First Light-Sport Aircraft Using Amphibious Clamar Floats

South Woodstock, CONNECTICUT / February 8, 2011 — ASTM certification for the amphibious CTLS Floatplane was accepted by FAA on January 15, 2011 and made its public debut at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida a week later. The company announced that it is now ready to accept orders for the CTLS Floatplane. German aircraft producer Flight Design, known for its speedy development cycle, now brings a floatplane to their worldwide dealer network.

Flight Design USA distributor Airtime Aviation of Tulsa, Oklahoma (http://www.flyct.com/) — in cooperation with Flight Design GmbH  and Clamar Floats (http://www.clamarfloats.com) of Ontario, Canada — completed over 150 hours of flight testing in preparation for the final approval. The certification process involved no changes to the basic CTLS airframe. “To certify the CTLS we had to replace the propeller with a slightly different model but no structural changes were required,” said Airtime partner, Tom Gutman. “We added a gear position indicator and the water rudder handle along with a split brake handle to allow for castoring steering on the ground.”

Clamar’s 1400 float series allows the CTLS to takeoff with a water run of only 15-20 seconds at full gross weight. The CTLS Floatplane cruises at 100 knots where the wheeled model achieves 115 knots. Airtime is continuing development and offers a straight float (non-amphibious) version. Useful load for the CTLS Lite with the amphibious floats is 500 pounds.

“The Clamar floats match the structure and the feel of the Flight Design planes,” noted Tom Peghiny, president of importer Flight Design USA. Pricing has been set at $39,900 plus the prop exchange. This price means that it would be possible for a customer to buy a new CTLS Lite plus amphibious floats for $161,895 in ready-to-fly form.  “Owners may add the Clamar floats to existing CTLS aircraft.

“We are accepting orders effective immediately and we can start customer deliveries in less than 60 days,” observed John Gilmore, national sales manager for Flight Design USA.

Flight Design is a 24-year-old air-sport products producer based in Germany. The company remains the worldwide market leader thanks to its well-received CT series of light aircraft. More than 1,700 of these aircraft are flying in 39 countries. One of the first aircraft certified under ASTM International standards in 2005, the CT (“composite technology”) series remains the top-selling LSA in America through six
consecutive years. Flight Design sold the first LSA to India and was the first LSA to earn Chinese Type Design Approval. A newer model, the MC (metal concept), has generated excitement in the market.

For more information or to find the closest Flight Design dealer, go to:  main manufacturer website www.flightdesign.com, or Flight Design USA website www.flightdesignusa.com.