That's totally awesome. Just looking at it makes me want to run out and get a tailwheel endorsement.
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Moderator: drseti
Thank you for the report. Hopefully, those new floats will do the trick. Be sure the last 3 numbers of those floats are "189." Those are the latest and greatest iteration. So far, they have the best reviews and reputation.drseti wrote:The adventure continues! . . . . .
Fortunately, I have a friend who runs a Rotax shop about 90 miles away from where the plane was sitting (he was, in fact, a classmate of mine in a bunch of Rotax maintenance courses I've taken over the years). He had floats in stock, and another pilot based near him was in fact driving to my current airport this very evening. Short version: I got the new floats installed, drip pans back in place, and leak check satisfactory with fuel selector valve open and electric fuel pump running, all before dinner.
Tomorrow morning, I plan on another full-power run-up. If it's smooth and makes proper static RPM, with no fuel leaking, I'll recowl and go flying. Stand by for a further report.
Well weighing the floaters has been part of the Rotax inspection checklist since 2015.FastEddieB wrote: This whole ROTAX float fiasco is really unfortunate. I’m thinking just weighing them every annual, which I just started doing, is still a reasonable precaution. At l least until they settle on a final, final, FINAL revision!
Well, did not make it onto my checklist until this year. They checked out fine, so no harm, no foul!3Dreaming wrote:
Well weighing the floaters has been part of the Rotax inspection checklist since 2015.
Bingo!FastEddieB wrote:Am I right in visualizing that that results in a slightly richer mixture on the side with the heavy float, since it takes more fuel to close the needle into the seat?
Yep, it was.FastEddieB wrote: Hope the heavy float was it.
Different mission. You get a great useful load, a very wide cabin, and extremely comfortable seats. A waste of money if you're just going around the pattern or hopping from place to place but if you spend hours doing cross country you'll find that most other LSA won't fit your mission, especially if you're a large person. It's like a Cessna 182 vs a Cirrus SR20. Similar performance but one of them you wouldn't dare take an 8 hour trip in.Warmi wrote:Frankly , it would have made for a very nice LSA if it weren’t for a absolutely ridiculous price that is being asked for another mostly metal LSA that doesn’t do anything better than half a dozen other LSAs - what exactly do you get for $ 220k that you cannot get with, say $160k Sling 2 or a Flight Design ?
A bit of history.fatsportpilot wrote:You'd think after all this time, they'd have fixed such a trivial issue. Why can't they just switch to brass floats?
I am not a small guy either - 6 feet and 220 lbs ...and frankly none of these planes are good for more than say 2 hours but maybe that’s just me..fatsportpilot wrote:Different mission. You get a great useful load, a very wide cabin, and extremely comfortable seats. A waste of money if you're just going around the pattern or hopping from place to place but if you spend hours doing cross country you'll find that most other LSA won't fit your mission, especially if you're a large person. It's like a Cessna 182 vs a Cirrus SR20. Similar performance but one of them you wouldn't dare take an 8 hour trip in.Warmi wrote:Frankly , it would have made for a very nice LSA if it weren’t for a absolutely ridiculous price that is being asked for another mostly metal LSA that doesn’t do anything better than half a dozen other LSAs - what exactly do you get for $ 220k that you cannot get with, say $160k Sling 2 or a Flight Design ?
The $160k Sling2 is a nice airplane but I can barely fit in it. I'm a big guy. No way I could spend more than an hour or two in one.
They are all allegedly capped at 120kts and 1320 MAUW, so, how is a Bristell any better than the rest of the LSA fleet, not counting interior space or hi end interiors? Is a Bristell certified in another configuration to carry more weight, like a SLING?fatsportpilot wrote:Different mission. You get a great useful load, a very wide cabin, and extremely comfortable seats. A waste of money if you're just going around the pattern or hopping from place to place but if you spend hours doing cross country you'll find that most other LSA won't fit your mission, especially if you're a large person. It's like a Cessna 182 vs a Cirrus SR20. Similar performance but one of them you wouldn't dare take an 8 hour trip in.Warmi wrote:Frankly , it would have made for a very nice LSA if it weren’t for a absolutely ridiculous price that is being asked for another mostly metal LSA that doesn’t do anything better than half a dozen other LSAs - what exactly do you get for $ 220k that you cannot get with, say $160k Sling 2 or a Flight Design ?
The $160k Sling2 is a nice airplane but I can barely fit in it. I'm a big guy. No way I could spend more than an hour or two in one.
Or 21st-century fuel injection!fatsportpilot wrote:You'd think after all this time, they'd have fixed such a trivial issue. Why can't they just switch to brass floats?