Come on Aussies, I want a show of hands.

Adrian Lewer · January 17, 2009

Yep alot of people say they are tight and judging by the KR-1 i have seen they are, hence why peter widened his. It is common practice to widen the cockpit a little (they say 4" is the best) and does not alter any of the other specs like stall speeds Etc.

Love the Afoardaplane but a tad slow, but it is better than what i have now.......NOTHING

Adrian Lewer · January 17, 2009

What about the Corby Starlet ?

Tomo · January 18, 2009

Here's another to drool over....Ultralight SkyDart2s - Australia's value Ultralight Aircraft

With the 912 rotax they reckon cruise is 105knts, not bad at all for the two seater. and you can even hang a hammock from the wing by the looks of it...that's cool

gofastclint · January 18, 2009

What about the Corby Starlet ?

I remember hearing about some Kiwi flyers who were building an all metal version. does any one know how that went?

January 18, 2009

Yep alot of people say they are tight and judging by the KR-1 i have seen they are, hence why peter widened his. It is common practice to widen the cockpit a little (they say 4" is the best) and does not alter any of the other specs like stall speeds Etc.

That's the advantage of a build from plans, but the only thing I'd consider at the moment is from a quickbuild kit - both from a skills and time perspective.

Another design I like is the Zenith Zodiac. Sounds pretty roomy and a good price for good performance. Lots of folks are flying them with the rather affordable Corvair engine. Still not entirely sure about using auto conversions, but there really isn't anything to indicate they are less reliable in practice, only "common sense", it seems.

gofastclint · January 18, 2009

I'm starting to sway towards the "Rutan" way of building with Moldless composites.

Yenn · January 18, 2009

The Corby Starlet you ask.

A pilots aeroplane if you are the correct size.

I am 1.75 tall weigh 75kg and just fit in it. There is very little side room and doing up the seatbelts is a bit difficult, it is 24" wide externally. Construction is time consuming with a lot of all different ribs to build.

For a pilot who can master the taildragger and enjoys just flying around and playing in the sky it is a great plane, but only 1 seat and limited baggage and space makes it less than ideal for long trips. Having said all that I am yet to find anyone who has owned one who does not say they wish they never sold it. I want a 2 seater, but can't afford one without selling my Corby, so it is a single seat for me until the stock market takes off again.

gofastclint · January 18, 2009

The Corby Starlet you ask.A pilots aeroplane if you are the correct size.
I am 1.75 tall weigh 75kg and just fit in it. There is very little side room and doing up the seatbelts is a bit difficult, it is 24" wide externally. Construction is time consuming with a lot of all different ribs to build.

For a pilot who can master the taildragger and enjoys just flying around and playing in the sky it is a great plane, but only 1 seat and limited baggage and space makes it less than ideal for long trips. Having said all that I am yet to find anyone who has owned one who does not say they wish they never sold it. I want a 2 seater, but can't afford one without selling my Corby, so it is a single seat for me until the stock market takes off again.

wow a Corby, such a classic Aussie plane, reminds me of when i sold my FZR 250 Yamaha and got a Kawasaki ZX6R 600cc. sure the 600 was faster and so on, but the 250 left me happier and was very missed.

I am 190cm and 80kg with wide shoulders, so i can not fit, my dream one off personal aircraft would be a slightly larger scaled AR-5 with a better motor.

The laser Z-200 would fit better with a group project though.

djpacro · January 18, 2009

I am 190cm ...... The laser Z-200 would fit better with a group project though.

You'll find it difficult to fit your legs in the Laser. I'm a bit shorter and had to wear shin guards - negative g resulted in bruises from the wing spar going thru the cockpit. Position of the back of the seat is determined by the rear spar. Its fixable - just designed a mod to an Akro Model Z to increase legroom for some-one your height.

gofastclint · January 18, 2009

You'll find it difficult to fit your legs in the Laser. I'm a bit shorter and had to wear shin guards - negative g resulted in bruises from the wing spar going thru the cockpit. Position of the back of the seat is determined by the rear spar. Its fixable - just designed a mod to an Akro Model Z to increase legroom for some-one your height.

This is my leg, its permanently broken and only the main bone will heal so i cant get it hit, the other pic is for shock factor and then there is a pic my wife took today of me flying at The Oaks.

gofastclint · January 18, 2009

so i guess i will pass on the laser Z-200 then lol

Adrian Lewer · February 3, 2009

I just thought I would post this here just out of interest. I will be making 2 of them together 1 for me fully flying and the other Airframe only and the only reason I am doing this is the biggest battle when building is the tooling and to have the tooling already in front of you means you can build the second one in 1/4 of the time. Not sure if i will sell the second or keep it but still like the idea of building with someone else..

Want a Rotax 100HP constant speed prop ( would like retractable U/C but we will see), Xponder and all the modd cons.

Here Is what I posted.

Kr2s - Recreational Flying

gofastclint · February 4, 2009

Having a look at all the plans, the Sonerai is starting to look like a good option, great performance, great price and so many have been built. some people have built their Sonerai for under 20k.

Adrian Lewer · February 4, 2009

Yep not bad but has tubular Fuz which I don't like. think I will keep on going with the KR2S.

gofastclint · February 4, 2009

Yep not bad but has tubular Fuz which I don't like. think I will keep on going with the KR2S.

I was chatting with an old chap on Tuesday who said that a friend was completing KR-2 in a custom size, as he said "too tall and too fat", that was in the final stages. If I see it flying at The Oaks I will take some pics for you.

I like the steel frame as it has memory and goes back to shape, I would like to see the Sonerai in chromemoly (with the correct heat treating after welding of course) so as to lighten up the rear as to avoid using ballast in the back when fitting a Jabiru engine. Its usually steel frame with VW engine, and people struggle with the C-of-G after fitting a Jab 2200, so i figure less weight more reliability and more strength all round leaves more room for fuel etc.

Adrian Lewer · February 15, 2009

Here We go some pics of his KR-2S

%5Bimg%5Dhttp%3A//img9.imageshack.us/img9/2438/sany0374zn6.jpg