The shop has the extended fuel done. Original fuel was 60 gallons useable. The tip tanks add 11 more gallons and the baggage tank will add another 11 making for 82 useable or roughly 4:30 plus 1:00 IFR reserves at @215 knots. No wind IFR range will be 1000 NM. Not too bad for a clown plane.

The baggage tank will simply lift out and has quick disconnects. It will pump fuel to the main wing tanks (they are hooked together.) While I was doing the tip tanks I decided to have larger tank fillers installed along with improved caps. That is one of the benefits of working with a plastic plane - cut and fill as needed. Should go to paint next week.

Todd,

Very nice,

Does that increase total wing length?

Yes, Arlen. It adds about 4' to the wing span which greatly improves the takeoff performance and cruise speeds above 8k. Optimal cruise altitude was 8-9k and now will be 11-12k. The roll rate suffers quite a bit, though, going from 140 degrees/sec to 90/sec which is still plenty fast IMO. You also gain 150 FPM in the climb and lateral stability is greatly enhanced. More importantly, the glide ratio increases considerably and the rate of descent also decreases. The stall speed is also reduced about 5 MPH and cruise speed goes up about 7 MPH. I wanted the plane primarily for X-Country and light aerobatics, so the wingtips make sense. When I want to do hard-core aerobatics (not likely) the extended tips come off in roughly 45 minutes.

I thought this GIII looked familiar, this is the one at Double Eagle I seriously considered buying.

Where is Double Eagle? Buy that hot rod Turbine Legend instead. If insurance wasn't $12k and the price would have been about $30k lower I would have bought it.

Where is Double Eagle? Buy that hot rod Turbine Legend instead. If insurance wasn't $12k and the price would have been about $30k lower I would have bought it.

Right on Greg. Thanks - I thought the same thing. The fact that the guy bought a brand new Angle valve IO-540 ($85k) and had JA wire all of the avionics told me that he did not cut corners. The plane just feels "right." Believe it or not that entire panel is being scrapped and a dual screen G3X is going in along with remote comm and ES transponder. The only items showing in the panel will be the dual screens, 530W, and Garmin autopilot controller. I have already sold the 55x autopilot, HSI system, and will be selling the 430W when I get back. It should be the newest and most advanced panel G3 flying when I am done.

As for the wife being comfortable I plan on having her "try" a trip with me to Fort Myers in this plane. That should be interesting.

Todd,

I haven't been paying attention but you still have the Duke for the wife and kids right?

No, I sold that plane a few months back. The wife and older son will ride the airlines and the younger son and I will fly the G3. Will cost me 1/3 and will be 10x more enjoyable.

Ohhh Boy. . . . .

Lol. Yeah I am behind the curve here.

Todd. Every since I was a kid I have wanted a Glasair. Looking forward to reading about your adventures in it.

Ohhh Boy. . . . .

Very nice, Todd. I look forward to seeing the finished product after you get the panel in place. I suppose with the G3X and remote comms/transponder, there is no need for NAV systems? Will you still be able to shoot an ILS? Forgive the neophyte question. That should be a really light, capable setup.

I've always had an affinity for Glasair IIIs. I've always been a Lancair fan, but never cared much for the two-seat variants until the Legacy. The Glasair is just a cool airplane. You'll have a (n even more) formidable cross country machine when all is said and done.

Ryan,

Thanks! Will keep the 530W for IFR operations as the built-in G3X WAAS GPS is not IFR capable. It is also my #2 Comm. The plane should lighten up by 25 lbs and the useful load goes up 100 lbs with the wingtip extensions.

The real shortcoming of this plane is the lack of de-ice. You do not want to put one of these in icing conditions. I will have to be flexible on my travel plans.

We will see if the 300HP is enough. It currently has the standard 8.5:1 pistons, but I might consider 10.5:1 for another 30HP. It's an honest 215 knot plane, but sure would like to see 225 or so. I'm jealous of Stan's SX-300 speed.

Todd,

I really have the bug for a Glasair (thanks to you)!

Is each G3X a Comm? Not that you need three, but could you theoretically have three if the audio panel would handle them?

If the G3X is WAAS, why is it not IFR capable? Is the database not update-able or what?