The sleek new Akoya brings a number of innovative features into the LSA market.
For power the Lisa uses the Rotax 912-S, which puts out 100-hp. The pylon mount is not that unusual for flying boats, as it keeps the prop out of the spray and away from passengers and onlookers on the dock or the shore. The Rotax has more than enough oomph, too. The company will have to somehow keep the airplane, which is remarkably slippery with gear retracted, from overspeeding the LSA’s 120 limit.For gear, the usual answers were not good enough for this airplane’s designers. Land this puppy on land, sea or snow. The skis are free. If you live in Texas, like me, or some other hot place, and the need for the snow gear is unlikely, the company can leave them off.Even the tailwheel has a little ski. In case you were wondering, the tire pokes through and makes contact with the ground for normal landings (on terra firma) but doesn’t make enough of an imprint to affect snow performance.Other cool features include bucket seats, single lever power (with carb heat — ah, the Rotax 912, modern and ancient all at once), mini control sticks, and auto-style restraints.The canopy is electrically controlled, with a manual override. The airplane is designed so that if it gets dunked and goes upside down in the drink, the heavy engine goes down and raises the nose, and the occupants, above the water line. The airplane itself, the company says, will not sink unless there’s major structural damage done to the fuselage.Don’t click “next” just yet. Though it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at here, it’s very clever. On the horizontal, the designers put a fixed tab canted up several degrees. The surface counteracts a high-mounted engine’s tendency to push the nose down with the addition of power. It adds a little drag, but the airplane is so slippery, it’s not a factor for the LSA category.As if they weren’t biting off enough, the Akoya’s designers decided to give it folding wings as well. This is the beefy hinge point for the left wing folding mechanism.As if they weren’t biting off enough, the Akoya’s designers decided to give it folding wings as well. This is the beefy hinge point for the left wing folding mechanism.They even figured out how to fit a BRS into the works. I found myself looking for the satellite TV antenna.Another clever touch is the addition of a mode switch for the gear. Here it’s selected to “water,” but switch it to “land” (I’m guessing, since the switch was only dummied up) and the lights illuminate differently. When landing on water is “three green” really safe?The single, center-mounted display features synthetic vision and moving map (with the display segmented, not shown) and more. The Akoya is not intended for IFR, but in a pinch the display would work just fine.
