Going back to the basics of flying again
I love my Cessna, it is a awesome aircraft for sure. It is also a 1/2 hour drive to the airport to go flying. I have enough open and clear land to build a runway at my home. I am going to add some space to a building and construct a T hangar for a Quicksilver Sport II I am buying from a guy. He can no longer fly due to severe eye problems and I am getting the plane for a awesome price.
Now, when the urge to fly hits in the evenings I can simply walk out of my back door pull the plane out and go tool around the sky's at 45MPH for a while. I will keep the Cessna for more adventurous trips and cold weather flying. The Sport II is a two seat open air "ultralight" type aircraft powered by a 65HP ROTAX 582 motor.
http://quicksilveraircraft.com/Sport-2SE-Spec.pdf
Now, when the urge to fly hits in the evenings I can simply walk out of my back door pull the plane out and go tool around the sky's at 45MPH for a while. I will keep the Cessna for more adventurous trips and cold weather flying. The Sport II is a two seat open air "ultralight" type aircraft powered by a 65HP ROTAX 582 motor.
http://quicksilveraircraft.com/Sport-2SE-Spec.pdf
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sounds AWESOME 0 -
danielgage wrote:sounds AWESOME
Yes Sir.
I am envious Bruce.
Sounds Awesome!0 -
danielgage wrote:sounds AWESOME
Yes Sir.
I am envious Bruce.
Sounds Awesome!0 -
Hi Jim,
I paid $5,000 for it with a factory rebuilt 582 on it, always hangar stored with 100 hours on the airframe. It is a 1993 model but no different than the ones they make today for over 40K. It is on a trailer now with the wings removed for transport. The owner is a meticulous guy and I do feel bad he can't fly anymore.
I was VERY seriously considering a brand new Sprint from HEAVENBOUND AVIATION, the owner Andy is a awesome guy and the Sprint with a 50HP Hirth F-23 takes of in about 40 feet and climbs like a rocket.
The guy that sold the Sport to me bought it from the same guy I bought the GT400 from. It is a known aircraft with lots of extra goodies (saving me big $$$$) it even has the cockpit for it ready to install, if I want. The price difference between a new Sprint and this plane is over $20,000. I could not justify the extra money for new, no matter how nice a new plane sounds.
I may decide to install a brand new Rotax 582 Blue head and I'll still be way ahead on the money part. I would like the more agile handling of the Sprint but the huge price difference swayed me. The idea is low and slow, wind in your face fly with flocks of geese speeds to really appreciate flight and God's amazing beauty that just can not be enjoyed from a closed Cessna cockpit at 125MPH.
If you have the ROTAX 447 or 503 dump it, parts are no longer made and they are obsolete. You can get a Hirth F-23 and mount adapter plus a prop from Andy and have an unparalleled 103 legal ball of fun no matter where you wind up on the globe.0 -
Good luck. Be careful out there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCjctaBMA8g0 -
Smitty500mag wrote:
Experimental for a reason.0 -
Most of those were weight shift machines and paid the price for an aerodynamic stall.select-fire wrote:Smitty500mag wrote:
Experimental for a reason.0 -
Better you than me. 0 -
Here I am in 1982 flying my Goldwing ultralight at Sun n Fun in Florida. My buddy also had a Goldwing, and between us, we bought a Quicksilver.
See, we had a dealership for the Goldwing and for the Quicksilver. Never sold a single airplane but we had a lot of fun. Plus it was a tax write off.
That Quicksilver was a nice ultralight and a lot of fun to fly. Low and slow as you said but it was a lot of fun. Pretty safe.
I am astonished that Quicksilver is still in business. Back in 1982 there were dozens of ultralight companies, and most of them closed up after a few years. Goldwing is long, long gone.
Did you say that a new Quicksilver would cost $40,000? My brother and I have been talking about buying an ultralight to share but can't pay $40 grand. I remember in '82 that Goldwing cost $4,200 but it was a kit that I had to put together, foam and fiberglass composite.0 -
allen griggs wrote:
Here I am in 1982 flying my Goldwing ultralight at Sun n Fun in Florida. My buddy also had a Goldwing, and between us, we bought a Quicksilver.
See, we had a dealership for the Goldwing and for the Quicksilver. Never sold a single airplane but we had a lot of fun. Plus it was a tax write off.
That Quicksilver was a nice ultralight and a lot of fun to fly. Low and slow as you said but it was a lot of fun. Pretty safe.
I am astonished that Quicksilver is still in business. Back in 1982 there were dozens of ultralight companies, and most of them closed up after a few years. Goldwing is long, long gone.
Did you say that a new Quicksilver would cost $40,000? My brother and I have been talking about buying an ultralight to share but can't pay $40 grand. I remember in '82 that Goldwing cost $4,200 but it was a kit that I had to put together, foam and fiberglass composite.
The prebuilt Sport II L SLA is about 40K. Quicksilver folded in Temucla Ca. a couple of years back. A Company that was a dealer for 40 years, Air-Tech, purchased all inventory and rights to the aircraft line. All parts for every Quicksilver ever built are still available. When they moved the inventory from California it took 43 semi trailers to get it all.
https://www.air-techinc.com/ultralight_aircraft.php
Since the 447 and 503 are no longer supported by the factory I would not get one used. The crankshafts are a three piece pressed assembly and no longer made. The Hirth is the go-to option and has proven to be a awesome powerplant for these planes. The difference is the Hirth F-23 is an opposed design that required re-engineering the adapter plates to mount below the wing. The 447 was 38HP the F-23 is 50HP with a 1,000 HR TBO.
If you buy the kit for about $11,500 add the Hirth motor and mount plus a prop you will be around $18,000 shipped to your door. It takes about 40 hours to put together. Everything is in blister packs, well documented with every nut bolt and cable being clearly marked for assembly. I REALLY want the new plane but can't pass up the deal I had presented to me.
If you are interested I suggest you call the factory in Reserve LA, they are awesome folks for sure. A guy named Matt imports the Hirth engines, you need to call him for lead times. http://www.recpower.com/
A wooden Culver prop is the go to item for the F-23 set up.0 -
I had made up my mind to buy an ultra-light in the late 70s. When I got to Lake Elsinore all three of the fixed based operators were gone. The ultra-light industry crashed & burned in a very short time. The ambulance chasing lawyers crushed an entire industry including even light general aviation aircraft. I have a private license for airplane single engine land & gliders & I flew ultra-lights & hang gliders but that was over forty years ago.
Biggest problem was I put on too much weight & we lost a lot of small airports.0 -
If you were really getting back to basics, you would be growing wings. 0 -
allen griggs wrote:
Allen, don't you think it would have worked better if you weren't flying the thing backwards?0 -
Worked for Orville & Wilbur. 0 -
Flying is an amazing feat for a human. Birds do it almost effortlessly, we ground dwellers need horse power to get airborne. The canard wing aircraft is a great design, it helps with control and eases the stalling characteristics for easy flight. Anything that can help you recover from an aerodynamic stall is good in my book.
The lift that is created by simple aluminum tubes, a few cables and Dacron fabric covering the wings and tail is really cool. Anyone can fly with just a few lessons, or even none. Once you get the hang of it flight is easy, landings are mandatory and a bit trickier to learn. Flying at 50 feet and 40MPH is exhilarating, nothing can sharpen your senses like seeing the ground go by low and slow. It brings the earth and its bounty into a totally new perspective. I truly love flying.
Anyone with common sense and the ability to drive can fly. It takes a lot of effort and time to do it safely and keep within the boundaries of the FAA regulations that are lessons learned in blood. If you do it right, it is safe but it is also unforgiving when you exceed the flight envelope.0 -
Is it any thing like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8-Z8ReQtmM0 -
When my son was a freshman in college he thought we wanted to persue a flying career so we bought him flying lessons, he did twenty or so hours with an instructor and then we started looking for a used 172.But, then after about 10 or so hours solo he decided is was not for him. Said he got bored up there. 0 -
Geri wrote:Is it any thing like this?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8-Z8ReQtmM
Yes! The Challenger II is a great plane, my friend at HEAVENBOUND AVIATION built one for a retired Airline pilot that spent over 70K on it with a full glass cockpit! The issue for me is my wide shoulders and rigid neck makes getting into it a chore.
This is the plane I got. Now I will spend a month or two making sure all is good-to-go before I ever go airborne in it. The actual plane I got is the SPORT II. By changing the wing configuration to the Sprint it allows me to take off in less that 100 feet and go low and slow, just what I want out of it.
https://www.air-techinc.com/ultralight_aircraft_details.php?ptid=1360
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