Symphony Aircraft For Sale - . This is part of a series of articles written for those new to the experimental/hobbyist world. Its purpose is to provide a good starting point for those interested in the craft. Designs to be covered in future episodes include Van's popular RV-6/A and the timeless Kitfox.

This article begins a new series based on our previous articles on buying used experimental/hobbyist aircraft. While previous series dealt with the general topic of buying a used experimental aircraft, in this series we'll focus on one make and model of aircraft at a time, going into the detail a typical buyer would want to see.

Symphony Aircraft For Sale

Symphony Aircraft For Sale

Here are the main topics to consider: history and model making, design overview, what to look for in a specific make and model, engine options, typical avionics, custom modifications, performance and owner support - both factory and user groups. As this series unfolds, we'll be taking feedback from our readers to make E/A-B the best reference source for potential buyers.

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The Stoddard-Hamilton GlaStar was powered by the Continental IO-240 in 1994, but soon all used the larger engine. In fact, two to three customer aircraft were not built with Continental engines, with the Lycoming O-320 and O-360 engines being the most popular choices due to cost and the large number of used examples. Several manufacturers opted for various versions of the Subaru automatic engine conversion, but most of these aircraft were re-engined with Lycomings after pilot engine failures and other problems.

Your author's first GlaStar. It took about 2,500 hours and four years to build. After three years we replaced it with conventional equipment. The change took about 40 hours the first time, but was very easy to reverse later.

Tom Hamilton was the designer of this popular utility aircraft, Ted Setzer did much of the prototype work, and Tom Setzer did most of the detail work. The GlaStar kit sold very well in its time, with over 600 produced by the time your author submitted it in mid-1998. Unfortunately, Stoddard-Hamilton soon ran into financial problems and filed for bankruptcy in 1999. Longtime EAA Tom Wooten bought the business out of bankruptcy and created two new companies, New GlaStar LLC and New Glasair LLC. These two companies eventually merged into a new company called Glasair Aviation LLC, headed by Mikael Via. Under his leadership, the design rights to the certified version of the GlaStar were sold to OMF Symphony, which eventually produced many certified aircraft, which were unfortunately not very successful. However, Glazier used the proceeds from this sale to develop the Sportsman 2+2 and continues to sell the kit today.

Builder Carlos Emmons has enjoyed his GlaStar for many years. Especially with conventional equipment, the GlaStar is a popular aircraft for exploring the mountains and backcountry.

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In the end, about 930 GlaStar kits were sold, an unknown number of which were tail kits only. About 600 aircraft were built, most of them registered in the United States, but most in Canada and Australia. There are several aircraft in Europe as well as in the UK. One even made it to Cameroon, Africa to do missionary work.

Unfortunately, when Glastar came out with the Sportster, they found that the similarity in production costs prevented them from creating enough of a price difference between the GlaStar and its sibling to continue selling the two kits. So, although it didn't technically die until 2005, the two-seater GlaStar was finished in 2002. At this time, Glasair Aviation does not support the GlaStar, which may share the current Sportsman design. Even the fiberglass fuselage shapes were eliminated.

The GlaStar kit came with vortex generators mounted on the wing roots and shaped ahead of the ailerons to improve flow and aid low-speed handling.

Symphony Aircraft For Sale

The GlaStar concept was a two-seat utility aircraft that was easy to build and easy to maintain, saving the owner money while offering a wide envelope with little doubt in the low speed range. Easy storage was to be aided by folding wings, which became a popular selling feature but were rarely used after the aircraft was finished. The features most liked about the aircraft by prospective owners are good stalling characteristics, good short field performance, and a cruising speed of 130 knots. Its main competitors at the time were the RV-6 and RV-6A, a faster design but shorter in cargo space and utility cabin compared to the GlaStar.

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Most people thought comfort and utility were more important than cruising speed, and still are, but when everyone started pushing the RV-6's weight up to 1,800 pounds, some of the benefits were lost, contrary to Dick VanGrunsven's objections. Both aircraft are well received in the used aircraft market, so there was room for both choices.

As GlaStar moved away from the small engine concept, attention to center of gravity became more important, especially with the O-360 and constant speed propeller. This meant moving the battery as far back as possible to balance the weight. Even then, some GlaStars would lack lift when coming to a full stop, prompting several owners to install vortex generators on the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer. Several builders chose the heavier angle valve IO-360 engine, but weight and CG considerations made it a poor choice. Many of those looking for a good used GlaStar prefer to give up a large angle valve motor.

As with the aircraft purchase (left), a pre-purchase inspection by an experienced mechanic is required. A differential compression test is a small but important part of this pre-purchase inspection.

Your buying guide for buying a used experimental aircraft should begin with a look at our previous KITPLANES® series. I won't repeat that information here, just do your homework on any home airplane purchase and make sure you get a competent inspection before you buy by someone familiar with GlaStar.

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As with used experimental aircraft, it is important to review the records carefully to comply with factory service bulletins. Most of these were probably resolved during construction, but a complete agreement is a good sign of an honest owner. A complete list of factory service bulletins is available online.

Of particular note: the 7 service bulletins call for new reinforced strap welding, 1414 requests additional reinforcement in the tail, adding head tanks to prevent fuel starvation on the 43 43 longs and No. 49 calls for welding. Inspection of a limited number of poorly welded cages.

My dear dead friend Ed Zaleski (right) checks the wing angle of attack on the GlaStar project we built. Every developer should have done this, but not everyone did. Signs of this step being skipped are heavy wing in flight and/or aileron trim tab installation. The correct solution is to get the angle of origin of each wing to within 0.1 degrees.

Symphony Aircraft For Sale

There is also a 2525 service bulletin that discusses the flaps causing excessive differences in the angle of attack of the wings, stating that a 1° variant is the maximum tolerance variation. However, the truth is that a change greater than 0.1° creates undesirable flight characteristics. Some builders have compensated for this by installing aileron trims or adjustable aileron trims, but it is better to check the angle of attack with a reasonable degree of precision and correct any discrepancies found by changing the holes in the rear spar.

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GlaStar has very few kits that have non-heat treated units. These were quickly identified and corrected. However, the basic design sacrifices the carriage legs to protect the lid in case of a very hard fall. For this reason, it's always a good idea to look closely at the front sight of the aircraft for signs of bent wire. The ground loop can also bend the speed leg, so it's a good idea to check the tail gear extra carefully. The good news is that a bent gear shifter can often be adjusted, and if that's not possible, replacement parts are easy.

Builders have five pods to start from the edge of the luggage area and continue to the tail. There are several ways to fix them, two of which are discussed in the service bulletins, but none of them worked

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