Jump to content

mikeomaha

Members
  • Posts

    466
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by mikeomaha

  1. glad to help out everyone on the forum shawn. i am sure you will provide invaluable advice to stan. this forum is great help for people who lack local access for assistance with sport cruiser operation. dont know if i will travel much this year by airline but if i do go to snf will let you know  six weeks in  advance. got my 5 year rubber due this year and a change in fbo at my airport in june. airport authority wants a new maintenance hanger paid by the fbo and will do only a 20 yr contract and want to increase revenue and not be reliant on city property taxes. as a result, i expect big increases in shop rates and hanger rents. i pay 95 an hr now. charles city iowa airport is home to the company i bought my plane from in 2011 and has a DAR to do the experimental change for me for 720 dollars. rotax certified mechanics on staff too for my annual and 5 yr rubber. i can e mail them for a bid and go from there maybe get a bargain to get annual, 5 yr rubber and experimental change done at same time... with higher rates to be charged at council bluffs, may be smart thing to do.  find out what my plane would be worth  if i sold it .  they want a 30 per cent commision for selling and would handle transaction and insurance and hanger during sale period. about another 60  minutes from my house roundtrip, of highway driving in harlan iowa airport i could get a hanger for 55 a month versus 155 i pay now. it would be a 2 hr roundtrip by car from my house versus the 1 hr roundtrip i do now at council bluffs but be all highway. it would be paradise to fly there as there is very little traffic 15/33 long wide concrete runway with a  2000 turf 5/23 and no worry about over heating before takeoff. time is no problem since i am retired and dont work so am really thinking about it. annual is due in sept so got lots of time. june is change in fbo. thanks for all the help you do on the forum shawn. am sure yr busy with other things too. been retired over 9 years now and am forgetting how busy people are who work for a living...lol

  2. when buying a used plane see what a new one equipped the same way would cost as a starting point. engine has a 2000 hr tbo and a new one cost about 21k to buy and installation labor. avionics are tricky to figure out how long they will last but you can estimate cost to replace . with high price of new planes, used  planes in good condition can be a great buy. best part about purchasing a used plane is being able to sell it a later at a price that may be close to what you paid for it.  

  3. cant go wrong following shawns advice. like to tell you about what happened to me when i flew yesterday near class c airspace in omaha. i do not have adbs out in my sportcruiser so after taking off at council bluffs i have to stay below 2500 feet as i head  north east for about 15 miles. i call ed departure control about 5 nm ne  after takeoff and clearing local airport traffic and told controller i would remain at 1900 msl until clear of airspace charlie.  he told me i was cleared to any altitude i wanted or needed as long as i remained on frequency.  i  told him i would climb to 3000 msl and he approved. unsure if other atc facilities would do this. maybe air traffic was light and controller had time to work with me. i think you can get pre authorization to enter class c airspace for air craft ferrying 24 hr advance notice. but dont do it twice....faa frowns on repeated requests and will deny. 

  4. congrats on yr sons success in life. i purchases my plane new in 2011 and leased in for flight training at two different schools for just over a year and then converted it to private use after that and really enjoy it. always get compliments on its good looks and to me its the most beautiful light sport design out there. i wish i was more mechanically inclined to do routine maintenance and enjoy that too and some owners do just that and get more enjoyment out of aircraft ownership that way. 

  5. On 4/13/2020 at 6:00 PM, rtk said:

    Hi Marshall!

    Beautiful 456 you've got there!

    FWIW, my 13 year old son is approaching 6'2" and has long arms and legs (he gets all the good genes from his mother!) and he fits comfortably in the Sportcruiser.  Me, on the other hand, I'm 5'10" and have a long torso, so I'm the "tallest guy sitting."  I fit in the cockpit fine, though my head is closer to the canopy with about 2 inches to spare.  I don't think room will be a problem in a Sportcruiser.  It actually feels pretty spacious compared to other LSA I"ve been in.

    As Shawn and Velocity stated, the Rotax is rated to 1,500 or 2,000 hours for Time Between Overhaul (TBO.)  The extension of the 1,500 hour engines (early build) is about $40 in parts (oil pressure plug screw and spring).  Rotax made a durable engine, and as Shawn stated, you can fly these engines "on condition."  I believe that training in these aircraft require a flight school to adhere to TBO, but as an owner, you can fly "on condition."  The Rotax has performed well beyond 3,000 hours with some owners.

    Welcome aboard!

    Bob

    lets hope yr 13 yr old son thats 6'2" signs a 75 million   3 yr contract with the NBA in eight years and buys you the mansion next to john travolta in his florida airpark.  lol ... maybe get some free dance lessons too.  i am 6'6 and with my headset on i still have an inch of clearance with the canopy. 

  6. i purchased my new sportcruiser in aug 2011.  really enjoy but it has analog gauges instead of glass and saved 20k at the time. i have 1,126 hrs on engine and airframe and have the extra tall flared wingtips on my plane and have been told i lose about ten knots cruise because of that. i pay 155 a month in hanger rent in iowa but in higher rental costs in other states it makes more sense to buy into an airpark and more fun doing so.

  7. 3 hours ago, ShawnM said:

    Mike, were you drinking the Kool-Aid that they were handing out at Sun-N-Fun? :D

    Make sure you get wheel pants with that purchase. :P

    josh scheid is trying  his best helping  sport cruiser  owners . he went over and visited the factory in europe after sun and fun and hopefully that will help going forward. wish that all light sport plane manufactures would offer parts and labor warranty for any future design flaws. doing so would really help customer goodwill .

  8. 50 minutes ago, Coffee said:

    Hello Warmi,

    Thanks for the tip. I will check out at Air Venture in July. First time there. I understand it is very worthwhile to attend.

    be sure to attend the airshow tue, wed, thur. i would stay away monday, set up day, and friday, saturday and sunday. massive lines and unable to meet and talk to the airplane salesman as easy with fewer people around gawking on tue,wed,thur. bring a notebook and pen and take notes and make sure you ask the questions you want answers to. make sure you sit in the plane and check seat comfort, view etc. all light sport planes are in one area and easy walk and to find from the main gate entrance.

×
×
  • Create New...