More SilverWing News

Things are moving quickly at SilverWing - there are now 5 flying schools lined up with SportStars (2 due for delivery late 2005/early in 2006), with Foxbat orders also at an all-time high.

In this issue of the Newsletter:
- get your copy of our new DVD
- delivery of SportStar 2005-0403 to Parafield, Adelaide
- first Foxbat with ballistic rescue system
- KievProp propellers

Season's Greetings to all our readers!

It's already that time of year again...up here in sunny Queensland it isn't (sunny that is). Currently it's pouring with rain and 30 degrees and very sticky!

SilverWing wishes you all a fantastic 2006 - safe flying and soft landings!

New SilverWing DVD

Thanks to Mike Rudd at Corporate Media Group in Melbourne, we now have our first and very comprehensive DVD covering SilverWing, our products and much more besides.

Content includes:
- videos of the SportStar and Foxbat
- video of a basic Rotax 912 engine service
- pilot, maintenance and other manuals for SportStar and Foxbat
- complete SilverWing website
- links to Australian and other important aviation websites
- copies of SportStar, Foxbat and Cobra press articles
- dozens of still photos of SportStar and Foxbat
- audio files from customers

All current SilverWing customers will be receiving a free copy. For a limited time, on a first come first served basis you can also obtain a free copy - send us an e-mail with your full postal address and we'll send you a copy.

But be quick - when stock runs out, there wll be a charge!

SportStar 2005-0403 goes to Parafield

The idea was simple - deliver a SportStar to Forsyth Aviation at Parafield, Adelaide. The execution turned out to be far from simple, due entirely to our old friend, the WEATHER.

On 22 November, I started out at 05:30 from my home airfield just south of Brisbane, my ears full of advice from friends. 'Go inland, mate, it's always going to be clear that way. You'll get stuck on the coast'. Or: 'Look out for the storms down the inland'. In the end, I should have listened to what the BoM said: 'Stay at home!'

Anyway, I didn't and began my track in clear sunlight towards the gap in the ranges where the Cunningham Highway lifts over the hills. From a long way off, it looked like the Gap was clouded in, but you never know, so I flew on. Until there at the foot of the hills, the highway slithered like a wet snake up into the cloud and was gone from sight. To cut a 2-hour story short, I flew up and down the ranges looking for a way through, but all in vain. My GPS track log showed a flight path that looked like a set of cannibal's teeth as I peered up each valley in turn, only to turn back under the cloud.

Oh well, I thought, maybe it's the coast after all...wrong! Low cloud all the way down to the beach from somewhere just south of Byron Bay. So back home to ponder the next step.

In the end, I flew out very early the next morning and got to Taree, a good way down the NSW coast, again to be met with cloud and rain. Said the BoM: 'That southerly change had a bit more moisture than we thought'. It sure did.

But there's a narrow low-level ultralight route which runs in a big curve from Taree to Maitland - mainly with a 1,000 feet ceiling between the hills. I didn't want to be mistaken for an intruder by Williamtown, so I stayed down and reached Maitland in relatively clear weather.

From there to Dubbo, Griffith and Mildura was plain sailing - even some tail wind! I reached Parafield in beautiful sunshine before lunch the next day after a relaxing evening at Griffith.

Hope you like the plane, Yvette and Dave, and best wishes for the flying school!

Ballistic rescue system for the Foxbat

In Germany, Foxbats have been mandatorily fitted with a ballistic rescue system and perhaps following more emphasis on safety from the RAAus, there has been a spate of Foxbat orders with the (optional in Australia) Czech USH ballistic rescue system. Not that there has ever been an instance of either an airframe failure in a Foxbat - or even anyone using the system when fitted...

Aeroprakt currently recommend a 'soft-pack' system which is entirely enclosed in the fuselage, with no draggy cannisters or the like sticking out in the airflow. The chute is pulled out by a rocket and is anchored to the moly frame surrounding the cockpit.

The service life of the chute is 15 years and it should be re-packed and the fabric strength tested by the factory every 5 years.

Total weight of the system is around 12kgs, so with the 472.5kgs MTOW with the system installed, you actually get another 10kgs legal carrying capacity!

Current GST inclusive, installed price is Australian $4,750.

Need a new prop?

We have just delivered our 60th KievProp in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. These propellers are designed for geared engines, Rotax, VW, Hirth etc. They are available in puller or pusher configurations and a variety of sizes depending on your engine power and gearbox ratio. They come in black or white finish, with black or white spinners also available.

A key characteristic of the props are their brass leading edges, which makes them relatively resistant to stone damage - the brass is inlaid into the prop and not just stuck on the outside.

The curved scimitar shape of these computer designed props makes them powerful and very quiet.

Join the thousands of pilots flying behind (or in front of) a KIEVPROP!

Sorry Jabiru owners - these props are not suitable for direct drive engines - another reason not to buy a Jabby!