boingk Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Thanks mate, I've just finalised an order for the prop I want and its good to hear they've had positive reviews! The current one on the Minicab is a Flottorp (pronounced 'flow-torp'?) 72A48, or 72" diameter by 48" pitch. These have apparently had a good reputation for decades as outstanding performers on the little Contintental O-170 series engines, so I've ordered a prop with the same basic dimensions or 72" diameter and 48" pitch. You're not far off the mark with construction; its German Beech. I can indeed confirm the competetive pricing, with my invoice asking for $560 inclusive of freight. Thanks for the reply - Enoch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerme Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 sound awesome Boingk,congrats on the new beast ,better start practicing them 300mtr landings for when you land on my strip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Haha, shall do my man! Think she'd be right from what I've seen thus far, but the flight manual states that she is not to be operated from strips with less than 2200ft / 670m available. I'd have to do some measurements under a few conditions and see what she ends up at. Progress so far is that I've finished my ground testing (shes a pussycat!) and am now awaiting clearance from the CFI for my tailwheel solo. I'm also awaiting a new 6x6.5" tyre and the prop that I ordered to replace the Flottorp 72x48" thats on there currently. The first flight tests will be in and around Goulburn; essentially the Lake Bathurst / Tarago / Windellema area. I do not want to push myself or the plane to do too much too quickly, and definitely want to nail my tailwheel landings before I start flying into other strips. Cheers all - Enoch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerme Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Haha, shall do my man! Think she'd be right from what I've seen thus far, but the flight manual states that she is not to be operated from strips with less than 2200ft / 670m available. I'd have to do some measurements under a few conditions and see what she ends up at.Progress so far is that I've finished my ground testing (shes a pussycat!) and am now awaiting clearance from the CFI for my tailwheel solo. I'm also awaiting a new 6x6.5" tyre and the prop that I ordered to replace the Flottorp 72x48" thats on there currently. The first flight tests will be in and around Goulburn; essentially the Lake Bathurst / Tarago / Windellema area. I do not want to push myself or the plane to do too much too quickly, and definitely want to nail my tailwheel landings before I start flying into other strips. Cheers all - Enoch what a/c are you using for your TW endourcment?I had the priverlige of a thruster..love that peddaling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'll be using my own aircraft - the Minicab. The CIF doesn't seem to think this is a problem and has said he'd be glad to do this with me. - Enoch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyerme Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'll be using my own aircraft - the Minicab.The CIF doesn't seem to think this is a problem and has said he'd be glad to do this with me. - Enoch no prob at all ,I did my TW solo in my (I mean my old) thruster single seat...great feeling in your own bird.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planedriver Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Congratulations Enoch, thats a nice little aircraft. I have nice photo of it taking off from The Oaks somewhere on my computer. If I can find it, i'll post it on here. Unless i'm wrong, it was based at Wedderburn. Should be a great hour builder for you. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Thanks Alan, that'd be great! Meanwhile, today I took her up with the CFI, after some taxi testing, and flew around for an hour or so. She behaves very nicely and was a joy to fly; the CFI was very taken with her and commented that he'd very much like to buy one if he could find another. No picture or video... just a big grin! Cheers all - Enoch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinsm Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Hey Enoch, that minicab looks great. Sounds good. Watched the taxi testing on 26/08 with interest and then watched the take off on 22. Looks good. You want to change the photo to the minicab now. Cheers Maynard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayavner Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 i am dying to see some more pics or video of this beast! you are living the dream, mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 I was wondering if anyone from the site was there in the group of onlookers, and though the X-Air looked familiar. Good to hear she looks the goods from the ground, thanks Maynard! I'll get a few more photos and perhaps a video of the next flight up when I can. It is bright and sunny here today and only 3kt wind but the CFI is on his day off so I'll have to wait until tomorrow, when we're doing circuits. Cheers - Enoch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Did circuits, got tailwheel certificate, and had a few interesting moments in the new aircraft along the way. THe 'most interesting' was an aborted takeoff due to suspected carburettor icing - I was increasing power for takeoff and lifted off, then the engine choked. I immediately set idle power and landed again. Repeated throttling refused to recreate the choke so the CFI and I blamed suspected carby icing. Inspection also failed to find any binding in the l;inkages. Apart from that it was a relatively normal flight with a few good circuits and a ticket at the end of it. Shes sitting in the hangar now, awaiting the next flight and some upgrades I have planned for her: The upgrades consist of the aforementioned new prop and tyres as well as upgraded batteries for the radio and intercom; the Conti A65 doesn't have a generator fitted. The 7Ah lead-acid that runs the radio is getting ditched in favour of an NiMH pack that I'm soldering together - 6Ah, 12v and only 500g! This saves around 1750g over the lead-acid pack, and should also provide better capacity and more reliable current storage. The intercom is getting rechargable lithium-ion (A123) 9v packs and the flight radio is getting a 500mAh Lithium-Polymer backup pack instead of its 8-cell NiCD pack. Total cost? A mere $50 :D Thats all for now - Enoch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av8vfr Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 The upgrades consist of the aforementioned new prop and tyres as well as upgraded batteries for the radio and intercom; the Conti A65 doesn't have a generator fitted. The 7Ah lead-acid that runs the radio is getting ditched in favour of an NiMH pack that I'm soldering together - 6Ah, 12v and only 500g! This saves around 1750g over the lead-acid pack, and should also provide better capacity and more reliable current storage. The intercom is getting rechargable lithium-ion (A123) 9v packs and the flight radio is getting a 500mAh Lithium-Polymer backup pack instead of its 8-cell NiCD pack. Total cost? A mere $50 :D Thats all for now - Enoch Hi Enoch / boingk.. A NiMh battery charges different to a SLA so be aware of that. Also, due to any possible high current draw, I would recommend mechanical connections of the battery pack rather than soldered joins that are subject to failure due to vibration, unless you have aircraft experience in this area. Nice A/C ..... why is it named BOB? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thanks for the reply, av8vfr! To be honest the only reason I could see it named 'Bob' would be because its quite sensetive in pitch. Otherwise, its mainly because I haven't gotten around to taking the decals off The batteries will be a soldered job but the cells themselves have spot-welded tabs already in place, so I'll merely be soldering the tabs together and heatshrinking to cover the join. The battery pack is located on the parcel shelf, anyway, and should be fine as far as I can see. Charging is a bit different to an SLA, but in crude terms its very similar - C/10 charge rates and nominal voltage of 12v for the battery. Only thing you're missing out on is the weight and hydrogen gas of an SLA. High current draw for the system is managed by an inline 10A fuse, replacements kept in the 'precautionary pack' on the parcel shelf along with spare intercom battery and other odds and ends. These are the cells I'm ordering for the NiMH pack: Cheap eBay specials but then again I've had good results with other batteries from the same vendor, and 6000mAh from a sub-C is realistic nowdays. Cheers - Enoch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightyknots Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thanks for the reply, av8vfr!To be honest the only reason I could see it named 'Bob' would be because its quite sensetive in pitch. Otherwise, its mainly because I haven't gotten around to taking the decals off Someone else thought of it first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinsm Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 That is one seriously nice looking aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Cheers robinsm! Progress so far is that I've gotten my tailwheel ticket, ordered new tyres and tubes, gotten an ELT (GME MT400) and just now received the Ark Tech propellor that I ordered a few weeks back: It looks pretty schmick to me and I can't wait to fit it to the Minicab... will be interesting to see if there is any improvement in performance, as well. Cheers all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Have finally got my aircraft into the air with only myself aboard, after requisite tailwheel training with the CFI. Loving it! - boingk 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudestcon Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Have finally got my aircraft into the air with only myself aboard, after requisite tailwheel training with the CFI.Loving it! - boingk Hehehe, look at that grin. Well done boingk. Pud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightyknots Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Have finally got my aircraft into the air with only myself aboard, after requisite tailwheel training with the CFI.Loving it! - boingk A grin from ear to ear. Looks like you're lovin' it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lark Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 nice taildragger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayavner Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 well done boingk! I can only imagine the sheer joy you feel right then and there. Heh guess you are going for the burnt-in stripe-over-the-skull look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boingk Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Cheers guys! And yeah... definitely loving it, burnt in stripe and all! That was the second sortie in two days; I'm limiting myself to an hour at a time initially while I rack up my initial solo taildragger hours. Last thing I want to do is push the envelope and come unstuck. One thing I love about this aircraft is that, coming from a CA25N Gazelle and a Cessna C150 Aerobat, it seems to have the best of both worlds: Better climb rate than the Gazelle Cruise approximating the Cessna (factoring climb to alt.) Economy of the Gazelle Comfort of the Cessna I really find that hard to argue with... and the fact thats its a pussycat to fly is icing on the cake! Cruise is 80kt, climb is 600fpm solo and economy is 14L/hr. She's sensitive in pitch but otherwise quite docile and well mannered in flight. Landings are 60kt /1st stage flap, 55kt / 2nd stage and landing at 50kt and flaring to 40~45kt and touchdown. I use 3rd stage of flap as a drag brake or for shortfield, and am coming in on 2nd stage about halfway down the grass strip at Goulburn. Only thing I'm not happy with at the moment is the printed starting instructions, as they recommend closed-throttle starts which are nigh impossible unless the planets align. I'm currently in favour of an 850~900rpm shutdown and subsequent starting from that position, as it won't provide enough thrust to move the plane once you unchock it and gives very positive & reliable starts both hot and cold. Only other both was the recommendation for 1st stage of flap for takeoff on the cheat sheet, as I found it uneccessary on either runway at Goulburn. I'll try and get some video figured out once I get skywards again... probably just my phone blutacked to the rear firewall but that should be enough. Cheers all! - boingk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bigfella Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Looking good Boingk! Can we see some pics of the dash from the cockpit, can only get a glimpse with the reflection in your sunnies lol Cheers, Bigfella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cscotthendry Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Have finally got my aircraft into the air with only myself aboard, after requisite tailwheel training with the CFI.Loving it! - boingk Yep, that grin will definitely need surgical removal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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