Nice to hear from you Shawn. Good catch. On re-read, noticed a whole slew of typos. Didn’t do too good of a job proof reading.
Yes, my Viper SD4 has the 914. Essentially a 912 with the turbo added which bumps it up to 115hp. What engine do you have in your SportCruiser and are you happy with it? Any suggestions for me on the power-plant side of the firewall? This is my first Rotax and pretty pleased with it and it reputation for reliability.
The extra HP is packed in a very narrow RPM band (like most turbos). I can really feel the extra ponies kick in on takeoff as the engine spools up through the last few 100 rpms prior to achieving max power. Pretty torquey too and requires quite a bit of rudder to stay coordinated until you level off. All good stuff under the hood.
Perhaps we can join up one of these days and do a little flying together.
Stay safe and healthy in this crazy world right now and slip the surly bonds every chance you get.
Cheers mate!
Czech Aircraft Work (CAW) files for bankruptcy - Sportcruise
Moderator: drseti
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BGibson aka Hoot#2
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2020 12:08 pm
Re: Czech Aircraft Work (CAW) files for bankruptcy - Sportcruise
I've heard that about the 914, the narrow band of power you get once it spools up. It must be nice to have that extra 15 ponies under the cowling when you need them.
The SportCruiser can be bought with any engine you want, as long as it's a 912ULS.
That is to say they don't offer any other engine and in my opinion way behind the curve on the engine options. Every other LSA manufacturer offers engine choices except Czech Sport Aircraft. So to answer your question my SportCruiser has a 912ULS. I've owned the plane now for 7 years and have not had any real engine trouble with it. She simply starts up and goes. I had to replace my ignition modules once but that's all the trouble I've had in 7 years. It's a great motor.
I'd love to "slip the surly bonds of earth" and meet up and see it in person. I'm in Clearwater, where are you located in Florida when you are here? Not sure if you are here full time or not. A breakfast or lunch meetup sounds like a great idea. Fall just arrived and already the temps are cooling off.
You stay safe and healthy as well.
The SportCruiser can be bought with any engine you want, as long as it's a 912ULS.
That is to say they don't offer any other engine and in my opinion way behind the curve on the engine options. Every other LSA manufacturer offers engine choices except Czech Sport Aircraft. So to answer your question my SportCruiser has a 912ULS. I've owned the plane now for 7 years and have not had any real engine trouble with it. She simply starts up and goes. I had to replace my ignition modules once but that's all the trouble I've had in 7 years. It's a great motor. I'd love to "slip the surly bonds of earth" and meet up and see it in person. I'm in Clearwater, where are you located in Florida when you are here? Not sure if you are here full time or not. A breakfast or lunch meetup sounds like a great idea. Fall just arrived and already the temps are cooling off.
You stay safe and healthy as well.
Re: Czech Aircraft Work (CAW) files for bankruptcy - Sportcruise
I have read a few posts concerning CAW, Czech Sport Aircraft going out of business. I perfectly understand it is not the best situation as far as customer service, parts availability, etc., but I'm not sure it is a deal breaker. Rotax, Dynon, Garmin are all going strong. Parts specific to the Sportcruiser I understand might be a problem, but there are a lot of metal repair, fabricators and A&Ps that can fix a lot of problems. I would like to hear what other people think. I love my 2016 Sportcruiser and sure wish CAW was still pumping out planes, but not sure it should dramatically affect resale value. Please let me know and don't hold back...I can take it.... 
Geoffrey Siehr
www.sportaviation.net
www.sportaviation.net
Czech Aircraft Work (CAW) files for bankruptcy - SportCruiser
Hi Geoffrey, CSA or Cruiser Aircraft has been hanging on by a thread for years now and have all but given up on the US market. They just keep filing bankruptcy and changing their name. There hasn't been a new SportCruiser in the US since 2020. The factory has had a love/hate relationship with every importer they have had over the years. First in Florida, then Texas then back to Florida then out to Utah and the latest word on the street is the old importer in Texas is going to try again. The Texas group has a lot of planes for their flight school so it's probably more of a self preservation move on their part to crawl back in bed with CSA.
For service and support, the current company has abandoned all the legacy SportCruisers made by CZAW. You can still get parts from the various past importers and some direct from the factory but other than that you are on your own. Just don't tell the factory it's a CZAW aircraft. It's best to convert a legacy SportCruiser to E-LSA and care for it yourself.
As for parts, there's nothing on the plane that can't be made or bought, the canopy is the biggest issue and the most expensive part on the plane outside the engine. So protect it at all costs. Every other part can be sourced elsewhere or fabricated by someone with the right skills and tools. This is another advantage of an all metal airplane.
There hasn't been a new SportCruiser in the US since 2020. The factory has had a love/hate relationship with every importer they have had over the years. First in Florida, then Texas then back to Florida then out to Utah and the latest word on the street is the old importer in Texas is going to try again. The Texas group has a lot of planes for their flight school so it's probably more of a self preservation move on their part to crawl back in bed with CSA.For service and support, the current company has abandoned all the legacy SportCruisers made by CZAW. You can still get parts from the various past importers and some direct from the factory but other than that you are on your own. Just don't tell the factory it's a CZAW aircraft. It's best to convert a legacy SportCruiser to E-LSA and care for it yourself.
As for parts, there's nothing on the plane that can't be made or bought, the canopy is the biggest issue and the most expensive part on the plane outside the engine. So protect it at all costs. Every other part can be sourced elsewhere or fabricated by someone with the right skills and tools. This is another advantage of an all metal airplane.