SAAA Chapter 21 Moorabbin Vic Inc.
 Chapter 21 of the Sports
Aircraft Association of Australia is based at Moorabbin in Melbourne.
We are an Associate of the Royal Victorian Aero Club (RVAC) and meet
at their club rooms on the 4th Thursday of every month starting at
7.30 pm. Visitors are welcome. Meals are available in the RVAC Dinning
Rooms prior to our meeting.
We have members ranging down from those who have built and are
flying their aircraft, through those in the test flying stage, those
who are building and those still thinking/dreaming. Our Chapter
includes a wide range of expertise that members are only too willing
to pass on to new builders.
The photo on the right is of a builders visit to Shane Fewings
Sonnex. Visits not only subject the builder's project to intense
scrunity but are of benefit to other builders to see how problems
are tackled. Note the elbow grease Shane has put into polishing
his aircraft. At first glance the fin looks like it is built of
glass. This is typical of the pride builders put into their projects.
(Photo J.Kneen)
Click here for more on Chapter 21 Activities.
Experimental Registration
Our aircraft are all approved for flight by a CASA Approved Person
in the Experimental Category. While most members choose to construct
well established designs the Experimental Category gives us the
freedom to make any design modifications we wish or even to design
our own aircraft.
The aircraft on the left is an example of the flexibility allowed
under the experimental rules. The JG2 jet was designed and constructed
by John Gross from Chapter 15 in Queensland.(Photo J.Kneen)
The Zenith 601 on the right is an example of a kit aircraft.
It was contructed by John Livsey of Chapter 21. The photo is taken
outside the Birdsville Hotel on a trip from Victoria to Kurumba
on the Gulf of Carpentaria. (Photo J.Livsey)
Building Your Own Aircraft
Some questions potential builders need to address are how much will
it cost, how long will it take, what other resources are required,
where can I get help, what aircraft are available and what type of
construction.
There are no simple answers to these questions and there will
be trade offs. For example scratch building will be the least expensive
but will take longer than building from a kit. These questions can
be answered by attending Chapter meetings and asking builders about
their experiences.
 The Sonnex on
the right was build by Stuart Trist and is typical of many of the
aircraft under construction by amateurs. It was purchased as a kit
from the USA and took 2000 hours to construct over an elapsed period
of 3 years. The cost of typical kits are in the range $20K to $30K,
a new engine will cost $12K minimum and instrumenation $3K. Naturally
build times and prices will vary. Scatch building may halve the
airframe cost, zero time engines are avaiable for 2/3rds the new
cost and if the builder is only going to fly locally more modest
instrumantion may be used. (Photo J.Kneen)
What are the Legal Requirements?
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority appoint Approval Persons (AP)
whose responsibility is to grant approval for flight by Amateur Built
Aircraft in the Experimantal Category. An Amateur Built Aircraft is
one
- where the builder performs at least 51% of the building processes,
and
- the aircraft is constructed solely for builder's education
and recreation.
While some (serious) paper work will be required prior to the
first flight proving compliciance with the self build 51% regulations
implies putting processes in place from day one. Most builders choose
to keep a builders log listing activities, time spent and any problems.
The log is supplemented with digital photos. Also by joining the
SAAA and participating in their programs the builder becomes known.
This gives the AP confidence that the aircraft satisfies the 51%
criteria.
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