AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - August 2019 - 70

SPEC SHEET
before they made an offer, his father suggested they pray.
The used aircraft was 140,000 Brazilian
reais. But after the prayer, Grande says his
father surprised him with a pronouncement: "While we were praying, God told
me we should buy this aircraft for 90 [thousand]." The two agreed they would go up to
96,000 and no more. Grande left the negotiating to his father, who went back and
forth for about a week with Jordão, then
told the designer about the prayer. Jordão,
also a religious man, let them have the airplane for 96,000 reais.
"He was feeling different that week,"
explains Grande. "Everything was different
about that negotiation." He thinks Jordão
may have lost money on the deal, but it
solidified a friendship that led to the Colt.
"I believe that's when God started
doing the work," he says. "If I had not
bought that aircraft, we would not be here."
By 2016, Brazil was requiring all factory-built aircraft to comply with either
Light Sport or Part 23 standards, and the
Conquest was out of production. Jordão
had returned to his maintenance company but had another, ASTM compliant,
aircraft in mind. Meanwhile, investor and
lapsed pilot Carlos Augusto Amaral Paes
de Barros, Grande's friend through endurance horse racing (hence the name Colt),
was looking to do a project in the United
States. Grande brought together Jordão, his
son Diego, and Paes de Barros, who became
the company's founding partners.
"We decided, 'Let's do it,'" Grande says.
"'And then we figure out how.'"
PONY RIDE

Light Sport specifications are narrow-1,320
pounds maximum takeoff weight, maximum airspeed in level flight of 120 KCAS, a
maximum stall speed (VS1) of 45 KCAS-so
a newcomer doesn't stand out by being the
biggest or the fastest. Manufacturers have to
fill a niche, and Texas Aircraft is betting flight
schools and students will want something
familiar and sturdy. Aluminum construction
with solid rivets, wings tested well beyond
ASTM-required load testing, integrated
landing gear, and a chromoly steel tube survival cell make the aircraft "insanely robust,"
Grande says. A Galaxy GRS 6/600 SD Speedy
parachute rounds out the safety package.
At 23 feet 3 inches, the Colt is long for an
LSA. The 12.75-cubic-foot baggage area can
70 | AOPA PILOT August 2019

Texas Aircraft Colt
COLT-S BASE PRICE: $156,000
COLT-SL PRICE AS TESTED: $167,000
SPECIFICATIONS

LIMITING AND RECOMMENDED AIRSPEEDS

Powerplant | Rotax 912 ULS

VX (best angle of climb) | 60 KIAS

Propeller | Sterna carbon three-blade

VY (best rate of climb) | 65 KIAS

Length | 23 ft 3 in

VA (design maneuvering) | 87 KIAS

Height | 7 ft 7 in

VF (design flap speed) | 75 KIAS

Wingspan | 32 ft 2 in

VNE (never exceed) | 132 KIAS

Seats | 2

VS1 (stall, clean) | 44 KIAS

Cabin width | 3 ft 7 in

VSO (stall, in landing configuration/flaps 30

Cabin height | 3 ft 8 in

degrees) | 38 KIAS

Empty weight, as tested | 835 lb
Useful load, as tested | 485 lb

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Payload w/full fuel, as tested | 293 lb

texasaircraft.com

Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb
Fuel capacity, std | 32 gal, 192 lb

EXTRA The SL model includes a ballis-

Baggage capacity | 44 lb, 12.75 cu ft

tic parachute, two-axis autopilot with level
button, and paint striping in customer-

PERFORMANCE

selected colors-all optional with the

Takeoff distance over 50-ft obstacle | 1,085 ft

S model targeted at flight schools.

Rate of climb, sea level, VY | 800 fpm
Maximum cruise speed | 118 KTAS

All specifications are based on

Cruise speed (75% power) | 110 KTAS

manufacturer's calculations. All

Max range with two adults, 30 min reserve

performance figures are based on standard

118 kt (max speed cruise) | 572 miles

day, standard atmosphere, sea level, gross

100 kt | 682 miles

weight conditions unless otherwise noted.

80 kt | 805 miles

All specifications and prices are subject to

Service ceiling | 14,500 ft

change without notice.

Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle |
1,044 ft

carry up to 44 pounds, and the cabin is wider than a Cessna 152's at 43 inches. There's plenty
of legroom-too much, as it turns out, for my five-foot frame. Grande makes a note about
seat rails for the production models, and we fetch extra cushions from the upholstery room.
Although the wings and fuselage are aluminum, the cowling, fairings, and wheelpants
are lightweight carbon fiber. A castering nosewheel allows for tight turns while taxiing,
but sharp maneuvering isn't necessary on this vast, former military airfield. Runup is normal for a Rotax 912 ULS.
On takeoff, I rotate at 50 knots with 15 degrees of flaps and climb at 65 knots and about
800 fpm. Accelerating through 80 knots on climbout, I forget to retract the flaps and the

http://www.texasaircraft.com

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - August 2019

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