Glasair

A little more than a year after Glasair first announced its new light-sport Merlin, the airplane made its first flight last week from the company’s facility at the Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington. The flight lasted 57 minutes with Glasair test pilot Grant Smith, who evaluated the performance of the Rotax 912 iS engine […]

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Build A Plane are gearing up for the third installment of their Aviation Design Challenge, in which high schools will put their aviation and aerospace knowledge to the test and compete for the big prize. The Challenge aims to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The first […]

If you saw the red, black and white Sportsman at the Glasair booth at AirVenture this summer, it may not have looked a lot different from the airplanes the company has displayed in the past. But the bright green lettering on the side of the nose and the modified bottom cowl tell a ­different story. […]

Arlington, Washington-based Glasair is taking advantage of the investment funds made available by its Chinese owners, Jilin Hanxing Group, by launching two new products, namely a new two-seat LSA and a diesel-powered version of the popular Glasair Sportsman. I took a seat in the mockup of what Glasair has named the Merlin LSA at the […]

Two teams of four high school students each have traveled to Arlington, Washington, for a very different form of summer camp. The eight campers won’t leave until they have built an airplane — at least to the stage where it will start its engine and taxi. Glasair’s “Two Weeks to Taxi” program is designed to […]

From virtual flight to reality, eight students and their science teachers will travel to the Glasair factory to build a pair of Sportsman kit planes. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association is teaming with BuildAPlane to conduct a nationwide competition for the slots. Teams of students can compete by designing their own aircraft, using free “Fly […]

Glasair president and CEO Mikael Via has decided to leave the company after its recent sale to Jilin Hanxing Group, a China-based conglomerate, ending a tenure that saw a successful resurgence for the kitplane maker. Replacing Via at the helm of Glasair Aviation are its new president, Nigel Mott, previously the vice president of operations, […]

Builiding a Glasair Sportsman from start to finish.

Two Weeks to Taxi was kicked off in late 2005. The program began in 2004 where only the airframe was completed in 18 days. But the program quickly evolved, and through an ingenious feat of organization and efficiency, customers can now come to the factory and get their airplanes ready to taxi during a quick […]

(May 2011) WOULD YOU believe me if I told you that there is an airplane that can comfortably fly a long IFR cross-country one day, land at a short, challenging backcountry strip the next and splash into a serene mountain lake later the same week? Would the story become more believable if I said you […]