Ever feel people are rooting for you to fly?

twdeckard

twdeckard

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jun 7, 2008
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Minneapolis
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twdeckard
Musing about the pressures on recreational flying and the folly of 100K+ LSA's. What are the sentiments that will keep flying going?

Went out out to the airport early Saturday to pick up a co-worker, his daughter, and perhaps his future son-in-law for a scenic/birthday flight.

With a roof full of snow, hanger door was bowed out and taught as a mousetrap, and I called to indicate the mission was at risk. But it was beautiful so I started pounding around the base of the door with the ice-spud. After some determined swearing I actually managed to spring the door free.

The prudent thing to do would have been to apply my energies to the icy hanger apron but instead I pulled the car around and rigged up my come-a-long to the bumper frame to the cart winch to the tow bar. The geometry of this lame rube goldberg thing meant cranking it forward 6ft, undoing the winch and moving the car, rinse, repeat. A club member I had never met came up and offered to replace machinery and stupidity with more muscle.

I agreed, and went to pull the car to the end of the alleyway and when I looked back there were now three enthusiastic fellows wrangling the airplane over the slick ramp -- it looked like ants trying to drag a grasshopper -- and every little ridge in the ice was a backbreaker. By the time I had waddled back to the hanger they had it neatly lined up on the ramp.

When I came back, my Samaritans were off flying but by strategically parking in front of one of my hanger neighbors just as he was about to take the Cirrus out I inadvertently enjoined another volunteer who was now committed to helping or watching me spud away a cessna wide lionel train track back back into the hanger for an hour. Together with the line fellow we had it backed into the dock in no time.

The reason for this essay. It seemed like everyone was "rooting" for me to go flying. I would have thrown in the towel pretty easily but there was so much enthusiasm to get the thing tugged out and and tucked back in that I couldn't resist.

As it was I didn't realize that my mission was a Suprise and I would have stood up some wonderful passengers.

Just a short note and a reminder to myself to "pay it forward"
 
Amen, brother.
 
When I drove by my hangar complex yesterday, some dope was trying to re-wire his EGT probes. I had to quickly decide whether to stop and help or let him sweat it out alone. He may still be there for all I know. Life in the city.

SCCutler said:
Amen, brother.
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(shakes head in shame)

OBTW, they worked. :D
 
Because the LSA was supposed to be the sop to the little guy.
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If they would stop trying to make everything on the damn things out of composites and stick with fabric and metal, they wouldn't be so expensive (and might actual do something other than fragment in a hard landing or crash). I am not a huge fan of LSAs* and think it's disgusting that some grasshopper with an MTOW less than the weight of my fiancee's scooter -and the LSA probably has less horsepower- costs more than an fully-equipped airplane.

*-in the sense that I won't fly them or ride in them...to each and to their own, so long as it's done safely.
 
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The $100K price for an LSA is a disappointment... I think both the industry and the FAA thought they could pull it off for less...
Better, Faster, Cheaper; pick any two - seems to be a law of nature...

It is easy and cheaper to make things heavy and strong...
It is difficult and costly to make things light and strong...
If you want an engine that has aircraft reliability, you need an 'aircraft engine' - which costs money...
You can put up with temperamental in a lawn mower, or a Ski-Doo, not in an aircraft... That means more expensive alloys, more engineering time, more test cell time, and thus more money...
And on, and on...

denny-o
 
SteveinMichigan said:
If they would stop trying to make everything on the damn things out of composites and stick with fabric and metal, they wouldn't be so expensive (and might actual do something other than fragment in a hard landing or crash). I am not a huge fan of LSAs* and think it's disgusting that some grasshopper with an MTOW less than the weight of my fiancee's scooter -and the LSA probably has less horsepower- costs more than an fully-equipped airplane.

*-in the sense that I won't fly them or ride in them...to each and to their own, so long as it's done safely.
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I won't get into the strength thing - I don't know enough, however the fabric and stick or tube LSAs aren't any cheaper. Priced a legend cub lately? A new champ? I'm not entirely sure what's driving the price - lack of volume, liability ... or some comination, but they're all north of $100K new.

John
 
Dr. O said:
The $100K price for an LSA is a disappointment... I think both the industry and the FAA thought they could pull it off for less...

....


denny-o
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Actually, they can. But the airplane will look more like a "fat ultralight" than what the majority of new LSA look like. This was what was envisioned, and perfectly functional LSA of that kind can be had for about half of what, say, a Tecnam Sierra goes for. They may feel like you're flying a lawn chair (actually, I think they're rather exhilarating to fly), but they are what FAA, EAA, etc. had in mind when the LSA rules were being drafted.

This is the sort of flying machine that was envisioned as an LSA:

s2sground-web1.jpg


Perfectly functional, well-suited for the purpose of recreational flying (and pretty much useless for any other purpose), and available for much less than $100K. And yes, very odd-looking to someone accustomed to more conventional airplanes.

But remember, SP was supposed to be limited to those who flew for no reason other than the joy of it. It also was supposed to reign in a bunch of cowboys who were already flying some odd-looking, but nonetheless proven contraptions. That these ultralight-style aircraft looked strange and were not very practical for any purpose other than fun was irrelevant to the original intent of the SP rule, which was strictly recreational.

-Rich
 
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