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My name is Paul Kuntz, and I will be using this web site to describe my progress as I construct a kit for the aircraft
pictured on the left. This plane is a motor glider, manufactured by Pipistrel D.O.O., located in the lovely town of
Ajdovscina, Slovenia. That's me in the picture on the right (red shirt), with my wife, Mary and Ivo Boscarol, the CEO
of Pipistrel. The picture was taken at the Pipistrel factory in Slovenia in April, 2006 when we visited to look at the
aircraft and the factory, and to fly with the factory pilot. The factory web site is: http://www.pipistrel.si/intro The specific model that I am building is the Sinus 912 (That's pronounced seen-us, not sine-us). The Pipistrel
line of aircraft is imported into the US by Pipistrel USA http://Pipistrel-USA.com Briefly, the Sinus 912 is two-place, side by side, high wing aircraft, powered by the Rotax 912
80 hp engine. It weighs 612 lbs empty, 1200 pounds max take off, has a controllable-pitch feathering propeller, a 15-meter
wing with a 30:1 glide ratio, cruises at 110 knots while consuming 3.1 gal of fuel per hour, with a range of 650 NM.
There's plenty of room and load capacity for two people, luggage and full fuel (26 gallons). All in all, it's just a
delightful aircraft.
The Sinus has a sister aircraft -- the Virus (pronounced Veer-us). It is identical in
all respects to the Sinus, except that the wing is truncated just outboard of the flaperons, giving it a 12.5 meter span.
The shorter wing yields a 120 knot cruise at the expense of glide ratio, which is reduced to 24:1. Both the Sinus and
Virus are available in tail wheel or nose wheel configuration. Pipistrel introduced the Virus Short Wing (Virus SW)
in 2007, which has a 10.7 meter wing with impressive performance of 147 knot cruise at 75 percent power on the 100 HP Rotax
912 ULS and is fully aerobatic, although with reduced glide performance. Pipistrel has continued with innovative development,
now offering USA Light Sport versions of all three models, and recently announced a removable wingtip version of the Sinus
for easier hangaring, as well as the very practical and reasonably-priced Alpha Trainer. So, please
use the links on the left to see more about the purchase and shipping process, the FAA kit evaluation, and follow my progress
through the kit build process.
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What's New?
March 2nd - 4th, 2012 - I completed the roll servo linkage cover, installed a radio
speaker, installed the windscreen and conducted the empty weight and balance. At this point, the plane is done except for
a few final details. I have to get the required permanent data plate engraved, then mount it. I can do that now
that I have the weight information. I need to send the ballistic parachute back for a re-pack, since the expiration
date occurs this month. I have to start the engine, complete the carburetor balance, and check the engine valve lifters
for full oil, pay the state excise tax, activate flight insurance, and arrange for the final FAA or DAR inspection.
All that will consume the next several weeks, then I'll be ready for first flight. . Total hands-on time so far: 759.6 hours.
This does not include time spent studying the kit manual and deciding how to approach things, writing emails to the Pipistrel
factory, unpacking and inventorying parts, updating my builder's log and maintaining this web site.
Pipistrel Builders Information Exchange
If you have questions or want to exchange information with other
Pipistrel kit builders or owner/operators, please join the Yahooo Pipistrel on-line builders group. You can do this
by going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pipistrel and click on the Join This Group! link on the right side of the page.
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