BirdDog

Thanks mate! Yep - I am pretty happy. The prop is a woodcomp in flight adjustable. Does a good job to get me cruising up at 120 pretty easily. :) As mentioned above, I also have 3rd party insurance added, which insures the bird and liability etc etc. It can seem costly, but I guess insurance is the game of lotto you never want to win. Not that I have any finance on my plane, but if it gets written off or heavily damaged, I would like to replace it. :) I agree with Jabarte!! A report should be non biased. I was satisfied when my own L2 came up with the same result as the one that did the initial condition report, not that I was expecting any biased on the one organised by the seller. I have a mate in the market now for a bird and my advice will be the same to him. Take your time. Talk to the owner, and don't get attached to it at all. There will always be planes for sale.

For those interested there is a big event coming up at Wangarratta AD next month. Will be epic!!

The above said, would I go down the path of 28 registered LSA again? Probably not. I reckon there are some really nice quality home built machines (19 registered) for a good deal less than that. I know a couple of pilots with some very nice Zeniths etc that are just as good an airplane. My original plans was to have her online in a flight school, where she would pay for herself and I could fly her when I wanted to. BUT.... it's amazing how over protected you get when you see someone jump into your pride and joy and take off into the blue yonder. After about 3 months of that, I pulled the pin and now she is only flown by me. :) I have thought of putting her back online and go off and buy something else, but she is just a lovely plane to fly! :)

Sure man. It had 167 hours on it, and we settled on $68.000. Of course by the time I factored in our flights and accomodation to go get her, plus the L2 full 100 hourly when we got back, the cost realistically hit about $72-$73K Further to this was some minor maintenance that needed doing - that I knew would be a possibility; She needed new tyres (The ones on the plane were original, so 11 years old) She needed new canopy struts. (the stock ones were sagging) She had not had the extra canopy lock fitted as per the SB. Some other minor bits and pieces. So, I have it in my mind that to get the plane to me and be ready to fly all good and proper has made it close to $75K, which, for a bird of this calibre and condition, was still good for the money in my opinion.

PS - I have since added a new big fat Tacho right in front of me with approval from RAA and Evektor

Yeah - I guess they the same thing! :) We organised a full report be done. I was very lucky. My bird is an 06 model that had just over 160 hours and presented as almost new. :) Some pics? Sure. Attached are the pics of 4912. She is an Evektor Sportstar Max, with the Rotax 912 ULS and In Flight Adjustable Prop. These are some of the pics from when we picked her up and on the way home, and then one on final at YWOL. Enjoy!

Thanks OME. I’m pretty happy with the outcome. The previous owner (Chris) was very accommodating. Picked us up from the airport etc etc. so I was very grateful for his assistance.

Very sad. :(

I will give you my experience, as it was a good one, and I am very pleased with the outcome. I found the aircraft listed for sale and so I made contact with the seller. Many people are happy to deal over email and text, whereas I prefer to talk, so I called and we had a chat. It's also a good way to gauge people when you talk to them. Anyways, we negotiated a price and once we agreed we also agreed to have the aircraft independently inspected by a LAME to ensure the bird was as described. Part of the negotiation was that I would pay the inspection, as long as the aircraft come back in A1, as the owner suspected it would. (and it did)! Once that was done, a substantial deposit was paid, and the balance would be paid once I arrived and inspected the aircraft personally. I flew myself and my buddy (a CFI) up to the aircraft where he and I inspected the machine again, from top to bottom. We went over the entire plane, the paperwork, had a chat to the owner etc etc. My CFI mate then took it for a fly, and reported back all was good. We settled the monies and signed papers etc, and with a smile and handshake, we departed and spent the next 2 days flying her home. All the way home I got to experience the sounds and feel of my aircraft knowing I had a very experienced pilot sitting beside me. It was very reassuring, but it also meant I clocked 13 hours in my aircraft to get a really good feel for her. So.. what did I take away from this.... Talk to the owner - and get a feel. If I was not happy with what I was hearing, I would look for another machine. Get it inspected by a LAME and get the full report sent to you BEFORE you hand over any serious cash Go and pick the machine up yourself and go over the entire thing. Discuss any concerns with the owner etc, and get him to show you anything that he feels you should know. lastly - if something does not feel right - walk away! Don't get emotionally attached to it before you even see it. Keep it in mind that you may not come home with it. I was quite happy to fly back on the QANTAS jet if it did not work out. I was very happy that the current owner was a nice guy, and everything was as he said it was. So... Happy result in the end. Cheers J

Wow. Not good. :(

Ok thanks guys.

Hey all, I am wondering if anyone else experienced this. I completed the L1 Exam about 2 weeks or so ago, and have not received any notifications etc. I can see pass in the training portal, but nothing else. Nothing on my RAA profile. So I called them and they said they would look into it, but as yet nothing. Just want to know how long it all takes etc. Cheers J

Wow man! Congrats to you. You did a great job.

Hmm.. Ok. That's me out. :)

Hmmm.... Is that the Shoalhaven River?

Oh man. Sorry to hear that. It's amazing how something like that can dig up powerful emotions and memories.

WOW!! He is one very lucky man!

For the record - I am not one to support the meddling with aircraft by people who have no idea what they are doing. I just wished the process for my simple Tach install, could have been a bit easier. Anyways - Short term pain, long term gain, and now I am very happy with my bird.

OUCH! I fly a Sporty - hate to see them hurt. Hope everyone is ok. Scary!

Here's another one for you - easy one really!

Hmm... Nothing I can find.

Yeah - I was wondering when he was going to let go of left rudder???

SO... I am now a happy boy! Evektor came through with the LOA and RAA are happy. I have had the Tach installed and happy as a pig in sh%t. Having the Tach right in front of me is SO much easier to manage, and the entire flying experience is way better that trying to see the Tach on the right side. A little costly, but I think it was way worth it.

I bet you this is aimed directly at the Chinese market! They have already stated that they are in desperate need for pilots, so what better way to cash in! :)

I am with some of the others... Regardless of HOW it happened, he should never have flown off. Wow!!