Aerobatic aircraft

[micromalc]

I,m thinking of buying a share in an aerobatic aircraft.Looked at all the obvious ones and the majority are tail draggers, which is fine, but, are there any others with, tri cycle u/c's other than Yak 52, bulldog,firefly, fuji & robin 2160 (must have 2 seats)I,m just curious.Oh I got to fly a Yak52 the other day..Im still smiling

[stiknruda]

Very clean "Sprite" for sale by Dave Morris at Plane Trading - it is a nose wheel. You have ommitted the c150 Aerobat from your list.

Stik

[micromalc]

did you mean the FLS sprint?
Interesting looking aircraft. I know very little about them.

[Justiciar]

You could go for the Siai Marchetti SF260. I believe there is one for sale currently at about £120k. Some editions of the Falco F8L were also approved for aerobatics, but they come up for sale so rarely. Otherwise the Grobs used for the elementary flight training for the RAF are aerobatic. The Beagle Pup 150 is a nice fly. I have a few hours on it though never aeroed it. It is said to be better than the Bulldog as it is lighter. There is also a Zlin model which has a nose wheel and is aero capable, though cannot remember which one.

I suppose the question is why you would particulary want a tricycle geared aircraft for aeros when there are so many good tail wheel ones available. If you can learn aeros then the tailwheel aspect should not present a problem.

[micromalc]

Yeah, forgot about the aerobat, but , is it possible to serious aeros in a "yoke" aircraft? ( I have probably upset thousands of pilots with this comment..sorry)

[micromalc]

Oh. I am just curious to know the types around....I,ve been flying tail-draggers for years...the marchetti is way above my budget sadly.

[Contacttower]

Personally I find the stick more "instinctive" and I prefer it in for flying in general....especially in taildraggers. Can you imagine a Chipmunk or a Cub with a yoke?....It just doesn't seem right.

[mothflyer]

just reading with interest and must point out that the wear and tear on a regularly used aerobatic aircraft will be substantially higher than that of a straight and level example.

As you must already be aware the maintenance should be second to none as your life will be hanging in the straps so to speak. Are you doing more hours aero's with a flying club aircraft currently that you have worked out its more cost effective to own your own? If its not then I would be sorely tempted to leave the costs and hassle of maintaining an aero machine to the flying clubs and just pay an hourly rate.

[Justiciar]

But how many serious aero aircraft can you hire through a club? No many I suspect. You may be lucky and get a Citabria or Cap 10c, but not a Pitts, Extra or an Eagle (:ok:)

I would far rather fly aeros in an aircraft I owned a bit of rather than something in a club where I don't know exactly what has been done to it either by the engineers or the last pilot to fly it.

[mothflyer]

Yeah good point, and it does reduce the risk in a small group but doesnt completely eliminate it. As long as everyone is 100% honest about their mistakes then all will be fine. Yes I'd love to own my own but simply cant afford to do the amount of hours to make it pay.

There are some Bulldogs at Sarum, also at Kemble who have Extras too, not sure how they run that though. There used to be a Yak52 for hire at Gransden. There are various Cap10's for hire which is a good beginners/intermediate machine (see Tiger club), a few Stearman around and of course the Tiger moth (get the aeros right on that is a challenge in itself).

I guess it all depends what type of aero's you enjoy and whether this is going to be a going for gold passtime!

[mothflyer]

Oh and there's always the Pitts that used to be at Sywell, now Sibson (G-WREN), hireable and would get you seriously up to scratch I think!

[stiknruda]

Sprint, Sprint, Sprint!!

Sorry, Sprite - must have been in caravan mode!

[Pitts2112]

"Yeah, forgot about the aerobat, but , is it possible to serious aeros in a "yoke" aircraft?"

Might not be intuitive, but P-38 pilots managed to have the highest kills scores of any aircraft type in the US inventory in WWII, so, it would seem possible.

I would suggest the C150 Aerobat, however, is only going to really just frustrate a person who really wants to do some aerobatic flying.

[Rod1]

You could try a Nipper, aerobatic and a trike, very low cost and quite capable but only a singe seater.

Rod1

[waldopepper42]

is it possible to do serious aeros in a "yoke" aircraft?

Ask the CFI at Hucknall - the display he put on in a C150 aerobat was amazing! On a hot day, energy management as an art form :eek:

Now: "is it possible for WP42 to do serious aeros in a "yoke" aircraft?"

No, 'cos I ain't as good as him. :)

[Brooklands]

But how many serious aero aircraft can you hire through a club? No many I suspect. You may be lucky and get a Citabria or Cap 10c, but not a Pitts, Extra or an Eagle

Cambridge Aero Club (http://www.cambridgeaeroclub.co.uk/) now have a 2 seat Extra 200 for hire.

Brooklands

[eharding]

WLAC have an Extra 300 and a Pitts S2 available for solo hire, provided the hirer has the required levels of experience.

[SlowRoll]

Hi micromalc !
What about the Pilatus P3 ?
Lyc. GO435 - 130kts cruise - 270kts Vne!! - +6/-3 - 2h30 endurance - reasonably large luggage compartment - very nice handling - roomy cockpit - very reliable - sells for similar prices as a yak 52

[Sleeve Wing]

Quote :>There is also a Zlin model which has a nose wheel and is aero capable, though cannot remember which one<

Zlin 242. 0-360 Lycoming. OAT used to use them and I believe there used to be one at Glos.
Flew them for a while - bit heavy but basically a good, strong training machine.
OAT's were up for sale recently.
:ok:

[G-SPOTs Lost]

http://http://home.planet.nl/~hendriksf260/as202.html

Built like a Sherman Tank, lovely handling, Swiss precision. These are the aircraft that BAE Flight Training bought for their unusual attitude training.

Very good modern aircraft with classic handling, unlimited inverted fuel and oil. And a good tourer to boot