer of the Lambada, and the unique capabilities of this motorglider. As the National distributor of Urban Air s.r.o., I found out that Josef had a Lambada at the Melbourne, FL airport that they used for sales demonstrations and for training. As a former Air Force test pilot with some experience in the general aviation industry, I am always eager to fly different types of airplanes both big and small. Fortunately, Josef most generously offered me a chance to fly the Lambada when the sales team had a break in their orientation and training schedule. We settled on February 5, 2008 at 1100 in the morning for my orientation ride and I arrived to meet Josef and Jim Lee, the director of sales, who was to be the instructor pilot. After our brief introductions, we got down to the matter at hand - flying. Josef and Jim gave me a brief overview of the Lambada light sport aircraft to include the composite structure, large wingspan, flight controls, spoiler system, landing gear, cockpit layout, avionics and the exchangeable wingtips. The exchangeable wingtips are an ingenious method to offer the flexibility to maximize the performance when soaring (longer wingtips) or cruising (shorter wingtips) when you want to get to your destination as quickly as possible. Our aircraft was configured in the soaring mode for this demo flight so I was going to have to try to dust off those long dormant rudder skills after years of flying big aircraft with yaw damper systems. This aircraft was equipped with a Garmin 496 navigation system, a Grand Rapids Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS), a normal set of flight instruments (altimeter, VVI, and airspeed). We didn't spend too much time reviewing the capabilities of these systems but the EFIS appeared to have nearly all the information one could want regarding engine status, system conditions, primary flight displays, and navigation. Following a brief cockpit orientation and instruction on how to get into the airplane without damaging the canopy system, I carefully entered the left seat of the airplane and strapped in. The side-by-side seating provided more than sufficient space for the two of us (both over six foot tall) and I never felt constrained throughout the flight. We carefully closed the canopy to ensure a tight seal and then Jim configured the switches for the engine start. I turned the key to the START position and the 80hp ROTAX engine started without a hiccup. While the canopy must be closed when the engine is running, there are two canopy vents on either side of the cockpit that provide airflow to keep the occupants from getting too hot. With the engine at idle power, the noise is minimal and allows a normal conversation between the occupants without headsets. After completing the pre-taxi check items, we used the vernier throttle adjust to add a little power and we started moving. Steering on the ground is accomplished by means of a moveable tail wheel that is positioned through rudder inputs. Ground turning performance is adequate but due to the large wingspan and tail wheel input, you don't want to wait too long to start the rudder/tailwheel inputs to get the plane turning. As long as you lead the turn sufficiently, the airplane will go where you want it to go. If the situation got out of hand and you couldn't make the turn, it would be a simple task to shut down and move the very lightweight aircraft into the proper position. Braking is accomplished by means of a single hand lever on the back of the control stick. The brake handle is similar to that of bicycle hand brake except that the airplane handle also has a parking brake function. Braking control using the lever is smooth and quite effective. Taxiing is accomplished with the spoilers in the full up position to minimize the possibility of an inadvertent flight if the power is accidentally advanced too far or in case of a severe wind gust. We accomplished the remainder of our pre-flight checks and then maneuvered the aircraft onto the runway after getting our takeoff clearance from the tower. The push/pull throttle is normally operated by use of the vernier mechanism except for takeoffs or go-arounds when the throttle is pushed directly full forward. The weather conditions for our flight were very nice except for a 15-25 wind (with gusts) out of the south which happened to be a straight crosswind for the runways we were flying today. I pushed the throttle full forward to maximum power and we quickly accelerated. Just when I was starting to get the hang of the directional control we were at the rotation speed at which time I pulled the stick back slightly and we were quickly airborne. Climb rate was a sporty 1100 fpm on this 75 degree day despite that we were just 40-50 pounds short of the maximum load. The aircraft was very responsive in pitch and quite maneuverable in the roll axis especially considering the 49 foot wingspan as long as you use the rudders to coordinate the turns. Using the vernier, I throttled back about 200 RPM (5000 RPM) and executed our climb at 70 knots and we rapidly reached the 3000 ft cloud bases to start our soaring demonstration. At this point we shut down the engine and feathered the prop to the soaring position to minimize drag and then started to look for lift. Having been away from soaring for so long, Jim guided me to the best spots for lift and despite my inexperience in soaring we were able to find some pockets of lift that allowed us to climb at 500-600 fpm. Definitely not bad for a near fully loaded airplane especially considering the extra weight of the engine, prop, and fuel. After staying airborne with the motor off for 15-20 minutes, we had descended to about 1000 ft. AGL so it was time to restart the engine and move on to something else. We restarted the motor by un-feathering the prop, turning on the fuel pump and the positioning the ignition switch to the START position. The engine sprang to life and we were quickly climbing at 1000 fpm back up to 2000 ft and headed towards a local VFR airfield. On the way to the airport, Jim let me accomplish a straight ahead stall to see the stall and recovery characteristics. With the throttle at idle, I held the aircraft level until reaching a stall at about 40 knots. The aircraft pitched down very slightly and after briefly releasing aft stick pressure, the aircraft was flying again. There was absolutely no roll-off noted during this one stall attempt and the recovery was very simple to accomplish. Our next maneuver was an engine-off approach to Merritt Island airport to practice a normal glider approach/landing or the unlikely scenario of an inflight engine failure. Approximately three miles from the field at about 2000 ft AGL, we shut down the engine and feathered the prop and then relied on the reported 30:1 glide ratio to get us to the runway. We flew the approach at the maximum glide range speed of 60 knots and worked our way around the pattern using the spoilers to control descent rate. Despite having to follow another aircraft flying a normal box pattern, we easily had enough energy to set up on a normal glidepath and even had to use spoilers to keep us from landing long. Despite being a tailwheel airplane, the recommended procedure for landing is to flare like flying a conventional tricycle gear plane about 3-5 feet of the ground and then let the Lambada land itself in the three point attitude. I did the best I could in the 15-20 knot crosswinds and was able to get the airplane on the ground with what I'd consider a bit of a hard landing but Jim said it was well within the limits of the sturdy landing gear. Once on the ground, the tailwheel steering takes over and it's easy to overcontrol due to the inertia of the lengthy wings but with a little practice this should be easy to correct. With an approach speed of 60 kts and a landing speed of about 40 kts, it shouldn't take too long to decelerate to taxi speed so your vulnerability zone is pretty minimal. After landing, we taxied back to the departure end and accomplished another takeoff and headed south back to the Melbourne airport for one more approach and landing. The transit back to Melbourne was accomplished at an economical cruise speed of about 80-85 kts with the engine showing a fuel consumption rate of approximately 3 gph. The final approach and landing was done in the power on configuration which is accomplished with the spoilers in the full up position to allow a normal descent rate. Speed and glidepath is controlled using the Vernier throttle and it was relatively simple to maintain a good approach path using the Vernier. Once again we were faced with 15-20 kt crosswinds and despite my best efforts I landed a little bit harder than I would like but Jim said that my efforts were more than acceptable. I brought the airplane to a stop while experiencing a bit of steering overcontrol but this was quickly damped by releasing the rudder/steering inputs for a brief second and then reapplying the necessary inputs. We then taxied back to the hanger, shut down the engine and exited the airplane. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience flying the Lambada motorized glider. I can definitely see how this would be the perfect choice for the pilot who wishes to have the capability to soar without having to rely on a tow plane and also wants to have the option of cruising directly to their destination. The Lambada looks great, has diverse avionics and configuration options, and is both easy and fun to fly. I appreciate the opportunity of flying the Lambada and look forward to my next opportunity to "look for the lift". Steve Baerst Flight and Production Test Pilot TENS Aviation Services, Inc. DRAFT |
Contact:URBAN AIR USABostik Industries, LLC1333 Aventura WayMelbourne Florida, 32940 Josef Bostik-President josefbostik@cs.com phone 321 9603438 fax 321 7510142 Jim Lee-Sales Director Stardust-voyages@hotmail.com phone 352 250 5644 www.urbanairusa.com |
News:
| |
| Lambada Demo available in Minden, NV | |
| SALSA Aviation, Inc enters into marketing agreement with Urban Air USA | |
| Sun-n-Fun big success for Lambada | |
| Trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| New certification for Lambada '08 model | |
| Jim Lee joins Urban Air USA to become its Sales Director | |
by Bostik Industries, LLC