Webmaster's Note: Rob Lake is proprietor of Lake Aviation in Kingston, ON. Rob has been a Challenger owner and flyer for about ten years. In that period he has built two Challengers for himself - first a 503 Deluxe then a 582 Premium. Rob has also been heavily involved in providing professional services to other Challenger owners in the area. Rob is now assembling a new 2011 Challenger Light Sport XS-50 and he will follow that immediately with a XL-65. He says he really likes the new kit and that it is very well built. Following are Rob's impressions of the new Challenger Light Sport models.

At the Montebello 2011 Challenger Fly-in and Conference, Bryan Quickmire of National Ultralight gave an informative seminar detailing the new features and enhancements included in the 2011 XS-50 and XL-65 Challenger Light Sport Aircraft models being marketed in Canada.

These two new models have some interesting developments that really enhance the performance and versatility of the Challenger line of aircraft.

The XS-50 model is powered by the venerable and cost effective 50HP Rotax 503 air cooled engine. This aircraft has the clipped 26 foot wings with fibreglass Hoerner style wing tips. The short wing span gives it a very high cruise speed approaching 100 mph and a Vne of 120 mph. The XS-50 is designed for use on wheels and skis. It is not suitable for use with floats due to the short wing span and the limited horsepower. The gross weight is 960 lbs.

The XL-65 model is powered by the larger 65 HP Rotax 582 engine which is liquid cooled and has an updraft radiator mounted above the wing. This aircraft has the longer 29.5 foot wing with fibreglass Hoerner style wing tips. The cruise speed is about 90mph and Vne is 100 mph. The larger high lift wing plus the extra horsepower enables the XL-65 to be used on floats as well as wheels and skis. On the XL-65 the standard long range fuel of 20 USgal is carried in wing tanks. This frees up a large amount of space for luggage behind the rear seat . The gross weight on the XL-65 is increased to 1060 lbs. These features combine to make the Challenger XL-65 a true two person cross country aircraft suitable for overnight trips.

Both models also have the following upgrades and new features:

1. A beefed up yet more streamlined landing gear. The landing gear sockets inside the fuselage are larger with additional welded steel cross braces. There are no longer any external drag or underbelly wires. The additional cross braces also strengthen the belly of the aircraft at the center of gravity.

2. The tail is the most noticeable change on these models. The new design is is 10 inches taller with 25% more surface area. This will make the aircraft much more directionally stable thus requiring less footwork on the rudder pedals.

3. The aileron bell crank is modified so that the flaperons function as differential ailerons thus reducing adverse yaw. The airplane is even friendlier to fly especially for those used to GA aircraft with low rudder usage.

4. The cockpit wind screen, side rails, and doors have been redesigned to make cockpit entry much easier. The wind screen stops about 4.5 inches closer to the nose compared to previous models. This gives more room for the pilot to enter the front seat. The side rails are lower all the way to the back of the rear seat to make the aircraft easier for passenger entry as well. A hinged windscreen modification is available if the pilot desires even more room for entry.

5. Additional streamlining is included in these new kits. The landing gear legs are smaller in diameter and are made from solid aluminum shafts. There are no external support wires. They have full length streamlined covers. All of the jury struts on the main wings are now streamlined as well as the struts supporting the horizontal stabilizers in the tail.

6. Hegar hydraulic brakes are standard. The hydraulic lines are hidden beneath the streamlined covers. There are no longer any exposed brake cables. This really cleans up the appearance of the aircraft around the landing gear and the cockpit.

7. The cruise speeds are increased due to all of the additional streamlining.

8. The interior design of the wings has been changed to increase strength and accommodate the fuel tanks. A light weight leading edge channel wrap eliminates the scalloping effect on the leading edge of the ribs seen on earlier Challenger models. The bottom surface of the wings now has ribs every 18 inches as opposed to none at all on earlier models.

9. The new wing design enables two 10 gallon wing tanks to be installed. This not only increases the range of the aircraft but also contributes to the higher gross weight on the XL-65 because the wing carries the weight of the fuel load internally rather than having to support that weigh in the fuselage. The new wing tanks are standard on the XL-65 and optional on the XS-50. With wing tanks the fuselage can be equipped with a baggage compartment.

10. The 2011 Light Sport models come standard with a heavy load saddle kit. This greatly increases the strength and durability of the attachment of the main lift struts to the fuselage longerons. This kit spreads the forces acting on the bolts and nuts holding the Rony brackets over a much larger area and also eliminates movement at the interface.

11. The maximum load factors are +6G/-4G at 960 lbs for the XS-50 and at 1060 lbs for the XL-65.

12. The instrument panel has been upgraded also. A precut aluminum panel is now supplied. A full suite of analogue instruments is now standard including ASI, altimeter, slip indicator, compass, tachometer, hour meter, dual EGT, dual CHT, and water temperature (XL-65).