A little late, perhaps, but my views on the detail of flying an SD1 Minisport. The opinions are mine alone, not intended to be an Instruction Manual, but might be useful to new pilots or those who might be considering being one.
I haven't paid too much attention to general handling because every aircraft will be different in small ways...see the update to the "numbers"... and will vary with weights of pilot, fuel etc. It might suffice to say that with 20 litres of fuel and me a total of 92kgs I can cruise at 79kts (91mph, 147km/hr) at 3100rpm and burn 4.7lph, which is a pretty impressive figure and cheap fun considering the cost of fuel nowadays.
Following a request from a subscriber, I did a test flight to record my results for performance so that some comparisons can be made. Obviously these will change according to all the usual factors, so I've done my best to record everything that might have a bearing on why my aircraft might perform differently to yours, or the manufacturer's spec. Please also note that the EMS RPM indications fluctuate by as much as 500 but often around 100, so I've tried to average out the variations.
The test took place with an OAT of +17C, aircraft plus pilot weight of 202kg and 25l of fuel, Relative Humidity of 29% and Density Altitude of 2000 feet for the cruise tests.
Ground Idle RPM 1200
Max Static RPM 3250
Full Power Climb @ 55 kts, half flap, RPM max achievable 3250
....."........................@ 60kts, clean, RPM max 3250, RoC 600fpm
Slow cruise flight 1/2 flap 53 kts with 2400 RPM (downwind in the circuit)
Slow cruise flight clean 66 kts with 2800 RPM
Fast cruise flight 83 kts with 3250 RPM
Max Continuous cruise 94 kts with 3600 RPM
Glide 60 kts, 500 fpm, flight idle 1750 RPM
Useful? Let me know if you've read it, and how it compares with your aeroplane?