Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

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Atrosa
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Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Atrosa »

I'm considering purchasing an Arion Lightning or SportCruiser for gaining hours and for fun and was wondering if there is any interest in the Central CT area for forming a partnership. I'm not looking to have more than 2 or 3 partners.... max. This way scheduling time is not a problem and weekend excursions are possible as well. It is looking like the buy in will be about 20K and I still have to nail down all the monthly and variable costs. I have an LLC that we can use as well.

I prefer KMMK but 4B9 or SNC can work too.

If there is no interest I will go it alone, I just want to make sure the plane is flown regularly.
TimTaylor
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by TimTaylor »

I suggest you not limit your partnership question to those two aircraft. There are lots of other LSA that potential partners might want to consider. For instance, it would be hard to go wrong with a Flight Design CTLS or a Tecnam as well as many others. I would find some partners first, then decide on an airplane.
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Atrosa
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Atrosa »

TimTaylor wrote:I suggest you not limit your partnership question to those two aircraft. There are lots of other LSA that potential partners might want to consider. For instance, it would be hard to go wrong with a Flight Design CTLS or a Tecnam as well as many others. I would find some partners first, then decide on an airplane.
At risk of starting trouble...
Flight design... Yawn..high wing

Tecnam... I would need more partners cha ching..

Honestly I'm really just leaning towards buying it myself. I just know that i get busy with work and it might sit for 2 months. Not good for pilot or plane.

Good point though.. I would consider any plane that has a BRS and is a low wing.
Atrosa
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Atrosa »

Opps i got confused.. I confused techam with bristell. The techam high wings... Yawn
The bristell is my dream plane just out of my budget.
TimTaylor
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by TimTaylor »

Just a suggestion, but don't limit yourself to just low wing. I have flown about 40 different makes and models over the years and have learned each has it's advantages and disadvantages. There are many high wing planes that are more visually appealing than many low wing planes and vice-versa. As an aspiring new pilot I would go into this with a totally open mind.
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Wm.Ince
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Wm.Ince »

Atrosa wrote:At risk of starting trouble...
Flight design... Yawn..high wing
No trouble here, but just out of curiosity, what is your problem (“yawn”) with high-wing airplanes?
Moreover, what utility are you looking for in owning and flying an airplane?
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TimTaylor
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by TimTaylor »

Out of curiosity, I looked at my spreadsheet and I have flown 20 high-wing aircraft and 20 low-wing aircraft. As far as pros and cons of each, I would honestly say the location of the wings is far down on the list. I would not purchase an airplane, and I've owned both, based on where the wings are located.
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by drseti »

TimTaylor wrote: I would not purchase an airplane, and I've owned both, based on where the wings are located.
I agree, Tim, with one important exception: I personally would probably not purchase an airraft in which the wing is whirling around above the fuselage! ;)

(Sorry, Bryan and other rotary wing pilots...)
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TimTaylor
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by TimTaylor »

drseti wrote:
TimTaylor wrote: I would not purchase an airplane, and I've owned both, based on where the wings are located.
I agree, Tim, with one important exception: I personally would probably not purchase an airraft in which the wing is whirling around above the fuselage! ;)

(Sorry, Bryan and other rotary wing pilots...)
I think owning a helicopter would be fun if I knew how to fly it and could afford to fly it. That's not going to happen.

But, just to reiterate, buy an airplane based on your mission and the capability of the airplane to best meet that mission. Don't buy it based on how cool it looks sitting on the tarmac.
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Wm.Ince »

drseti wrote:. . . I personally would probably not purchase an airraft in which the wing is whirling around above the fuselage! ;)
(Sorry, Bryan and other rotary wing pilots) ...
Hey buddy . . . don’t knock it . . until you’ve tried it.
I miss it dearly!
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by drseti »

Wm.Ince wrote: Hey buddy . . . don’t knock it . . until you’ve tried it.
I have tried it - decades ago, in a Bell 47. It was totally counterintuitive. I was terrible!
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
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[email protected]
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Atrosa
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Atrosa »

The only reason I like low wings is aesthetics, nothing more. If high wings were my only choice I would buy one, but given the choice I like the low wing. They look more sporty.

My mission is to get to and from central CT and northern NH without spending 4 hours in a car. But honestly it is not very practical from a cost perspective and my dear wife won't get in a plane with me. She barely gets on a commercial 737 to go to Florida. She has a genuine fear of flying.

I used to watch planes as a kid going in and out of Goodspeed Airport and the Cessna's were fine but the Cherokee was definitely my cup of tea. The shape of the SportCrusier and Arion are visually appealing. Sure a Flight design will do the job but for about the same money i can get what I think is gorgeous. I have a 1971 Corvette, it is not the fastest car or the most refined cars but I love the lines of it.
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by TimTaylor »

I feel your pain. My wife flew with me in high school, but started having panic attacks with the birth of our daughter and could hardly ride in a car for years. She's a lot better now, but can't get in an airplane of any kind.

For most people in the market for an LSA, useful load is the most important factor, especially when equipped with a parachute, due to the added weight of the parachute. Then, range and endurance are probably next. That's the beauty of a Flight Design CTLS because they can carry something like 34 gallons with one person or leave some fuel out with 2 people and baggage.

A beautiful airplane with a low useful load or low range and endurance would be my LAST choice. Nobody cares what you look like sitting on the ramp.

However, I've said enough about this, so I won't bring it up again.
Last edited by TimTaylor on Fri Jan 11, 2019 12:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Warmi
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by Warmi »

Make sure you get into each one and have at least one hour of actual flying in each.

I originally trained in Remos , which I thought was very nice handling plane , but , like you, I always liked the sporty look of low wing planes - especially LSAs which look downright gorgeous compared to most of old style GA planes.
Hell, once I got a few demo flights in planes like Evektor, Sportcruiser, Sling 2 and finally the Sting I own, what really got me hooked is the feeling of being out there with barely anything around you . To me personally it feels so much more like flying than being in a car like cabin of most high wings.
Then again, some people actually hate that feeling and do value more solid/secure feeling of a cabin - and there are more practical reasons for going with a high wing as well.

And of course, different low wings handle differently and after my demo flights , I had definite preferences so , yeah looks count a lot if you are paying so much money for what is ultimately a luxury item,but If you end up hating flying it then what’s the point :D
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ShawnM
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Re: Arion Lightning Partnership KMMK

Post by ShawnM »

I'm with you Atrosa, I love the look of the low wing aircraft and that's the main reason I bought my SportCruiser. I, like Warmi, also started my training in a Remos and it was a fun airplane and had many bells and whistles. I just didn't care for the look of it that much. When I knew I was going to buy a plane I started looking and found the SportCruiser. I looked at LSA's for about a year and searched for what seems like forever to find one within my meager budget. I found her 5 years ago and she's now mine. I finished my training and took my checkride in my own plane. That alone is priceless.

As Warmi stated, fly both or as many as you can find to make sure, this is not a purchase you can return. :mrgreen:

As Tim stated, I'd first look at useful load. If you are heavier than "average" then this will be a limiting factor with some LSA's. Especially the newer SportCruisers. The manufacturer just revised the rear CG limit on all SportCruisers. Don't get me wrong, you can certainly still fly the SportCruiser, the max pilot load is 253. But it will limit your passenger and fuel capacity. I'm around 175 and can take a similar size passenger and 24 of my 30 gallons of fuel and still fly for just over 4 hours with a reserve.

All that being said, buy what appeals to you and works for your mission. You have to own it, fly it and be a "proud parent" of said airplane. Just like your corvette. I wouldn't buy an ugly plane just because it had another hour of endurance or 30 more pounds of useful load but this is just my thinking. There are many SportCruisers available for some great prices if you look hard enough.

And, if you are still leaning towards the SportCruiser, it is a sexy plane in my UNbiased opinion :mrgreen:, keep in mind the older ones have a far better useful load than the new ones. The newest SportCruisers are nearly at the max BEW for LSA and I feel this is a limiting factor going forward, not to mention the sticker prices. :shock:

I still get comments today on my old and tired 2007 SportCruiser, she'll always be sexy to me.
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