Guest Rocko Posted January 3, 2007 Posted January 3, 2007 Hi folks Came here from a link posted on the Yahoo Jabiru Engines forum, and really glad I did. Already found some really good info to help out the "toy" build ;) I'm from Ipswich, in Queensland (in Oz, for those who don't know ;) and fly from Coominya, which is around 45 mins drive from here. I'm just in the final stages of my RAA flight training with John Walmsley, at Coominya Flight Training, who has to be THE most patient person I've ever met ;) Certainly, I havn't been able to traumatise him too much during the training. Coominya is a great area to fly in, with lots of open country, nice and scenic, and with Johns facilities having a 1000m strip, even I don't run out of runway too often ;) He's also doing the test flying for my newly built Xair Hanuman, which is very similar to a Rans Coyote or Skyranger in structure. Powered by the Jabiru 2200A. It's done a whole 7 hours test flying to date, and so far seems a very stable aircraft, with a cruise of around 90kt fast. Hopefully, a great first aircraft, without too many vices. Look forward to keeping informed with the info on here. Cheers, Scott.
bushpilot Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Hi Scott, Would be great if you could post a pic or 2 of your Xair Hanuman, when u get a chance... Sounds like an interesting a/c! Cheers, Chris
Guest Rocko Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Xair Hanuman pics No probs. Xair Hanuman is the new plane from Rand Kar, which has a top cruise around 90kts. Can be powered by Jabiru 2200, or the Rotax 912. There is also a Rotax 582 version, but many people seem to think it's underpowered. Stall is around 30 kts, with full flaps. Range, on 80L tank, with 70L usable, is around 600NM plus. Normal cruise is around 75-80kts. Basically, it met my criteria as a cheap, yet still fairly quick, aircraft, which was easy to build, and had a decent range. Compared to equivalent aircraft, it was the cheapest by far. Total build time was around 200 hours. Wings fold, for long term storage. Seats are comfy, and it has dual centre sticks, and dual throttles.
bushpilot Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Hey Scotty - That is very nice! Looks like you have done a precision job on the build too. View from that cockpit must be real good.. What is the configuration of the "glass" panel you have there? Cheers, Chris
Jabby Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Hi Rocco, That is a very nice looking aircraft, May I ask how much did it set you back and how long did it take you to build and finally where can I get one. Happy flying Mike
Guest Rocko Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Glass cockpit and Hanuman whois Hi again The glass cockpit instrument is a Stratomaster Horizon XL. Available in Australia from http://www.lightflying.com.au It's not bad, but I had a bitch of a time with it initially, having a dodgy sender unit. This unit sends all the info from all the probes in the engine bay via one cable to the cockpit, and caused all sorts of hell trying to work out the problem, with readings going haywire. The new unit pretty much solved it all, tho. I chose it because it has fuel level, fuel flow, 4 EGT 4 CHT, and the rest. Sounded like a good idea at the time, monitoring everything. Now, I admit it's only done around 10 hours so far, and I have yet to fly in it ;) Still in test flying stage. Next time, tho, I'd probably put in a digital EMS and analog flight instruments. The glass panels have a lot of info crammed into a fairly small screen. You can actually redesign the screen with as much or as little on it as possible, via your PC, which worked well, getting rid of some of the more obscure info. The Hanuman is available from Michael Coates, at Xair Australia. I did have some probs during the build, but Michael has been an excellent Australian Rep, and was very supportive, dealing with everything that cropped up without hassle. Once the probs were sorted, things have been going OK since. After all, what kit aircraft is "perfect" ;) In the 10 hours it's flown, the test pilot reports it to be a stable aircraft, with no nasty vices so far. He seems very happy with it to date. Xair's web page is http://www.mcp.com.au/ Michael also sells the Virus and Sinus motogliders. Absolutely beautiful aircraft. Not cheap, the finish is amazing, and I can dream ;) Total cost for the Xair project has been around $45K max, including registration, and everything else. Came out to a dry weight of around 300kg, and has a MTOW of 544kg through the RAA. Lift is amazing. Take off's he's doing have been around 100m, and the only thing so far is that you basically have to go snails pace in the float to get it on the ground, since it floats forever otherwise. VERY low stall speed. Cheers, Scott
Guest Rocko Posted January 7, 2007 Posted January 7, 2007 Forgot the question.... Sorry, forgot to answer the question ;) Build took around 200 hours, including engine and instruments. I'm based in Ipswich, just outside Brisbane, and Xair is down the Gold Coast. There's around 5 of these in Oz atm, I think. But the construction is the same as the standard Xair, and there's 1000 of them flying ;) I chose this mainly because it cruised much faster than a Drifter or Standard Xair, so you can actually go places in it. One guy in Tasmania flew his to Narromine last year, across Bass Straight. Not bad effort there. I got one of the very early H kits, which I think is why I encountered a few bugs. None of the newly released kits seem to have many problems with them, since noone seems to be reporting much on the Xair forum. Everyone seems pretty happy with them. Design and construction is very similar to a Skyranger, if you've ever seen one of them, but I personally think it has a few advantages over the Skyranger. Mainly cosmetic and comfort. Mine is Dacron covered, but if I had the choice, I'd the choose Mylar fabric which is now available, and apparently much more UV resistant. When I bought mine, the 912 option wasn't available, so I got the Jabiru 2200, which was the best choice in my opinion. He's getting over 800FPM climb on hot days with full fuel, solo. I can live with that ;) Wouldn't get a 912 one myself, since it bumps the overall price up considerable, which defeats the purpose of a "cheap" aircraft. If I wanted to spend 60K, I'd buy something else, like an Allegro or Storch. Scotty
Guest detectivedrew Posted July 17, 2008 Posted July 17, 2008 Dear Sir: have you heard of anyone using the Jabiru 2200 in the Rans s6? Thanks
farri Posted July 20, 2008 Posted July 20, 2008 No probs.Xair Hanuman is the new plane from Rand Kar, which has a top cruise around 90kts. Can be powered by Jabiru 2200, or the Rotax 912. There is also a Rotax 582 version, but many people seem to think it's underpowered. Hello Roco, Nice pics, I get to fly an Xair with a 582, as it belongs to a friend who was a student of mine and it`s housed on my field. I bet your`s goes well. Frank. Ps,Check my Avatar,Thanks.
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