Introduction

[jeff42899]

Hello all! I want to take a moment and thank you all for the help and tips you've provided while reading through all the posts the last few months. I'm training for my sport pilot certificate in a CTLS and hoping to purchase one in the next year or so. At this point I've been cleared for solo but haven't done it yet. Weather in the Cleveland, Ohio area has been interesting lately but I'm still getting hours in, just not first solo type weather.  Most importantly, I'm having a blast. I've wanted to do this my whole life and at 50, it's time to make it happen! Pics are the plane I'm using to train. It's a great little plane out of KLPR and I'm blessed to have a light sport 15 minutes from the house. The last pic is life flight helicopter landing right behind me after finishing some flight time last weekend. I almost wanted to tell them come back later... I haven't crashed yet. (Joke... They are based out of this airport) 

I believe someone around me has a CTSW (KCGF maybe?) I'd love to buy fuel to see the difference between the CTLS & CTSW. 

 

 

 

[redegg]

congrats Jeff! there are DOZENS of us (sport pilots)

pre-solo is great for fueling anxiety and weather just adds to that. Looking forward to hearing that you've soloed!

[Towner]

Congratulations Jeff! The CTSW is a great plane also, but I doubt you’ll find one with as nice a panel as you are flying now! My SW has more than enough panel for vfr, but yours would be cool to have.

Anyway, good luck with your training and finding an airplane!

[Mike Koerner]

Jeff, Congratulations... and that's a very pretty airplane.

Here are some questions for anyone familiar with CTLS design details: That super-big tail beacon is mounted on the rudder, forward of the hinge line. I google CTLS images and don't see that on most of them. Is that big enough to significantly effect (reduce) pedal loads? (Its cross-sectional area is not large compared to the rudder blade aft of the hinge, but the drag coefficient for a cylinder is huge compared to that of the streamlined flow around the vertical and rudder.) Is it an LED? If so, why isn't it a more stream-lined? Or why not just put the strobe on the end of the inverted tail dorsal where the tail running light is? In fact, why not just replace the tail running light with a strobe so people comming up underneath you can see it too? (We've got other lights for people coming at you from the front).

[Tom Baker]

Mike, that is the standard beacon for the CTLS, except for some later airplanes that use Whelen ACL lights on the wingtips. That picture makes it loo much larger than it actually is. It is in the same location as the beacon on the CTSW, and the foot print is the same, and it is a direct replacement. I have not heard of any difference in flight characteristics for those who have swapped them out.

 https://position-lights.com/en/lichter/erbis

[Animosity2k]

Jeff, I started my training in that very same plane. Half way through I flew to California and purchased my current CTLSi. I was just up visiting Tristan the other day and saying Hi to Deb. I'll be flying into LPR in the next week or two to drop the plane off for annual so you may see it around. It's due for the 5 year rubber and wing inspection as well so feel free to ask Jim to pop in the maintenance hangar if you care to see what one looks like torn into! Feel free to message me anytime and we can exchange numbers. I'm currently based out of Cuyahoga County (KCGF) over on the east side. Glad to see another local here! They are amazing planes and I've been fortunate to take mine all around the US. 

[Mike Koerner]

Thanks Tom.