seb7701

Again, thank you Tony. I chose to query this sceario as a result of anti-Thruster stories I heard some years ago which essentially scared me away from the type. What you have said makes much sense and I guess applies to most types in terms of maintaining a take-off safety speed (as per what I was taught) and is just a case of flying appropriately to the individual A/C type. Again, well said. Seb

Well Tony, perhaps I should firstly apologise for violating of the Thrusters user group, but for the sake of Drifter pilots everywhere....I won't! Many thanks for taking the time to provide your thoughts on the subject, as I must say I was hoping to get a view from the ultimate Thruster authority/devotee in order to get a positive view from the other side if the fence, although you should be pleased to know that my original Drifter instructer is also a Thruster advocate! I appreciate that you have provided a 'warts and all' view of the Thruster, as it enables further comparison with the only other grass-roots type with which I have any great familiarity. I am aware that there are few, if any viceless A/C out there, but an honest view of a Thruster just helps the decision as to which vices I am prepared to live when choosing an aircraft. Finally, I must congratulate you on the most courteous statement of dislike which I have had the pleasure of witnessing re the Drifter. I'll bet you were gritting your teeth when you wrote that!! I'd nick back off to the Drifter user group and leave you all in peace, but I have to go and check out the next post I seem to have caused!

Thanks Bill, I'd like to think that I had left it the way I found it..... Drifter bias aside, I have never know the drifter undercarriage to be 'fragile', in fact far from it.

Thanks gents - all food for thought. It's that glide angle that has me fascinated, although if it is a relatively close race between the two, then I see less of an issue.

G'day all. This feels a bit like crossing over into enemy territory, but as devoted drifter pilot, I'm looking with great interest into the pros and cons of purchasing a Thruster, largely due to the transportation options and excellent support base. My main question lies in the ability of the various Thruster types to recover from low level power failure (ie on take off, etc) due to their larger frontal surface area compared to skinny tandem types such as the Drifter. Aside from the increased drag and more 'taildragger-like' behaviour, what is it that set the Thruster aside from the drifter so much? I realise that mentioning the 'D' word in this forum is akin to a uttering swear word, but think of it as a chance to convert someone from the dark side!!

Guys- I hate to put a damper on things, but the rates listed above are solo rates for members. The training rates at Clifton for drifter is $110 p/h dual and about $130 p/h for J160, which is still great in my book. Trevor is a fantastic instructor and the area is one of the best for drifter-ing!