Paul Willett

I think it really depends on what radio/intercom you have installed - what Brand and Model is it? Tecnam do not have a generic COM as far as I am aware.

Thanks for all replies. Will not be for a while, my father is retiring to live there next year - sounds like a nice part of the coast. Spent 6 months in Adelaide in 1989 and have fond memories of it. Probably less chaotic than Brisbane has become! May make it to Murray Bridge as an alternative or en-route - will let you know Doug. I saw that someone posted a photo of my ride in one of the air photo websites (actually a German site!) - so look out for this down there later in the year: (sorry about the width Ian - can I fix?)

Aldinga was what I had come up with also - 33km by road apparently according to whereis. Will have wheels down there, so sounds ok.

Not sure where to post this exactly - here will do for now. Anybody tell me if there is a strip near Normanville in South Australia? Looking to visit there later in the year and tie down the plane for a couple of days. Thanks.

Successful Engine Run and Test flight last week followed by a few more starts and sorties. One for the knowledge base. Engine starts first time every time again. Ahhh! :big_grin:

Is that the one with Gene Hackman flying the C337 (O-?? MILSPEC) in Vietnam? If so, I remember it as my 'endorsement training' video for the push-pull!

Only 90% sure this is the problem so far. Engine run later this week will confirm. Luckily we did not snap any of the M5 bolts - last time we chewed up two. The torque settings are way too high in the manual.

You are standing on your head. Or you are drunk.

Result: http://recreationalflying.com/forum/showpost.php?p=30116&postcount=8

Apparently I have the heavy duty starter - I also have an Odyssey Battery. We removed and stripped back today, and discovered the likely cause of our fuse blowing on start. Inside of the housing was contaminated from some seeped white spirit from a recent clean - it had also collected a bit of grease and dirt and looks like it was the cause of some poor electrical contact. It cranks ok now, but we haven't had it out of the hangar for an engine run as yet. Battery life actually was ok after all.

How does the heavy duty starter differ from the 'standard' - i.e. how can one tell which is fitted?

Agreed. Most likely culprit appears to be a short somewhere in the electrics of the starter motor, as it is only happening during start cycle. Doesn't explain the loss in the battery of course, but may be unrelated matter. We are going to remove the starter motor for inspection tomorrow. Thanks for the input from everyone - this is a superb resource.

Hmm. OK. Not quite sure where this leaves me, but checking the battery after removing it from the aircraft, the charge appears to be low. So, definitely suspect something to do with the problem. The 100a fuse is replacement, but identical to OEM.

Hmm - problem continues today (1st chance in ages to get up to the plane). No signs of arcing anywhere along the master leads or around the starter motor. I suspect my (new) battery was also low - so, will a low amperagte battery alone cause the master fuse to blow when there is high demand - i.e. starter cranking? I have a suspicion of inadequate charging in flight.

Good point. We were just discussing this very thing yesterday.

The Battery is located aft - for reasons of ballast I presume - so the reason for going through the master fuse is probably because of weight of running an extra lead - however, this could have been overcome by placing the fuse fwd - even in the cockpit would have been a good idea(!) - and then running a direct lead to the starter motor from there. Without wishing to sound stupid, what function exactly does the Starter Motor Relay perform?

Thanks. No I don't intend to run the engine without the master fuse. Anyone who has had to change one of these will know it is quite difficult access - something I am working to change. I will check on the starter motor connection to the battery, but I am pretty sure everything goes through the master fuse.

OK - all good advice, thanks. The only times it has blown has been during starting. Will double check the starter motor leads as we re-fitted the starter motor after an inspection recently.

I seem to have been having a bad run with blowing the 100a master fuses of late. Thought that the battery might have been the problem, so replaced with a new Odyssey. Today, though, during third start of the day, after about a 30 minute shutdown - snap - away it went again. Anyone else had this problem? This is the third fuse I have blown. I am wondering if my battery is being charged correctly - I do not have an Ammeter fitted - yet.

Something to consider in the sub-tropical and tropical climes of QLD - more often than not we are flying in Carb Icing conditions.

I am getting around 2.5 bar using Castrol GPS. (912ULS)

Michael, I have an XCOM760 - works beautifully, with one, and one only exception. For some reason I lose comms regularly with Brisbane Tower (120.5) when within 3nm of them (overflying at 1500FT normally). The 120.5 aerials are on the top of the control tower - my aerial is on the top of my aircraft. I have a good solid metal ground plane connection, and I have had the aerial (non-aviation style whip antenna) snipped to the optimum length by an Avionics Tech. My aircraft is all metal. Ideas? (I have considered shielding, but it is the same in varying turning attitudes and distances) No problems with other Towers - AF, CG, MC, RK, CS, AY, BK, MB etc. etc.

Air Traffic Controller for the past 10 years - past 3 on Brisbane Approach, and prior to that on Cairns Approach. Previous lives as GA Pilot, QF Cabin Crew and an Army Officer. Paul Willett

Darren, Primary Radar is usually installed around major Capital City airports as well as some military airfields. This returns from a reflection on the actual aircraft. It is a 'raw' return, so has no information on height, but can be tagged to obtain speed. Secondary Radar (or SSR) interrogates the Transponder, and depending on how sophisiticated your transponder is, can return Altitude, as well as your discrete code (issued by ATC for Identification). Mode S transponders can also show a lot of information about what the pilots have selected in to the Mode Control Panel of the Autopilot / FMS - mainly larger transport aircraft.

We recently removed the Starter Motor on our 912 to check on a suspected oil weep at the seal. After replacing we tightened the M5 Hex bolt using a torque wrench. After snapping it we obtained a replacement and then proceeded to snap it too - at a setting of just 10nM Torque. Has anyone had to do this - and managed to find a suggested torque from Rotax? Bert Flood is looking in to it for us as well, but perhaps someone else has been through this?