Sport Pilot Talk

I WOULD NEVER DO THIS, but ya see, I've got this friend....

drseti — Thu May 17, 2012 4:33 pm

Author: drseti

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 4:33 pm

bryancobb wrote:

I guess my "situational awareness" wasn't so good.

Not to worry, Bryan. You seem to have gotten safely to your destination.

Pipistrel introduces Alpha trainer $83,000

drseti — Thu May 17, 2012 4:31 pm

Author: drseti

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 4:31 pm

ct4me wrote:

doesn't the tail get awfully close to the ground, just taxiing around?

Yep, and the Pipistrel isn't alone in that regard. I've scraped the tail skid on my SportStar quite a few times. (Of course, maybe the fact that I still habitually do taildragger landings, stick full back, has something to do with that.)

Ground school instructor

CBKERR — Thu May 17, 2012 4:05 pm

Author: CBKERR

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 4:05 pm

Frank no abuse was intended.

International Flights

jnmeade — Wed May 16, 2012 8:41 pm

Author: jnmeade

Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:41 pm

Cam you overfly Canadian airspace with exercising SP privileges? I've been led to believe you could fly from WA to AK legally.

1946 Champ 7AC

FastEddieB — Wed May 16, 2012 8:00 pm

Author: FastEddieB

Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 8:00 pm

RyanShort1 wrote:

Honestly, I see waaay too much of that. A lot of light tailwheel aircraft do a LOT better if you just keep the stick neutral, let the tail lift off on it's own, and then add a tiny bit of back pressure. The plane is READY to fly, don't force it to stay on the runway.

Ryan

Not my experience.

I taught that directional control could be maintained one of two ways on takeoff:

1) if the tail is down, the tailwheel steers.

2) if the tail is up and in the airstream the rudder steers.

In between is where the danger lies, where a sudden gust from the side can leave the pilot with NO directional control at all and put him or her aimed at the runway edge in a heartbeat. True on takeoff and landing. My experience is in Citabrias and Cubs and Cropdusters up to about 300 hp.

BTW, gyroscopic precession can be huge on the bigger engined planes, so lifting the tail needs to be done smoothly. Still needs to be done, though, IMHO.

Micro-Air or other Tiny Transponder on a battery

Jim Stewart — Wed May 16, 2012 1:31 pm

Author: Jim Stewart

Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 1:31 pm

Sorry we got out of sync. Here's my edited post.

I went back and read the whole link that I posted. What I got was that a Mode C transponder always replies with a 14 bit burst of data and the burst is 20.75 microseconds long. This, BTW, appears to be confirmed on the Wikipedia Secondary Surveillance Radar page. If the ground radar sends a Mode A interrogation, the transponder replies with the squawk code encoded in the 14 bits (you only need 12 bits to encode 4096 values). If the ground radar sends a Mode C interrogation, the transponder replies with the altitude (9 bits as I recall) encoded in the 14 bits. Two interrogations, 20.75 microseconds each.

There seemed to be some ambiguity as to whether or not there is a 15th bit somewhere in the data burst. In any case, it's not real relevant.

EDIT: The 15th bit appears when you press the Ident button.

Does LSA really make flying cheaper?

roger lee — Tue May 15, 2012 2:01 pm

Author: roger lee

Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 2:01 pm

I have had a couple of people say it doesn't, but you need to ask your own insurance company.

any rotax mechanics in alabama?

deltafox — Tue May 15, 2012 1:20 pm

Author: deltafox

Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 1:20 pm

Ronnie Smith 601-508-6545 www.flysmla.com in Lucedale, Mississippi

flight school annual report

drseti — Mon May 14, 2012 4:16 pm

Author: drseti

Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 4:16 pm

Jim Stewart wrote:

Very nice read. As a small business owner myself, I found it very interesting.

Thanks, Jim.

Quote:

How are the Sporstars holding up for training use?

Surprisingly well. Other than routine maintenance (carb overhauls and synchronizing, gearbox inspection, 5-year rubber replacement, service bulletin compliance, etc.) and normal wear items (brake pads, tires, batteries, etc.), very little in the way of unanticipated repairs. Most expensive one was replacement of the entire exhaust system (running 100LL, with Decalin Run-Up to put lead in suspension. Lead vapors condensed in the exhaust system, solder-coating everything.) I did have to replace a choke cable assembly and oil pressure sensor, had to rewire a trim servo and its associated switches, replaced an oil cap, rebuilt an oil pump, and just today I swapped a prop (the old one was still serviceable after 1175 hours, but abraded -- I put on a new one so I could recondition the old one at my leisure, and then have it on the shelf for swap-out next time one looked worn).

I also have an antique Ercoupe on the line now, and it's caused me far more grief and expense than the SportStar!

in flight weather radio

jnmeade — Mon May 14, 2012 10:20 am

Author: jnmeade

Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 10:20 am

Galesburg, IL is one that has the weather on the VOR. I agree that a nav radio is a nice addition and I intend to add one to my aviionics swite.
Remember, too, that getting one AWOS report is mypic. AWOS sees a limited sector of the sky and slice of time. It's best to get trends by looking at adjacent or upweather stations, and that can be hard to do if calling from a cell phone.

If you take a checkride, you might get a call from the FAA.

bryancobb — Sat May 12, 2012 3:58 pm

Author: bryancobb

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 3:58 pm

Although I never got deep into it. I think he changed his behavior a little and quit doing aerobatics over the city. I never heard anyone say he was violated by the FAA.

Burping the Rotax 912ULS Aircraft Engine: New Video

drdehave — Fri May 11, 2012 2:40 pm

Author: drdehave

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 2:40 pm

Here's what I can tell you: Following the guidelines in the video, my oil level is in precisely the same place on the dipstick, each day when I check it--unless, of course, I have a leak someplace (which I did, until recently, when the magneto housing was re-sealed to the crankcase).
All that varibility of the past, when checking oil after burping, is gone.

Five-Year Rubber Replacement: Mitigate the Dangers!

roger lee — Thu May 10, 2012 7:56 pm

Author: roger lee

Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 7:56 pm

4&6 look spot on to me. These things made me change some of my procedures.

Straight Wing Remos GX?

flightwriter — Thu May 10, 2012 7:34 am

Author: flightwriter

Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 7:34 am

ct4me wrote:

At this point in time I suspect Remos is doing all they can to keep the doors open. In spite of the massive advertising, they registered only 3 aircraft last year, and haven't been answering the phone.
Tim

Indeed, this is purely a "what if?" scenario. I like critiquing existing designs and thinking about what I would have done differently.

I would be curious to see how important the folding wing was to those who purchased a Remos, both in the U.S. and worldwide... back when the company was still selling aircraft.

As Pete said, there's always the CT. I've never flown an SW or LS, and for some reason I'm not in a real hurry to. Still, the CT offers an attractive package, especially the LS, and it's hard to argue against the speed, room and efficiency. One of these days I'll reach out to Bonnie.

Pulsar aircraft?

Daidalos — Wed May 09, 2012 2:35 pm

Author: Daidalos

Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 2:35 pm

They may be out of business. I found this page with contact info but the link to the company website listed goes to a reseller. The domain was probably purchased after it expired. The phone number is no good either. I would be concerned about getting the plans in case you need to have any airframe parts ,made. Caveat Emptor!

http://exp-aircraft.com/aircraft/pagesAir/Pulsar.html

I've seen those ads also. I believe they have wood construction. Beware of all experimentals. The quality varies with the builder. I've considered other experimentals myself.

Edit: I went back and looked. I was confusing it with another experimental when I said it might be wood construction. The general caution on home builts stands. Good luck with your search. jFIor my price range I am considering a 415C.