I am back in Cambridge from photographing in Florida. I spent a couple days in Miami on the ground waiting out tropical storm Berry to pass. I flew 10 more hours in the new plane going from Fort Lauderdale down to the Keys and then to Tampa via Lake Okeechobee.
The new plane draws a lot of attention wherever I land. The Flight design CT is classified a light sport plane it weights 650 pound with a useful load of 650 pounds; for more detailed specs see http://www.flightdesignusa.com/ (the CT stands for composite-technology). As anticipated the plane with its high cantilevered wing with no strut is great for aerial photography. Without the strut in the way I have an uninterrupted expansive view which allows me to shoot easily with a 17mm lens, before in my Cessna aircraft I could barely use a 24mm lens; the wider angle views offer new and interesting photographic possibilities. The new photo window is very usable but needs to be enlarged to enhance the planes true utility.
The CT’s lightness and clean design makes it incredibly fuel efficient getting 4.5 to 5 gallons an hour (it can use high test auto fuel with 10 percent ethanol) as opposed to 12 to 15 gallons of 100LL with my old Cessna 182. The CT if fun to fly with its stick control (as oppose to a yoke) and is very maneuverable. It slow flies easily at 50 knots and has a top cruise speed of 120 knots. Now I just need more practice adjusting to its flight characteristics and trimming it up for different air speeds. The trim tabs and throttle are not as easy to adjust as Cessna’s.
Working on getting images from Florida up on the blog in the next few days.
-Alex
The new plane draws a lot of attention wherever I land. The Flight design CT is classified a light sport plane it weights 650 pound with a useful load of 650 pounds; for more detailed specs see http://www.flightdesignusa.com/ (the CT stands for composite-technology). As anticipated the plane with its high cantilevered wing with no strut is great for aerial photography. Without the strut in the way I have an uninterrupted expansive view which allows me to shoot easily with a 17mm lens, before in my Cessna aircraft I could barely use a 24mm lens; the wider angle views offer new and interesting photographic possibilities. The new photo window is very usable but needs to be enlarged to enhance the planes true utility.
The CT’s lightness and clean design makes it incredibly fuel efficient getting 4.5 to 5 gallons an hour (it can use high test auto fuel with 10 percent ethanol) as opposed to 12 to 15 gallons of 100LL with my old Cessna 182. The CT if fun to fly with its stick control (as oppose to a yoke) and is very maneuverable. It slow flies easily at 50 knots and has a top cruise speed of 120 knots. Now I just need more practice adjusting to its flight characteristics and trimming it up for different air speeds. The trim tabs and throttle are not as easy to adjust as Cessna’s.
Working on getting images from Florida up on the blog in the next few days.
-Alex
