See below for article on Flight around the World.

Flight Design USA Delivers Its 200th CT Light Sport Plane

Aircraft Is Also 50th Sold By Oklahoma Dealer

Aero-News has learned Flight Design USA distributor Airtime Aviation recently delivered the 200th CT light-sport aircraft (LSA) sold in the USA to new dealer Brian Longwill of Albuquerque, NM.

In addition to representing sales of the CT, Longwill (shown above) will base his CT operation at a new LSA, taildragger, and general sport-flying airport he is opening in Estanica, NM -- a small town about a hour's drive east of Albuquerque, and south of Moriarty.

Airtime Aviation, operated by a father and son team both named Tom Gutmann (Senior and Junior), was the first to gain FAA approval for CT on April 15, 2005. CT was the second LSA to win approval in the USA, and it has since gone on to earn a leading 21 percent share of the US LSA market.

Airtime Aviation serves a number of south central US states as the distributor of Flight Design aircraft. Part of their job is establishing dealers in their territory. In an odd coincidence, the 200th sale of the CT nationally is also the 50th CT delivered by Airtime.

"We congratulate Tom Gutmann Senior and Junior on delivering CT number 200," said Tom Peghiny, president of national importer Flight Design USA. "Great work by the Gutmanns, Airtime, and our other distributors has convincingly built the CT into the country's most successful LSA. We have registered more CTs than the number three, four, and five sellers of LSA combined."

Longwill is a 20-year airline veteran and Boeing 767 captain, and he previously flew F-15 and F-16 fighters. He has worked with city officials in Estancia (Spanish for "ranch") to complete work on the new E92 airport.

The new location will be valuable to help train new and returning pilots interested in the new LSA aircraft segment. Brian refers to the new Estancia airport as a home to "grass-roots flying."

Flight Design reports nearly 1,000 aircraft delivered since the CT's introduction in 1997 and is the top-selling light-sport aircraft in the USA since 2005.

Honored as ANN's 2006 S-LSA Of The Year, the 98% carbon fiber, two-place CT features a 49-inch wide cabin and 671 pounds of useful load. It is powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912S engine and equipped with a BRS ballistic parachute as standard equipment.

FMI: www.flightdesignusa.com

LSA Round-the-World Flight Completed

Two Indian Air Force officers have completed a circumnavigation of the globe in a Light Sport Aircraft in 79 days. Wing Commanders and Squadron Leaders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar visited 19 countries in a Flight Design CTsw. The flight marks the 75th anniversary of the Indian Air Force.

Monga and Kumar, who normally fly helicopters and fighter jets, launched June 1 from Delhi, India, and returned August 19, after flying through China, Russia, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Monga flew solo across the north Atlantic so he could carry more fuel. "The round the world tour under day VFR rules was successful with this airplane despite difficult weather conditions," said Matthias Betsch, CEO of Flight Design, which is based in Germany.

"Of course, weather was a problem for us," Kumar told the Times of India. "We had to train ourselves to handle all kinds of problems ... we were sitting in the cockpit for nine or ten hours, moving from culture to culture, time zone to time zone. I think we are fortunate that we could cope up in all such situations." One of the first aircraft certified under the U.S. LSA standards, the CT is currently the best-selling LSA in the U.S., with 200 copies delivered.