microman

I have the same problem with my Savannah S - dodgy hips mean that much more than an hour and its getting pretty uncomfortable. The best solution I have found is to add seat cushions to get as high as possible - that tends to straighten out your legs a bit - and also gives you a better view over the cowling. However you are limited for headroom by the cross braces overhead.

Very nice carpeting job FIL65 - I rather wish I had got someone with more skill than me to do ours - its a bit agricultural. I see you've gone for a Bolly prop too - did you consider the E-Prop? It does seem to provide better performance than the Bolly. As a final comment, a builder here in NZ also fitted the Edge Performance engine - he found the takeoff roll to be shorter, but little increase in cruise performance - the aircraft is just too draggy.

My partner and I are both around 182cm so we need to get as high as possible and also as far back as possible. (both of us have hip problems so we need to have our legs as straight as we can get them). We found that the new cushion seats are much thicker than the old ones, and with additional cushions underneath ($9 from Bunnings) we dont need the adjustable metal seats so at this stage we havent made them ( we will make them - for any future owners of the aircraft) The new cushion seats are just another upgrade - every new batch of kits seem to incorporate various improvements and additions (like the new leather control stick surround and the sunshades). I suggest you leave out the adjustable metal seats at this stage and simply build up to the height that you need with cushions. One builder here did the same as us, but he even left out the metal runners - which we decided to leave in because we felt they added strength. Talk to Philip Seale - he might do a swap - the new cushions for the old ones.

Cheers eighty knots - I must admit, having another Savannah in the hangar, and two others very close, not to mention having already built one, all made it a whole lot easier than someone building in isolation. Even so, we made a few cockups, usually because we couldnt follow the instructions so just worked it out for ourselves and we didnt always get it right. I was determined to get it as light as possible, so left out the adjustable seats, (the new factory cushion seats are brilliant so if you are tall it is actually more comfortable without the metal seats. We only painted parts of the aircraft, and of course the E-prop keeps the weight down. Result - 299.6kg so it can lift its own weight.

Well ZK-SGC is now finished, passed its CAA inspection this morning and test-flew this afternoon. It took 6 months - two of us working 3 days a week ( I calculate it at 850 hours) Only minor issues along the way - the worst being 2 factory tank fittings which both leaked - requiring deriveting of the tank covers (both sides). On a number of occasions we thought bits were missing, only to find them eventually. However the instruction book left out the section relating to the extra fuel tanks, and that caused us some puzzlement until we checked the book for another aircraft and found the relevant section. Rivets supplies are never enough ( a few had to be drilled out of course!), but the local agent came to the party. Performance wise - climbs at 1200ft/min (2 up), cruises at 90 kts @ 5000 rpm, quiet and smooth. That E-Prop is something else - we are gradually converting all the Bolly adherents on the field. Because ICP now supply a much better exhaust system we pitched the prop at 26.5, rather than the 24.5 recommended by the factory. A bit down on revs on takeoff (5400) but winds up once airborne and although we havent done full tests I reckon we will get close to 100kts at 5500. All in all, a very satisfactory outcome - there is no question that the Savannah kit is by far the best value on the market.

Hi F10 - I flew the Supercat a couple of times - decided it wasnt quite what I was looking for and sold it. A pure fun machine - should only be flown in reasonably good conditions but no real vices that I could discern. No issues with rudder or elevator response.

We have extra cushions to get up as high as possible in the seat and then find we cannot get enough leverage on the door handle to pull the door in and turn it at the same time - need to redesign the door handle - perhaps using the factory-supplied handle..

Ray Corbett (the local Savannah guru) designed a system with rods front and rear. Works well but could be improved to make it easier to close when seated.

The build is going really well - after 2 months working 3 days a week the airframe is almost finished, a 700 hr Rotax 912S has been sourced, the E-prop arrived a few weeks ago (thanks Mark) - incidentally another Savannah owner here liked the look of the E-prop so much he immediately ordered one, fitted it the day it arrived, and reports significant improvement over the Kiev he had mounted previously - cruise up 6-7 knots, similar takeoff performance, quieter, less vibration, etc, etc. My query is, what has everyone done about the door-opening mechanism? The factory setup is less than satisfactory with draughts at both front and rear. Some here have fitted a homegrown lever-action setup with rods front and rear which works quite well. but difficult to access when seated. Another method is to use the factory lever in the middle, and fit catches front and rear. Any suggestions for alternatives? Photos would be good.

As I recall 10-12 ft/lbs was the correct torque - and they do require re-torquing at least every 12 months.

Hi Dan - thanks for your comments. I have had some experience with building aircraft so not entirely ignorant of the consequences of enlarging rivet holes. However I would be surprised if any builder did not have to gently tidy up holes on occasion to make the rivet go in. Like others, I have found a set of awls invaluable in helping to align the holes where necessary. Interestingly, while reading one of Ibob's very informative posts I noticed a response from you in relation to the undercarriage brackets, which tend to require a bit of either brute force or adjustment to make them line up with both the rivet and bolt holes - you had to redrill some holes and epoxy up the old ones - a sensible approach in my view to an otherwise very frustrating problem!

Just finished a Savannah S build in February (ZK-SOX) - a total of 15 months to completion with 3 of us working on it somewhat sporadically around our other commitments and was so pleased with it (flys beautifully and no mods were needed after the test flight) I decided to build another one. We started last week, 2 of us this time, we have so far put in 4 days work, and have completed fin, rudder, horizontal stab, and elevator almost done. Its a lot quicker second time around. The major delay with the first one was the time spent looking for bits - this time we were much better organised - we set out the bits in bundles relating to each part (as far as possible as ICP delight in putting bits in places you wouldn't suspect). We hope to complete the aircraft in 6 months - less if possible. Interested to know others experiences - we have one local builder who completed his in 6 months, working by himself, 5 days a week. Anyone else manage that or better? Another factor is that this time around we are not being so fussy - if the holes dont line up perfectly we just run the drill through instead of spending a lot of time trying to get a perfect match - and still sometimes ending up with an enlarged hole.

I have used PVC pipe cement - obtainable from hardware stores - made by Marley from memory. It dilutes with MEK just like the fabric cement and works well. I'm no chemist, but it seems to have the same properties. No doubt the purists would frown on it, but for a patch I'm sure it would be ok.

Yes - they are pretty user-friendly - Phil Perry is right - the accidents which have occurred have happened because the pilot got too slow turning on to final. The later wing is much-improved from the earlier options. However they do take some time to build - most part-timers would take at least a year.

I have an Alpi 200 Pioneer at present - lovely aircraft, but the rough strips I tend to use have given the U/C a hammering and its just not handling them. I'm looking at doing a Nynja kit sometime soon - it was a choice between the Nynja and the Savannah, but the shorter build time of the Nynja clinched it and I have previously built the early model which went together very well. Looks to me from the website that the kit is now much more complete. I am hoping that there is an option to cover the control surfaces in ceconite rather than dacron - is this possible? As far as performance goes - can I expect at least a 90 kt cruise with the 100hp Rotax? Looking at the pics above it appears that 90 kts should be ok at around 4800-5000 rpm?