New member

[rmorton]

Hello and thanks for letting me join,

 

I live in France and am still learning to fly, I hope in the next few months to start building a Savannah S from ICP. I seem to spend most of my time trawling the net to find all the advice and equipment I will need.

 

Things on my mind currently:

 

1 new or recon engine

 

2 80 or 100hp (I think 80 for my needs is enough)

 

3 Get the radio and transponder now to take advantage of the weak pound

 

4 corrosion protect all the ali parts before assembly and how

 

5 painting (or not)

 

6 Hangar space

 

I am sure there are many questions and adventures to come.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Welcome rmorton,

 

There are lots of Savannah build threads and advice here! The Sav is popular in Australia.

 

Sue

 

 

[Yenn]

Welcome rmorton.

 

More Savvys than you can point a stick at. Nice aeroplanes too.

 

 

[Neil_S]

Bonjour!

 

I didn't build my Savvy, but am happy to help with any questions you may have.

 

Yeh - gotta love that low pound - I have a pension from ex-employer British Airways, now worth not a lot!

 

Cheers,

 

Neil

 

 

[IBob]

Hello and thanks for letting me join,I live in France and am still learning to fly, I hope in the next few months to start building a Savannah S from ICP. I seem to spend most of my time trawling the net to find all the advice and equipment I will need.

 

Things on my mind currently:

 

1 new or recon engine

 

2 80 or 100hp (I think 80 for my needs is enough)

 

3 Get the radio and transponder now to take advantage of the weak pound

 

4 corrosion protect all the ali parts before assembly and how

 

5 painting (or not)

 

6 Hangar space

 

I am sure there are many questions and adventures to come.

Hi rmorton and welcome. I am currently building an S in New Zealand. You will find this site to be a goldmine of information and helpful people as you build yours.

 

Engines: I believe there is not much price difference between 80 & 100hp, so most folk down here go for 100hp.

 

Corrosion protection (also painting): there seem to be endless possibilities and opinions, some of them very fiercely held! I shall be interested to know what you choose!

 

 

[Marty_d]

Hello and thanks for letting me join,I live in France and am still learning to fly, I hope in the next few months to start building a Savannah S from ICP. I seem to spend most of my time trawling the net to find all the advice and equipment I will need.

 

Things on my mind currently:

 

1 new or recon engine

 

2 80 or 100hp (I think 80 for my needs is enough)

 

3 Get the radio and transponder now to take advantage of the weak pound

 

4 corrosion protect all the ali parts before assembly and how

 

5 painting (or not)

 

6 Hangar space

 

I am sure there are many questions and adventures to come.

Hi Rmorton, welcome to the site. Keep us up to date with your progress! (We like pics too.)

 

Corrosion protection can depend on the conditions your plane will be in. If you live near the sea, more is probably recommended (salt air), whereas if you're in an area of very low humidity then you could get away with none at all.

 

Personally I decided to only corrosion protect the joint areas, which are the most at risk. I apply a line of etch primer to each surface that's going to be riveted. But do some research and decide on what suits you best.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[Guernsey]

Hi rmorton, welcome to this site.

 

Where in France are you located?

 

Alan.

 

 

[rmorton]

Hi rmorton, welcome to this site.Where in France are you located?

Alan.

We are based in the Pays de Gex next to the Swiss border near Geneva. I am very happy to have found this forum and so many welcomes and information already! I thank you all and look forward to future constructive exchanges.

 

 

[rmorton]

Welcome rmorton,There are lots of Savannah build threads and advice here! The Sav is popular in Australia.

Sue

I hope to be making good use of the build forums that is for sure, sadly I think a flight to Australia when finished is probably a bit too far me :(

 

 

[rmorton]

Bonjour!I didn't build my Savvy, but am happy to help with any questions you may have.

 

Yeh - gotta love that low pound - I have a pension from ex-employer British Airways, now worth not a lot!

 

Cheers,

 

Neil

Thanks for the offer. Might as well cash in the pension and buy my radio with it!

 

 

[rmorton]

Hi rmorton and welcome. I am currently building an S in New Zealand. You will find this site to be a goldmine of information and helpful people as you build yours.Engines: I believe there is not much price difference between 80 & 100hp, so most folk down here go for 100hp.

 

Corrosion protection (also painting): there seem to be endless possibilities and opinions, some of them very fiercely held! I shall be interested to know what you choose!

For the engine I have found a place in the UK that rebuilds them, they seem very good but he has difficulty finding the 100's in good condition. I also see that for the type of old man flying I want to do the 80 may offer a little more comfort. That said the 100 in the mountains we have round here would be a reassuring advantage. I will just have to see what is available at the time.

I fully agree with what you say about the corrosion protection, it drives me nuts reading all the contradictory opinions and advise. It may well be that a compromise is the best solution, protect all closed and hidden sections and leave the exposed parts with a "wax oil " type spray if needed.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Bonjour!I didn't build my Savvy, but am happy to help with any questions you may have.

 

Yeh - gotta love that low pound - I have a pension from ex-employer British Airways, now worth not a lot!

 

Cheers,

 

Neil

Neil, you never told me you were a stewardess!

 

 

[IBob]

For the engine I have found a place in the UK that rebuilds them, they seem very good but he has difficulty finding the 100's in good condition. I also see that for the type of old man flying I want to do the 80 may offer a little more comfort. That said the 100 in the mountains we have round here would be a reassuring advantage. I will just have to see what is available at the time.I fully agree with what you say about the corrosion protection, it drives me nuts reading all the contradictory opinions and advise. It may well be that a compromise is the best solution, protect all closed and hidden sections and leave the exposed parts with a "wax oil " type spray if needed.

Yes, I can imagine the 80 is far more readily available. Unless you are anticipating a very rapid build, you won't be needing the engine for a while. I haven't bought mine yet, but will get the 100, as I'm looking to get in and out of tight places; and when I'm old man flying in between, it will be working less hard!

 

As for corrosion protection, the minimum would be the coating of both surfaces at all aluminium joins, as ICP specify. For this, they provide a can of black primer in the kit (though apparently 1 can is not quite enough). It looks as though most people use that, some people use other systems of their choice.

 

After that, much seems to depend on how close you are to wet and salt, what facilities you have for dipping or spraying, and how much time you are prepared to put in. The T6061 does seem to have good corrosion resistance.

 

I have chosen to protect all closed and hidden sections. It is additional work, cleaning and spraying. There will also be a weight penalty, I hope not too much.

 

 

[Guernsey]

I hope to be making good use of the build forums that is for sure, sadly I think a flight to Australia when finished is probably a bit too far me :(

Don't worry about the distance.....it's all down hill from France..

 

Alan.

 

 

[Neil_S]

Neil, you never told me you were a stewardess!

......with access to all that duty free booze - why not?