Velocity26

I agree with everything that the Admin said above, and the short answer is Yes. I practiced for, and took, my private Pilot check ride in a Pipersport with the exact same combination you photographed above. The approaches were all accomplished with the SL-30 and the CDI display of the D100. This particular DPE wanted me to prove that I could navigate with the SL-30 and CDI in the event that the 696 became inoperable. I was also told that the D100/D120/696 combo qualified as a TAA at the time. I am not aware if the standards for a TAA have changed since then.

Agreed, but indulging in said pancake breakfasts (along with $100 cheeseburgers) are not helping MY gross weight and I need my airplane to grow with me!!

Shawn, If/when MOSIAC comes out, and eliminates the 1320 limit, would you (as a E-LSA) be able to recertify your aircraft to a higher gross weight limit? If you would say, your new gross is 1420 and your new dirty stall is 42 kts, assuming that complies with the new MOSIAC specifications.

Even better! The article I read (in AOPA) claimed the changes were "in the process", likely an older article from before the changes had gone into effect.

Like Shawn said, it means that you "Can" do more things, not that you have to. Any LSRM or A&P with Rotax experience can do your repairs, maintenance and inspections. If you choose to do so, you can take a 16 hour class and get the LSRI certification and do the annual inspection yourself. Other than giving instruction to others in your airplane, there are few downsides to going E-LSA. (I also hear that you will soon be able to teach in an E-LSA soon, as that is in the works)

I was given this advice regarding purchasing an airplane: "Purchase the finest example that you can afford, the cost of upgrades and repairs is usually far more than the value that they will add to the airplane being purchased." It was good advice and I am glad that I followed it. If you are an A&P. you may be able to make repairs on the cheap, the rest of us mortals pay full price.

Shawn, please correct me if I am wrong, if you buy an S-LSA that has illegal modifications most DAR's will force you have to bring the airplane back into compliance for S-LSA before they will authorize you to convert to E-LSA. In many cases that can mean spending money twice. There are so many pitfalls that can make you non-compliant that most people don't even realize that are not compliant. As Dave mentioned before, simply attaching 2 wires to bring ADS-B into your panel mounted GPS is a violation. Go E-LSA while you are still compliant, then start to modify.

Mine was already experimental and it took (7) months for the registration to go through. I would not expect any swift processing regardless of straight registration or Experimental conversion. The 90 day temporary registration is a joke.

My airplane was based in New Hampshire and, in addition to the air flow restrictors for the radiator and oil cooler as shown above, it has a block/oil heater and oil thermostat in the oil lines too. I removed the air flow restrictors and initially planned to remove the heater and thermostat, but they weigh very little and do not seem to hinder cooling in the furnace that we call Florida.

So you are that guy ... Todd mentioned something about selling one of his children last week, while in Florida.

Burlington is the home of Certus, that might be worth a look. https://www.certusaircraft.com/

If you crash with a 2kt crosswind, it is on you, because of your skills. It is something every pilot must be able to do. If you crash with a 30kt crosswind it is on your because you even tried the landing in those conditions. There is no excuse when you perform actions outside the limitations of the POH.

Based on the POH I have, these are the limitations: Max. permitted head wind velocity for take-off and landing ...............................................23kts Max. permitted cross wind velocity for take-off and landing ...............................................10kts I know that I have exceeded these on occasions, but the POH is written by Attorneys to protect the company. The Bristell POH states: Maximum demonstrated crosswind speed: 9kts for landing and take off. Again, these are conservative figures, but exceeding them puts the responsibility on you. Forget take-off and landing, I have been at cruise in deteriorating weather conditions and had a wind turbulence slam my head against the side of the canopy hard. I can see how someone could lose consciousness from a similar event. I do not consider these to be "All Weather" airplanes, believe that are best used in fair weather.

The trickery is eating salads for lunch and weighing 150 lbs!

I had a Great CFI teaching me, the rest was just putting in the time and effort. Thanks for your help!

Marshall, The cockpit is surprisingly wide and roomy for an airplane of this size, I don't think it will present a problem for you. The seats are fixed but the pedals are adjustable and fit most people pretty well. I am a "leggy" 6' tall and do not extend them to the maximum. The useful load varies from airplane to airplane, and the older ones (particularly those without the BRS (parachute)) seem to be lighter, and the newer ones seem to be on the heavier side. On average you can expect in the neighborhood of ~460 lbs of useful load for your pilot, passenger and fuel. Say you have a pair of 200 lbs guys, you will have to settle with 10 gallons of fuel to remain at or below max gross weight. Some DPE's will not fly behind a Rotax period, whether it is within TBO or not. Some will not go up in an LSA. Others are fine with both, this is specific to each DPE and the FAA does not mandate what they will, or will not, do. They are basically independent contractors that set their own rates and do as they please regarding with what they will and won't accept for a check ride. You may want to contact a few local DPE's and see what you find in your area. In central Florida, we have a few that are usually willing to fly in S-LSA and E-LSA without a problem. The engines are "life limited" to some extent, but they are also replaceable with new for a lot cheaper than what a new Lycoming or Continental would cost. Since they appear to reach TBO in most cases (and many WAY beyond that) I don't consider the rebuild/replace cost to be a huge deal. I find the airplanes forgiving and fun to fly in good weather and recently got my certificate in one.

To quote Dave Chappelle, "it would be like seeing Bigfoot riding a unicorn"

I remember the first time I saw that airplane for sale, I thought this guy must be a toll booth operator ... obviously a man of few words. On the other hand, he posted this"Has fresh rotax rubber." and that is more than I can say for the vast majority of the log books I have seen to date.

With the weather that we are currently having, it is possible that you cannot fly for weeks at a time. The first break in the weather and you KNOW that everyone is going to want to be airborne. Whether it is a club or rental aircraft, there will never be enough for those high demand times. Forget about taking a last minute trip over the 4th of July weekend or Labor Day, or name your favorite holiday. Those are the times that you need to have a plane of your own. I have not retired and getting an airplane should open up the possibilities of where we can go on long weekends. Let us get away more often and to places outside of the comfortable car driving range for a weekend trip.

Good thing you went Experimental, otherwise you would need to get a LOA for those bath crystals. I looked at the local weather forecast and they have the exact same pattern shown every day for the next 2 weeks. Scattered thundershowers with 50% coverage. I need to start working on my boat, or get back to my work on the Ark.

Make sure you have the air frame log book handy, bet the "wash entry" takes up an entire page. I mean water temp, soap brand, quantity, batch #, ph, etc. Then we have the composition of the wash mitt...

It all depends on what the actual changes turn out to be. Rumors are that there will be a max gross weight increase, maybe a speed increase, etc. If the increases are significant, that would make what is existing airplanes less desirable than what would be produced after the change. Some companies may issue LOA's to allow their airplanes to take advantage of whatever they are capable of, but I am not sure if there is any hope that CS will do anything to help if the existing LOA situation is any example.

Make sure to check the landing gear, make sure the mains are not cracked and that you have the latest version nose landing gear. With such low hours, it may have original landing gear all around and they often need to be replaced as soon as you start to actually use the airplane. We have run across this exact situation on other very low hour "hangar queens" that we have checked out. That is a $7k+ tab to correct just the gear.

You may be technically correct, I am not aware, but I can tell you that it is done all the time, including by Shawn above. All that happens is that the Seller agrees to having the annual done as the inspection. Or, once you own the airplane, and have possession of the logs, your mechanic can make the entry.