Texan MTOW's

Hi Guys

The texan Aircraft (flysynthesis) have an MTOW in Aust and o/seas that is defined as 450Kg. However I semi suspsect that the MTOW is an arificial one to meet the European legislative requirements. Does anyone actually know if the design MTOW is actually above 450kg's. I ask in that the sting etc, were originally a similar 450kg and have been moved to 560kg experinmental. I wonder if the same will happen with the texan.

regards

Andy

Yes, the Texans are limited to 454kg in Australia.

The procedure is fairly simple in that the aircraft requires a Type Certificate to be imported as a factory built aircraft and be allowed to be used for training purposes.

Yes, the 450kg limit is a European Legislative limit. However, CASA has accepted documentation signed and stamped by the NAA (not the factory!) of the manufacturing country if it states that the NAA has witnessed and accepted testing data on the aircraft that shows it can handle a higher MTOW.

In the case of the Texan, it is up to the factory and the Italian CAA (ENAC) to get together and sort it out. The requirements have been given to them.

The only other saviour is the LSA category, but then it is up to the factory whether or not they will sign a statement of compliance for existing aircraft.

The smartest option would be option 1, getting a letter from ENAC, as when Part 103 comes in, there will be a 600kg possibility across our aircraft under which the Texan could operate quite happily (and legally!).

Chris

Thanks for the info Chris

I would assume the Aust importer is doing whatever he can to get the italian Company to move this forward as the useful load on this aircarft at present would to me seem to put it well behind its competitors at present.

Do you actually know if the design MTOW is actually higher than 450kg's? After all if design was 450 then nothing is going to change that without some more engineering effort.

Regards

Andy

Just to let you know, the Sting is certified to 600kg's in LSA category. It's not experimental.

Brent

I just grabbed that info from Michael Coates Web site. If its 600Kgs Im surprised that the stats havent been updated. http://www.mcp.com.au/sting/index.html Has the reference to 544kgs and 560kgs.

Not saying your wrong, just identifying where I sourced the info from

Andy

That's correct. 544 for UL rego and 600 for LSA.

Thanks for the info ChrisI would assume the Aust importer is doing whatever he can to get the italian Company to move this forward as the useful load on this aircarft at present would to me seem to put it well behind its competitors at present.

 

Do you actually know if the design MTOW is actually higher than 450kg's? After all if design was 450 then nothing is going to change that without some more engineering effort.

 

Regards

 

Andy

Hi Andy,

I believe the Texan has been tested to LSA standard and beyond. From memory, 640g is the current design limit. I have not seen any test data to back that up, though if it is registered LSA in the US, then the factory is putting their neck on the block, so I would assume that they have done their homework properly.

(Although, a lot of US importers state themselves as being the manufacturer, so it falls back on them).

Chris