Millie

Would the beefree have anything to do with the Belite Aircraft, google it looks and sounds exactly the same type of aircraft, perhaps the Bee Free is the Aussie version????

Not supprised I expect they are watching the E-Go very carefully and cautiously, even rotax had and may still do warnings their engines are not suitable for aviation use.

Hello are you aware of the little single seat Canard in the UK called the "E-Go" which is undergoing final trials before production it is powered by a specially developed Wankle Rotary called the Rotron. Rotron make a range of rotarys which they are promoting to the drone and light aviation market. When I run out of 447's (I have a spare in a box), I am seriously considering one for the Sapphire by then they will have stood the test of time. I would attach the link but Ipads have a mind of their own so suggest you Google the site. Regards Anthony

Methusala is right I fly around Canberra in my Sapphire (mostly fibreglass) and often get calls from ATC wanting to know who I am and if I have a Transponder, even when I am well and truly outside ATC boundries, not only that but they pinpoint my location and altitude, mostly on Sundays I strongly suspect they are bored. As I always keep a listening watch on Canberra Approach it took me quite by supprise when ATC made a call to aircraft operating at my location and hight, I at first thought there was some other heavy metal very close but realised they were watching me, now we are good friends I often call them up and let them know my intensions.

Latest news on the ABC is that it was a midair between two gliders the second landed OK but sadly the other crashed, it was late yesterday afternoon and there were only the two gliders in the air, the circumstances are still to be established. Anthony

Hello David Made a mistake well after midnight when I made the last post. The LSA catagory is actually covered in CASR Part 21 Sections AC 21-41(0). and AC 21-42(1) Wide awake now Anthony.

Hello David LSA are very much alive and current yes some Sapphires were made before thhe LSA Catogary was instigated but many later models are LSA including kit built 19 Category. See CASR 1998 21.186 Anthony

Hello Tomo I have no idea how to download a photograph from my Ipad onto this site I tried but doesn't seem to work for me, but if you like send me your email address and I'll email them to you I think you can send it on a private post. Anthony

All LSA Sapphires have been grounded following a nasty incident where the rudder became detached in flight, The Sapphire was flying between the Latrobe Vally and Wangaratta when the top rudder hinge gave way and the rudder fell off (held on only by rudder cables) as a result directional control was lost and had to make a forced landing the pilot walked away but sadly the Sapphire was destroyed. A warning to all Sapphire owners check your rudder top mounting collar spigot, it appears some were fabricated from a one piece nylon block or some other plastic material and relys only on the integrity and strength of the nylon to hold the rudder in place, the lower mounting is a simple vertical pin that engages into the bottom of the rudder post so once the top collar fails there is nothing stopping the rudder except gravity to depart. Wayne Matthews RA AUS Technical Officer has grounded all LSA Sapphires until Steve Dumesney issues a fix. If you know any one with a Sapphire please let them know they may have a problem and to check to see if their top mounting is plastic (scrape the paint off a section it will probably be a white nylon material) if in doubt contact either Wayne or Steve Dumesney. I checked mine and was rather taken back when I saw what looked like a bit of bread board material holding it in place and taking all the rudder flight loads. Anthony

Hello folks can any one confirm or deny a roumour that we can refuse a ramp check, if approached by the CASA inspector are we at liberty to tell them to go away, is this correct or do they have the legal authority to carry one out against your will.

Hello as you can see by my Avatur I am a keen Sapphire owner I have been involved with and flown a number of versions, the first had been modified with a fully hinged canopy and instrument panel making it very easy to get in and out, my previous one had a Dumesney canopy but no wing tanks or flaps and my current Sapphire is one of the latest kit built (19-0000) with a Dumesney high arch canopy, wing tanks, flaps and a 447 Rotax, and 75 litres capacity, I weigh 85kgs am a bit over 6ft a tight fit I have to thread myself in but once settled it is quite comfy I regularly fly for 2 to 3 hours at a steady cruise of 75 knots could cruise faster but it feels relaxed at that speed. In my opinion the 447 is the most suitable engine sadly now out of production the 503 is heavier but has a faster cruise and climb the down side is most people have to add a lot of lead to counterbalance in the nose (extra weight is a drag), the Sapphire is the ultimate single seater it is a pilots aircraft very light and responsive it has great glider characteristics, loves thermals, glides well and a huge afinity for the air. In my opinion flaps are usless I rarely use them, spoilers are the answer Tony Whitlocks (RIP) designed and fitted them to his Sapphire it really gets the Sapphire down, my approaches are done at 50 knots the landings require a little skill but a lot easier than landing a Thruster, if any faster it floats forever, if you use flaps unless you are really on the ball it tends to waffel and baloon in ground effect which turns a good approach into a messy bounce perhaps my reflexes are a bit slow. If you would like any specific information or wanted to talk Sapphires I'm hangared at Goulburn and would be happy to chat. Regards AG

there is a place for an RC Forum, most of my ultralight associates also fly RC, we will often get more ultralight pilots in one place flying RC then ultralights, it has become an extension of our aviation addiction. Regards Millie

The Aircraft was a 582 Bantam

Hello Joe I did my training in the Thruster a good sturdy aircraft but it does not prepare you for the Sapphire, so I spent a few hours punching circuits with an instructor in a Jabiru. The Sapphire is a high performance aircraft that takes a little time to get comfortable with and I know people have given themselves a nasty scare in their first attempts, some points to consider. The Sapphire is a pilots aircraft it has no real vices except it is hard to trim for straight and level, you have to fly it almost all the time, keep one eye on the skid ball it doesn't mind flying sideways and will do, it is very buoyant, climbs well, is tricky to get back down on the ground and is very sensitive to input, easy to over control. If you have flaps I suggest you don't use them until you have mastered flap less operations, Ok for take off 20' but are almost useless in landing in fact they can be a real challenge and even a hinderance, let me explain, my normal approach is done at 50 knots flap less, power off just before you round out and hold it off until it settles, a good predictable landing. If you use flaps 20' or 30' approach at 45 knots but you will find as you enter ground effect the Sapphire will react dramatically and bounce/climb out of ground effect, which means you have to counteract with a little forward stick, which turns a good approach into a porpoising exercise and a messy landing, in turbulence, wind or anything other than perfect conditions I recommend you don't use flaps, but button the approach speed at 50 Knots any faster and you will ground effect for a very long time, do big circuits give yourself plenty of space on final, as there will be times you simply cannot get the aircraft out of the sky especially if there is lift around. The general consensus is flaps are best left alone. If you are lucky enough to have spoilers fitted (non standard) lucky you they work a lot better. When flying rest your arm on your leg and use gentle inputs regards M

Yes my Sapphire has the Rotax 447, the trip was a little bumpy but not aggressive or bone shaking, either way the fabric should have easily withstood most levels of turbulance I have not heard of fabric (in good order) failing in turbulance. As I was quite high over tiger territory (Brindabellas) not only was it a lot cooler (insert cold) it was a fair bit smoother. I imagine the handling would have been affected in more aggressive control inputs, but after the hit I was not about to explore the extreams until I had found the cause. The average speed for my trip (GPS data) to and from Holbrook (4 hours) including ground work was 72 knots, quite respectable for 40hp at 5,700 RPM 12 l/hr.

Thanks Dazza so am I Hello David after the initial hit I couldn't feel any difference in the elevator response, no flutter or abnormal feedback, the Sapphires are very sensitive to elevator and under normal operation very little input is required, also when I landed I had about an 8 knot crosswind which distracted any feedback I may have noticed in the flare. This is the third Sapphire in my life, the previous had a lot more hours on them, were factory built and both were structurally sound and a joy to fly.

I was flying home in my Sapphire last Saturday from the Holbrook Fly In and had climbed to 6,500 over the Brindabella Ranges then as I descended to transit below Canberra CTR the joystick almost jumped out of my hand and the Sapphire lurched in the air which somewhat concentrated my attention, not knowing what had happened I carefully explored the three axis of control but all seemed to operate as they should and the Sapphire continued to hum on its merry way (75Knots), I assumed a bird strike or such, imagine my surprise after I landed to find half the fabric on my elevator had torn off. After removing the elevators I discovered the rest of the fabric peeled off with very little effort, the gluing process had not etched into the fibreglass ribs there was almost no bonding. Another point I noticed was the fabric did not cover the leading edge it was attached at a point behind the spar (all flying tailplane) which allowed the air flow to enter into the elevator cavity as a section of fabric lifted and pressurise it. So where is this story going and points to consider My Sapphire has less than 40 hours TTIS Built in Kyabram Vic as a home built kit (19-000) rego. This is not a Sapphire problem but a building defect Sooooo! Kit built aircraft can have major defects BUYER BEWARE. be very suspicious of almost brand new homebuilts for sale.

Hello Joe glad to hear from a fellow Sapphire owner is there anything specific you want to discuss regards Millie