Wilga is great!
Congratulations!
Regarding your concerns – is it good idea or not – forget it! You live only once! :)
Are there Wilga’s on the market and is there any rotation? There could be sellers that find it difficult to sell such a machine in which case you could maybe convince the seller to rent it to you? Or, even better, form some sort of club that commits to a certain number of hours, and you have priority in summer?
It would definitively be too adventurous for me to own such a machine and show up only in summer to go fly. It will likely mean getting the thing to run again the first few weeks.
johnh wrote:
An-2? It has a radial engine.
Very different kind of animal. The AN2 has got a 1000 hp radial engine which eats up between 160 and 300 lph plus large quantities of oil. It also is a multi crew airplane, even though strictly speaking, there are versions which are certified for one pilot (AN2M), but those are extremely difficult to find. Otherwise it’s at least one pilot and one engineer. And, the AN2 has fabric wings and control surfaces, which need regular change. Also, the MTOW of 4500 kg will make for eye watering landing fees. As much as I absolutely love the AN2 and flying it will be a privilege I’ll never ever forget, operating costs are quite outlandish.
What the AN2 WILL do however is transport families with “everything AND the kitchen sink” baggage habits! But then again, so will a Transall or an AN26, where you can drive your car inside…
The Wilga has a 260 hp engine. I have no idea what it burns, but nowhere near what an AN2 will burn. It used to be quite popular for glider towing even here but is now pretty much restricted to Eastern Europe. Finding mechanics and insurance should not be a problem at all in Romania or Bulgaria for a plane like that, neither should be finding a plane, even though there are not many Wilgas for sale currently. Romania does have a pretty active GA scene however. Question may well be, if a traditional spam can or even an UL won’t do a less financially risky job for flying in the summer months.
Wilga uses 60L per hour and parts are available from Termikas in lithuania. Our airclub has 3 of them, 2 have got 0-timed engines in the last 5 years.
the AI-14 does not seem to be sensitive to standing withut use- at least nobody seems worried about it the way people are about lycomings etc..
Thanks very much for all the feedback.
To anyone who has mentioned air-frame life limits, do you happen to know the source for that? There’s no published AD with a life limit that I can find.
To anyone who has mentioned air-frame life limits, do you happen to know the source for that? There’s no published AD with a life limit that I can find.Quote
I tried to upload the 17 page pdf document I have from PZL, but I don’t think it worked. (Peter, can I upload a 17 page pdf here?).
Here is the cover page, and the relevant page (9 of 17) converted to jpeg. I don’t know if the values stated here are actually regulated life limits, and the TCDS does not seem to mention them, (though maybe they are stated in a referenced document). In any case, a client who wanted me to do a float approval on his Wilga seemed sensitive to the life limits on the airframe, and this is the data which substantiated that sensitivity. I’m sure that anyone who knows the Wilga will know much more about this than I do….
flippiefloppies wrote:
I like to think of myself as just slightly quixotic (PZL-104), not “full retard” (AN-2).
This is great
I read a very good article on GA in Romania approx 2009. From memory there was zero rental or aeroclubs; the only activity was outright owners or selective-entry state ‘clubs’ for competing internationally. This might mean there’s a massive untapped market, or equally that it’s nonexistant. Ideally you want one person you can trust where they get subsidised flying in return for looking after it for you.
Capitaine wrote:
Ideally you want one person you can trust where they get subsidised flying in return for looking after it for you.
Yep. I have a mid-engine car there which I only drive a few months a year. I leave it with an acquaintance to use while I’m gone, and it keeps it in good shape. I’m sure I’ll find someone in a similar situation with this.
Pilot_DAR wrote:
17 page pdf document I have from PZL
Wow! Thank you! This is incredibly valuable.
ivark wrote:
Our airclub has 3 of them
Any chance you can put me in touch with your mechanic or someone from your club who manages the Wilgas? I’d be happy to buy someone a virtual beer to talk to someone with actual experience owning these.
vic wrote:
the Yak 18 T multipurpose is import limited by EASA . Some guys there tried to prevent more imports from the East so you´d have to find one here – not often.
How does that work? Isn’t the Yak an Annex I aircraft?