Sreya Aviation, developer of the Envoy series of executive propjet kits (www.sreyaaviation.com/envoy/main.html), is proud to announce the recent development of the TS-1 single seat LSA wood and fabric kit plane.

During the week of AirVenture 07, our crew will be constructing the entire prototype airframe of this completely new design.

Ever since helping build a Cubby aircraft in high school, Rienk Ayers dreamed of developing an airplane that several motivated high school or college students could afford to build during a summer. Many ideas and iterations have come and gone, ultimately culminating in the TS-1. Collaborating with Eric Smith, Sreya's 3D designer, Rienk set out to design a plane that would go together like a giant airplane model. The design centered around the familiar saying, "Insert tab 'A' into slot 'B' " (which is where the name designation came from... the 1st design of a Tab-Slot aircraft). The entire aircraft was lofted in 3D, and then 2D cross-sections were designed to make a series of wooden bulkheads, stringers, ribs and cross braces. Every single intersection was designed as an interlocking tab and slot, so that the entire airframe kit can go together in less than a week of part time work! All this is possible with CNC cutting, clever jigging, and a design team thinking outside the box.

During the last two months, Eric and Rienk decided to see if it was possible to design an LSA kit that captured the essence of sport flying. The design parameters were:

• Safe to fly - stressed for +5/-3 G's, with excellent stability derivatives.

• Quick to build - target fabrication time is a total of 200 hours.

• Low Cost - total cost of less than $15,000; direct operating cost of around $10/hr (including fuel)

So far, it looks like all of those parameters will be met!

The TS-1 will not only be an inexpensive sport plane, but it will also suffice as a nice single seat cross-country aircraft. With a design weight of 720 lbs gross (430 lbs empty), 9 gallons of fuel with a 1.7 gph burn, a 200 lb. pilot can cruise around 100 kts for over 4 hours, taking 40 lbs of luggage along. The cabin has 28" of shoulder room with three inch arm rests with side stick controls, giving a very generous 22" seat. The canopy height and drop down rudder pedals will comfortably seat a pilot from 5'4" all the way up to 6'6", with extremely generous visibility. The aircraft is about 19 feet long and has a wing span of almost 23 feet (wing area of 70 sq.ft.). The TS-1 is powered by a 42 hp 990cc, twin cylinder, four-stroke engine, swinging a 54-60" diameter prop at 3600 engine rpm. With its large muffler, it may even be possible to fly without a headset! The wing and horizontal tail are easily removable, and the competed plane will fit in a 20 foot crate, trailer or container.The entire kit, including airframe, engine and prop, landing gear, etc - will be available for around $12,000. The panel is designed to accommodate all sorts of instruments and avionics, which will add another $2-5,000 dollars to the total cost. A complete jig table including all the necessary fixtures (and tools) necessary to build the plane will also be available for under $1000 (we hope builders will share these or pass them on).

The Sreya Aviation team is looking forward to putting together the prototype at AirVenture 07. We don't know exactly how far we'll get, but we invite you to come by each day to see what we have been able to accomplish (not every part of the plane has been completely designed or fabricated - we still have to complete the nose gear, reduction drive, wing tips and cowling).