Originally Posted by
AlphaSierra
Hi all,
I'm looking about for my first aircraft to tour about cheaply in. I want to keep the financial outlay (and therefore the risks) low and have my eyes on either a Shadow or an X-Air. Viewed a Shadow 503 today and it brought about a few questions:
2-strokes... I've never operated one but it occurred to me that when buying fuel at airfields in the past, there's never been a mention of 4-star. If I buy a 2-stroke, will the fuel issue cause me a planning heart-ache every time I want to venture away from home? (which is exactly what I want to do)
Shadows... The wing covering on the one I saw today did not feel as expected. They made a timpani-like sound when contacted, and the lower skin was fairly moveable. Is this normal? Also is there a risk of rot inside? How much would a re-cover cost and how often should the covering be replaced? I can't find anything useful on the internet about these things.
Cheers in advance!
A
I've a fair number of hours in both, with both 2 and 4-stroke engines.
Both are good aeroplanes, although whilst the X'Air could be kept tied down with covers, I'd want a hangar for a shadow.
2-stroke engines need a bit more maintenance, may occasionally leave you in a field (no big deal for a microlight pilot) and are noisier. On the other hand they're cheap, easy to look after, and pretty reliable these days.
Both 2 and 4 stroke Rotax engines prefer unleaded MOGAS to leaded anything, so you won't have fuel problems. Very few airfields have MOGAS pumps - you'll need to buy a couple of jerry-cans like the rest of us and fill them at the local petrol station.
Shadows have conventional-ish fabric covered wings. You can recover them yourself in a few weekends for a few hundred, maybe a thousand pounds. X'Airs have (microlight) conventional sails, you could replace the whole lot for a couple of thousand pounds and fit them in half a day with the aid of a friend.
Shadows are attractive looking and lovely aeroplanes to fly, but not awfully passenger friendly. X'Airs are slow and ugly, but wonderful to fly, and excellent for passengers once they've managed to clamber in through the rather narrow door (a bit better on later models).
If buying an X'air 2-stroke, don't go for the 503 (too underpowered on that aeroplane, although fine on the Shadow), a 582 with a C or E type gearbox (3:1 or greater gear reduction) would be my choice on an X'Air.
As said above, Fiona and Raymond at Old Sarum are THE Shadow experts. pretty much any BMAA 3-axis inspector can go over an X'Air for you, they're very standard technology aeroplanes. Before buying any microlight I'd pay a BMAA inspector who knows the type (but preferably not the person trying to sell the aeroplane) to go over it with you.
G