Flight Design F2 gets SLSA nod

The FAA’s flight standards district office in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, accepted the airplane’s documentation on July 8. The airplane will go on display at the Flight Design exhibit area at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, from July 26 to August 1. It’s owned by a pilot based in the Milwaukee area.

The production versions of the F2 vary slightly from the prototypes that toured the United States in 2020. The cockpit has received cosmetic and seat upgrades, the seat-adjustment mechanism is improved, flap-actuator fairings have been added, and other airframe modifications have been made.

“This is an important day for our company, our customers, and our dealers,” said Tom Peghiny, president of Flight Design USA. “The F series is a big step up for Flight Design and this is just the first of many F2-series airplanes that will come to the United States.”

Tom Gutmann Jr. of Airtime Aviation, a Tulsa-based Flight Design dealer, said, “We are very happy to take part in this event. We’ve been waiting for this for nearly two years. We’re excited to receive the first F2-LSA in the United States, and we’re impressed by the improvements made by Flight Design.”

Next up will be the FAA Part 23-certified version of the F2. That airplane is currently in the process of earning its EASA certification. Validation by the FAA should be the next step.

Other versions of the F2 include the F2-LSA, the F2-UL (an airplane flying under Germany’s Ultralight rules) and, soon, the four-seat F4 model.

For an up-close look at the F2, read the January 2021 AOPA Pilot feature, “Flight Design’s NextGen.”