andyb

Like most things, it depends on what you have. Hull is pretty straightforward. Mine hull value is $120,000. On liability, there's a huge difference if you have sublimits. In a one passenger plane, your liability is generally your sublimit unless you cause damage on the ground. If you have a $1 million liability, with $100,000 sublimit, should you have a fatal or injury accident, your liability coverage to the passenger is only $100,000. FWIW, I carry $2 million "smooth," which means no sublimits. Should the wrong thing happen with the wrong passenger, that's not especially high coverage. My cost was $3,900 last year, and is $4,100 this year. Andy

Due to my wife's having surgery, then a flat tire, I will have gone about 8 weeks without flying the plane. Given that I typically add fuel as I go, the fuel in the tank could have some that's maybe 12 weeks old. Does this present any danger...ok to fly with fuel this old? Thanks! Andy

What is the weight difference between the 3-blade E-Prop and the standard? With a CTLSi, weight reduction would be attractive. Andy

I purchased my plane from Airtime, and worked closely with both of the Gutmann principals. In addition to handling the sale, they did fairly extensive work on the plane for me, prior to my taking possession. I found them to be great to work with, during and after the sale. I expect they'll do a good job in their new role. Andy

Disclaimer...verify on your own. But, here's mine. Hope it helps!

At 35 gallons, that's about 7 hours of flying, 6 with a 1-hour reserve. If you take less fuel, you'll still have pretty long flight legs. Andy

Yes, as a perspective, Cirrus is $18,000-$20,000. And, they've had huge delays in getting them done...major AOG issues. This has gone back for quite a while. Big deal in the Cirrus community. On Cirrus, the Cirrus factory is the only one authorized to do it. Not to diminish our absolute cost, but relative to Cirrus, we're considerably cheaper and easier. Andy

I've had Tom Baker at TDB Aviation do all my condition inspections, as well as rubber replacement, and have had absolutely no issues whatsoever. He's in southcentral Illinois. Well worth the logistics challenges getting there, for me. Andy

i have the very same problem in my 2014 CTLSi. My understanding is that it's caused by not applying correct rudder, but for me it happens when I have the ball centered, and the plane seems to be flying with the correct trim. I've wondered wither my ball is calibrated correctly. For the CTLSi, I think it's not an issue, as both tanks empty into the header tank. Not sure how it impacts the other models. It's disconcerting. Andy

I'm afraid to ask whose plane is the culprit!

In my case, out of the box the autopilot worked well. I made a minor change in the lateral sensitivity to make it better, but overall it's required very little adjustment to perform well. Andy

I did the upgrade, and like it. It also lets you take direction from the Skyview. Andy

I think that's entirely possible. When I looked at the video, I thought the left turn was due to the left wing dipping in the stall-spin, but hard to tell for sure. If it was an intentional turn that soon and that low, then that would be way too early to initiate the turn, I believe, especially coming from the bounce on the runway. With any of the scenarios that are being considered here, all of which I believe are plausible, I think that after the bounce, applying power gradually, pitching to assure sufficient airspeed and not exceeding critical AOA, then once stabilized retracting flaps if necessary and then initiating the crosswind turn, would be the course of action to avoid the very sad outcome of the flight. Andy

Just looked at the video. Looks more like a go-around than a touch-and-go. Under those circumstances, if they retracted flaps (don't know if they did), that would have bad consequences. Sadly, there was a similar accident last week with a Cirrus. I've had plenty of bounce go-arounds in both the Cirrus, as well as the CT, especially when first learning to land them. Both planes have plenty of power to gain altitude after a bounce, but using pitch to maintain a safe airspeed is critically important. More often than not, upon slowly applying power, the combination of a bounce and the power makes the plane want to pitch up, which needs to be counteracted with forward pressure on the stick. Andy

I'm assuming the comment about a stall coming from not releasing back pressure while reducing flaps refers to shortly after a bounce or immediately after rotation. In a normal routine of takeoff, transitioning from 15 to 0 degrees, then 0 to -6, at an appropriate altitude, slight backpressure is sometimes needed to sustain the climb when flaps are retracted. If the AOA and airspeed are normal, it's not an issue. Andy