Silvaire wrote:
in wood as per the ‘original’
And with a decent engine from Rotax – yeah 
What is wrong with a stick?
Many pilots, especially in the USA, regard a centre stick as a bad idea for flying any distance. It can be partly solved with a weird kneeboard
and maybe by having a leg strap for any tablet you use
(shown above with a yoke aircraft but you get the idea)
And with a decent engine from Rotax
It has to be said however that an IO320 or IO360 powered plane of that size is going to be much much faster than a Rotax powered one. The Rotax engine is a good solution but it does press the finished product into a given “mould” which is why they tend to look very similar.
ValerioM wrote:
Why I often hear the association of MOGAS with Carbureted Engines? It’s a genuine question ,
The injector and the spider may have diaphragms that do not like cargas. That problem solved, you will run into a hotstart problem, especially in the summer, unless you really modify the fuelsystem. Fuel needs to be pressurized and circulated. On a carbureted one, its easy: keep the fuellines short, isolated and away from the exhaust.
Blackwing claim a 212kt speed record. I can’t see it on their website but this is a screenshot from FB:
I am curious why an aircraft that looks so much like any other plastic/composite SEP is capable of flying way faster than the lot of them. 212 kts would be way past the Vne for most similar aircraft.
I wondered about that as well: Vne is 170kts. But Vne is a certification limit not a technical limit. For the Blackwing they state that Vne is limited by the BRS.
MedEwok wrote:
I am curious why an aircraft that looks so much like any other plastic/composite SEP is capable of flying way faster than the lot of them. 212 kts would be way past the Vne for most similar aircraft.
This shows more how “fragile” other planes are. But, 212 kt in a plane weighing 500 kg and with a stall speed of 35? Just touching the stick, and you have 10g in 2 ms A slight turbulence, and it must be a terrible ride.
The record breaking 212 Kt can only be TAS (true airspeed – why don’t they mention it?) whereas a Vne is always an IAS (indicated airspeed) to be read on your airspeed indicator. And the formula is as you remember TAS = IAS + 2% per 1000’ altitude.
The Rotax 915iS is a turbocharged engine certified up to 23000ft. With full T/O power of 141hp up to15000ft.
If that plane makes 150kt iAS at sea level it could reach 210+ kt TAS at FL200 and above.
Just found a post from Blackwing on FB where they mention the record flight took place at FL100.
That means the aircraft should be able to reach a cruise speed of about 177kt IAS at sea level, if I reckon correctly.
170kt IAS is Vne on their “TC” however BRS limited.
Just touching the stick, and you have 10g in 2 ms
Fortunately it’s certified for 12g. Not so sure about the pilot, though.
