I see very few coments on LSA's in the backcountry.....is it few folks take them there...or few LSA pilots visit this website?? Not talking powered parachutes (winds can be hell!!) or ultralights...but under the LSA category.....there are only 3 old comments in the Ultralight thread on this site.....is there more LSA activity that's just not being commented on??

I'd like to hear more about who's flying what into the off pavement areas in the backcountry and how they are faring with a lot less power, etc.

mtnflyr,

We have a group of 8-10 pilots flying Rans S-7's, S-6's and Kitfoxes out of NorCal that go Idaho and Utah every year. Usually will camp at Johnson Creek and fly out to backcountry airports. There are also Ran's pilots based in Idaho and Utah that fly the backcountry.

My S-7S will get off the ground in 300-500 feet and climb at 1000 fpm which I'll put up against a stock SuperCub anyday. Although these are experiment aircraft they do meet the LSA specs. These are not 206's and Skywagons, you do have to manage fuel range and baggage but within limits it's performance that counts. They'll get off faster, climb better and get in shorter then most anything you'll see in the backcountry. Their low landing speed also provide some degree of safety both on and off airport.

LSA's are relatively new so you're not going to see many comments here among this gang of veteran backcounty pilots but it's a great place to learn from their experiences. We're definitely out there, just not quiet as vocal.

There are several sport cubs that fly in the backcountry, as soon as I pass my check ride I hope to join them and others in my Sport cub!

Geo

I have a Drifter in the works, solidly in the Light Sport category.
I hope to have it ready to fly by Spring, and it'll likely see a bunch of outta-the-way grass strips.

My Savannah meets the light sport category, and it performs in the same ballpark you describe.

tom

Savannah-Tom wrote:My Savannah meets the light sport category, and it performs in the same ballpark you describe.

tom

ballpark... literally. The 701 and her clones are super outstanding shortfield birds. While I flew the 801 (pretty capable in itself), another customer left on a 701 flight shortly after we returned.
Wow.
It was one thing to watch it take off in the videos, but in person it was a sight to behold.

Check out the photo of the month on the alaskanbushwheel site. Dont know if its regestered LSA but its one of the coolest taylorcrafts iv seen. the gun boot is on the strut because it just wont fit inside!

Hey 375handh, I watched your trailer and loved it so I ordered the the video!

Look forward to watching it!

Geo
sport cub #6
787AK

My Champ is LSA. It has an O-235, VG's, 26" AkBushwheels when its not on floats and I plan on flying it to Alaska next May. I keep it on my land in Northern Minnesota and fly it in and out of a 1000 ft. strip. I have several friends that all fly similar planes up here in Northern MN and have similar strips as mine.
Keith

ccurrie wrote:Check out the photo of the month on the alaskanbushwheel site. Dont know if its regestered LSA but its one of the coolest taylorcrafts iv seen. the gun boot is on the strut because it just wont fit inside!

With the beefed up wheels and fork, probably not LSA but it is cool.

Hijack!

Does anyone know if someone makes a cargo pod for the t-cart? I haven't found one so far. An F-19 with a little more baggage capacity would fit the 80% threshold I'm looking for in my next plane.

Craig

GroundLooper wrote:

ccurrie wrote:Check out the photo of the month on the alaskanbushwheel site. Dont know if its regestered LSA but its one of the coolest taylorcrafts iv seen. the gun boot is on the strut because it just wont fit inside!

With the beefed up wheels and fork, probably not LSA but it is cool.

Hijack!

Does anyone know if someone makes a cargo pod for the t-cart? I haven't found one so far. An F-19 with a little more baggage capacity would fit the 80% threshold I'm looking for in my next plane.

Craig

I was going to ask something like that about the 701. I've seen them put to good use on the CH801, and I plan to do it when I get to that point. Looking into the demo 701, it struck me that it could use a little more baggage space.

WWhunter wrote:My Champ is LSA. It has an O-235.......Keith

I know an IA who's working with a guy to do the approval paperwork on a 7AC O-235 conversion. The owner wants to keep it LSA legal, but the IA sez that the approval routes he's investigated bump the gross up above LSA limits. Apparently the way he's talking about going involve changig model designation from 7AC to 7DC or EC, which has too high a gross. Kinda like changing a T Craft from a BC-12 to an F-19 to allow an O-200- the F19 gross is too high so presto-chango: no more LSA.
Or maybe he came up with an STC to do the upgrade but it also involves bumping up the gross weight.
Keith, how was the approval paperwork handled on yours?
BTW, a nice light Champ with 110 or so horsepower & fat tires sounds like fun!

Eric

Eric,
My Champ was done with the Buzz Wagner STC. When the engine was installed the GW could be raised to 1300 or 1350 with the No-Bounce gear. Mine is standard gear and its GW was only raised to 1300 lbs. The bad part is that its EW is 891lbs. 409 useful load. The guy that rebuilt it went overboard. It has Nav-lights, 13 gallon tanks in each wing plus the 13 gallon header....yeah 39 GALLONS of fuel!!! Vg's, droop tips, plexiglass seaplane door, Citabria style rear windows and the right side one is hinged at the top and allows easy access to the baggage area, and now I put the AkBushwheel 26" Airstreaks on it. He had built it for taking fishing trips to Canada. It was on floats and skis exclusively until I purchased it.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
Keith

couleeone:

It isn't my video, but it is a friend of mines. I think you'll like the DVD though.

I fly a Super Cub.

375HandH

velojym wrote:

I was going to ask something like that about the 701. I've seen them put to good use on the CH801, and I plan to do it when I get to that point. Looking into the demo 701, it struck me that it could use a little more baggage space.

Doing piss poor short field practice landings at Scappoose (SPB) today. Watched a 701 take off behind another aircraft. He had the decency to wait until the other guy's wheels were off the ground before starting his roll. He was off and close to pattern before the first guy even reached the end of the runway. (which is 5000' but still.)

zero.one.victor wrote:
I know an IA who's working with a guy to do the approval paperwork on a 7AC O-235 conversion. The owner wants to keep it LSA legal, but the IA sez that the approval routes he's investigated bump the gross up above LSA limits. Apparently the way he's talking about going involve changig model designation from 7AC to 7DC or EC, which has too high a gross. Kinda like changing a T Craft from a BC-12 to an F-19 to allow an O-200- the F19 gross is too high so presto-chango: no more LSA.

The 1320 limit on LSA just burns me to no end. Everything about LSA's is fine, except that ridiculous limit. What the frig was the FAA thinking? Sport maybe but it sure limits the recreation part. I'd argue that it compromises safety too as manufactures might cut corners to fit the weight requirement or pilots might be more tempted to fly over gross. Besides, fat people have the right to fly too, you know!

I agree on the 1320 weight limit. Better than the original 1232 that was talked about, but if they'd set it at 1650-1700 pounds the new manufacturers would have an easier time building an LSA-compliant but still safe & sturdy airplane.
That 1320 pound limit is 600 kilo's- just a nice round number they picked out of the air. Near as I can tell from some google work just now, a Very Light Aeroplane under the European JAR-VLA reg's has a maximum takeoff weight of 750kg (1650 pounds) and a max stall speed of 45 kias. Why couldn't the feds have gone with that?
Although not the true aim of the LSA/SP scheme, with a higher weight limit lots more older airplanes could be flown under LSA/SP rules: C- 120/140/150/152,Traumahawk, Citabria, Luscombe 8E,etc.
I'd like to think they'll modify this weight limit eventually, but at the speed the FAA moves it probably won't be in my lifetime.

Eric

I have a '46 Tcart that I fly around and would like to put 26" or 29" Airstreaks for LSA's on her. Does anyone know the real weights of those compared to the regular ones? Also has anyone actually run these on their planes, and if so how did they hold up?

I already tried other websites as well as the the ABW website but have got nothing yet.

Poke around on the supercub.org site, they had a thread going on tire comparison: Airtrac 850 vs 26" Goodyear vs 26" BW vs 26" BW-airstreak.
Going from memory, I want to say 20# a side for the BW-Lites, but don't hold me to that. They were heavier than the 850's, but lighter than the other two 26"ers.

Eric

I just put a set on my Champ. They weighed 19-20 each before mounting on the wheel. Can't tell you how they hold up yet since I just put them on when I had the floats removed and then flew the plane back to my farm. One landing on them so far!! Then I broke both bones in my leg while putting up a treestand so that ends my flying for a while.
I will say that you really need good brakes as the old Van Sickles on my Champ proved nearly worthless with all the leverage these tires had.

Keith