ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

Hi
Basically have completed my flat top Max which I had hoped I had made with some features to facilitate ease of assembly/disassembly.  Results were less than hoped for in this regard, pretty easy going together with a helper, fairly challenging with just me at age 73.  So I probably will have a test pilot acquaintance put five or so hours on it to check the basics, and then probably will offer it for sale so I can try something else.  On e-bay i found an offering for a to be built from plans, Sportlite 103, a u/ll I had never heard of or seen.  Can't find a lot of info on it.  Its features make it a good candidate for my next build:
very quick wing removal for storage on trailer
a true u/l, under weight with a 447
bolt together build
tricycle gear
cheap flying and easy assembly/disassembly for trailering each flight
So I bought the manual and full size plans, have not received them yet
Now the looks of it are nothing special, somewhat typical tube and fabric, should be relatively inexpensive build, even bearing in mind that the cost of these builds is always more than anyone tells you
So I am getting the package and going ahead with it for my next project, nothing whatsoever against the mini max product line which is an obvious success story, I am just curious if there is anyone anywhere who has ever heard of the sportlite 103 by Freebird innovations, seen one, had one, flown one, all comments appreciated, great site here, refer to it all the time
Kim Brown--New Hampshire

From the picture I've seen of it the overall layout and the tail end is reminiscent of the Quad City Challenger. I wonder if the designer had anything to do with the Challenger before moving on to the Sportlite?

A little search did not yield much.Altough following a lead found a Freebird 1 ultralight.Now that is nice. A pusher quicksilver concept with a challenger rear fuselage.The single surface wing should be easy to build.Looks like a winner.Is it the same aircraft and are the drawings still available?https://youtu.be/d_WTMoBfHKE

I think that is the same one.  I did receive the plans/manual/prints materials, have not spent a lot of time on them yet.  The build is straight forward enough I think, but I have not had time to break out the primary aluminum materials to get a quote on them from AS&S, the second issue on materials is the odds and ends of joining materials, rubber cushions between tubes running in opposite directions and things like that.  My experience is mostly wood and fabric so I have to regroup a bit for materials suppliers for tube and fabric antique construction, these things must be 25-30 years ago and much like planes much older.  Just a matter of investing the time and doing the research.  Unfortunately as well, I have heard that aluminum got much pricier in 2020, perhaps covid causes, not sure.  Got a quote from AS&S for just the aluminum on an Affordaplane and it was $2500, pieces add up much faster than anticipated.  Anyway, will move along to gather data and info from which to decide whether to build it or not.  
Will keep you advise.  Thanks for all comments.
Kim Brown

You might want to get a quote on the metals BOM from Airparts in Kansas City:
http://www.airpartsinc.com
1-800-800-3229
I believe they will be cheaper.

Will comparison shop with your recommendation, thank you.
Kim Brown

Actually I have been giving more thought to this whole idea and have decided to spend some time working all the bugs out of the Max i have completed and doing a few things to it that may take some time, this would use up some of the time I have left(I'm 73) and perhaps another new build is not the thing for me to do now.  i made the Max an open cockpit flat top but have seen a couple of all clear glass like material canopy arrangements I would consider changing to in order to lengthen the cold weather flying time, and i have purchased a plane cover some other Max owner had made up to cover his Max, and am considering spending some money to get it to fit properly on mine, which would then open up the possibility of resorting to a tie down rather than any of the other choices.  The cover was $400 and to do it right will cost another
$500 to have the professional canvas people spend a whole day on my site tweaking and adjusting it.  Hangarage here is $400/mo, tie down over priced at $100/mo, tie down makes sense pretty quickly even with the extra cover costs.  Not all decisions made yet but pretty sure I will not be doing the Sportlite3 103 build from scratch.  If anyone is interested in the complete plans set I bought for $225, they are available for $100 buyer pays $50 shipping, thanks for all comments.
Kim Brown