As the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In opened its doors at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida, a new LSA has emerged on the U.S. market. Eagle International Aircraft announced the Viper SD4 — a proven design from Slovakia developed by Daniel Tomko Sr. of Tomark Aero CZ.
The SD4 was introduced in Europe about a decade ago and about 100 of the two-seat airplanes have been delivered there, mostly in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Germany. Extensive testing has been done to the design including flutter testing.
With a starting price of $89,000, the all-metal airplane lives up to the promise of low cost flight — one of the initial intents of LSA rule. The base model comes with a panel equipped with traditional round-gauge instrumentation. Several avionics offerings are available from Dynon, Garmin and AvMaps. There are also several fuel injected and carbureted Rotax engine options with power ranging from 80 to 115 hp. The top of the line SD4 will retail for around $160,000.
In addition to the cockpit options, the fuel capacity can be increased from 18.5 to 26.4 gallons, providing a flight time with reserve of as much as five hours.
The SD4 includes a BRS parachute system and can be equipped with a glider tow system capable of towing up to 1,653 pounds.
The SD4 is on display at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In. One airplane is available for sale for $125,000 with a glass panel.
