Sport Pilot Talk

Its called "Hangar Talk", not Humor Talk. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I read SportPilotTalk.com for information on flying and sport planes. But, I've seen enough nonsense and ridicule of those who think it should still be about flying and sport planes in recent weeks to rea...

Now I'm confused. I have one of the "GPS receiver thingy with the red dot, that you flop up on top of the panel" (a Dual GPS receiver) that you posted a photo of and it does not get ADS-B weather. There are some devices out there now that have the capability you describe, and they cost aro...

"It means BRP could theoretically be broken up" Paul, this is true for many companies, one way or another. I think the good news is that, as long as they make a product people want to buy and they can sell it at a profit, they are worth more together than broken up. Since I own a Rotax eng...

I wonder if ICON can enforce that requirement, other than by threatening to withhold warranty service. If I buy the plane, how do they get to keep their property in it?

Roger, Thanks for the information. Rotax is smart to have the program you describe. Mechanics are smart to get and maintain certification. Owners are smart to use well-trained and qualified mechanics. The goal of making sure qualified mechanics are easily identified and readily available to owners i...

The FAA decision was the right one. Otherwise, Rotax, or any other manufacturer, can specify any level of mandatory training for mechanics who want to maintain the manufacturer's products (and change them over time). In essence, they can hold the owners and the mechanics hostage to their rule, at th...

Seems like a case of counting chickens before they hatch to be calling Icon "the biggest future lsa manufacturer". I think it was James Thurbur who said "Predictions are difficult, especially when they are about the future". If I am not mistaken, Icon has not delivered a single a...

I said it before and it bears repeating. Sportpilottalk.com used to be a decent site for pilots of light aircraft to talk about flying and airplanes. I don't visit this site for anyone's insight into unions, politics, or a whole range of other non-flying related topics. But, that's just me.

Sportpilottalk.com used to be a decent site. Unfortunately, it has recently become an offensive joke. I can go to lots of other places on the Internet to find men making fun of women. I had hoped to actually learn about flying from other pilots on this site, but I am sadly disappointed.

Paul, we agree that as speed increases, hazard to occupants increases. But, again, the kinetic energy of the vehicle (airplane, car, etc) is not the issue. If it were, then a 15 MPH train crash should kill all of the train occupants (given the enormous kinetic energy of a train) and a 15 MPH bike ac...

Designrs - unless there is a mechanism to transfer the kinetic energy of the airplane to the occupant, then it isn't a factor( certainly not the dominant factor). If two airplanes were to hit something on the ground or in the air, then the damage done to the thing hit is proportional to the mass and...

Hi Paul, you wrote: "There's a safety reason for keeping the max gross weight low. Kinetic energy (which must be dissipated in the event of an accident) varies directly with mass, and with the square of velocity. Keeping the plane both light and slow significantly limits kinetic energy, which m...

One more thing... You wrote " So when I'm so slow that I am getting my propeller to turn me to the left (like on take off) and I have to kick a little right rudder in as I go from base to final (if the ball tells me so)." When taking off, high angle of attack and full engine power create a...

This is a little more complicated that it seems. First, is the ball true? By this I mean, when the airplane is truly level with respect to the horizon, is the ball centered? Many CTsw airplanes (mine included) have less than perfect calibration of the ball. This issue is often covered in books on ai...

Paul, nice description of the Rotax 912.