Just landed to say a big thanks to Recreational Flying

[scooter75]

Hi People,

 

Being new to flying, i just wanted to say a big thankyou to all the contributors of this Forum. I have around 40 hours of flightime and am saving my church money for an aircraft (figure its a better way to spend a Sunday morning to!).

 

... a few times i have landed on this site to find the answers to my questions. The great thing is you get an answer from a few different angles.. which helps steer the way i want to go about eventually becoming a good pilot and owning my own plane.

 

I must admit CASA had me almost beat , (and i've never crossed their paths).. i started to get really negative and think that their idea of safe skies is to have nobody in them. After a while i determined my resolve to ensure i wasn't on the wrong side of them by making sure all the checks and balances were in place.. which is kinda what you want at 5,000 Ft..

 

In the mean while, can all you guys with plenty of experience keep posting.. you never know who is listening and how it is helping them get to where they want with their flying..

 

Handing Over , your forum

 

Scooter

 

 

[facthunter]

Welcome aboard. Nev

 

 

[Cal Air 63]

Welcome Scooter,

 

I am a low hours Student Pilot and Recreational Flying has also been a great resource of information for me, I also dream of acquiring my own aircraft too,

 

However Reality and My Wife will more n likely prevent this from happening

 

 

[scooter75]

Are we married to the same woman??? ..if so, I'm not selfish, just take over the payments...

 

 

[Nightmare]

Welcome Scooter, what are you thinking of buying?

 

Cheers,

 

Tony

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Welcome Scooter,I am a low hours Student Pilot and Recreational Flying has also been a great resource of information for me, I also dream of acquiring my own aircraft too,

 

However Reality and My Wife will more n likely prevent this from happening

I'm lucky. My wench has been a big supporter of my flying. Gets me out from underfoot.

 

 

[scooter75]

Welcome Scooter, what are you thinking of buying?Cheers,

Tony

Really very undecided on that front.. Quiet fond of the Foxbat....but a Jabiru is a lot more budget friendly to begin with...

 

 

[bexrbetter]

am saving my church money for an aircraft (figure its a better way to spend a Sunday morning to!).

.. and that Grandkids was when the legendary 3000+ post fight started ....

 

 

[Soleair]

Hi Scooter (& Brent)

 

Like many people, I am very funds limited. Have you thought about building? Very satisfying, teaches you lots about your plane; you can maintain it yourself once it's flying (so saving more money); and it's lots of fun! Worked for me - see my avatar.

 

By far the cheapest way to get airbourne is to finish a part-built kit, although it would pay you to get a thorough inspection from a suitably qualified person. Or just a pre-loved plane that needs a bit of TLC to get up & running.

 

Here's a couple of links just from the Classified ads on this site. You'll probably find many others on different sites with a bit of patience.

 

Streak Shadow

 

SportAir single seater

 

Happy Flying

 

Bruce

 

 

[eightyknots]

A big:welcome: to you Scooter75!

 

 

[Yenn]

Welcome Scooter.

 

If you go the build it yourself route, be aware that you will be a builder, not a flyer.

 

With 40 hours of flight time you would be spending a heap of money to build and not getting any hours up. I would assume that your interest is in flying.

 

I have built a couple of planes and for me it was really good. I was flying a plane while I built the first one and flying the new plane while I built No 2. That way I kept current and just enjoyed the build. If you felt spending many hours and much money on building would not slow down your actual flying, then I would say give it a go, but I doubt that is what you want.

 

Get as much time flying in whatever you can get to fly and enjoy it. That is what most of us have as our aim.

 

 

[scooter75]

If you go the build it yourself route, be aware that you will be a builder, not a flyer.

Its a very prudent post that one.. both time and financially...

 

I've long been interested in seeing the Desert regions of Australia by air.. a STOL aircraft would be great for this kind of work.. so i imagine that i would want to be a flyer first, to build the knowledge banks, followed by a builder that knows the aircraft inside out by the time you are getting to remote regions.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Welcome Scooter.If you go the build it yourself route, be aware that you will be a builder, not a flyer.

With 40 hours of flight time you would be spending a heap of money to build and not getting any hours up. I would assume that your interest is in flying.

 

I have built a couple of planes and for me it was really good. I was flying a plane while I built the first one and flying the new plane while I built No 2. That way I kept current and just enjoyed the build. If you felt spending many hours and much money on building would not slow down your actual flying, then I would say give it a go, but I doubt that is what you want.

 

Get as much time flying in whatever you can get to fly and enjoy it. That is what most of us have as our aim.

Agreed. Not to mention the plethora of reasonably-priced aircraft on the market. It'll probably cost you almost as much to build as to buy, and when you factor in the value of your time it's the most expensive 2-seater in the sky. You have to love the building process otherwise just go buy.

 

 

[DrZoos]

Yep right now, building is for the time rich or the money mad!

 

 

[M61A1]

Yep right now, building is for the time rich or the money mad!

Depends what you're building.....buying a kit would have to be just as expensive as buying outright. Plans or scratch building, is way cheaper. There are choices beyond Rotax and quick build kits.

 

 

[Soleair]

Yes, I guess comments on the cost of building are based on kit aircraft such as the Jabiru. Although this is to some extent 'building', it is more accurate to say it is really assembling pre-built components. And clearly the more you build, the less you are paying for someone else's time - thus the cheaper it becomes.

 

I built my MiniMax based on free drawings downloaded from the interweb. (here) If you source your materials locally - Hoop Pine is an excellent choice for aircraft, being on a par with spruce - then you avoid punitive shipping costs. Of course it will take time to build, and a lot longer than most suppliers advertise. But this discussion is for those who do not have sufficient funds to simply go out & buy, & thus have resigned themselves to never owning an aeroplane. Consider your time: do you never just sit & watch TV in the evenings? Go down the pub? Play golf? Watch footy? etc. Most people could find a few hours per week, especially at weekends, that would over time result in their own home built plane. And if you're stressed at work, it is very relaxing to escape to the shed at home. You could still fly an hour a week while building - assuming you can afford it - there's 168 hours in a week!

 

As to cost, again, the more you do yourself the less it costs. For the MiniMax you can buy a complete airframe kit for 6200 USD. But you would probably pay only half of that sourcing local materials yourself. If you are really short of cash, it is possible for example to find good timber from old floorboards (which has been done) - but you would need to know what you were looking for & inspect very carefully. The great advantage of building this way is that you buy materials as you need them, and if it takes several years to build, then the cost of materials is spread over that time too, and becomes much easier to find. While there is no doubt an accountant would tell you your time spent makes the build vastly expensive, I guess you generally either have time or money available. I'm addressing those who don't have money, & aren't working in their spare time at 20, 50, or 100 $/hr.

 

Similarly with the engine. A new engine will be half of - or more - the cost of the entire project. But if you regularlly search online, suitable engines do come up for sale. Right now over on Classifieds is this Rotax 447 for around a grand. With a bit of ingenuity you could make a belt reduction drive for it, or find someone who can. I used to do this with the 50hp Robin engines I flew. You can make your own propeller too: I have made many, & it is not as difficult as some seem to imagine.

 

Of course you have far greater freedom if you go for 95.10 rego, as you can pretty much design & build what you wish. Though only the foolish would do so without either sufficient knowledge or outside assistance. But there is a lot of expertise available on this site, and elsewhere.

 

Some aircraft are built by a group of friends. Many advantages if you choose this route: reduced elapsed time for build; less cost per person; moral support; social activity & so on.

 

It would be a shame if recreational flying in Australia were to lose homebuilt aeroplanes, and a great pity that fewer people would have the satisfaction & enjoyment that comes from their building, and of course, flying.

 

Bruce

 

 

[scooter75]

I must admit, i'm a bit prejudice towards already built craft without the help of a decent LAME behind me upon inspection.. i'm a firm believer in the unconscious incompetence / conscious competence matrix. I would be forever worried about how well something was built and wether the builder did everything right in his own mind, but unwittingly built in an error that might come back to bight later on.. admittedly, from what i've read, the weakest point of most aircraft appears to be the motor, (which stands to reason with the most moving parts.). or dare i say, the pilot..

 

 

[facthunter]

IF it's not built well, you might as well start from scratch. I've seen some junk here and there. It's a pity more of us aren't building though. I've seen a wooden RV that will emerge soon. Nev

 

 

[Nightmare]

Really very undecided on that front.. Quiet fond of the Foxbat....but a Jabiru is a lot more budget friendly to begin with...

I like the Foxbats myself, but are a bit out of my price range. The Jabs are nice aircraft, but I'm a bit wary of their engines... oh if only they'd put a Rotax in them.... otherwise they are a great well designed plane, or so I've heard.

[Marty_d]

The Jabs are nice aircraft, but I'm a bit wary of their engines... oh if only they'd put a Rotax in them.... otherwise they are a great well designed plane, or so I've heard.

Go have a look in the classifieds, Vev is selling one with a Rotax in it at the moment.

 

 

[Nightmare]

Go have a look in the classifieds, Vev is selling one with a Rotax in it at the moment.

Yes, thanks, I saw that, and 24 registered, but unfortunately a little out of my budget at this time.....

[eightyknots]

I like the Foxbats myself, but are a bit out of my price range. The Jabs are nice aircraft, but I'm a bit wary of their engines... oh if only they'd put a Rotax in them.... otherwise they are a great well designed plane, or so I've heard.

Foxbats used to be offered as a build-yourself kit but the company ceased providing kits about six years ago.

 

 

[Geoff13]

I like the Foxbats myself, but are a bit out of my price range. The Jabs are nice aircraft, but I'm a bit wary of their engines... oh if only they'd put a Rotax in them.... otherwise they are a great well designed plane, or so I've heard.

You would do well to look at the Hanuman. Very similar flight envelope to a Foxbat and far lower price.

 

 

[Nightmare]

You would do well to look at the Hanuman. Very similar flight envelope to a Foxbat and far lower price.

Funny you should say that Geoff..... I have been looking at one of them recently..... nice 80Lt fuel tank too

[Geoff13]

Funny you should say that Geoff..... I have been looking at one of them recently..... nice 80Lt fuel tank too

If you want to go for a ride in one I would be more than happy to take you. Yes 80 ltrs and mine with the 100hp get 15.7 ltr per hour. That is well over 4 hours with plenty of reserve.