Flying an unfamiliar LSA is a bit like a first date. Your friends have talked her up. She has a pretty smile, but will you get along? Does she Tweet or use Facebook, keep an old-fashioned diary, or both? Most important: Will she have a thing against flight review pilots?
I approach these aerial engagements by respecting the plane and listening more/talking less. After all, I have to report back later, and I want to give a sharp—and fair—impression.
So said, here we go with the Breezer II, an updated version of the lovely aluminum airplane from Germany that first won ASTM certification in 2005.
For this flight, it was a bit like dating the girl next door. I had first met the Breezer on a sunny spring morning at Mike Z Sport Aviation in Plant City, Fla.
Mike Zidziunas has been around the light-sport biz for a long time, as a flight instructor and as an A&P. His operation (www.mikezsportaviation.com) is somewhat unique in that it’s an LSA-only flight school and maintenance center. He’s also linked into Josh Foss’s Sportsplanes.com, a nationwide network of regional LSA centers that provide sales, flight training, warranty and maintenance service, and parts.
That day in 2008, we wheeled out the Breezer II and jumped up for the air-to-air photos you see here. During the shoot, I was quickly infatuated with her good looks, the clean yet comfortable lines and how well Mike Z flew it in formation.
breezerThe Breezer II (www.breezeraircraft.com) is an upgrade: Fuel capacity is increased, a firewall-forward baggage area carries an additional 40 pounds or so, and a steerable nosewheel ably assists the beefy arc of the fiberglass main gear.
Getting To Know You...
She’s a pretty airplane: solid and cute, with a no-nonsense profile and a big sliding canopy. Breezer is the kind of girl you want to treat right and take home to meet Mom.
When you step aboard (from a fuselage-mounted bar in front of the wing), the metallurgical echoes from your shoes bring a smile. Here’s a metal bird reminiscent of the Wichita tin classics of yore, in sport clothes. Suh-weet.
In the seat, you feel immediately comfortable and welcome. The leather upholstery is well made, tastefully colored and—most important—well-padded. No squirming around on this date. The nonadjustable seat back is slightly vertical for my tastes; not as bolt upright as a Piper Cub, but a little lumbar cushion would help.
My first flight in ’08 was little more than a glance and smile across the backyard fence—maybe 10 minutes to move the controls around a bit. But as I reported in a Plane & Pilot column: “Nominal three-axis skills will stand you in good stead with the Breezer. The controls are light and well balanced...it’s a flat-out hoot and holler to fly.”
That jaunt was one of my first in an LSA. I’d had few dates in the class and was still a bit shy. So when I got another chance a year later to date Breezer again, I jumped. Mike Z picked me up at Wallaby Ranch Flight Park near Orlando, a hang glider paradise. I climbed in and adjusted the rudder pedals via two cabled T-handles just under the “dash” (handy and effective).
The panel is roomy and beautiful. A terracotta-colored leather-like covering backs the standard steam-gauge package, while the beveled center section angles toward the pilot for easier viewing of the GPS. The ship we flew comes standard with Garmin’s 496, SL 40 COM radio and GTX 327 digital transponder. This deck would shine with an EFIS screen.
Breezer sports a more traditional split bubble in favor of the forward-hinged single-piece canopy other LSA have. That dictates a roll bar–like joining brace arcing across your upper-forward field of view.
One advantage here: You can keep it cool on the ground without worrying that a strong tailwind will slam the canopy forward like a front-hinged bubble can. Just slide the canopy aft while taxiing, then dog it down with the overhead cam lever when you’re good to go.
Visibility is terrific: a 360-degree horizontal panorama, since the canopy reaches back quite a ways behind you. The configuration bestows a vaguely ’50s fighter-jet look, too. The padded control stick is also handholding comfortable. Flap rocker switch and choke control on the center console make for an easy reach. Nosewheel steering is effective and pedal-top toe brakes make ground handling a breeze (sorry, couldn’t resist).
“You can hold the airplane still with those Beringer brakes even at full throttle,” Mike Z says. Works for me. The only complaint about the interior was a loose carpet underfoot, which bunched up under the pedals: a potential distraction. I’d glue it down; easy enough to do.
According:planeandpilot
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