Plane and Pilot

MARCH 25, 2025

Although I havent spent much time around GB1s (except for drooling over them while they are on display and flying at airshows) I am always taken aback by how much larger the airplane appears to be in personparticularly, the tall, sweeping rudder that curves down to a sharp point with just enough ground clearance.

Knot 111

Knot Airplanes Runway Rudder 111

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

In order to be flown by a sport pilot, the resulting airplane must still meet the current regulations—1,320 pounds maximum gross weight, 120 knots max cruise speed, for example—but how it gets there is up to the builder. The rudder hardly calls attention to itself outside of having plenty of authority. Vso approach speed is 53 knots.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Knot Pitot Tube Gross Weight 98

Airspeed Junkie

AUGUST 2, 2024

Another interesting model is the 172RG Cutlass RG, which features retractable landing gear and a more powerful Lycoming O-360-F1A6 engine, offering a cruise speed of 140 knots. For instance, Knots 2U offers a Cessna 172 Cowl / Body Fairing Kit that improves aerodynamics and can increase cruise speed by 3-4 mph.

Knot 98

Knot Cockpit Pilot Gross Weight 98

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

In order to be flown by a sport pilot, the resulting airplane must still meet the current regulations—1,320 pounds maximum gross weight, 120 knots max cruise speed, for example—but how it gets there is up to the builder. The rudder hardly calls attention to itself outside of having plenty of authority. Vso approach speed is 53 knots.

Airplanes 96

Airplanes Knot Pitot Tube Gross Weight 96

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 15, 2024

The weather briefing we had reviewed a half hour earlier promised a 20-knot headwind that would require two fuel stops on the 130-mile trip from our home airport in Kennett, Missouri (KTKX), to Little Rock Air Force Base (KLRF) in Arkansas. The windsock promised that getting the little yellow bird into the air would be a white-knuckle affair.

Runway 98

Runway Crosswind Rudder Pilot 98

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

With the F2, the rudder and vertical stabilizer are changed, with the rudder becoming a much smaller surface than before. You can sit there with full back stick, full aileron one way and full rudder the other, and its perfectly controllable. You might ask what happens with crosswind landings when you take away rudder authority.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Rudder Aileron Crosswind 98