Arion Lightning

The Arion Lightning is a light-sport aircraft available as a kit aircraft or as a production Special LSA.

Design and development
The Lightning was developed by designers Pete Krotje, Ben Krotje and Nick Otterback.

Originally designed as a high speed, low wing composite aircraft for the Jabiru series of engines, the LS-1 was redesigned to meet American light-sport requirements by extending the wings to lower the stall speed and using a fixed pitch propeller.

The aircraft is made from composites. In the homebuilt kit version its 30.5 ft span wing has an area of 91 sqft and mounts flaps. The aircraft's recommended engine power is 120 hp and the standard engine used is the 120 hp Jabiru 3300 four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is 600 hours.

Operational history
In 2007 Earl Ferguson set a record for the quickest time for a flight from Savannah to San Diego in a piston engine land plane weighing between 1,102 and 2,205 pounds using this aircraft.

Variants

 * Arion Lightning EXP
 * US Experimental amateur-built category aircraft


 * Arion Lightning XS
 * Variant of Lightning EXP supporting up to 160 hp engines, including the Lycoming O-320 and ULPower 390iS.


 * Arion Lightning LS-1
 * Light-sport aircraft variant with a choice of engines: the 120 hp Jabiru 3300, the 150 hp Lycoming O-320 or the 210 hp Lycoming IO-390.