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While we will shortly be delivering our brand new 110hp Zonsen CA510 engine to the aircraft, an old Rotax is being used to finalise the engine mount geometry, as well as to facilitate the installation of the final engine accessories such as radiator, oil tank and cooler etc. When the new Zonsen engine arrives at the airframes location, we will be able to drop it straight in to replace the Rotax. The attached photo shows the Rotax and the associated firewall to engine ring frame mount. A jig will be fabricated from this first (non-airworthy) engine mount from which the airworthy mount will be made. The prop hub has been determined to be in the identical position to the Jabiru hub and we hope to be able to use the original cowling with minimal modifications. Now to plan the installation of the engine accessories.

First time at Longreach, pleasant conditions. Great strip and cafe. 12 degrees so not too bad. Plus at variable tailwind 10 to 20 knots.

After a long hiatis I have finally been able to get back to work on Mabel. 20 months it has taken to get the subdivision done at our place and to be honest a lack of enthusiasm didnt help due to being too tired to do work on her at night after doing all the work around here we have done here. The parachute is now hooked up just have to finish off some final running the main strap out of the hole at the top. The seat bases are back in and the foam has been made and ready for upholstery for them to be done. They will velcro then to the seats that are std for a savannah. The tail feathers are on and cables run and ready for hookup. Wiring for the elevator trim is done,static is run up to the top of the fin also. I will bring the wings back from the hangar shortly and fit them. I will be adding some dihedral to these wings this time. I have 4 new sections of strut material so I have to cut and fit them then I have a bit of painting to get done. There are some cover strips that have to be painted and once the new struts are done they will have to be painted. The roof section has been covered in IR and heat film and it has been fitted. The windscreen is all fitted but out at the moment while I am working on it. Then once it goes it the base section will be sealed with black sikaflex..a special one I managed to source. It would be nice to get her flying by the end of this year 🙂. Also got to trial fit the mrs and myself in there today..she likes the new comfy seats

The channel country is really putting on a show this year. Pics from a flight 2 weeks ago between Birdsville and Windorah

Nice 2.6 hour flight from Longreach to Charleville arrive 4 minutes earlier than the flight plan a mix of light tail and then head winds plus some showers under the dark sky areas. Both airfields are in beautiful condition and excellent cafes there for mid morning breakfast.

Just completed an enjoyable trip from Palmyra at Mackay to Longreach, then Charleville, then Roma and then home to Palmyra. Total flight time was 11.3 hours (engine hobbs) over 6 days. OAT was down to 6 at times so ordering a cabin heat unit from UK today so better prepared next trip. Had gloves but thin socks and light sport shoes so a bit cold, however not unbearable. My wife Sandy enjoyed the trip. Also the armrest I have been using over the last year is very comfortable and worked great and is better with the chain to adjust the height / angle (Firm feel, no springiness the cord made) it is turned up and away for takeoff and landing.

I cant help with the feet but this might work on the calves?

Good evening gentlemen, I think that I make builder number 3 in the world of Taylor Monoplanes. Mine is currently about 50% complete with approximately 150% left to go. I can’t quite sit in yet unsupported but I’m close. I haven’t started assembling the wings yet, I’ve got a pile of ribs for the outer panels and the spars complete. I’m still to do the ribs for the centre section, but I’m holding those off until the outer panels are assembled so as to make sure that I get the rear spar in the right spot in the fuselage. I’m planning on Jabiru power, I do have a spare AeroVee however I am a little dubious of the crankcase casting. I want to save a little weight and most importantly avoid hand propping to start it. The nose will grow a couple of inches to fix the C of G issue with the lighter engine. Mine is constructed from hoop pine as spruce is almost impossible to obtain in Australia and the costs are eye watering. I’m a bit slow, and I’ve needed a couple of motivational kicks up the arse to keep it progressing. Here’s a couple of pictures of mine so far. Regards, Richard. Gawler, South Australia.

Nice cool flight Charleville to Roma 1.8 hours under the winter skies. 12 then 18 knot headwind. Rotax purred along nicely. Greeted with low fog reported AWIS as 650 feet agl at Roma but actual was 450 last 2 miles in. All good when confirmed airfield sighted. Marked an alternate LZ strip at a property I orbited over sorting out under fog visibility and looking for other traffic before moving over to join downwind. Gloves were handy in the Queensland winter of 11c will order a cabin heat kit; meant too after last winter.

She has wheels! Maybe held on with clamps, some bolts are the wrong length and I know it’s the wrong stub wing rib but….. she has wheels! Not long now before I can sit in her and make silly aeroplane sounds!

No, usually they fly Air Force One

My Jabiru J230 is hangared in Porepunkah, NE Vic ( YPOK ); the winter temp is often below zero into mid morning.. I made an engine warmer from a bit of pvc plumbing and a hair dryer… works well.. 15 to 20 mins while doing checks and getting organised.. Starts like a summer day..

We can say certification and design would never allow such a situation. But history of the 737 max and self certification by Boeing with minimal federal oversight has allowed the seemingly impossible to happen. Until the final report and one that's accepted by the European safety authorities, we can not be sure. I do not have a great deal of faith in the USA been a beacon of safety over profit, esp given the Trump cuts. This is India's first full modern investigation into a crash and in a country with known compliance issues, as such we need to wait and see. They may do a great job or they may not. Question? Does the 787 have a single FADEC for both engines? Is it not possible the FADEC is the culprit? Computers are never completely failsafe. To openly speculate about pilot suicide whilst possible does the poor families a great disservice and pilots in general. It also shifts the focus away from technical matters that need to be exhaustively tested. I remember everyone blaming the Pilots for the Max 737 crashes and Boeing happy to blame them, even after the second crash. We can desktop cowboy all we want but we don't know what happened.

Beautiful flight to Bairnsdale last week. Family stuff till today. Now patiently waiting for the weather to improve to fly home. Don’t think it will be for a couple of days though.

We are trying hard to keep the modifications to the J160 airframe minimal so that future conversions are both minimum cost and complexity. The above photo shows that the stock cowling still fits fine. With our 110hp CA510 being fully liquid cooled, we might even be able to plug some of the holes in the stock cowling to reduce some drag.

Round trip 4.3hrs (Hobbs). Times worked out very well - got to Cowra before 12:00 Was almost frozen stiff by the time I got to Condo. Great air, lots of ground fog. Condo deserted - if it wasn't for a passing cattle truck, I would have thought mankind had evaporated. Cowra, Not quite as quiet. Lots of training aircraft lined up waiting for the week to start. Met a wonderful couple, who gave me a lift into town & back for some fuel. Cowra to The Oaks via Wingello - Cloud at 6/8th 5000ft.. Went over the top at 7500Ft - smooth as! This was my longest flight in the Sonex - Perth soon😈

I have o-320 in the musketeer and o-360 in the RV. The rate of fuel consumption is only changed by mixture and power setting, there is no change with electric boost pump on or off, if the are no problems with the fuel system such as partially blocked filter, engine pump faulty etc. How ever in my RV switching on the boost ALWAYS shows an instant increase in fuel flow. I believe this is due to fuel pulsing in the flow meter. So if you lean to a known fuel flow with the pump on and then turn it off the mixture would be to lean in my RV by about 2 gph.

Hello Headwind… Operating the brake and yoke are the least of your flying worries… I fly a Jabiru 230 D…If you actually want to get some where, the 230 has the range and speed of a lot of GA aircraft, with a very generous weight limit.. I recently undertook a trip with a friend who flys a Diamond..He said “ I cruise at 120knts’, I replied, so do I. He had to stop to refuel, I could have reached our destination, without stopping.. I really like my aeroplane..

For interested parties, here is an email response to my enquiry……. We are currently renovating our rooms which were damaged in the 2023 floods. Our Restaurant was destroyed, however we now have a Café/Food Truck open daily as well as our shop for supplies. We also do pizzas over the weekends during peak season from our wood fire oven. QLD Parks have just reopened the National Park and we will be recommencing our boat cruise shortly. Other than this At Wugudaji-Adels Grove and surrounding areas there are walks, bikes, telescopes & canoes to hire, fishing and relaxing in the Lawn Hill Creek at Adels to be enjoyed. The fossil fields are close by to visit also. Throughout the site there are several covered areas with Barbecues, seating etc. Please check our website & Facebook page (links below) for more information & recent photos. Our renovated ensuite queen rooms will be ready by the end of this year (we do partially close during the wet season approx. Nov-March). These rooms will be available as of the new year (possibly even end of this season). However as yet rates are to be confirmed. Meals can be purchased from the Café/Food Truck or pizzas over weekends. Also the shop carries supplies to purchase to prepare & cook on the shared BBQ/Camp kitchen if you wish. Yes the airstrip is serviceable and we also have AvGas for purchase if needed. QLD Parks runs the National Park and for information regarding this area you will need to check their website.

TEMU warehouse was totally destroyed by fire. Losses are estimated at $57.31.

Rubber mounts work a treat. Here’s hoping they extend the life of radiator #2.

Here is my chief flight instructor for water operations and fishing..

I have an engine. The kit is sitting in Port Melbourne waiting for a berth. Hopefully in a few weeks it will be underway. The case and gearbox hardness test and oil galleries test were performed and it's a good one Lyndon

51st year of flying control line. Aeroflyte Kittyhawk with modified engine position.

I would think the lesson was don't go Boeing 787 until we know the cause of the crash. If the people who build them won't fly then why should we.

Working for an AERO club is VERY political. You are working for a large committee There's no room for that BS with a business .. A Flying Club is inevitably run by a PART-TIME Committee of Competing EGOS and Biases and as it's said "a Camel is a Horse designed by a committee". Most of us are aware of a Club being taken over by some group of Zealots who want to take in in one direction or another often as the result of some hidden benefit (Kickback). Many FAIL due internal conflict and inept management and getting behind with some requirements with the "Oh I THOUGHT YOU were handling THAT.. THEY follow a similar path as many Co- Ops and SHARED Aircraft arrangements. They can work but it has to be a tight ship and meet the deadlines. Nev

Bert Hinkler is largely underrated as a pioneer Australian aviator. Born in Bundaberg, Qld, Bert went to England in 1913 where he worked for the Sopwith Aviation Company, the beginning of his career in aviation. In World War I, Hinkler served with the Royal Naval Air Service as a gunner/observer in Belgium and France, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1918 Hinkler was posted to No. 28 Squadron RAF with which he served as a pilot in Italy. Hinkler was an "exceptional mathematician and inventor" and "made a lot of aviation instruments which were in use up until the Second World War". In 1921, Hinkler shipped a tiny Avro Baby to Sydney, Australia. It was filled with fuel and flown non-stop to Bundaberg, a distance of 1,370 kilometres (850 mi). Hinkler flew the first solo flight between England and Australia, departing England on 7 February 1928 and arriving in Darwin on 22 February; and back in his home town of Bundaberg in his Avro Avian a few days later on 27 February. In 1931, Hinkler flew in a de Havilland Puss Moth from Canada to New York then non-stop to Jamaica 2,400 km (1,500 mi), then to Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, and then across the South Atlantic to Africa. From West Africa he flew to London. On 7 January 1933, Hinkler left London Air Park, Hanworth, England, in the Puss Moth in an attempt to break the flying record to Australia held by C. W. A. Scott of 8 days 20 hours. Nothing more was heard of him until his body was discovered in the mountains of Tuscany (Apuan Alps) in Italy on 27 April 1933. He was buried – with full military honours on the orders of Italy's ruling dictator Benito Mussolini – in the Cimitero degli Allori in Florence. A monument in his memory was erected at Prato Alle Vacche in the Pratomagno mountain by the Aretino Aero Club. Hinkler received the following awards for his meritorious service to aviation:- For his England-Latvia non-stop flight he was awarded the Oswald Watt Gold Medal for 1927. He was a pilot of the British Schneider Trophy seaplane competitor For the flights in 1920 and 1928, Hinkler won two Britannia trophies and the gold medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. He was also awarded the 1928, 1931 and 1932 Oswald Watt Gold Medal which is awarded for "A most brilliant performance in the air or the most notable contribution to aviation by an Australian or in Australia" by the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia. For his 1931 flights from Canada to Africa via the Caribbean and South America, then on to London via Africa, he was awarded the Royal Aero Club Gold Medal, the Segrave Trophy, the Johnston Memorial Prize and the Britannia Trophy for the most meritorious flying performance of the year. My mother told me that she saw Bert Hinkler land on the main beach at Yeppon near Rockhampton in the 1920s as a yong girl but she was too afraid to go for a joy flight with him.

I can speak with great experience to this topic. I have been in a local aero club 25 years or thereabouts. In that time it has become very clear that CASA do not want traditional Aero Clubs involved in flight training. Years ago, every small town with an airfield had an aero club, a 172 and an instructor (sole operator) but the aero club held the AOC. I gather that getting an AOC for that was not too difficult. My club had such a structure since the sixties. Our operations manual came from a mob who did that sort of thing. Then following a CASA audit, our approved manual was suddenly no longer approved and we had to change things. The manual mob though still existing then (and today) totally blew us off with radio silence. So I stepped up to fix things, the club had no other viable plan. CASA requirements were becoming far beyond the capabilities of the people of a small town aero club. Many chucked flying training in. Some clubs folded. Along comes Part 141 and all the requirements and it got ten times worse. I can say with great authority that the current requirements for Aero Club people in CASA approved positions and manuals and forms is well beyond the capabilities of ordinary aviators to be involved with, then not to mention the responsibility those positions hold, usually voluntarily (other than paid instructors). It is the Aero Club that holds the 141 Certificate, not the instructors or any other person. Yes there is a CASA standard operations manual draft which we have used, but I can tell you with great certainty that there are many traps in there that could bring you undone at audit. We (I) amended/deleted those traps. (quick example - our manual said we would use the CASA Maintenance Release for the plane. Then our LAME innocently used the other RACWA one. drum roll ....... PING!) Our current approved manuals are only good to the next CASA audit, where overnight they could suddenly now become not acceptable. We (I) do manage to do updates to match regulation changes. Oh, then WE have to PAY to get those changes approved. Let me repeat that one, WE HAVE TO PAY TO GET OUR MANUALS RE-APPROVED AFTER CASA CHANGES REGULATIONS. We've had audits claiming faults and when investigated, some were totally shot down by their own regulations. The auditors were BSing. Some even claimed fault against regulations that did not even exist. All these audit findings were to do with paperwork, nothing to do with flying an aeroplane. Sad, that's what it's all come to. I had a friend in the trucking industry. He once told me the industry was now only about compliance, and if there was any time left over they might do a few deliveries. I believe there will come the day soon (inside 5 years) when our flight training via the aero club cannot survive the paperwork. We could transition to the Part 141 sole operator approval thing that does suit an owner/operator of a 172 trainer. They are the master/mistress of their domain totally, they wear all the responsibility. But that can have problems also if trying to exist in an aero club environment. Perhaps not so if they had their own premises (hangar/classroom) to operate out of. Well that's my take on the Aero Club vs Part 141 GA flying training scene. It's a race to the finish line. Current VH plane utilisation is good, worthwhile holding on to. While we can. Oh also, my club also got an RAAus plane and instructor and that is going really well for us. The club owns the plane. I play NO PART in the paperwork for that part of our operation! As far as I can tell, the operation follows the RAAUs standard manuals, there are no surprises, no variations, no specifics for us. IT WORKS. The RAAus operation HAS attracted many new young members and their family members to the club.

And you got some inverted time in!

I had sent one away to Bundaberg a couple of weeks ago. Came back yesterday, Looking like new, fantastic. Jabiru did a lovely job. No freight costs to my door either. Well done. The customer has to swallow about 2 large for the job. But Hey. There's a new crank in it. Big Plus to Jabiru

Greasing Caliper pins is very common and good practice to stop them seizing. Bendix Brake Lube

I’ve been a long-time lurker, and I’m excited to finally join this wonderful forum as a member. I’ve already learned so much just by reading, and I’m really looking forward to learning even more from the knowledgeable members here. Thanks for having me!

Hi Lyle, if the Bing is the same as on the Rotax, the 'choke' does nothing unless the throttle is fully closed. The reason is that it's not really a choke in the conventional sense, but a separate fuel circuit that delivers through a port only when the butterfly is closed. I had thought this would be common knowledge for Rotax owners, but you can still fish up 'how to start a Rotax' stuff on Youtube, from supposedly knowledgeable operators, where they crack the throttle open then pull on the choke...

You can replace the oring. Need to obtain correct one from an aircraft maintenance organisation. If you choose to replace the valve then you need the correct thread, there are several similar looking threads in use. Take your valve to the your value to the maintenance shop and they will advise.

I can't wait, to see the rush by a bunch of blokey pilots, to obtain their size in pantyhose! 😄

I bought a kit, not based on 'oh, this has one too many oil coolers in it', but rather on it looking like it would be a fun plane to build. Any technical questions, you will really have to ask them. It is a Skyreach Bushcat. There are many KISS principles at play in this design, for instance TRIM and FLAPS are totally mechanical, not electric. No auto pilot. I selected a carby engine. And a single piece wooden propeller (although it turned out to be the wrong pitch, so maybe SOME complexity, ie ground adjustable, could have been handy) If one wanted to totally keep to the KISS principle, one would buy a hang glider. Attached, a good frontal picture of someones Bushcat, for your edification. Visible are the radiator, above it the first oil cooler and above the spinner the second oil cooler 😇

Fluid exchanges I reckon.

That's one I haven't heard B4. Was she referring to heat exchangers? Nev

"Nope". Same wood bearers. I wanted the exhaust out underneath so model stays clean, and it does.

First it was the Russians attacking Ukraine, then it was Israel attacking Iran - now it's extended to Boeings attacking Airbuses! What is the world coming to? Can't everyone just live in peace? 😄

The sad fact is that whistleblowers......in all walks of life.....generally do not fare well after the event.

The information regarding Bert Hinklers crash and death in that crash is a mix of guesses and misinformation. The official Australian report is that Hinklers Puss Moth lost a section of the propeller, thus forcing him to make an emergency landing and he hit a tree whilst trying to do so. But this description is incorrect, and based on hearsay and unknown evidence - if any. The facts are that the Italian aviation authority of 1933 carried out an official crash investigation - but the results were not made available to Australian authorities, and it is believed this crash investigation report was destroyed during WW2 war actions. A retired aviation engineer and air crash accident investigator, Clive Phillips, has carried out a thorough assessment of Hinklers fatal crash. He did his assessment based on a limited number of available photos of the crashed aircraft, and various other written sources of information that he gleaned from Italian and other sources. In essence, he states that he believes Hinklers Puss Moth suffered a wing spar failure - which the Puss Moths were notorious for - and he crashed simply because of that loss of a wing. There is a report in the Australian Dictionary of Biography which states that Hinkler survived the crash and died outside the wreckage. This appears to be at odds with the report from the Italian medical authorities at the time that Hinkler died instantly, after being ejected from the aircraft on impact, and he suffered severe cranial and thoracic injuries, which the Italian doctors deemed as causing immediate death. The investigators report is linked to, below. Interestingly, the investigator also owned a Puss Moth, the one on display in the Hinkler Museum. https://aircentre.com.au/aircraft/pioneers/media/whalley-phillips.pdf The very first of the Puss Moth accidents happened just East of Perth in Oct 1930, and it killed the famous and highly skilled aviator, Capt Charles H.F. Nesbit, as well as his two students, a young woman and a man. The Puss Moth crashes are famous for 4 reasons. 1. They killed a lot of famous, careful and skilled pilots. 2. They were international in occurrence. 3. The Puss Moth crashes led to the rapid application of scientific research and definitive causes to aircraft crashes. 4. The Puss Moth crashes largely contributed to the formation of the Aeronautical Research Laboratory of Australia. Below is a fascinating and occasionally humorous outline (despite the grim subject) of the development of air crash investigation in Australia. It is a document produced in 1993, celebrating the first 50 years of aircraft crash investigation by the ARL and associated investigators, and examines all of the early and famous aircraft crashes, and how the truth was sifted from a lot of initial obfuscation. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA267086.pdf

29/06/25 Todays Fun Departing The Oaks -Landing Condobolin Arrive about 10:30-11:00 Condobolin - Landing Cowra Arrive about 12:00 -12:30 Cowra - The Oaks Landing Mid afternoon?

Just back from a very nice 2 hr jaunt - The Oak to a friends place between Yass & Canberra (did not land). Could see forever. Not quite silky smooth but almost. 3C at 5500ft. Averaged 14.5L/hr @ 130 knots true. Lake George was an amazing metallic purple. Great to be alive!😈

The CASA class 5 is a legal medical, I’d put in a formal complaint with CASA against that school, it’s discrimination & illegal.

Allows takeoff in northern hemisphere and landings in southern hemisphere airfields.🙃😊

Absolutely agree, that's the tube I have an have used for years. Sort of expensive f you only want a bit for one or two jobs.

Unless the master cylinders are not fitted correctly I would be surprised if it's not a sticky caliper piston. Do as blue says and crack the bleed nipple to rule out hyd pressure. If it's still tight it's the piston

You could just jack wheel off ground and spin wheel by hand then apply brake and see if it stops then release brake pressure and see if wheel can spin; do same to other wheel. This will confirm if the caliper piston is retract Ing. Be a good start. Have fun and solve the issue. Cheers.

That's incredible! They were a beast in their day. I have vivid memories of watching a Phantom bomb the crap out of a Viet Cong/NVA hideout in the nearby hills, that was only a couple of kms from where I was located, at Long Hai, just East of Vung Tau, in 1971. Their climb ability was staggering.