Bristell NG5 915 SLSA

[jetcat3]

I’ve been a huge fan of the Bristell ever since I had my first flight in one last March. I have about a 1,000 hours behind the SportCruiser and I really felt the changes that had taken place and it truly handled like a different aircraft altogether.

BRM was one of first OEM’s to utilize the latest 915 iS and I’ll never forget seeing one of their Facebook video uploads showing them climbing from 5,500 ft. up to 9,000 ft. at a sustained 2,000 ft./min. It was spectacular! Now the SLSA fixed pitch version has arrived here. If only it didn’t cost $296K! That’s definitely the most expensive SLSA on the market now by a long shot.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... istell-915

[Warmi]

Oh well, with this price tag they are entering Icon territory - not sure why so much more given that the new Rotax is about 18 k more than the ULS version but I guess ... why not ? They are in business of selling toys to folks who have more money than they can reasonably spend so indeed why not ...

[drseti]

The downside of the 915iS is that it's a really heavy engine. This is partially mitigated by the use of more carbon fiber on the newest Bristells, but you still end up with very limited useful load. (And don't anybody dare to put forward that old "it can handle a higher weight" argument - it is not the policy of this forum to condone violating FARs!)

I doubt that Bristell would risk investing so much in developing this aircraft on pie-in-the-sky hopes that FAA will significantly raise the LSA weight limit. It's more likely that they intend to make this a certified product, at a significantly higher gross weight. That stated price is certainly working its way into certified territory. So, Sport Pilots and those operating under SP rules probably shouldn't salivate over this plane.

[ShawnM]

It is a heavy engine but the Bristell is known for having a very low BEW for it's design and being an all metal plane with several carbon fiber parts. Even with the 915is this plane as tested still comes in at 852 pounds. The latest SportCruisers that are coming out weight REALLY close to 900 pounds AND they still have the 912ULS under the cowling. You want to talk LIMITED useful load now? At 852 pounds WITH a 915is is an amazing feat for the LSA market.

[drseti]

It all depends on what you're comparing to, Shawn. Both of my SportStars came out about 100 pounds lighter than the Bristell 915iS, pretty well equipped. The new SportCruiser and Astore are both obscenely overweight!

[ShawnM]

I hear ya Paul, I know there are "light" LSA's out there, the Bristell Classic with the 912ULS has a BEW of 705 on paper. Add the BRS and you are at about 740 pounds. Still VERY light. Many are still holding their breath for the weight increase. While they turn blue and pass out I'm going flying.

[drseti]

Interestingly, even Rathmell sees the problem. This from the AOPA article:

“First of all, it’s too heavy,” said John Rathmell, national sales manager for Bristell Aircraft in Lititz, Pennsylvania, a U.S. dealer for the Bristell.

[drseti]

I’ve been a huge fan of the Bristell ever since I had my first flight in one last March.

I'm a big Bristell fan too, Jetcat. I'm just not so sure this one is a viable LSA.

[jetcat3]

I’ve been a huge fan of the Bristell ever since I had my first flight in one last March.

I'm a big Bristell fan too, Jetcat. I'm just not so sure this one is a viable LSA.

Neither do I at $296K! Bristell’s are amazing but grossly overpriced as are most SLSA’s these days it seems. At $240K I think it’s more reasonable.

Yes, loaded SportCruiser’s are 890-900 pounds empty. Don’t forget most are BRS equipped but still, the 915 Bristell as tested is very light for having a 60 pound increase in engine weight over the 912 ULS.

[ShawnM]

Yes, loaded SportCruiser’s are 890-900 pounds empty. Don’t forget most are BRS equipped but still, the 915 Bristell as tested is very light for having a 60 pound increase in engine weight over the 912 ULS.

At 900 pounds and removing the BRS, hell let's go with your 890 number, which has an "all in" weight of 34 pounds the Bristell with its 915is still weighs less than a new SportCruiser with a 912ULS WITHOUT a BRS. The simple math is 890-34=856.

The Bristell in the video has a BEW of 852 pounds.

The price tag? That's a whole other issue.

[jetcat3]

Yes, exactly my point! It’s impressively light as equipped. There’s also a new video they added to that review on AOPA.

[Warmi]

There are no miracles. They are skimping on something - I remember reading about Bristell using thinner aluminum which right there would be a red flag.
The fact that he plane has relatively high VNE doesn’t mean much as VNE limit is often function of flutter and not actual physical strength.
I would want to know how Bristell behaves during some kind of crash - not necessarily a catastrophic but any sort of crash ... maybe that’s where they compromised.

[drseti]

I would want to know how Bristell behaves during some kind of crash - not necessarily a catastrophic but any sort of crash

Just ask Rich Maisano from Lancaster PA. He hit wake turbulence on approach into Oshkosh about four years ago, and spun into the runway threshold. Totaled the Bristell, and when the crash crew arrived, he had already crawled out of the wreckage, and was turning off switches and fuel valves. That the accident was even survivable convinced me that this is one solid LSA.

[Warmi]

I would want to know how Bristell behaves during some kind of crash - not necessarily a catastrophic but any sort of crash

Just ask Rich Maisano from Lancaster PA. He hit wake turbulence on approach into Oshkosh about four years ago, and spun into the runway threshold. Totaled the Bristell, and when the crash crew arrived, he had already crawled out of the wreckage, and was turning off switches and fuel valves. That the accident was even survivable convinced me that this is one solid LSA.

Maybe or maybe not , that could have been just a stroke of luck and btw it looks like he panicked a bit and stalled, at least according to the final NTSB report...

Although the pilot stated that he was directly behind and below the lead airplane, and encountered the airplane’s wake turbulence and prop wash, a GoPro camera mounted on the left wing of the accident airplane showed that the airplane remained behind and above the lead airplane; therefore, it is unlikely that the accident airplane encountered wake turbulence. The GoPro footage was consistent with the accident airplane slowing then subsequently experiencing an aerodynamic stall. It is likely that the pilot slowed the airplane excessively as he attempted to maintain separation and exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack.

May point is that the kind of weight saving they are advertising doesn’t just happen by “being careful and paying attention to weight “ when designing the plane. Everybody is way past that and you achieve huge weight savings by making deliberate choices which always come with various compromises ( or, alternatively, you invent a completely new material but how often does that happen) One of these choices could be , for instance , going carbon fiber which ultimately means very strong airframe and a light plane but you pay for it in other ways ( more complicated maintenance, storage etc ).
They did not go that route and somehow ended up with a plane that is lighter than my Sting ( which is 80% carbon fiber ) so it is natural to ask .... how they did that and what’s the secret.

[ShawnM]

While the Bristell is predominantly an aluminum airplane there are many carbon fiber parts on the plane as well. This Is one way they shaved off many extra pounds. Whether they "skimped" somewhere is doubtful. Remember, the plane has to be built to the same ASTM standards as other LSA.