Finally! ANN Names The 'Best Of The Best' For 2004

Mon, 03 Jan '05

Compiled and Administered By ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell

We've had an interesting few days reviewing an amazing year in aviation and aerospace history -- celebrating our victories, decrying our losses, throwing rocks at the bad guys and offering sincere kudos to those who improved our lot.

We hope you've enjoyed our efforts.

It's been a lot of fun looking over all this and its also been a lot of work... but the best part of it all is the chance right now to finally spec out a few categories in which a "Best of the Best" can honestly be proclaimed... as far as ANN is concerned.

So... without further delay, let's look at the very BEST we've seen this year.


Aircraft Of The Year: SportPlane

The SportPlane industry has been through hell, and not all the really good airplanes have survived the doldrums... we've seen solid little airplanes like the Avid Flyer come and go (in this case, through utterly bizarre mismanagement), and others disappear simply because this is a tough business that often takes more from its proponents than its worth.

We named some truly great airplanes as our nominees for the Best SportPlanes of the Year and singling any of them out for the top spot is a REALLY tough chore. But -- when you look at the whole picture... the bird, the company and the support system, one company manages to (barely) eke out a claim on the top spot. And it's NOT a whole new bird, either. It's an update to a very conventional sport aircraft design that once took the world by storm... before the company that designed and offered it was (again) mismanaged into bankruptcy. But that was then... this is NOW.
The latest rendition of the GlaStar, the Sportsman 2+2, is one hell of an airplane. With one of the nicest and most studiously crafted stability and control profiles in the Sportplane industry, the Sportsman is a delight to fly... it is also a STOL wundership. I've done landings in just a few hundred feet, pretty well loaded up, and with nary a wisp of a headwind to cheat with --and then gone blasting off to cruise at 140 knots. The extra room, the rugged structure and the new Builder's programs make this a "GOTTA-BUILD" for anyone who needs a reasonably fast transportation system that has little need for a regular runway, and scoffs at anything over 500-600 feet long. Add all that to a new and reinvigorated company that is carefully and quietly doing EVERYTHING right, and the balance of our decision-making process slips decidedly toward naming the Sportsman 2+2 as ANN's choice for Aircraft Of The Year: SportPlane.