Allegro 2007 has the required two seats, side by side, in a cabin somewhat wider than a Cessna 172's.

To meet Sport Pilot requirements, gross weight is listed at 1,232 pounds; empty weight is 622 pounds with a useful load of 610 and a payload of 523. All that, in a Kevlar-reinforced composite fuselage with aluminum wings.

Takeoff distance is listed at 490 feet and landing distance 340 (always depending on the skill of the pilot), and Mark had no trouble getting it planted in the first third of Frankman's reasonably short runway. His airplane just seemed to step down lightly and stop. As a matter of fact, there was some confusion among the spectators when he just floated a bit past some runway construction marks before allowing the plane to land. It was intentional.

The cockpit's neat and the ergonomics are good.

The stick's in the center, handy from either seat. A motorcycle brake handle is on the front of the stick. The throttle's down by your knee on either side and everything else is just as easy to reach.

The seats feel like the recliner in an F-16, and they're fully adjustable for those of the short-legged persuasion.

Visibility is spectacular. Starting at the top, there's a full span overhead window which gives you a vew straight up and back. The windscreen is deep and wide and both doors are transparent top to bottom. When you look down over the side, you've got a great view, believe me. The doors are hinged at the top, swinging up flat against the wing for easy entry. I'm told you can fly with them open up to 80 mph, but the factory says they'll come off in what amounts to a three-minute operation, leaving you to operate normally.

Flying the Allego is a blast. The airplane is nimble and the controls take a very light touch. Acceleration is rapid. You rotate at about 50 mph. Climbout was about a thousand fpm on the day we flew it.

Large ailerons and a big rudder give the little airplane a lot of authority..a good thing, given the constant updraft over these knobby hills. Some days, you'd have your hands full with anything smaller.

Having said that, I still found -- and Mark agreed -- that the less control input from you in the Allegro, the better. Use a heavy hand on this Light Sport and you'll be rolling all over the sky.

We settled into a sight-seeing cruise of about 90 mph, running 4800 RPM on the 80 hp Rotax 912.

With a 35.5 foot wingspan, Allegro has a glide ratio of about 12 to 1, which is better than most, so our approach back to base was very comfortable on a nice 500 fpm descent that left you with that good feeling that the airplane could stretch a lot more if you asked it.

Touchdown with full flaps was about 45 mph and the rollout was whatever you wanted it to be.

The airplane we flew at Fairmont had all the bells and whistles you need, including the radio and transponder required to go anywhere today. It was easy to fly and, at about 3.5 gph, a whole lot cheaper than most of 'em in these dreary days of fuel inflation. In the configuration we flew, N2569V priced out at about 73,000 dollars.

It's a great little airplane and a nice entry in a new and hopefully expanding American market. It has a lot to draw upon -- the design has been flying in Europe for about twelve years, gaining approval for LSA in America about a year ago. It's being imported, assembled and distributed in this country by Fantasy Air USA, of Sanford, NC.

Sport Pilot should be what the name implies: a simple, easy -- and affordable -- approach to flying for fun. Here's one more way to do it.