Starship...?

Flyxaos

Flyxaos

Pre-takeoff checklist
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May 16, 2020
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NW WA
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Flyxaos
If you have nothing better to do...

Use Goggle maps to look at Skagit Regional in WA. There is a pretty rare aircraft sitting out front of the Exec fbo. Just like it is ready for a daily trip.

Pretty cool. I would post a screen grab, but seem to have technical defficieny.
 
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There is, last time I drove by, one based in Aspen. The story I heard was that the owner of the one at Aspen had bought up all the parts when the manufacturer went belly up.
 
Wagondriver said:
There is, last time I drove by, one based in Aspen. The story I heard was that the owner of the one at Aspen had bought up all the parts when the manufacturer went belly up.
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That’s the aircraft pictured above. N514RS (Robert Scherer) is NC-51. He’s actually friends with Burt Rutan and flew chase during some of the Spaceship One flights. Anyway, he bought up the remaining inventory to keep his aircraft and others going.
 
I read that the Starship construction was revolutionary for the time and had to be over built to achieve certification. The certified aircraft was overweight and therefore didn't meet performance expectations. I wonder what would happen if it were built today with so much more experience in composition construction.
 
Oshkosh last summer, by the terminal...

908B44F4-153F-46DC-8861-7DAACF75A544.jpeg
 
Starship 1 is based at KADS.... Been a few times when I was #2 behind it for landing.

Gorgeous airplane.

A really good video done by local aviation photographer, Erik Johnston

 
Starship.

mail


Out of annual, needs updated avionics, no GPS or ADB-S but otherwise in good shape.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Starship 1 is based at KADS.... Been a few times when I was #2 behind it for landing.

Gorgeous airplane.

A really good video done by local aviation photographer, Erik Johnston

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Damn, would have loved to see it while I was there a few years ago.
 
The Skagit (BVS) Google Earth image was taken 8/15/2020. Is it still there?
 
AggieMike88 said:
Starship 1 is based at KADS.... Been a few times when I was #2 behind it for landing.

Gorgeous airplane.

A really good video done by local aviation photographer, Erik Johnston
Click to expand...

Starship 1 used to show up at RVS in Tulsa from time to time as well. Definitely hard to miss on the ground or in the air. Very distinctive sound.
 
I've seen this one and one other (to my knowledge) a few times in the last 10 years or so. Most recently I saw it at VNY.

If I'm not mistaken there are (or were) a grand total of three still flying.
 
Raj says 4 still flying. Few years back there were 6.
 
Both the Starship and Piaggio sound similar for reason. The exhaust / nacelle air is getting “cut” by the props producing a popping sound. One of the reasons why Rutan got out of making pusher canards.

At 2:20
 
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Back in September 2020, I saw this Avanti II (P180) land at Roche Harbor, WA (W09, 3500x30). Deplaned a few passengers and took off.
Piaggio.180.jpg WA09.02.jpg
There seems to be some confusion over the landing and takeoff performance of the aircraft. Some references have it requiring another 1000 feet beyond the Roche Harbor length to land. Some have the later EVO at about 3200' for both TO and landing.

This pilot/plane had no trouble with plenty of length left over for both. I assume the plane was well under MGW, but still ...
 
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Well, there's Starships, and there's Starships. Check out N903SC....
enterprise2.JPG

Ron Wanttaja
 
Always thought this was an interesting take on the Starship:

If you lived through that time you’ll remember the aviation world being divided on the Starship. Not necessarily evenly, but divided. One camp believed that airplane would deliver its promise of 400 mph cruise speed, jet level of vibration and quiet, and range pushing out close to 2,000 miles. The other camp believed a plastic airplane couldn’t be built and certified, and the strange configuration would not work, and the whole program would flop.

I remember one evening sitting in a Wichita bar with Mike Potts, who worked in Beech PR at the time — imagine that, a writer and PR guy in a bar — discussing the Starship’s future. In a stroke of brilliance, or maybe it was gin, we realized there was a third possible outcome. What if the Starship is certified and built, but just doesn’t do anything well, and certainly not better than other airplanes.

And that’s exactly what happened.
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20+ years ago, (perhaps closer to 30), the maintenance facility at CPS had one in for some service.

I was able to tag-along on a post-maint flight. It was fun, and louder than I thought it would be.
 
Here is one seen in the wild, flown by Raj at the Beech Party in Tullahoma, TN in October 2021.

 
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