Tom Boyett
N517PL was built over a four year period, with first flight on Sep 4 1997. Construction time was 1300 hours. We are running the factory recommended Rotax 912 with the Warp Drive Prop with the constant speed planform option. The Rotax burns exactly what the factory says in the handbook. We have noticed that once you get over about 3500 feet, the Bing altitude compensating carbs really make a nice difference in economy. With our prop pitched for cruise, we're seeing about 115 knots at 5200 rpm. On a trip to a destination north of San Antonio, we saw a ground speed of 138 knots (had a great tail wind).] Even with a cruise setting on the prop, climb is still respectable -1000 to 1500 fpm solo or about half or better for max gross on a nice cool day - but not on one of our Texas scorchers. Our bird came out heavy at 796 pounds empty
weight. Custom touches include some sun visors, taxi/landing lights (thanks to Clay Slaughter) and door locks (to compensate for the poor original design). With respect to the manual, its been a bit too long ago to recount specific instances of documentation problems. Lots of little clarifications were needed all along the way. The most consistent barrier was the "translation" from French-Canadian to Texan! Over all, we are very pleased with the finished product and now have 105 hours. Like any worthwhile endeavor, it took a lot of effort but the reward of flying your own creation has been a great payback. 11/98