"Mark" wrote in message
...
These planes I like such as the Arion lightning and
the LSA SportCruiser show take-off and landing rolls
in the 500 ft range. I have to imagine this, while
technically may be true, is for advertising purposes.

I mean, would you put an airstrip in your yard
with only 1100 ft, even without a 50 ft obstruction
for say...a Cessna 172 or a fast light sport plane?

Living in America
---
Mark

First of all, let's start with the presumption that we are talking about a
location where a 1100' airstrip would be appropriate and permissible.

In that case, there are plenty of older designs that qualify for LSA use, in
addition to the many currently marketed specifically as LSA and ELSA, that
are perfect for the application. However, even if the runway is paved, the
approach and departure are over a lake or valley, and there are no
obstructions; the two that you mentioned might be a poor choice for all but
the most dilligent and highly skilled pilots--and the Cessna 172 would be
ridiculous!

Basically, if you need to operate to and from a short airstrip, then you
will trade away cruising speed (and usually cruising fuel economy) in order
to accomplish the mission.

You just have to determine your own mission statement, and then define
"performance" in terms of the mission.

Peter