Most of my flight experience and all of my PPL training was done in Aquila 210 or 211 aircraft. As previous posters wrote, it is very nice to fly, the stick gives you very precise and direct control. Like Capitaine says, it does just over 100 knots usually. It has a VP, which is nice for training because you already have the VP endorsements once you finish the PPL. It does run well on Mogas, though Avgas gives it a little more power. We always flew on Mogas unless the field ran out of it.
Newer versions are sold with glass cockpits.
W&B can be an issue, though probably less so than for other a/c of this size. The A210 I learned to fly was almost always at or just above MTOW with full fuel, me as a 100kg student pilot plus the FI beside me. At least my FI was small and light. When I flew with an FI who had roughly my size, we added 5kts on takeoff and landing and everything was fine.
Snoopy wrote:
Instead of the PS28 maybe look into a Bristell? Metal as well, faster cruise.
Joep, Bristell is in the process of certifying a VLA. Should be done soon. This is by far the roomiest cockpit of them all, which is a plus in a flight club/school environment.
There is not too much info on their web site, but a bit more on their FB page.
And there is the Tecnam P2008.
With which (P208) we are quite happy with.
And not to mention the new CS-23 P2002 “IFR Trainer”
The hardest part of getting a new aeroplane for a club is getting everyone to agree. Then if it is a used aircraft getting them to move fast enough before it is sold, is another factor. Hence getting a new aeroplane is often most suitable.
Why would a used plane need the club members to move faster?
I think – for a relative novice owner with not a lot of engineering capability and probably unable to organise a really trusted prebuy – the biggest advantage of a new plane is to get the warranty. Practically every owner I have ever met has said this – from the smallest SEP all the way to every TBM owner.
In a school/syndicate/club scenario it is important that nothing happens which can create a massive hit on the funds, or a massive amount of downtime. Even paying €stacks doesn’t guarantee a good uptime if you choose something “novel”, coupled with the manufacturer struggling to support it.
The warranty bill on my new TB20 was probably about 100k, in terms of list prices of the parts replaced. The plane was 195k+VAT new, 2002, which is in the same ballpark as the types discussed above, AFAIK. Now transplant that size bank robbery onto a school/syndicate/club and ask what it would do to it…
Peter wrote:
Why would a used plane need the club members to move faster?
If you are looking for a particular type of training aircraft and a good one comes up, then there will be lots of other clubs willing and ready to pounce on it also. If you take the market for used SEP A/C in Europe, only a very small percentage of them are desirable for training. To secure a used aircraft you have to be willing to send money and travel to see it. A small club like ours would need to have their own aircraft sold, and funding lined up for the balance to upgrade before being able to commit. Good deals or sought after niche aircraft are only for people who can act decisively.
To secure a new aircraft, there is really no urgency on when you send the money or when you go to see look at the demo A/C. You can book a new aircraft with a small deposit, market your own aircraft and then draw down any loan to fund the balance.
@arne The certification must be a ’’plane". It cannot be MLA as this requires a different license.
We are now down to two serious options:
- The popular WT9 is now VLA (LSA) certified and has an option of being an airplane (sorry, no offense) instead of MLA.
It is a beaut, with max takoff weight of 600 and a great performance/ climb ratio. And has a Emergency Parchute! I wonder how it holds on grass and dirt.
- The Aquila seems more robust to me and has a higher maximum takeoff weight capabilities (750). Is more expensive in initial buy.
Night VFR will be allowed from 2020 on so there are some wildly enthousiastic about it. I personally find the risk too high of SEP in darkness.
We will conduct some testflights and I will let you know what we find.
@mikewhiskey, Elixer was nog on our list. Looks quite small and simple to me. Sportstar is indeed slow (93 kts)
How are you going to use that plane?
