5 Sport Airplanes You Can Buy For Less Than $200,000

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Ultralight Airplanes (In Europe) a.k.a Light Sport Aircrafts (In USA) are the perfect entry into flying or becoming a pilot. These airplanes generally are smaller in size and can only seat two people. They also have a speed limit of 120 knots in the US LSA category. Although these airplanes are categorized as for recreational use, they are also very capable cross country airplanes. You can travel further with them and cruise nicely at 120 mph - 130mph TAS.

The airplanes listed in this video may have a different price or performance from the numbers shown in the video, so please do check with the airplane website or manufacturer for more concrete data.

Here are the 5 airplanes listed

Bristell LSA: Arguably one of the best looking Light aircraft in the market today. The Bristell brand is rarely young at only 7 years old and they have already sold on average 50 airplanes each year since 2011. There are now at least 300 Bristell airplanes flying in the skies today.

Engine: Rotax 912
Cruise speed:112 knots
Stall speed: 31 knots
Fuel consumption: 4.5 gallons per hour
Price: $150,000

Czech Sportcruiser: Formerly known as the Piper sport, here is one of the most popular light sport aircraft in the United States today. With well over 600 fleet flying in the skies today, the sport cruiser should be considered the grandfather of all certified light aircraft, specifically in the LSA category. The airplane is currently headquartered and designed in the Czech Republic and it has several bases and distributors in the US and around the world

Engine: Rotax 912
Cruise speed: 93 knots
Stall speed: 31 knots
Fuel consumption: 4.6 gallons per hour
Price: $150,000

Tecnam Astore - The Tecnam Astore is one of the few hidden gems in the Light sport category. This airplane generally don’t get a lot of attention like the other more popular airplanes in the market. But this is a gorgeous airplane with nice finishes and touches. And it has a higher max cruise speed of 124 knots.

Engine: Rotax 912 or Rotax 914
Cruise speed: 120 knots
Stall speed: 39 knots
Fuel consumption: 4.5 gallons per hour
Price: $162,000

Sling 2: The sling 2 is a 2 seater LSA version airplane from the airplane factory. The sling 2 is both a certified LSA and can also be homebuilt as an experimental airplane. Needless to say that this is one of the most affordable light aircraft in the market. With a starting price of $135,000 and with all the bells and whistles, you are looking at about $30k-$40k more in price.

Engine: Rotax 912
Cruise speed: 120 knots
Stall speed: 40 knots
Fuel consumption: 3.8 gallons per hour
Price: $135,000

Blackwing Sweden: The blacking is a very fast ultralight airplane designed and manufactured in Sweden. The aircraft comes in 2 different models. One with fixed landing gear and another with retractable landing gear. The blackwing also boasts cruise speed reaching up to 150 knots per hour. That is quite fast for an airplane running on a 100 horse power rotax engine.

Engine: Rotax 912
Cruise speed: 136 knots
Stall speed: 35 knots
Fuel consumption: 3.7 gallons per hour
Price: $200,000

[rudolfabelin]

I flew the Blackwing yesterday, in Sweden, with Niklas Anderberg from the company. My most common reference is the MFI-9 and MFI-15, so this was a new experience. Very so. The agilty really shows that this a modern age design made of state of the art carbon fibre and a modern wing profile. I found it hard to believe that we were powered by only 100 hp of the Rotax 912. Acceleration at take off was very good for 100 hp, But then again with an empty weight of approx. 650 lbs, it's just physics. Little fun with looping, 360 roll some 4G turns and low a pass past the spectators at roughly 170 kts. Big want to have factor!

[CrabLouis]

Nice summary breakdown. I appreciate you putting the high points into the show notes too. Thanks Mike.

[OmarCapellan]

Like always great video bro. Thanks for the info.

[pigsnack]

Nice work, Mike. Very informative. Looking forward to more videos especially in the LSA segment.

[timw]

Great, Great job on the videos! Just bought my Airventure tix for Oshkosh. Gotta get my MG T-Shirt as well now!

[flypipers]

Great video clips and insight. Well done Mike. I enjoy your channel

[ArmAmericaFTG]

Mike your videos are not only awesome, they are also very inspiring!

[brentjohnson]

Love the look of the black wing. Also I like the Sling 2 (I am partial to canopies - I learned on Grumman American TR2 or AA-1A).

[OperatorBayArea]

Awesome video. I really want to I go back country flying one day soon 👌🏽👍🏾

[garrygballard]

This is a killer video Mike. How about doing an updated video. Or an updated one every year ?

[eatmorenachos]

I really like how much information you can cram into one video. Very informative. Ever thought of doing something on motorgliders? They seem to beat LSA in many ways.

[davidfulginiti]

Mike, just discovered your channel, love it keep the vids David

[quranulkareem]

Thanks for your information.I appreciate you.Thanku.

[Dyscombobulates]

Mike I really like the way you present airplanes. i can tell you are enthusiastic and dont talk down to novices. Keep it up

[cheguevara]

I was on my very first solo flight on the bristle base model 4500 ft in the air and I started falling not knowing what was going on, I am use to flying self adjusting RPM air density pitch controls but this plane started descending as I went up I instantly realised it was because the air density was a lot lower up there

[Tharkunify]

Mike, I was wondering if you had a chance to fly the Astore and how it "felt" compared to the Sling 2. I have flown the Sling and like the plane, but was specifically wondering about difference in storage space behind the seats, landing characteristics (the sling 2 is very easy to land), fit and finish. The Astore seems to cost more for a decked plane with IFR equipment ($220k vs. $180k). Thanks.

[timpell]

HELLO MIKE, Love the video on the LSA planes for the US. I am in the market for one. Looks like they all use a Rotax 912 engine to within the FAA guidelines. I will want to order with a parachute. Which plane(s) do you recommend? Thanks.

[pano-rific]

Bristell is the pistol but Sling is the thing. I saw your unboxing last night. Best wishes on that. I'll keep the popcorn warm for your next up date. ~ your neighbor.

[Bourock]

You should check out the Aerospool WT9 Dynamic, AEROPRO EuroFOX, Tomarkaero Viper SD4 and Shark.Aero Shark from Slovakia. Great aircraft for a reasonable price.

[gomidassemerjian]

Would you do a comparison video for Kit airplanes like the T 51 and the Kit Fox? Or even the Icon A5.