Sapphire what do you think ?

[Guest thrasher]

Howdy

 

I am keen on the Sapphire as maybe an single seat aircraft to purchase..

 

I have never had the chance to fly one, but it seams like a nice aircraft...

 

Anyone own one & could give me some advice....

 

Regards Steve

 

 

[Ultralights]

brilliant little aircraft! very strong, look great and fly well. though i have only flown an hour in one, i loved it!

 

 

[vk3auu]

Sapphire

 

A couple of my friends have owned one. Nice aeroplane. My impression is that they are better with a Rotax 447, not the 503. The latter tend to be thirsty beasts and you don't get much better performance. They need a fair bit of strip as they seem to fly in ground effect forever. The later ones may be better.

 

David

 

 

[trevorp]

Hi, are all Sapphires fitted with flaps, and some have a air spoilier or is a air brake for using on ground roll out. Cheer's TPl.

 

 

[facthunter]

Sapphire.

 

There were 2 operating out of Porepunkah (Bright) and it's not overly long, (the strip). I can fit in the cockpit, so you're Ok. It's like a glider, in that respect' From what I know of it ,it is considered a good aircraft, with a good cruise speed, sensitive on the elevator initially, but you get used to that. Tony Witlox flew his ALL over australia, including Tas.. I remember the winecask bladder he used to carry his fuel to the airport in. Not a lot of room for baggage. George Hempenstall at porepunkah would be a good source of info. Nev...

 

 

[Guest browng]

The Sapphire is the only 'ultralight' I have ever owned among many 'VH' types, I absolutely loved it and regret selling it to this day. Mine was the original certification prototype '0051' which lacked many of the features of the current model, e.g. no flaps, canopy, battery, starter, wheel spats, strut fairings or wing tanks, and had a 447 as opposed to the 503 in the latest models. In spite of all this it did 90knots at 75% power on 12l/hr and handled like a fighter. It is the only aircraft I have ever flown that was faster than the manufacturer claimed. It is very easy to fly, but extremely sensitive in pitch, almost as sensitive as my old Pitts S1. While initially alarming if you have not flown anything so sensitive before, (you will almost certainly initially over-control in pitch), this rapidly becomes sheer delight. Climb rates of 800fpm are easy. We have a 503 powered Sapphire in the club, and conversations with its pilot indicate that even with the flaps in 'reflex' it is no faster than mine was, so it is clearly drag limited, but hell, it climbs like a homesick angel, my visual estimate is well over 1,000fpm. I have yet to meet a Sapphire pilot who did not absolutely love that little machine. The tail wheel is a weakness though, especially on gravel strips. I went through two before replacing it with a shopping trolley wheel which proved totally indestructible. The current model seems to have the same weak item mine did. It also pays to practice your side-slips, because on a hot 'thermally' day that highly efficient wing can make losing altitude hard work, (although bear in mind that mine had no flaps). The upside is that you can throttle back and thermal like a glider, making it a very efficient cross country machine. With a very tight cockpit and a pilot weight limit of 90kg, its not for bigger blokes though, I reckon anybody over 6' would probably be in trouble. trevorp, I am pretty certain that mine was one of only a handful of early models built without flaps, I think the chances of finding another are slim, and given it's marked reluctance to descend, that can only be a good thing. I have no knowledge of a 'spoiler', certainly the 503 powered example in our club doesn't have one, but I'm well out of date in knowledge of the type. You may be referring to the fact that the flaps can be put into a 5 degree reversed 'reflex' position for high speed flight, which puts their trailing edge above the trailing edge of the wing, possibly giving the appearance of spoilers?

 

Below is my old sapphire, note the tail wheel, the original was only a bit more than half the diameter of the one in the picture.

 

 

 

[trevorp]

Thank's, great report, so my selection and all the great feed back and info i find out about the LSA Sapphire is leading towards a sap as my choice for a first up aircraft. If i stick to my plans ,hopefully i'll get there sooner than later, and that "tailwheel " , very interesting the shopping trolley ans, are you still using it and if you required to replace through wear ,pretty cheap. May i also ask , with the half shield on cockpit how is it for radio comms with headset and mic and is shield high enough from any bugs . I guess the open cockpit sure would be nice at the right times , cheer's TP

 

 

[trevorp]

p.s thanks for the photo, nice one, i think i've got a photo of -051.

 

 

[Guest browng]

Thank's, great report, so my selection and all the great feed back and info i find out about the LSA Sapphire is leading towards a sap as my choice for a first up aircraft. If i stick to my plans ,hopefully i'll get there sooner than later, and that "tailwheel " , very interesting the shopping trolley ans, are you still using it and if you required to replace through wear ,pretty cheap. May i also ask , with the half shield on cockpit how is it for radio comms with headset and mic and is shield high enough from any bugs . I guess the open cockpit sure would be nice at the right times , cheer's TP

The shopping trolley wheel was still going strong when I sold the aircraft, with absolutely no sign of wear. The windshield was highly efficient with no wind in the cockpit at all, I had no problems using an Icom handheld and headset. Being a pusher type it was not very noisy at all really. You do have to be careful to keep everything inside the cockpit and not lose anything over the side though. I let a chart get out of control on one occasion, the slipstream got and it went straight through the prop and came out as confetti, if it had been something more solid I could have had a problem.

 

 

[Guest kimberley wayne burge]

hi BROWNG . yOU WOULD"NT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, YOU WOULD BE THE BEST PILOT I KNOW GEORGE.

 

hOPING TO GET MY SAPPHIRE LATE JANUARY 2008.

 

CATCH YOU AT BINDOON.

 

 

[Guest browng]

Hi Kim, January eh, I can't wait to see it. What options did you go for? When it arrives, if you need an extra pair of hands rigging it just shout. Personally I don't think you could have chosen a better aircraft for the sheer joy of flight......I wish I had mine back

 

 

[trevorp]

Hi Kim, Congratulations on buying a Sapphire, just wondering and interested, are you buying in kit form or factory built. Is there any Sapphire's located at Bindoon as i would love to see one, hopefully next time in Perth [i live in the north west of WA] i will get time to vist Bindoon. Cheers TP

 

 

[Guest browng]

Is there any Sapphire's located at Bindoon as i would love to see one, hopefully next time in Perth Cheers TP

There are currently two Sapphires at Bindoon, Kim's will make three when it arrives.

 

 

[barandbrew]

Hi Steve

 

I have owned a Sapphire for 3 years now and find it to be a delight to own and fly.

 

Mine is an early model which has had a 503 installed cruise's 90 knt and climbs at 1500 fpm with me (95kg) The only advise I have is to make sure you have plenty of strip for your first few landings as they are very slipery and dont want to come down but you soon get used to that good luck and a great choice.

 

Regards

 

John