Design and development
The Sam LS is a low-wing, tandem seat monoplane. It can be configured for conventional or tricycle landing gear. The fuselage is semi monocoque, with a welded 4130 steel tube protective cockpit cage structure and aluminum skin. Three different wing planforms for light-sport, STOL and amateur-built categories can be installed to a common fuselage. The aircraft can be flown open cockpit with the canopy removed. [4] [6] [7]
Prior to its first flight a prototype was shown at the 2012 EAA airshow. [4] [8]
As of June 2013 the aircraft was on Transport Canada's list of accepted advanced ultralights, but has not completed US Federal Aviation Administration special light-sport aircraft approval. [9] [10]
In July 2013 pricing was announced for kits and sub-kits, including wings, fuselage and empennage. In a break from normal industry practice the company said that it would offer those three sub-kits for a total that was the same as if they were ordered as a single kit, US$29,000. The complete kit with a 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS engine and Dynon Skyview avionics was forecast to cost US$65,000 at that time, taking a factory-estimated 900 hours to complete. [6] [11]
By August 2014 the company was up for sale as SAM Aircraft President Thierry Zibi indicated that he would rather develop new designs than run a production operation. Zibi was hoping to find a buyer to produce the aircraft. [12] In November 2015 the rights to the design, parts, jigs, molds, data and the prototype aircraft were being all offered for US$100,000. [13]
In January 2016 Zenith Aircraft announced that it had purchased the Sam design and was planning to produce kits alongside the existing Chris Heintz designs. [14]
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