The Liberty XL2, a two-place trainer/touring airplane manufactured in Melbourne, Florida, might well be the most eccentric, innovative and downright quirky certified airplane you can buy, and chances are good that even if you have heard of it, you don’t really know just how odd and cool it is.
The Liberty embodies several notable contrasts. Perhaps most telling is that it makes use of a number of ingenious design approaches and technological advances-not to be really fast, like a Cirrus or Columbia, but to be simple to fly. I’m reluctant to say that any airplane is easy to fly, because some degree of risk is always there no matter what the wings. But purely in terms of flying manners and ease of operation, the Liberty is the easiest flying airplane I’ve ever been in, and it offers good performance and utility to boot. How did the Liberty’s designers pull off this feat? The way nearly all worthy aviation challenges are overcome: liberal helpings of good luck, calendar time and cash.
