I’ve gone back to internal combustion, so I’m selling my 2022 SP140. Includes SP140, “1 hour” battery, and charger. Powers up and runs fine.
$4500.00 Pick up. I’m in Galveston, Tx.
$5000.00 Shipped if buyer pays by money order and agrees to assume the risk of loss or damage associated with shipping. I’ll do the best I can to protect the unit for shipping and I’ll declare the value for 5k.
(Edited to add conditions for shipping. I really don’t want the headache and risk associated with shipping it).
Chris Miller
979 661-4050 (Text first. I don’t answer unknown numbers)
Disclosure below. I’ll add additional details if I think of any.
-Battery shows 13 cycles. So I’m estimating 10-12 hours flying time.
-Unable to connect to the configurator on my Mac. No idea why. No other technical issues.
-I shortened the trigger on the throttle and added a spring. The spring slides off if you don’t want it. See pic.
-The spars I received only came in 2 sizes, instead of 3. I’ve been flying it this way without issue.
-Mostly waterfront flying on the Gulf Coast. There is some mild corrosion on bolt and screw heads. See pics.
-Some minor paint damage. See pics.
-The prop bolts that came with the unit did not come with washers and the bolts seem too short to add washers. See pic.
-Upgraded to the Iris swing arms. They are fastened on with 3/8ths grade 8 zinc plated bolts. See pic.
-Usually got 35-40 min flights, often with multiple climb outs from touch and goes.
In the event you start to consider shipping, please reach out. I’m pretty sure all you’d need to do is drop is at a FedEx or ups and they’ll take care of it.
I’ll ship it to you for 5k if you agree to assume the risk and pay by money order. Naturally, I will do the best I can to prevent damage during shipping.
-Edited to include pay by money order requirement.
I’ve gone back to combustion primarily because of weight and balance issues as well as nuance surrounding the battery.
Pros:
So far, no problems with it powering up and running.
It’s powerful. It produces a lot of thrust while the battery has enough voltage. Somewhere around maybe 30-40% left and the thrust starts to drop off.
To date, it has been low maintenance. I’ve had to brush off some surface rust on some of the bolts and screws (flying near salt water) and traded out the swing arms. The OEM swing arms were loosening nearly every flight. That problem is solved with the Iris arms and 3/8 hardware.
Cons:
I’m 5’7." 155-160 lbs. The geometry of this machine does not work well with smaller size people. The biggest problem is with hang angle, which is 15-20% in a static hang test. There are several threads here detailing various forms of redneck ingenuity people have tried to resolve the problem. I experimented with most of the suggestions and found little or no improvement. Also, the thrust vector is kind of high. Interestingly, the high thrust seems to meaningfully improve the hang angle while under power. Thus, I have not experienced a problem with “torque twist.” However, the high thrust tends to push the hoop toward the risers. Based on what I’ve read on this forum, larger people do not seem to have these headaches.
The machine is heavy, between 80-85 lbs.
Flight times for me are around 35-40 minutes with the “one hour” battery. I do NOT think one hour of flight time is realistic under normal operating conditions. After 35ish minutes I am usually in the red while under power and presumably getting close to the battery management system (BMS) shutting down the motor. To be fair, I am aggressive with the throttle. I frequently fly low and do touch and goes, thus requiring multiple climb outs. Also, the battery takes a few hours to charge, but should not be stored at full charge for extended periods. Finally, I always want to be present and somewhat paying attention while charging because I do not entirely trust the BMS to stop charging when it should.
Customer support has room for improvement. New units and parts appear to get restocked in batches. So sometimes parts are not available for weeks or months at a time. Also, there is no phone number to call for customer service. You can send an email, but responses are slow and probably only a few words. Don’t expect prompt or detailed responses from the manufacturer.
It’s not heavy compared to a moster. You get used to it. There are so many benefits to going electric over gas. I think you just have to look at it all and decide for yourself. For me I wanted a unit I could break down and keep in my car as I work all around the city all day long so if I have time for a flight I can just go right to the LZ and fly for 35-40 min and be back at it with work in no time. I don’t have to worry about if I have gas and oil or the smell of it in my car. I don’t have to warm up my engine hoping nothing will be wrong with it that day. You can’t beet the flight quality. It’s so quiet and the power responds is immediate. After the flight my engine isn’t hot and I don’t small like exhaust. It all goes back in my car and I couldn’t do that with gas. Yes your flight times are lower but most the gas guys I fly with only do about 50 min at most anyways so I’m only missing 10 minutes ish. The electric throttle is so nice to have the flight info in your hand. When flying gas I miss the time of your flight and the current altitude in my throttle. Yes it would be nice to get that 50 min on an hour battery but for me the pros of electric out way the cons. If I want to fly cross country then I will use a gas unit. The hang angle for the lighter guys I think is more complicated than just you are too light. It’s different with this unit and your hang angle under power is more important than just doing a standard hang angle. I took awhile to get mine nailed down and I’m almost 200 lbs. but now I have no issues.
For me, its a mix of things… I have probably 30 minutes total time from 2 seasons ago when I solo’d. My instructor wants me to buy a PPG (I already own a wing) before continuing, and last year while doing ground work he kept having trouble with the engine on the one he was letting me use… I really don’t want to become a 2-stroke mechanic. Since its been so long since I was even in the air, I’d basically be starting over and having to push uphill a lot more than a regular flight. I’m worried the battery will make my lessons extra short, and a second battery just really isn’t worth the money. I don’t even know where I would fly from once I’m done with lessons, so who knows, maybe it never gets used again.
I price out an SP140 every other week and never end up moving forward
