Newcomer to the forum, A little about me

[Chaosrider]

Hi,

I spent the last couple days browsing the forum and tought it was time to introduce myself as well as give a bit mor information about me.

I am currently working as a Flight Service Specialist (FSS) at the Kuujjuaq airport (CYVP) and have been there for the last 3 years. I recently moved to Drummondville near Montreal (I still work in Kuujjuaq on a rotation basis) and this move allowed me to again contemplate flying again.

I have been doing remote controlled airplane on and off for the last 10 years and did the ground school for the private pilot license a couple times with the air cadets.

Due to my vision being to low uncorrected I have no choice but to go with an ultralight license so that is what got me looking in that direction.

After a bit of browsing I came accross UPAC's classified and saw the ad for C-ICUN. For the price, it is ideal to get me started after my training. Basically I would like to buy it and store for the winter while I do my training at Vortex Aviation.

First I was a bit set off by the twin engine setup but after a bit of reading it seems to be relatively reliable on a Lazair and not too expensive to maintain. I live about 5 minutes from the airport and would allow me to get flying for a very reasonable price.

My plan right now is to drive to the school see how it is like this week.Then I would have a local repair shop inspect C-ICUN to make sure everything is in good order before flying to Toronto, get by train to where the plane is located and then rent a Truck one way to take it back home.

Sounds like a good plan to you ?

Do you know any Lazair owner from Quebec?

Well that is pretty much it.

i would also like to thank all of you guys for the wonderful informations on this forum.

[Shannon]

Hi Chaosrider (name ?). I don't think you could go wrong with C-ICUN. Appears to be good plane and comes with extras to boot. You really can't get a better-safer-more affordable Ultralight for low and slow flying.

[Chaosrider]

My name is Michael, sorry for not including it.

Thanks for the advice and as you said, with this one I am basically ready to go, all is included.
As it is, I will probably pick it up during the next couple of weeks if all goes according to plan and store it in a car shelter for the winter while I get my license.

I plan on parking it at the airport 5 mins from my home next spring and fly from there. Couple thousand feet paved runway right beside the river will make some pretty interesting flights and I also plan on visiting the nearby airports as well.

For now I am just trying to read as much as I can about those planes.

[Shannon]

Hi Michael,

No problem. I think you have a good plan and starting out by reading-learning all that you possibly can is the best first step that you can make. Make no mistake there is much much to learn even with a "simple" Lazair. This site has a myriad of various information to browse if you care to find it and read it. I personally always try to add pictures and scans to my posts so the information is more interesting, in-depth, and helpful. Not many years ago you could hardly find any information whatsoever on Lazairs (on the net anyway). I often think it comes too easy these days as guys apparently don't appreciate what they've got here. This is an awesome Lazair resource in my opinion. Lately it has been under-utilized and contributions (if nothing but a few pictures or comments) by members have become scarce. Oh well, like they say "use it or lose it".

Here's some advice to get you started.

#1 Transport: You must use lots and lots of padding for transporting a Lazair. The Lazair is a delicate and easy damaged machine so careful considerations should be taken for transport.

#2 Break-down, Set-up and Storage: It's best to have help when disassembling-assembling the plane. Never let the wings droop to the ground when the wings are attached to the fuselage attach points. Doing this could damage the wing to boom attach fittings. Store your Lazair carefully and be sure to seal off all holes (aileron bellcrank, root rib) that lead directly into the wings. Bugs and vermin can do damage to your wings. Store the engines in a clean-dry place. Indoor "climate controlled" storage is best.

#3 Training: I advise at a minimum to have atleast solo level training accomplished before attempting to fly. Failure to get formal training atleast up to this level usually just results in a bent bird. Formal training gives you the confidence to fly your Lazair and the transition to a Lazair is very straight-forward.

#4 Practice: It's a good idea to get the hang of handling your Lazair by becoming familiar with it in small graduated steps. You simply get started by becoming familiar with starting-running the engines and progress slowly-steadily to taxi-handling that will eventually lead to crow-hopping. Be warned, your Lazair will get off the ground very fast on a paved runway. Care must be taken to learn in slow-small steps on pavement. The Series III can be very awkward and tricky at the beginning of familiarization. Once one is accustomed to the plane ground handling is effortless and second nature. All pratice must be done in calm conditions. First flights as well.

#5 Self-Reliance: You must become as self sufficient as possible when it comes to maintenance and set-up on the plane. Basically nobody will be a better mechanic-repairman on the plane than you. Nobody will understand the plane and engines as well you eventually can if you apply yourself. A guys who seeks to learn all that he can will be successful with Lazairs long-term.

#6 The Lazair: The Lazair is a safe, fun, affordable, and well proven Ultralight for low and slow flight. If you are ultimately looking for more then the Lazair may not be for you. It is what it is.

Shannon

[Chaosrider]

For the training part, I think being at least legal is a must amd in Canada that implies a license that require 17 hours of flight training (15 with instructor, 2 solo), a theorical exam and ground school.

As for the practice part, I found the document "Learning to fly the Lazair" available in the file section to be really interesting. It applies to series II but the process should apply well to all Series.

Basically it is like you mentioned, practice in no wind, start with syncing engines, then taxi for at least a couple hours then crow hopping along the runway for a while then first flight.

That is exactly what I plan to do to get a good feeling of the plane before attempting any flight.

Are the rotax usually reliable engines?What TBO do you guys use to be safe?

Hope this can help others someday.

Have a nice day

Michael

[Chaosrider]

Also another question I could not quite find the answer to.
Do you guys run AVGAS in your Rotax. I know the Serie 2 operation manual says to alway use leaded fuel (I guess that was auto gas back then) so does that mean Avgas now? Or is Super auto gas acceptable?

[Shannon]

Well we both know people always do things smart and legal huh ! Haa Haa !

The "Learning to Fly the Lazair" book gives some good advice. I especially like the part that says it's harder to "drive" your Lazair on the ground than it is to fly it in the air. That is an absolutely true statement and is even more true for a Series III. At the time Peter L. wrote that book the Series III didn't exist and the Series I and II are "easy handlers" in comparison (no wind). Not to put any fear or doubts into your mind but a Series III "historically speaking" has given people trouble. It really doesn't matter if you are a student or 5,000hr commerical pilot. Several Lazairs here were damaged by high time pilots (one even flew missions over Nam) who were too confident to practice and too knowledgeable to listen.

Brian mentioned in his ad that the engines are freshly rebuilt. By the time the engines would need even minor overhaul (rings ect..) you would already have reached and passed "Lazair Ace" status. Very rugged and reliable engines if you learn proper set-up and maintenance. All you could ever want to know is right here. Auto gas is fine.

Shannon

[bdiedenhofen]

Hi,
Well, Michael came and got CUN on Wednesday. We packed her carefully into a truck and he took her to a new home East of Montreal. We covered a lot of details as part of the inspection and disassembly but I'm sure he'll have some questions come next summer.
I know he's going to have a blast with the plane, I know I did. I miss it already. Oh well, perhaps someday I'll be able to get another one, who knows.
Thanks everyone for all of the advice etc. over the years.
Blue skies,
Brian

[Chaosrider]

Hi,

The trip back home went very well. I made a few stops to check that nothing moved at the back of the truck and all went well for that part.

Back home, we unloaded it and had to let it sit outside for a couple days while I was getting the shed ready.We moved it in last weekend and it is now safely stored for the winter, engines are in the house's basement and I hung the wings to the shed's frame on each side with some padding so it should not move too much.

I am really looking forward to spring to start flying it and I am starting my lessons to get my license in 2 weeks when I will be back home. Too bad I don't have a hangar at the airport to store it so I could fly a bit after finishing my license, I'll just have to wait until the last snowfall before parking it.

The plane sure looks really amazing and while waiting to take it out, I'll be able to make an instrument pod to my liking for it (was looking for a pitot type airspeed indicator, altimeter with pressure adjustment, EGT and tachs).

Anybody have suggestion as to where I could find pods for these or how I could make them myself?

I should be back soon with more questions and I hope to be able to help others back when I get a bit more experience.