Towering Cu

Well done Mark. Good to see you're taking your time with a meticulous rebuild. I'm sure it will be very worthwhile in the end with the knowledge that there have been no shortcuts and a feeling of confidence and achievement when she is back in the air again. Look forward to seeing her again one day on my drive between the Sunny Coast and Brizzy Airport. Cheers, Mike.

G'day Mark, Just wanted to add my congratulations to you for your great achievement. Well done on building your own aircraft and thank you for the great log and posts you've shared with us all for the past 2 years. The Savvy I know isn't everyones cup of tea, but it certainly has me won over. Look forward to visiting her in her new home sometime in the coming months when I can finally take a breather! Well done Mate, Mike.

Congratulations on both of these great milestones Mark!! She looks an absolute beauty. Mike.

Hey Mark! Congrats on your most recent solo!! Can't wait to see your Savvy finished and flying. Will have to try and stop in again soon but 3/4 of the way through my Airbus training at the moment. Ahhh, the French!! (secretly loving it ssshhhh) All the best, Mike.

Congratulations Neil on the arrival of "Jaffa"! Looks great. Will have to stop by soon and see her in the flesh. Regards, Mike.

Congrats on the first engine run Mark!!! Not long now.

Hi Mark, I leave Hong Kong this evening and will get back to Brisbane (via Melbourne!) around lunch time tomorrow. I have your mobile from a much earlier post, and will give you a call when I get to Brissy airport before my run home up the Bruce and see if a drop in on you and your Savvy is OK. Thanks for the most recent update. Is that problem with the cowl and the muffler clearance a problem with all of the Savvys? Mike.

Hi Mark. WOW!! Really starting to come along now. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy working schedule to make the post and show the pics. Made for a great start to my morning here in London before I go down and have my breakky. Its definately starting to look like you're in the final straight and I hope you get to keep on top of it for first flight this year. Well done and again, thanks for posting. All the best, Mike.

Hi Mark. I need my next installment of Savvy building fix please!!! Hope all is going well now that the engine is mounted. Still look forward to meeting you and your Savvy soon, hopefully before she is completed. Cheers, Mike.

Hi 80kts, The Sky Maxx looks interesting and also very familiar. Has its design morphed into the Colyaer range of aircraft? What do you think??

Congratulations on the order of your Savvy Neil (and obviously the sale of the J120!). Look forward to seeing it in the flesh over the new year. Particularly look forward to seeing Mark's Savvy build soon too. Holidays just started now, and after taking the kids away to Bali next week, hope to start meeting some of the many Savvy builders/owners we seem to be fortunate to have on the Sunshine Coast. Cheers all, Mike.

Hey Gundy, Thanks for taking the time to reply. I can only echo the comments of others in that your Savvy looks excellent!! Very similar to what I believe I would like to do if I ever stop procrastinating! I see you have offset your Skyview to the central position of the dash. Was this just to make it look more symmetrical, or are there plumbing issues behind the dash? Is that a Cummins spinner you have added as well? Would also love to have a crawl over it at some stage should you find yourself visiting the Sunshine Coast region. Enjoy flying the hours off it, and look forward to hearing more reports regarding your performance as you discover it, and anything that raises its head. Regards, Mike.

Done also Motz. At least it looks like you currently have Council support and this should make it easier. A petition is always a great thing to start with, and I hope that despite most of us not being in the area, that pure weight of numbers helps. These things can go your way. We went through this with Caloundra Airport over the last few years with it finally being saved from the developers late last year. Good luck!!!!

Hi Neil. Will your Savvy be based at Caboolture and will it be used for training and hire, or private use only? Do you have to wait long for it to arrive? Cheers, Mike.

Thanks for the info eightyknots..

Hi Gundy and congratulations on the build and first flight!! Only problem is that we weren't able to watch it happening along the way as we have been able to with Mark and Ian. I have been watching these posts on the Savannah with a real sense of thrill. Having spoken briefly by phone to the both Tom and Reg, the distributors, and looking at and climbing over and reading about these aircraft endlessly (well, touched a couple, still have to have a fly in one), I am coming to the decision that this is the aircraft I want to build and own, and your aircraft sounds very similar to how I would like mine to finish up. I would love to see as many photos of your aircraft as possible and am very keen to see how you've fitted out the panel. I think the Dynon Skyview looks to be the ultimate, and the 10" combined with EMS and the new mapping software, and $1500 for 2 autopilot servos, WOW!!! you don't need anything else for a very clean, simple installation. So, a couple of questions. Why the S over the XL? Just for the aesthetics? Have the corrugations been taken out of the rear fuselage, and if so, does this return the "tin canning" that the corrugations were there to remove? I read somewhere that with the S, you couldn't have the extended baggage shelf. Is this the case and is the normal one sufficient for camping gear etc? Were you able to arrange a credit for the ICP instruments that weren't required because of the purchase of the Dynon or did you just keep them anyway? Was it easy to make changes to the wiring harness to accommodate your changes away from the standard instruments? Look forward to hearing from you and seeing some photos. Regards, Mike.

Well done so far to both Mark and Ian. Loving the updates on your progress and especially the photos showing it all going together. Just wanted to particularly send out a "Good Luck" message to Ian with Yasi now bearing down on the region and hoping you have the Cab Savvy and the new engine well and truly protected from the coming wind and water. To all of our Northern mates, wishing you all as little damage as possible. Regards, Mike.

While I was out on my daily walk along Mooloolaba beach, one of you guys flew over my head tracking coastal northbound about a week ago. Looked up and dreamed of my retirement years!! Well done, looks like lots of fun.. Mike.

G'day Mark and Ian, Just wanted to echo eightyknots sentiments and pass on some more encouragement I am also enjoying the read and the photos of each of your progress. I'm also hoping to raise the funds next year for a kit, and the Savvy has become my favorite choice so far. Keep up the good work both of you. I'll have to contact Mark sometime over the Xmas hols and see if I can't come and have a look at the build some time seeing as I'm not that far away. Cheers, Mike.

There's a bit more plus photo here

Forum member Wags posted on this topic some months ago here

Well done Mark! I am also eagerly following your build progress. I have been looking at suitable kits to complete, and am certainly coming to the conclusion that the Savannah ticks most of the boxes for me. Also, should I be lucky enough to get around to one of these kits in the next year or so, I see from this forum that there is a wealth of experience within an hour or so of the Sunshine Coast if I were to get stuck. Enjoy the process and we look forward to the day when we get to see your completed masterpiece. Regards, Mike.

I must admit that the thermostat you link to certainly looks like a far more simple and straight forward installation.

G'day John, I see that Evektor have had a thermostat available for the 912 Sportstar for some time. Could also be an option for other Rotax users. http://www.evektor.cz/pdf/support/bulletins/EuroStar/EuroStar_Bull_010b_En.pdf Mike.

Congratulations Mark. I've been a long time lurker around the Savannah forum and am coming to the conclusion that if I can ever get my pennies together, after school fees, wife's hairdresser, etc etc etc, this would be one great aircraft to put together. (Originally thought CH650xl was the way to go, but the configuration and utility of the Savvy seems unbeatable). I look forward to following your build with great interest. Please post lots of pics along the way. Regards, Mike.