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Scott - I don't know much about who the dealers are in CA; I'm in Ohio. Tecnam makes both a high wing and low wing airplane. The low wing, called the Sierra, can open the canopy a little bit while in flight. Just a few inches, but at least it improves the ventilation. The high wing airplane looks like a Cessna 150. The Rotax engine, while certified for 100LL, really doesn't like it, and far prefers auto gas. I've heard of lots of upper cylinder problems with Rotaxes being run on a steady diet of 100LL. For that reason alone, I'd probably prefer the low wing Tecnam, or Festival, for fueling ease of auto gas out of cans. If it weren't for hauling cans up to a high wing, I'd prefer the high wing Tecnam. Having spent most of my flying career in high wing airplanes, I'm biased I suppose. Plus, when did you ever see a low wing bird? Jerry E. -----Original Message----- From: scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 11:52 AM To: Jerry Eichenberger Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] LSA Hi Jerry, I am located in So California, in a town called Ramona outside of San Diego. I prefer all metal construction as well. The only bummer about the festival for me is having to keep the cockpit closed while in flight. I will have a look at the tecnam...I do not recall having seen it. I think my last 2 Italian motorcycles cured my blind love affair with Italian products. You are right tho -the Eastern Bloc countries do think a bit differently than Western Europe. Cheers, Scott ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Eichenberger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "scott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 8:53 AM Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN] LSA > Yes, Scott, I've sat in one, but have not flown it. > > We were considering becoming a dealer for them, but backed off due to > personnel issues at our FBO - we just don't have the people right now to > mount a serious dealership effort. > > They appear to be well built, strong as a tank. Good roll-over protection > too. > > Bad side is, as I remember, that the useful load suffers somewhat from the > heavy empty weight brought on by the robust airframe. > > These people make the Yak, so they built the Festival a little heavy, but > better than too light and flimsy. > > Another nice feature of the Festival, shared by the Tecnam, is a left hand > throttle in addition to the center one. So you can fly it right - stick in > right hand and throttle in left hand from either seat. > > Cruise speed is around 105 to 110 mph. A little slow compared to the rest > of the LSA European airplanes, but again that's a product of the robust > airframe. > > The wings have rivet heads showing, and for about $1800, you can get flush > riveted wings. I'd go for that - the standard rivets are ugly. > > Go to their website to get the dealers around. > > I know the one near Memphis, Rick something - nice guy. There's another one > on the east coast somewhere - I don't know where you're located. > > Right now, I may lean toward the Tecnam - more of them in worldwide service, > and built in Italy. So, you're not dealing with a Romanian manufacturer. > Nothing really wrong with Romanians, in fact the guy we met from there was > really nice, but the former eastern bloc countries still think a little > differently than western European companies. > > Hope that helps. Where are you located? > > Jerry E. > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: scott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 11:09 AM > To: Jerry Eichenberger > Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] LSA > > > Hello Jerry - > > Have you seen the Aerostar Festival up close or flown in one? > What have you heard about them? > > I heard the quality was good and the build robust. > > Thanks > > Scott > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jerry Eichenberger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Ralph Finch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'Ercoupe Hangar Flying'" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 7:39 AM > Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN] LSA > > > > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any > advice in this forum.]---- > > > > > > Ralph - > > > > You're very correct about being concerned as to which of the LSA > > manufacturers will be in the game for the long pull. > > > > However, remember how limited sport pilots are. An RV-6 or a C-182 is out > > of their realm. > > > > The new airplanes are just that; new. Many if not most people prefer new > > things over used, if they can afford the new. > > > > Also, even though we're considering adding an Ercoupe to our > training/rental > > fleet for sport pilot use, I really question if an Ercoupe will stand up > to > > the abuse and use of training/rental operations. But, since the > investment > > in one isn't huge, if we get one, we'll soon find out. > > > > We have an Aeronca Champ in use now, and it's in the shop a lot for the > > little age related things like cylinders, the old brakes, etc. that a new > > airplane wouldn't be. > > > > For me, I prefer the all metal LSAs, like Tecnam and Aerostar Festival. > I'm > > not a fan of composite airplanes in general for rental/training - too hard > > to fix the inevitable dings and dents. > > > > I personally see most of the more expensive LSAs, like Tecnam, etc. being > > used in training/rental, where they can return a dollar or two on the > > investment. For private use, my guess is that many sport pilots will opt > > for the cheaper offerings from Heinz, like the 601, or the stuff from > Rans. > > To me, it's ugly and crude, but it's an airplane that fits a need. > > > > There has been some talk that only about 80 sport pilot certificates have > > been issued. But, given that there are so few flight schools yet in the > > program, and so few sport examiners, it's no wonder. > > > > Still, no number of sport pilot certificates counts people like me, a > CFII, > > single, multi airplane, helicopter and glider, who is now exercising sport > > pilot privileges even though we have higher certificates in our pockets. > > > > Jerry E. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Ralph Finch [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 9:51 AM > > To: 'Ercoupe Hangar Flying' > > Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] LSA > > > > > > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any > > advice in this forum.]---- > > > > > > Another thought on the LSA theme. > > > > How many of the SLSA airplane manufacturers--or their USA outlets--will be > > around a few years from now? Parts? Manuals? A lot of these are > > composites--how many IA's know how to work on those? > > > > At least our worthy Coupes have a couple of suppliers of new parts, and > even > > IA's that don't know Coupes know how to work on aluminum and fabric. > > > > For $80K or more, one can buy a good Van's RV-6A (twice the speed of a > > Coupe), or a good C-182 (twice the payload), and so on. I just can't see > > the benefits of a new SLSA justifying the cost. > > > > Ralph > > > > > ============================================================================ > > == > > To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm > > Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/ > > > > > > > > > > > ============================================================================ > == > > To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm > > Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/ > > > > > > > > > > __________ NOD32 1.1332 (20051221) Information __________ > > > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > __________ NOD32 1.1332 (20051221) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > > ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers-tech/
