Construction of the EA-100

The EA-100 is a traditional all metal High Wing design 2 seat side-by-side seating airplane. The design and methods of construction are time tested over and over. All materials used throughout are aircraft grade. There are construction photos at the bottom of this page.

Aviation Grade materials are used:

  • 6061 T-6 Aluminum
  • 2024 T-3 Aluminum
  • 7075 T-3 Aluminum
  • 4130 Chromalloy Steel
  • Aviation Cherry Style Rivets
  • AN Fasteners throughout

The EA-100 has a long history. The airplane was originally designed and built by IBIS Aircraft S.A. in Columbia, South America. 100’s of aircraft have been produced by IBIS since then with no failures associated with the airplane. Eagle Aviation has successfully acquired the rights to produce the airplane and certify it in the US as the EA-100 S-LSA. Eagle Aviation is the manufacture and builder of the airplane for the US. Assembly, avionics, engine, gear, testing and certification are all completed here in Oshkosh.

The EA-100 is NOT an over glorified ultralight or an ‘enhanced’ glider as many of the current Sport Aircraft are. The EA-100 is a ‘real’ airplane from the ground up. It flies as stable as the almighty Cessna 172, is not too light on the controls and promotes confidence in the pilots that are fortunate enough to fly it. It is an excellent training airplane as the frame and gear are extremely strong and forgiving and can handle crosswind landings with great control.

One great advantage that our customers will have with the EA-100 is the simple fact that the airplane is American made. This is extremely important. Why you may ask...well, we live in a global world. Products come from all over the world. But airplanes have a unique problem that will continually challenge and haunt owners. Here comes a lesson on Sport Aircraft.

Sport Aircraft Course 101

All aircraft that fly in the United States are required to have an airworthiness certificate. In order to get this certificate they must be built to some standard. The category standards are experimental amateur built, standard, transport and now sport. Up until 2004 the regulatory standards for aircraft manufactures were such that they had to adhere strictly to the FAR part 23 regulations. These regulations are written for all GA, general aviation, aircraft whether they are simple in design or very complex. These standards are quite rigorous and are very expensive for manufacturing companies to comply with do the highly complicated nature of them. Under the experimental rules, a single homebuilder is free to construct an airplane from their own designs, plans from someone else's kit. The kits are strictly enforced by the 51% rule. This rule prevents kit manufactures from building aircraft further than 51% completion. If the manufacture of a kit aircraft builds the kit to beyond 51%, they are now considered as a aircraft manufacturing company which legally needs to comply with the Standard airworthiness rules of FAR part 23, just like Cessna, Beechcraft and Piper.

Of course, to comply with that, the costs would dramatically rise putting aircraft ownership out of the hands of many people. So, to help in stimulating aircraft sales, the FAA combined with the efforts of the EAA created a new category of aircraft known as the Sport Aircraft. This will now allow certain manufactures to produce ready to fly turn key aircraft. Again, all aircraft need to be produced to a standard. All the S-LSA, Special Light Sport Aircraft, have their own standard that was created by ASTM, American Society for Testing and Materials, and blessed by the FAA. The ASTM standards are the rules in which a ‘Sport Aircraft’ manufacturing company needs to produce aircraft.

The ASTM standard mirrors that of FAR Part 23 regulations but does not require many of the highly expensive procedures and ‘proving’ to the FAA. The manufactures of Sport Aircraft are required to follow all the rules of the ASTM standard, however are not required to involve the FAA, thus dramatically reducing the cost of the completed aircraft.

Oh no...here’s a potential real problem. Kind of sounds like we are on our own! This is correct. Since Sport Aircraft manufactures are ‘self governing’ one could possible think that manufactures out there could ‘cut corners’. After all, who would know….right?! Well, for your information, all manufactures have to sign off on a federal document known as an affidavit that states that we followed the rules of construction spelled out by ASTM. This is a federal document. If a company were to falsify by signing the document without following the rules they could be held liable for perjury to the US Government. (This is generally bad……...real bad). But nevertheless, people and manufactures will engage in this practice only to make a quick buck in the market place. This is must unfortunate, especially to the owners out there. We here at Eagle Aviation DO NOT participate in any such malpractice. Remember our Mission Statement? We take your safety with utmost consideration. We won’t release anything that we wouldn’t take our children up flying in! End of story there!

Now, here comes problem number 2. Aircraft maintenance and repairs. As you now have learned, all Sport Aircraft are built and airworthied to the ASTM standard. Who is allowed and authorized to repair and maintain a Sport Aircraft? More lessons here...

Sport Aircraft repairs and maintenance 102

S-LSA aircraft are built to completion by a factory somewhere and are issued a S-LSA airworthiness certificate. Here is how a S-LSA aircraft becomes to life in the US. Sport aircraft manufacturing companies are not issued a production certificate like FAR Part 23 manufacturing companies, which is what allows these companies to crank out plane after plane with out each one inspected. Each Sport Aircraft produced needs to be inspected by the FAA before it is issued its airworthiness certificate. The manufacturing company needs to provide the necessary documents which state that the aircraft has been produced to the ASTM standards. Now, even though this aircraft was not produced by a factory that is issued the almighty production certificate, it still is somewhat a ‘line produced’ aircraft. (Somewhat a cookie cutter unlike the experimental one off’s that are highly customized by the individual owner/builder).

Now, since the airplane is a factory produced aircraft, who is authorized to fix it? Good question. Answer is: only who the manufacturing company allows. Further, all repairs and maintenance to a S-LSA aircraft MUST follow the manufactures procedures. (In other words, even though the repair may be obviously easy to fix by you or your friendly neighborhood A&P, he can’t touch the airplane without a procedure to follow, otherwise he will be in violation of FAR’s and will seriously jeopardize losing his mechanics license if caught!!) This is real simple. Don’t fix or maintain the airplane without the manufactures procedures. Now, who can write, alter and amend these procedures to the maintenance, manual? Answer, only the original manufacturing company can…..period. Not the owner, experienced mechanics, dealers, etc.

OK, so what? Well, American Sport Aircraft manufacturing companies, such as Eagle Aviation, have a great advantage here. Suffice to say, all the Sport Aircraft out there are new, at least to the US (the oldest flying Sport Aircraft was certified in 2005). Many of these Sport Aircraft are new designs, or designs hailing from gliders or ultralights. Please note: we are not saying that these are bad airplanes. In fact, we believe that many of the Sport Aircraft out there are very good! They offer new ideas to the market place and stretch new and innovative design ideas previously impossible for Standard produced aircraft manufactures. However, because they are ‘new’ there is not 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years of operational maintenance and repair data complied like Cessna, Beechcraft and Piper products. So here is where we, and other US companies will shine like the rising star to the owners: when your airplane breaks, not if but when, (hey, it’s a machine), or it needs repairs not that are not written in the maintenance manuals who can write them? Yes you are right…...only the manufacturing company can. Well, since our company is in the US at that little unknown place called Oshkosh, we can write any procedures required for your airplane.

If you own a pure importee, (somewhere around 80% of the Sport Aircraft) you may face a problem when the aircraft needs repairs that are not in the manuals. In order for your mechanic to proceed, you will have to contact your dealer, who will have to talk with their importer, who may have to talk with the exporter, who will contact the factory in whatever country they are in. Get where this is going? How long will that take? A week, a month, several months? How many hands will this information that your mechanic needs go through? What language will the procedure come back with? Cool thing with Eagle is that you or your mechanic simply call us if there is a problem. We will work directly with you and write the procedures to repair the aircraft properly and get you flying ASAP.

Well, that’s a lot of information. But is necessary to evaluate in order to make a proper decision on purchasing an aircraft. Ownership of any aircraft is an involved and ongoing procedure. Make sure the company stands behind there product, continually.