AV8A Posted February 24, 2011 Posted February 24, 2011 Hi guys, I have a lot of questions about the Sierra and dont know where to begin. Some elements have been discussed but I will revisit some queries for confirmation. *Firstly can a BRS be fitted to the Sierra, and if so what brand is recommneded? *Has anyone got any pics of a glass setup in the Sierra yet or have recommendations? *Has there been any talk of the Sierra 100 being brought up to the 600kg class in the near future? (factory built obviously). I guess the alternative is the 2+2 and run it without the rear seats (ie.J230) *What inflight adjustable prop unit is recommended with the Jab3300 and Viking? What the expected cruise with both units? *Is there any information concerning the derigging of the wings? Is this a one or two person afair? *Is there a dedicate forum or builder blog on the Sierra available? *Does anyone in Brisbane have the dvd on the Sierra that I can copy please? *Whats the fuel capacity of the Sierra? are long range tanks available? Sorry for all the questions, I think the Sierra ticks alot of boxes (for me personally) compared to anything else on the market IMHO. Any advise, suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
kgwilson Posted February 24, 2011 Posted February 24, 2011 I'd suggest you call Garry Morgan for the first 4 queries. There is a Morgan Aeroworks Forum under Recreational Aviation Usergroups where a number of threads have details & photos of kit builds. There is also a Morgan Aeroworks Thread in the Suppliers and Services Forum There is a video of the Sierra build process available from Garry Morgan. I have a copy on my PC but it's too big to send to you easily. The wings are a 2 person fit and removal process. This is also shown on the video. The fuselage tank is 100 litres and wing tanks can be fitted if you want extra long range. Endurance depends on obvious things such as Engine choice, throttle setting, load, etc. The best thing you can do is to take a weekend off & visit Garry at Taree & go for a test flight. That's all you will need to make your mind up. I will be ordering my kit in the next few weeks. Cheers Kevin
Guernsey Posted February 25, 2011 Posted February 25, 2011 No need to send for the DVD and make your own copy as I have supplied Gary with 40 copies and more as are required. They are of course free of charge. CAUTION.......if you do visit Gary and fly the Sierra ( as Ignition has said ) you will definitely want one so be prepared to part with your money as failure to purchase will give you nightmares and serious withdrawl symptons.
AV8A Posted February 25, 2011 Author Posted February 25, 2011 I'd suggest you call Garry Morgan for the first 4 queries. There is a Morgan Aeroworks Forum under Recreational Aviation Usergroups where a number of threads have details & photos of kit builds. There is also a Morgan Aeroworks Thread in the Suppliers and Services Forum There is a video of the Sierra build process available from Garry Morgan. I have a copy on my PC but it's too big to send to you easily. The wings are a 2 person fit and removal process. This is also shown on the video. The fuselage tank is 100 litres and wing tanks can be fitted if you want extra long range. Endurance depends on obvious things such as Engine choice, throttle setting, load, etc. The best thing you can do is to take a weekend off & visit Garry at Taree & go for a test flight. That's all you will need to make your mind up. I will be ordering my kit in the next few weeks. Cheers Kevin Thanks Kevin, I obvously haven't spoken to Garry yet as I prefer to get first hand opinions from those who may be in the know. Opinions come from experience either direct or indirect with a given product and surely others have already asked simialar questions of Garry. I can only imagine he is busy building planes and would field these questions regularly from people who are still in the preliminary stages of aircraft ownership and merely tieing up his valuable time. Thank you very imput mate and best of luck with your own kit! I am another step closer to aircraft ownership!
AV8A Posted February 25, 2011 Author Posted February 25, 2011 Cameron Thank you very much Cameron - just because my reply isnt as long winded, doesnt mean I am less gratfull mate! Thanks also for the link - I have spent many a late night searching for more information on the Sierra before I thought it prudent to post. Obviously I havent seached this site enough.. Its changed since I used it last Speaking of late nights - you guys both have taken considerable time during the witching hour to help a stanger out. Good sign of a healthy forum IMHO! :clap2:
John Raison Posted February 26, 2011 Posted February 26, 2011 If your interested in having a look at one under construction I'm at Beenliegh and also fly out of Heck fielCheers John
Viper Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Hi John We would like to have a look at your build we are at logan village and are considering purchasing a sierra for build also cheers Viper & gareth
Runway Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I don’t know if you’re still wondering about a glass cockpit, but my mate and I recently installed one in our Sierra 100 we are building. It is the MGL Odyssey EFIS (http://www.lightflying.com.au/Stratomaster%20Pages/Odyssey.htm). We recently fired up the system, and although we have not properly set it up yet, it seems to work OK (it showed us were the shed we are building the plane is, and we were pleased to see that we were only subject to 1G). The only back-up instruments we have installed are an altimeter and ASI. It does all sorts of fancy things, such as linking with the radio etc. Learning how to operate it successfully may take a little time, but it seems fairly logical. We have the engine on order, so haven’t wired up the sensors yet. But what happens is that they go into a sender forward of the firewall, and then one cable goes back to the EFIS. With six CHT sensors, six EGT sensors etc, glad all those wires don’t need to go through the firewall. Apparently it can easily be linked to an auto pilot, which at this stage, we are not installing, but this may be a project for the future after we get the plane in the air. Because of the size of the EFIS panel (which has a 10.4” screen) we got Garry to supply a 2mm aluminum sheet for the instrument panel instead of the standard fiberglass panel. We then cut it to shape. I took a photo of the instrument panel today, but how do I insert it here? Cheers Jeff
Guernsey Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Put your photo into 'My Pictures' make sure it is not too large (too many pixels) or you will need to reduce it. Then just as I have done here click on Reply and you will see at the bottom right hand corner three options, one being upload a file, click on this and it will direct you to getting that photo from the file you have stored it in. Somebody may have a simpler explanation. Alan.
Runway Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I have a problem with my firewall (on my computer that is, not the plane), but will post a photo of the panel when I sort it out. Jeff
kgwilson Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 The easiest way is to use the free Google product "Picassa". It finds all your photos on your hard drive & organises them. Select the photo you want to post & then choose "Export". This creates a copy of the photo in an export folder in any size you want. There is a slider control to shrink a multi mega-pixel photo to a few hundred pixels or kilo-pixels which can then be easily uploaded into a thread on this site.
Virago Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 I have purchased an MGL "Xtreme" mini EFIS for my Sierra 100 project. I am considering buying a second unit as a backup and also so I can have one showing flight info and the other showing engine info. I also bought the MGL V10 digital VHF radio. I am installing electric flaps. and electric trim. Both of these will use Firgelli motors which are quite cheap but very high quality. I wont be fitting wing tanks as my bladder capacity doesn't quite match my fuel capacity! John.
Runway Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 Even though the large EFIS screen allows both nav and engine data to be shown, two smaller screens could be a good option too, which as you say, gives you a back-up. I have seen a few cases in Flight Safety where a 737s etc have lost one of their screens. As for the long range tanks vs bladder, we have installed wing tank. Many people have asked what the range of the Sierra will be. My reply is generally "the plane's tanks will last a lot longer than mine". Likewise, we expect the main advantage for long range tanks will be when fuel is not readily available, or where it is too expensive (eg, like in your part of the country Aaron)
Virago Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 Aaron, I will have close on six hours endurance (plus 45 minutes reserve) with the 100 litre nose tank and the small Jab engine. That's allowing 20L for the first hour and 14L for the next five hours, leaving 10L reserve. I never had much luck using those "human element range extender" thingys so the bladder consideration is still valid! John.
kgwilson Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 I am not installing wing tanks either and have the Jabiru 3300 engine. To me it's all about planning and establishing the availability of Avgas & Mogas before you go anywhere off the beaten track plus carrying a fuel container in the back to go & get some if not available at the landing area. The other consideration is the ability to derig the aircraft which becomes more complicated once wing tanks are installed as well as the additional weight, reducing the amount available for Pax & baggage.
Virago Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 That is fair comment Lyle, and food for thought. John.
Guernsey Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 We have wing tanks but only use them when necessary however we have the advantage of all three of us pilots being 70 kilos each and most of the time it's only two of us using the aircraft as opposed to other passengers.. Alan.
Runway Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 I think I can finally upload a photo of the panel for our Sierra. When the front top deck is on, the panel sits a few inches under its cover. Jeff
Virago Posted March 23, 2012 Posted March 23, 2012 Hi Jeff! The panel looks great with the MGL EFIS up and running. I guess all your engine instrumentation (including tacho) will be on the EMS functions of the EFIS. I see you utilized the fibreglass centre pedestal as part of your instrument panel mounting. John.
Runway Posted March 24, 2012 Posted March 24, 2012 Yes John, the EFIS can be set up to have 9 pre-programed screen options, which can all be custom made to what you want. The engine management displays can be designed into these, and individually configured, eg, various options for tacho placement, size, analog/digital display etc, and different for each screen if desired. The various screens are selected using the buttons on the right. As noted, we used the original centre fibreglass piece, but modified it to suit the different panel. Jeff
Nick99 Posted May 9, 2023 Posted May 9, 2023 On 21/03/2012 at 9:43 PM, Guernsey said: We have wing tanks but only use them when necessary however we have the advantage of all three of us pilots being 70 kilos each and most of the time it's only two of us using the aircraft as opposed to other passengers.. Alan. I am looking at installing wing tanks in mine, do you have any photos before the wing skins went on?
kgwilson Posted May 9, 2023 Posted May 9, 2023 I put Wing tanks in my S100. They are 35 litres per wing with 100 litres in the main so provides excellent range with the 3300a engine. Photo 1 is looking at the bottom of the tank after initial installation. Photo 2 shows the flap cable routing around tank bottom. Photo 3 shows flap acble installation complete & photo 4 is the top of the tank
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