Esqual vm1

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Atrosa
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Esqual vm1

Post by Atrosa »

Ok someone give me a reality check please. My mission is to get a plane that i can train in then use to go from KMMK to 8B2. About 175 miles. I want a low wing because a high wing never looks good to me. I know kinda stupid. The arion lightning or sportcruiser just looks super cool and any highwing just looks like a Toyota Camry.... Ho hum.

Is this plane something a student pilot should consider? If there are any esqual experts i will get the mk2 tail upgrade. It makes the elevator more deliberate for those not familiar with this model. Im becoming quite the student of the arion and sportcruiser ac. But that is how i roll. Im a data sponge.
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Scooper
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Scooper »

With an empty weight of 584 pounds and a gross weight of 992 pounds, your full fuel payload is pretty limited. If you're shopping for an LSA, IMHO you should take advantage of the U.S. rule permitting a gross weight of 1320 pounds, not limit yourself to airplanes built to European ultralight standards like the Esqual VM-1.
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by chicagorandy »

I may be looking at the wrong stats - isn't the VM-1 a single place aircraft? Kinda hard to get student pilot training in it I'm thinking, or are you deciding what to buy AFTER you have a pilot's license and some hours under your belt?
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by drseti »

According to their website, it's two place, side by side.
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by chicagorandy »

DOH!!!

I CAN read, but sometimes I think too hard on stuff - LOL - Wiki shows capacity as 1 crew/1 passenger and my Saturday morning math ability obviously sucks big time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerocomp_VM-1_Esqual

So.…. How many two-cent stamps in a dozen?

lol
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by drseti »

chicagorandy wrote:So.…. How many two-cent stamps in a dozen?
I don't know. But, if you have twelve sheep, and all but eight die, how many are left?
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by 3Dreaming »

drseti wrote:
chicagorandy wrote:So.…. How many two-cent stamps in a dozen?
I don't know. But, if you have twelve sheep, and all but eight die, how many are left?
Aren't they all left? :wink: :D Did I just say that? I'm sorry, but I had to.
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by chicagorandy »

And if a chicken and a half lays an egg and a half, how many eggs will three chickens lay?

From a Biblical perspective - how many kinds of each animal did Moses take on the Ark?

In the back woods of Kentucky, is it legal to marry your widow's sister?


These and other questions are the things that plague men's souls I tells ya'.
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Scooper »

It's a Swedish designed and built ultralight (450kg gross), and according to Wikipedia the Arion Lightning LS-1 is a variant with a 1320 pound gross weight.

Esqual VM-1 http://arsi.se/vm%201c.html

Arion Lightning http://www.flylightning.net/

Not to get into the high wing vs. low wing debate (I've owned mostly high wing Cessnas and now own a low wing LSA), but when was the last time you saw a low wing bird?
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by drseti »

Scooper wrote:when was the last time you saw a low wing bird?
You mean one that wasn't flying inverted?

All jest aside, that argument was first posed to me decades ago by the late Dr. Malcolm I. Raff. Perhaps you knew him, Stan. Mal was a CFII, CFIH, PhD astrophysicist from Berkekey, and my best friend for many years. He had worked as an aerospace engineer, before he helped start a major biotech company. And he was also an accomplished ornithologist, whose studies of birds made him a really fine flight instructor.

This seemed like an opportunity to remember Mal, a true Renaissance man. Thanks for reminding me of him with your low-winged bird analogy.
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
Prof H Paul Shuch
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Scooper »

drseti wrote:...that argument was first posed to me decades ago by the late Dr. Malcolm I. Raff. Perhaps you knew him, Stan.
Sadly I didn't know him, Paul. He sounds like a very interesting person. I just read your moving tribute to him at http://www.setileague.org/admin/malraff.htm
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Atrosa »

Scooper wrote:It's a Swedish designed and built ultralight (450kg gross), and according to Wikipedia the Arion Lightning LS-1 is a variant with a 1320 pound gross weight.

Esqual VM-1 http://arsi.se/vm%201c.html

Arion Lightning http://www.flylightning.net/

Not to get into the high wing vs. low wing debate (I've owned mostly high wing Cessnas and now own a low wing LSA), but when was the last time you saw a low wing bird?
Like i said purely aesthetic. If i can't get excited about how it looks im not dropping 40-70 k on it. It is a blonde brunette thing. Red heads are out cuz theyll kill you faster than a tupolov.
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Warmi »

I am with you on this one... looks and overall finish very quite important to me since I was buying what amounts to a luxury item :D

If I were you I wouldn’t even bother with Esqual - go for the Arion with the tail upgrade - there are always some for sale for around 60-70k.
Just make sure you have access to a Jabiru mechanic before you even consider this plane.
Flying Sting S4 ( N184WA ) out of Illinois
Atrosa
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Atrosa »

I found out a little more about the plane. It has damage history. on a bounce the nose gear collapsed with a prop strike. The Tail is N83TW. I looked up on the FAA incident website and there is no record of this happening. Is the a black flag? According to the owner it was completely repaired and overhauled. Is this a walk away moment?
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Re: Esqual vm1

Post by Warmi »

A replaced landing gear is one thing - but combined with a prop strike is a much more serious problem.

It may very well be true that the plane is OK and has been overhauled and repaired but you would need to make sure that's the case and I have no idea how to do that - I would assume a much more through pre-buy inspection ...

If I were you, if the repair was done by somebody I trusted ( say the Arion guys ) and I could verify that , I would go with it but if it was done by the owner or some minor shop I have never heard about - I would walk.
Flying Sting S4 ( N184WA ) out of Illinois
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