Thread: CTLS and high altitude airports

I live in Albuquerque, KAEG is 5800'. I fly to Santa Fe 6350 and Taos 7100 all year long with extremly high density altitudes in the summer with no problem. You shouldn't have any concerns.

Arnold,

That is good to hear. Santa Fe is one of our favorite places. We have been there maybe 14 times in the last 12 years. I really enjoy flying the southwest and it is good to know that the NM airports would be good to go as well as places like Sedona. If you don't mind, what is your take-off configuration and procedure on high DA days. Thanks

David,

As long as the CT has it's prop pitched to be able to make decent power at higher altitudes, you wouldn't have any problems. Many of us who attended the Page fly-in in October, landed at Bryce Canyon (KBCE), and reported no issues. The DA was 9,500' when I departed from KBCE. We were at gross weight, and the climb was slower than norm, but wasn't an issue.

David,

you have asked a number of good questions.

here is 1 you haven't asked: "should i consider a used ctsw or a new ctls?"

you could find a low time / fully equipped ctsw for less then 60% of the price of a new ctls well equipped.

some of us find the ctsw far more rewarding (fun to fly, lower stick forces, more manueverable, perhaps a little trickier?)

Charlie,

Funny you should ask that, I was just considering the same question. It seems from my reading that the LS is longer and with the different wing configuration easier to land, especially in the wind. Having never flown either model I can't comment, but I hope to fly both when I meet with the western distributor. I can guarantee you that I will fly both before I buy one. The price is always a consideration, especially in these challenging times, but the flying characteristics are important to me too. I am going to try not to compare either of the CT's to my past experience in heavier planes and take them on their own merits, should be eye opening and fun! All of you guys have been so helpful and I appreciate it.

Here is a quote that I got from a recreational flying forum based in Australia. It came from an article about two Indian fighter pilots flying a CTSW around the world. I thought I would post it in Landings and see what folks said:

"The two pilots say flying -- or, more accurately, landing -- the CT is just a bit different than their normal fighter jets. Since the aircraft weighs less than 1100 pounds on takeoff and is highly susceptible to wind gusts, the plane "lands like a drunken Dinosaur," according to an IAF release. "

I am pretty sure FlightDesign will not use this in their ads.......

The rest of the story....

Originally Posted by Redpenny

Charlie,



"The two pilots say flying -- or, more accurately, landing -- the CT is just a bit different than their normal fighter jets. Since the aircraft weighs less than 1100 pounds on takeoff and is highly susceptible to wind gusts, the plane "lands like a drunken Dinosaur," according to an IAF release. "

I am pretty sure FlightDesign will not use this in their ads.......

Here's an article about the two pilots I believe you are refereeing too... Also, the fellow that owns the web site in Austria where you probably got the information had some "headaches" with his CT so you might not have gotten the whole story!!

New World Record Claimed for a Light-Sport Aircraft; Flying Around the World in a Flight Design CTsw

ECHTERDINGEN, Germany, August 29 /PRNewswire/ --

A Flight Design CTsw flown by Indian Air Force officers Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar completed a round-the-world flight in 79 days, believed to be a new world record for this class of aircraft. The flight was done as part of celebration of the Indian Air Force 75th Anniversary. Monga and Kumar began their voyage on June 1st at Delhi, India and returned August 19th. In each location visited, the pilot team made contact with their Air Force counterparts in that country.

After thorough evaluations, the Indian Air Force selected a serial production CT aircraft from German manufacturer, Flight Design. "The round the world tour under day VFR (visual reference) rules was successful with this airplane despite difficult weather conditions," reported Matthias Betsch, CEO of Flight Design. Both Monga and Kumar credit the high performance, quality, and reliability of the CT. Co-pilot Anil Kumar said, "It's a fantastic machine, very reliable ... it got us home and there were no problems. We had good support from the manufacturer."

CT, a German high technology design built mostly of carbon fiber, flies up to 120 knots as a certified U.S. Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) with a range of up to 1,100 nautical miles in a spacious cockpit.

In the last 10 years Flight Design, with headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany and production in Ukraine, has become the confirmed worldwide market leader among lightweight, sporting aircraft. CT leads the American LSA segment with more than 20% market share. Recently jet manufacturer Cessna and piston engine market leader Cirrus announced LSA projects.

Flight Design is a 21-year-old air sport products producer based in Germany. Over 1,000 of its aircraft are flying in 25 countries. Several models of the CT are popular in Germany and Europe with more than ten years experience. More info: http://www.flightdesign.com/en .

PHOTO: A photo of the pilots posing with their CT is available at: http://www.ByDanJohnson.com/promo > 1 NEWS RELEASE PHOTOS for Media > Flight Design NEWS PHOTOS > CT Round-World Flight NEWS PHOTOS > See photo titled: "CT world flight-0807.JPG" (4.4 MB)

PILOT CONTACT: Contact may be made directly to Commander Rahul Monga at rahulmonga@gmail.com

COMPANY CONTACTS: (Germany) Matthias Betsch <matthias.betsch@flightdesign.com > (USA) Thomas Peghiny < fstar@rcn.com >

Web site: http://www.flightdesign.com/en

http://flightdesign.com/files/news/A...s-20.07.09.pdf

Roger,

I just thought it was a funny quote. From everything I read the CT's are great machines. I would not be looking to buy one if I thought any differently. And actually, I am very much looking forward to getting a test flight soon.

Roger pretty much answered the question with prop pitch (very important) etc. It has really been a non issue. You should be more than pleased with the performance of the CT.

Here's a video of a take-off from KFLG (Flagstaff).... you can see through the airplane that the airport's DA warning system is showing 9300. We were about half fuel with two souls weighing about 370lbs, not much baggage. There was some tailwind on take-off. Take roll was around 1500 ft (measured it on Google Earth). 15 flaps until around 350 ft. Note: Prop is pitched for lower altitudes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4CdNP9RNTk

Tim

CT4me,

Very informative video. Both because it shows the plane able to take off in just about a worse case at 9300 DA and how the plane acts in what must have been some strong thermals judging from the motion of the wings and the camera. You say the prop was pitched for lower altitudes. What is the procedure for re-pitching the prop. Is it something that you can do yourself or is it an A&P thing? One last thing. When you were over Sedona how high AGL were you? Thanks again for the video, I really learned something about the plane.