ShawnM

I'm not hearing anything at the moment but let's give it a minute or two. It's not "what" you know but "who" you know.

Have you considered this aircraft? It's not $50K but less than $90K and I'm sure you could get it for a pretty good price.

Ok, I'll start this conversation......AGAIN. After the seller placed this beautiful 2014 Astore up for sale with the initial price of $100K (a phenomenal prices for this aircraft) he decided he wanted to take it out for one more flight. Not his best idea to date. On its last flight the owner had a hard landing and collapsed the nose gear....everyone knows what happens next, right? It has been repaired and nearly airworthy again. New NLG, new prop, I was told a gearbox "inspection" was done but it needed another one for some reason. The plane is just up the road from me in Inverness, about a 20 minute flight north. I was possibly going to go look at it with another forum member but that has been put on hold. The plane was perfect BEFORE its last flight with no damage history and the price was out of this world at $100K. Now with all new parts AND DAMAGE HISTORY the seller wants more, go figure.

Absolutely agree, the SportCruiser and every other LSA on the market weigh much less than a 152 and will get bounced around more. The BEW of say a 1980 Cessna 152 is around 1,100 pounds, compare than to your average LSA at say 850, give or take a few pounds. The SportCruiser, as with most other LSA's, fly much better than a 152 (my opinion of course) as they are far more responsive. When you move the stick the plane goes there immediately, not 3 seconds later like the Cessna.

Mike, were you drinking the Kool-Aid that they were handing out at Sun-N-Fun? Make sure you get wheel pants with that purchase.

Sounds to me like Coffee Joe gets to bring........ummm....... nothing !!

Hi Joe and welcome to the forum. RTK nailed the answer for you. I posted a W&B calculator in the downloads section if you'd like to download it. It's a Excel spreadsheet that will calculate everything for you. It's formatted to fit an iPad mini screen but will work on any device with Excel or Google Numbers. Enjoy the forum, it's full of great info.

There's plenty of blame to go around between CSA and Ducati for the poor mounting location chosen by CSA and the poor materials used by Ducati. My 2007 Ducati regulator has the green potting and was mounted high up on the firewall in a cooler area that was in direct line with cool air coming into the top NACA scoops. It STILL works today, some 12 years later, and is my backup since I upgraded to the Silent-Hektik voltage regulator. It's been soda blasted, sprayed with Corrosion X and is in a ziploc back in my hangar in case of an emergency.

That's about one every two years Dave. I'd say you keep a spare on hand at this rate or put one on auto order with Amazon. I changed mine to the Silent-Hektik (E-LSA only) and still have my original Ducati in the hangar as a backup if I ever need it.

Welcome Scott. I've seen a few of the SMF Youtube videos before. You'll find everything SportCruiser on this site. Enjoy.

Yup and at the time of the poll the Sensenich prop was already in use so that didn't technically change either. Yes, it's a LSA, were people expecting something faster? As for number 7, the factory already had a cost effective pathway to retrofit legacy aircraft, they passed the cost on to the owner. It didn't cost CSA a dime so to them it was "cost effective" and they didn't need to address this issue, or any of the other ones. Do I really need to post what's in EVERY service bulletin.............again? COSTS: To be covered by the aircraft owner / operator.

All I saw was a bunch of "NOPE" with a sprinkle of "SORT OF". Did you honestly think they were going to listen to their existing customers and make changes? You did didn't you? I know you think I sound like a broken record at times, hell, most of the time, and how I call out CSA for their complete lack of customer support and that's ok but one day you'll look back and realize that maybe, just maybe, I might have been just a little bit right. Lip service from Cruiser Aircraft at airshows is just that.

Here's a link to the UK SportCruiser group on Yahoo. Two very knowledgeable members over there are Farry Sayyah and Graham Smith. I haven't been on their site in a while but I think it's still pretty active. They have 356 members when I checked. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/sportcruiser/info

Yes, welcome to the forum Agis. There is a great group of owners in the UK and many are also members here. I wish you the best of luck with your LAPL. Shawn

Hi Bob and welcome to the forum. That's the second best looking SportCruiser I've ever seen. This one in my hangar being the best looking of course. Your new plane looks just like my 2007. I see yours was built right after mine as our serial numbers are sequential. But yours has the taxi light in the cowling where mine is in the wing. I also see that yours still has the original NLG (nose landing gear). Glad you found this group and congrats on the purchase of a beautiful SportCruiser.

Yes, I can tell, the traffic is lighter here and the beaches are less crowded. Yes, there are many SportCruiser owners in Florida and not all of them are on this forum and some who are dont participate. See you this winter.

Yes, welcome back Dakotaguy. Hope you are enjoying the HDX upgrade. Any panel pics? Next time you make it back to The Villages let us know. Maybe the "Florida Chapter" can plane a meetup. All the snow birds are flying north now.

Hi James, no worry on the late reply, glad you were able to get back on the forum. As for the Jabiru overheating we have people here in the US with the Rotax doing the same thing in the newer SportCruisers. They crammed so much more "junk under the hood" in the later versions that they tend to overheat also in the hotter summer months. CSA came out with a "bandaid" but only for the brand new planes, go figure, no help for the people who actually need it with older legacy SportCruisers. I completely redid my center panel with all new avionics over a year ago now. Replaced my GPS, radio, transponder and added the Dynon AP-74 autopilot control. Here's what it looks like now. I too have thought about carbon fiber panels and have all three panels drawn up in CAD. I also recently bought a CNC router that I can machine parts on. I've made a few parts for my SportCruiser and also some parts for some friends who own experimental helicopters. I use to own a Rotorway helicopter before I bought my SportCruiser. I am going to cut all three panels soon in some plain, clear acrylic so I can test fit everything BEFORE I attempt to machine the carbon fiber. As you know acrylic is CHEAP compared to carbon fiber. I'd be glad to cut your panels if you can supply me with a drawing of what you want. Are you still in Atlanta or did you go back across the pond? I'll gladly send you some pics of my test panels once I get them cut. I plan on using the matte finish carbon fiber panels and possibly applying water slide decals for all the text. Then a matte finish clear coat to seal everything in. I can also engrave text in the panels down to 3/32" tall (about 2.4mm). I can then paint fill the lettering with enamel paint for a professional look. This is my preferred option but I'll have to test this out first. This is an image of the CAD file for my 2007 panels. Your panels are taller as CSA started this in 2010 with the PiperSport version here in the US. From your pics I can see you have the taller panels. I dont have a CAD file for those but if have the build prints or could run those down from a fellow owner in the UK I can create a CAD file from those. Then cut them on my CNC so they are machined perfectly. As far as angling the copilot panel you may find it not necessary with a screen that is anti reflective. I can see my D-120 screen perfectly in full sun at any angle. I think the problem is just the iPad and the sun. It's quite reflective I know as I also carry one as a backup when I fly. Have you tried sitting on the passenger side and looking at the HDX? Can you see it ok? In full sun? Just curious. Glad you made it back on the forum.

I'd be glad to Russell. Can you tell me the year of the SportCruiser your client owns? As I said in an earlier post, what to look for would depend on the year of the plane. Of course there are all the SB's that have been issued over the years but there are also some quick inspections you can do on a regular basis and items to keep and eye on a bit more closely since this is a flight school plane. I understand that not all flight schools are created equal whereas some are for professional pilots where they come in with a private rating already and other flight schools where the person who's never even seen a plane up close wants to learn to fly. Each will apply different "forces" on the SportCruiser. I also sent you a private message with my direct contact info.

What a coincidence, mine too. If the airport would just let me put a cot in my hangar I could get even more done.

LOL, that's funny. Sleep IS overrated, right?

On occasion I do but then it keeps me away from this amazing forum. Sometimes I can only catch up at night, case in point, last night.

LOL, the very definition of "clunky" is awkwardly solid, heavy, and outdated. Sounds like GA to me. All kidding aside, I know they are making new aircraft these days but I have to poke fun at those "clunky" aircraft. Do you know the year of the SportCruiser at the school? There are some subtle yet distinct changes over the years. They are easy to work on and most everything is accessible. Some items will require the assistance of a Cirque du Soleil performer to get to but I'm sure you've experienced this on other aircraft you've worked on as well. I've been over every inch of my plane and know it inside and out. If you haven't already, download the IPC (illustrated parts catalog) and the maintenance manual for your shop. You can find them here if you dont already have them. Great reference material. The SportCruiser is a great airplane for personal but if you ask me they are not built for flight schools. At least not the flight schools where the owner isn't the instructor. (Deltafox) Now the SportCruiser sales guy in Sebastian will chime in here and tell you they are and swear up and down that it's a great flight school aircraft and talk ROI and dazzle you with pixie dust (because he's paid to) but many of us here know better and that they are not exactly built for the average flight school. Want proof? There's a large flight school out west who can verify this with a phone call. Make sure you have some free time and a cold, adult beverage in hand before you pick up the phone as the call will be lengthy. Ask me how I know. They have numerous SportCruisers that are damaged beyond flying because of the students. The SportCruiser, she's a rather delicate flower and in my opinion not really ready for the prime time abuse of the average flight school. Make sure your friend keeps a close eye on the plane and you as well if you are doing the maintenance for him. There are many tell-tale signs to look for that signal forthcoming issues or prior abuse.

Welcome to the forum Russell. You found the right place for EVERYTHING SportCruiser. The "start up" flight school you mentioned, is it in Texas by chance? The SportCruiser is a joy to fly and is very responsive as you probably know by now. It is a light aircraft and some transition training is always recommended to anyone making the move over from those large, clunky GA aircraft to a light, sleek AND MODERN LSA. I just earned my LSRI certificate last week that allows me to do my own annual condition inspections on my SportCruiser and I plan on taking the Rotax classes in the coming months. I've been an owner since 2013 and love the airplane. What state are you in? I'm sure we have owners just about everywhere these days. Welcome aboard and I hope we all can help you in any way we can.

Yes, that is correct about communications. You don't need to contact anyone as long as you remain outside your class c airspace. We all learned that in training. You need to establish 2 way communications prior to entering class c airspace. I think you mentioned that your airport is under the outer class c shelf for Omaha. Another great thing about having BOTH ADS-B IN & OUT is that you can "see" all that traffic on your screen whether or not THEY are equipped with ADS-B. If you have both IN & OUT you will see ALL aircraft with a working transponder. Just another reason to have BOTH in and out. Again, good luck with Josh and the factory. Please dont hold your breath during this process.