Sport Pilot Talk

Hi ya-all;

I've been renting for a couple of years while persuing ads looking for an airplane to buy. I flew two, both Tecnam Bravo's, and liked the design. Unfortunately, both had unforseen problems ( I went to each with a cashier's check for the purchase price, fully planning to buy, but each had a problem. One had an Advanced Design EFIS, nifty, but the font size for every function was much to small to read unless I bent forward and squinted...hardly the way to make a quick scan.

The other airplane was unable to pass the annual without lots of difficulty correcting some modifications.

I'm leery of composites, having talked to owners who had experienced considerable problems with cracking and warping. A low wing design doesn't interest me because of lack of ground visability.

Any advice? Ciao, HARDLANDING

You could check out Paradise Aircraft. All metal high wing manufactured in Brazil.

HARDLANDING wrote:I'm leery of composites,

So am I, but for a different reason. I can easily put rivets in sheetmetal, as can most mechanics. But how many of us have access to the right epoxies, and an autoclave in which to cure them? Composites are the wave of the future, and always will be!

A low wing design doesn't interest me because of lack of ground visability.

Don't completely rule out the low-wing LSAs until you've flown some of them. The ones with the bubble canopies, short wings, and forward seating positions do work out quite well in terms of overall visibility. You might want to take a demo ride in a Tecnam Sierra, Gobosh 700S, SportStar, or Sport Cruiser (aka PiperSport) before you decide. (I like watching the terrain, and find I can do so easily in my SportStar).

Good luck -- and whatever you get, enjoy it safely!