rgmwa

I think LSA's appeal mostly to older pilots who are more concerned about their medicals and just being able to legally get into the air, rather than any particular desire to fly at 200 kts. Also, unless the USA drops their 120kt LSA limit, it's hard to see how there would be enough demand in Australia's small market to support the cost of producing such a highly optimised and relatively expensive design. Personally, I wouldn't want a single seater because I want the ability to carry a passenger or a heavier load, but that's just my preference. I would sometimes like my LSA to be able to cruise at 150kts, but I'm happy to sit on 115kts. I'll be interested to see what others think, but either way it's great to see some innovation and I hope you're successful.

Looks like Vans are hiring staff again, so hopefully that's a good sign. https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=223245

Well, I don't think my opinion is worth a lot and I have only seen the same videos that most of you have. My overall impression is that she wasn't a very confident pilot and not as well trained or competent as you might have expected after 400 hours, which I think is the main reason the accident happened. The AP is not hard to understand as a basic tool, which is the way I use it although it is capable of much more. A 180 degree turn is a button push and it will fly any course or profile you want, even rounding corners to come onto a new heading without overshooting, but power and trim management is still up to you. You would be well advised to practice regularly if you used all its capabilities, but I'm more of a stick and rudder pilot and don't need to do VNAV or fully coupled approaches to land the plane. For me, the most important AP control is the disengage button.

It might seem like overkill for a recreational aircraft, but I have no regrets about installing one. I normally hand fly my plane, but there are times when it's very useful to be able to engage the AP and reduce your workload and fatigue on a long leg. Also as Nev says, it could potentially save your life if you are unlucky or careless enough to get into IMC. It can be uncomfortable in turbulence because it's trying to do its job and hold altitude which can be hard on both the plane and the pilot, so hand flying is a much better option in those conditions. But it's very useful provided you use it where and when appropriate and understand how it works and its limitations.

I find the AP is very useful on long trip but seldom use it otherwise. Mine requires me to adjust the trim at times in response to an audio message "trim up/down", much the same as the visual display in the Debonaire. It generally works very well unless there is a fair bit of turbulence in which case I don't use it. Even in calm conditions I monitor it pretty closely.

I wonder why she apparently still had so much trouble operating the autopilot after owning the plane for a year. You would think that should have been long enough to figure it out between the manual and her instructors.

This fatal accident occurred a couple of weeks ago, but should never have happened had the 400 hour pilot had a better understanding of both her aircraft and her own skills. Juan gives a good explanation of the likely causes.

I flew half way around the world in one when my parents moved to Australia in 1950. Unfortunately I was far too young to remember it, although I do know its registration number - PH-TEP

It takes me an hour and 10 minutes to get to mine. It would be nice if it was closer, but I can live with it.

... and is not a Sonex. 🙂

<---You can of course have Rotax economy AND an RV.

I feel sorry for Dick van Grunsven having to prop up his company when he should be comfortably retired, but it seems to me that they're in a good position to trade out successfully. There are obvious reasons why their cashflow took a hit, but they have a very good product line and loyal customers and suppliers, most of whom would continue to support them despite the inevitable price rises. It will be interesting to see what the new management structure will look like. I always thought that having Rian Johnson as both CEO and chief engineer was too big a job for one person. He would have been spread very thin looking after both the technical and managerial side of the business.

They did bomb the US, although not much more than nuisance raids: "The two attacks on Oregon in September 1942 were the only enemy aircraft bombings on the contiguous United States and were the second time the continental United States was attacked by such aircraft during World War II, following the bombing of Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, Alaska three months earlier." Nobuo Fujita - Wikipedia EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

It's an ingenious concept and design but with some significant performance drawbacks as both a submarine and an aircraft carrier. Apart from reconnaissance, the planes would be next to useless. Any bombs they might carry would have made no difference to the war. You have to admire the audacity and bravery of the pilots though. Imagine having to find your submarine again after several hours flying in hostile airspace, and then having to land and recover the plane.

Yes, traditionally homebuilt aircraft were a collection of new and used parts put together as a cheap way of getting a generally low performance aircraft on a small budget. Over the years companies like Vans have enabled builders to construct brand new high performance aircraft that can out-perform many commercial aircraft. With rising costs the wheel may turn and force many builders to go back to more basic designs and used components. I think Vans will get out of their troubles but the question is what will happen to the current employee ownership model and who will control the future direction of the company. There are probably plenty of Chinese investors with deep pockets who would be interested.

If and when Vans sort out their business issues and hopefully they will, I wouldn't be surprised to see the price of RV kits increase by 20%-30%.

To me it looks like a aircraft (flying boat) with a service ceiling of about 2 metres.

Not exactly recreational flying, but an interesting historical video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l_8DQJDRFM&ab_channel=TheUSMilitaryChannel

Yeah, I think you're right.

I've had a Saf-Air drain valve in my 912ULS oil tank for about 7 years. It worked very well but started leaking a few months ago, so I replaced it with a new one. It's leaking too - not impressed. Does anyone else use Curtis, Fumoto or other brands in their aircraft and where did you get them from?

Out of curiosity I just checked to see how much trade-in Apple would give me on my iPad Mini 4 (wifi+ cellular) if I upgraded to the current Mini. They offered me $75!

It’s an animal suit - the sort of thing you’d put on if you wanted to pretend you’re a bear, a giraffe or a jackass for example, which in my opinion is what you’d be if you wanted to fly a plane wearing one.

It's bad enough that the plane crashed killing the pilot, but losing the three children as well makes it particularly tragic. I don't know how any family could cope with this.

Ask the FAA.

I can do a turnback at altitude in my plane in a practice situation when I'm prepared for it, but if the engine ever stops unexpectedly I will be looking in front of me, not behind. It is stressful even in practice. It takes some pretty quick and firm control inputs and watching the ball and airspeed like a hawk, and I wouldn't trust myself to pull it off close to the ground in an emergency.