Craymondw(at)aol.com
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 Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:38 pm Post subject: cost of operation |
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To answer your inquiry, before I spent 10.5 months in 1991 building my OSH trophy winning (OSH 1997) Glasair2S FT, my best friend went to SH and talked to one of the test pilots that advised: "If you have to make a forced landing in a three you will have little chance of survival, on the other hand your chances would be good in a Glasair 2." So after building a GL2S FT and parking it next to Bob Herendeen's at OSH, where I expressed regrets to him at not building the three. Bob nearly blew my socks off expressing regrets over building his three and wished he built my version instead! Bob always said he felt Gl's were over built and too heavy. I often thought of using a kit to produce a carbon fiber version that would reduce the weight by a few hundred pounds. Over the years I have been reducing the weight of my plane (75 pounds by stripping the old paint and switching to lighter assemblies) and I have been making speed modifications. My biggest was switching to Airflow Performance injector nozzles located in Spartanburg, SC. My GPS shows ground speeds ranging between 210 to 225 mph (at)8,500 feet with a fuel burn of 9.7 gals per hour. Another good friend owns a 200 hp/ McCauley CS prop Glasair I FT that is slightly faster than mine. He recently added a GL111 and doesn't appear to be too happy with it. Lately I carry just enough fuel to just get me to my destination, usually under 1.5 hour one way trips with a half hour reserve. And I have also reduced luggage loads to the bear minimum. The heavier my plane, the more nose up and the lower the cruise speed. When ever I fly with my friend and his G111, a 225 mile trip takes me 60 minutes and his three takes him 56 minutes burning an extra seven gallons an hour. With his plane being so much heavier than mine he is usually man handling his plane into a tie down while I am landing. I love jumping out, tying my plane down and scooting into the FBO to call a cab while he is still struggling away. Plus my insurance is a fraction of his. With gas prices where they are now reminds of a time long ago when a friend owned a P 51 that burned close to 80 gallons per hour when avgas was $1.50/ gallon equaling $120/ hour fuel burn. GL 111's burn 17/ hour and with many of today's FBO's charging $7.00 for 100 LL, that equates to almost $120/ hour-ouch!!. Although I love the look and sound of a three, the costs of operating the plane makes me cringe. And I have virtually no down time tending to RG problems and maintenance. I have a friend that owns an ocean front condo in Destin Florida (A little over an hour's flight from north of ATL) and have found I spend less on gas flying to Destin over driving the trip.
Hope this helps,
Charles Raymond
Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars.
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