LSA guru Hempstead gives talk on Allegro planes

Listening to Doug Hempstead talk about flying can cause one’s imagination to take off and soar. Those dreams don’t necessarily have to be brought back down to earth, thanks to the light sport aircraft Hempstead’s company produces.

The president of Allegro LSA, which currently operates out of Littleton, Hempstead was the featured speaker at last Wednesday’s monthly meeting of the Lake Gaston Association. He gave details on the airplanes the company produces as well as future plans he and wife Betty hold for the company.

Allegro LSA deals in pretty much all aspects of light sport aircraft (LSA) in relation to the single-engine, one- or two-person airplanes the company produces. That includes production, inspections and sales and rentals as well as pilot training and certification.

Even though LSAs are small, low-energy aircraft, Hempstead said they are exceedingly safe, economical and user-friendly.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved LSAs in September of 2004 and completed rules and regulations for the category the following May.

“We’re about seven years into this, and it’s been incredibly successful,” Hempstead said.

LSAs are limited to a maximum weight of 1,320 pounds (1,430 pounds if intended for water operations) and a maximum air speed of 120 knots (138 mph), in addition to other regulations.

The Hempsteads started out as U.S. importers for LSAs and eventually bought an LSA producer out of the Czech Republic called Fantasy Air, moving it stateside.

The Allegro airplanes the company produces might be small and light, but that doesn’t mean they’re low on performance. In many cases, Hempstead said the Allegro outperforms the ever-popular Cessna 172.

“It will take off much quicker, climb much faster, cruise as fast, has a 45 knots stall speed, which is less than a 172, has a 12-to-1 glide ratio, which is much better than a 172, and it can land in as little as 300 feet,” he said.

In addition, Hempstead said Allegros are incredibly cost-effective and fuel-efficient, functioning on about a fourth of the operating cost and a fifth of the maintenance cost of a Cessna 172.

Hempstead recommends 87-octane automobile fuel to fill the 17-gallon tank on the Allegro, which usually burns fuel at a rate below 3.5 gallons per hour.

“Our planes get better mileage than any of my vehicles do,” he said.

For a normal take off, Allegros require about 350 feet, and they can land in as little as 300 feet. Their rate of climb is around 1,000 feet per minute, and the 12-to-1 glide ratio means the plane will glide 12 times farther than its elevation in the absence of thrust.

Obtaining a pilot’s license with a sport pilot rating requires 20 hours of training, which Allegro LSA can accommodate at its flight school, housed in Sanford, N.C. Sport pilots can operate in the U.S. or a foreign country that accepts the U.S. sport pilot certificate, which includes multiple European countries.

Sport pilots are limited to daylight flying with three miles of visibility or greater, can not tow an object and are not allowed to travel more than 10,000 feet above sea level or 2,000 above ground level, although private pilots with the correct medical rating are allowed to fly at night and take LSAs higher. Allegros have a service ceiling of 15,000 feet above sea level.

Among the interesting aspects of sport pilot certification, a person who has completed the 20 hours of training and holds a valid U.S. driver’s license is eligible to operate an LSA, provided he or she hasn’t had their pilot medical rating revoked in the past and doesn’t have any judicial limitations or administrative orders applied to their driving privileges.

“That means that if you have to wear glasses to drive, you have to wear glasses to fly,” said Hempstead. “If you get in trouble and the police say they’re only going to let you drive to and from work, you can only fly to and from work.”

Allegro LSA’s flight school in Sanford also serves as a distribution center, however all production of the Allegro airplanes take place at the company’s location at 231 U.S. 158-East in Littleton.