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rtk

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Everything posted by rtk

  1. Welcome IdahoFarmer! Good on you to tackle the NLG an fuel return lines... especially at this time of year! My friend in Coeur d'Alene gives me pretty regular weather reports on his area. "Brisk" is used often by him. I have often countered with "downright frigid!" 😜 Ditto what Shawn said - good luck with the upgrades and hopefully parts will be delivered sooner than later!
  2. Welcome Bluesky15! Glad to see another member on the West Coast! Sounds like you've got an awesome panel in your bird! Are you in NorCal or SoCal?
  3. Hi Anthony - welcome from me as well! I trained in a Remos GX and, aside from awkward luggage space, it's quite a nice plane. It's very docile and flies very nicely. I like that it has foldable wings so you can also trailer it to the airport or (more likely) fold the wings and share hangar rent with someone that can use the other 2/3rds. That said, when I went looking for my own plane, I couldn't resist the Sportcruiser. I love the way it flies and the ramp appeal, and the fact that it's all (mostly?) metal. In my mind, the only thing the Remos has over the Sportcruiser is ease of entry (though you still do have to swing your leg over the control stick, and you have to accept 1 of 3 seat positions. Let us know what you end up with!
  4. Hi Kevin, I think Ronin's Trail Tech may be the best option. But if you're still interested in the Kuntzelman LTR light, I found it in my hangar. Just let me know!
  5. Hi Kevin, I just sent you a private message. In the interim, it may be good to take a look at Richard's photos to see how he modified the factory bracket to have it fit. My lower cowling opening is also unusual as, much like Shawn's plane, mine did not come from the factory with the lower cowling taxi light, but it was added (riveted on as seen in the photo with my hand holding the light) sometime in 2008 when the plane was being shown at shows around FL. I think the lower cowlings later in 2008 and onward may have more clearance for this light.
  6. It will need a mounting bracket, and it's not like the Trail Tech - it's more like Richard's light. I think a call to Thrust Flight might be good to figure out cost and timing for a bracket (the light from Kuntzelman didn't come with the Czech Sport Aircraft bracket) I've attached some photos I took before - the light is still in its original box (never mounted.)
  7. HI Kevin, I never ended up using the Kuntzelman light I have (I went with the Trail Tech LED light.) If you're interested in the Kuntzelman LED, mine is still for sale.
  8. Hi Gabor, welcome aboard! The latches pivot on ball joints on both ends with a threaded tube in between that can be adjusted. You can try to adjust the side that does not latch to see if you can extend the latch so it will connect and hook the canopy (provided the canopy is not damaged. You may want to reach out to Patrick Arnzen at Thrust Flight (Texas) in regards to the canopy alignment kit. I think Patrick is the importer of the Sportcruiser once again (which is a good thing.) Good luck!
  9. Happy New Year to everyone on the SC Flier forum! πŸ™‚πŸŽŠπŸŽ‰πŸΎπŸ₯‚
  10. Great to read that you too experienced positive results with the ceramic coating! πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ˜ It also makes our aircraft much easier to clean, and helps with the gloss of the finish. WOW! Sorry to read of the vibration issues with the Sensenich 2 bladed prop. I will admit that I'm quite happy with mine, but have not done a Prop Balancing on it yet. (Need to find someone nearby that can do it.) Admittedly I am interested in trying out the Duc Hellices prop, but have not had any spare cash (is there such a thing?) to acquire one. Plus a GNC255 is calling my name lately... Not sure of resale value, but maybe try $1,200? The Sensenitch props do not have a time condition and I believe some of the Flight Design aircraft used them as well. May be worth posting on that forum or on Barnstormers?
  11. Holy moly! πŸ˜³πŸ™‚πŸ‘πŸ» Nicely done! Will look forward to your thoughts and pics of the results. Looking forward to you experience in any difference in TAS in level flight. I’ve advised my Mothers friend of my experience with gaining a couple of knots TAS from ceramic coating! πŸ™‚
  12. I have a friend who works at Mothers car care products and he's introduced me to products I use on the plane since I try to avoid a direct dousing of water (e.g. from a hose or pressure washer.) Those products were: Mothers Waterless Wash and Wax, then the Instant Detailer (good for post flight wipe down) and now the Mothers Ceramic Detailer (like the Instant Detailer except it it contains some of the ceramic silicone oxide to help with beading.) I hangar indoors and try to avoid overnighting outside if I can. But I carry a few microfiber towels in the plane (light, very absorbent) to dry off the plane if needed. Light dew isn't an issue, but where it goes when it forms droplets can be, so as part of a pre-flight if tied down, I'll wipe down the plane (I've done that only twice since having the plane.) Flying through rain can be done and is sometime unavoidable (I've done that a couple of times also) but the beading action of the ceramic coating helps that water to slide off the surface of the plane and hopefully not accumulate somewhere. (Again, I wipe down after a flight anyway, but especially after going through rain.)
  13. Rust? Did someone say rust? As Shawn said, water WILL get everywhere where you don't want it to go, and it's not so easy to get out. Fuel level sensor on my plane was WELL rusted after the prior owner tied her down on the ramp and through unknown amount of rain storms. When my LSRM came to work on the plane, he literally had to drill a couple of holes under the plane to drain out water that accumulated in the belly of the plane! (Yikes!) The Sportcruiser is many things, but it is not waterproof! As for Mothers CMX and vinyl decals - so long as the decals are on before CMX, it'll work great to protect the vinyl and help its gloss. But if you try to apply vinyl after (on top of) ceramic coating, it will not stick (or stick well.) I cannot get masking tape to stick to my airplane now after the ceramic coating. In the image far below is my son's project car. We applied matte black vinyl to the hood, then used Mothers CMX over the entire car (including vinyl) which will help to protect and keep the vinyl uniformly colored.
  14. I used Mothers CMX all over my aircraft (including the lockers) to help with protecting the paint. The ceramic will help seal the paint so mold will (hopefully not grow back from the pores in the paint (since now they're sealed) but if it does on the surface, it'll be easier to wipe away with some alcohol. You can get Mothers CMX in most auto parts stores (aviation aisle, of course. 😜) I need to buckle-down and use some plasti-gauge (or some clay bar) to measure the distance between the locker cover and the the lip below. I would like to get some adhesive rubber (not foam) to help seal the locker so that moisture can't find its way in there. That may be a winter project, and I'll post what I find.
  15. I had that issue in my wing lockers too, Toryn. I used some spray contact adhesive to the original fabric, and glued to the material backing (original fabric on the vertical surfaces). It's held up great for the last couple of years. I see some mold (mildew?) on the underside of the wing locker door. Mine had that too. I cleaned it off with all purpose cleaner, and then used some ceramic spray on it to help prevent the mold from recurring. Keeping the plane in the hangar (in a dry environment) helps to prevent that too.
  16. Congratulations, Toryn! Plane looks AMAZING with that vinyl wrap! And awesome the plane is E-LSA - you've got the freedom to do what you want/need! Good luck with training and looking forward to reading more about your plane and experiences!
  17. @whiskeypapa, Congratulations on 1 Juliet Bravo! πŸ˜ƒπŸ‘πŸ» And welcome to the Czech Aircraft Works (CZAW) brotherhood! 😜 We're all family on this forum (Sportcruiser/Piper Sport owners), but as I'm sure others may have advised, the factory has a special, distant "pay no mind" corner for the CZAW produced Sportcruisers. The plane looks beautiful! Glad the flight home was mostly uneventful and the avionics squawks can be sorted quickly and easily. Recommendation (especially if tied-down outdoors): Buy a gust lock, and a good canopy cover. Looking forward to reading more about your experience with your Sportcruiser!
  18. I second Shawn's suggestion. If Cruiser in Utah doesn't have one, you'll wait a long time for the factory to make one and send to you. I last checked in 2017 (I think) when Cruiser was in Sebastian, Florida and they had both a left and right tank they ordered by accident, and I needed the left tank. It was about $1,000 from what I remember (without shipping - I flew in and picked it up). Utah may very well have the right tank still in stock if nobody purchased it since then. Welding a tank (since your IA has it out, and to Shawn's point) is a good option. If your IA can't weld it, any radiator shop that can TIG weld should be able to do the job (and may be able to flush out and pressure test.)
  19. Hi Doc - I echo Shawn's statement of both a welcome to the forum, and many thanks to you for your Service, as well as all that you do in support of our men and women serving our country. Looking forward to learning more about your Sportcruiser and the fun flights you'll be taking to visit family and tasty airport diner meals around you! In the interim, I think you'll find that the forum is a treasure trove of information and there are a lot of great and helpful members here.
  20. Welcome TRC! Glad you made it over to SC Flier forum! Sorry to read of the medical issue in the past. Hopefully the aeromedical doctors can work to clear, or get your a special issuance for a PPL. And very good that you're checking ahead of time. I think you're in a good part of the country for LSA and flying in general. And certainly surrounded by plenty of airports to fly to. I'm envious as there's more aviation activities on the East Coast than there are out on the West Coast. (And things are generally cheaper too!)
  21. You'll have to tell me more about how much you like Leeward Air Ranch, Stan! Some beautiful homes there and I am starting to think about places for me to go for my retirement in about 10-13 years. (I have to put my 14 year old son through college first...ouch.)
  22. Ditto with MikeOmaha - Shawn's on point with his advice. I changed to E-LSA when I got my plane to the West Coast. Most definitely use recommended DARs as some are more expensive than others. I would wait until your are E-LSA to select your method of ADS-B compliance. CSA's approved solution is the bare minimum and they chose that solution to make it easy for them, not for you. You really do want the full ADS-B In/Out solution. Shawn's recommended Aera 660/GDL-82/GDL-39 3D (or now GDL-52) will give you a full puck around your plane and you'll hear the audible announcements of traffic, etc. As for insurance - zero difference.
  23. Welcome, Joe! Good luck on the training and let us know how it's coming along! The Piper Sport/Sportcruiser is a spectacular aircraft to fly, and I'm sure you'll enjoy training in it! Keep an eye on Barnstormers, Controller, or Trade-a-Plane for available aircraft. You can also reach out to Patrick Arnzen at Thrust Flight as he was the former distributor, knows the plane inside and out, and has a very good connection to aircraft for sale. One thing for sure - you're on the better side of the country as there seems to be a lot more Sportcruisers/Piper Sport aircraft on the Eastern half of the country vs. the Western half!
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