U.S. Pipistrel Sinus motorglider owner/dealer Rand Vollmer recently flew 1,170 statue miles nonstop at mostly economy cruise settings from Oshkosh to Florida on one 24.5-gallon fill up in his Sinus, 49-foot span motorglider.
Color me green with envy and drooling from sheer lust for flight.
For the trip, Rand’s average speed was 102 knots. Fuel economy: 50 mpg! He said he had a bit of a tailwind for part of the journey, and just squeaked in under the fall of the twilight curtain.
This and other tales I’ve heard about the super-slippery Pipistrel aircraft speak volumes about how you don’t need a lot of engine muscle to have spectacular flights. (Sinus is powered by the 80-horsepower Rotax 912 engine that can use 87-octane “regular” auto fuel. —DJ)
Pipistrel’s all-composite airframes are pushing the envelope of aerodynamics for the LSA industry. I know they’ve got some secret tricks up their sleeves, can’t wait to pass those along once I get the go-ahead.
