Icarus Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Hi . I am a 41 yo Tradie [drywall plasterer ] living in Murwillumbah NSW. My interest in in flying started about 12 months ago when I arrived at a house to do some work ,and noticed half a plane in the garage. Old mate had it about 3/4 finished, all home built wood and fabric. Single seat ,not sure what design it was based on. I should pop in again and say gday. I hope to start flying lessons in the middle of next year . In the mean time I am reading all I can about navigation, engines, flying theory , safety etc. Visited the local airfield last week and got the per hour rate for lessons so I can budget in the lessons. Other interests are , golf, amateur radio., restoring old cars , building /modifying engines . My ideal aircraft at the moment would be a Jabiru j430 [GA exp] , with a rotax 914 , or a Camit bottom end with Rotec heads and direct fuel injection. backed up by rotec throttle body with separate fuel pump and battery etc. I will be asking questions and making a general pain of myself. Hooroo Brendan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 G'day to you too Brendan. Keep your mind open on the perfect plane (it hasn't been made yet) and the longer you take the better the choice. Not particularly commenting on your assessment above. Good skies and luck. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 G'day to you too Brendan. Keep your mind open on the perfect plane (it hasn't been made yet) and the longer you take the better the choice. Not particularly commenting on your assessment above. Good skies and luck. Nev Thanks Nev. Yes plenty of time to decide on a plane , if I get one . Would be looking at a kit as I would like to do maintenance myself ,and get a voluntary annual check to have an expert cast a critical eye over the aircraft. I believe you are such an expert Nev? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recflyer Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Welcome. If you want to hear the pros/cons of jab engines your in the right place! I also like the j-230. Very stable and a grear performer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Icarus . I don't trust Guru's and. I'm no expert. I would rather have people thinking than just tell them what to do. Understanding is better than Rote learning or going by numbers. I'm biased on the choice of a plane. Tailwheel, hi wing(mostly) and aerobatic. A plane is a very personal thing..Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Welcome. If you want to hear the pros/cons of jab engines your in the right place! Yes, I have read through many threads here. I just hope CASA is happy with the audit of Jabiru as I believe they are trying to do the right thing by Jabiru ,Jabiru engine owners,potential owners, and the general public. The way they go about it could possibly be improved .Flame retardant suit has been put on standby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnarly Gnu Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I don't trust Guru's One the other hand one can trust a Gnu! I'm biased on the choice of a plane. Tailwheel, hi wing(mostly) and aerobatic. A plane is a very personal thing. Oh yeah, we sure are in agreement here. Radial up front. Welcome Brendan! Just get one of them ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 One the other hand one can trust a Gnu! Oh yeah, we sure are in agreement here. Radial up front. Welcome Brendan! Just get one of them ^ Whattabout a Glasair sportsman. Fast enough, [ would like to cruise at 135 k] 4 seats [ I would like to take the 2 kids up] can convert to taildragger quickly, Folding wings and removable tail section[ big bonus], carbon fibre option! No Radial or aeros but. As nev says there is no perfect aircraft. I reckon the glasair gets close. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickduncs84 Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Whattabout a Glasair sportsman.Fast enough, [ would like to cruise at 135 k] 4 seats [ I would like to take the 2 kids up] can convert to taildragger quickly, Folding wings and removable tail section[ big bonus], carbon fibre option! No Radial or aeros but. As nev says there is no perfect aircraft. I reckon the glasair gets close. Yes really nice aircraft. But you'll be in it for close to 200k by the time you're done. Also the preferred engine is a io-390 I believe which can't run mogas. You'd have to look at a lower compression superior which would mean a accepting less power. Still it's a very impressive plane. I'd say wait as long as you can. I'm 3 years in and my 'ideal' plane has changed multiple times from a jabiru to a 4 place tourer to a STOL tail wheel. Just fly as many different planes as you can and be realistic about your main 'mission'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Yes . A Glasair is a nice plane. I didn't think it needed an engine that big Re STOL. Going slow all the time to do a few short takeoffs and a short field landing doesn't add up here like it does in Alaska, where you can't drive to your fishing spot. Drag is with you all the time to slow you up and burn fuel. Nev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickduncs84 Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Yes . A Glasair is a nice plane. I didn't think it needed an engine that bigRe STOL. Going slow all the time to do a few short takeoffs and a short field landing doesn't add up here like it does in Alaska, where you can't drive to your fishing spot. Drag is with you all the time to slow you up and burn fuel. Nev That's the sportsman that they use the 390 in. 320 is the norm on the 2 seat version glastar I believe. There are other options from superior and a diesel option is you have a spare 50k. Re STOL I agree for the most part but in SA we have a number of places that are quite short distances by air but a real pain to get to by car. Kangaroo island for example is about 75nm from my back door but it's a 5 hour ordeal by car and ferry. The Yorke peninsula and port Lincoln are also fairly close by air. I've found that it's as much about finding an excuse to fly as it is finding a plane for the mission! The other thing about Adelaide is that even at 160 knots in the mooney, it's still a long way from everywhere! So long term I reckon that taking off from my backyard 20 minutes out of Adelaide and landing on Kangaroo Island an hour later is as close to living the dream as I'm ever likely to get! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Well power will get you off (the ground) they say. One I have experience with had a Subaru and a complex redrive. It's a very well crafted plane all round. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Hi Guys Yes the glasair would be a fair hit the bank acc. $56k US for airframe only + currency conversion plus shipping = probably Aus $ 75 -80k + interior + avionics+ engine + mounts + Propeller etc I think they specify Lycosaurus 360 180hp for 134 k cruise at 65% or the 390 210hp for fasta. Would be nice. Was Looking at the Zenith 801 . Just not sure how often I would use STOL and would it be worth the 20-30 knots sacrificed in drag as Nev States. Maybe a Turbo Jab 430 with big tyres and strengthened nose gear would be STOL with Speed!! My plan will be to Get licence first , then see if the mob wants to fly. If they don't like it then something small and cheap 2 seat will do me. Maybe Aeropup . Still at least a year to start lic anyways. No hurry,plenty of time to study as much as possible. Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Was also playing with 430 W & B chart last night and seems 100 kg in the rear seat would be max with decent fuel. would need some decent ballast up front for more in the back seat me thinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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