Matt Ricciardi

Couple more photos of the restaurant dining room and ramp-facing patio courtesy of a friend along for the ride:

Another trip in the Arrow while continuing to build retract time ahead of my VL3 delivery later this summer. Flew from Manassas, Virginia (KHEF), inside the SFRA, down to Chesterfield County Airport (KFCI) just west of Richmond: Located in the main airport terminal, King's Korner Restaurant has a good prime rib buffet on Saturday evenings: No airport fees and all-you-can-eat dinner for $25. Seafood buffet dinner on Fridays. Brunch on Sundays, plus a few lunches through the week. Couple other planes flew in for dinner, but most of the dining room was filled with locals. Not fancy, but worth a stop if you're hungrily flying through the area. Picturesque sunset over Lake Anna on the short flight back to Manassas:

I just received an "update" pushing back my delivery date by another three months to September. Yet another broken promise by JMB. Delivery date was originally December, then March, then June, then July, now September. No explanation given. I'm livid and considering options.

I stumbled upon a VL3 group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/202474949963692 Appears to be mostly folks in Europe sharing flying photos and videos rather than the more technical and "business" discussions here. Always good to see more VL3 content! Hopefully making some of my own soon...

Paint design and the deep red color look great! I'm assured my VL3 will still complete flight testing and ship in June. We'll see... I plan to ping JMB for another update in a couple weeks.

Brand new JMB VL3 916iS with the 750kg gross weight increase, dual G3X Touch displays, and a GTN 750Xi navigator is immediately available from a factory-affiliated broker in Tennessee. Listing here: https://www.controller.com/listing/for-sale/234122487/2024-jmb-vl3-916-piston-single-aircraft I'm generally familiar with the backstory and, so far as I know, there is nothing wrong with the plane.

UPDATE: Bruce's Custom Covers is now communicating directly with JMB to confirm the measurements for a canopy cover and plugs for the cowl openings and underbelly air scoop. Once Bruce's confirms the measurements, the cover and plugs will be available for anyone to order directly from Bruce's website. I'll post another update once I hear that everything is good-to-go.

(May 20, 2024) AERO South Africa is the premier event for the Aviation industry. Discover the latest developments shaping the Aviation industry. JMB Aircraft will have the opportunity to show their cutting-edge LSA VL3s. Join us at AERO South Africa on July 3-5, 2024, at Wonderboom National Airport. The stars of the show will be two VL3s, one equipped with a Rotax 915is engine and the other with a Rotax 912is. Check-out the VL3 915is boosted to a maximum takeoff weight of 750kg which will be on static display. Stay updated on our latest news by following our social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

The procedures NOTAM for Oshkosh 2024 is out. Copy attached. More information, including arrival demonstration videos, is available on the EAA website here: https://www.eaa.org/airventure/eaa-fly-in-flying-to-oshkosh/eaa-airventure-oshkosh-notam 2024 Oshkosh NOTAM Final.pdf

I carry a handheld NAV/COM radio (Vertex Standard VXA-710) in my flight bag to pickup the ATIS and clearance before starting up -- every 6 minutes is expensive when renting, even at idle -- and for emergency purposes. Lately, I noticed that reception was mediocre and the tower sometimes had difficulty hearing me despite clear line of sight. Recharging the battery had no effect. The radio was 10+ years old, so I figured it might just be time for a new one. Fortunately, I thought to try replacing the rechargeable battery before giving up on the radio itself. Bingo. Bought a $24 battery off Amazon, and the (much more expensive) radio was working like new again. Good reminder that rechargeable batteries don't last forever. Glad this one was easily replacable.

Looks great! I really like the classic paint scheme with the blue, gray, and white. I put the flaps selector on the lower panel, too. Didn't want it too close to the light switches. For the TO/GA button, I wired an otherwise unused button on the stick. Routing the wires is a pain in the neck, but figured it'd be easier to "find" at minimums.

Good question. The cowl plugs from Bruce’s appear to be based on the Lancair cowl and do not look like the right shape for a VL3. I suspect Bruce’s would be happy to tweak the shape if we sent them dimensions.

I plan to keep my VL3 in a hanger but wanted to have at least a canopy cover to protect the interior when parked outside away from home. Bruce's Custom Covers offers a VL3 canopy cover for about $500 +/- depending on optional registration number imprinting and shipping. Much lower price point than the $2,300+ full-aircraft cover from JMB, so perhaps a good solution for occasional use while traveling. Lead time is 3-4 weeks; I went ahead and ordered one. Will report back with photos and comments about quality and fit.

I was notified today that my VL3 will be on a container ship in June and complete the reassembly, certification, and Phase I flight testing at Crossville Memorial Airport (KCSV) in July. I understand that two VL3s are typically loaded into each shipping container, and several other VL3s will be completing the same journey around the same time +/- one month. Reassembly will be by Azure Flight Services. I'm told Azure has five A&P mechanics at Crossville Airport and already has at least one VL3 reassembly and certification under its belt with a good result. Azure is slated to reassemble two VL3s for the same broker in June and two more (including mine) in July. Fingers crossed, but starting to feel more real.

That's fantastic news! Still radio silence regarding my plane, but several of us were right behind you in the queue...

From JMB's social media today... Appears to be a test flight from the improvised grass airstrip behind the JMB final assembly facility. Anyone recognize the paint scheme? If you look closely, a lime green and silver plane is on the ground just outside the factory. Rather ridiculous that we're having to glean updates on our aircraft from social media in the face of continuing radio silence from the factory.

...and here's a frame capture of the information sheet on the side of the fuselage.

JMB's new motor glider dubbed "Phoenix" was on display at Sun 'n Fun last month. YouTuber MojoGrip did a nice walk-around video with lots of specifications: Not a VL3 for sure, but I think that's the point.

Apologies for the couple recent outages when this VL3Flyers forum was briefly unavailable. The outages resulted from issues with the underlying hosting service and have now, hopefully, been resolved.

Hey, Julian... Welcome to the forum! The 915iS Line Maintenance Manual says "a tolerance of +/- 10 hr. is permissible," like you said. It talks about the 25-hour check at the bottom of the same page and doesn't specify a different tolerance for the 25-hour check. See attached. Therefore, I assume the same +/- 10 hours applies, but I don't know for sure. I'd call the Rotax service agent to be safe!

(May 3, 2024) April 17th to 20th, 2024, Messe Friedrichshafen opened its doors to aviation enthusiasts from around the world. JMB Aircraft seized the opportunity to showcase their latest airplanes, the brand new VL3s and Phoenix motor glider & Evo. The stars of the show were two VL3s, one equipped with a Rotax 915is engine and the other with a Rotax 916is. Both aircraft boasted a maximum takeoff weight of 750kg. Additionally, JMB Aircraft presented two units of their new motorglider, the Phoenix. This model captured the interest of the glider community, as JMB Aircraft is one of the few manufacturers offering new motor gliders in today’s market. The highlight of the event was the JMB Party held on Friday, providing the perfect opportunity to raise a glass and listen to a speech by company CEO. Jean-Marie Guisset expressed his gratitude to customers, dealers, suppliers, and the JMB team for their collaborative efforts, which have positioned JMB Aircraft as one of the leading producers of light sport aircraft.

Popular aviation YouTuber MojoGrip posted an extended walk-around of the VL3 916iS on display at Sun 'n Fun: He clearly likes it.

Not to my knowledge. I have not. Presumably close now.

"Great minds think alike," as we say here. I similarly chose BMW Long Beach Blue (to match my car), Porsche Silver, Porsche Dark Gray, and Moon White.