I'm a big fan of Flying Magazine. It's been around for a long time and covers every corner of aviation. I've always figured that if an aircraft makes it into Flying it's likely a serious effort, if not a building success story.

A recent issue of Flying had a bit about the Samson Motorworks Switchblade, a flying motorcycle being developed for the LIght Sport Aircraft market.

The Bear 360 exploded onto the experimental aircraft scene at this years Airventure. A combination of styles this warbird 'esque creation takes inspiration from both the P-51 and Bearcat. The radial engine screams Cat while the laminar flow wing is Mustang all the way.

Designed to be a meet both Russian and U.S. military standards this partnership between Sergei Yakolev, and Skip Holm looks to be a whole lot of fun. 360 horses, 210 knot cruise and a 180 degree/second roll rate mean it's got more than enough to keep me interested. Of course I was hooked at radial engine...

The Cheetah XLS just became the latest SLSA to gain certification and we couldn't be more excited for them. Jason and I had a chance to explore the Cheetah at this years Airventure and we were very impressed with the airplane.

The Icon Aircraft booth at this years Airventure was easily the most popular stop on the Tour de Light Sport Aircraft. Situated towards the main gate, the foot traffic at their display was impressive. The spread consisted of a scale mock up and the flight demo model on a trailer. They pulled the flight demo out a couple of times to execute the rather ingenious wing folding mechanism that reminded me of the Stemme motorglider... only easier to operate.

Here are AviationBull's co-owners, Ted and Jason, standing in front of a USAF Academy TG-15 glider (aka Discuss 2b) that they almost got to fly once upon a time. If you want to hear the story, find them in Camp Scholler next year and bring some frosty beverages for persuasion.