Lunan Bay from above (NLC)

[renmure]

Took Wendy for a flight from Perth today. Did a loop to include Glamis Castle, Guthrie Castle, Brakie Castle, Red Castle and Broughty Ferry Castle. This was taken above Red Castle at Lunan Bay.



and 90 secs video of flying down the coast...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYTdmmMCHJo

[Dave]

Jim, I’ve got a mate who’s a journalist with the Courier, he’s recently taken a really keen interest in microlights, do you mind if I send him the link to your video as it might give him a bit of inspiration for something he’s working on.

[renmure]

Ha ha... Funny guy!!

We did a few low orbits around your house but the photographer in the back used a slow shutter speed so they werent the best. I will look out the good(ish) one You can take your own next week.

Edit... ok the "good(ish)" one doesn't exactly make for great viewing.... but I found the house!!

[Dave]

Compliments to the photographer, if I squint and go a bit cross-eyed I think I can make out the horses.
Does this mean you can take passengers up now

[rossybee]

Nice one Jim

Out of curiosity, roughly how long does it take from Perth Airport to Bro'ty Castle?

[renmure]

Ross, as the crow flies it is 22 miles, so at a decent cruise speed of 115mph it should be about 11 mins point to point.

In saying that, I took off from Dundee Airport flying back to Perth recently and that was only 14 miles and took about 20 mins from take-off to landing once you take into account climbing out and then getting into the circuit for landing.

not the best video since i used the wrong camera setting... but...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxmw9gLNwPI

[rossybee]

Heh - I can see my hoose at 3.00mins dead

More questions - what's the approximate range? (I know this will vary with wind direction & speed and stuff...)

[renmure]

Fuel capacity is 65 litres unleaded and fuel burn is 12-15 litres / hr depending on whether you are in a steady cruise or doing a lot of climbing / descending

Generally taken to be a max of 4hrs endurance cruising at 80mph so a range of about 320/350 miles per tank (keeping a bit in reserve and depending on wind... A 20mph tailwind would increase that up to over 400 miles)

Folk who regularly fly from Perth to the south of France tend to pop down to Kent on Day 1, stopping for lunch half way down, then over the channel and down through France on day 2.

Altitude .. The record is 24900ft over Kilimanjaro in Africa and it apparently took 20 mins to get to that height. In the uk if you go over 10,000 ft you need a transponder (I have one fitted) but I usually nimble around between 1000ft and 3000ft since the view is more interesting.

Engine in mine is a Rotax, 4 cylinder 4 stroke 1.4 litre with 100 bhp giving a climb rate of about 1800ft / min if needs be and a top cruise speed of 115 mph

[rossybee]

Thanks for all that Jim - and I suppose the next question is do you intend on a lengthy jaunt?

Sounds like a rather elegant way to travel (can you carry much luggage?), and would be a somewhat splendid & refreshing way to visit Le Mans

Do your pax require to don a parachute (not meant as a dig at your capabilities or trustworthiness, more from a regulatory POV...)

[renmure]

Parachute???? hehehehe. Nope. No need for a parachute, and no room for one either.

If the engine fails (doesn't really happen but you have to practice just incase).. you become a very aerodynamic glider and will default to an air speed of 60 mph which gives a minimum rate of sink of just under 500ft / min.

So (eg) if the engine failed at 3000 ft above any given point, you have a max of 6 mins before you need to land, and you would glide a maximum of 6 miles in any direction you choose, giving a circle with an area to land in of about 113 square miles .... so not particularly difficult to find a nice field to land in. When flying over the Channel at 6000ft it should be possible to switch the engine off in the middle and still reach land on one side or the other.

Max take-off weight is 409 kg (that includes aircraft at 209kg. A full tank of fuel weighs 45kg so only leaves room for a couple of 80kg folk. Obviously for general pottering about flights around Scotland you can play around with how much fuel you need in order to take "larger" passengers or obviously when flying solo 80kg provides a lot of scope for camping equipment.

I plan to head off to the south of France sometime in spring with a couple of the other guys based at Perth

/turning into a microlight bore faction

[Scotty C]

nice one Jim, i love Luna bay its got a really unusual mixture of stones. Can you tell im no geologist

[rossybee]

Max take-off weight is 409 kg (that includes aircraft at 209kg. A full tank of fuel weighs 45kg so only leaves room for a couple of 80kg folk.

Kinda f*cks me for my next question - as I've not been 80kg since about 1986

[renmure]

nice one Jim, i love Luna bay its got a really unusual mixture of stones. Can you tell im no geologist

Yeah, but a guy can have too many talents


$

Max take-off weight is 409 kg (that includes aircraft at 209kg. A full tank of fuel weighs 45kg so only leaves room for a couple of 80kg folk.

Kinda f*cks me for my next question - as I've not been 80kg since about 1986

I probably didn't explain that too good:- Each seat is rated up to 110kg.. so you can accommodate the "larger" passenger plus a full tank of fuel.. but obviously only if the driver isn't "larger" as well. Otherwise i think they just call that mode of transport a car with a wing... cause you ain't gonna get off the ground

For me at a svelte 85kg, the maths is easy and I can have a 4 and a bit hrs fuel and an 80kg pax. A 100kg pax would only leave 25kg of fuel so around 35 liters so a comfortable two and a bit hrs flying time with a bit in reserve.

My flexwing is the fast, sporty version designed for manuvarability and handling so has a small wing area hence the 409kg limit. Many of the others in the hanger have a larger wing area and are designed with a MTOW of 450kg. That extra 40kg capacity is obviously better for the non-sveltes

If you fancy a bimble around the local area then no probs. I popped into the airfield today and went up to Pitlochry, over to Aberfeldy, along Loch Tay, down to Loch Earnhead, back along Loch Earn then home to Perth via Crieff and that only took 70 mins flying time. (pics to follow)

[rossybee]

If you fancy a bimble around the local area then no probs.

Errrr, in a word, yes!

100kg is more my size, and I'd love a wee hoor & tour!

Biggest prob is I rarely know much in advance when I'll be home.... but Tues Wed & Thurs daytimes suit me best when I am back

[renmure]

If you fancy a bimble around the local area then no probs.

Errrr, in a word, yes!

100kg is more my size, and I'd love a wee hoor & tour!

Biggest prob is I rarely know much in advance when I'll be home.... but Tues Wed & Thurs daytimes suit me best when I am back

100kg should be fine... just wear speedos!!

Should be able to sort something out if we can match your flexible schedule with mine.
I am free all day every Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues, plus every Wed am, every 2nd Thurs pm and every Fri am