Today's Message Index:
----------------------
1. 02:15 AM - Re: A trip to "Lightning Operations" (Ron Wullaert)
2. 06:59 AM - Re: Total # of Esqual flying (Charles Dewey)
3. 08:23 AM - Re: Total # of Esqual flying (Brian Whittingham)
4. 09:53 AM - Re: To Brian W. // Esqual safety (Charles Dewey)
5. 10:04 AM - Re: Total # of Esqual flying (Kayberg@AOL.COM)
6. 10:32 AM - Re: To Doug K. // Esqual safety (Charles Dewey)
7. 11:49 AM - Re: Total # of Esqual flying (Pete)
8. 12:02 PM - Re: Total # of Esqual flying (N1BZRich@AOL.COM)
9. 02:57 PM - Re: Total # of Esqual flying (Pete)
10. 05:20 PM - Re: Esqual "High Speed Crash" (Charles Dewey)
11. 06:31 PM - Re: Esqual "High Speed Crash" (Brian Whittingham)
12. 06:56 PM - Re: Esqual "High Speed Crash" (Charles Dewey)
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| Subject: | A trip to "Lightning Operations" |
Danny
Considered the Esqual... Yes, sure I did. Inspired by it like the
Lightning... No, not really. All credit to the Esqual design, without
it
there would not be a Lightning. But the Esqual is still the Esqual of
years
ago, there is little or no evolution in it's design. The guys from
Arion on
the other hand, have worked hard to mature the aircrafts design and make
it
to something that exceeds the Esqual in many ways. Even now, they don't
sit
down and rest by what they have build. They are still improving their
bird
day after day. The spirit of what they build comes to life in the
peoples
who fly with Lightning and that's something I don't see in the Esqual
community. Having that said, I'm sure the Esqual is also a far better
choice than many of the other kits on the market today. I wish you lots
of
happy hours in your Esqual and sure would like to see it when it's
finished.
Many happy landings!
Ron
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel DW [mailto:ddw55@hotmail.com]
Sent: woensdag 7 maart 2007 8:51
Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning Operations"
Hi Ron,
ever considered the Esqual which is not any longer manufactured in Spain
but
in Belgium (Sint Truiden) ? Mine is almost finished and will fly by the
end
of the month.
Kind regards
Danny
_____
From: "Ron Wullaert" <ron.wullaert@telenet.be>
Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning Operations"
Buz
I'm a huge Lightning fan living in Belgium. I've been following the
Lighting list for almost a year now and I must say, It's because of
reports
like yours that I get more and more attracted to this great flying
machine.
I will be traveling to the US for a business trip in April. I've made
some
changes to my plans to be a few days earlier in the US so that I can
visit
you guys at Sun-N-Fun. Looking forward to it already!
Ron
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of
N1BZRich@aol.com
Sent: maandag 5 maart 2007 4:29
Subject: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning Operations"
Hello to all Lightning pilots, builders, and fans,
Hopefully this "rather long" trip report will generate some more
message
traffic about the Lightning. I hope so. Feel free to inject your
thoughts,
ideas, suggestions, or questions. Someone on the list will probably
have
the answers. Here goes:
I just spent another ten days with the Lightning guys in Tennessee
and
thought I would post a few thoughts and observations. The purpose of my
trip from Virginia to Shelbyville was twofold. First, my Jabiru 3300
powered Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) now has 250 hours on it (in the last
14
months) and I needed to do some time phased preventative engine
maintenance.
More on that later. The second reason for the trip was to help Joe and
Linda Mathias (good friends from Virginia) with the initial test flights
on
their Lightning and also help them with some of the detail things like
gear
leg fairings and wheel pants.
The trip out here Friday a week ago was one of the roughest rides I
have
had in a light airplane. I bumped all the way across Virginia and the
eastern half of Tennessee and at times saw winds as high as 80 mph
(about 30
degrees off the nose) and an effective head wind of almost 50 mph.
Luckily,
the winds changed to mostly cross winds as I got further into Tennessee,
so
I was able make up some time and get my average speed up some. As I
usually
do, I made the trip non stop, but it took 4.2 hours due to the head
winds.
I still managed to average 130 mph block to block, but I normally can
make
the trip in 3.3 hours with a block to block speed close to 170. Fuel
burn
for this trip was about 6 gph - slightly higher that I normally burn,
but I
kept trying different altitudes with hopes of finding less head winds
and
smoother air. No luck.
Saturday morning (24 Feb) the Lightning and Jabiru aircraft guys
attended an EAA fly-in here at Shelbyville. Yes, we took off from here
and
then "flew-in". Nick in the prototype Lightning, Pete in a new Special
Light Sport Jabiru, and me in 31BZ, flew some formation before landing
for
another great EAA breakfast. The ramp was full and the food was great,
so
it was a good fly-in.
Saturday afternoon Pete helped me do yet another head torque and
valve
adjustment (not a requirement for those of you that have the new
hydraulic
lifter engines). We also replaced the distributor caps and rotors, put
on
new plug wires, and set the gap between the flywheel magnets and
ignition
coils. Note: the distributor caps and rotors are time replacement
items
which I should have done at 200 hours. One other thing we did was to
check
my engine serial number against the Jabiru Service Bulletin having to do
with the flywheel bolts. Luckily my engine serial number (843) did not
require the procedures called out in the SB.
Sunday was spent doing a few other maintenance and clean up items on
31BZ while Pete flew some more time off another SLA Jabiru. Believe it
or
not, Pete and Ben (with family members) went to a Circus here in
Shelbyville
Sunday afternoon. You would think they would have had their fill of
dealing
with us "Clowns" on a daily basis.
Monday was a big event as Nick made a first flight in Rick Bowen's
Lightning which flew beautifully with no airframe corrections required.
I
happened to be airborne flying some demo flights at the time and was
able to
get a close up view of Rick's "jet" in flight. Unfortunately, I did not
have a camera with me, but it is another beautiful Lightning.
Tuesday's big event was Linda and Joe's airworthiness inspection by
the
local FAA DAR. The inspection went well - as do all of the inspections
in
Shelbyville because the Lightning and Jabiru guys know their stuff and
have
a great reputation with the FAA. I am always impressed as to how "on
top of
things" the Tennessee gang is. If you have any kind of "tool skills"
and
will listen to their guidance, you will end up with a fantastic
airplane.
Wednesday was probably a first for the Arion Aircraft group as two
Lightnings made their first flights on the same day. Linda and Joe
trusted
me enough to give me the honor of making the first flight in their
"Lightning Bug" (N59JL) and it flew beautifully. Linda will take over
the
test flying duties soon. Shortly after that flight Nick made the first
flight in Joe Cooper's Lightning and Joe was on hand to witness the
event.
I had flown earlier that day with Joe in the left seat of 31BZ and he is
anxious to climb in his own cockpit to see how much better the Lightning
really is. Another neat thing about Wednesday was that two Lightnings
that
had previously "flown the coop" returned to "home plate". Earl Ferguson
and
John Davis both flew back to SYI for a visit. Earl flew some demo
flights
in his soon to be "record setter" (ask Earl what that means). And
John's
"red, white, and blue patriotic Lightning" is absolutely beautiful, but
I
have to ask John where he got that short "dorky looking" prop; in a box
of
Cracker Jacks maybe?
Saturday (3 March) was another EAA fly-in breakfast, this time at
Winchester, Tennessee. Three aircraft made the hop to BGF from SYI.
Pete
flew the Jabiru 170 with Joe Mathias flying as co-pilot, Ben was in the
Jab
250 with Linda Mathias, and I took Joe and Linda's (N59JL) on it's first
cross country. The winds were forecast to be high all day in this part
of
Tennessee, and the weather guessers were right. When we got back to SYI
we
had a direct cross wind of 17 knots with gusts close to 30. I must
admit I
was concerned, being in a new airplane, but the Lightning handled the
cross
wind with no problem. The afternoon was spent fitting gear leg fairings
and
wheel pants to N59JL since the winds prevented effective test flying.
Sunday morning I put another 1.2 hours on Linda and Joe's Lightning
in
order to reach a total of 5 hours so that we could do the initial head
torque. After that Linda and I flew one last flight in my Esqual with
her
in the left seat and doing all the flying. She handled the cross wind
well
and felt ready to fly her Lightning so she did just that, flying for an
hour. While Linda was airborne, Mark and I took 31BZ up for more
transition
training for him. Mark flew some loose formation with Linda for a while
in
order to check her airspeed indications. Overall a full, fun day.
Linda's
landing was superb, so congratulations are in order for her initial solo
in
an airplane she built. And it is a beautiful example of the Lightning.
A few other observations:
-The new Lightning Demonstrator is back from the paint shop and it
is
going to be a super aircraft. It will have a great panel layout with an
impressive dual screen Grand Rapids EFIS set up. It should fly in a few
weeks. Look for this new Demonstrator Lightning at Sun-N-Fun where it
will
be doing triple duty - in the display booth, in the fly-by pattern, and
flying demo rides for potential customers. Speaking of SNF, so far it
looks
like at least five Lightnings will be there (plus 31BZ). I am sure we
will
have some sort of get together while there, so make your plans now to
attend. Lets make it a real "Lightning Storm".
-The Prototype Lightning will be testing a new prop to try in the
near
future. Nick has been running it with a ground adjustable carbon fiber
Sensenich set to a pitch of 56 inches and the engine will still turn up
at
least 3400 RPM. Nick mounted a new Sensenich wooden 64ZK58 on Saturday
and
will be trying it out this Monday if winds and weather allow. Stand by
for
a "sonic boom" as Nick starts testing the Lightning with this prop.
Nick
will provide actual test results when available.
-The Jabiru hangar (next to Lightning) is full of Jabiru aircraft in
various stages of completion. If you want a "turn key" Special Light
Sport
Aircraft that will run circles around a Cessna 172, a Piper Cherokee, or
certainly any LSA, take a look at the Jabiru 250. I am lucky enough to
have flown the Jabiru 170, 250 and 400, and all are impressive. Talk to
Ben
about a test flight in one of these unique airplanes, but do it soon -
they
build one a week and they are sold out until sometime in June.
-Final thoughts: It never ceases to amaze me at the overall value
and
capability that the Lightning represents. If you want a truly beautiful
kit
built aircraft that is relatively inexpensive (compared to other
aircraft
with similar performance), quick to build, and has amazing performance
while
being extremely economical to operate, you absolutely have to seriously
consider the Lightning. You will not be disappointed. And remember, it
can
also be built to meet the Light Sport requirements. Also, if you are in
a
real hurry to get in the air, sign up for their builder's assist
program.
With their expert help and guidance, you will soon be flying an aircraft
of
your own creation. That is certainly a rewarding experience. Another
observation is that the quality of the finished product when using the
builders assist program, is absolutely superb. All of the Lightnings
built
here that I have seen (and I think I have seen them all) could easily be
called "show quality". They will get lots of attention at any EAA
fly-in.
If you don't win a trophy it may be because the Judges asked you "How
long
did it take you to build your airplane?" They may not believe you.
-Heck, I want a Lightning. Anyone want to buy a fast Esqual?
Blue Skies,
Buz Rich
_____
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l?redir=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eaol%2Ecom" target="_blank">AOL.com.
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_____
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Message 2
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| Subject: | Total # of Esqual flying |
Anyone out there know how many Esquals have been built
and are flying? The reason why I ask is the safety
record for the Esqual is nearly flawless on the NTSB
database. There was only one accident due to a man
installing motorcycle brakes which caused him to go
off the runway and into a creek. Hardly the fault of
the airplane. That is the only reported accident. No
fatalities.
--- Ron Wullaert <ron.wullaert@telenet.be> wrote:
> Danny
>
> Considered the Esqual... Yes, sure I did. Inspired
> by it like the
> Lightning... No, not really. All credit to the
> Esqual design, without it
> there would not be a Lightning. But the Esqual is
> still the Esqual of years
> ago, there is little or no evolution in it's design.
> The guys from Arion on
> the other hand, have worked hard to mature the
> aircrafts design and make it
> to something that exceeds the Esqual in many ways.
> Even now, they don't sit
> down and rest by what they have build. They are
> still improving their bird
> day after day. The spirit of what they build comes
> to life in the peoples
> who fly with Lightning and that's something I don't
> see in the Esqual
> community. Having that said, I'm sure the Esqual is
> also a far better
> choice than many of the other kits on the market
> today. I wish you lots of
> happy hours in your Esqual and sure would like to
> see it when it's finished.
>
> Many happy landings!
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daniel DW [mailto:ddw55@hotmail.com]
> Sent: woensdag 7 maart 2007 8:51
> To: ron.wullaert@telenet.be
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Ron,
>
> ever considered the Esqual which is not any longer
> manufactured in Spain but
> in Belgium (Sint Truiden) ? Mine is almost finished
> and will fly by the end
> of the month.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Danny
>
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: "Ron Wullaert" <ron.wullaert@telenet.be>
> To: <lightning-list@matronics.com>
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
> Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 20:33:32 +0100
>
>
> Buz
>
> I'm a huge Lightning fan living in Belgium. I've
> been following the
> Lighting list for almost a year now and I must say,
> It's because of reports
> like yours that I get more and more attracted to
> this great flying machine.
> I will be traveling to the US for a business trip in
> April. I've made some
> changes to my plans to be a few days earlier in the
> US so that I can visit
> you guys at Sun-N-Fun. Looking forward to it
> already!
>
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> On Behalf Of
> N1BZRich@aol.com
> Sent: maandag 5 maart 2007 4:29
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
>
>
>
> Hello to all Lightning pilots, builders, and fans,
> Hopefully this "rather long" trip report will
> generate some more message
> traffic about the Lightning. I hope so. Feel free
> to inject your thoughts,
> ideas, suggestions, or questions. Someone on the
> list will probably have
> the answers. Here goes:
> I just spent another ten days with the Lightning
> guys in Tennessee and
> thought I would post a few thoughts and
> observations. The purpose of my
> trip from Virginia to Shelbyville was twofold.
> First, my Jabiru 3300
> powered Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) now has 250
> hours on it (in the last 14
> months) and I needed to do some time phased
> preventative engine maintenance.
> More on that later. The second reason for the trip
> was to help Joe and
> Linda Mathias (good friends from Virginia) with the
> initial test flights on
> their Lightning and also help them with some of the
> detail things like gear
> leg fairings and wheel pants.
> The trip out here Friday a week ago was one of
> the roughest rides I have
> had in a light airplane. I bumped all the way
> across Virginia and the
> eastern half of Tennessee and at times saw winds as
> high as 80 mph (about 30
> degrees off the nose) and an effective head wind of
> almost 50 mph. Luckily,
> the winds changed to mostly cross winds as I got
> further into Tennessee, so
> I was able make up some time and get my average
> speed up some. As I usually
> do, I made the trip non stop, but it took 4.2 hours
> due to the head winds.
> I still managed to average 130 mph block to block,
> but I normally can make
> the trip in 3.3 hours with a block to block speed
> close to 170. Fuel burn
> for this trip was about 6 gph - slightly higher that
> I normally burn, but I
> kept trying different altitudes with hopes of
> finding less head winds and
> smoother air. No luck.
> Saturday morning (24 Feb) the Lightning and
> Jabiru aircraft guys
> attended an EAA fly-in here at Shelbyville. Yes, we
> took off from here and
> then "flew-in". Nick in the prototype Lightning,
> Pete in a new Special
> Light Sport Jabiru, and me in 31BZ, flew some
> formation before landing for
> another great EAA breakfast. The ramp was full and
> the food was great, so
> it was a good fly-in.
> Saturday afternoon Pete helped me do yet another
> head torque and valve
> adjustment (not a requirement for those of you that
> have the new hydraulic
> lifter engines). We also replaced the distributor
> caps and rotors, put on
> new plug wires, and set the gap between the flywheel
> magnets and ignition
> coils. Note: the distributor caps and rotors are
> time replacement items
> which I should have done at 200 hours. One other
> thing we did was to check
> my engine serial number against the Jabiru Service
> Bulletin having to do
> with the flywheel bolts. Luckily my engine serial
> number (843) did not
> require the procedures called out in the SB.
> Sunday was spent doing a few other maintenance
> and clean up items on
> 31BZ while Pete flew some more time off another SLA
> Jabiru. Believe it or
> not, Pete and Ben (with family members) went to a
> Circus here in Shelbyville
> Sunday afternoon. You would think they would have
> had their fill of dealing
> with us "Clowns" on a daily basis.
> Monday was a big event as Nick made a first
> flight in Rick Bowen's
> Lightning which flew beautifully with no airframe
> corrections required. I
> happened to be airborne flying some demo flights at
> the time and was able to
> get a close up view of Rick's "jet" in flight.
> Unfortunately, I did not
> have a camera with me, but it is another beautiful
> Lightning.
> Tuesday's big event was Linda and Joe's
> airworthiness inspection by the
> local FAA DAR. The inspection went well - as do all
> of the inspections in
> Shelbyville because the Lightning and Jabiru guys
> know their stuff and have
> a great reputation with the FAA. I am always
> impressed as to how "on top of
> things" the Tennessee gang is. If you have any kind
> of
=== message truncated ==
Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast
with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather
Message 3
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| Subject: | Total # of Esqual flying |
Keep in mind that the NTSB database is a U.S. database and that the aircraft
is a Spanish built kitplane. With that in mind, I don't believe that there
have been many accidents. There were a couple other incidents that I know
of and one fatal accident overseas. The plane was originally built with
Motoguzzi motorcycle wheels and brakes with the kit. Later model U.S. built
planes were built with Matco wheels and brakes. You'll find that the
Lightning is built with real wheels and brakes as well. Take a look here:
http://www.eaa.org/communications/eaanews/030515_esqual.html This is from
Pete "about 90 kits flying in Europe" as of 2003. I'd say that Pete
probably sold at least half that many more in the US and maybe that many.
Buz's plane is one of the newer ones off the line and has about 250hours on
it. So with several airplanes in the air, and many hours on those planes
I'd say it is a proven design. Brian W.
From: Charles Dewey <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual flying
Anyone out there know how many Esquals have been built
and are flying? The reason why I ask is the safety
record for the Esqual is nearly flawless on the NTSB
database. There was only one accident due to a man
installing motorcycle brakes which caused him to go
off the runway and into a creek. Hardly the fault of
the airplane. That is the only reported accident. No
fatalities.
--- Ron Wullaert <ron.wullaert@telenet.be> wrote:
> Danny
>
> Considered the Esqual... Yes, sure I did. Inspired
> by it like the
> Lightning... No, not really. All credit to the
> Esqual design, without it
> there would not be a Lightning. But the Esqual is
> still the Esqual of years
> ago, there is little or no evolution in it's design.
> The guys from Arion on
> the other hand, have worked hard to mature the
> aircrafts design and make it
> to something that exceeds the Esqual in many ways.
> Even now, they don't sit
> down and rest by what they have build. They are
> still improving their bird
> day after day. The spirit of what they build comes
> to life in the peoples
> who fly with Lightning and that's something I don't
> see in the Esqual
> community. Having that said, I'm sure the Esqual is
> also a far better
> choice than many of the other kits on the market
> today. I wish you lots of
> happy hours in your Esqual and sure would like to
> see it when it's finished.
>
> Many happy landings!
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daniel DW [mailto:ddw55@hotmail.com]
> Sent: woensdag 7 maart 2007 8:51
> To: ron.wullaert@telenet.be
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Ron,
>
> ever considered the Esqual which is not any longer
> manufactured in Spain but
> in Belgium (Sint Truiden) ? Mine is almost finished
> and will fly by the end
> of the month.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Danny
>
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: "Ron Wullaert" <ron.wullaert@telenet.be>
> To: <lightning-list@matronics.com>
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
> Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 20:33:32 +0100
>
>
> Buz
>
> I'm a huge Lightning fan living in Belgium. I've
> been following the
> Lighting list for almost a year now and I must say,
> It's because of reports
> like yours that I get more and more attracted to
> this great flying machine.
> I will be traveling to the US for a business trip in
> April. I've made some
> changes to my plans to be a few days earlier in the
> US so that I can visit
> you guys at Sun-N-Fun. Looking forward to it
> already!
>
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> On Behalf Of
> N1BZRich@aol.com
> Sent: maandag 5 maart 2007 4:29
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
>
>
>
> Hello to all Lightning pilots, builders, and fans,
> Hopefully this "rather long" trip report will
> generate some more message
> traffic about the Lightning. I hope so. Feel free
> to inject your thoughts,
> ideas, suggestions, or questions. Someone on the
> list will probably have
> the answers. Here goes:
> I just spent another ten days with the Lightning
> guys in Tennessee and
> thought I would post a few thoughts and
> observations. The purpose of my
> trip from Virginia to Shelbyville was twofold.
> First, my Jabiru 3300
> powered Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) now has 250
> hours on it (in the last 14
> months) and I needed to do some time phased
> preventative engine maintenance.
> More on that later. The second reason for the trip
> was to help Joe and
> Linda Mathias (good friends from Virginia) with the
> initial test flights on
> their Lightning and also help them with some of the
> detail things like gear
> leg fairings and wheel pants.
> The trip out here Friday a week ago was one of
> the roughest rides I have
> had in a light airplane. I bumped all the way
> across Virginia and the
> eastern half of Tennessee and at times saw winds as
> high as 80 mph (about 30
> degrees off the nose) and an effective head wind of
> almost 50 mph. Luckily,
> the winds changed to mostly cross winds as I got
> further into Tennessee, so
> I was able make up some time and get my average
> speed up some. As I usually
> do, I made the trip non stop, but it took 4.2 hours
> due to the head winds.
> I still managed to average 130 mph block to block,
> but I normally can make
> the trip in 3.3 hours with a block to block speed
> close to 170. Fuel burn
> for this trip was about 6 gph - slightly higher that
> I normally burn, but I
> kept trying different altitudes with hopes of
> finding less head winds and
> smoother air. No luck.
> Saturday morning (24 Feb) the Lightning and
> Jabiru aircraft guys
> attended an EAA fly-in here at Shelbyville. Yes, we
> took off from here and
> then "flew-in". Nick in the prototype Lightning,
> Pete in a new Special
> Light Sport Jabiru, and me in 31BZ, flew some
> formation before landing for
> another great EAA breakfast. The ramp was full and
> the food was great, so
> it was a good fly-in.
> Saturday afternoon Pete helped me do yet another
> head torque and valve
> adjustment (not a requirement for those of you that
> have the new hydraulic
> lifter engines). We also replaced the distributor
> caps and rotors, put on
> new plug wires, and set the gap between the flywheel
> magnets and ignition
> coils. Note: the distributor caps and rotors are
> time replacement items
> which I should have done at 200 hours. One other
> thing we did was to check
> my engine serial number against the Jabiru Service
> Bulletin having to do
> with the flywheel bolts. Luckily my engine serial
> number (843) did not
> require the procedures called out in the SB.
> Sunday was spent doing a few other maintenance
> and clean up items on
> 31BZ while Pete flew some more time off another SLA
> Jabiru. Believe it or
> not, Pete and Ben (with family members) went to a
> Circus here in Shelbyville
> Sunday afternoon. You would think they would have
> had their fill of dealing
> with us "Clowns" on a daily basis.
> Monday was a big event as Nick made a first
> flight in Rick Bowen's
> Lightning which flew beautifully with no airframe
> corrections required. I
> happened to be airborne flying some demo flights at
> the time and was able to
> get a close up view of Rick's "jet" in flight.
> Unfortunately, I did not
> have a camera with me, but it is another beautiful
> Lightning.
> Tuesday's big event was Linda and Joe's
> airworthiness inspection by the
> local FAA DAR. The inspection went well - as do all
> of the inspections in
> Shelbyville because the Lightning and Jabiru guys
> know their stuff and have
> a great reputation with the FAA. I am always
> impressed as to how "on top of
> things" the Tennessee gang is. If you have any kind
> of
=== message truncated ==
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Message 4
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| Subject: | To Brian W. // Esqual safety |
brian, thanks for the info- That eaa website article
on the Esqual is really useful in understanding the
history of the Lightning by way of the Esqual. I'm
still working on getting you a copy of Ken Pacer's
book 'Speed with Economy'. Give me some more time. Do
you know how to access the database for Spain's
accident history? I find it useful to try and learn
from other people's mistakes. It would be great to be
able to study each Esqual accident. That is the great
thing about the US NTSB database. Since the Velocity
airplane, for example, is an American company I think
it is safe to assume most Velocity airplanes are in
the US. Their safety record is about as flawless as
you can get for an airplane company. Cirrus, on the
other hand, is about as bad as you can get. I hope the
Lightning can have an equally stellar safety record as
the Velocity. best, charles
--- Brian Whittingham <dashvii@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Whittingham" <dashvii@hotmail.com>
>
> Keep in mind that the NTSB database is a U.S.
> database and that the aircraft
> is a Spanish built kitplane. With that in mind, I
> don't believe that there
> have been many accidents. There were a couple other
> incidents that I know
> of and one fatal accident overseas. The plane was
> originally built with
> Motoguzzi motorcycle wheels and brakes with the kit.
> Later model U.S. built
> planes were built with Matco wheels and brakes.
> You'll find that the
> Lightning is built with real wheels and brakes as
> well. Take a look here:
>
http://www.eaa.org/communications/eaanews/030515_esqual.html
> This is from
> Pete "about 90 kits flying in Europe" as of 2003.
> I'd say that Pete
> probably sold at least half that many more in the US
> and maybe that many.
> Buz's plane is one of the newer ones off the line
> and has about 250hours on
> it. So with several airplanes in the air, and many
> hours on those planes
> I'd say it is a proven design. Brian W.
>
>
> From: Charles Dewey <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual
> flying
> Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 06:59:00 -0800 (PST)
>
> <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
>
> Anyone out there know how many Esquals have been
> built
> and are flying? The reason why I ask is the safety
> record for the Esqual is nearly flawless on the NTSB
> database. There was only one accident due to a man
> installing motorcycle brakes which caused him to go
> off the runway and into a creek. Hardly the fault of
> the airplane. That is the only reported accident. No
> fatalities.
> --- Ron Wullaert <ron.wullaert@telenet.be> wrote:
>
> > Danny
> >
> > Considered the Esqual... Yes, sure I did.
> Inspired
> > by it like the
> > Lightning... No, not really. All credit to the
> > Esqual design, without it
> > there would not be a Lightning. But the Esqual
> is
> > still the Esqual of years
> > ago, there is little or no evolution in it's
> design.
> > The guys from Arion on
> > the other hand, have worked hard to mature the
> > aircrafts design and make it
> > to something that exceeds the Esqual in many
> ways.
> > Even now, they don't sit
> > down and rest by what they have build. They are
> > still improving their bird
> > day after day. The spirit of what they build
> comes
> > to life in the peoples
> > who fly with Lightning and that's something I
> don't
> > see in the Esqual
> > community. Having that said, I'm sure the Esqual
> is
> > also a far better
> > choice than many of the other kits on the market
> > today. I wish you lots of
> > happy hours in your Esqual and sure would like to
> > see it when it's finished.
> >
> > Many happy landings!
> > Ron
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Daniel DW [mailto:ddw55@hotmail.com]
> > Sent: woensdag 7 maart 2007 8:51
> > To: ron.wullaert@telenet.be
> > Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> > Operations"
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi Ron,
> >
> > ever considered the Esqual which is not any
> longer
> > manufactured in Spain but
> > in Belgium (Sint Truiden) ? Mine is almost
> finished
> > and will fly by the end
> > of the month.
> >
> > Kind regards
> >
> > Danny
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _____
> >
> > From: "Ron Wullaert" <ron.wullaert@telenet.be>
> > To: <lightning-list@matronics.com>
> > Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> > Operations"
> > Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 20:33:32 +0100
> >
> >
> > Buz
> >
> > I'm a huge Lightning fan living in Belgium. I've
> > been following the
> > Lighting list for almost a year now and I must
> say,
> > It's because of reports
> > like yours that I get more and more attracted to
> > this great flying machine.
> > I will be traveling to the US for a business trip
> in
> > April. I've made some
> > changes to my plans to be a few days earlier in
> the
> > US so that I can visit
> > you guys at Sun-N-Fun. Looking forward to it
> > already!
> >
> > Ron
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> >
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> > On Behalf Of
> > N1BZRich@aol.com
> > Sent: maandag 5 maart 2007 4:29
> > To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> > Subject: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> > Operations"
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello to all Lightning pilots, builders, and
> fans,
> > Hopefully this "rather long" trip report will
> > generate some more message
> > traffic about the Lightning. I hope so. Feel
> free
> > to inject your thoughts,
> > ideas, suggestions, or questions. Someone on the
> > list will probably have
> > the answers. Here goes:
> > I just spent another ten days with the
> Lightning
> > guys in Tennessee and
> > thought I would post a few thoughts and
> > observations. The purpose of my
> > trip from Virginia to Shelbyville was twofold.
> > First, my Jabiru 3300
> > powered Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) now has 250
> > hours on it (in the last 14
> > months) and I needed to do some time phased
> > preventative engine maintenance.
> > More on that later. The second reason for the
> trip
> > was to help Joe and
> > Linda Mathias (good friends from Virginia) with
> the
> > initial test flights on
> > their Lightning and also help them with some of
> the
> > detail things like gear
> > leg fairings and wheel pants.
> > The trip out here Friday a week ago was one
> of
> > the roughest rides I have
> > had in a light airplane. I bumped all the way
> > across Virginia and the
> > eastern half of Tennessee and at times saw winds
> as
> > high as 80 mph (about 30
> > degrees off the nose) and an effective head wind
> of
>
=== message truncated ==
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Message 5
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| Subject: | Re: Total # of Esqual flying |
In a message dated 3/7/2007 10:01:42 AM Eastern Standard Time,
cdewey6969@yahoo.com writes:
Anyone out there know how many Esquals have been built
and are flying? The reason why I ask is the safety
record for the Esqual is nearly flawless on the NTSB
database. There was only one accident due to a man
installing motorcycle brakes which caused him to go
off the runway and into a creek. Hardly the fault of
the airplane. That is the only reported accident. No
fatalities.
--- Ron Wullaert <ron.wullaert@telenet.be> wrote:
I think the USA record is due in part to the handfull that have been
imported.
The former owner of the manufacturing company in Spain was killed in an
Esqual.
doug koenigsberg
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Message 6
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|
| Subject: | To Doug K. // Esqual safety |
Doug, Any idea as to how the Spanish manufacturer died
in his Esqual? Charles
--- Charles Dewey <cdewey6969@yahoo.com> wrote:
> <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
>
> brian, thanks for the info- That eaa website
> article
> on the Esqual is really useful in understanding the
> history of the Lightning by way of the Esqual. I'm
> still working on getting you a copy of Ken Pacer's
> book 'Speed with Economy'. Give me some more time.
> Do
> you know how to access the database for Spain's
> accident history? I find it useful to try and learn
> from other people's mistakes. It would be great to
> be
> able to study each Esqual accident. That is the
> great
> thing about the US NTSB database. Since the Velocity
> airplane, for example, is an American company I
> think
> it is safe to assume most Velocity airplanes are in
> the US. Their safety record is about as flawless as
> you can get for an airplane company. Cirrus, on the
> other hand, is about as bad as you can get. I hope
> the
> Lightning can have an equally stellar safety record
> as
> the Velocity. best, charles
> --- Brian Whittingham <dashvii@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Whittingham" <dashvii@hotmail.com>
> >
> > Keep in mind that the NTSB database is a U.S.
> > database and that the aircraft
> > is a Spanish built kitplane. With that in mind, I
> > don't believe that there
> > have been many accidents. There were a couple
> other
> > incidents that I know
> > of and one fatal accident overseas. The plane was
> > originally built with
> > Motoguzzi motorcycle wheels and brakes with the
> kit.
> > Later model U.S. built
> > planes were built with Matco wheels and brakes.
> > You'll find that the
> > Lightning is built with real wheels and brakes as
> > well. Take a look here:
> >
>
http://www.eaa.org/communications/eaanews/030515_esqual.html
> > This is from
> > Pete "about 90 kits flying in Europe" as of 2003.
> > I'd say that Pete
> > probably sold at least half that many more in the
> US
> > and maybe that many.
> > Buz's plane is one of the newer ones off the line
> > and has about 250hours on
> > it. So with several airplanes in the air, and
> many
> > hours on those planes
> > I'd say it is a proven design. Brian W.
> >
> >
> > From: Charles Dewey <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
> > To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> > Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual
> > flying
> > Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 06:59:00 -0800 (PST)
> >
> Dewey
> > <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
> >
> > Anyone out there know how many Esquals have been
> > built
> > and are flying? The reason why I ask is the safety
> > record for the Esqual is nearly flawless on the
> NTSB
> > database. There was only one accident due to a man
> > installing motorcycle brakes which caused him to
> go
> > off the runway and into a creek. Hardly the fault
> of
> > the airplane. That is the only reported accident.
> No
> > fatalities.
> > --- Ron Wullaert <ron.wullaert@telenet.be> wrote:
> >
> > > Danny
> > >
> > > Considered the Esqual... Yes, sure I did.
> > Inspired
> > > by it like the
> > > Lightning... No, not really. All credit to
> the
> > > Esqual design, without it
> > > there would not be a Lightning. But the Esqual
> > is
> > > still the Esqual of years
> > > ago, there is little or no evolution in it's
> > design.
> > > The guys from Arion on
> > > the other hand, have worked hard to mature the
> > > aircrafts design and make it
> > > to something that exceeds the Esqual in many
> > ways.
> > > Even now, they don't sit
> > > down and rest by what they have build. They
> are
> > > still improving their bird
> > > day after day. The spirit of what they build
> > comes
> > > to life in the peoples
> > > who fly with Lightning and that's something I
> > don't
> > > see in the Esqual
> > > community. Having that said, I'm sure the
> Esqual
> > is
> > > also a far better
> > > choice than many of the other kits on the
> market
> > > today. I wish you lots of
> > > happy hours in your Esqual and sure would like
> to
> > > see it when it's finished.
> > >
> > > Many happy landings!
> > > Ron
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Daniel DW [mailto:ddw55@hotmail.com]
> > > Sent: woensdag 7 maart 2007 8:51
> > > To: ron.wullaert@telenet.be
> > > Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to
> "Lightning
> > > Operations"
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi Ron,
> > >
> > > ever considered the Esqual which is not any
> > longer
> > > manufactured in Spain but
> > > in Belgium (Sint Truiden) ? Mine is almost
> > finished
> > > and will fly by the end
> > > of the month.
> > >
> > > Kind regards
> > >
> > > Danny
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _____
> > >
> > > From: "Ron Wullaert" <ron.wullaert@telenet.be>
> > > To: <lightning-list@matronics.com>
> > > Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to
> "Lightning
> > > Operations"
> > > Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 20:33:32 +0100
> > >
> > >
> > > Buz
> > >
> > > I'm a huge Lightning fan living in Belgium.
> I've
> > > been following the
> > > Lighting list for almost a year now and I must
> > say,
> > > It's because of reports
> > > like yours that I get more and more attracted
> to
> > > this great flying machine.
> > > I will be traveling to the US for a business
> trip
> > in
> > > April. I've made some
> > > changes to my plans to be a few days earlier in
> > the
> > > US so that I can visit
> > > you guys at Sun-N-Fun. Looking forward to it
> > > already!
> > >
> > > Ron
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> > >
> > [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
>
=== message truncated ==
8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
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Message 7
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| Subject: | Total # of Esqual flying |
We were told at one time by the designer that there were 90 flying in Europe
but the serial numbers that we received started at 18 in 2003 and the last
one was 75 in 2005. There have been several accidents - mostly caused by
landing gear and wheel problems in Europe and also some in the USA. Most of
those in the USA were not reported as the builders just quietly took care of
the problem.
Pete
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Charles
Dewey
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:59 AM
Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual flying
Anyone out there know how many Esquals have been built
and are flying? The reason why I ask is the safety
record for the Esqual is nearly flawless on the NTSB
database. There was only one accident due to a man
installing motorcycle brakes which caused him to go
off the runway and into a creek. Hardly the fault of
the airplane. That is the only reported accident. No
fatalities.
--- Ron Wullaert <ron.wullaert@telenet.be> wrote:
> Danny
>
> Considered the Esqual... Yes, sure I did. Inspired
> by it like the
> Lightning... No, not really. All credit to the
> Esqual design, without it
> there would not be a Lightning. But the Esqual is
> still the Esqual of years
> ago, there is little or no evolution in it's design.
> The guys from Arion on
> the other hand, have worked hard to mature the
> aircrafts design and make it
> to something that exceeds the Esqual in many ways.
> Even now, they don't sit
> down and rest by what they have build. They are
> still improving their bird
> day after day. The spirit of what they build comes
> to life in the peoples
> who fly with Lightning and that's something I don't
> see in the Esqual
> community. Having that said, I'm sure the Esqual is
> also a far better
> choice than many of the other kits on the market
> today. I wish you lots of
> happy hours in your Esqual and sure would like to
> see it when it's finished.
>
> Many happy landings!
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Daniel DW [mailto:ddw55@hotmail.com]
> Sent: woensdag 7 maart 2007 8:51
> To: ron.wullaert@telenet.be
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Ron,
>
> ever considered the Esqual which is not any longer
> manufactured in Spain but
> in Belgium (Sint Truiden) ? Mine is almost finished
> and will fly by the end
> of the month.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Danny
>
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: "Ron Wullaert" <ron.wullaert@telenet.be>
> To: <lightning-list@matronics.com>
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
> Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 20:33:32 +0100
>
>
> Buz
>
> I'm a huge Lightning fan living in Belgium. I've
> been following the
> Lighting list for almost a year now and I must say,
> It's because of reports
> like yours that I get more and more attracted to
> this great flying machine.
> I will be traveling to the US for a business trip in
> April. I've made some
> changes to my plans to be a few days earlier in the
> US so that I can visit
> you guys at Sun-N-Fun. Looking forward to it
> already!
>
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> On Behalf Of
> N1BZRich@aol.com
> Sent: maandag 5 maart 2007 4:29
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: Lightning-List: A trip to "Lightning
> Operations"
>
>
>
> Hello to all Lightning pilots, builders, and fans,
> Hopefully this "rather long" trip report will
> generate some more message
> traffic about the Lightning. I hope so. Feel free
> to inject your thoughts,
> ideas, suggestions, or questions. Someone on the
> list will probably have
> the answers. Here goes:
> I just spent another ten days with the Lightning
> guys in Tennessee and
> thought I would post a few thoughts and
> observations. The purpose of my
> trip from Virginia to Shelbyville was twofold.
> First, my Jabiru 3300
> powered Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) now has 250
> hours on it (in the last 14
> months) and I needed to do some time phased
> preventative engine maintenance.
> More on that later. The second reason for the trip
> was to help Joe and
> Linda Mathias (good friends from Virginia) with the
> initial test flights on
> their Lightning and also help them with some of the
> detail things like gear
> leg fairings and wheel pants.
> The trip out here Friday a week ago was one of
> the roughest rides I have
> had in a light airplane. I bumped all the way
> across Virginia and the
> eastern half of Tennessee and at times saw winds as
> high as 80 mph (about 30
> degrees off the nose) and an effective head wind of
> almost 50 mph. Luckily,
> the winds changed to mostly cross winds as I got
> further into Tennessee, so
> I was able make up some time and get my average
> speed up some. As I usually
> do, I made the trip non stop, but it took 4.2 hours
> due to the head winds.
> I still managed to average 130 mph block to block,
> but I normally can make
> the trip in 3.3 hours with a block to block speed
> close to 170. Fuel burn
> for this trip was about 6 gph - slightly higher that
> I normally burn, but I
> kept trying different altitudes with hopes of
> finding less head winds and
> smoother air. No luck.
> Saturday morning (24 Feb) the Lightning and
> Jabiru aircraft guys
> attended an EAA fly-in here at Shelbyville. Yes, we
> took off from here and
> then "flew-in". Nick in the prototype Lightning,
> Pete in a new Special
> Light Sport Jabiru, and me in 31BZ, flew some
> formation before landing for
> another great EAA breakfast. The ramp was full and
> the food was great, so
> it was a good fly-in.
> Saturday afternoon Pete helped me do yet another
> head torque and valve
> adjustment (not a requirement for those of you that
> have the new hydraulic
> lifter engines). We also replaced the distributor
> caps and rotors, put on
> new plug wires, and set the gap between the flywheel
> magnets and ignition
> coils. Note: the distributor caps and rotors are
> time replacement items
> which I should have done at 200 hours. One other
> thing we did was to check
> my engine serial number against the Jabiru Service
> Bulletin having to do
> with the flywheel bolts. Luckily my engine serial
> number (843) did not
> require the procedures called out in the SB.
> Sunday was spent doing a few other maintenance
> and clean up items on
> 31BZ while Pete flew some more time off another SLA
> Jabiru. Believe it or
> not, Pete and Ben (with family members) went to a
> Circus here in Shelbyville
> Sunday afternoon. You would think they would have
> had their fill of dealing
> with us "Clowns" on a daily basis.
> Monday was a big event as Nick made a first
> flight in Rick Bowen's
> Lightning which flew beautifully with no airframe
> corrections required. I
> happened to be airborne flying some demo flights at
> the time and was able to
> get a close up view of Rick's "jet" in flight.
> Unfortunately, I did not
> have a camera with me, but it is another beautiful
> Lightning.
> Tuesday's big event was Linda and Joe's
> airworthiness inspection by the
> local FAA DAR. The inspection went well - as do all
> of the inspections in
> Shelbyville because the Lightning and Jabiru guys
> know their stuff and have
> a great reputation with the FAA. I am always
> impressed as to how "on top of
> things" the Tennessee gang is. If you have any kind
> of
=== message truncated ==
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Message 8
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| Subject: | Re: Total # of Esqual flying |
Hello all,
Since someone asked about Esquals, and my specific airplane has been
mentioned, let me add a few comments. I estimate the number of Esqual kits
still actively flying in the US is probably some where between 5 and 8, with
probably 3 more to fly soon. Many more were built in Europe and some in
Australia. The ones with the Jabiru engine are the fastest. My kit was serial
number 70. I ordered the Esqual kit from Pete just after Sun-N-Fun 2005 because
I
did not want to wait a year for the Lightning kit design to become finalized
and available. I had made the mistake of quoting a price for my Bonanza
and, just like that, it was sold and I did not have a traveling airplane. I
needed to replace it, but did not really need four seats. The Esqual looked
like a good possibility and with Pete's builder's assist it could be completed
quickly. However, during the build process I made many changes to the Esqual
design. Some were just things I wanted to change to improve the looks, some
changes were to improve performance, some changes were what I considered
safety of flight issues, some changes were to improve maintainability, and other
changes were by necessity - meaning that many of my kit parts were never
delivered by the then new Esqual owner in Belgium. (Future kit buyers be
careful.) Bottom line, my Esqual kit could never have been completed without
Pete
finding sources to fabricate the missing parts - central beam assembly,
rudder and brake pedals, engine mount, etc. All of these parts were built by
the
future Lightning fabricators.
Here is a partial list of the changes I made:
-Dual brakes using Matco cylinders on all four brake/rudder pedal
assemblies. This is true dual brakes, not like the passenger side dual brakes
with
cables to activate them, as is the case if you order dual brakes with the
Esqual kit.
-Welded rudder pedal and brake assemblies made out of 4130 chromoly steel to
replace the weak looking parts that the Esqual kit had. Well, My "weak
looking" parts did not come, so had to have the future Lightning supplier weld
up
the parts for my airplane. So I have Lightning rudder and brake pedals.
-Matco wheels and brakes with 500x5 main wheel tires like on the Lightning.
-Stainless steel firewall like on the Lightning. The firewall that comes
with the Esqual kit looks sub-standard to me - kind of like fiberglass cloth
with aluminum film glued on. Not up to my safety standards.
-Mounted the brake fluid reservoir and electric fuel pump on the engine side
of the firewall
to ease maintenance on these items.
-Dual throttles for pilot and co-pilot left hands.
-Moved the cockpit air inlets from the cowling to aft of the firewall using
a NACA style ducts. By doing this you don't need to have holes in the
firewall for cockpit air as on the Esqual kit. The Lightning is set up this way
and in my book is much safer if you have en engine fire.
-Moved the "in cockpit" air outlets to just below and slightly forward of
the bottom of the instrument panel on each side of the cockpit. This gives
more panel room.
-Lowered the baggage floor to give more volume to the storage area.
-Had a complete upholstered cockpit done from leather look vinyl which I am
told will last longer than real leather. Yes, heavier, but definitely more
comfortable and better looking.
-Glassed in the wing tips (as several have done) to allow use of a tip light
that is a combination trobe, colored position light, and a white position
light all in one. This system is standard on the Lightning.
-Cut an area of the wing leading edges to provide room for a landing light
and a taxi light.
-Glassed in the stabilizer to empennage junction (as several have done).
-Fitted Van's fiberglass gear leg fairings and wheel pants. The Lightning
guys have developed similar fairings and wheel pants for the Lightning. This
mod is probably good for at least 20 mph over the stock Esqual wheel pants
and no gear leg fairings.
-Using AN hardware where possible. Standard on the Lightning.
-Modified one of the original Lightning cowlings to fit the Esqual fuselage.
This cowling includes NACA ducts for carb air and the oil cooler, and has
Lopresti style round air inlets. It is a much lower drag cowling than the one
that comes with the Esqual kit and is another source of additional speed over
the stock Esqual.
-I did not use a muffler at all (more power?) and get cockpit heat and carb
heat from hear muffs on exhaust stacks.
-Oh yes, I almost forgot the "wide butt mod". I am 6'2'' and weigh about
215 pounds. I found that sitting in the Esqual molded fiberglass seat for any
length of time, I would get "hot spots" on my hip bones. I cut
slits in that area of the seat pans, heated the fiberglass and pressed the
area outward to widen the area, and then re-glassed the seat pans. It helps
a lot on long flights.
There may be other small mods that I am not remembering, but these are the
main ones. The result of all these changes and the extra equipment installed
in the instrument panel, is probably the heaviest Esqual built to date at 765
pounds empty. But is a much safer airplane, a much faster airplane, and it
has the capabilities and looks that I wanted. Pete has told me that it is
the fastest Esqual built and the highest flying one as well. I have seen 188
mph TAS at 5,000 feet and I have had it to 16,000 feet. At that altitude it
was still climbing at 400 fpm. My feet were so cold I did not want to go any
higher. It still has a very low stall speed of about 35 mph with 30 degrees
of flaps or about 44 mph with no flaps.
Note: Even with all these changes and not working full time, with the help
of the builder's assist program that is now available for the Lightning, I
was able to complete my Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) in just 3 months. The
process could have been much quicker had I not made all these changes. I guess
you could call this an endorsement for the SYI guys and their excellent
builders assist program. Try it, you'll like it. And the Lightning kit is less
expensive, readily available, safer, stronger, faster, easier to maintain and,
with the exception of the engine, all US made.
Thus far I have only flown the Prototype Lightning and the Hybird Lightning,
but when the Demonstrator is completed, I will fly it in order to provide a
similar flight evaluation to the one I wrote after flying the Prototype.
This flight evaluation will be aimed towards exactly what a Lightning customer
can expect their airplane to fly like and the performance that can be
expected. "Throw me in that briar patch", or in other words, I look forward to
that
assignment.
Blue Skies,
Buz
PS: I still have a fast Esqual with lots of Lightning mods for sale.
<BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free
email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at
http://www.aol.com.
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| Subject: | Total # of Esqual flying |
>From the FAA web site - there are 12 Esquals with AW certificates that are
flying. Eleven sold by Esqual North America or Jabiru USA and one sold
direct from Limair (I guess) at the time we could not get metal parts for
our kits and Limair was keeping our deposit money for kits not delivered.
The kit sold by Limair is serial 72 and the last ones we sold were 74 & 75..
It would be interesting to find if Limair supplies him with metal parts that
they never supplied to our builders.
Pete
_____
From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of
N1BZRich@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual flying
Hello all,
Since someone asked about Esquals, and my specific airplane has been
mentioned, let me add a few comments. I estimate the number of Esqual kits
still actively flying in the US is probably some where between 5 and 8, with
probably 3 more to fly soon. Many more were built in Europe and some in
Australia. The ones with the Jabiru engine are the fastest. My kit was
serial number 70. I ordered the Esqual kit from Pete just after Sun-N-Fun
2005 because I did not want to wait a year for the Lightning kit design to
become finalized and available. I had made the mistake of quoting a price
for my Bonanza and, just like that, it was sold and I did not have a
traveling airplane. I needed to replace it, but did not really need four
seats. The Esqual looked like a good possibility and with Pete's builder's
assist it could be completed quickly. However, during the build process I
made many changes to the Esqual design. Some were just things I wanted to
change to improve the looks, some changes were to improve performance, some
changes were what I considered safety of flight issues, some changes were to
improve maintainability, and other changes were by necessity - meaning that
many of my kit parts were never delivered by the then new Esqual owner in
Belgium. (Future kit buyers be careful.) Bottom line, my Esqual kit could
never have been completed without Pete finding sources to fabricate the
missing parts - central beam assembly, rudder and brake pedals, engine
mount, etc. All of these parts were built by the future Lightning
fabricators.
Here is a partial list of the changes I made:
-Dual brakes using Matco cylinders on all four brake/rudder pedal
assemblies. This is true dual brakes, not like the passenger side dual
brakes with cables to activate them, as is the case if you order dual brakes
with the Esqual kit.
-Welded rudder pedal and brake assemblies made out of 4130 chromoly steel to
replace the weak looking parts that the Esqual kit had. Well, My "weak
looking" parts did not come, so had to have the future Lightning supplier
weld up the parts for my airplane. So I have Lightning rudder and brake
pedals.
-Matco wheels and brakes with 500x5 main wheel tires like on the Lightning.
-Stainless steel firewall like on the Lightning. The firewall that comes
with the Esqual kit looks sub-standard to me - kind of like fiberglass cloth
with aluminum film glued on. Not up to my safety standards.
-Mounted the brake fluid reservoir and electric fuel pump on the engine side
of the firewall
to ease maintenance on these items.
-Dual throttles for pilot and co-pilot left hands.
-Moved the cockpit air inlets from the cowling to aft of the firewall using
a NACA style ducts. By doing this you don't need to have holes in the
firewall for cockpit air as on the Esqual kit. The Lightning is set up this
way and in my book is much safer if you have en engine fire.
-Moved the "in cockpit" air outlets to just below and slightly forward of
the bottom of the instrument panel on each side of the cockpit. This gives
more panel room.
-Lowered the baggage floor to give more volume to the storage area.
-Had a complete upholstered cockpit done from leather look vinyl which I am
told will last longer than real leather. Yes, heavier, but definitely more
comfortable and better looking.
-Glassed in the wing tips (as several have done) to allow use of a tip light
that is a combination trobe, colored position light, and a white position
light all in one. This system is standard on the Lightning.
-Cut an area of the wing leading edges to provide room for a landing light
and a taxi light.
-Glassed in the stabilizer to empennage junction (as several have done).
-Fitted Van's fiberglass gear leg fairings and wheel pants. The Lightning
guys have developed similar fairings and wheel pants for the Lightning.
This mod is probably good for at least 20 mph over the stock Esqual wheel
pants and no gear leg fairings.
-Using AN hardware where possible. Standard on the Lightning.
-Modified one of the original Lightning cowlings to fit the Esqual fuselage.
This cowling includes NACA ducts for carb air and the oil cooler, and has
Lopresti style round air inlets. It is a much lower drag cowling than the
one that comes with the Esqual kit and is another source of additional speed
over the stock Esqual.
-I did not use a muffler at all (more power?) and get cockpit heat and carb
heat from hear muffs on exhaust stacks.
-Oh yes, I almost forgot the "wide butt mod". I am 6'2'' and weigh about
215 pounds. I found that sitting in the Esqual molded fiberglass seat for
any length of time, I would get "hot spots" on my hip bones. I cut
slits in that area of the seat pans, heated the fiberglass and pressed the
area outward to widen the area, and then re-glassed the seat pans. It helps
a lot on long flights.
There may be other small mods that I am not remembering, but these are
the main ones. The result of all these changes and the extra equipment
installed in the instrument panel, is probably the heaviest Esqual built to
date at 765 pounds empty. But is a much safer airplane, a much faster
airplane, and it has the capabilities and looks that I wanted. Pete has
told me that it is the fastest Esqual built and the highest flying one as
well. I have seen 188 mph TAS at 5,000 feet and I have had it to 16,000
feet. At that altitude it was still climbing at 400 fpm. My feet were so
cold I did not want to go any higher. It still has a very low stall speed
of about 35 mph with 30 degrees of flaps or about 44 mph with no flaps.
Note: Even with all these changes and not working full time, with the help
of the builder's assist program that is now available for the Lightning, I
was able to complete my Esqual LS (Lightning Stuff) in just 3 months. The
process could have been much quicker had I not made all these changes. I
guess you could call this an endorsement for the SYI guys and their
excellent builders assist program. Try it, you'll like it. And the
Lightning kit is less expensive, readily available, safer, stronger, faster,
easier to maintain and, with the exception of the engine, all US made.
Thus far I have only flown the Prototype Lightning and the Hybird
Lightning, but when the Demonstrator is completed, I will fly it in order to
provide a similar flight evaluation to the one I wrote after flying the
Prototype. This flight evaluation will be aimed towards exactly what a
Lightning customer can expect their airplane to fly like and the performance
that can be expected. "Throw me in that briar patch", or in other words, I
look forward to that assignment.
Blue Skies,
Buz
PS: I still have a fast Esqual with lots of Lightning mods for sale.
_____
AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from
AOL at AOL.com.
Message 10
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|
| Subject: | Esqual "High Speed Crash" |
I did a Google search using the words <Esqual accident
Spain> and while unable to get a detailed accident
report of what Brian claims is the one Esqual
fatality, I was able to find the words "high speed
crash which caused Esqual to re-think its wing
design". This is not an exact quote, just as I
remember it. Anyone out there know the details of that
accident?
--- Pete <pete@flylightning.net> wrote:
> >From the FAA web site - there are 12 Esquals with
> AW certificates that are
> flying. Eleven sold by Esqual North America or
> Jabiru USA and one sold
> direct from Limair (I guess) at the time we could
> not get metal parts for
> our kits and Limair was keeping our deposit money
> for kits not delivered.
> The kit sold by Limair is serial 72 and the last
> ones we sold were 74 & 75..
> It would be interesting to find if Limair supplies
> him with metal parts that
> they never supplied to our builders.
>
>
>
> Pete
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> On Behalf Of
> N1BZRich@aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:02 PM
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual
> flying
>
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> Since someone asked about Esquals, and my
> specific airplane has been
> mentioned, let me add a few comments. I estimate
> the number of Esqual kits
> still actively flying in the US is probably some
> where between 5 and 8, with
> probably 3 more to fly soon. Many more were built
> in Europe and some in
> Australia. The ones with the Jabiru engine are the
> fastest. My kit was
> serial number 70. I ordered the Esqual kit from
> Pete just after Sun-N-Fun
> 2005 because I did not want to wait a year for the
> Lightning kit design to
> become finalized and available. I had made the
> mistake of quoting a price
> for my Bonanza and, just like that, it was sold and
> I did not have a
> traveling airplane. I needed to replace it, but did
> not really need four
> seats. The Esqual looked like a good possibility
> and with Pete's builder's
> assist it could be completed quickly. However,
> during the build process I
> made many changes to the Esqual design. Some were
> just things I wanted to
> change to improve the looks, some changes were to
> improve performance, some
> changes were what I considered safety of flight
> issues, some changes were to
> improve maintainability, and other changes were by
> necessity - meaning that
> many of my kit parts were never delivered by the
> then new Esqual owner in
> Belgium. (Future kit buyers be careful.) Bottom
> line, my Esqual kit could
> never have been completed without Pete finding
> sources to fabricate the
> missing parts - central beam assembly, rudder and
> brake pedals, engine
> mount, etc. All of these parts were built by the
> future Lightning
> fabricators.
>
>
>
> Here is a partial list of the changes I made:
>
> -Dual brakes using Matco cylinders on all four
> brake/rudder pedal
> assemblies. This is true dual brakes, not like the
> passenger side dual
> brakes with cables to activate them, as is the case
> if you order dual brakes
> with the Esqual kit.
>
> -Welded rudder pedal and brake assemblies made out
> of 4130 chromoly steel to
> replace the weak looking parts that the Esqual kit
> had. Well, My "weak
> looking" parts did not come, so had to have the
> future Lightning supplier
> weld up the parts for my airplane. So I have
> Lightning rudder and brake
> pedals.
>
> -Matco wheels and brakes with 500x5 main wheel tires
> like on the Lightning.
>
> -Stainless steel firewall like on the Lightning.
> The firewall that comes
> with the Esqual kit looks sub-standard to me - kind
> of like fiberglass cloth
> with aluminum film glued on. Not up to my safety
> standards.
>
> -Mounted the brake fluid reservoir and electric fuel
> pump on the engine side
> of the firewall
>
> to ease maintenance on these items.
>
> -Dual throttles for pilot and co-pilot left hands.
>
> -Moved the cockpit air inlets from the cowling to
> aft of the firewall using
> a NACA style ducts. By doing this you don't need to
> have holes in the
> firewall for cockpit air as on the Esqual kit. The
> Lightning is set up this
> way and in my book is much safer if you have en
> engine fire.
>
> -Moved the "in cockpit" air outlets to just below
> and slightly forward of
> the bottom of the instrument panel on each side of
> the cockpit. This gives
> more panel room.
>
> -Lowered the baggage floor to give more volume to
> the storage area.
>
> -Had a complete upholstered cockpit done from
> leather look vinyl which I am
> told will last longer than real leather. Yes,
> heavier, but definitely more
> comfortable and better looking.
>
> -Glassed in the wing tips (as several have done) to
> allow use of a tip light
> that is a combination trobe, colored position light,
> and a white position
> light all in one. This system is standard on the
> Lightning.
>
> -Cut an area of the wing leading edges to provide
> room for a landing light
> and a taxi light.
>
> -Glassed in the stabilizer to empennage junction (as
> several have done).
>
> -Fitted Van's fiberglass gear leg fairings and wheel
> pants. The Lightning
> guys have developed similar fairings and wheel pants
> for the Lightning.
> This mod is probably good for at least 20 mph over
> the stock Esqual wheel
> pants and no gear leg fairings.
>
> -Using AN hardware where possible. Standard on the
> Lightning.
>
> -Modified one of the original Lightning cowlings to
> fit the Esqual fuselage.
> This cowling includes NACA ducts for carb air and
> the oil cooler, and has
> Lopresti style round air inlets. It is a much lower
> drag cowling than the
> one that comes with the Esqual kit and is another
> source of additional speed
> over the stock Esqual.
>
> -I did not use a muffler at all (more power?) and
> get cockpit heat and carb
> heat from hear muffs on exhaust stacks.
>
> -Oh yes, I almost forgot the "wide butt mod". I am
> 6'2'' and weigh about
> 215 pounds. I found that sitting in the Esqual
> molded fiberglass seat for
> any length of time, I would get "hot spots" on my
> hip bones. I cut
>
> slits in that area of the seat pans, heated the
> fiberglass and pressed the
> area outward to widen the area, and then re-glassed
> the seat pans. It helps
> a lot on long flights.
>
> There may be other small mods that I am not
> remembering, but these are
> the main ones. The result of all these changes and
> the extra equipment
> installed in the instrument panel, is probably the
> heaviest Esqual built to
>
=== message truncated ==
Be a PS3 game guru.
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Message 11
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|
| Subject: | Esqual "High Speed Crash" |
Charles,
What I heard is that it was the previous owner of the company giving a
demo ride to a media person. While doing a high speed pass, the passenger
was given the controls and it inverted and went in. What we might be saying
is that it was a high speed stall. Don't know that under such circumstances
that a wing shape design would be much different. If it were a low speed
stall spin and the plane had undesirable stall characteristics then this
would make sense to change the wing design. The Lightning's wing pretty
much falls right back into place and is practically a non-event. The last
Esqual's that I flew, which would have the newer wing design that you
mention would also fall right back into place, but would usually have a
slight fall off to the right or left in the ones that I've flown. (might
have something to do with such a light plane and all the passenger weight,
namely me, on one side, but don't know) Brian W.
From: Charles Dewey <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Esqual "High Speed Crash"
I did a Google search using the words <Esqual accident
Spain> and while unable to get a detailed accident
report of what Brian claims is the one Esqual
fatality, I was able to find the words "high speed
crash which caused Esqual to re-think its wing
design". This is not an exact quote, just as I
remember it. Anyone out there know the details of that
accident?
--- Pete <pete@flylightning.net> wrote:
> >From the FAA web site - there are 12 Esquals with
> AW certificates that are
> flying. Eleven sold by Esqual North America or
> Jabiru USA and one sold
> direct from Limair (I guess) at the time we could
> not get metal parts for
> our kits and Limair was keeping our deposit money
> for kits not delivered.
> The kit sold by Limair is serial 72 and the last
> ones we sold were 74 & 75..
> It would be interesting to find if Limair supplies
> him with metal parts that
> they never supplied to our builders.
>
>
>
> Pete
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> On Behalf Of
> N1BZRich@aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:02 PM
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual
> flying
>
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> Since someone asked about Esquals, and my
> specific airplane has been
> mentioned, let me add a few comments. I estimate
> the number of Esqual kits
> still actively flying in the US is probably some
> where between 5 and 8, with
> probably 3 more to fly soon. Many more were built
> in Europe and some in
> Australia. The ones with the Jabiru engine are the
> fastest. My kit was
> serial number 70. I ordered the Esqual kit from
> Pete just after Sun-N-Fun
> 2005 because I did not want to wait a year for the
> Lightning kit design to
> become finalized and available. I had made the
> mistake of quoting a price
> for my Bonanza and, just like that, it was sold and
> I did not have a
> traveling airplane. I needed to replace it, but did
> not really need four
> seats. The Esqual looked like a good possibility
> and with Pete's builder's
> assist it could be completed quickly. However,
> during the build process I
> made many changes to the Esqual design. Some were
> just things I wanted to
> change to improve the looks, some changes were to
> improve performance, some
> changes were what I considered safety of flight
> issues, some changes were to
> improve maintainability, and other changes were by
> necessity - meaning that
> many of my kit parts were never delivered by the
> then new Esqual owner in
> Belgium. (Future kit buyers be careful.) Bottom
> line, my Esqual kit could
> never have been completed without Pete finding
> sources to fabricate the
> missing parts - central beam assembly, rudder and
> brake pedals, engine
> mount, etc. All of these parts were built by the
> future Lightning
> fabricators.
>
>
>
> Here is a partial list of the changes I made:
>
> -Dual brakes using Matco cylinders on all four
> brake/rudder pedal
> assemblies. This is true dual brakes, not like the
> passenger side dual
> brakes with cables to activate them, as is the case
> if you order dual brakes
> with the Esqual kit.
>
> -Welded rudder pedal and brake assemblies made out
> of 4130 chromoly steel to
> replace the weak looking parts that the Esqual kit
> had. Well, My "weak
> looking" parts did not come, so had to have the
> future Lightning supplier
> weld up the parts for my airplane. So I have
> Lightning rudder and brake
> pedals.
>
> -Matco wheels and brakes with 500x5 main wheel tires
> like on the Lightning.
>
> -Stainless steel firewall like on the Lightning.
> The firewall that comes
> with the Esqual kit looks sub-standard to me - kind
> of like fiberglass cloth
> with aluminum film glued on. Not up to my safety
> standards.
>
> -Mounted the brake fluid reservoir and electric fuel
> pump on the engine side
> of the firewall
>
> to ease maintenance on these items.
>
> -Dual throttles for pilot and co-pilot left hands.
>
> -Moved the cockpit air inlets from the cowling to
> aft of the firewall using
> a NACA style ducts. By doing this you don't need to
> have holes in the
> firewall for cockpit air as on the Esqual kit. The
> Lightning is set up this
> way and in my book is much safer if you have en
> engine fire.
>
> -Moved the "in cockpit" air outlets to just below
> and slightly forward of
> the bottom of the instrument panel on each side of
> the cockpit. This gives
> more panel room.
>
> -Lowered the baggage floor to give more volume to
> the storage area.
>
> -Had a complete upholstered cockpit done from
> leather look vinyl which I am
> told will last longer than real leather. Yes,
> heavier, but definitely more
> comfortable and better looking.
>
> -Glassed in the wing tips (as several have done) to
> allow use of a tip light
> that is a combination trobe, colored position light,
> and a white position
> light all in one. This system is standard on the
> Lightning.
>
> -Cut an area of the wing leading edges to provide
> room for a landing light
> and a taxi light.
>
> -Glassed in the stabilizer to empennage junction (as
> several have done).
>
> -Fitted Van's fiberglass gear leg fairings and wheel
> pants. The Lightning
> guys have developed similar fairings and wheel pants
> for the Lightning.
> This mod is probably good for at least 20 mph over
> the stock Esqual wheel
> pants and no gear leg fairings.
>
> -Using AN hardware where possible. Standard on the
> Lightning.
>
> -Modified one of the original Lightning cowlings to
> fit the Esqual fuselage.
> This cowling includes NACA ducts for carb air and
> the oil cooler, and has
> Lopresti style round air inlets. It is a much lower
> drag cowling than the
> one that comes with the Esqual kit and is another
> source of additional speed
> over the stock Esqual.
>
> -I did not use a muffler at all (more power?) and
> get cockpit heat and carb
> heat from hear muffs on exhaust stacks.
>
> -Oh yes, I almost forgot the "wide butt mod". I am
> 6'2'' and weigh about
> 215 pounds. I found that sitting in the Esqual
> molded fiberglass seat for
> any length of time, I would get "hot spots" on my
> hip bones. I cut
>
> slits in that area of the seat pans, heated the
> fiberglass and pressed the
> area outward to widen the area, and then re-glassed
> the seat pans. It helps
> a lot on long flights.
>
> There may be other small mods that I am not
> remembering, but these are
> the main ones. The result of all these changes and
> the extra equipment
> installed in the instrument panel, is probably the
> heaviest Esqual built to
>
=== message truncated ==
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Message 12
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| Subject: | Esqual "High Speed Crash" |
brian, thanks for the response- as always you get two
thumbs up!
--- Brian Whittingham <dashvii@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Whittingham" <dashvii@hotmail.com>
>
> Charles,
> What I heard is that it was the previous owner
> of the company giving a
> demo ride to a media person. While doing a high
> speed pass, the passenger
> was given the controls and it inverted and went in.
> What we might be saying
> is that it was a high speed stall. Don't know that
> under such circumstances
> that a wing shape design would be much different.
> If it were a low speed
> stall spin and the plane had undesirable stall
> characteristics then this
> would make sense to change the wing design. The
> Lightning's wing pretty
> much falls right back into place and is practically
> a non-event. The last
> Esqual's that I flew, which would have the newer
> wing design that you
> mention would also fall right back into place, but
> would usually have a
> slight fall off to the right or left in the ones
> that I've flown. (might
> have something to do with such a light plane and all
> the passenger weight,
> namely me, on one side, but don't know) Brian W.
>
>
> From: Charles Dewey <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
> To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> Subject: RE: Lightning-List: Esqual "High Speed
> Crash"
> Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 17:19:51 -0800 (PST)
>
> <cdewey6969@yahoo.com>
>
> I did a Google search using the words <Esqual
> accident
> Spain> and while unable to get a detailed accident
> report of what Brian claims is the one Esqual
> fatality, I was able to find the words "high speed
> crash which caused Esqual to re-think its wing
> design". This is not an exact quote, just as I
> remember it. Anyone out there know the details of
> that
> accident?
> --- Pete <pete@flylightning.net> wrote:
>
> > >From the FAA web site - there are 12 Esquals
> with
> > AW certificates that are
> > flying. Eleven sold by Esqual North America or
> > Jabiru USA and one sold
> > direct from Limair (I guess) at the time we could
> > not get metal parts for
> > our kits and Limair was keeping our deposit money
> > for kits not delivered.
> > The kit sold by Limair is serial 72 and the last
> > ones we sold were 74 & 75..
> > It would be interesting to find if Limair
> supplies
> > him with metal parts that
> > they never supplied to our builders.
> >
> >
> >
> > Pete
> >
> >
> >
> > _____
> >
> > From: owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com
> >
> [mailto:owner-lightning-list-server@matronics.com]
> > On Behalf Of
> > N1BZRich@aol.com
> > Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:02 PM
> > To: lightning-list@matronics.com
> > Subject: Re: Lightning-List: Total # of Esqual
> > flying
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > Since someone asked about Esquals, and my
> > specific airplane has been
> > mentioned, let me add a few comments. I estimate
> > the number of Esqual kits
> > still actively flying in the US is probably some
> > where between 5 and 8, with
> > probably 3 more to fly soon. Many more were
> built
> > in Europe and some in
> > Australia. The ones with the Jabiru engine are
> the
> > fastest. My kit was
> > serial number 70. I ordered the Esqual kit from
> > Pete just after Sun-N-Fun
> > 2005 because I did not want to wait a year for
> the
> > Lightning kit design to
> > become finalized and available. I had made the
> > mistake of quoting a price
> > for my Bonanza and, just like that, it was sold
> and
> > I did not have a
> > traveling airplane. I needed to replace it, but
> did
> > not really need four
> > seats. The Esqual looked like a good possibility
> > and with Pete's builder's
> > assist it could be completed quickly. However,
> > during the build process I
> > made many changes to the Esqual design. Some
> were
> > just things I wanted to
> > change to improve the looks, some changes were to
> > improve performance, some
> > changes were what I considered safety of flight
> > issues, some changes were to
> > improve maintainability, and other changes were
> by
> > necessity - meaning that
> > many of my kit parts were never delivered by the
> > then new Esqual owner in
> > Belgium. (Future kit buyers be careful.) Bottom
> > line, my Esqual kit could
> > never have been completed without Pete finding
> > sources to fabricate the
> > missing parts - central beam assembly, rudder and
> > brake pedals, engine
> > mount, etc. All of these parts were built by the
> > future Lightning
> > fabricators.
> >
> >
> >
> > Here is a partial list of the changes I made:
> >
> > -Dual brakes using Matco cylinders on all four
> > brake/rudder pedal
> > assemblies. This is true dual brakes, not like
> the
> > passenger side dual
> > brakes with cables to activate them, as is the
> case
> > if you order dual brakes
> > with the Esqual kit.
> >
> > -Welded rudder pedal and brake assemblies made
> out
> > of 4130 chromoly steel to
> > replace the weak looking parts that the Esqual
> kit
> > had. Well, My "weak
> > looking" parts did not come, so had to have the
> > future Lightning supplier
> > weld up the parts for my airplane. So I have
> > Lightning rudder and brake
> > pedals.
> >
> > -Matco wheels and brakes with 500x5 main wheel
> tires
> > like on the Lightning.
> >
> > -Stainless steel firewall like on the Lightning.
> > The firewall that comes
> > with the Esqual kit looks sub-standard to me -
> kind
> > of like fiberglass cloth
> > with aluminum film glued on. Not up to my safety
> > standards.
> >
> > -Mounted the brake fluid reservoir and electric
> fuel
> > pump on the engine side
> > of the firewall
> >
> > to ease maintenance on these items.
> >
> > -Dual throttles for pilot and co-pilot left
> hands.
> >
> > -Moved the cockpit air inlets from the cowling to
> > aft of the firewall using
> > a NACA style ducts. By doing this you don't need
> to
> > have holes in the
> > firewall for cockpit air as on the Esqual kit.
> The
> > Lightning is set up this
> > way and in my book is much safer if you have en
> > engine fire.
> >
>
=== message truncated ==
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