A few Domi/General Questions from a GroundDweller.

Hallofo

Pawn in the game of life.
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
36
Location
Springfield, OR
Aircraft
Dominator- In my wet dreams.
Howdy all, just a fairly quick question about how much I'm going to be spending... I was originally posting this under the RFD sub-forum, but some of the questions are fairly general.


I decided a while ago that I'm going to build a Dominator from a kit. For budgeting purposes I would like to get "all new" prices, so if I can't get what I want used I can go ahead and buy new without pissing off the Minister of Finances.

So first question: I added up the kit components on the RFD website and came to a little over $10,000, sans engine but including all the "bells and whistles". Is this about right?

Second: I'm thinking of a Rotax 503/582 (with a lean towards the 582, I'm a Big Boy and need a beefy engine). How much more will this set me back?

Third: This will pretty much be my only "toy" I can afford, and spreading out the cost would be a Good Thing. So, would it be better to get the basic airframe and engine and learn to fly and gradually add parts (nosecone, pre-rotator, etc...) or just get everything all at once? I lean to the "add parts" option, so I will be able to fly without all the extras, then add stuff on instead of using extras as a crutch in my larval-pilot stages.

Fourth: Training. My goal is a shiny new PPL, then moving on to a Gyro Cert afterwords. My question is this: do I NEED a gyro add-on to fly a sport-light Domi, or is it just a really good idea? I'll probably start building about the same time as I start my PPL training, so by the time I'm done I'll have a new gyro to fly. No matter what, I'll be getting a few dozen hours of tandem time at least before I "get high" in my Domi (as breaking my shiny new gyro would have a negative effect on my happiness. And Health). Are there any places in So Cal I could get this training? I currently live in Oregon*, and I know there is an awesome place up by Portland for training, but The Wife is making noises about moving south and I want to keep my training current.

* My address is in Oregon, but I am overseas 11 months out of 12. Currently I am in the Marines in Iraq on a 1-year "recall" tour, but I will be back in Afghanistan as a computer geek($$$) in a few months. The point of saying that is while I might "live" in Oregon, I really can't get out much and fly, unless its on one of my 2-week leave periods. I'll be doing some insane studying over here so I can get home, get licensed and get in the air. Related: is it possible to do ground school on my own time, and then show up to the airport just for flight hours and tests?

Overall I can justify spending quite a bit on this and my training, I understand that this is a costly [strike]sport[/strike] obsession, and would much prefer to drop some heavy coin in the beginning and save some heartache later on.

Thanks all!
 
Hallfo,
Your best bet to get all your questions answered is to give my dad (Ernie Boyette) 813-634-3370 a call directly if you can and he can answer them. If not you can try E-mailing him at [email protected]. I hope this helps.
 
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Thanks Mike, I'll drop a line his way sometime in the coming weeks. Basically, I just need a rough "rounded-up" guestimate so I know how much to budget/save for. No matter what, it will be quite few months before I can even START any of this, I just need to put some number$ on my dreams and see how it fits with reality.
 
Hallofo,
I do know the last 582 dad put on a machine was close to 8 thousand dollars. Rotax raises prices about 4 times a year. When you have no competition you can do that. Good luck and thanks for your service.
 
You would save money by buying it all at one time. And Rotax engine prices are supposed to be going down due to the exchange rate being more favorable lately.
 
do I NEED a gyro add-on to fly a sport-light Domi, or is it just a really good idea?

Once you have your PPL and medical. You can fly your experimental (anything) aircraft solo. As long as your operating limitations are worded like this.

"The pilot in command of this aircraft must hold a pilot certificate or an authorized instructor's logbook endorsement. The pilot in command must meet the requirements of $61.31(e), (f), (g), (h), (i) and (j) as appropriate."

And all the above gets negated by $61.31(k)(2)(b)

(k) Exceptions. (1) This section does not require a category and class rating for aircraft not type-certificated as airplanes, rotorcraft, gliders, lighter-than-air aircraft, powered-lifts, powered parachutes, or weight-shift-control aircraft.

(2) The rating limitations of this section do not apply to—

(i) An applicant when taking a practical test given by an examiner;

(ii) The holder of a student pilot certificate;

(iii) The holder of a pilot certificate when operating an aircraft under the authority of—

(A) A provisional type certificate; or

(B) An experimental certificate, unless the operation involves carrying a passenger;

(iv) The holder of a pilot certificate with a lighter-than-air category rating when operating a balloon;

(v) The holder of a recreational pilot certificate operating under the provisions of §61.101(h); or

(vi) The holder of a sport pilot certificate when operating a light-sport aircraft.

[Doc. No. 25910, 62 FR 40896, July 30, 1997, as amended by Amdt. 61–104, 63 FR 20286, Apr. 23, 1998; Amdt. 61–110, 69 FR 44865, July 27, 2004]

You can even do this with any training at all. Of course that would be very foolish. Make sure you get training first!

If you want to take a passenger up. Then you must have the appropriate rating. eg. Rotorcraft Gyroplane.
 
check the classifieds here. You won't build one for that price and it has a 582 on it.
 
I checked prices for new 582's from a few rotax distributors and it looks like it will set me back 6-8 grand with a gearbox. I also have barnstormers bookmarked, it looks like they have some good stuff for sale there as well.

My original 10,000 estimate was for everything but the engine, new as I have noticed how the prices go up and down at random. Pretty much, I was poking around to find the "upper limit" of how much all this can cost, but with just a little searching I have found that no such thing exists. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess.

Oh, thanks Chuck for the legal info, what I got from that is that I can solo in a gyro with a PPL and a sign off from a CFI, but to take someone along I need the whole shebang certification, is that about right?

Just a note: training FIRST, flying LATER. Even if I can fly legally with no gyro-specific training, I'm not quite cocky/stupid enough to do it! Please note the sig: "I'm crazy not stupid!
 
Keep your a$$ low to the ground over there and then take gyro lessons! Do what I suggest and you wont get hurt either way.
 
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