Aerolite 103 with 4-stroke engine

Aerolite 103

Aerolite 103 at Oshkosh 2014

Regular readers will know about my interest in cheap (or rather, ‘less expensive’ – nothing in aviation is cheap) single seat ultralight aircraft.

One of my favourites, the Aerolite 103 (Aerolite 120 in Europe) is now available with a 4-stroke Briggs & Stratton 22 hp engine. Although heavier and a bit less powerful than the 2-stroke alternatives, the B&S motor still gives the aircraft a climb rate around 600 fpm and a cruise speed in the same 60 mph range. And of course it does it more quietly, using less fuel and, dare I say it, more reliably.

These very light 1-seat ‘Part 103’ aircraft have been slow to catch on, even in the USA, where you can fly them legally without registration or even a pilot’s license. This, in spite of the low purchase and running costs and (optional) folding wing, which allows storage in a garage or in the corner of a hangar which can’t be used by conventional fixed-wing aircraft. However, Aerolite reports growing sales in USA – more than 40 in 2014 – and now there is a German type-certified version – the Aerolite 120 – it looks like sales are set to grow exponentially over the next few years.

Priced from under US$15,000 (factory built!) for a 2-stroke version and probably under US$16,000 for a 4-stroke version, the Aerolite represents a great starting point for impecunious aspiring young pilots.

Factory-built single seat aircraft which are accepted under FAA Part 103 still cannot be registered in Australia, you have to build from a kit to be legal. In spite of lobbying from several sources, CASA and RA-Aus have still not woken up to the potential of these low cost aircraft as entry points for the more expensive end of the market. I wonder when RA-Aus will stop moaning about declining membership numbers and do what they should be doing to open aviation at grass roots level and work with CASA to ‘de-regulate’ these single seat aircraft? USA has done it. UK has done it. The rest of Europe has, in its own way, done it. Australia is now well behind in this growing ultralight market – what a shame.

Foxbat and the Philippines – 4

MSFC 01It’s Monday morning on the first day of December 2014 and I am back in Melbourne after my week at the Mindanao Saga Flying Club, re-assembling a couple of A22LS Foxbats, ready for them to start flying training. I have commented elsewhere on the rest of the week and now here are a few last comments and reflections on my first-time stay in the Philippines.

First off – Mindanao Saga Flying Club (MSFC). This was founded at Mati National Airport by retired Philippine Army Colonel Sam Afdal – SAGA are his initials. There are currently two full time instructors – Rey, a Filipino who is the CFI, who also flies helicopters for the Colonel; and Capt Sam, an Aussie ex-Qantas pilot. There are others also involved with instruction, including Terry, an Englishman, who previously helped set up another flying club near Manila. As seen in a previous blog post, there are four trainee engineers, led by Archie, the senior engineer. They seem to know the Rotax engine (and an HKS for that matter) inside out, and are fully conversant with all the club light sport and ultralight aircraft, including the Foxbat.

MSFC Club RoomThe newly built club house, pilot lounge and accommodation is excellent and all are air-conditioned. The food while I visited was superb and varied – including some European dishes as well as Philippine delicacies. The beer was cold, and the wine red. MSFC hospitality is second to none and without reservation I can recommend a stay there. Aircraft dual and solo hire rates are much less than in Australia and there are some spectacular beaches nearby, which my packed itinerary unfortunately precluded me from visiting!

Mati Airport from FoxbatNext – the territory. The scenery is just magnificent! Very lush and green, as you’d expect in a tropical climate. In most places there are wall-to-wall trees, although the beaches offer potential landing places in the event of engine problems. However, all club aircraft are fitted with ballistic rescue systems, which I expect will remain unused, as the quality of maintenance is high. The climate is very warm, even early in the mornings and late in the evenings, so doors-off (in the Foxbat) or open cockpit flying (as in the Quicksilvers) is most enjoyable.

PAL TailTravel – I flew by Philippine Airways (PAL) from Melbourne direct to Manila and caught a PAL connection to Davao City, Capt Sam was kind enough to meet me there – the place is a huge hustle-bustle of arriving and departing passengers – and drive me down to Mati Airport, where the club is based. PAL is a reasonably priced, middle of the road airline, which I picked because of its convenient flights from Melbourne and big Philippines domestic network. The flights were all more-or-less on time and I didn’t miss any connections. Cabin service was very acceptable.

Finally, there is a selection of pictures on Foxbat Pilot Flickr here which gives some idea of the rich and varied mixture of experiences to be enjoyed.

 

Foxbat and the Philippines – 3

L-R: Archie, Chris, Club Chairman Sam, Peter, JR, Jay R, Wouendel

L-R: Archie, Chris, Club Chairman Sam, Peter, JR, Jay R, Wouendel

It’s Friday  afternoon and four days of preparation and re-assembly work is now complete and both Foxbats for the Mindanao Saga Flying Club (MSFC) have been test flown satisfactorily. All is very well with both aircraft performing to or better than specification.

A team of young trainees led by Archie, the senior engineer, helped put both aircraft together efficiently and quickly. I have been so impressed with their eagerness to get involved and learn all the quirks and foibles of putting the aircraft together. In fact, this same team recently built a Kitfox (from a kit…) for the club and their work is impeccable. The paint, in particular, is near perfect, which, considering the heat and humidity, is a huge credit to their attention to detail. I only had to explain something once and the job was done quickly and cleanly.

We spent a fair bit of time on the first Foxbat (serial #222) to make sure the entire reassembly process was clear. I was also able to offer a few useful tips on the order of installing some items to make life easier. As a result, the second Foxbat (serial #223) went together much more quickly. #222 has now completed almost 5 hours of flying and #223 nearly 3 hours – everybody wants to fly them!

In addition to test flying the two Foxbats, I have also signed off two instructors – Capt Sam and Terry – who have subsequently set about enabling some of the other pilots to get close to a clearance to fly the Foxbats solo. Some of the young engineers have also been taken for a flight.

Finally, as well as the Foxbats, I have been lucky enough to be taken for flights in several other club aircraft alongside an instructor. First was the aforementioned Kitfox – did someone say they can be a bit skittish on landing? Don’t believe it! We had a great flight down the peninsula, round the light house and back – about 35 minutes.

Then a Quicksilver MX-2 Sport, a true open framework old-style ultralight with a pusher configuration engine, this one with a 912 series 100hp Rotax, which was bags of fun – sitting out there in the open with just an airspeed indicator and a wool thread for a slip ball really gets you down to basics!

Third, I went flying in the club chairman’s Kolb Mk-III Xtra, another pusher configuration aircraft with a 912 100hp Rotax, but with a tailwheel. The Kolb is very pretty to look at but does not have the pleasantest of flying characteristics, particularly in the roll axis. For once, the old saying: ‘if it looks right, it will fly right’ was confounded.

Finally this morning I went for a flight away from the coast and up into the hills in what has until now been the mainstay of the club training fleet – a Quicksilver GT500-912. Yet another pusher configuration but with a nose wheel and tandem seating. We flew with the doors zipped off and it is a most enjoyable aircraft to fly – I can see why it has hitherto been used as a basic trainer.

On Saturday morning, I’ll be packing my bags and starting the long journey back to Melbourne. I will write a short note on other aspects of my visit as well as some more pictures when I get home. But meanwhile, if you want a break from your local flying, I can’t recommend a better place to come for a week or so than here at Mati Airport with the Mindanao Saga Flying Club. The aircraft are great – I can particularly recommend the Foxbat! – the overnight accommodation is very comfortable and the food is good. You couldn’t wish to meet more hospitable people.

Thank you to everyone at Mindanao Saga for a magical week!

AAAA Victoria Christmas Toy Drop

Lethbridge toy runEvery year, the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia (AAAA) carries out a number of ‘Toy Runs’ to collect Christmas toys for underprivileged children.

This year’s Victoria Toy Drop is on Sunday 23 November at Lethbridge Airpark starting at 10.30 am. It’s in support of the Bethany Giving Tree Appeal.

The NSW Toy Run is on Saturday 6 December at ‘The Missions on the Hawkesbury‘ private airstrip, Wisemans Ferry, starting at 10.30am

The SA Toy Run, in conjunction with the Barossa Birdmen, is on Sunday 30 November at Truro Flats, starting at 12.00 noon.

Weather willing, there should be a nice collection of aircraft at all these locations, including ultralights, GA and, of course, antique aeroplanes. Food and soft drinks will be available.

Even if you can’t fly in, come by road and see the heap of toys and all the aircraft on display.

If you are bringing a toy – and you will, won’t you? – please bring it unwrapped.

Aviator Magazine – Flying for Fun

Aviator Flying for FunI just caught up with September 2014 issue of Aviator Magazine (it’s a busy life you know) and found this short article about Flying for Fun – largely about Recreational Flying in Australia. If you haven’t seen it already, I thought you might like to read it here.

I think Aviator is now running a regular ‘Flying for Fun’ item – there’s another article starting page 18 of the October 2014 issue, which isn’t yet on line. So if you’re a subscriber, have a look at that….

NATFLY Easter 2015 is no more

NATFLY headerIn case you hadn’t heard, Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) has decided to postpone – to a yet undisclosed date and place – the 2015 Easter NATFLY event, which in recent years has taken place at Temora Airfield in New South Wales.

The October 2014 RA-Aus newsletter says: “The decision was made with a view to re-invigorating NATFLY to attract a wide and varied audience”. RA-Aus is expecting to make a further announcement in January 2015 and refer you to a link on their website for more information – but don’t bother, the link just takes you to the NATFLY 2014 site, with nothing about the RA-Aus decision to postpone/cancel next year’s event.

The announcement has been greeted with both joy and sadness in our home.

Joy because for the first time in over 20 years, we can enjoy the Easter holiday weekend like normal(?) people. Before coming to Australia 15 years ago (and attending every NATFLY since then) we used to take our hot-air balloon to a big Easter ballooning festival in southern England. Getting up at 4.00 in the morning for the dawn lift-off was not my forté but taking part in a mass departure of 50+ balloons did make up for the early start. But preparation, planning and attendance at these big events costs a lot of time and money. Because of job and other constraints, I was often separated from my partner at a holiday time when we would prefer to be together relaxing.

And sadness because I remember when NATFLY attracted 500 or more aircraft from every corner of Australia. I recall often meeting people who had flown to Narromine (the NATFLY location in those days) from Darwin, Perth, Cairns and all manner of other distant, and no doubt more exotic, locations. The club of which I was a member – the Gold Coast Sports Flying Club (GCSFC) based at Heck Field, just to the north of the Gold Coast, always flew several aircraft down – as many as eight, I recall one year. We didn’t necessarily fly together – some took close to six hours in the slower planes, and others maybe only four hours. But we all got together after arrival and walked round looking at all the planes and chatted to their happy owners.

But, alas, attendances at NATFLY (and for that matter Ausfly, a similar event) have decreased markedly in recent times.

Contrast this situation with ever increasing attendances at air shows & fly-ins overseas – Sun ‘n Fun (Florida, USA), EAA Airventure (Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA), The Flying Show (mainly British Microlight Aircraft Association, Shropshire, UK), the Light Aircraft Association Rally (various locations, UK), Blois Airshow (Blois, France) and last but not least, Aero-Expo (Friedrichshafen, Germany). Due to visitor and exhibitor demand, they have recently doubled the frequency of this last event to make it annual instead of bi-annual.

So, what’s happened to the joy of flying recreational and sport aircraft in Australia? Why don’t people attend NATFLY any more? (See my earlier post/report about the 2014 event). Have people fallen out of love with flying? Are the aeroplanes too expensive to buy or fly? What effect have all the shenanigans at RA-Aus had over the last few years? Is the heavy hand of CASA – rightly or wrongly – blamed for recent low turn-outs? Has Easter just become the wrong time to hold a fly-in event? Or is it something else?

We need to get our mojo back and start enjoying our national fly-in events again, whether RA-Aus, Ausfly or whatever!

PS – Here’s a date for your diary: the Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport, south west of Melbourne, 24 February to 1 March 2015 inclusive. See you there!!??**

Hope I’m still flying in my 80’s

PPC coupleHere’s a great story about an older married couple who fly their ‘his and her’ powered parachutes (PPCs) most days – Ziggy Coyle & David Bauchspies, aged 81 and 82 respectively.

The couple took up PPC flying about 15 years ago and now fly from their property ‘together but separate’ in central Pennsylvania, USA.

They have flown their machines which look, for all the world, ‘like flying dune buggies’ all over the States.

What I like about this story – apart from a couple still flying in their 80’s – is their approach to being airborne. No matter the aircraft only fly at 25-35 knots. No matter that anything much of a wind keeps them on the ground. It’s the sheer enjoyment of the views and sights which give them their lift(!). Autumn trees like a sea of colour, wild stags fighting, prehistoric ocean beds, all viewed from aloft. Not things you you take much notice of when you’re barreling from point A to point B as fast as you can…

Good on them I say. Very ultra good on them!

Read the full story here, courtesy of the Centre Daily Times: Heads in the clouds: Couple share passion for flying powered parachute crafts

RA-Aus AGM – membership apathy reigns

Lots of empty chairs at the AGM

Lots of empty chairs at the AGM

On Saturday 18 October I flew over from Tyabb to Lethbridge for the Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) Annual General Meeting (AGM). It was a great day for flying – high cloud filtering the warm sun and light northerly breezes. A perfect day for my first visit to an RA-Aus AGM.

However, out of a total membership said to be approaching 10,000 people, only around 50-55 attended and 15 of those were board and committee members and executive. That makes 35-40 ordinary members out of 10,000 willing to make the effort to go. Says a lot about something…

I know that AGMs in any sphere are not renowned for high attendance rates. However, RA-Aus does not have any electronic voting and proxy voting or live AGM web-casting, all of which would potentially reduce physical attendance.  So I was stunned by the tiny numbers. A mountain of pre-meeting burgers and bangers (‘snags’ to my Australian friends) went to waste. As did over 100 empty chairs in the meeting hangar.

I want to say right out that I make no direct criticism of the officials – elected and employed – who have clearly been putting a lot of work into turning round the disastrous mess left by previous RA-Aus administrations. Solving and resolving the problems of registrations and re-registrations, sorting out the technical issues and dealing with the mighty bureaucracy that is CASA isn’t an enviable task. Also, it cannot be easy to report mounting financial losses, particularly when CASA pays RA-Aus about $7 per member per year for the $170 per member per year value of RA-Aus services CASA receives in return.

I was also stunned by the interminable questions from the floor – mostly inaudible and not repeated by the recipient using the microphone – about rearranging the deck-chairs. The new CEO, Michael Linke, made two short presentations (he only joined in July) about what he saw as the recent achievements and what’s on the radar to deliver. He seems to have a good grip after only such a short tenure and he was at least trying to look forward. Jim Tatlock, the Treasurer, also deserves a mention for a commendably concise and clear presentation of the financials. Much of the red ink is down to investing in technology and other things which should have been done long ago. It always costs five times as much to catch up as it does to keep up.

But for the rest…too much concentration on the cost part of the equation as opposed to income generation. And nothing remotely inspiring to get your blood pumping about the future. Maybe that’s why attendance was so low – although Eugene Reid (a previous President of RA-Aus) said that it was about ‘average’ for these meetings.

No doubt there will be a full report of the meeting on the RA-Aus website in due course (please note: you’ll need to be a member of RA-Aus to access financial reports and other similar material). And lengthy analysis in the forum chatrooms by people who didn’t attend….

I’m not going to end on a negative note. A few people – at least the 15 board /committee members and employees at the meeting – have been willing to put up their hands and spend a lot of their time and energy working to get RA-Aus back into a state we can be proud of. The least we can do is show up and support them.

So why couldn’t you muster up the enthusiasm to attend the RA-Aus AGM?

PS – One small point: I am wondering why RA-Aus has not formed a trade forum for recreational aircraft manufacturers and importers? After all, we experience at first hand the questions & reactions of buyers, all of whom are potential and existing RA-Aus members. 

Top 20 sport planes in Australia

Yes, this is an ultralight! Photo by Michael Priesch

I was recently reading an article on bydanjohnson.com (a big USA-dominated aviation website covering light sport and ultralight aircraft) about the best selling recreational and light sport aircraft in Germany, comparing them with what’s top of the pops in the States.

Dan’s article got me thinking about the Australian Recreational and Light Sport Aircraft (S-LSA) market. Are our tastes different from the USA, Germany and other countries? I did some basic research on registrations and it seems Australians, Americans and Germans all have their own – different – ideas about what they like…no surprise really!

A particularly stunning piece of information from Germany is that the MTO-Sport gyrocopter lists at #2, with almost 350 on their ultralight register. What do the Germans know that we don’t? I have never been a fan of gyrocopters, believing them to be inherently lethal – but things must have changed a lot for them to be #2 in the German top 10. Additionally, Rotax reports that gyrocopter manufacturers are currently the biggest buyers of 912 engines out of any aircraft sector in the world. However, gyrocopters in Australia are a bit of a ‘grey’ area, not registered either with RA-Aus or CASA. The current (unofficial) Australian gyrocopter register suggests there may be 250-260 of all types in Australia, although they clearly state that there may be others flying which are unregistered.

For information, the #1 ultralight in Germany is the Ikarus C42 with 582 flying; there are but three examples in Australia.

Slightly unexpectedly and in spite of quite tough USA insurance conditions, Americans really go for the traditional tail dragger – Cub-alikes account for a major slice of their LSA market – while here and in Germany modern taildraggers are nowhere near as popular. Too difficult for us to fly?

An examination of the Australian ultralight and LSA registers (RA-Aus and CASA/VH-) shows some interesting statistics. Out of around 5,300 current ultralight and LSA registrations:
– about 5,200 are on the RA-Aus register and 100 on the VH- register
– about 2,700 of these are factory-built, the remainder are amateur built
– there are about 450 factory-built powered weight-shift/trikes
– there are about 350 factory-built powered parachutes
– the remainder, about 1,900, are broadly speaking factory-built ‘3-axis’ aircraft

Making type comparisons with other countries outside Australia is quite difficult, as different registration regimes are used – so for example weight-shift trikes are classified differently in Germany. However, here in summary, with a few comments, are some broad brush Australian figures. Please note – the numbers exclude amateur-built aircraft

The top 10 factory-built aircraft:

1. Jabiru, all models – 556. Not surprising really, as they have been in business for 25+ years and are generally seen as the least expensive 3-axis home-market offering.
2. Airborne Windsports – 402. Weight-shift/trikes are a big chunk of the Australian RA-Aus register; Airborne, the Australian manufacturer, has easily the lion’s share.
3. Aerochute Industries335. Personally, I am surprised at the number of powered parachutes on the register; I hardly ever see them flying (maybe I don’t get up early enough!).
4. Tecnam, all models (except twin) – 174. Tecnam has a plethora of models, some of which have sold only a handful – it must make spare parts quite a headache for the factory. Interesting to see that Tecnam has sold fewer S-LSA aircraft in USA than in Australia.
5. Thruster173. This British built ‘microlight’ is still in production, although it appears that the most recent new registration in Australia goes back to the early 2000’s.
6. Austflight Drifter139. The Drifter is, alas, no longer available as a new aircraft but was at one time the mainstay of ultralight flying in Australia.
7. Aeroprakt A22 Foxbat, both versions – 128. Australia is currently the leading market for Aeroprakt A22 aircraft.
8. Australian Lightwing (ALW) – 109. I understand that although the original Lightwing is no longer made, ALW now offers a much changed LSA version, of which I could find only one registered.
9. Skyfox Gazelle71. Another mainstay of ultralight flying, no longer in production.
10. Evektor Aircraft, SportStars & Harmonys – 53. It is surprising that, despite all the hype, similar aircraft by the same designer: Sport Cruiser/Pipersport, Rokospol and Aero Bristell combined have nowhere near matched the success of the SportStar.

The next 10 factory-built aircraft:

11. Flight Design CT42. This is the most popular S-LSA sold in the States, although its lead is slowly but surely being whittled away by the Cub S-LSA replica made by Cubcrafters (276 in USA at December 2013).
12. Pipistrel, all models – 36. Made in Slovenia, this company has a reputation for innovation and fuel economy. Also have sold fewer in USA than Australia.
13. FlySynthesis, mainly Texans & Storches – 34.  Italian company, not yet accepted by FAA as S-LSA aircraft.
14. Eurofox, all models – 30. This is really an update of the old Gazelle. Currently the least expensive 3-axis factory-built S-LSA on the USA market.
15. TL Ultralight, mainly Sting & Sirius – 27. Czech company. Sting is a very pretty little plane.
16. Micro Aviation Bantam24. This New Zealand originated aircraft is still on the market but the most recent registration in Australia appears to have been over 6 years ago.
17. Savannah23. Savannah was more successful marketing kits for amateur building.
18. Alpi Pioneer19. Italian company, predominantly wood airframe. Pretty aeroplane, particularly the retractable.
19. FantasyAir Allegro18. Now made in USA.
20. Slepcev Storch18. Australian built, sadly no longer available.

Factory-built aircraft that didn’t quite make the top 20 include: Sport Cruiser/Pipersport (15), Brumby high & low-wing (15), Cessna 162 Sky Catcher (12), Zlin Savage Cub (12), Petrel (10), Sadler Vampire (9), Moyes Dragonfly (8), Kappa Sova (Sabre) (8), BRM Aero Bristell (8), FK-Lightplanes, all models (7) and Seamax (6). And there is a huge long tail of manufacturers who have registered 1-5 aircraft over the years.

A word of caution: the only two figures above, of which I am certain, are those for the Foxbat and the SportStar/Harmony, because I have the registration lists. There may be minor % errors in the other figures – but I have no reason to believe that the overall picture would change much, except maybe at the bottom end of the list. I am well prepared to eat humble pie if I have got any numbers significantly wrong. Firstly, the RA-Aus and CASA registers may not be up to date (heaven forbid!). Secondly, owners and manufacturers/importers unfortunately do not always use the same name terminology when registering aircraft, which makes tracking down every single one of a particular type quite difficult. For example, I checked ‘Foxbat’, ‘A22′, Aeroprakt’ and ‘Silverwing’ (a previous trading name of Foxbat Australia) and still the number of listed Foxbats did not match my own records of actual registrations. So it is quite likely this could be true of other makes too. I’m sure those involved will soon put me right – particularly if I quoted too low a number!

All comments welcome.

e-Go Aeroplanes – visit

e-Go Hillcoat & BougheyToday I went to the e-Go Centre in Cambridgeshire, UK – home of an ultra-modern single seat aircraft – the e-Go Aeroplane. Click here for information in a previous post: e-Go Aeroplanes.

I met CEO, Adrian Hillcoat and Sales & Marketing Manager, David Boughey, seen L-R in the photo here, with the currently dis-assembled e-Go prototype.

We spent 2-3 hours looking around their facility and discussing the technical aspects of their aircraft, testing schedules and production plans, as well as potential interest in Australia.

For testing purposes, the prototype has been fitted with a wonderful array of strain gauges and computerised data logging equipment. There’s nothing that’s not recorded – flight speeds, engine parameters, flight envelope, heights, airframe stresses under different flight conditions, even a complete GPS track of each and every flight. Every time an aspect of the design is changed, it’s checked and tested to ensure the desired improvement is delivered.

e-Go prototype

e-Go prototype

Although technically the aircraft fits into the UK ‘deregulated’ class – i.e. single seat with maximum weight, wing loading and stall speed limitations – the aircraft is being finalised to be capable of LSA compliance and maybe even full certification at a later date.

e-Go is aiming for production to be started during the first quarter of 2015 – much of the first year’s production has already been sold.

The aircraft will appeal primarily to the buyer looking to put some extra fun into their flying. Owners will include GA and LSA pilots who already own a more staid bigger aircraft; or perhaps owners of a fast car, motorcycle or boat, who want to add a third dimension to their fun; and even maybe glider pilots, who will find they can ‘thermal’ the aircraft and who will feel instantly at home in the glider-like cockpit.

Although the aircraft is not primarily intended for long cross-country flights, there will be space for an overnight bag behind the seat, as well as other stowage for water, maps and other items in the cockpit. Duration of the aircraft is projected to be around 3½ hours plus reserve, at 90-100 knots, so you could go places if you really want to. However, the primary purpose of the aircraft is to give the weekend flyer a big grin – the test pilot’s partner says his smile after each flight is enough to light up a sizeable town!

Towards the end of the meeting, Adrian, David and I considered for some time a variety of different purchasing options, to make ownership or part ownership a relatively easy and affordable process. There are some interesting possibilities to think about.

Personally, I believe this is one of the more exciting developments in very light aviation in a long while – the e-Go company is well funded, has a wealth of design and technological excellence, and the aircraft itself looks very good – and by all accounts, flies even better.

I think they will have no problem selling every one they can make…….watch this space!

Click here for the e-Go Aeroplane website