Building the new Bushbaby SAFARI

[Kruger]

I saw an article about this aircraft in the Popular Mechanics.
Can this kit be bought?
For how much?

Kruger

[Oupa-G]

Kruger
The aircraft you have been reading about is the prototype but the factory in Komatipoort will be producing them in kit form, phone Stefan on o eight two six o one eight nine seven o. He can give you all the answers. Boet in Loeriesfontein is an excellent builder and if it was not for him I would still have Ceconite sticking to my beard.



Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Today I inserted the pages in my licence groenboekie with the test pilot endorsement. Remembered to sign the first page otherwise the licence is not valid. So nothing is going to stop me now. Was getting tired of the vertical taxiing and would like to feel the new gear on tar and the grippy cement of Fisantekraal. Do some fuel consumption tests and also some speed runs. I cannot wait, hope the weather is playing ball.


Cheers Oupa-G

[Low Level]

I cannot wait, hope the weather is playing ball.

Oupa, ek dink nie jy verstaan nie. Die hele community kan nie meer wag nie. Ek dink daar is meer mense wat die thread dophou as wat Saterdag middag die televisie gaan dophou .

...... obviously in die Kaap, want hulle het nie regtig belang by die televisie Saterdag nie.

[Bushbaby Aircraft]

Hi Kruger, we supply the Safari as a kit or as a factory build fly away plane. Check our website www.saplanes.co.za for pricing or you can call the office at 013 793 seven 013
Regards
Stefan

[Oupa-G]

Ystervark in his thorough methods designing the Eboxi today managed somehow to piggyback the Eboxi on a vibration test. In one of our discussions about vibration the hardware that goes into space, are severely tested for vibration. I was surprised that vibration and the results are a problem in space. The problems in space is the ionic evaporation of materials. Pvc insulation just evaporates. The vibration however takes place during the launch. A machine that is propelled by a burning volcano vibrates viciously. Well the result was the Eboxi was hard mounted to get the worst possible effect.
After 4 hours the test was stopped because the host instruments that were tested developed a problem
the Eboxi however was functioning normally. How the testing story continues I will hear. I believe there is also a thermal testing planned for the future. These tests far exceed the requirements for automotive standards not to talk about NTCA that is where the builder sets his own standards and as I have always said nothing stops us from having higher standards. Anton the owner of Safari #2 is in Loeriesfontein to give his baby the necessary love and attention. I've had a long day good night.


Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Had our annual volunteer party of the Red X pilots. They honoured me for thirty years service. Quietly I was very moved by this gesture. This morning I went to Grootfontein to run the Arplast prop. The prop was taken of the 912s of Anton and the BMW ran away with it I had to coursen the prop 3 degrees and then she was still going to 7100 revs. I want a cruise prop and the prop I am having made by Pieter de Necker is a 74 diameter and 58 "pitch. Pieter assured me that he can still trim this prop down if necessary .I'm enclosing a photo of Andy Cap in the cockpit and I must say that in length he is definitely in the top 5% of the Bell curve and he fits in the cockpit , I have asked Andy to give his own account on this page it is better if it comes from him because he can judge the best. I also see 61000 hits it is difficult for me to believe the amount of people that are visiting this site, I'll try to keep it interesting.

Cheers Oupa-G

[Boet]

Seems like andy Cap has finally found himself an aeroplane to fit his size!!

[Boet]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the "C" team have jumped into action with the wireing etc..........VERY busy.

[Boet]

and then some more. and oupa do not have to worry `bout them too much, they are behaving reasonably well.

[Boet]

and in case you were wondering what they are working on.....

[Oupa-G]

Did a Red X flight to Vredendal so I was not to far away from Loeriesfontein . I like what I'm seeing it is nice to hear that the two boys are behaving themselves. That is how it works you must keep the children occupied. Everything I see looks very nice I like the bottom bracket of the header tank. Heard today from Derek of whisper fame that the BMW motor has plenty power and when it is compared to the 6 cylinder Jabbie it has more kick but that can just be a prop combination difference.

Hope to get the final piece of paper tomorrow.

Cheers Oupa-G

[AndyCAP]

Finally, I get a chance to post my impressions of my Safari fitment. Apologies for the delay Oupa, but our brief visit to the Fairest was quite busy so I am only managing to log in now.

For those of you who have not yet encountered my whining lament about not fitting into planes, I'll start with some stats. I'm 2m (6'7") tall and weigh 112kg (apologies to those who have been bored to death by this before ). Anyway to summarise, there are not many aircraft that I fit in. (I recently sadly removed another candidate from my want list when I unsuccessfully tried-on a Socata Rallye (cannot even get in as pax since my knees foul the controls). So thats added to the list containing the Cherokee, C150, Bantam, Jabiru, Ikarus, Savannah, Zodiac, Samba XL, Tecnams..... to name just a few )

Oupa was so kind as to give me an opportunity to get in the Bosvark and I was pleasantly surprised! . The legroom is SIGNIFICANTLY improved from the Explorer and in fact is virtually the same as the Cheetah (which until now was the leader in the legroom department along with the CTSW and Rally). The instrument panel is far away from my knees (which are usually skinned whilst getting in ). I was surprised at how short the rudder pedal travel is, but it feels very comfortable. I really like the brake pedals (blue) which are attached to the firewall. The big rubber stoppers make them easy to find with your toes, when required but also easy to miss when not. I think this will work much better and will be more robust than the ones usually fitted to the pedals themselves. The latter type also takes up a lot of space which is better utilised for increased legroom

Headroom was less roomy, but comparable with the Cheetah XL. My head bumps against the rear truss, but only when I move it back a bit. Most importantly, none of the other cockpit roof trusses come close to my head when moving forwards (as would be the case in a sudden deceleration during an accident). I must be honest that I would prefer another inch or so more headroom to allow for a cushion under the posterior (Bosvarkie only has carpet over the fibreglass seat at the moment). Although I could not check for myself, Oupa assures me that the seat can drop a bit. Also, the seatback was quite upright and I needed some lumbar support – something that was easily remedied by using a small cushion.

The control stick was a tad short for my liking, but has been designed to allow Oupa to get in easily. His knees are a lot lower than mine when seated, so the short stick works well. This is easy enough to modify if required. I did have full & free movement with the short stick – even though Oupa says that it only requires small movements during vertical taxi.

The flap lever is conveniently located on the floor in the center of the plane (like a handbrake) and was very comfortable for me to operate. The throttle is very well positioned and even my brother, Groundfish, commented on the comfortable position and shape of the lovely aluminium throttle handle .

Unfortunately, I only sat in the cockpit alone, so I can’t comment accurately about the room in the cockpit with two up, but it is up there with the roomiest of aircraft in this class. I did close the door (see one pic) and did not feel like a sardine in a can – in fact it felt quite comfy .

The instrument panel is VERY well laid out and logical , facilitating a nice flow for one’s checks. In fact if I were ever so lucky to build one, I would copy that layout exactly (except that I probably will not be able to afford the Lovely MGL Voyager panel – which is really impressive). Its clear that a lot of thought and experience has gone into the positioning of switches, instruments and gauges. As an example, the switch which selects Eboxi system 1 or 2 is located at the throttle so that it can be flicked from one system to the other without removing your hand from the throttle. I also like the idea of using heavy duty switch/isolators. They will clearly flick to ‘Off’ in an overload situation, clearly warning the pilot of which circuit is affected.

To summarise, I am very impressed with the Safari, It’s definitely a top contender for the bigger people out there. Those of you who are lucky to be smaller in stature will feel like you are sitting in first class – and may even consider a threesome !

Thanks Oupa G for your hospitality, patience and willingness to share information . The Safari has moved up to the top of my want list for now and I can’t wait to get a flip in it some day .

By the way, if you have ever wondered… ZU (bos) OTT looks even better in real life than on the pictures in this thread!

[AndyCAP]

Here are some pics of Groundfish sitting in the cockpit. I'llcheck with him how tall he is - if I remember correctly he is 1.93m

He commented afterwards that he would love to fly it sometime…. Not bad for a blik driver who’s usually sceptical about homebuilts !

[AndyCAP]

Oupa G the model:

He had to pose with his toy for an article in a medical journal. We had a good chuckle at his mutterings “Real pilots don’t stand next to their planes in this way…”




Lastly here are some pics of Oupa at work, epoxying carbon-fibre tubes (for the break lines) onto the new landing gear. I could see he has worn those blue gloves once or twice before 