ShawnM

Hi Kurt, I was hoping to get a response from you on the plane you were looking at. I did some poking around for PiperSports for sale in West Palm. I like to know what's for sale in and around Florida to help stay on top of the market and current prices. If you are looking at N458S for sale in West Palm by Scott MacDonald Aircraft Sales that's not a 2009 PiperSport. It's a 2009 SportCruiser. There's no such thing as a "2009" PiperSport as the only PiperSport aircraft are 2010 aircrafts. The fact that it's being marketed as a PiperSport is not accurate if this matters to you. The owner may be trying to inflate the market value of this plane with some cheap vinyl decals. Or maybe he's a poser. I have first hand knowledge of this airplane as I personally flew this "SportCruiser" when I lived in Orlando when they were doing demo flights with it in Florida. Look at the FAA registry, it's even listed there as a "SportCruiser" with a 2009 serial number. Here's a pic of me in the pilots seat flying this "SportCruiser" in October of 2009 when it was new out of KISM airport. There are no "PiperSport" decals on it.....because it's not a PiperSport. If this is the plane you are looking at PLEASE do you due diligence and inspect EVERY tiny detail on this plane. If you are not that familiar with the SportCruiser please find someone who is to look at it with you. It was a demo aircraft and it has nearly 3000 hours on it. She's got to be tired. Lastly, it's still a S-LSA aircraft and it's being listed with a Uavionix Echo UAT device for ADS-B out. This is not an approved device by the aircraft manufacturer and there is no LOA for this ADS-B box to be installed in this aircraft. There never will be so "legally" that installation voided the airworthiness certificate for this SportCruiser. Whoever signed off on the install and subsequent annual condition inspections doesn't know LSA aircraft and has no business doing condition inspections on LSA aircraft. Buyer beware.

Hi Glenn and welcome. Any pics of your 2010 PiperSport that you can share? We'd love to see it.

Hi Kurt and welcome to the forum. I’m over in Clearwater, home of the best beaches in the US, or so they say. Are you looking at a PiperSport or a SportCruiser in West Palm? I ask because the PiperSport is going to be a 2010 only and the SportCruiser could be as new as a 2019. I can possibly see why you’d want to keep a newer SportCruiser S-LSA as maybe you want to keep it and use it for flight instruction. If it’s a 2010 PiperSport then you will definitely want to convert it to experimental to be able to make some needed upgrades. Every piece of avionics in that airplane has been discontinued and you’d be better off as E-LSA for those upgrades. As for parts for either of the airplanes, you could be waiting many, many months, if not years for crucial parts if you order from the factory. I’m not trying to scare you away from the airplane because it’s an amazing airplane rather just letting you know the hard truth about the factory and parts orders. It’s been extremely difficult over the last few years getting any response or parts from the factory for this airplane. I’m also a member of the European SportCruiser forum and they are having a difficult time just getting email responses from the factory, how hard do you think it’ll be getting parts? The dealer here in the US will tell you they can get parts but how long will you have to wait? All that said, the aircraft rarely needs factory specific parts. Anything for the engine you can get right here in Florida at Lockwood. As you know, it’s an all metal airplane and with your skill set there’s nothing on it you couldn’t fix/repair. There are procedures in the maintenance manual for making repairs. I’ve owned my 2007 SportCruiser going on 11 years now and have not ever needed a factory specific part. I converted to E-LSA maybe 5 years ago to be able to make my SportCruiser safer and easier to fly. It was the best thing I did. You’ll have some people tell you that it will decrease the value but those people are dead wrong. Good luck with your decision and if you need any more info about the SportCruiser it’s all here on the forum. We have a great bunch of guys on here with an abundance of knowledge to help answer any question you might have about it. The last thing I’ll say is if you decide to buy one have it looked over by someone who is familiar with the SportCruiser. And of course don’t let the seller recommend someone to do the pre-purchase inspection. There have been some critical service bulletins over the years that you need to know about and other details to look out for. If you buy it right and cheap enough then none of those really matter as you’ll have money left in the bank to do those service bulletins as some of them are rather pricey. Again, good luck in your search.

FSDO is your local Flight Standards District Office, yours would be in Jax so a phone call would be better. They can explain your options. Do you have a copy of the operating limitations for that plane? Those would be helpful as well. I'm just a lonely ole "Sport Pilot" so IFR to me is I Follow Roads. That I can do very well. You'd have to wait on better answers from our resident Private Pilots here. If you believe ANYTHING coming out of the dealers mouth in Utah you're in for a rude awakening. The factory has NEVER wanted to support legacy aircraft and they continue to blow smoke up our "you know what" and it's been the same song and dance from them for nearly 8 years now. Nothing has changed in this time and nothing ever will. The parts they have on hand in Utah are to fix the broken aircraft in their flight school that get damaged on a regular basis. I know this first hand from the last A&P who worked for the dealer when it was here in Florida. Dave our admin stated he's been waiting on a very simple part from the factory for over a year now, maybe longer. Still believe the folks in Utah? All I'm saying is dont hold your breath waiting on the factory for anything, convert to E-LSA and move on from them. You'll save yourself a ton of headaches. Ask me how I know. A turbine option? Really? They dont even know how to put a 912is engine in a SportCruiser let alone a turbine. What a bunch of idiots over there. This has to be the 4th or 5th "project" that they say is "coming soon" and we never see it. I'll bet you see "new seats" in the next SportCruiser before you see a turbine. A turbine wont matter to the LSA market anyway. Stepping down off my soapbox now and going to enjoy my weekend putting the finishing touches on my new Skyview panel upgrade.

So basically any SportCruiser with glass panel(s), a moving map display (either integrated into the glass like Skyview or a separate GPS with moving map like a Garmin product) and an autopilot will be considered a TAA aircraft. I'd also recommend that you read the CURRENT operating limitations for the plane you are wanting to buy. It will spell out what's allowed. There are some SportCruisers that are day, VFR only. Newer SportCruisers for training as a TAA aircraft will certainly have different operating limitations than a 2010 PiperSport. When in doubt contact your local FSDO and pay them a visit with the current aircraft operation limitations in hand.

Hi Tom, congrats and welcome to the forum. The legacy aircraft are great planes. I have a 2007 based in Zephyrhills and I live in Clearwater.

I try real hard to not go back for seconds. Everything in moderation.

As I understand it you can do this with an E-AB (experimental amateur built) and you "the builder" are required to go back into the flight testing phase and notify your local FSDO of these tests. So, since I didn't build my plane the manufacture would have to conduct flight tests and certify that the aircraft is capable of a higher MTOW and I just don't see cruiser aircraft doing this for the legacy fleet. Given their track record I wouldn't hold my breath for them to do anything. We are all just guessing here at MOSAIC, no one knows what, if anything, will happen with the existing fleet. Again, none of the proposed changes will change my mission for my SportCruiser. I'm still going to go to pancake breakfasts, fly up and down the gulf coast of Florida and fly around for that $100 veggie burger. This is what I bought the plane for.

Hi Bruzman and welcome. I've seen the Jabiru you are talking about and yes it was built as a 4 place aircraft. With a little ingenuity they made it fit the S-LSA category. Good for them. As for the SportCruiser, I seriously doubt that cruiser aircraft will be retroactive with the new rules, whenever they come out, on the existing fleet of SportCruisers. They may "grandfather" in some of the very newest planes but don't hold your breath for it. I also seriously doubt that cruiser aircraft will do anything for the legacy fleet of SportCruisers. It's simply too much liability for them to take on. They can barely keep the doors open at this time and they are having a lot of difficulty fulfilling simple parts orders. And we all know that "R&D" costs a lot of money that they just don't have. If they ever sell a new plane in the US again after the new rules come out it may qualify for the higher MTOW but I'll bet you dollars to donuts that it'll also have a higher MSRP to complement that higher MTOW. I personally don't care about a higher MTOW as it wont affect me either way. My legacy 2007 SportCruiser fit's my mission perfectly.

Let me know when you do, I hear we have cheap fuel if you like that 100LL stuff in your Rotax. I'm heading up to Gainesville for the weekend and then up to Cannon Creek Airpark on Saturday to pick up my new Dynon goodies for my panel upgrade. Looking forward to meeting up sometime.

Yes, great video and welcome to the forum. I'm in Clearwater and hangar my SportCruiser in Zephyrhills. Here's your first bit of advice, I saw your pic of the plane on the ramp in Cross City with the canopy open in the Florida sun. Never leave the canopy open if the sun is behind the aircraft, it'll act like a parabolic mirror and start melting things or worse. Congrats on the purchase.

Welcome Buddy and good luck with the rest of your training. Going from a 172 to a SportCruiser will be like going from a moving truck to a Porsche. It’s an amazing airplane with a ton of ramp appeal and it’s a blast to fly. Lots of SportCruiser owners in Texas. Have you had a chance to fly one yet? Hopefully you’ll get some good info from this forum and we can help answer any questions you might have.

Really? Just another fabrication to ease your worries/fear. I just looked at the most current FAA data and there are TWO 2023 SportCruisers in the USA and both registered to individuals. None registered to the flight school or "dealer" in Utah, I dont know what they are calling themselves now. One guy California and one guy in Utah, again, both registered to an individual. If "over half of sales are in the USA" where are they hiding them? Again, there are two 2023 SportCruisers here. According to them there should be over 30 here by now if half of them come here and they produce 3-5 a month. Just more lies to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside James. The next newest SportCruiser that I could find from a quick scan of the data is a 2019. The saga continues.....

If this is your idea of "entertainment" you're not doing it right. Seriously though, why?

Dave, can I ask why you simply dont make this bracket? I know you have the skills and resources......and you're E-LSA. Why on earth would you wait for something that may never come? Just curious.