I keep seeing in Trade-a-Plane bulldogs for sale…and it looks like their price is dropping to reasonable levels.
I rather like the idea of one, being something different, it’s British (like my wife and Mini Cooper) and probably well made.
But is it any good for general aviation flying? Parts, operating costs too much? Airframe parts hard to get (in the U.S. or general)?
I’d use it for fun flying…my home field is 2000 ASL and how is it on shorter fields…in terms of length requirements, density altitude and rough fields?
Also, can you use US made engine parts in the Rolls-licensed engine?
Thanks in advance…
By: YakRider - 1st February 2005 at 19:35
I’ve flown the Bulldog a lot – in the UK. It’s a great little aeroplane, and very easy to fly. It is a typical over-engineered military trainer, so strongly built and aerobatic – with a stick rather than yoke. Big rudder means a 35 knot crosswind limit and a demonstrated taxying limit of 50 knots!
Approach speed 69 knots. Two positions of electric flap – Inter is 10 degrees (also used for take off) and full flap is 45 degrees.
Standard Lycoming IO-360 200hp engine with 2-blade Hartzell constant speed prop – so nothing out of the ordinary there. Tank capacity is 39.63 US Gals, so range is not brilliant.
Only 2 seats in the RAF version, but 3 for the Swedish Air Force and Army ones, so plenty of baggage space.
Sliding bubble canopy, low dashboard and narrow chord wings gives really excellent visibility all round. Canopy can be locked open slightly in flight below 120 knots, but all that glass does make it hot in summer.
Airframe construction is conventional, but there are a couple of potential problem areas. The oleos to the main undercarriage are located horizontally under the seats, which means their method of working is not conventional and spares may be hard to source. The other issue is the main spar life.
In the ex-RAF machines there are 6 fatigue index meters measuring positive and negative G loads. Depending how hard you work the aeroplane, the index will go up faster or more slowly, until the main spar life is reached.
While the Bulldog was still in service with various airforces and the design rights were still held by BAE, the cost of replacing them was enormous. Now the design rights have been passed to DH Support at Duxford, that should now be somewhat cheaper. I don’t know of any that have been replaced yet, though I do know of aircraft getting towards the limit.
If you are interested in the Bulldog, I suggest getting in touch with two organisations (in the UK, but able to give better answers than I can):
DH Support:
http://www.dhsupport.com/beagle/index.html
and the Beagle Pup and Bulldog Club: http://www.beaglepupandbulldogclub.org/index.html
YR
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February 1, 2005 at 6:46 pm