New Radical STOL aircraft to help anti-poaching

[Turbo]

1) cheetah is far from STOL as a 7series bmw is from a unimog!!
2) CH701 is a STOL of note, BUT so are many other aircraft
3) if you want true STOl look what they use in Alaska - period!

price price price price price price ....

Oh ya and PRICE!!!!

[Pepper 5]

b.hawker, before you invest in this aerie come and fly a patrol or two with me. I'm not trying to sell you anything I just want you to see what works for us.

[Blue Max]

I am often in the position on the farm to locate poachers.
Wood (tree) poachers, game poachers, hunters with dogs, and fencing (Droppers) thieves.
You need to fly low, you need to fly slow, you need to fly fast, you need to decent fast, You need to turn sharp while you keep your eyes on your quarry.
Short landing does not apply in this scenario..
I can not see how an expensive fixed wing or a cheap one, of any kind can do the job better than a trike.!!.
A trike is most suitable. A lot cheaper. more versatile in its handling and for the price of one Fixed wing you can buy three trikes and get more done.!!
More pilots, (regstel aksie) cheaper pay, more results.!
Sorry guys I am not interrested in the technical side of the aircraft but in the performance to suit the type of work.

[Tumbleweed]

[CraigL]

I tend to agree that a trike probably has the best visibility, and is more affordable to buy & run than many of the STOL fixed wings. However, it also has it's limitations too, such as strong winds and severe turbulence. It's not fun flying a trike in these conditions & often if flying a patrol etc, it could be in mid-day heat or less than ideal conditions. In these instances a fixed wing provides greater stability and the chance to fly in really unfavorable conditions.

If you look at what the bush pilots in Alaska fly, for the most part they are Super Cubs. Tandem seating, taildraggers, large bush wheels, so options to land pretty much anywhere, take-off and landing rolls of 50m or less. These aircraft are quite rare, very expensive to buy and run and are also getting on in age.

An option available now in SA is the Savage series of Cub-like aircraft, and the Bobber in particular. Tandem seating, large Bushwheels, but most importantly, no doors, and completely open sides, giving you as close to possible the visibility of a trike, in a high wing conventional aircraft that stalls at under 35mph, takes off in 50-80m depending on the engine, and costs the same as a top end trike such as a QuickR to buy and run.

We should have a Bobber in South Africa within the next couple of months powered by our 130hp Toyota SKYWALKER engine.

Info at www.zlinaero.com or www.flyingfrontiers.com

[Pepper 5]

You can fly a trike in turbulence and high wind but I got tired of that after 700 hours. A fixed wing does indeed offer you better stability like you said Craig. These days I take out the Bathawk where I would normally put back the trike. Like I said you need to fly everyday and pilot comfort should be taken into consideration.

[b.hawker]

Hi Pepper 5, thank you for the invite, where are you based as I'd like to take you up on your offer.
Best Regards
Brendan

b.hawker, before you invest in this aerie come and fly a patrol or two with me. I'm not trying to sell you anything I just want you to see what works for us.

[Pepper 5]

Paulpietersburg, we stay far from everything but please make the effort to come fly with me. I'll introduce you to the farm manager as well so that you can hear from the horses mouth what happened in the past as opposed to now.

Your decision is a difficult one.

[Rachet]

1) cheetah is far from STOL as a 7series bmw is from a unimog!!
2) CH701 is a STOL of note, BUT so are many other aircraft
3) if you want true STOl look what they use in Alaska - period!

price price price price price price ....

Oh ya and PRICE!!!!

How can you possibly say a Cheetah is far from being a STOL plane either you don't understand what STOL means or you need some more training in your own Cheetah. I land mine in under 100m every time little bit power and put her down at about 35mph works every time. And you have a rating on a Cessna caravan you should know all this. I was shown how to really fly mine by Vladimir maybe that helped me I don't know but I personally think the Cheetah is in the STOL category.

[RV12]

1) cheetah is far from STOL as a 7series bmw is from a unimog!!
2) CH701 is a STOL of note, BUT so are many other aircraft
3) if you want true STOl look what they use in Alaska - period!

price price price price price price ....

Oh ya and PRICE!!!!

How can you possibly say a Cheetah is far from being a STOL plane either you don't understand what STOL means or you need some more training in your own Cheetah. I land mine in under 100m every time little bit power and put her down at about 35mph works every time. And you have a rating on a Cessna caravan you should know all this. I was shown how to really fly mine by Vladimir maybe that helped me I don't know but I personally think the Cheetah is in the STOL category.

Where do you draw the line, Ratchet ? Are all LSA aircraft STOl ? Which ones ? is my RV12 a STOL ? Why not ? I can put it down on a short runway. Are there any objective criteria in this regard ?

[John Waterson]

Bantam and trike will beat us on forward viz and price, but nothing will beat these two aircraft for low speed handling, stall stability, robustness and all round STOL performance. From a pilot perspective I think it is a two horse race. Here they stand ....

[Ian]

Bantam and trike will beat us on forward viz and price, but nothing will beat these two aircraft for low speed handling, stall stability, robustness and all round STOL performance. From a pilot perspective I think it is a two horse race. Here they stand ....

And what I enjoy is their all day flying capability, handling hot mid day turbulence very well

[912s]

How can you possibly say a Cheetah is far from being a STOL plane either you don't understand what STOL means or you need some more training in your own Cheetah. I land mine in under 100m every time little bit power and put her down at about 35mph works every time. And you have a rating on a Cessna caravan you should know all this. I was shown how to really fly mine by Vladimir maybe that helped me I don't know but I personally think the Cheetah is in the STOL category.

Hi everyone this is my 1st post on here ( joined today ) after reading Microlighters for the past few years. I have the same handle on Avcom 912s. I went this morning and flew my Cheetah @ Circus airfield after reading what "rachet" had to say and we measured my take off distance at about 80m and landing more or less the same so I would agree with ratchet the Cheetah is surley a STOL plane. This was the 1st time I flew the Cheetah since Feb so was a bit rusty and think with practice can do better. My Cheetah is 100hp Rotax with 3 blade Kiev prop and does get 5600 rpm on the roll and a little more in the climb and has no problem to climb at 900 fpm @ 60 mph I think this performance has a lot to do with the pitch setting of the prop. Also for the first time held the breaks gave full power and the tail lifted never done that before in any of the tallies Ive flown. Oh and the take offs and landings were with full ( 2 notches ) flaps. Would like to say thank you to Mr ratchet as reading your post gave me the motivation to fly my Cheetah again and I loved it every minute of it. Was thinking of selling her but might change my mind now.
Steven.
P.S. Saw the new Bushcat taildragger last week at Rainbow its beautiful.

[Sideslip]

How can you possibly say a Cheetah is far from being a STOL plane either you don't understand what STOL means or you need some more training in your own Cheetah. I land mine in under 100m every time little bit power and put her down at about 35mph works every time. And you have a rating on a Cessna caravan you should know all this. I was shown how to really fly mine by Vladimir maybe that helped me I don't know but I personally think the Cheetah is in the STOL category.

Hi everyone this is my 1st post on here ( joined today ) after reading Microlighters for the past few years. I have the same handle on Avcom 912s. I went this morning and flew my Cheetah @ Circus airfield after reading what "rachet" had to say and we measured my take off distance at about 80m and landing more or less the same so I would agree with ratchet the Cheetah is surley a STOL plane. This was the 1st time I flew the Cheetah since Feb so was a bit rusty and think with practice can do better. My Cheetah is 100hp Rotax with 3 blade Kiev prop and does get 5600 rpm on the roll and a little more in the climb and has no problem to climb at 900 fpm @ 60 mph I think this performance has a lot to do with the pitch setting of the prop. Also for the first time held the breaks gave full power and the tail lifted never done that before in any of the tallies Ive flown. Oh and the take offs and landings were with full ( 2 notches ) flaps. Would like to say thank you to Mr ratchet as reading your post gave me the motivation to fly my Cheetah again and I loved it every minute of it. Was thinking of selling her but might change my mind now.
Steven.
P.S. Saw the new Bushcat taildragger last week at Rainbow its beautiful.

Thanks 912s and Ratchet for setting the record straight

All our demo machines are heading up to Namibia for a flying safari at the moment but should anyone be interested in a demo ride, please get in touch and I will add you to the list. These are all nosewheels but we hope to have a tail wheel machine up and running soon.

Read the blog: http://sonsofader.tumblr.com/ (Blog is being run by an American tourist attending the safari with no ties to the aircraft manufacturer so makes for a totally independent review of the aircraft and general tips for flying in Africa).

[912s]

Thanks 912s and Ratchet for setting the record straight

No problem I really like Cheetah's and my current one is in fact my 2nd one. 1st one was a nose wheel and I have to say I much prefer my 2nd one but then I just love taildraggers. I am rather shocked at the comment by "turbo" with regard to a Cheetah being as much a STOL aircraft as a 7 series BMW is to a Unimog but then again I will always listen to the more experienced guys opinions and I think any pilot who flys machines such as Cessna Caravans has a lot of experience we can learn from. I think I just might advertise my Cheethah for sale soon as that new Bushcat tallie is calling me.
Steven.