steve92106 Posted February 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 I'm totally enamored of the Taurus; a beautiful looking gliding machine, with the obvious emphasis on unpowered performance, side by side seating, a reasonable useful load and, of course, the self powered option. I'm less sure about the Rotax 503 powerplant although it's pretty ubiquitous among better self launched gliders so I guess that says something. I wonder why Pipistrel doesn't put a Hirth in there and I'm wondering if you had a used Taurus with a runout 503, could you convert it to experimental category by installing a Hirth and still be able to take a passenger up? Beyond that, I'm wondering what powered flight in a 503 equipped Taurus is like. Would it be a noisy ordeal that you couldn't wait to stop or could you put up with a couple of hours of straight motoring if you had to get somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve92106 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 I'm totally enamored of the Taurus; a beautiful looking gliding machine, with the obvious emphasis on unpowered performance, side by side seating, a reasonable useful load and, of course, the self powered option. I'm less sure about the Rotax 503 powerplant although it's pretty ubiquitous among better self launched gliders so I guess that says something. I wonder why Pipistrel doesn't put a Hirth in there and I'm wondering if you had a used Taurus with a runout 503, could you convert it to experimental category by installing a Hirth and still be able to take a passenger up? Beyond that, I'm wondering what powered flight in a 503 equipped Taurus is like. Would it be a noisy ordeal that you couldn't wait to stop or could you put up with a couple of hours of straight motoring if you had to get somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rand Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 I'm totally enamored of the Taurus; a beautiful looking gliding machine, with the obvious emphasis on unpowered performance, side by side seating, a reasonable useful load and, of course, the self powered option. I'm less sure about the Rotax 503 powerplant although it's pretty ubiquitous among better self launched gliders so I guess that says something. I wonder why Pipistrel doesn't put a Hirth in there and I'm wondering if you had a used Taurus with a runout 503, could you convert it to experimental category by installing a Hirth and still be able to take a passenger up? Beyond that, I'm wondering what powered flight in a 503 equipped Taurus is like. Would it be a noisy ordeal that you couldn't wait to stop or could you put up with a couple of hours of straight motoring if you had to get somewhere?503 powered Taurus has fairly high noise level and vibration compared to the Sinus/Virus, althought the new Electric Taurus solves this issue - regardless, the Taurus is more self-launch than touring - excellent thermalling performance, not really designed for long cross country flight. All in all, Pipistrels have had very good luck with the Rotax power plants. Many / most of the older pipistrels are already registered as experimental - only on newer S-LSA models would you have to consider consequences of changing powerplants. I flew my Sinus non-stop from Oshkosh to Zephyrhills (Tampa) last September - 1,250 miles, 9.8 hours, 24.5 gallons of regular auto fuel (with 10% ethanol) that works out to 127 mph at 51 mpg (yes I had a tailwind at 9,500' for part of the flight - still pretty good) rand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rand Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 I'm totally enamored of the Taurus; a beautiful looking gliding machine, with the obvious emphasis on unpowered performance, side by side seating, a reasonable useful load and, of course, the self powered option. I'm less sure about the Rotax 503 powerplant although it's pretty ubiquitous among better self launched gliders so I guess that says something. I wonder why Pipistrel doesn't put a Hirth in there and I'm wondering if you had a used Taurus with a runout 503, could you convert it to experimental category by installing a Hirth and still be able to take a passenger up? Beyond that, I'm wondering what powered flight in a 503 equipped Taurus is like. Would it be a noisy ordeal that you couldn't wait to stop or could you put up with a couple of hours of straight motoring if you had to get somewhere?503 powered Taurus has fairly high noise level and vibration compared to the Sinus/Virus, althought the new Electric Taurus solves this issue - regardless, the Taurus is more self-launch than touring - excellent thermalling performance, not really designed for long cross country flight. All in all, Pipistrels have had very good luck with the Rotax power plants. Many / most of the older pipistrels are already registered as experimental - only on newer S-LSA models would you have to consider consequences of changing powerplants. I flew my Sinus non-stop from Oshkosh to Zephyrhills (Tampa) last September - 1,250 miles, 9.8 hours, 24.5 gallons of regular auto fuel (with 10% ethanol) that works out to 127 mph at 51 mpg (yes I had a tailwind at 9,500' for part of the flight - still pretty good) rand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve92106 Posted April 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Hi, Rand. Appreciate your giving me something to think about. But now, the question: Is the Sinus a 1)powered airplane that can glide or 2) a glider that can power? Obviously the answer is 1) but I'm wondering, if I went that route, would I then yearn to add a pure glider to the stable? I think I'm much more interested in a glider that can soar around SoCal mountains on weekends and then take an occasional cross country trip to see my son in Tahoe than, let's say, a point to point flyer that I only shut the engine off in when I hear 400 fpm ridge lift and thermals are everywhere. Unfortunately, while there is such a beast and it's called a S-10VT, I lack the requisite multiple six figure disposable budget. I don't know whether to be more impressed with your Sinus's range or your endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve92106 Posted April 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2013 Hi, Rand. Appreciate your giving me something to think about. But now, the question: Is the Sinus a 1)powered airplane that can glide or 2) a glider that can power? Obviously the answer is 1) but I'm wondering, if I went that route, would I then yearn to add a pure glider to the stable? I think I'm much more interested in a glider that can soar around SoCal mountains on weekends and then take an occasional cross country trip to see my son in Tahoe than, let's say, a point to point flyer that I only shut the engine off in when I hear 400 fpm ridge lift and thermals are everywhere. Unfortunately, while there is such a beast and it's called a S-10VT, I lack the requisite multiple six figure disposable budget. I don't know whether to be more impressed with your Sinus's range or your endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Registered Eric Greenwell Posted July 16, 2013 Registered Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Have you considered Phoenix? It's an LSA glider with a 125 mph cruise, 100 hp Rotax 912ULS, a 30:1 glide ratio, and about $150K. Here's the dealer's site:http://phoenixairusa.comHere's a link to a flight posted on the OLC (OnLine Competition), where Russ Owens recently flew his 500 km (about 280 NM):http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=3085974You can check out the owners forum here at TMGA - Phoenix S-LSA Motorglider. I have one on order, with delivery expected around the end of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Registered Eric Greenwell Posted July 16, 2013 Registered Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Have you considered Phoenix? It's an LSA glider with a 125 mph cruise, 100 hp Rotax 912ULS, a 30:1 glide ratio, and about $150K. Here's the dealer's site:http://phoenixairusa.comHere's a link to a flight posted on the OLC (OnLine Competition), where Russ Owens recently flew his 500 km (about 280 NM):http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightinfo.html?dsId=3085974You can check out the owners forum here at TMGA - Phoenix S-LSA Motorglider. I have one on order, with delivery expected around the end of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve92106 Posted September 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Back to Pipistrels, has anyone got a pirep yet on the Electro Taurus? I'm wondering if it can recharge from a trailer mounted solar panel between weekend flights or do you have to drag it back and forth to and from your garage power station? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve92106 Posted September 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Back to Pipistrels, has anyone got a pirep yet on the Electro Taurus? I'm wondering if it can recharge from a trailer mounted solar panel between weekend flights or do you have to drag it back and forth to and from your garage power station? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Registered Eric Greenwell Posted September 20, 2013 Registered Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 They offer a trailer with a huge number of solar panels and, I believe, a large buffer battery that charges while you are flying, and is big enough to recharge the glider over night. For weekend only use, you could get by with much fewer panels, but you still might want the buffer battery so you could charge over Saturday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Registered Eric Greenwell Posted September 20, 2013 Registered Report Share Posted September 20, 2013 They offer a trailer with a huge number of solar panels and, I believe, a large buffer battery that charges while you are flying, and is big enough to recharge the glider over night. For weekend only use, you could get by with much fewer panels, but you still might want the buffer battery so you could charge over Saturday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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