fallowdeer

My VG stalls clean power off at 30knts and dirty power off 26knts, speeds verified as much as possible by GPS. Comes with a little buffet that is so close to the stall that it isn't really useful as a warning then a left wing drop. For what it's worth the aircraft is very well rigged and flies hands off well. I've practised stalling the aeroplane with partial power but personally I'd be wary of intentionally stalling the plane with full flaps and full power. I don't subscribe to the theory heard from time to time about such and such an airframe never stalling and just "mushing" down at a very high rate of descent. A canard configuration maybe where the canard obviously stall first before it yank the wing up into a high enough AOA, given a slow even entry that is. Given sufficient elevator authority I'd think most wings can be pulled up to their critical AOA, and we haven't even got anywhere near discussing accelerated stalls. The rub is though that in my opinion the way we practise and get used to this sort of stalling behaviour is very artificial and doesn't relate well to what is actually happening in incidents where stall/spin is a factor. I'd wager that just about every pilot who has stalled/spun in was perfectly competent in recognising, and recovering from, an incipient stall resulting from an intentional entry in balanced flight on a steady heading. What I do really like about my own aircraft's behaviour down slow is that at flare at 28knts or less power off I still have a ton of elevator authority to raise the nose. The previous owner installed VGs on the underside of the elevator and swore by the improvement they generated here, they only come "into play" so to speak as the elevator reaches considerable deflection. I haven't flown a "standard" VG to see if there is any difference. I do know however that this is the flight regime that some very experienced CH701 pilots bend their aircraft, slowed right up high AOA and power off. Maybe more to do with those grippy slats letting go. A bit like caning a WRX or similar on a hard surface, all good and maximum grip but when they let go they let go I think it's a safe bet that most stall/spin accidents (apart from the metre too high round out type) don't start from straight and level. I try to remind myself of this ever time I'm taking off or landing from a steep hill strip or manoeuvring at low level. Draw your own conclusions. Peter

Yep would be sure nice to be a wee bit faster. Mate in next door hangar has recently completed a Glasair III. We worked out he gets about the same MPG as the Savannah. Of course the IO-540 uses three times the fuel. But he goes three times faster. I was out trundling along at 75knts one day when he called me up and he did a 230knt fly past. I can imagine now what it would have been like in WWII flying a Swordfish or similar, seeing a couple of FW190s flash past and pull up and waiting for them to swoop past on another pass..... Peter

Ha. Who cares about the bump over the air box. After all what part of a Savannah VG is pretty?????? Except for the performance that is STOLing it into some tiny patch of hillside or riverbed or whatever is pretty fun.... Peter

A trip last week into a mountain strip about 100nm from home. Strip is at about 4000ft AMSL. Rough, soft and narrow. Not as long as it seems as the gradients and slope vary considerably over the length and it's kind of a matter of picking what piece you are going to use. Mate took his Avid in too. Have been one or two aircraft come to grief there over the years which is not surprising, the last a C185 overturned landing while there was snow on the strip. Nice walk to the hut 500m away, couple of hunters there who got there via MD500.

Hi Trackley Couple pics of the oil level inspection panel we put in my VG. Made pretty much as described in the link above. Very worthwhile and I recommend you do this. Just because you can check oil level easily this way hardly precludes you taking off your cowl as often as you wish for a full inspection in my opinion. Peter

Hi Trackley I made an oil filler check panel for my VG. Was really worthwhile. I'll be down the hangar today and take some pics. Peter

I've found mine handy, put a Ram mounting ball on to hold my IPad. Peter

Alternative filters may work just fine, I don't know enough to make an informed decision. Over here there is about a thirty dollar difference between a Rotax one and one from Repco. So I figure that over the fifty hours I changeout an extra 60 cents per flight hour won't break the bank. Peter

"I know that photos can be deceptive but I have to say I would have wanted to be on the ground long before I got to the third photo in that group." Hi Geoff Yes, I thought a while before I posted those pics. We were no lower than 800ft agl all the way over flat terrain with a constant supply of suitable landing spots for a Savannah VG. The odd thicker rain shower to divert around but you will note the edges of blue sky we were working towards in both pics. Nowhere ever close to losing a discernible horizon and ground reference. A world of difference between operating in reduced visibility basically under an overcast such as here to mixing it up in cloud and mist to the deck in hill country. Would be nice to operate only ever in CAVU but on the other side of the coin some experience in inclement wx flying (within limits of course) could well be useful one day? Whilst it's not in the microlight syllabus here low level bad wx flying was part of the PPL syllabus way back when I flew GA. Slowed down 70 odd knots, half flap etc. Peter

Headed to a fly in on Sunday, took off right on MCT. Wanted to head west over the ranges ( 5000ft ) but there was a fair bit over cloud covering them so headed north looking for a gap though Des and Simone in the Tecnam found a way over and down. The wax here from the west stacks up against the hills. Murray in the C150 and Nicola and I in the Savannah VG found a way through at a low spot and headed into the NW. 50knts ground speed through the drizzle and low cloud is a little too slow even for a Savannah driver! 2.05 later we had cover the 130 nm, 58 other planes, all no doubt suckered in by what had been a good forecast. Time came to head home, wx no better pretty constant drizzle and a bit of time detouring around some of the murkier bits but at least 100knts ground speed. From a few pireps and some other research knew the gap in the ranges was clear so then it was into the lee of the mountains and a clear run home for a welcome wine! Home base Yay!!

In calendar years 2014 and 2015 Cessna sold 298 Skyhawk 172s. Cirrus sold 547 SR22 and SR22T models. There are a lot of Cirrus aircraft out there.

Go Bob. Very inspiring!

Coulson still operate the two surviving Martins. One was at Oshkosh this year.

My top rudder bushing was very worn at 270 hrs.

Hi Steve I sourced my tyres and tubes from Desser Rubber in the states. Their service was great. Even with freight and GST etc it was heaps cheaper than I could have got them here in NZ. Peter

Hi Xavier I have the same combo on my VG. Replaced the previous spatted 15/600 x 6. Drilled out the old fork about 15mm lower. Did new weight and balance, added a fair bit of weight but Cof G change was negligible, only a few millimetres. Overall the improvement fantastic, able to get in and out of places that were impossible previously. Before and after pics. Peter

Hi all Interested in what everyone's Savannah weighs. Redid mine after changing tyres to 21/800 mains and 600/6 nosewheel, now weighs 305kg giving me 255kg useful load. Peter

I.C.P. Srl Savannah™VG FLIGHT MANUAL Pag. 14 Issue 1/Revision 03 ICP Srl – S.P.16 km 15,150 14022 Castelnuovo Don Bosco (AT) Jan.2012 Tel. 011.9927503 Fax 011.9927266 1.9 CABIN Two large lateral doors allow an easy indipendent access to the cabin. They are hinged with two hinges on the upper edge of the doors. They may be locked by a key handle located in the lower edge and by a latch in the front edge. The doors may be removed unscrewing the hinges, if so desired (flying in hot regions or to take pictures). The doors MUST NOT be opened in flight. WARNING: Is very important to verify that the latch in the front edge of the door is locked before taking off. 1.10 CABIN FEATURES AND UPHOLSTERY The cabin arrangement features two canvas covered side-by-side seats. 1.11 VENTILATION The cabin’s ventilation is provided by an opening between the doors and the upper part of the cabin door frame. A dynamic air scoop intended to extract the cabin air is installed at the top of the baggage compartment. Cabin ventilation may be improved by using two rotating air scoops in the doors windows. It is important to achieve an efficient cabin ventilation to prevent windshield condensation in high humidity, low temperature weather conditions. 1.12 CABIN HEATING On the upper right side of the instrument panel there is a push-pull control. Pull it for hot ventilation in the cockpit. The outlet may be opened by a rotating panel on the cockpit glare shield. The air is heated by a heat exchanger located around the muffler 1.13 INSTRUMENT PANEL ATTENTION: The installed instruments are not certified according to any aeronautical regulations. Dangerous flight conditions should be avoided at all times. Do not consider the values given by the instruments as an absolute value. As standard equipment the following instruments are fitted: Each aircraft may have different instrument configuration according to customers request.

Way to go Bob. Can't wait to see your bird go together. (And Perry's as well) Soon my old VG will be the ugly duckling in residence!! Peter

Hi Hasse While that gravel bar is quite long not all of it is usable because of the varying size of the rocks. The usable portion is about 150 m. The great thing about the Savannah is that although we all know nose wheel aircraft a aren't the best for off airfield ops you can get the nose wheel off the ground at very slow speeds. I also don't go to full power till rolling at least 10-15knts to hopefully minimise the chances of bringing smaller stones and debris through the propellor. On this occasion I was light too, probably about 420kg. Good fun. Peter

Local flight a few minutes from home, found a gravel bar that looked OK. A few low passes down to 20 feet, there was a long enough stretch with stones small enough to land on so in I went. Usable strip length about 150m. Fishing rod as cargo next time!

Hi Phil God to see another member a bit closer than across the ditch. There are about half a dozen from the Wairarapa on here, local club has three Tecnams and there are a few privately owned micro lights with a couple more under construction. Great place to fly over the hill here, plenty of strips and great airspace as you would know. Peter

Hi everyone. I'm interested to hear what USB kit is being used to charge IPads onboard. Spruce shows a huge range price wise here, with some claims that a simple 12V USB charger is adequate and others with a very pricy ($600 USD) and fancy 12V to 5V converter integrated. Thanks Peter