Today's Message Index:
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1. 02:54 PM - Lightning Flight Review (Phyrcooler)
2. 04:07 PM - Re: Lightning Flight Review (N1BZRich@AOL.COM)
3. 04:48 PM - Re: Lightning Flight Review (N1BZRich@AOL.COM)
4. 09:09 PM - Re: Answer to your question (Charles Dewey)
5. 09:25 PM - Re: Answer to your question (N1BZRich@AOL.COM)
6. 09:37 PM - Re: Answer to your question (Charles Dewey)
7. 09:52 PM - Re: Answer to your question (N1BZRich@aol.com)
Message 1
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| Subject: | Lightning Flight Review |
Is anyone aware of any published, unbiased flight reviews of the Lightning? Like
all good consumers, I am searching out as much info as I can find. And while
I appreciate owners reports and manufacturers stats, it is nice to read reports
from 3rd parties who have no emotion (meaning thousands of dollars or hundreds
of hours) invested.
Thanks all!
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=88693#88693
Message 2
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| Subject: | Re: Lightning Flight Review |
Message 3
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| Subject: | Re: Lightning Flight Review |
To Phyrcooler,
Some time ago (I will have to check my log book, but probably early last
summer) Pete of Arion Aircraft invited me to fly the prototype Lightning in
order to provide an unbiased evaluation of the aircraft before they started
selling kits. For insurance purposes Arion Aircraft had intended that the
prototype only be flown by Nick, (He is their test pilot and production
manager.) and then be destroyed when they had a production demonstration Lightning
up and flying. This is not unusual for prototype aircraft - to either be
destroyed or end up in a museum in a non flyable condition. Nick's evaluation
of
the Lightning had been all very positive and Pete just wanted someone that
was not part of their company to fly the prototype to see if Nick (who had
also been part of the design team) was "shooting straight". Pete was
comfortable with me flying his airplanes based on my past flight and test experiences,
total flying time, types of aircraft flown, and the fact that I had already
made the initial test flight on five other different homebuilt aircraft. I
had also previously flown the hybrid Lightning (Esqual fuselage with Lightning
wings) several times as well as all models of the Jabiru aircraft that they
sell.
The results of my test flight were published on the Esqual yahoo list at
the time (the Lightning list had not been started as I recall) and you can
probably go there and read it. But the bottom line is - Nick is a straight
shooter.
The Lightning is a great flying kit aircraft. I would not hesitate to
recommend it to anyone that wanted to get into the air quickly and
economically in a beautiful airplane that has amazing performance on only 120
HP. When
they finally do finish the demonstrator, everyone else will get a chance to
see just what Nick has been saying. As I recall, Earl Ferguson (on this list)
is the only other person up to now to fly a Lightning that is not someway
connected with the Lightning company. He built one of the early Lightning kits
and has flown off his test time and has his aircraft back home in Georgia.
Several other Lightnings are very close to flying (may have flown this week)
and plans are to have at least five flying Lightnings at Sun-N-Fun.
Don't hesitate to ask additional questions. I may not get back
immediately, but I will eventually get to your question.
Blue Skies,
Buz
Message 4
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| Subject: | Re: Answer to your question |
I am in the process of building a Lightning and have
never flown one. I did exhaustive, thorough research,
well over 200 hours worth, before I ever sent a dime
for the kit. I am an unbiased customer; I don't work
for Arion Aircraft Copmpany and I don't own stock in
their company. My biggest concern was to get a plane
that had a BRS parachute recovery system. Although I
know I will likely never use it, it's nice to know it
is there. Cirrus is the best selling General Aviation
plane for a reason- and the reason is the parachute
system- the EXACT same system in the Lightning. Cirrus
also is sleek and aerodynamic- a modern plane; as is
the Lightning. With fuel prices as outrageous as they
are and the polar ice caps melting, it's nice to know
that the Jabiru 120 HP only burns 5.5 gph at 175 mph,
which Nick has verified with extensive test flying up
and down the east coast and to Oshkosh. I also wanted
a 2-seater because, let's face it, 4 seats are great
but how often are all four seats used in most planes?
Most people fly alone or with one other person or dog
the majority of the time. Who wants to pay the extra
fuel burn for 2 unused seats and a much heavier plane?
Not me. I like paying as low as possible for gas. And
because the Lightning can run on mogas, this will save
even more money. The next, and best, thing about the
Lightning is the cruise speed. This plane is almost as
fast as the base model Cirrus, which starts at
$199,000 and burns a lot more gas and is much more
difficult to fly. I have test flown the Cirrus and
didn't like it. They eat up too much runway on take
off and landing and are not fun in the air. They are
way too stable and not nimble feeling. The base Cirrus
cruises only a couple of miles per hour faster, so
essentially the Lightning is as fast as the Cirrus for
less than half the price and much lower operational
cost and insurance cost. After trips to Sun 'n Fun,
Oshkosh and doing tons of research on the internet, in
bookstores and talking to a ton of people at the
airshows, I decided on the Lightning. One of the
biggest supporters of the Lightning is Brent Ackley,
who works for BRS parachute systems. I highly
recommend anyone considering buying a Lightning kit to
call him. He has paid visits to the Lightning fuselage
fabricator to inspect the channells in the body for
the BRS straps to make sure they were up to snuff for
BRS' strict standards. He was blown away by the
quality of the job done. Brent flies a Sonerai, but
secretly wishes he had a modern plane like a
Lightning. Eventually I would like to cruise at
300-400 mph but I am going to take it one step at a
time. The Lightning is the perfect intermediary
between the easy flying slow trainer and the go-fast
propjets. Hope this helped you make your decision a
little easier on deciding on the Lightning. If you
value speed, safety, money and good looks you should
consider the Lightning dollar for dollar as the
absolute best buy in general aviation.
>
--- nick otterback <vettin74@yahoo.com> wrote:
> The lightning is progressing well. As with anything
> new we are trying to keep up with the growth and
> intrest in this aircraft. Many things including
> finished build and Flight manuals, as well as
> improved kit components, are on e, thothe top of the
list
> of things to do. We currently are trying to deliver
> 4 kits a month although its more like 3, mosly due
> to supply from are OEM's and a lillte learning curve
> too. There are some 28 kits out there with 10 to
> deliver yet...5 are flying with several awaitng
> there inspections. The portotype is still being
> flown on a regular basis and makes apperances at
> many shows until we get are Demo flying. the demo
> aircraft is being built and should be off to paint
> at the end of this week and flying in march. The
> fiberglass shop that is building the major
> componenets is always serching for new cores and
> materials to get as much usefull load as we can out
> of the plane. The last ones out are under 800lbs
> empty for a very well equiped aircraft. 3 of
> the kits deliverd have gone to australia with 2
> more this week and 3 more at the end of january. So
> we have been very overwhelmed here and are just
> trying to put things in a order we can deal with.
> There will be 5 confirmed Lightnings for the SUN N
> FUN show of which 3 will be customer built aircraft.
> I am sorry that we haven't updated the web site and
> will try to this week, with a few pics of the newly
> finished planes, our build facility, and links to
> the build and flight manuals. After trips to Sun n
Fun, Oshkosh and doing tons of research on the
internet, in bookstores and talking to a ton of people
at the airshows, I decided on the Lightning. One of
the biggest supporters of the Lightning is Brent
Ackley, who works for BRS parachute systems. I highly
recommend anyone considering buying a Lightning kit to
call him. He has paid visits to the Lightning fuselage
fabricator to inspect the channells in the body for
the BRS straps. He was blown away by the quality of
the job done. Brent flies a Sonerai, but secretly
wishes he had a modern plane like a Lightning.
>
> Thank you very much for all of the intrest and we
> hope to make big strides this year with the
> Lightning.
>
> Nick Otterback
> Production Manager
> Arion Aircraft LLC
>
> Daniel Vandenberg <djvdb63@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Laurie...
>
> That's good to hear. I'm fighting the "Lightning
> vs. RV-9A" battle in my head. This has been
> discussed before on this list. The 5100 would be a
> great engine for the 9. It may be for the Lightning
> too if the factory approves in the future.
>
> By the way...to the factory...for those of us
> watching the Lightning development, more frequent
> updates on the website would be helpful. As far as
> I can tell the only update to the website (other
> than adding a computerized digital paint job to the
> prototype flying picture on the homepage) since
> August has been to the price :-(
>
> Why not start a section on the home page that give
> weekly or monthly updates something like the
> following:
>
> 1. Number of kits paid for...
>
> 2. Number of kits delivered to customers (either to
> the builders center or at home)
>
> 3. Number of kits under construction at the factory
> assistance center
>
> 4. Number of kits under construction at customers's
> homes/shops
>
> 5. Number of kits completed and flown.
>
> This sort of information, combined with more
> frequent photo updates of customer's projects and
> prototype improvements, would help us potential
> customers to feel confident that the Lightning is in
> the early stages of a long and successful production
> run.
>
> Dan
>
> Laurie Hoffman <lozhoffman@yahoo.com> wrote: -->
>
> Hi All,
> The Jabiru 8cyl is currently out of production due
> the
> overwhelming demand for the 4 and 6 cyl engines.
>
> The factory said that there have been no technical
> issues with the 180hp engine. They just cant supply
> enough of the others at this stage with current
> orders
> not being able to be met till sept/Oct.
>
> They are increasing production capacity and will be
> offering the 180hp engine again as soon as they
> begin
> to catch up with the 4s and 6s.
> Laurie
> Sydney
>
> --- Daniel Vandenberg wrote:
>
> > Somebody brought up the 8-cyl Jabiru 5100. You
> guys
> > in Tenn must have inside knowledge on this issue.
> > My understanding was that the factory in Australia
> > discontinued the engine because of problems with
> > early production engines...combined with need for
> > more production capacity for the 3300.
> >
> > What were the problems with the 5100?
> >
> > What are it's chances of re-entering production?
> >
> > Thanks...
> >
> > Dan
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
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> > with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started.
>
>
>
>
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Message 5
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| Subject: | Re: Answer to your question |
In a message dated 1/19/2007 12:11:48 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
cdewey6969@yahoo.com writes:
I am in the process of building a Lightning and have
never flown one.
Hi Charles,
We need to get you airborne in my Esqual LS - not a Lightning but a
pretty close hybrid based on the many Lightning mods I was able to incorporate
while I was building. I have had a bad ear block for over a week, so have not
flown recently, but that should clear up soon. I generally keep 31BZ at
KJGG. I think I remember you saying you were in Virginia as well. I hope to
head out to Shelbyville sometime soon, so if we don't get you up before I go,
we can do it when I get back.
Blue Skies,
Buz
Message 6
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| Subject: | Re: Answer to your question |
Buz- I can't believe anyone is up at this hour besides
me! Good to see there are some faithful Lightning
enthusiasts out there. I live in Aexandria and will
likely base out of Potomac Airfield, but am not sure
yet. I would love to go for a spin in your hybrid when
you are feeling better. Where is KJGG?
--- N1BZRich@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 1/19/2007 12:11:48 A.M. Eastern
> Standard Time,
> cdewey6969@yahoo.com writes:
>
> I am in the process of building a Lightning and
> have
> never flown one.
>
>
> Hi Charles,
> We need to get you airborne in my Esqual LS -
> not a Lightning but a
> pretty close hybrid based on the many Lightning mods
> I was able to incorporate
> while I was building. I have had a bad ear block
> for over a week, so have not
> flown recently, but that should clear up soon. I
> generally keep 31BZ at
> KJGG. I think I remember you saying you were in
> Virginia as well. I hope to
> head out to Shelbyville sometime soon, so if we
> don't get you up before I go,
> we can do it when I get back.
> Blue Skies,
> Buz
>
Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast
with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather
Message 7
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| Subject: | Re: Answer to your question |
In a message dated 1/19/2007 12:38:43 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
cdewey6969@yahoo.com writes:
Where is KJGG?
KJGG is Williamsburg, but I also have a hangar at Franklin and Wakefield.
I usually have the Esqual at JGG. Were you the guy at the Virginia Regional
EAA fly that I met at the Green "Acres" booth? You are not too far from Rick
Bowen - his Lightning will be flying pretty soon - probably February.
Blue Skies,
Buz
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