Sport Pilot Talk

Hello all,

I am a newbie in training for my Sportpilot certificate. Currently I am in the final preparations for my checkride. A few months ago I purchased a 2006 Evektor Sportstar. I picked the Sportstar because I had been training in one, it accommodates a tall person fairly well and has a relatively high useful load. It also is a joy to fly. Hopefully there are a few other Sportstar pilots out there to connect with.

Dave

Welcome!

Where in NC?

I am in the Raleigh-Durham area. I have the airplane at KLHZ

Welcome aboard, Dave. Congrats on acquiring your SportStar. I've had two (first a 2006 Plus, upgraded to a Max, and now a 2010 Max) for primary trainers in my flight school. They are comfortable and reliable aircraft that offer fairly good performance at low operating costs. Fly yours safely, and often!

Welcome to the forum, Dave!

drseti wrote:Welcome aboard, Dave. Congrats on acquiring your SportStar. I've had two (first a 2006 Plus, upgraded to a Max, and now a 2010 Max) for primary trainers in my flight school. They are comfortable and reliable aircraft that offer fairly good performance at low operating costs. Fly yours safely, and often!

I had the vortex generator kit installed, to bring it up to a Max, as soon as I got the plane.

Dave C wrote: I had the vortex generator kit installed, to bring it up to a Max, as soon as I got the plane.

Good move!

Welcome Dave and congrats on the purchase. My instructor also had a Sportstar but I'll admit I never flew it as I trained with him in my own SportCruiser. Very similar planes as I understand it and both made in the Czech Republic.

Enjoy !!

ShawnM wrote:Very similar planes as I understand it and both made in the Czech Republic.

Not only that, Shawn. Built on the same airport, and designed by the same engineer.

drseti wrote:

ShawnM wrote:Very similar planes as I understand it and both made in the Czech Republic.

Not only that, Shawn. Built on the same airport, and designed by the same engineer.

I thought I remember my instructor saying they were built at the same airport but I wasn't exactly sure. Didn't know about it being the same designer. Who'd ah thunk?

To meet the rest of the family, take a look at the Bristell. Then take a guess as to who built it - and where!

drseti wrote:To meet the rest of the family, take a look at the Bristell. Then take a guess as to who built it - and where!

I'm aware of that history with Milan. They say imitation is the best form of flattery, that's why the Bristell looks a lot like the SportCruiser.
Bristell is a great company with FANTASTIC customer service, they just sell EXPENSIVE planes.

The thing is that none of these expensive planes (180, 200k +) do anything better than mid range priced (140-160) or even lower brackets ( 100k , Aeroprakt etc ) ...

Same engine , same 80% of third party parts - perhaps a bit more refined finish and I guess leather seats.

They seem to position their products as luxury brands , which is fine , but imho they don’t offer enough difference to warrant their premium price.
Of course in a market when selling 15 planes a year is considered sucesss, normal market rules don’t really apply - the numbers are so small that there is enough ultra rich folks to make it work.

Warmi wrote:The thing is that none of these expensive planes (180, 200k +) do anything better than mid range priced (140-160) or even lower brackets ( 100k , Aeroprakt etc ) ...

Same engine , same 80% of third party parts - perhaps a bit more refined finish and I guess leather seats.

They seem to position their products as luxury brands , which is fine , but imho they don’t offer enough difference to warrant their premium price.
Of course in a market when selling 15 planes a year is considered sucesss, normal market rules don’t really apply - the numbers are so small that there is enough ultra rich folks to make it work.

I agree Warmi, my old and tired 2007 SportCruiser with all its bells and whistles is the same plane being sold today by CSA with the same engine. They ONLY come with the 912ULS because CSA has no imagination and now the newer planes are so heavy they can't offer any other engine. Sure the new SportCruisers have fancier EFIS displays, still Dynon, and a more updated interior but my plane is much lighter and much faster than the new ones being sold today and I paid about 1/3 of the cost of a new plane, which is to say way less than $100k just 5 years ago.

And your right, the new ones dont do anything better than my 2007.

It is a rich man's game today to get into the latest high end LSA. There are a lot of affordable LSA's out there, new and used.

I'm glad Dave C. (the OP) found a LSA he loves and familiar with since he trained in one. My instructor owned a 2007 Sportstar and he had a woman student who always wanted to learn to fly. When she got her SPL she also, like Dave C, bought a used Sportstar just like the plane she trained in.

ShawnM wrote:she also, like Dave C, bought a used Sportstar just like the plane she trained in.

One of my graduates bought the very plane he trained in! The day he passed his checkride, while the DPE was still filling out the paperwork, he made me a very fair offer on my first SportStar.