July 27, 2012
Flying from Water to Air in the Akoya Plane
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 3 MIN.
Le Bourget du Lac, France - Spring was action-packed for LISA Airplanes. The founders, the first clients and LISA's team boarded the Akoya for a flight from Lake Bourget. All the passengers and pilots agree: flying in this amphibious airplane is an incomparable pleasure.
Since early May, the Akoya has been flying. With an average of four days of flights per week, LISA Airplanes' team enjoyed, for the first time, the Akoya's remarkable performance.
LISA Airplanes' founders, Erick Herzberger and Luc Bernole were the first two passengers of the Akoya.
"To me, this first flight is both a professional and personal achievement. Our airplane's performance goes beyond our expectations. I've flown many light aircraft in my life, so I can tell the Akoya is incomparable," said Herzberger, LISA Airplanes' CEO.
"She behaves exceptionally well on water in terms of speed and easiness to take-off just as much as in terms of comfort brought by the airplane's stability. All the work done on the Seafoils turns to be a real success. After my first flight, I proudly announced to the team that the Akoya is perfect."
During this series of test runs with passengers, and after years of research, studies, design and tests, LISA Airplanes' team had the great pleasure to enjoy the advantages of its innovations.
One after the other, team members got in the cockpit to live this priceless moment: a flight in the Akoya. In various weather conditions, smooth lake or rough lake with 16 inches waves (40 cm) and 18 knots of wind, take-offs and landings were all made softly and on short distances. The sensations of flying in the Akoya will remain unforgettable for all.
With this symbolic event, LISA Airplanes has gone through a major step towards Akoya's deliveries: the clients' discovery of this seaplane.
Some of Akoya's future clients have been invited to go on board for a demonstration flight departing from Lake Bourget, at the side of the test pilot Gerald Ducoin. Akoya's new pilots unanimously sung the comfort of the high-end finished cockpit and the in-flight qualities of the airplane.
Benoit Senellart, LISA Airplanes' VP of Development, confirms the enthusiasm, saying, "I've been involved in every step of Akoya's development and the first delivery will be the most memorable. Therefore, it's with great pleasure that I watched our clients' first flight. Their feedbacks are all positive on the easiness to pilot as well as on the sensations in flight. They really appreciated the visibility, the comfort and the safe atmosphere of the cockpit. This flight definitely won them and I am delighted with that."
The next demonstrations in-flight will occur from September on since the Akoya is on its way for the United States where it will be exhibited for the first time at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin from July, 23-29 2012.
LISA Airplanes - a French company with international ambitions established in 2004 - creates, produces and distributes top of the range airplanes, products and services that are centered on mobility with the intention of creating a new aviation which suggests a change in lifestyle. From this philosophy, a first aircraft was born and christened the Akoya.
The Akoya is a two-seater amphibious airplane with a unique design and a wealth of features. From ground, water or snow, the Akoya takes its passengers 1250 miles away (2000km) thanks to its impressive fuel efficiency of 42MPG (5,6L/100km) and can reach the speed of 135 knots (250km/h). After a pleasant and quick flight, the Akoya lands on a less than 650-feet field (200m) and fold its wings to be parked in a garage.
To reach these performances with no compromises, LISA Airplanes has designed an exclusive innovation in the aviation field which allows landing on multiple surfaces. The Multi-Access technology is a unique combination of two hydrofoils, a retractable landing gear equipped with skis and folding wings.
The Akoya is designed to fulfill the LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) regulation - the new American standard that is to become an international standard such as in Europe with the CS-LSA implementation.
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
