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Another great day at Copper City Aviation today! Our son Nick passed his commercial ride today, and maintained our 100% pass rate . Starting his CFI next!

My 28 yo son Will and I went on his second ever flight in the Flight Design. Will has Cerebral Palsy and intellectual disabilities and other health issues that have kept him from flying with me over the last year. We learned on last year’s flight that Will had difficulty keeping his feet still, especially during landing as he gets very excited... so... we had to get one of those fabulous metal guards that are featured on this site. Ultimately, I couldn’t buy one or have one built. Out of the blue I received a note from Okent announcing that he will build one for Will... months later we received it in the mail. And he wouldn’t accept any compensation. Who does that these days? Will felt well enough to go for the first time in ages so we went... it was hot and we had an almost direct cross wind with the infamous KSNC (Chester CT) shear thrown in... fortunately it wasn’t bumpy except on Final. The flight was a blast. Will is a bridge nut and we flew over the local bridges. The railroad (Amtrak) bridge that crosses the CT River was up letting the boats through... he loved that. When we landed I asked Will to grade my landing on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best. I was awarded an “8”, and he later added with a belly laugh “for a really bad carrier landing”... he was right ! we put the plane away and he asked if I could take a video of him standing by the plane... he reached in to his side and grabbed the guard and he wanted to pass along his thanks... completely unrehearsed. Our family is super grateful Okent... we will pass it forward as soon as we find the opportunity. Thx !! Click on video... here... https://youtu.be/T9UcoiZkb4s

Do not disregard this. Read if you have had a hose change on your 912iS engine. This is from me and not a factory alert. It's a hard core FYI. Due to a difference in hose 9.5mm and fitting 7.5, Oetiker clamps shouldn’t be used on the 912iS engine fuel supply hose that attaches on the fuel rail fitting. It could come off. The Oetiker for that size of hose does not crimp down far enough. We are not talking about the Band-It clamp on the fire sleeve. We are talking about the clamp on the rubber hose. I would highly advised before the next flight that if you have had a hose change on your 912iS engine that you remove the top cowl and pull on the right side top fuel hose that attaches to the fuel rail. It may slide off. If you have an Oetiker clamp on the rubber hose remove it and install a Band-It clamp which can compress the hose more and prevent it from coming off.

Good weather recently, so I did a 25 hour loop. Pics presented without comment or context.

While practicing in the pattern yesterday doing touch and goes, I had a bit of a hard landing. At touch down, I swear I heard something from AHARS. Took out the flaps, full power and back in the air. Once airborne, I asked the CFI if he heard that. Did the airplane just say "Geeze!" to me? He was laughing his butt off and didn't answer so I said it wasn't great for the ego for the plane to criticize me. Once he finally stopped laughing (probably mid field on the down wind) he said it was likely an instrument "accelerometer" saying "G". Of course the natural question was if the landing was actually that hard and he said no. It wasn't hard enough to hurt anything and while not ideal, not terrible either. So, many better landings later and feeling a little bit redeemed I did a full stop and was done for the day. I'm pretty sure that rascal was still smiling at me and giving me grief as I walked away.

The famous Alton Bay (on Lake Winnepesaukee, NH) B18, is open for flights this week. B18 is the only ice airport in the lower 48 recognized by the FAA. The State owns it, the FAA approves it and the fabulous volunteers plow and manage it. Kent W and his Husky posse flew up later and I filmed them all landing. I left my very cold (12 degs) airport and arrived at a colder B18 at 9am. There were 5 of us in the pattern and by my count another 7 planes within 10 miles on their way in. I was behind my friend in a c170 who was approaching the base turn, and a 180 cut right in front of me... a first. Whatever, I elongated my downwind but the Cirrus behind me was pissed at the 180. Cirrus ultimately had to go around. Part of the adventure. Everyone there was in a great mood, a combo of the very cool airport, the helpful volunteers watching out for newbies like me skidding into other planes, people, dogs, snowmobiles, ice fishermen and a lot of pent up demand to mingle (with masks on mostly). A winter carnival atmosphere. My photos are terrible and there are first rate videos on the net if you are interested. I only post for proof ; ). Go if you can, for obvious reasons the ice conditions have to be perfect and it doesn’t last long.

I haven’t been anywhere far yet, but my first flights have been fun none the less. my first flight after my checkride was with my father. He had no clue I was training. Even the AM of our flight I just told him i had a surprise and I was picking him up in the AM. He only put two and two together when we were in the hanger and he saw a CTSW with two seats and two of us were standing there. He had a shit eating grin the entire flight from KSAF to KAEG. My second flight was with my daughter. I asked if she wanted to go horseback riding or flying for her birthday. She chose to fly. We just went sightseeing for an hour and did a few touch and goes before calling it a day. She was nervous right until we took off. After that she had the time of her life.

So i splurged on a new 360 action cam. Insta 360 R. So far on my first edited video i am quite pleased with the quality and the stabilization. Camera was mounted on the provided stick and the camera was bouncing ALOT, as can be seen on the close up wing shots, yet still managed to give very good video for the distant view. I will opt for a stiff aluminum tube in the future as opposed to the provided retractable stick. Note on the Insta360 in case anyone wanting to buy one; the bad; Battery life 1 hour max Need a Iphone 8 or better to edit the videos on your phone (or equivalent Android) While editing, the camera connection to phone kept freezing up/crashing. Other than that im still happy with the camera and amazing features.

When you need an expert Rotax service tech for a 914 or any 912 series engine look no further. There is a Rotax expert for any of Rotax 4 stroke engines and we have one of the top Avionics’ tech in the state. There are two Rotax mechanics to take care of your aircraft and engine and rates are very reasonable compared to most shops. One mechanic is an LSRM-A that specialists in Light Sport aircraft and the other Rotax mechanic is an A&P / IA that's a specialist for 914's. Our times to perform most maintenance like annuals or 5 year rubber changes is very quick. An annual can take just two days. A Rotax 5 year rubber change is two days. Most people that fly in from around the country just grab a hotel for a couple of days site seeing around Tucson and southern Arizona and then back in the plane to head home. Our avionics tech is absolutely one of the best and can do just about anything you need. Transponder certifications are quick and inexpensive. In need of an ADSB install or work or other types of avionics installs and troubleshooting look no further. This gentleman can do it all. We are lucking to have such an avionics talent.

The CT series is *not* an easy airplane to learn how to land. Low inertia, narrow gear...there are several things working against the pilot. Definitely use Eric's documentation, he's got as much time as anybody instructing in a CT. Here are some quick thoughts (keep in mind I fly a CTSW and not a CTLS, but they are very similar): * The most common cause of bad landings is a high flare. It's easier said than done, but you have to flare low. I have often described landing the CT as "playing chicken with the ground". I used, on every landing, say out loud "all the way down" in the last few feet to remind myself to get lower than felt comfortable. The flare window is narrow because the CT's low weight means it has very little inertia. So when you flare with power off, speed bleed off very fast. If you are high the airplane gets slow while still a foot or two over the runway, gets into excessive sink, and drops onto the runway in a "carrier style" landing. To compound the problem, you might still be fast enough to have directional control issues on the runway if you over-control the rudder/nosewheel pedals. * All of the above behaviors are magnified with higher flaps settings. 15° is more forgiving than 30°, and 35° or 40° is even less forgiving. The extra drag just makes the speed bleed off from a high flare even worse. You should not be afraid of higher flaps settings (see my next point), but just be aware of the differences. Also higher flaps settings in high crosswinds are a real handful. I have landed at 30° at 15G19 crosswind, and it was quite a ride. I usually use 15° flaps if the crosswind component is over 8-10kt. * Excess speed is not your friend when landing the CT. The whole "add a few extra knots for safety" will not serve you well in the CT. Extra speed will lead to the airplane floating a *long* way and/or having directional issues on touchdown. A slow approach and landing at 30° flaps in low winds is a real pleasure and feels like you are at walking speed on touchdown. When solo I use 55kt at 15° and 50kt at 30° as my final approach speeds. This is not really near stall, but is slightly below the "standard" 1.3 * Vso; when landing on grass in low winds I often use 48kt, and have gone as low as 46kt when landing in a short field (~1200ft). But 55/50kt are good numbers with good margins. You might have to adjust your patterns to be tighter and closer to the runway if you want to avoid needing power on final. Good luck!

So three weeks back after a re test for (of all things busting airspace) I finally passed my checkride. The night before Christmas Eve I decided to make a last minute decision to fly up to NYC with a friend and overfly the Hudson River from Cleveland Ohio! I posted on a few online groups and most everyone thought it sounded sort of absurd as a new pilot, and more so on less than a 15 hour notice before departing. I hopped onto FAASafety.gov and took my "Hudson River Exclusion" class and printed out my paper certificate and slid it into a nice shiny page protector to make it look more prestigious! I called up Kent Wien and let him know we were coming and he met me and a friend at POU! Within 25 minutes of meeting up with Kent we were off again and on the way to the Hudson. I must say as someone who just failed a checkride for busting airspace in the easiest area ever I was a little nervous! Turns out it was quite an easy trip to fly from POU. All I had to do was stay under 3,000 ft ( chose 2,500) then dropped down to 900 by the time we hit the Alpine Tower at the top of the Hudson which was my first check point to start calling out on the Hudson CTAF. After flying down the Hudson and circling the Lady about 5 times I decided why not try and call up Laguardia and ask for a Bravo clearance into the East River and I'll be damned they approved it and handed me off to JFK for the rest of the East River. I had the trip of a lifetime! We flew over 8.5 hours in one day, it was quite the work load but I loved it. It was almost as fun as ferrying the CT home from California! I'm not sure if it's because it was Christmas Eve or what but outside of maybe 6-7 helicopters we were the only Fixed Wing flying in the area! IMG_0512.MOV

I found a pic of the condition... note the bolt "sagging"... fortunately, it is fairly long and there is still enough in the machined steering block to work. The clicking feeling was the bolt sloshing around. I learned that in the event of a failure, the other rod will provide backup... nonetheless, these bolts should be part of the pre-flight checklist. The fix was a new bolt and locktite. You may have a different setup in the SW, mine is an LS. If it is a bolt, it is a quick fix, if the rod requires replacement then you will have to fuss around with the procedures in the manual as WmInce described above due to tracking etc... In my case, the Flight Design Dealer checked everything out, etc... and signed off on the fix.

We had a "good day" window here in Connecticut between snow storms. I felt confident enough to take my 20 yo son up to the famous Sky Acres airport restaurant in NY State (44N) as my first pasenger . Sky Acres is a 70 ish mile trip from home. My in-shape son and his out of shape Dad filled the tanks up to 1,250 GW... the most weight I had experienced in the CT before without a CFI. We still climbed out at an honest 800 fpm and I wasn't trying. It was a bit breezy, mostly just a glancing cross wind down the runway so I decided to land at zero flaps. Final was too fast because I came in too high but managed to get it on the ground in time for the first turn off. Had a great breakfast and quickly got back in the plane for the flight back as the clouds on the horizon looked a tad on the dark side... Getting licensed again and buying the plane were fun... but there is nothing in this world more awesome than taking a family member up flying to "get breakfast". A milestone I have been dreaming about for years... I admire the young pilot/Dads and Moms who are taking their young children on flying adventures... nothing beats it. Fly safely everyone, Andrew

My best photo from yesterday's shoot is one of 'my' airport - Mammoth Yosemite Airport at sunrise KMMH

I bought my 07 CTSW almost 3 years ago not knowing anything about LSA airplanes. Turns out to be the best num nuts purchase I’ve ever made! This forum has made the difference between a bad experience and an awesome one! Thanks everyone!

Around 7 hours of work, and the washing I even had assistance. Hand washed twice over, then applied and removed wax with a rotary polisher. Even got the exhaust stains out on the belly, which was the hardest part. After this, I decided a rotary takes too much work. While they are powerful machines, they need a LOT of skill and control to use, and being on ladders instead of scaffolding, or pressing it overhead, or in weird leaning positions, it's just too difficult and I had a couple strikes when it got away from me (marred paint). I sprung for a proper weekend warrior polisher after this, a Griot G9 and wax red pads, will see how it works out. There are also some old repair sites that I'll redo the glaze and paint, as well as the strike areas. Will also do paint correction one day and get it to a true mirror finish with a ceramic wax that I'll switch to, but this already was some ridiculously good results with what I had, I expect good things from this G9 when I finally get to use it.

This discussion should really be split. We've been talking about E-PROPS and now are changing to Sensinich. Apples and oranges. The E-PROPS is set for 5500 +-50 level flight WOT and the company can explain why. I'm posting this just so we don't start getting pitch settings confused between the two types of props.

It finally happened. A nice flight to Santa Ynez, CA. Coming in to land, another CT holding short for me. A made a “not so graceful “ landing in front of one of our own pilots! Darn! Must have been the new tires I put on Yesterday!

My airplane is a 2006 CTsw. My flap actuator unit (linear actuator) was making a grinding noise in cold weather. So, I decided to fully rebuild the unit. What follows is my description of the full disassembly and reassembly. This is my process. I have no idea whether is it correct for your airplane nor whether you have the ability to perform the rebuild. Consider this post to be for your entertainment only. I am not responsible for anything you do to you airplane. Also, my airplane has Experimental registration and I am, consequently, permitted to perform maintenance on it. First, in this description, I will call the larger black anodized tube (that remains stationary during flap movement) the "outer tube" and the smaller diameter tube (that moves during flap movement) the "inner tube" (see photo). The cast lead screw gear housing will be called the "cast housing." The photo of parts on the yellow pad includes all parts except the two pivot screws that attach to the external holes on the large collar at the bottom of the outer tube (in addition to serving as a pivot, they also secure the cast housing to the base of the outer tube). The parts depicted on the yellow pad are NOT in any special order and should be used solely to see what each part looks like and not as a guide to the order of assembly. As noted by Corey in an earlier post, the order of the parts is critical (and their orientation matters, since there are four spring washers (conical or belville washers), the larger two of which are located between the cast housing the base of the outer tube into which it inserts and the other two of which provide preload to the ball bearings). The two larger spring washers are oriented such that their outer edges are in contact (and so that they form a shape like a flying saucer). There are a couple of steps during disassembly that must be done with proper tools and technique or the parts will be damaged. My first step was to remove the entire unit from the airplane. It is a very tight fit to remove when all of the flap regulator parts are attached (the assembly with microswitches, potentiometer, etc). As mentioned by Corey, I put the flaps in the lowest position and then used duct tape on the flaps/wings to prevent additional downward movement when the actuator was removed. I had to remove the interior light from the bulkhead between the cabin and the baggage compartment to make room. If you can disconnect the wires to the flap actuator that will help. On my airplane the wires to the flap regulator mechanism had no nine-pin connector (later airplanes have this convenient connector) and so after removing the linear actuator from the flap mechanism, I removed all those parts and left them, wires attached, in the baggage compartment. Removing the actuator requires removing the bolt from the upper pivot and keeping track of the brass bushing in the top eyelet of the actuator. If the top of the actuator does not come free, you may have to loosen the other bolts of the assembly to which it is attached. This is not difficult. Next, I removed the two pivot screws on the sides of the actuator. Doing so required removal of two screws on the two brass pivot bushings and removing the small aluminum retainer that covers the pivot screws (this assembly prevents the pivot screws from loosening over time). I used an offset screwdriver (flat blade) to remove the pivot screws. Make sure your screwdriver fits the slot since this part is retained with loctite. Once I had the actuator out of the airplane, I removed the motor unit by removing the four Phillips head screws. Separate the motor housing from the cast housing. Keep track of the two tiny washers on the reduction gear assembly. One of them can retained by grease in the cast housing (look for it) and the other is below the removable reduction gear assembly (the reduction gear slips off of its shaft). Once the motor housing is removed, it has only the removable reduction gear assembly and the two washers. I lost a washer and replaced it with a McMaster part (Chemical Resistant PTFE Plastic Washer for M2.5 Screw, Size 2.7mm ID, 5mm OD, pack of 50, Part # 95630A10). It seems to work. Next, I removed the large eyelet that is screwed into the top of the inner tube. Before you do this, NOTE THE ORIENTATION OF THE ALUMINUM BRACKET WITH RESPECT TO THE FLATS OF THE LARGE EYELET. THIS MUST BE REINSTALLED IN THE SAME ORIENTATION DURING REASSEMBLY (THERE IS NO KEYWAY OR FLAT TO KEEP IT PROPERLY ORIENTED). There is a small setscrew that must be removed first (also held in place with loctite - I used heat and plenty of it). To remove the eyelet, I had to hold the inner tube so it would not rotate. I used a set of properly sized V-blocks in a vice. I had to heat soak the eyelet and top of the inner tube with my heat gun set at 1000 degrees. I was then able to unscrew the eyelet assembly. Note that these parts are easily damaged. Heat is your friend here, the eyelet was installed with a lot of loctite in the threads. Once the top eyelet was removed, I removed the large lead screw drive gear. It is held in place with a tight fitting roll pin. Again, I supported the assembly with V-blocks and positioned the gear so that I would not damage the gear teeth when driving the pin. I tapped the pin out of the gear and then separated the gear from the screw (with the pin out, the gear slips off of the lead screw). Now, the lead screw can be turned until it is removed from inner tube (the plastic nut in which the lead screw turns is secured in the bottom of the inner tube and can be seen in one of the pictures). At this point, the unit is disassembled sufficiently for complete cleaning and inspection. As the old saying goes, re-assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Be sure the two ball bearings/races/spring washers are meticulously clean. Note correct position of the white semicircular plastic part from earlier posts in this thread. Note that the lead screw gear has the lower race for the upper bearing and the upper race for the lower bearing pressed fitted (I did not attempt to remove, I saw no need to do so). There has been prior discussion of grease and I am no expert. I used a moly-based grease sold by the firearms parts vendor, Brownells. I had it on hand. Because the lead screw nut is plastic, I am not sure the specific lubricant is critical. The reduction gears are metal and need an appropriate lubricant. (Added: Madhatter recommended Dow Corning #33 in a response to this post). If you purchase a new actuator from FD USA, note that the upper eyelet will not have the two machined flats and will not fit as shipped. You will either have to machine them (recommended only if you are good with a milling machine) or transfer your existing eyelet and drill and tap for the set screw. You will also have to use lots of heat to soften the loctite, as mentioned above. See my caution (ALL CAPS) above during reassembly. Once assembled, you can bench test the actuator by energizing the motor. Reversing polarity of the leads to the motor will reverse its direction. Remember, on the bench, the microswitches will not limit travel so, DO NOT RUN THE MOTOR TO THE STOPS, YOU WILL DAMAGE THE UNIT. A couple more items: The black plastic plug can be pried out and pushed back in to the cast housing. And, I replaced the four Phillips head screws that secure the motor unit to the cast housing with Allen-head cap screws (M4 12mm length) with new lock washers. Easier to remove with the unit installed in the airplane. The job is not difficult. Removing and re-installing the unit and and flap regulating mechanism was tedious, however. There are several opportunities to destroy the unit if proper procedures are not followed. A new unit from FD is about $800. Hope this helps someone. Ps: In case you were wondering where I have been, I built a RANS S-20 which now has 200 hours (Rotax 912, Oratex fabric, full dual screen Skyview with AP, tricycle gear).

Hendersonville (0A7) to Ocrakoke (W95). About 350 NM each way. Walked the beach. Had lunch at Howard’s Pub. Rented a golf cart and explored the area. Great fun. Highly recommend. The runway is on the beach. 2:45 getting there. 3.5 getting back because of winds. About 100 miles from home sky got very hazy at 6500 feet and had wisps of smoke flashing by. From out west. Ugh. Love my CT.

CAS and TAS diverge because of the thinner air. You gain 2% of true airspeed per 1000 feet. This is because the thinner air does not create as much drag for a given TAS vs denser air, so if you continue to generate the same amount of power, you will have a surplus, and your true airspeed increases. This true airspeed is only for the purpose of ground reference, aka, how fast you are going between two points, and wind correction is the next step. Calibrated airspeed, however, is indicated airspeed adjusted for instrument installation error. No instrument is perfect, no pitot system is perfect. In general, IAS and CAS are almost the same at cruise speeds, while they will diverge a little at higher AoA and slower speeds. Dynamic pressure is what we care about though when it comes to how the airplane will behave, its structural integrity, etc. This is measured with Calibrated Air Speed in small aircraft. Comprehensibility effects become significant at high speed, that's why fast aircraft used mach number. But let's just stay focused on CAS. As an aircraft flies at low altitude, it is flying at 100 knots through thick, dense air, with a lot of mass, it is going to strike a number of air molecules per second. If that airplane were suddenly teleported 20,000 feet higher, there would be a lot less mass, so all forces on the body of the airplane would be cut significantly. It would experience a sudden loss of lift, a dramatic decrease on the airspeed indicator, and quite possibly stall if it's already close to it. During the fall, it picks up airspeed, and the pilot recovers and holds steady. Let's say it's got a turbocharger, so it keeps the same power development. Instead of traveling (to a ground observer) at 100 knots before, now it's traveling at 135 knots. That is its True Airspeed. However, the airplane and structure still acts like its 100 knots. Controls still feel like they're at 100 knots. That's because the dynamic pressure equation components have changed. The air molecules are spaced further apart, so if the airplane must increase in speed through the air (TAS) in order to maintain the same dynamic pressure. It needs to hit more molecules per second at a higher velocity to have the same aerodynamic forces that it experienced when it was at a lower altitude. This also translates to VNE. VNE is about overstressing the airplane, in reaction to all that force generated from hitting air molecules per second. Fewer molecules in an air parcel means the airplane must move faster to experience that same force. Your airspeed indicator, just like the airplane, experiences forces from the air just like the wings. If the air is more dense, you don't have to move as fast to get the same reading that you do at higher altitude. High altitude, less dense air, fewer particles being struck, and so less pressure will register on the sensor unless your airplane is moving faster. So, in effect, your airspeed indicator is almost a direct measurement of energy being imparted on the aircraft structure and lifting components. Correct for calibration, and it's about as close as you're going to reasonably get, so use CAS for VNE. Something to try: climb as high as you can and then try to fly at a couple knots above stall speed using TAS. Can't be done, you would stall every time if it's calibrated properly. Try it with CAS, and now it will act normally. PS. If VNE cared about TAS, it would be in the regs and in your AFMs. It only lists CAS/IAS becauss V speeds are a calibrated measurement.

Small airplanes exist to bring joy to life. Counting coins on everything you do or buy sucks joy from life. Choose which you want more. You might as well give up on aviation if you try to justify it financially…it will never work out as a net financial gain.

Have been spending a week or so each month in Montana, when Wes joined the forum a while back we connected a bit and this week worked for us to meet up and go for a hop. Pictures are not "Ed level" but dang, this is one heck of a place to be based out of (Livingston, just west of where I'm at in Bozeman). I can't wait to fly my bird out, commercial is such a drag but 1200 miles is not something easy to pull off with work on the line. We launched and flew south towards Yellowstone, then dropped down in the valley and followed Yellowstone river back.

I was absolutely STUNNED at how this turned out.

Last week I was asked to ferry a CTSW from British Columbia (BC) to Montreal. The new owner, Patrick, a low time UL pilot, wanted a CT NOW, and there is one for sale …….2300 miles away! Weather forecast was good for the week but western Canada was hit by a heat wave, which made the grounds VERY dry and caused many forest fires in BC and Northern Ontario, our planned route...as long as we could get out of the mountains, we should be OK. This 2006 edition is equipped with ‘usual’ dual Dynon, but has also a constant speed Kaspar propeller and 3 axis auto-pilot. I have flow with Dynons before, but first time with CS prop and AP (which we didn’t used). My 2005 CT has nothing of these ‘gadgets’. I wanted it light. So, we left from YUL (Montreal) on Saturday morning, and arrived to Cranbrook, BC in the PM where Heinz and Margot picked us up and drove to Fairmont Hot Springs airport where they live. That’s in the Rockies…but we didn’t see much of the mountains, as the area was surrounded by forest fires and the hour drive north gave us an idea of the terrain to fly back south the next morning. It was 30°C + and visibility was …low… to say the least. The rest of the day was spent to visit the plane and get acquainted with the various systems. All papers work done and Patrick went to bed now a new member of the CT flier’s community. We took off Sunday morning with no wind, but visibility marginal…sideways and a bit less ahead. Fairmont Hot Springs is located in the Columbia Valley in the Canadian Rockies between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains. I was glad I got some experience in ‘’valley flying’’ in New Zealand. (Thanks: John, Roy, Greg & Jacques #1). There is a VFR route on the VNC map, so, we kept the plane over the dotted line in the GPS and 2 hours later, we were in Lethbridge, Alberta, where the visibility had improved a little but at least we were over the prairies for the rest of the day so we could fly safely low level… as visibility was getting worst at altitude. We relaxed in Lethbridge, cleaned the windshield, cowl and wings of the zillion bugs and took off for Swift Current, SK, for a planned fuel stop. Then, we realized that we should have left with a prepared lunch in the morning… lunch was now our new ‘mission’… We landed in Moose Jaw municipal to found nothing but 4 bags of chips which didn’t last very long. There was nobody at the airport, located way out of town. We kept going east, visibility was getting better and found a grass strip adjacent to the small town of Grenfell, SK. Ten minutes walking from the field and we were sitting in a restaurant with a decent meal…it was really time for me… ouf! The next flight was for 3.2 hours and we landed at Lyncrest airfield, just outside of Winnipeg. A very nice (gorgeous) Bell 47 helicopter had just landed few minutes before us, and Scott, the pilot, gladly gave us a ride (by car) to the nearest motel. That was it for the 1st day, about 950 miles in 7.8 hours as planned… ALL GOOD…almost… as after removing the cowlings, we discovered some oil ‘trail’ under the belly and we had the voltmeter reading only 13.2 volt since the start… well…..something to look at once back home… …but we didn’t have to wait that long… Lyncrest is an ‘’recreational aviation’’ airfield and is home of the Springfield Flying Club. They have a nice club house and the next morning, a couple of members were there to help with the fuel. After refueling with Mogaz, and a thorough inspection of the plane, we headed east for Kenora, Dryden and Thunder Bay, our next stop for fuel and food. Half way, as our route was going south, the air was getting smoky again because Northern Ontario was also affected by numerous forest fires. We went back to IFR mode (I Follow Roads) and made it to Thunder Bay where we got a ride for the lunch and refueled with Avgaz. Next target, Sault-Ste-Marie, following the Lake Superior northeast shore all the way as visibility was very very very ordinary. About an hour later, and an hour before Wawa, the voltmeter started to indicated a lower voltage. 13.2…13…12.…11. 9.9 is the last # we saw before everything went black. No Dynons, no radio, xponder or intercom… Patrick’s Garmin 796 switched to battery power....and flying with the dial airspeed and altimeter…with rugged terrain below and not much of horizon ahead, side and below visibility were so so... but ok for now. We made it to Wawa, NORDO, with a dead battery … found a motel … and it was beer o’clock! Now what’s next Jacques? Patrick’s asking me: do you know anybody in Wawa…? Well, guess what… about a month ago, a guy on my field sold his 912 equipped Murphy Rebel to a guy from…Wawa! I called the seller, who gave me the new owner’s phone # …left a message and we went to bed with all kinds of scenarios in our heads. 6 am next morning, who’s knocking at our door…? The Rebel owner (Patrick as well) coming back from his night shift at the mine. He went to pick up his F250 and some tools and we headed to the airport, grabbing a coffee at the motel. We did some test to conclude that we needed another voltage regulator and why not another battery if we could find one. We drove to his place, removed the regulator from the Rebel, managed to get a battery that fitted the case (using some MacGyver tricks) and we were good to go by noon…. Voltage meter now showing…13.2 same as from the start…hum…??? So, we closed as many breakers as we could; (Lights & Autopilot). As we made it en route, the CS propeller was stuck to fine pitch, riding low and slow, IFR again, we reached Sault-Ste-Marie where visibility had improved a little but was very still hazy. Landing just before us, a C172 en route for North Bay (our next destination) and was coming back to file an IFR flight plan as VFR was not possible. Well…not looking good Patrick… let’s think about it. We had bought our lunch before leaving Wawa, and an hour or so later, we decided to give it a try. Meantime, we learned from the seller that the CS prop system was using the autopilot breaker. Ah ah! This was the source of the prop…blem. The terrain now was much more friendly and we could fly safely at low altitude (still IFRoad). The visibility kept getting better and from Sudbury to North Bay, it was very nice. North Bay has a 10,004’ runway, we thought it could be busy, but not. No COM on the frequency for the ½ hour before arrival. I think I woke up the controller. The voltage had stayed at 13.2 and the next morning, it was a smooth ride over fog banks covering the forest below. Petawawa military gave us permission to cross a CYR zone but away of CYR511, so we divert a little and made it to Gatineau, Québec and from now, COM were in français… A little rest, a good check under the hood and we’re ready for the last stretch to Beloeil airport CSB3 where Flight Design C-IZZI is now based. There are now 4 CTs in Québec, of the 21 in Canada. About 2300 miles and 20 hours flight later, we put C-IZZI in his new hangar, I drove Patrick home, we had a good lunch and I drove the 2 hours back home (CST7) with good memories and a voltage problem to solve. few pictures below

So I was adding up my logbook after returning from Oshkosh with the F2 and realized I crossed a few milestones on the way home. 1. Crossed 6000 hours total time. 2 . Crossed 3000 hours in Flight Design aircraft. 3. Got to fly the F2 across the U.S. with my lovely bride. 4. Got to fly out of Oshkosh for the first time. All and all an great trip I'd say!

Made it from Oshkosh back to Bisbee today. Was a marathon one day flight, but the F2 put up such great performamce numbers for us we had to keep going! The Garmin avionics suite worked flawless and rivals the Cirrus we fly. This is one heck of a plane and we can't wait to get our production F2!

Well I finally got her! "Lola" After swooning for the past few months I couldn't be happier to join the club. Picked up in Wisconsin and my first flight in the plane was over 1000nm to Montana. Had to divert slightly north away from building storms. Having weather on the Dynon really made that task easy as we were aware but kept getting more information throughout the flight effortlessly. Overnighted in Rapid City and got a chance of a lifetime to do a flyby of Mt Rushmore on our way west. Overall I just cant say anything bad. The CTLS is such a comfortable cruiser with so much capability. We operated near Max Gross most of the flight and still felt like the plane had power reserves and could climb as high as we needed, even in mountains. Peaked out at 10,000ft DA on the final leg of the trip. Coming through Mountains I am very familiar with but having the synthetic vision on the Dynon gave a really high level of confidence near terrain. We didn't cross any major ridge systems since I prefer to follow canyons and valleys as much as possible staying slightly above local peaks. happy new CTLS owner!!!

Just want to share some images from AeroJones Aviation CTLS Happy flying everyone

Hello everyone. We certainly share in the concern and interest in the situation that we had Monday evening. Please refrain from being a Monday morning quaterback. At this point it is not helpful to anyone to be telling others what you think happened. I do know all the facts and because the FAA and NTSB have not contacted us or obviously haven't finished a report, it is not appropriate for me or anyone else to try to and decide what happened. I know you are all interested and we can all learn from an experience like this, but it does take some time to evaluate the entire situation. I don't know who writes "Kathryns report" but I can tell you it is not at all accurate. I don't know what kind of problem the Battalion Chief has either that he can't tell the difference between a male and female. Please do not ask me for more details than I will provide below. We will leave it to authorities to do their job. This incident will provide plenty of things to think about for both training and future flights. This was a solo cross-country flight by a female student that has demonstrated skills and good judgement in her past flights, all appropriate for the hours she has logged. It was not an overrun of the runway, it was a go around. It is easy, after the fact to say, " she should have or I would have done this or that". The truth is none of use truly know how we will react when put into a real live situation like she was. That is why we try to train for as many what ifs as we can. The mind is a very complicated thing and fear can cause you make some decisions that are not the best. In these situations, there are usually multiple actions that can be used to achieve the final outcome. In my opinion, the decisions she made or didn't make and any mistake she may have made, the final outcome is optimal. She is alive and basically uninjured. She was able to get out of the wreck by herself, prior to arrival of anyone. She started make phone calls to her sister and instructor before help arrived. She was taken to the hospital where she received 3 stich's on her leg and was discharged that night. She is in good spirits and even attended our Saturday morning plane washing and cookout. She plans to get back on the horse as soon as possible. I will share more information when appropriate and will also share what changes we determine appropriate to training and flying the CTLS. Thank you for your understanding and respect to this situation.

Just wanted to follow back up for anyone that wondered what happened to me. I went out with my CFI today (first time since I got my license , maybe 70 hours ago) and practiced two hours in the pattern landing at 15* flaps in calm winds. I was able to nail every landing. Instead of focusing on the speed once I came over the fence I just focused on watching down the runway and holding the plane off as long as I could, in many cases this resulted in the start of the stall alarm. I think I did something like 30+ landings and had zero issues. Needless to say my confidence is back, and I don't need to worry about my ex ruining my flying! Thanks for all the pointers everyone had, you were all dead on with my airspeed being way to high. I was trying to land the plane well before it was ready to quit flying.

So I am sure you have already seen some of the amazing pictures of the newest flight simulator from Microsoft. It includes a global scenery database that is simply stunning. It almost makes me wanna go out and buy a PC just for this simulator, and I am not a simulator guy. The other exciting news is that in every version of the flight simulator 2020 the Flight Design CTLS is included. Perhaps that will get more people interested in Flight Design. It can’t hurt. Kent

Last Sunday, met former CT owner, current Husky owner, Kent W for breakfast. A bunch of pilots from my home field flew up as well... had a great time. Kent then asked if I wanted to fly down the Hudson and touch down in a grass field nearby. I had to pass on the Hudson tour as I had to help my youngest move to his new apartment. One of my home field pilots went with us in his C-170 to the grass strip. Here are the links to my landing and take off... Kent took the videos. Takeoff: Critiquing my landing, I remember it well. 1) Half way through base, I look down and I see a deep ravine and I unconsciously pulled up and that threw me off my pattern. 2) should have slipped on final to lose more altitude, and finally, I don't remember doing a 3 point landing, I thought I put it back on the mains but I didn't. It was like landing on a pillow... On takeoff, I used 30 degrees flaps. I didn't put the nose down quickly enough after I took off, I let the plane hang for too long... it's tough to see but there is a hill at the end of the runway and it was fun to have to fly to the left to avoid the hill.. which brought me right over a beautiful lake... a really fun flight and looking forward to practicing on grass again. Thanks Kent ! Finally, "one of these things is not like the other"... see the pic... Kent's Husky is crazy, I watched him take off in no more than 200 feet and then pretty much straight up...

It's stories like this, all through aviation, that remind us why this pursuit is unlike any other group / interest that people do.

Hello again! I've posted a video on YouTube showing the removal process:

Another one of the endless spectacular vistas we get flying Lake Powell area during the fly-in. Navajo Mountain under the wing with Gunsight Butte left and just a fraction of the huge body of water that is Lake Powell.

Ouch on the above photo's. For those that would like to come, I will post of few pictures of the area to a hasten your decision for next year. Notice Lee's plane in the second photo.

Hi Folks, What I'm about to say, goes without saying. You already know it... but I'm going to say it anyway because if I didn't and something happened, I would be kicking myself forever. When flying, especially in a light sport aircraft, you never have to be anywhere at any time. It would be the epitome of irony if you pushed into bad weather to make it to a required safety meeting. I just got back from my ninth coast-to-coast round trip in my CT. I scheduled the trip from Los Angeles to New York with 3 extra days in case I was grounded by bad weather, knowing that if it looked like I would be stuck longer than that, I would rent a car from wherever I was and drive the rest of the way (I've done that twice). I got there 3 days early this time. And as bad as I wanted and needed to get back home after my meeting, I was comfortable with waiting two days for the weather to clear enough for me to get started. Olav, Thanks for managing another Page fly-in. This is an absolutely great thing for the participates, for the CT community and even for general aviation at large. I wish I was able to attend again. Mike Koerner

As an experienced flight instructor with time (1,000 plus) in both CTSW and CTLS, this is bad advice. What you are advocating is a recipe for loss of directional control. It also leads to undo wear on the nose gear leading to nose wheel shimmy. I am an advocate of using 15° flaps in most situations, but I want the aircraft held off the ground to near stall speed, and continue to hold the stick aft. What I tell students is that you want to get the airplane as close to the ground as you can without touching, and then hold it off the ground as long as you can. Also it is hard to maintain longitudinal alignment without looking out the front and down the runway, even then alignment is difficult for some.

Best flight ever.... my oldest son decided that he was ready to go flying today. Will is a special needs adult and for weeks we practiced staying still, keeping a sterile cockpit while landing and making sure his feet are out of the way of the pedals. He was extremely nervous so we agreed to taxi around the airport and watch and listen to the planes take off and land using the headphones... which we have done countless times sitting in a car in airport parking lots. We started up and taxied 100 feet and he said “can we take off?” Of course... he laughed, pointed at every landmark, never seen a happier person in an airplane. Made it all worth getting the license and the plane. Great day. Posted a photo of the very cool Goodspeed Airport (42B) approach over the Connecticut River, and the bridge. The airport is top left hand side.

I just got my new GoPro Hero 7, so I went out on a flight with some friends on a tour of the local grass strips. My buddies are in a Blue/White Avid Flyer and a Yellow Legend Cub, if you see them in the videos. You'll notice I use a lot of slips to manage descent rate (sorry that puts my noggin in the way sometimes), and on grass I always use 30° flaps unless the wind is just howling. BTW my airplane has the small roller skate wheels/tires, and I did all these landings with the wheel pants installed. You guys with Tundra wheels have no excuses to not be landing on grass, and you are missing out on a lot of fun if you don't. My CT can land at 90% of the places the Legend Cub can, it's a pretty good short field airplane for what it is. First up is Aerie (1GA9). My friend with the Legend Cub owns this strip, and it's kind of our "base of operations" when our group gets together to fly. The runway is 2000ft and very smooth and well mowed. My landing is to the North over the trees. The South approach is a little easier, though not as much fun. Landing sequence starts about 1:45 into the video: Next up is Taylor Field (GA16). Owned by Larry Taylor, an 80 year old super-nice guy who still flies the same J3 Cub he's owned since 1974. The runway is 2100x50ft with the preferred landing uphhill. There is a pronounced hump in the runway right around where you would touchdown, so ideally you try to get down fast and land on the up slope of the hump. In this landing I was a little long and landed just past the crest on the down slope, which is also fine. What you *don't* want is to touch down on the crest of the hill, as you'll be back in the air on the backside with no energy and you'll put your gear in danger if you don't add power immediately. Grass was in need of a mow yesterday, but not out of control. Landing sequence starts at about 55 seconds in: Third on the hit parade is Southern Oaks (GE35). this is the shortest field in the series, at 1400x60 feet. But the landing is uphill and the approach is clear for a long way out, so it's actually a very easy place to land if your speed control is good. When we landed there yesterday the owner had just fertilized, so you could smell chicken shit a mile out from the runway... Landing sequence starts at 1:55 in the video: Last is Sleepy Hollow (GA18). This is a neat spot owned by the son of a very successful real estate developer who flies his Aviat Husky from there. It's 2600ft and has runways that are parallel grass (60ft wide) and concrete (22ft wide), and an easy place to land in either direction. In the video my buddy lands ahead of me in the grass and I land in the pavement. I almost forgot to turn on the camera, so the landing sequence starts right as the video starts: Those are the four grass strips I most commonly land at. There are a bunch of others we go to occasionally, I will get some videos of them as we hit them going forward. I also have takeoff videos from all these spots except for Sleepy Hollow; if anybody wants to see those I can put them on YouTube.

50 knots at 30 & 40 for me to. At this speed I can land in 1K ft. and less all day long. If you try to shave every last knot off one day you may be posting picks here of your smashed gear. There isn't enough to be gained by trying to shave a few knots off.

This trip was just way too awesome, i had to share some photos. Kites and kiteboard all ready to go.

Just a quick flight to this beautiful volcano. Lovin the CT to fly up here.

I am planning to attend with my wife. We will be flying our Sting S4 and it will be the first time for us. October is kind of long way off but that’s the current plan.

I was invited to go out with the airport "guys" for my first $100 hamburger lunch in the plane, ... 1 Bonanza, 2 Arrows., 1 Navion... and me in the CT. a total of 7 people. I flew alone, I left early to practice some t's and l's at home base (Chester, CT - KSNC) and then I turned the autopilot on and flew the 77 mile trip to the Mansfield airport in MA (1B9). Today's trip was a long trip for me and I didn't want the folks to wait. We all parked on the tarmac and as one guy said "nice toy". Meanwhile, I get a text out of the blue from my instructor: "if you are planning on flying today, wait until the end of the day, it's really really sporty" I texted back, too late, I flew to Mansfield. All at lunch mentioned how bumpy the ride it was. Our home airport is infamous for crazy winds and shear. Today didn't disappoint. Glad to hear at lunch that I wasn't the only one being tossed around during the trip to Mansfield. I do note that when the flaps are set at -6 degrees, the ride became smoother. The ride was indeed bumpy, but not "bad" honestly. I was bummed when the 43 minutes trip ended, I was having a blast. I left Mansfield first as I had the slower plane, the other guys followed. The Bonanza made it back to Chester first. The Bonanza guy mentioned on the radio that the landing was a little crazy... and the Cessna in front of me went around. This isn't going to be fun at all... I got into the pattern and the plane started getting tossed around but still in good control and I landed without a problem. The other planes came in. One of my pals called me and mentioned that he was impressed how the "Light Sport" handled in the shear and crosswind... and that I was welcome to go on any of their trips. I was invited to fly with the group to First Flight in North Carolina in May. Going over JFK is daunting, but... need to rip that bandaid off soon. Bottom line, the CT is a great performer. Anyone who is looking to buy/rent or learn in one, don't let the small size fool you... it is a good handling and comfortable airplane.

Yep, Buckaroo that’s mine! They buffed out the white and there is NO difference in the areas that had the old decals. So happy with the results and Flight Design USA’s Tom and Arian.

Installed my e-prop and completed 4 test flights at different wot rpm's on ctsw. The manufacturer of this prop recommends 5500 rpm wot as the overall best rpm for all flight parameters for the 912. The blades have a much smaller chord than any I have ever seen. I tried 5650, 5600, and 5500 with all variables the same, ( oat, baro, altitude, clean blades, 1/2 fuel, etc ). My original prop was a 3 blade Neuform and was flown just prior to the e-prop for comparison. 5650 and 5600 numbers were ok but the 5500 numbers were much better. Climb rpm now is 5300 at 1300-1400 ft/min, as opposed to 5000 rpm and 1100-1200 ft/min (less load on engine in climb). Cruise at 5400 is 115-116kts, at 5200 I get what I used to with the Neuform at 5400. Takeoff distance is much shorter( less than 6 kts wind today). A major difference for me is much less vibration, I used to get vibration when transitioning from cruise to reduced power settings in a descent until stabilized (I have heard others complain about this). Now I get no vibration. The prop also stops much easier due to being much lighter in weight. In evaluating this prop I tried not to split hairs, even with turbulence today. To me I had obvious performance increases but I am sure others will have to do their own evaluations, pilots and planes are all different.

So far, so Good! I personally like the new system, especially the "Activity, all Activity" view. In fact, I've saved an icon that takes me to that spot as my normal way to get into the forum. I've turned on a new feature.... the "Like or Dislike" reaction, similar to Facebook and Youtube. It'll help us track content. Be kind and let's keep things civil.