seb7701

Not sure which one is the dud, but Hirth and HKS seem to be the main competitor, although Quicksilver were advertising a fuel injected donk with their latest ads. The only upside to Rotax winding up 503 production is that some industrious soul might commence making parts which would have to be cheaper than Rotax!!!

Maj. M. - I was picturing that scenario when as I was reading it, complete with vertical tail feathers flopping to one side - bugger me!!!! I guess it was better than losing your elevator in that he could still 'pull up' to some degree. Yep, they sound good, but when it comes to 2 seaters, it still sounds like drifters are the go from a engine perspective. There don't seem to be many 2 seaters which will happily cruise around on a 503.

Fair point, but considering the options (ie none, if any) and the popularity of the 503 in the states, I would dare say that 503 parts should be around long enough to keep one out of trouble. (I hope.....)

Well, whilst I admit that there is no substitute for cubic inches, I am becoming an fan of the 503, particularly when I see people like Wayne FISHER using them in just about everything he builds and getting a good run out of them. If the trike can live with 50hp, I think I would lean towards the 503.

Interesting. Sounds like there have been plenty of them which have run well, but there's always that '1st of a model' issue where not everything has been sorted. I don't like the idea of anything LESS reliable than a 582 or 503. It's a wonder there was never a kawasaki attempt at an engine made. I have a 750cc jet ski a couple of years ago and I would swear it looked just the same as a rotax in terms of engine configuration. Gearbox would be the painful bit to work out...

I thought that may be the case. Whilst a devoted drifter driver, I must say that those GT400's are a point of fascination, particularly from your description. They sound to be quite an economical machine with excellent performance (for what they are). It's just that single seat that sux!

Hi All. I saw an ad in the recent RAA mag for a great looking drifter with a 532 Rotax. I never did hear much about these engines. Are they any good and besides size, what is the difference between a 532 and a 582?

Does anyone have any idea as to whether wing removal on a gt400/gt500 is an easy task?

I'm sure the other boys will clarify for you, but my first advise would be to drop a line to these guys - Welcome to the Drifter Aircraft Website. who now hold the type certificate for the Austflight. Failing that, Wayne FISHER of Spectrum Aviation is a resident drifter guru depending on whether you require the part to be certified etc. What he doesn't know about drifters isn't worth knowing. (He was part of the Austflight factory) Spectrum Aviation - - Home of the Fisher Mk1 Ultralight I imagine what you need would even fit nicely in a post box if you needed it sent from Oz!

Hi Major. Yep, not a bad airpart you landed at Taroom. Actually known as the 'Tarwan' airport as it is shared by Taroom and Wandoan for medivacs etc as it is an all weather strip. Also used to be home to a gliding club, hence the 4 or 5 grass cross strips next to each other. You also spied correctly, there is a partly maintain strip (they mow it....)on the Northern edge of town next to teh highway which also sees occasional use. As you saw, the problem we have is no hangars!!

From Goodna the nearest would prbably be Boonah (61km) straight down the Cunningham Hwy or possibly Watts Bridge, North(ish). Nothing conveniently located, but Boonah would probably be the go - check the Boonah Flying Tigers Club website.

Firstly - as Bilby said, the difference between piggy back in a drifter and a trike might have something to do with the fact that a drifter's passenger isn't even close to touching the pilot! Having said that, I am not out to offend, and frankly would take no offence to anyone else's comments regarding a drifter because as with a trike devotee, we both have our individual tastes and like what we like. The point I was making is the fact that trikes and drifters are great because they offer great flying with simplicity and the whole idea of simplicity is minimal or at least reduced cost associated with it. What's the point if this 'simple' machine costs $60K along with Jabs and the like?

Well, many valid points have been raised I guess the $20K Rotax engine was always going to jack the price up and I nudge things closer to Jabiru territory. The thing is, even though I really am a drifter kind of guy, I would have some difficulty on forking out similar $$ for a drifter as opposed to a Jabiru. I know they are different and I am not really that much of a fan of Jabs, but when it comes to a similar price tag, I would probably have to go for the fully enclosed cabin, 100kt cruise and four stroke economy and reliability. I cant help but think there should be a fair gap in the price tags. I think Wayne's latest basic kit price was $23K the other week and I think that included a 503, so I guess for the moment, a bargain can still be had. Oh, and I agree with JL -I can't think for one second why I would pay $60K to play piggy back in a trike!!!

Hi Bill. There's no doubt about it - the indicated prices are ludicrous compared to what you could buy from Jabiru. If there is some accuracy in the figuresl, I would be interested to know where in the build process, they can justify such cost.

NZ will recognise your Australia qualifications after a checkflight with instructor. A 6 month permit to fly in NZ will cost you $65 or you can get a 12 month permit.

Interesting - I always wondered what one of those GT400's would have been like. As you say, the price is pretty reasonable. How do they compare to something like a drifter?

As the others have just indicated, you should have straightened up just before touchdown anyway, otherwise I would imagine that you would risk ripping you landing gear of if you were to land whilst still in a crabbed configuration. As was also mentioned, your nose wheel definately shouldn't be touching the ground until you have straightened things up.

No problems in NZ.

Not sure what custom built would cost. I wouldn't imagine a great deal of adaptation would be required for the right bike one.

Like facthunter said, check the radiator dimensions, but a 650 trail bike would be the go. Be aware that there can be some big price differences in the brands, but Honda's will be cheaper than, say, KTM. An XR650R would be a good starting point ( I have one) as they are extremely popular in the states and therefore aftermarket versions can be had on ebay USA for a song.

Yep, Bob HOOVER is definately one of the most amazing avaiators. His book is a great read is you want the full story.

Great package put together by the lads at Jones Air. Well worth a look! --- LINK

Was the $6000 using an a/c specific freight company and who did the packing on the departure end, if I may ask?

Yep, importing started out as a good idea, but it moreso looks like I need to head back the classified pages of the beloved RAA magazine....

People, I know this topic has been covered before in various forms (mainly regarding kits), but I am chasing some idea of cost for importing a COMPLETE aircraft from the states. I can see that there are a variety of small charges once it hits our dock, but has anyone brought one in such that they could throw me a ballpark figure? Seems as though the packing of the A/C in the states would be the major issue which I am assuming could be taken care of by a dedicated A/C shipping company. Any ideas would be appreciated.