After watching the video of the SE-1 tipping up on landing and seeing the photos of the trailing link type gear I think they have it backwards.

Under heavy braking or during firm arrival the rear kneeling gear will swing back causing the center point of the wheel contact to move aft. Trailing link is great on a tricycle gear airplane...

If they reversed the design to be similar to a Ryan STA or PT-22 then the axle moves forward slightly on compression and helps prevent the airplane from going on its nose.

It's not a trailing link but the geometry may help ground handling and still fit the existing fairings.

The latest installment of the Sporty's Pilot's Discretion podcast features an interview with Steve Wood, the owner of Spirit Engineering. It's an excellent conversation.

This IS an excellent conversation, thanks for the link!

Dan

Who here has bought one?

Been to the factory to see one?

When will they make a 2 seat version?

George

make it a tandem, and a 4cyl 100ish horse version of that motor for ~95K and id place an order tomorrow.

They do this, and these aircraft will start selling like pancakes - and perhaps we will start having pilots who know how to use their feet once again. What a neat design!

https://youtu.be/Pn1jIxhQ958
Not sure how to embed on my iphone.

Here is a great video with a lot of the factory and their processes.

The CEO says they’re making it able to be a tricycle gear configuration. They are really turning out a lot of them

A tandem version would be a real challenge to remain within the S-LSA weight limits. I agree it would be a winner.

The fact that they developed their own engine (remarkably!) gives hope in that they could add a piston or two and stretch the thing.

But as we say in aerospace, mass begets mass.

With Mosaic, they wouldn’t have to comply with LSA rules.

That may mean more certification work (not sure) but the pilot side of the equation won’t be a limiting factor.

True, im not sure how MOSAIC changes this. I am absolutely floored that they developed an in house engine.. Honestly the owner and this company feel like a breath of fresh air. Seems like they did a lot of amazing engineering, and no BS "heres a fiberglass mockup, give us a 50K deposit and in a decade we might build 5 then go bankrupt". They seem like real straight shooters.

Honestly I was/am very tempted to buy one... but my wife asked the deadly question "where will I sit?" and then said "booooo" when I said "well at home i guess"

She has zero interest in getting a license herself, but she absolutely LOVES going for a ride in any aircraft. So i really need two seats.

there are a lot of degrees of "developed an engine". How close is it to a motorcycle engine? Shares part numbers with one ?

there are a lot of degrees of "developed an engine". How close is it to a motorcycle engine? Shares part numbers with one ?

They do this, and these aircraft will start selling like pancakes - and perhaps we will start having pilots who know how to use their feet once again. What a neat design!

That's interesting. I could certainly see a case for using motorcycle engine jugs on a new-design bottom end. I wonder if that is what they did ? In that scenario, you might think that expanding to a 2nd row of cylinders is not a giant leap.

The funny thing to me is that the SE-1 and the Junkers essentially serve the same mission: look old & be fun. It costs an extra $230,000 to be able to take a friend.

I don't know if I have any friends that I like $220,000 worth