aart wrote:
But the range is impressive (5-6 hours at 100 knots takes you a long way). Of course nobody but P***r wants to sit that long
But many might like to fly 2 hours somewhere where there is no fuel, then fly home 
Lots of fuel capacity is always a good thing.
It looks like a really nice plane. The hydraulic prop is a better than electric although for a plane of this speed range I wonder if a CS prop of any kind is worth the weight and complexity, unless you need absolutely the shortest field capability possible.
Good regardless that you had the cash to maximize your activity in compliance with ever changing rules. It would indeed be interesting to understand the restrictions to be placed on certified aircraft using ‘UL-only’ airports in Spain.
Can your new steed do grass/ short field nicely??? The eye candy aspect is mouth watering!
In Spain there would be no problem. The non-tarmac fields here are usually more ‘hard dirt/gravel’ than grass. In winter there may be some grass, but it is not anything like the lush green fields you may be accustomed to 
So elsewhere in Europe, add the normal margin you would apply for grass/long grass and especially wet grass!
Following a change in the law the fields that used to be ‘UL-only’ can now be used by certified aircraft as well, with some restrictions.
Could you summarize what these restrictions are?
Bosco, Silvaire, very relevant Q. I still need to find out the legal details, which I struggle to find.. From word of mouth it seems like ‘if the pilot trusts it and the field owner is OK with it, all is fine’. So what I’ll do for now is to make my own assessment and call the airfield owner if he would let me in. If he’s clever he would ask me if I could get out afterwards . There are knowledgeable people on this forum as to legal aspects in Spain. For instance @coolhand and @antonio. Could either or both of you or anyone else with relevant knowledge guide us a bit here, thanks!
Thanks for the nice write up and congratulations on the new wonderful plane.
Actually that does make it a rock star of sorts.This aircraft is not a rock star. But nor am I and it looks unlikely that I’ll ever become one. A MTOW of 750 kg with 100 HP is not good for any bragging rights. But absolutely fine for me. I’m doing sightseeing and some traveling. And if traveling, it’s often in formation with slower UL’s. Typical cruise is 100-110 KTAS.
110 kts with 100 hp is an outstanding performance, pretty much what was pretty much what other makers tried to achieve such as Mooney a d Lancair.
Congratulations for your new ride. Looks like a very capable airplane.
I think that the toll for extra weight of your new horse is more in take off and climbing performances than in cruise speed and the right engine for Bristell is the new Rotax 915 . Not sure if Bristell certified version is available with that engine , CTLS one surely not.
Congrats, aart! Bristell did (part of?) the certification program in Mannheim last year. The aircraft was partly opened from time to time and didn’t have a paint job yet. I took the chance to look at it, of course. It appears to be a really fine aircraft of exceptional build quality
Waiting for the reports on your trips around Spain now…
Mooney_Driver wrote:
110 kts with 100 hp is an outstanding performance, pretty much what other makers tried to achieve such as Mooney and Lancair.
I remember once taking a flight to Sedona with a friend in his Comanche 180, accompanied with a local guy in his 100 HP (on a good day) Varieze built in the late ‘70s. The Comanche cruised at 150 mph or 130 kts IAS. In order to prevent himself from getting too far ahead, the 100 HP Varieze was literally flying circles around us at 150 kts indicated or so. His fuel burn was a little over 5 gph while doing that, and he used a little more than half as much fuel as the Comanche for the flight there. On the way home he disappeared ahead… However, not by any means a short field performer and I think it’s fun to have a plane that cruises respectably well while also being able to visit small fields and fly home without refueling.
Congratulations on the new aircraft! I liked it a lot. I was also impressed by the Garmin System.
I agree, 100hp is a little on the low side, but it’s outperforming the C150, so in that mass class it offers good performance above average.
@urs: The Bölkow Junior does 110KTAS on the O-200 easily with gross weight. Similar as the 912, it drinks around 21-22 litres mogas while doing it. The BRM is generations more comfortable, though. Also, it is not comparable with doing 200 MPH on 200 HP, as the drag rises with speed squared in first order, as you might now. 110 KTAS with 100 HP is much easier to achieve in a two seat aircraft as 200 KTAS in a four seat IFR tourer.
@silvaire: Likewise, the VariEZ is much less aircraft than the Comanche and can’t be compared reasonably on this performances. Plus, the PA24 is a bit sluggish on just 180 hp. However, I sign to your idea of an efficient personal cruiser for the rare occasions I don’t carry the complete family when flying cross country.
Silvaire wrote:
the 100 HP Varieze was literally flying circles around us at 150 kts indicated or so. His fuel burn was a little over 5 gph while doing that,
I had a friend who flew a Long Eze around the world twice.
That plane is truely exceptional in its performance, yet it is hardly a conventional tourer. It has no baggage compartment to start with so it’s either a single seater with baggage or a two seater for local travel.
Unfortunately he died later trying to take off in an Express 200 LR for a non-stop flight to Oskosh due to massive overload and a rushed departure to reach air venture.
My intent was not to compare a Varieze with larger planes, but was instead to compare planes with 100 HP here, using the Comanche experience as a familiar baseline to show that a Varieze really does do amazing things on 100 HP. Flying 250 or 300 miles outbound on a short lunch flight while spending very little for fuel is fun and allows you to see a lot in a day. That’s what it does well. The larger Longeze does BTW have some baggage capability.
BTW, I think for flying in flat country the Comanche 180 is a really good choice in today’s market. A guy local to me bought one for $28K and is using it to fly to work a couple of times a week.
