The latest issue of ‘Aviator‘ magazine has gone behind the scenes at Foxbat Australia. You can get your copy at your favourite newsagent or click here to read online: ‘Behind-the-scenes at Foxbat Australia‘.
Many thanks to Aviator for giving us such a nice write up!
I recently mentioned the introduction of the new Aeroprakt A22LS ‘Kelpie’ from Foxbat Australia – here’s a short video with more information about the aircraft.
The video focuses on the differences between the Kelpie and the popular A22LS Foxbat on which it’s based. The Kelpie is aimed more at farmers and landowners but even if you aren’t one of them, and still want a Kelpie – don’t feel you’re ‘barking’ mad! The Kelpie retains all the great characteristics of the Foxbat – fantastic short field performance, almost helicopter-like view out, massive light & airy cabin, great load carrying capability and sweet slow speed handling.
Add to that the fat tyres, rubber mud flaps, sturdy metal luggage bay (placarded at 30 kgs), climb prop, Australian Warning Systems siren and UHF radio through the headsets and you’re close to an unbeatable utility aircraft. Almost 200 Australian Aeroprakt owners can’t be wrong!
The Foxbat and Kelpie are factory-built and supported aircraft.
PS – To my UK friends, the Australian Kelpie is a famous working farm dog, not a type of mythical water-horse!
[To see the video, click on the link above or on the photo]
Here’s a short video welcoming Ido Segev to the Foxbat Australia team.
Ido is not only a commercial pilot and flying instructor, but also a world champion model aerobatic aircraft pilot. He is also a licensed commercial drone operator and has an RA-Aus Pilot Certificate!
Welcome Ido! I’m really looking forward to working with you at Foxbat into the future.
[Click the link above or on the photo to view the YouTube video]
Foxbat Australia is very pleased to announce the launch of an Aeroprakt A22LS specially developed for Australian farmers, landowners and mustering pilots – the Kelpie, called after the famous Australian farm working dog.
The aircraft was displayed at the recent ‘Ozkosh’ event in Australia before it was delivered to its new owner in far north Queensland. So far, we have received a lot of interest and a couple of orders. Call now to book a production slot!
Time and again I’m asked what spec Foxbat would I buy for myself. I can understand why people ask me this question – even if my favourite is chosen for my own personal reasons, which may or may not be reasons which match that particular customer’s needs. Having sold close to 170 Foxbats in Australia, and having test flown them all, I suppose it’s reasonable to expect I would be full of the pro’s and con’s of each control system (Y-stick or twin yokes?), each instrument panel type (digital screen(s) or analogue gauges?), tyre sizes and whether or not to have a rescue parachute. Not to mention the colour?
So here goes – remember, this is my choice, for the flying I like to do. Your preferences may – probably will be – different! There’s no ‘one size fits all’.
Most of my flying is what I’d call ‘pleasure’ flying, with occasional longish trips to events like ‘Ozkosh‘ and other fly-ins and airshows. In reality, much though I’d like to do more and longer trips, my time commitments just don’t allow it, so these adventures happen maybe once every 2-3 years. Most of my pleasure flying is around southern Victoria, from the South Australia border in the west, all the way round to Mallacoota and Gabo Island in the east. And there are occasional inland trips to Echuca, Swan Hill, Yarrawonga, Wangaratta and even Mildura.
I like to look out of the aircraft, particularly at the ground, which is why I prefer a high-wing aircraft. I have flown many low-wing types and the view of the sky through a bubble canopy is fantastic. But I find the changing contours, shapes, shadows and colours of the ground fascinating, even magical, on a sunny day with a few clouds around. And I typically fly 1,000-2,000 feet above the ground.
Although I originally learned on twin-yoke controlled Piper Colts and Cherokees, my personal preference is for a control stick. I really like the Foxbat Y-stick, which for me falls perfectly to my right hand. And although I’ve heard many initial questions about the throttle positions at the sides of the seats, every new owner tells me that soon, they too fall naturally under your hand. The handbrake levers on each arm of the Y-stick can be adjusted to suit different hand sizes and after a little acclimatisation, work well. On the other hand (pun intended) some GA pilots really prefer the twin yokes, which to them feel more comfortable and familiar.
One small niggle I have is about the slow speed of the electric trim, which seems to take an age to wind from one end to the other. This is a function of the trim system manufacturer – US company Ray Allen – who only offers one speed for their servos. But it’s a small niggle, and one I don’t really notice it after a while, after all, these trim systems seem to be very reliable and pretty much bullet-proof.
As far as instruments are concerned, I like analogue dials. Modern digital screens – and we have fitted literally dozens of Dynon Skyview and other screens to Foxbats – are almost unbelievable in their reliability and the amount of information they can provide. However, for my kind of flying, I just don’t need that amount of detail. For me, simple instrumentation is best. On the flying side, an ASI, altimeter, slip ball and compass are enough. Even a VSI isn’t needed, although I like it to show off the climb rate of the aircraft.
On the engine side, a tachometer, engine running hours, oil pressure & temperature and a coolant temperature gauge are plenty. On the Rotax, EGT readouts are to a large extent redundant, as you can’t manually adjust the mixture in the automatic density-compensating carburettors. Yes, sudden changes in EGTs might give warning of a problem but oil pressure and oil & coolant temperatures are there to do the same.
For me and my flying, the tyres are a no brainer. The nose wheel weight is so light on the Foxbat, the ‘standard’ 15×6.00×6 six-ply (15″ diameter) tyre is just fine. On the main gear, my personal favourites are the larger 6.00×6 (17″ diameter) six-plys. These are aircraft grade tyres, with a low rolling resistance (for short take-offs!) and excellent wear and balance characteristics. I’m not much of a fan of so-called ‘tundra’ tyres. To me, they make the Foxbat look a bit clunky and keeping them balanced can be quite a chore. However, I do accept that they are an excellent choice if you’re likely to be landing on soft grass or sand, where their low pressure helps to keep the plane afloat!
What about a ballistic rescue system? Here. there’s no simple answer. On the downside, they cost about $6,500 to install; and they weigh about 20 kilos, which comes straight out of your usable load. On the upside, if you often fly with (the same) non-pilot passenger, there is an argument that the parachute will save you both, if you become incapacitated. Personally, I think it would be a better and less expensive investment for your passenger to undertake some basic training in how to fly and land the aircraft. It’s probably a better bet for your survival that the aircraft is landed at an airstrip where emergency services can reach you more easily than in a paddock in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, if you frequently take different passengers for short joy-flights, maybe a parachute is a good choice. Make sure you brief your passenger pre-flight how to use it!
Colour? For me – no choice, it has to be yellow.
Carburettor heat box? On balance, I would have one. Mainly because, although there has been no pattern of carby ice in non-heat box Foxbats, the carby heat box draws cooler air from outside the engine bay , which helps the engine develop its full power.
Other items? Perhaps a transponder, as there is plenty of controlled airspace around Victoria. Auto-pilot? Not for me, although I have ferried a few auto-piloted Foxbats long-distance and it really takes the effort (and some pleasure) out of flying. Wheel spats do add some speed to the cruise but that extra couple of knots makes little difference over the distances I typically fly; and even on the rare longer flights, I’m only a few minutes behind the quicker planes…and enjoy more flying time as a result! And wheel spats hide the brakes from view and need to be cleaned out regularly, so no spats for me.
Finally…the vexed question of VH- or RA-Aus registration. Because of my job, I hold both a PPL and an RA-Aus Pilot Certificate. But if I could only have one, I’d probably go for the VH-registration. If it comes to it for medical reasons, I can go to an RPL and continue to fly my VH- aircraft. And it’s a lot cheaper, even with the bi-annual medicals I now have to take.
It may come as a surprise to some people that I’m not opting for a fully tricked-up Foxbat at the expensive end of the scale. But to me, the Foxbat is designed to be simple to operate and easy to fly. It’s a great utility aircraft, which you can potter about in at weekends and occasionally take for longer flights. On that basis, I’m personally happy to KISS (Keep It Sweet & Simple!) and save my pennies towards the fuel and insurance.
The ‘new’ Aeroprakt A32 Vixxen seems to have really caught the eye of pilots and buyers in Australia over the last 12 months, with 15 either delivered or on order since the first one arrived in Australia late last year.
New owners include three flying schools, a couple of country pilots (aircraft complete with UHF radios and sirens!) as well as private pleasure pilot owners – one already flew his A32 from southern Australia up through the Kimberley and back. For those unfamiliar with the geography of Australia, the Kimberley is a region of north western Australia famous for its scenic beauty and wild life, several thousand kilometres from the south coast.
So far we have the usual mix of colours – with yellow still the favourite, and orange not far behind. Then there are a couple of whites a red and a ‘flat’ green. But no blue as yet. And of course, there is the bright metallic green A32, which so many people have commented on. The videos and photos of this plane don’t do it justice – it really glows, particularly in the sunshine!
Interestingly, a higher proportion of A32s have been ordered with ballistic rescue systems fitted. In the A22 Foxbat fleet, maybe 1 in 15 has a parachute. So far, 1 in 3 of the A32s have parachutes. Why this should be is uncertain, as customers are quoting the same reason as for the A22 – passenger preservation should the pilot become incapacitated. Personally, I think it’s probably for the same reasons most of the parachutes in the 22 Foxbat are in earlier versions – owners wanted the extra insurance that the airframe is strong and reliable. In the last 40 A22 Foxbat orders, I think there has only been one request for a parachute – and one owner has actually removed the ‘chute to gain that extra 20 kilos of usable load.
Finally, the highest time A32 has now just passed 400 hours flight time – not bad in less than a year, although still a long way off the highest time A22 in Australia, which has now logged close to 6,500 hours!
The 5th Aeroprakt A32 Vixxen in Australia is on its way to its new owner in Broken Hill. Painted beautiful Pumpkin Orange – which looks particularly brilliant in the sun – the aircraft departed Tyabb on Saturday morning, ably piloted by Rob Hatswell, flying instructor at Gawler SA. Accompanied by his brother Peter, they made Horsham in double-quick time, cruising at 110 kts. After re-fuelling, they continued to Gawler, where the aircraft will be based while its new owner – Luke Mashford – does his conversion flying course.
Rob comments: “I’m amazed. The A32 only burned 33 litres from Tyabb to Horsham. That’s 17 litres less than the A22LS and an average of 20 knots faster. Yuriy has clearly waved his aerodynamic genius over the A32.”
Two more A32s are arriving at Moorabbin next week – another one for Broken Hill, plus a school aircraft for Coffs Harbour. More in due course.
A32 #011 being prepared after shipping
Response to the Aeroprakt A32 ‘Vixxen’ has been nothing short of phenomenal, since the first demonstrator arrived in July 2015. No less than 12 have been ordered through Foxbat Australia, including one to an Australian subsidiary company operating in South Africa. The surprising thing is that sales of the A22LS ‘Foxbat’ have remained unaffected.
The most recent A32 arrival – serial number 011 – is in ‘Pumpkin Orange’, a colour which is becoming more popular as an alternative to the more common yellow, white, red and blue. The lucky owner lives out Broken Hill way and after familiarisation training – courtesy of Rob Hatswell at Gawler (north of Adelaide) – he will be flying the A32 largely on farm duties.
The aircraft is due for some sprauncy decals in the next couple of days and will hopefully be signed off sometime next week for test flying. Although weather around Melbourne has been a bit tempestuous lately!
After the very first A32 arrived here in Mazda Spirited Green Metallic (have a look at the pre-delivery flight test video here: A32 check) it seems that A32 owners like their colours – the next two A32 deliveries, due later in May, are yellow and white, with a bright green one (but not metallic) due early in June.
One of the commonest questions I’m asked by new Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) buyers is: “Should I register the aircraft general aviation VH- with CASA or recreational with Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus)?”. This question is, if anything, being asked even more frequently now CASA is offering the Recreational Pilot’s Licence (RPL), which allows RA-Aus Pilot Certificate owners to gain a license upgrade allowing them to fly certain larger VH- registered aircraft, even into certain categories of controlled airspace.
The answer(s) are not simple and depend on many variables – but get one thing straight up front: overall costs, based on a 3-year ownership of a new LSA, are pretty much the same whichever route you choose. Yes, you need a licensed engineer to sign your maintenance release on a VH- registered aircraft, and a CASA medical every so often, but these costs are completely offset by the annual aircraft re-registration and Pilot Certificate renewal charges made by RA-Aus.
“Ah yes”, I hear you muttering, “but under RA-Aus I can do all my own maintenance. Under CASA you have to pay an engineer.”
Putting aside the arguments for and against actually doing your own maintenance, CASA/VH- aircraft pilots can in fact carry out a lot of basic maintenance on their aircraft under something called ‘Schedule 8‘. For those of you unfamiliar with CAAP 42ZC-1 of CAR 1988 regulations, a summary follows.
But before you take maintenance matters into your own hands, read the relevant sections of CAR 1988 thoroughly to make sure (a) your aircraft is included in the definitions and (b) you are actually capable of doing the work. When it comes to aircraft maintenance – competency is king, whether you’re GA or RA-Aus.
Under Schedule 8, the main maintenance activities a pilot can carry out are:
– changing the engine oil and filter
– changing the air filter
– changing, replacing and/or gapping the spark plugs
– replacing the aircraft battery(s)
– topping up the hydraulic brake fluid
– changing and repairing the tyres & tubes, providing this does not require jacking the aircraft completely off the ground
– changing or replacing the seats, provided no disassembly of primary airframe parts or controls is required
– replacing seat belts/harnesses
– with some conditions, removing and replacing a door (eg for photo sessions)
– removing and replacing non-structural inspection plates and covers
– repairing/replacing safety-wire or pins, so long as they are not on primary controls
– even installing & removing a glider tow hook!
There are other activities which are also permitted. However, the main no-no is that the pilot cannot disconnect or reconnect any parts of the primary controls of the aircraft – although they can carry out the so-called ‘dual inspection’ of the controls after maintenance by a qualified engineer.
In short, a GA PPL can do most of the day-to-day maintenance on their aircraft, the same as an RA-Aus Pilot Certificate holder. If there is more extensive work to be done – eg repairs after an accident, or diagnosing and fixing an engine problem, personally I’d rather hand that over to someone who is properly qualified – be it GA or RA-Aus!
So, if not for cost or maintenance reasons, what other arguments are there for and against GA/RA-Aus? Sorry, but here I have to answer a question with a question, but it’s an important one: ‘What sort of flying do you really want to be doing?’
1. If you want/need to fly regularly into controlled airspace, at the present time you have no choice – it has to be a PPL/RPL license in a VH-registered aircraft. The same if you want to fly at night, which is currently not allowed under RA-Aus regulations. But there’s one small wrinkle – if you have both a current PPL/RPL and RA-Aus Pilot Certificate, you can fly an RA-Aus registered aircraft into controlled airspace…but not at night.
2. If you already have either an RPL, PPL or higher, then I’d register VH- with CASA. That way you don’t have to do the mandatory 5-hour RA-Aus conversion, and you’ll already be familiar with CASA rules & regs.
3. If you have an RA-Aus Pilot Certificate or no license at all, I‘d register the aircraft with RA-Aus because (a) you already know the rules and regs under RA-Aus and/or (b) the flight training is shorter (read: ‘less expensive’) than PPL training. You can always upgrade to an RPL or PPL later if you want to fly a bigger aircraft or into controlled airspace, which are currently outside the limits of RA-Aus.
4. If you have both an RPL/PPL or higher and an RA-Aus Pilot Certificate, and you don’t need to fly into controlled airspace, it really doesn’t matter how you register your LSA. Either way it will cost much the same and you can do most of the maintenance yourself.
This is intended to be a general summary of the issues around GA versus RA-Aus registration. As with everything in life, there are nuances and circumstances which may sway your own decision one way or the other. But remember – you can always switch an LSA registration from GA to RA-Aus (and vice-versa) later if you want; but make sure you keep meticulous maintenance records in the aircraft log books, and that it will cost you for a new CofA when you change registers.
All pilots/owners need, from time to time, to park their aircraft in the open air. Whether it’s just for an overnight stop or for a longer period, it’s important to ensure you do it properly, or you could be up for a big repair bill and potential extra travel costs, including retrieving your plane later.
Thanks to Australian Flying Magazine, there’s a good article on the subject in the current issue (May/June 2016) under their ‘Masterclass’ heading. Content like this is usually not immediately available online, so unless you are already a subscriber, you’ll have to go and buy a copy from your local newsagent – apart from the tie-down article, there’s a great piece on the Victa Airtourer, surely one of Australia’s classics.
Meanwhile, here’s a brief summary, under the general headings: ‘Park in the right place’, ‘Face the right way’, ‘Brakes or chocks?’, ‘Properly secured’, and ‘Controls locked’ as well as a few general points.
I’ll touch on points relating more to Foxbats and Vixxens – which are high-wing nose wheel aircraft. Different advice may apply to low-wing aircraft and/or tail draggers.
Where to park?
Ideally park as far upwind of other aircraft as you reasonably can; this reduces the chance of another badly secured aircraft blowing over on top of you. Park in the lee of a hangar or thick bushes if possible but avoid large trees, as branches could be blown down on to your plane.
Face the right way
This is perhaps the toughest choice. With the Foxbat/Vixxen always go for pointing into the wind – check the forecast for the parking period and go for the direction with the longest period of the strongest wind. Don’t be caught out by overnight wind shifts and aim for into-wind for the strongest winds.
Brakes or chocks?
Chocks every time! Park brakes can lose their pressure and hot brakes left parked on can blow the brake seals. if your aircraft has to be (legitimately) moved while you’re not there – to avoid a fire for example – it’s easy to pull out the chocks and wheel it away. Make sure the chocks are securely placed and connected so they can’t be bounced out of the way by the wheels rocking in the wind.
Properly secured
First, a big NO to cotton or hemp ropes as they will shrink/tighten when wet and can really bend your plane! Use good quality synthetic tie-down ropes. Another big NO is to chains or ratchet straps, which have no give in them and can severely stress the airframe in gusty conditions. Wing tie-down ropes should be angled outwards by about 30-40 degrees (see the diagram above) and forwards by about 10-20 degrees. Tighten the ropes just enough to stop them ‘snapping’ tight in gusts but don’t over-tighten. Finally, on the Foxbat/Vixxen, tie down the nose by looping the rope over the propeller shaft or lower engine mount tubes (by the firewall) and tying vertically down. If there is any likelihood of a tailwind developing while you are away, also tie down the tail by passing the rope through the tail wheel (Foxbat) or round the skid (Vixxen) – most high-wing aircraft are blown over from the tail.
Controls locked
Twin yoke controlled Foxbats/Vixxens have a locking pin through the right (passenger) side yoke, always insert this to lock fully into the controls whenever you aren’t in the aircraft. Y-stick controls can be locked using the seat belts or the specially designed optional control locking strap. As per a recent service bulletin, do NOT use the centre Y-stick control locking pin for outside parking as it places undue strain on the elevator rod end eyelet, which in extreme circumstances can fracture, leaving the aircraft with no positive elevator control.
Other tie-down comments
The best knot for tie-downs is a bowline. If you don’t know how to tie one – learn! Use a pitot cover to prevent insects nesting and/or water entering the tubes. Use windscreen covers with caution – particularly in windy, dusty conditions, as the grit can get under the cover and rapidly grind your screen to a frosted finish! Felt lined covers are worst – they collect the grit; shiny silver insides are best as the grit has nothing to cling to.
There are quite a few other points in the Australian Flying article, covering taildraggers and longer term parking, as well as some more subtle points worth remembering.