Sport Pilot Talk

Check ride stress over

nbjeeptj — Sat Feb 04, 2012 8:50 pm

Author: nbjeeptj

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 8:50 pm

Had a few issues with the maint records on the airplane that took up some time. Apparently the airplane I bought did not have the transponder and ELT endorsements per the Regulations and the DPE was hardcore.

Do you need a legal WX briefing to fly?

designrs — Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:29 pm

Author: designrs

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 7:29 pm

+1 again for ForeFlght.
For all practical purposes everything relevant is presented well visually.
It shows you where the TFR's are on the map...
current TRF's are red, future TFR's are yellow.

When you file a flight plan in ForeFlight it sends you a confirmation email... AND a second email containing a very looooooooooon flight briefing showing you "all available information"... locally... and for the whole country.

Winds Aloft

jnmeade — Sat Feb 04, 2012 1:23 pm

Author: jnmeade

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 1:23 pm

Interpolating is what you will do when planning your trip to see what your times and fuel burn will likely be. After you get in the air, you fly according to reality and you can check the WCA against the forecast numbers if you wish.
The key to staying on top of things is to keep your brain ahead of the airplane. Have a good idea of what things you are doing at various times and places as you fly. If things don't go according to plan make sure that you prioritize the tasks so the important ones are done first.
Sometimes if you are too busy to do something but there is not a problem, you can skip it but be sure to catch up at the next checkpoint or opportunity.
If you find as you fly that the WCA was markedly different than you planned, you may have to revisit plans such as fuel or time usage to be sure you are still OK.

What is the market for 150-thousand-dollar LSAs?

3Dreaming — Sat Feb 04, 2012 10:15 am

Author: 3Dreaming

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 10:15 am

dstclair wrote:

Haven't done extensive research but their website has the Alpha Trainer among their products along with a price list that comes in at 60K Euros + 2K Euros for delivery. Don't know if the contract allows for price increases between order and delivery (like the Cessna 162).

I was referring to the 400 trainers for India. It is my understanding that they are in the selction process along with several other manufactures.

NEW STYLE FUEL PUMP ON A REMOS G3/600

bitten192 — Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:37 pm

Author: bitten192

Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:37 pm

I sent this message to REMOS vis the ROPA (Remos Owners and Pilots Assn) message board...

"To: Christian Majunke,

I have to install a new fuel pump in my REMOS G3 because the old pump leaked. I was informed by Nick Williams that this would require an LOA and cost me $200 since drain line routing instructions were required. My position is that all REMOS aircraft that have the old style pump installed will require the new style pump eventually, so REMOS should provide blanket instructions to all REMOS owners at no cost or amend the Maintenance manual to provide instructions. By the way, CT allows installation of the new style pump with no LOA since the instructions in ROTAX SI-912-020 R5are sufficient. What say you? Ernie Bitten, owner N192RA, REMOS G3/600."

Any comments from REMOS owners?

Newbie from So Cal - San Fernando Valley

dstclair — Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:57 pm

Author: dstclair

Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 3:57 pm

Paul -- funny you should mention getting stuck VFR on top:
http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2012/120202atc-aids-pilots-in-a-pinch.html

Non-current instrument rated commercial pilot got stuck on top with low fuel. ATC vectored him in without an ounce of fuel to spare.

Aerotrek A220/240... thoughts?

comperini — Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:41 pm

Author: comperini

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:41 pm

jbradsh1 wrote:

I think that Rollison Aviation in Indiana either does the final assembly on the Aerotrek or builds it completely

The plane is made by Aeropro, in the Czech Republic. Shipped here, where the wings are put on, and a few little odds and ends like that. They are not completely built here in the USA.

air space question

drseti — Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:50 am

Author: drseti

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:50 am

The magic word is "unable". You are keeping track of your location, with respect to airspace, of course. It is your responsibility to remain clear of it. VFR flight following generally requires (or at least allows) you to maintain your own navigation, but if you're given a heading or altitude to fly, that would take you into airspace, simply say "unable" and the controller will give you something else.

Best of luck on your checkride. I know you'll do great. Just remember to act as PIC, and to treat the DPE as your first passenger!

912 VALVE COVER OIL LEAK

roger lee — Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:23 pm

Author: roger lee

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:23 pm

Hi Ernie,

You are right there are no "O" rings there. Those are held in place by Loctite 648. They can be heated and removed then put back in place with the Loctite. If it is a tiny leak it may not be worth doing. Just keep an eye on it.

EuroFox drivers out there?

jbradsh1 — Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:42 pm

Author: jbradsh1

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:42 pm

garyo1939 wrote:

Well here is a picture taken by my passenger on climout where I am just about levelled off, still climbing at 100 fpm. We had full gas 134 lbs and 500 lbs of meat in there. I know,,, transponder is on STDBY. Darn pictures anyway.

I have never ran it full out except on climb out which is typically 1000 fpm 2 up and better with just me. And that is usually at 75-80 ISA. It will run 110 for me at 42-4400 rpm and <4 gpm of gas and an easy 125 ISA at ~48-5000 rpm. The craft is incredibly quiet and smooth. The 912 is clockwork. Very exciting plane to fly. If you are near one somewhere, ask for a ride. I live in Bakersfield, CA. and always looking for passengers.

Gary

Gary; Do you know of anyone flying a eurofox or aerotrek with the BRS and an autopilot slaved to say a Garmin 796?

For Sale David Clark H10-76XL Headset

dg4504 — Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:00 pm

Author: dg4504

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:00 pm

drseti wrote:

Welcome to the forums, Derrick!

That's a great ANR headset, and your price is fair (Sporty's sells them for $775). Prospective buyers should be aware that, like all military headsets, this one terminates in a single U-147/U plug, which is, unfortunately, incompatible with many General Aviation aircraft setups.

Very true but there is an conversion kit that can be purchased that will make them civilian fixed wing compatible.

The $34 Hamburger

dstclair — Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:31 am

Author: dstclair

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 11:31 am

Jack,

I was just yanking your chain

Quote:

So bottom line: You get your hamburger 'for free'. Perhaps even the Double Chocolate Cake! And I get to dip into the $25K+ I didn't spend on an LSA to pay for my higher fuel costs. Actually, neither option sounds all that bad and we're both enjoying flying to interesting places. I think we both won.

Couldn't agree more.

May have said this before but almost bought a Tiger some 15 years ago. Really nice plane and was virtually rebuilt during an extensive annual by FletchAir. I'm fairly tall (6'4") and the canopy clearance was a little tight and useful load was on the edge for my mission (spouse, 2 kids and luggage) so I gave up ~10kts and went with a Cherokee 180. Even revisited that path when I purchased my LSA with a mission of only one pax. Found a very nice Cheetah (upgraded in almost every way including the LoPresti Cowl). In the end, my better half required a chute which narrowed the choices.

Cost of flying

Jack Tyler — Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:30 am

Author: Jack Tyler

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:30 am

Yup, totally missed the hangar cost. So let's just call that mythical $50K LSA a $70K first-year expense.

Re: resale value, Paul's answer fits his circumstances but may not be representative, longer term. He initially purchased (and soon after, further modified) his LSA to be all that he needs for VFR and even IFR instruction, and for the likely duration of his ownership. Put differently, he's saying that he expects to later sell the a/c pretty much as he bought it. No new paint, new instruments, etc.

But as an a/c ages over time (and perhaps is or is not passed on from one owner to the next) that formula changes dramatically and in both directions. E.g. the AA5B I purchased received $20K in upgrades from the previous owner over 6 years before I bought it from him. Looking further back in the records, the previous owner spent $30K on it (mostly avionics and interior), and the owner before him spent $20K (avionics & paint). So that plane saw sunk costs of $70K over 20 years (and still was sold to me for less than it originally fetched 3 owners ago). I think Paul has a similar tale to tell about his Beech Sierra. OTOH if my Grumman had received none of those improvements over the past 20 years (beyond the inevitable engine rebuild) it would be worth very little today.

My point is just that, the longer one owns an a/c, while technology continues to march along and cosmetics wear (and NextGen gets closer & closer), the more one needs to consider the total purchase + sunk cost when estimating the actual resale value of the a/c.

And of course, who knows what the state of the market will be at that 'some time in the future' day...

Aerotrek A240 with Autopilot?

drseti — Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:01 pm

Author: drseti

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:01 pm

See my reply on the other thread:
http://sportpilottalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=1891

My Mini-500 Exploits

bryancobb — Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:30 pm

Author: bryancobb

Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:30 pm

One of the real +'s of the Mini-500 was suppose to be the economical $10-$15 per hour operation cost.

The Solar burns 12 or 13 gal/hr at about $4/gal. Three times as much.

I was 185# and flew 100 hrs on the Rotax. It ran at 6,200 RPM constantly. You had to be a very knowledgeable, methodical 2-stroke engine guy, and understand all the weird things that happen just because it's in a helicopter.

The main engine problems were proper jetting, especially during normal descents where the midrange jets are metering the fuel & oil, and the RPM is still at 6,200 even though throttle has been decreased.

Several bearings in the rotor head feathering mechanism and both gearboxes were incorrect for the application and loads. Then there were a few problem areas that needed to be re-engineered, such as the mid point T/R driveshaft bearing method of attachment to the hollow aluminum shaft.

As I said, all of this could have been easily overcome, but in my humble opinion, Mr. Fetters really was not the right type person to do that. He was a Legend in His Own Mind and never felt he did anything wrong. He protected his design by requiring all buyers sign a contract that strictly prohibited the slightest deviation from his design.

As an owner/builder would find an issue and try to make the design better with their modification, he'd sue them. Joe Rinke put a Solar turbine in one. Mr. Fetters sued him and got a judgement that prohibited Rinke from flying his helicopter.

Frames started cracking where the transmission was hard-mounted because the long mast had a lot of leverage and was flexing the tubes when cyclic forces acted on the mast. He blamed the problem on all the owners/pilots and said they didn't balance their rotor adequately.

Later, a triangular "mast support" was sold that fixed the real problem of the long mast flexing the frame. The accusations of inadequate balancing had already damaged the customers' attitude toward Mr. Fetters, and the customers bagan to blog about the bad stuff.

IF the situation had been handled better, there'd be 25,000 Mini 500's flying all over the world now.

The little helicopter looked like a MILLION BUCKS. It was sexy. From the ground, when one flew over, you couldn't tell it wasn't a $2 Million MD500, until you heard that Rotax SCREEEEMING.