Fleet

If you’re looking for a rugged aircraft that’s easy to handle, has amazing short field performance, yet is capable of cruising at 90+ knots, while (legally) carrying a good load – you’ve come to the right place!

But first, here are six basic reasons to have a long hard look at A22LS:

It is a very short take-off and landing (VSTOL) aircraft

So what? Simply – control and safety. Getting off and back on to the ground quickly, at a slow speed, means less wear & tear on the landing gear, and less potential damage to the propeller from stones and gravel. And less inertia to bring to a halt if the unthinkable happens on take-off or landing!

There is a huge amount of room in the cabin

It’s probably the biggest, airiest cabin in its class. This means that whether you’re learning, or flying with a friend, you’re not jammed shoulder to shoulder, the controls are easier to use, and room to move makes for greater safety all round.

The visibility is, in the words of one owner, ‘almost scary’

The doors are glazed to the floor, the windscreen is massive and even the rear section of the fuselage is glazed. If you’re teaching in the Foxbat, this makes for superb circuit visibility. If you’re mustering, you can see almost straight down without banking. And if you’re touring, you can see everything on the ground for miles around. The seats are positioned correctly, so tall people do not get a sore neck having to duck down to see under the wing in flight and yet can easily see over the nose.

The flight handling is superbly balanced and safe

Stalling is a non-event, even without flap. There is no tendency at all to drop a wing and you can side-slip safely with or without flap. At slow speeds, the controls are light and effective – at higher speeds they firm-up and make cruising a more relaxed affair than in some sensitive ‘performance’ related aircraft.

It has a metal airframe

So? In two words, safety & durability.
Safety: an all-metal airframe has good impact characteristics. Metal will bend and absorb forces before breaking, helping to protect occupants in the event of an accident. In comparison, composites do not absorb impacts well, usually fragmenting suddenly without bending.
Durability: correctly proofed, metal structures are durable and resistant to the external environment. Unlike composites, metal is not susceptible to structural changes caused by UV radiation, high temperatures and other weather effects. For example, composites can become significantly weakened if the surface temperature rises above 40 degrees – very easily done in even mild sunlight on an outback summer day.

Last but not least, it’s easy to get into and out of

Fed up of contorting yourself to get over the control sticks? Or jamming your legs to get under the control yokes? Forget it in a Foxbat. The center stick makes entry and exit as simple as getting into & out of bed! Even the optional control yokes are set high so you can just slide in under them.