I Rise, Cried the Phoenix

Looking out the window at falling snow (and it's only Nov 8...bah!), back from a two week vacation to Europe and Turkey, and mired in writing a big LSA buyer's guide for the mag, I've only got a few minutes to splash up some photos of what to me is a big event:  the ASTM certification as an S-LSA of the Phoenix motorglider!

Bop on over to Dan Johnson's site for his post on it, then follow his links to Jim Lee's sites for more info on the exciting news we've been waiting for some time to hear.

The Phoenix is the more-than-worthy "sequel" to the Lambada S-LSA motorglider that turned a lot of pilots on (including me and Dan).  When two breakups last year clouded its future, a lot of us were glad to hear from Jim that the Phoenix was waiting in the wings to take its place.
So congratulations Jim, glad to see it's a happening thing.
He just completed a recent cross country trip and posted some beautiful shots on the soaring and motoring high above my old stompin' grounds in the Sierra Nevada Range of California...read all about it for an up close and personal account on Jim's blog.

And even if you're in a better clime than I, don't feel bad about my snowboundedness: I'll be in sunny Florida in January hoping to fly the gorgeous Phoenix at the Sebring Sport Aviation Expo.
Mark your calendars and start searching for accommodations: it's Jan. 20-23, 2011.








---all photos courtesy Jim Lee