One Giant Leap for Sports Flying in Malaysia

Fun flying in Malaysia has taken another giant leap forward. Flughaven's challenge with 'Eve' has finally been resolved. Mind you, it took us 2 months of feet shuffling and head scratching but the power of three great minds (in our humblest of opinions) has prevailed. Okay, so we had a little outside help from our Jabiru knowledgeable friends. Okay, so they did most of the work. Well, somebody has to sweep the hangar, hold tools and buy food and drinks right? I must say, I did those tasks rather well.

Sports aviation and the Experimental category of aircraft was designed for the owner to educate himself, with assistance from experts, on exactly how each component of his aircraft works. How many GA pilots/owners/operators have assisted in putting in circlips to secure gudgeon pins? Or installed new piston rings in pistons? Or seen the inside of their oil sumps? We have done all these things with our Jabiru J160. Last night, the three of us stayed at the hangar until midnight to complete the ground run of our Jabiru 2200 engine after new piston rings were installed and the cylinders honed. Even though it was a very long day for us, we felt energised and even more confident about what the engine is capable of, as well as our abilities to maintain a safe and fun aircraft to fly. In the words of Mark Evans from "A Plane Is Born", we are well chuffed with what we have done so far.

So it is with great enthusiasm and expectation for the future that we will soldier on to bring the good news to the masses that sports flying/LSA/experimental can be enjoyed affordably and safely in Malaysia and South East Asia. For if a Stockbroker, Racing Driver, and ex-military man can do it, SO CAN YOU!

Flughaven's Unsung Heroine

There's a saying that behind every successful man is a woman. Well, in Flughaven's case, it is certainly true. Not many people know, but Flughaven and our sports flying venture was started by myself and my wife, Yvonne, who provided much needed advice on finances, projects to undertake etc. We certainly would not be where we are today if not for her expert business acumen.

I suppose moving forward from here, with the addition of baby Isabel to our 'team', we are now focusing on what would appeal to the younger generation and the young at heart. We are wholly supportive of the EAA Young Eagles program and are contributing to bring a new generation of Singaporeans and Malaysians to the realm of sport aviation and flying for fun. Many people are still under the misconception that aviation is for the rich. We are proving that flying for fun can be done affordably with the LSA category of aircraft, especially running Jabiru engines on Mogas. To this day, we are adamant Jabiru aircraft and engines are the way to move sports aviation and GA (General Aviation) back to a viable and profitable industry in South East Asia. But that is a rant for another time.

Back to singing praises about my wife. Thank you dear for your contribution to Flughaven and we will endeavor to bring our company to the level of the premier sports aviation company in this region, and create legions of aviators in Malaysia, Singapore and the rest of Asia.

Fractional Ownership

While 'Eve' is waiting for her engine to be fixed, there has been nothing much for Denis, Darren and I to do except talk about how we could improve our operations to provide a better experience for our friends that fly with us. I guess the #1 priority is to get a 2nd aircraft in our stable. Which aircraft? Well, that depends on who is forking out the money to buy it. If it is going to be the 3 of us Directors, then it will be another J160. If it is someone else footing the bill then anything will do. Of course, we can always give some recommendations.

Another interesting option is to get a few friends to share, maybe 4 to an aircraft, and therefore they will have a way to fly on an affordable basis. Flughaven could have a lease back arrangement with the owners to operate the aircraft when they are not flying it. This way, it will defray the cost of their own flying.

Here are a few aircraft that we would love to fly:

1. RV-9 with Jabiru 3300 engine (www.vansaircraft.com)

2. Zodiac XL (www.zenithair.com)

3. Arion Lightning (www.arionaircraft.com)

4. RV-7

5. RV-8

Believe it or not, all these aircraft can be flown with a Malaysian RPPL or PPL(A) Restricted licence. Sports flying is the way of the future.

Aircraft updates

Well, it is inevitable, I suppose. Sooner or later, an aircraft will face some challenges. Our Jabiru J160 has experienced its first teething issues. It looks like No.3 cylinder's piston ring fractured, creating more blow by and the increased crankcase pressure pushed out the engine oil through the breather as well as the rocker chamber vents causing No.1 and No.4 cylinders to overheat and seizing their rings in the grooves. Sigh.

We're in the midst of sorting out this challenge so in the meanwhile, 'Eve' (the name of our J160) has been grounded for 2 months now. It has been a highly frustrating time for Denis, Darren and myself. However, that which does not kill us makes us stronger. We're confident that our experience with our aircraft and engine will help us to serve our customers in the region better. There's no substitute for experience.

In the middle of all this, my first child was born! Isabel arrived on 6th March 2008, weighing in at 2.91kg.  I still think its more impressive to state babies weights in pounds. So, most of Flughaven's operations have been delegated to Darren, while I spend time playing with my daughter. hehe Needless to say, he's not too impressed. But he's doing a great job and we're glad to have him onboard.

So, till we've sorted out our engine issues, there's not much to do but sit around and hangar fly.

Where the Flying is FUN!

Welcome to Flughaven's blog. This gives us the opportunity to update everyone interested in Sport Flying in South East Asia about what's happening with our operations and flying adventures.

For those not familiar with us, our website is www.flughaven.net. We are the distributors for Jabiru Aircrafts and Engines for South East Asia, as well as the Skyranger brand of ultralight aircraft. We fly out of Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia. Our focus is affordable, fun flying in Malaysia and the region. Therefore, we specialise in the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category of aircraft, as well as Experimental/Amateur-built category. We have aligned ourselves with EAA Malaysia Flying Club and provide training for their members to the PPL (A) Restricted licence.

Our objective of this blog and our website is to promote sports aviation and fun flying throughout the region, and to provide anyone with a dream of flying an aircraft for pleasure that it can be done safely, affordably and easily. Of course, selling a few aircraft and engines would not hurt either.

Happy landings!

The Flughaven Team