Thanks guys.
And thanks for the references, some I had not seen!
So I see the ground roll for an AA1C over 50' is around 485m, for the Tomahawk its 445m
So as I left 07 (610m) at Omaka the other day in the Tommie (since you guys seem to be kiwis) I had 27% of the runway left when I rotated, Which seems about right (I keep the nose wheel light and then climb flat until I see 70kts). In a Grumman that would be reduced to 21% of the runway or 125m left of the strip. that's a bit tight, I would possibly have used 12 or 01 and taken the xwind??? Its grass but its well maintained and mown.
At NZPP with 999m to use, the AA1C rotated maybe slightly after the Tomahawk did, climb rate was about the same, but I noticed the guy I was with maintained a 80kts climb rather than the 70 kts I would use in a Tommie. ( I flew both aircraft 1 hour apart so have a good comparison)
So I'm feeling on the ground and in the landing it behaves like a very full and slightly asthmatic Tommie??? I can deal with that.
WB is another thing I know could be a factor.... and may have done but you can't prove it... flown a Tommie over gross weight (long seal runway good headwind). This feels like something you should never do in a Grumman ??? especially anything aft? any comments there?
As for approach the warnings I have seen is don't turn final with full flap, I do this in a Tommie at 70kts all the time no issue. (if you every hear the beep check forward no harm done) I noticed the turn to final was done with full flaps but at 80kts, I asked the guy about this and he said he's never heard about the warning and he turns final with full flap all the time, however I see he was 10kts faster.
The remainder of Final approach was flown at around 70kts, touch down about 65kts, so we weren't screaming in at 80knots. same RPM it seemed to me 1800-1900..... so bolt on a few knots in the circuit for safety, get rid of it on and established final?? I can do that.
I noticed when I was turning - steep turns the airspeed did trickle back to 70 kts quite a lot and this worried the guy I was with who tapped the ASI and said not too slow... so more power in steep turns watch the speed???
On the other hand if I was in the Tommie at 45 deg and saw 70kts I would not be too concerned, but I would make sure it did not drop lower...
Fuel is another thing that sort of bothers me about the AA1C, I always fly on the numbers ... i.e. time, fuel gauges in GA as well all know b*ll*cks right. But I do like to dip the tanks to keep a check on fuel burn. Can't do that with the Lynx,... so I think keeping an accurate fuel log and recording the top up numbers when refuelling mid point is a must... I'd really rather dip the tanks.
My over all feeling is it handles like a Tommie, but you need to watch the speed/drag curve, weight and T/O run (at least the trim is better!!!!) sound about right PPRUNERS?
Thanks to those who replied, 800m grass strip sounds about right for this plane.
FK73