All Aeroplanes Bite Fools - Making Friends With The Minisport

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A little late, perhaps, but my views on the detail of flying an SD1 Minisport. The opinions are mine alone, not intended to be an Instruction Manual, but might be useful to new pilots or those who might be considering being one.
I haven't paid too much attention to general handling because every aircraft will be different in small ways...see the update to the "numbers"... and will vary with weights of pilot, fuel etc. It might suffice to say that with 20 litres of fuel and me - a total of 92kgs - I can cruise at 79kts (91mph, 147km/hr) at 3100rpm and burn 4.7lph, which is a pretty impressive figure and cheap fun considering the cost of fuel nowadays.
Following a request from a subscriber, I did a test flight to record my results for performance so that some comparisons can be made. Obviously these will change according to all the usual factors, so I've done my best to record everything that might have a bearing on why my aircraft might perform differently to yours, or the manufacturer's spec. Please also note that the EMS RPM indications fluctuate by as much as 500 but often around 100, so I've tried to average out the variations.
The test took place with an OAT of +17C, aircraft plus pilot weight of 202kg and 25l of fuel, Relative Humidity of 29% and Density Altitude of 2000 feet for the cruise tests.
Ground Idle RPM 1200
Max Static RPM 3250
Full Power Climb @ 55 kts, half flap, RPM max achievable 3250
....."........................@ 60kts, clean, RPM max 3250, RoC 600fpm
Slow cruise flight 1/2 flap 53 kts with 2400 RPM (downwind in the circuit)
Slow cruise flight clean 66 kts with 2800 RPM
Fast cruise flight 83 kts with 3250 RPM
Max Continuous cruise 94 kts with 3600 RPM
Glide 60 kts, -500 fpm, flight idle 1750 RPM
Useful? Let me know if you've read it, and how it compares with your aeroplane?

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28 май 2022

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Комментарии : 52

@thomaspluss4784 2 года назад

Hi Mike, great video, thanks. I sometimes fly a tight circuit in my Tecnam and then side-slip from turning final to touchdown (full rudder). Learning to fly in gliders takes that reluctance to fly sideways away. I once landed into a 30kt headwind, then did an unintended quarter turn on the taxiway! FYI, I'm configuring my panel so that the fuel valve lever blocks the start button when it is closed eg you can only start the engine if the fuel is ON.

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hello Thomas, I hope you're well. The Ground Loop on the Taxiway can be a bit of a surprise, can't it? It happened to me on grass, so I uess I had a gentle intro to the problem; had it been on tarmac then the pirouette would have won prizes, I'm sure. The idea regarding the fuel lever is a good one. I flew today to try to sort out a problem with the smoke system and the selector switch is below the fuel pump. Both operate "up for on"...guess which one I selected and wondered why nothing smoky happened? As they say, "If you can, you will".

@johnmackay5288 2 года назад

What’s an excellent video, very informative. Amazingly busy feet on takeoff! THANK YOU.

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Thank you, John. I think the trigear version's takeoff might be a little less exciting, but as I said, the adrenaline rush is part of the fun, right?

@spitss1 2 года назад

Great video Mike, appreciated and I know how much effort goes into making these as watchable as you do. Excellent! Phil

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hi Phil, glad that you enjoyed it found it useful, particularly as it was your Q's that prompted the production in the first place. I didn't add the performance figures in the Description until after the vid went live, so I hope these get seen as well since there are some interesting conclusions to draw from them, particularly the flight idle RPM and the potential effects on glide range and RoD....read "yer can't get slow enough to land the bugger". As you've noted, these videos take a lot of time to produce; I reckon 60 to 90 minutes of prep for every minute you can watch. Good job that I've retired and have nothing better to do...I wish!

@spitss1 2 года назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper Indeed Mike, I tried video editing a few years ago and found it too time consuming. Now though, like yourself I find myself with a bit more time I might give it another try. I'll add my perfomance figures when I get the opp but they differ slightly, though my aircraft is totally clean so perhaps a bit less drag, every little helps on these ultralights.

@johnsherman7289 2 года назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper Thanks much for your efforts, I'm sure many have benefited

@user-fs7np7xo1m 24 дня назад

awesome Video - Mark - Miami

@andymack6968 2 года назад

Thank you so much Mike, this is very helpful information. I'm looking forwards to making friends with Minisport in the next year or so!

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hello Andy. I'm happy that you've found it useful. Best of luck with your SD-1 ambitions.

@WolfandCatUnite 2 года назад

YES

@pylon500 2 года назад

Very insightful. Have always liked little planes like the MiniSport and the Pik26. As a taildragger instructor I'd just clarify the back stick / forward stick on take off thing; holding forward stick and applying power can often get the tail up before the rudder has any authority (moreso if a low tail like most taildraggers), but holding back stick until flying speed risks stalling just as you get out of ground effect. Standard procedure would be holding back stick to keep tailwheel pressure (authority) on the ground until about half flying speed, then just a little forward stick to bring the aeroplane level and continuing with the takeoff. The thing to really watch is during this transition, is when the 'swing' is most likely to happen.

@TDCflyer 2 года назад

Let me chime in here with an additional piece of information concerning design choices incorporated in the SD-1. You noticed the T-tail? The elevator of the SD-1 is rather high up and therefore doesn't profit much of the propellers airflow. Thus the tail lifts very late, when you already have speed and pretty good rudder authority. However, one thing you want to really avoid, that would be bouncing on the tail wheel while lifting the tail. Authority of tail wheel and rudder is not equivalent and bouncing back on the tail wheel can give you some nasty impulses that may violently veer you off the center line, especially when you find yourself on grippy tarmac.

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

A useful observation, thank you. Today, just to see what happened, I held back stick during the roll to the point where I felt "that's enough" and began the transition to "tail up". At this point in the ground run I hit the first of the ramps....well, I wish I'd been filming it, because I developed the World's Worst PIO. The combination of control input and terrain reminded me, very quickly, why I'd opted for the Get the Tail Up Quickly method a long time ago. I guess it's one of those techniques that pays back some thought rather than assuming that Standard Procedures work every time.

@johnsherman7289 2 года назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper Watch some of those STOL contests to see the advantage of raising the tail before the ground roll!

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

@@johnsherman7289 Hi John. Yes, I've always been amazed at how short a takeoff run these guys can achieve, and an equally impressive landing, sometimes within the length of the aircraft. Mind you, I wouldn't choose to fly in the wind conditions neded to achieve some of these demos. It wasn't until after I began to make this video that I realised how I'd got into the habit of getting the tail up quickly...I purposely held it down as a test recently and was reminded of the reason - a vicious PIO when the "ramp" punched me airborne before the fuselage was level. An interesting takeoff developed as a result. Goes back to what I said at the beginning of the video about doing things "by rote" without thinking "why am I doing this?"

@TDCflyer 2 года назад

Yeah, Mike - you make my day! I'm home with a bad cold, couldn't work on my own plane. Thanks for the nice entertainment! Also, I agree on your elaborations on take off and landing techniques. This plane is quite a handful. I prefer to avoid using full flaps because of the pronounced reverse yaw it causes on the flaperons, so I'm using sideslip a lot, sometimes very aggressively and in combination with first stage flaps. Ot course you'll have to be highly aware of your speed at any time. You might get slower with full flaps, but it makes me fear imminent stall and it doesn't feel like you get a steeper descent angle.

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hi Chris, no doubt you could add something based on your own experiences...?

@TDCflyer 2 года назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper Hi Mike! Actually you kind of produced the ultimate guide to the quirks of the SD-1 right there. If anything I'd like to add that if you approach an airfield you're unfamiliar with, especially if it's somewhere in the mountains with some unpredictable turbulences you might want to "pull in" under more power than just idle and at the upper flap speed limit. You don't see the wind shear coming, but there might just be 12 knots missing all of a sudden. Been there, done that, needed fresh pants after... If obstacles prevent a powered approach I do request a fly over to get a feeling for the local wind system. I'm well aware that I have to rely on the engine in that case, it's basically weighing one disadvantage against the other. Maybe I'll have to make a videoclip about the quirks of flying from an airfield that looks like an aircraft carrier on top of a mountain.

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

@@TDCflyer "Maybe I'll have to make a videoclip about the quirks of flying from an airfield that looks like an aircraft carrier on top of a mountain." That'd be a good thing to see and entertaining, no doubt.

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

I've just had a thought...flying into Knockbain Farm near me is a bit like that. On top of a hill and an approach over tall power lines gives the approach an aspect that suggests a very steep approach, but only because the runway is inclined upwards at the angle we'd normally be going downwards. Basically we fly a level approach until the ground comes up to meet us, then flare. Wierd.

@CuzznRickH14 Год назад

Enjoyed your video. Thanks for sharing.

@supaquickgpr Год назад

Brilliant and very interesting video

@quantumac Год назад

I discovered your channel recently and I've been reviewing all your videos. I'm amazed how much flying you got done on "01/01/2018" and all in a single afternoon! ... Okay, I'll shush now... 😎

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

Yes, astonishing, ain't it? Such a busy day considering the hangover.

@thekiltedpilot7628 11 месяцев назад

Good videos Mike

@TheMorayMosstrooper 11 месяцев назад

Thanks, Stephen. More to come.

@thekiltedpilot7628 11 месяцев назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper You got home from east-fortune ok. Just a heads up. There’s a fly-in at Longside next Saturday 17th. All welcome. Normal BBQ and things.

@WillTunna 2 года назад

Thanks for the super helpful video. I noticed that big flap on your rudder, which isn't built on mine! Did you add this in after flying for a bit??

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hello Will. That's a trim tab and takes away the need to have constant pressure on the pedal. I ought to have one on the flaperon too as the aircraft will roll gently to the left if I let go of the stick, but it's likely to get damaged. The rudder tab is less vulnerable.

@WillTunna Год назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper Thanks for the info! What made you decide against the BRS?

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

@@WillTunna I had a number of reasons but the recent incident has negated one of them. I had thought that a catastrophic control failure would end with the BRS wrapped around the fuselage like happened in the USA. Other reasons too much for a short reply with dodgy WiFi 🙄

@WillTunna Год назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper its weird to think that I was debating a BRS the day before and then yesterday an SD-1 pilot got saved by one! Will be good to know more information about the accident if they tell us anything

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

@@WillTunna I've been away for a month, so sorry for the late response. Yes, your question was very apt, given the events of a few days later. I, too, would be very grateful for some update on the incident. I've posted on the SD1 forum - which you probably saw - and also e-mailed IS. I believe that information on events such as this should be passed around by a reliable means without delay. So far, I/we have heard nothing, which isn't good.

@stratotramp6243 2 года назад

Hoping to buy the CT2K off my instructor towards the end of the year - It's a super quick machine (for a microlight) 112kns cruise capable especially with -12 deg flaps but I doubt it feels anywhere near as sporting as your Minisport, more so as it's a high wing (it does also have a wheel on the wrong side of the aircraft 🤣 so I'm missing all the fun) I think you are very wise with the CO alarm as it is a very small volume. Top tip on the fishing vest too, I need a shirt with shoulder pocket. But I may have a look at those! Wasn't sure if you were just using the Buccaneer as an example but if you've suffered in that aircraft extra kudos! (edit: just saw the Christmas GR4 Vid, guessing you did! Thanks for your service).

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Thank you. I've just had a look at a couple of your videos and see you have the same idea as me - you can't have too many cameras to tell a story when you have to be the director, producer, editor and star all at the same time. The fishing vest came about because my wife says that anyone who wears one of those photographer waistcoats isn't allowed in the house, so I had to find another solution. Given the size of your cockpit, I don't think you'll need one, though. And the Buccaneer experience? Yes, and it was an ergonomic slum. Apparently all Royal Navy aircraft were like that, and all had at least something made of wood in the cockpit as a nod to the days of sail...I know, I didn't understand them, either.

@eonbio Год назад

Thanks for the video - Oil pump? Do you have a pre-oiler?

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

Hi..yes, there's an electric oil pump that primes the galleries prior to engine start because otherwise the engine would start "dry". I run mine for about 15 seconds before starting.

@johnsherman7289 2 года назад

The Piper Tommahawk had a "T" tail and gained some infamy for it's stall characteristics, maybe such a tail isn't optimal for a short wheelbase taildragger.

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

Hi John. Can you expand on your comment regarding the Piper Tomahawk and stall behaviour? I'm interested to explore the T-tail stall/spin characteristics since no-one has - apparently - taken the SD1 to the extreme and done a full analysis....unless, of course, Igor can provide some data?

@fournierdon2172 2 года назад

Hi Mike, I always did wonder why you wore boots...now I know. On the matter of losing screws into grass I was going to suggest carrying a magnet, but the sheet of plastic would work well too...except perhaps when there is a brisk wind on the strip. Saw you briefly yesterday in your fly-by.

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hello Don; thanks for the observation. Unfortunately the Camlocs are made of stainless steel, so the magnet trick doesn't work. We'd intended landing at KBF but the wind was a little challenging, so decided to annoy the neighbours at Easter instead. Hopefully we'll drop by again soon.

@fournierdon2172 2 года назад

@@TheMorayMosstrooper Nah, you didn't annoy. You were doing your fly past as I arrived. The wind put me off even getting mine out of the hangar! Same today. Where is summer? It's nearly June!

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

@@fournierdon2172 Yeah..I've just done a count, and of the 6 Scottish Fly-ins so far this year, we've made none of them, or they've been postponed or cancelled. It's Summer on Tuesday and we're barely making double figures on temperature....Is it time to sell up and move to Dorset? No, but it gets tempting sometimes.

@bravo2aviation Год назад

Hello Mike. What type of helmet do you use?

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

You've probably seen 3types, but the one I use all the time now is a Campbell Aero Classic. Expensive, yes, but I only have one head and there isn't room under the bubble canopy for anything else.

@flyfishing7490 2 года назад

Hi I saw you at the longside airfield fly in on the 14 of May

@TheMorayMosstrooper 2 года назад

Hi, glad to have made it there since it's been the only fly-in we've been able to get to this year...bloody weather!

@TDCflyer Год назад

Hi Mike, I need to get in contact with you in order to discuss a mechanical issue with the SE33 engine. Are you a member of some forum that allows direct contact from member to member? I'd like to avoid sharing my email address publicly because spam would be flooding in immediately...

@TheMorayMosstrooper Год назад

Hi Chris. You can reach me via WhatsApp. Failing that I'm on this forum: groups.io/g/SD-Planes and I see that you've just joined it. Thomas Pluss (TiPi) is a fund of knowledge on these engines and I see that he's already responded, which is typical. Feel free to contact me outwith the forum if you can find a way of creating a Private Message, but I'd recommend using the forum openly so everyone can benefit from the discussions. Are you OK as a result of the incident you refer to? How about the aircraft?