|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 Previous Item - Searey wheels down water landing
This will go to the previous thread in this topic. | 
Favorite option: If you want this item to be marked as a favorite, click on the black heart.
LSX Typical max fuel capacity and max Gross Weight |
|  Next Item - Nobody Home here anymore.
This will go to the next thread in this topic. |
|
|
|
 |
Mike Wegner - Mar 04
Viewers
| Reply
|
| |
What are the common limits for a 914 Rotax equipped LSX?
I’d like to find one with the highest fuel capacity.
I weighed 250 pounds until I just got down to 205 in preparation for training and buying an LSX.
I’m hearing I will still have issues taking a passenger and a full fuel load.
Trying to figure out if I can find a suitable Searey to search for, but I don’t own a Searey so I can’t
learn from others on the Searey group.
Silly I have to already buy one to find out what I’d really want to have known before hand. It’s
reminiscent of how Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prefers to have legislation passed…
| | |
|
Don Maxwell - Mar 04
Viewers
| Reply
|
| |
Mike, you have a simple question, but the answer is complicated.
SeaRey fuel tanks have had various capacities. The original, rectangular fiberglass tank held 18 gallons, with about 3 gallons unusable when descending. Later "plastic" tanks have held up to 28 gallons. Mine--and my favorite of all--is aluminum, made in Australia: 23 gallons, with zero unusable. That gives my Rotax 914 more than 4 hours of cruise, plus more than half an hour reserve. I'm almost always ready to come down in 3 hours anyway.
It's possible to make the engine burn more than 5 gph; but that won't make a SeaRey go much faster. You can also cruise at 4 gph if you're not in a hurry to get somewhere. (We do these calculations every time we fly ANY aircraft, by the way. Most of the time it's a balance of passenger weight v. fuel.)
The useful load depends on how the SeaRey was built and how it's registered. Empty weights have ranged from less than 900 lbs to more than 1100 lbs. 1,000 is more or less typical, these days.
But the maximum takeoff weight (gross weight) also depends on how the SeaRey is registered and operated. An Experimental Amateur-Built SeaRey might have a maximum gross weight up to 1,500 lbs, perhaps even more--whatever the builder specified. An S-LSA SeaRey (factory-built), on the other hand, is limited to 1430 lbs. (I think. Check my memory!) And if the pilot is flying according to Sport Pilot rules (meaning a "drivers license medical") the SeaRey must be registered at no more than 1430 lbs. (The BasicMed weight limit is far beyond that for the pilot, and there's no limit at all if you have a 3rd class medical or higher; but the aircraft registration limits the maximum permissible weight for that aircraft.)
Okay, you see that the useful load varies widely. So are you too heavy for a SeaRey? Nah, of course not. But let's say it's a 1,000 lb empty-weight LSA SeaRey and you weigh 205. That's 1205 lbs to start with.
Remember that the FAA says you need at least 30 minutes of usable fuel in the tank OF ANY AIRCRAFT in order to take off in daylight and Visual Flight Rules (VFR. Not IFR.) So to take off in your SeaRey (which burns about 5 gallons an hour when cruising and probably about 7 or 8 gph during takeoff) needs to have at least 3 gallons in the tank just to take off, fly around to the other end of the runway, and land immediately.
Gasoline weighs roughly 6 lbs per gallon. So add 18 lbs of usable gas to that 1205 lbs = 1235 lbs. Great! You can fly that 1430 lb LSA SeaRey.
You can even carry a passenger who weighs 1430 - 1235 = 265 lbs. Okay, but let's get practical: Suppose your passenger weighs in at 205, just like you. How long can the two of you fly?
Whoops! 1235 (the airplane, you, and minimum fuel) + 205 (passenger) = 1440 lbs. That's 10 lbs too much. The passenger will have to go on a crash diet. But let's say the PAX is only 170 lbs. That's 1235 + 170 = 1405 lbs, 25 lbs under the 1430 limit for LSA seaplanes. So you can add another 4.16 gallons of gas and fly for almost an hour.
If you get down to 170 lbs, too, then it'll be 1,000 lbs (SeaRey) + 170 (you) + 170 (PAX) = 1340 lbs. Then you have 1430 - 1340 = 90 lbs for gas. That's about 15 gallons--less the 2.5 gallons the FAA says you must have remaining when you reach your destination, about 12.5 gallons. So you and that passenger can plan to fly for 2.5 hours. (That is, you can fly for 3 hours, counting that half hour reserve that will be in the tank after 2.5 hours.)
Want to fly longer (or farther)? Lose more weight. Lose that 170 lb passenger and you can top off the biggest SeaRey tank and still carry some baggage.
No politics here, by the way. That's implicit in the one rule, which is "Be nice." (That same rule protects you from flak about weight. Congrats on losing 45 lbs!)
| | |
|
Mike Wegner - Mar 07
Viewers
| Reply
|
| |
Don, thanks for your reply, as you are very informed.
I am 6’3”. Not only will I not ever lose more weight to be below 200 pounds, it would be very unhealthy for me to do so. I don’t get
butthurt about comments about my weight, and laughed when my daughter said I was 10 months pregnant ????.
For several reasons, but primarily max certified gross weight, I am not even considering anything but an LSX. That’s why I stated
only looking for an LSX in my post. An LSA is as impractical and useless for me personally as an Icon would be. My ratings also
make it of no particular advantage to buy, as I am not a Sport licensed pilot and have held a Class 1 medical for 30 years.
——————
My current weight is considered a given and best case as far as I’m concerned, as is full fuel in the largest tank I can equip. If I have
to swap in a larger tank on an otherwise suitable Searey, I may consider it. I’m told it’s not simple to do so though.
Having read the book about the Searey with structural modifications that circumnavigated the globe from Australia, I know the
aircraft is very capable.
The price of what I am having to guess I would seek to purchase (without access to the Searey technical website) has lead me to
consider more capable options in the same price range such as a Lakes Amphibian, but the operating costs are not comparable.
5 gph of Autogas = $15/hr
Vs
12 gph of 100LL = $72/hr
is about 500% more expensive for only more useful load but the same cruise airspeed.
——————-
How likely am I to find a 1000 pound or close LSX, preferably a C hull, with a larger fuel tank?
How would your calculations look given that?
Most of my friends are other men, so it’s reasonable to plan to have a 180 pound passenger. Some cargo capacity margin would be
nice also.
——————
| | |
|
Don Maxwell - Mar 07
Viewers
| Reply
|
| |
Mike, all LSX SeaReys have the C hull and control-force pitch trim (not a trim tab). Classics all were built with the trim done by moving the leading edge of the stabilizer up and down, similar to the way Cubs are trimmed. There are lots of other differences, but the one solid indication of model is the trim method and the LSX elevators' squared-off outer corners. Classics have roundy elevators. (An S-LSA SeaRey is an LSX that was built by the factory, with the necessary limitations for the S-LSA category. Many, but not all, have registration numbers ending in "SR," and I think all of them have serial numbers 1000 or higher.)
A lot of LSXs seem to be right around 1,000 lbs (+/- ~50 lbs). Progressive Aerodyne has approved (usually by paper letter) gross weights of 1,500 lbs and, I think, slightly more.
But the max gross weight depends on who built the airplane. Many, many are "certified" at 1430 lbs (because the builder wanted to fly it according to Light Sport rules and the drivers license medical), and it's probably not worth the effort of trying to get that increased. FAA.
Unfortunately, the gross weight is not included in the FAA's database of N-numbered aircraft. At least, I've never noticed it. So you'd have to ask the builder or look at the airworthiness certificate--it's probably there, but I'm not sure. I think it probably should be available in the airplane--but again am not sure. Or pay the ten bucks or whatever for the FAA to send you the aircraft's data.
Oh, but here's an easy way, I think: In the FAA database, look up the N-number and that may show you the serial number. If it's 999 or less, it's not a factory-built S-LSA.
So: how does a 1500 lb SeaRey fly? Uh, it can be safe and fun. But of course, heavy is stodgy.
Have you been up in a SeaRey yet? Probably the best thing you can do now is go for a ride. Tega Cay SC, eh?
| | |
|
Mike Wegner - Mar 08
Viewers
| Reply
|
| |
I had one hour of dual in Tavares and loved it. Weighed 250 at the time. Performed great and I found it easy and a thrill to pilot.
Booked my tail wheel endorsement and ASES training in July.
I am very concerned about PA’s out of business status, but it may not stop me from seeking to purchase one..lots of them flying and
seems like great support from people like Jim Ratte.
| | |
|
Don Maxwell - Mar 09
Viewers
| Reply
|
| |
Mike, that's good. If you have a third class or higher medical or BasicMed, then you aren't likely to overload the airplane, except for the GW listed on the registration. But if your medical limits you to 1430 lbs GW, then you'll probably need to make a few compromises--fuel vrs. passenger--no matter what the airplane's GW is. Try to find out what the seller's situation is and how they handled it. Good luck!
| | |
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
- About Searey.us -
- Contact Searey.us -
|
- Privacy Statement -
- Terms of service -
|
Copyright © 2024 Searey.us & Brevard Web Pro, Inc. -
Copyrights may also be reserved
by posters and used by license on this site. See Terms of Service for more information.
|
| |
- Please visit our NEW
Chapter Place Website at: chapterplace.com or
Free Chapter Management Website at: ourchapter.org. Good for all chapters, groups or families. |
| | |
