slartibartfast

Yep - that's what I was going to suggest. Skyfuel are awesome. As well as those 3, you can also get an Aero Refueller's card from Skyfuel. This mob have taken over a lot of the pumps in NSW. I use it more than the others. I have an auto-debit arrangement with Skyfuel, so I get bills, but I don't have to worry about paying them. They also sent a lovely card when Mum died. They care.

Keep it clean Russ Yeah - this doesn't look like the weekend to do it. Garry said he gave you my number. Feel free to call if you think I can help with anything. Glad you're enjoying the Cheetah. Did you buy the new white one or Garry's original red and white one? They both went recently and I forgot which went where.

Hey Russ. Congrats on the Cheetah acquisition. Orange is only 3115' ASL. I regularly take off in 500 metres max at Adaminaby in my Cheetah, even 2 up in summer. YADY is 3400'. Orange has a 1600 metre strip. You could take off backwards and still get airborne. The Cheetah will also cruise at 10,000' without losing much, and still be able to climb. As Tony says, the weather is the biggest factor. I haven't dropped in to Orange, so can't tell you anything more Orange specific (Orange aid?). Cheers, Ross

Cheers Keith. There are 15 months between those shots. The original compass was a cheap temp one because I had trouble sourcing a good one for a while. The GPS broke after 4 years of faithful service, so I got a new one. Eagle eyes. Doug - I realised tonight what caused the confusion over the photos. I changed my options to order posts from newest down to oldest. So I wrote "below" because that's where previous posts are for me. Sorry 'bout that chief. I'll get the photos of the trim system on the weekend. Brett, my photo album went missing from my profile page during the site upgrade and Ian hasn't found it yet, but there are more photos you might like here.

Gotcha. Don't think I have any photos of that. I can take some.

Doug, there are cockpit images attached to post #7. Can't see them? R461 - the Cheetah that's flying in WA is at Serpentine. It isn't painted, but is flying. Garry went over there and helped them test fly it and sort out a few issues. There are 2 other unfinished Cheetahs there somewhere, and an unfinished Super Diamond. I forgot to mention something that may be on people's list, but wasn't on mine. The Cheetah is designed to be trailerable. The wings and elevators come off very easily. I keep mine in a hangar, but I did trailer it back to Taree after I broke it. The process is simple and fast. This also helps a lot if you have to outland it somewhere. Your decision on a place to land will be made easier if you know you don't necessarily have to fly it out again.

Presuming you have Windows, you should also use the task manager performance stuff, and the inbuilt performance monitors to see what's going on. I had one show symptoms like that, and I traced it to a problem with the onboard dual NICs (Network Interface Cards). They were fighting each other in a very Parliamentary manner, instead of working together. Disabling one solved the issue (a firmware upgrade later fixed the issue).

Elevator trim is achieved by the use of a bungy loop around the stick near the base and going forward to the steel sub-frame, and then another bungy working rearward against that. In the photos below, that is attached to a lever. Since then I have changed it to a friction wheel. Garry didn't intend it, but I found that I can lift the upholstery velcro and slide the forward bungy left or right to "lean" on the stick. Plenty for aileron trim. It's so effective, I would recommend removing all tension on it (at cruise altitude) when making sure the plane flies straight during initial flight testing.

There is one flying in WA now. Can't remember where. I'll ask Garry. [ATTACH]7325.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7326.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7327.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7328.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7329.vB[/ATTACH]

Cheers. A nice round figure Adam? Probably $60k. I am well paid, so I didn't scrimp on anything - quality paint, superb upholstery, full instrumentation, etc. Others have built them for less than $50k. Garry sold his old one for over $50k recently (I don't know exactly how much it went for in the end). Got to be the best value around - n'est ce pas?

Hi Don. I've put a reply to your question in a more appropriate place. Read it here. Cheers, Ross

From another thread - Don asked this question. He's probably not the only one wondering, so I thought I'd reply here. I still love my Cheetah. There are many things it does right, and it certainly satisfies all the major criteria on my list. Endurance - having 6 hours fuel gives you lots of options and scope for changes in plan. Strength - it is an extremely solid design. Even when I dropped it hard and an axle broke, the sideways forces only bent a replaceable part, and it was all repaired fairly painlessly. Others have tried hard to break them, and they keep on keeping on. Payload - at 267Kg empty, there's plenty of scope for pax, fuel and luggage - and plenty of storage areas to stow things. Space - the cockpit has tons of room. I'm 6'1", so space was a major consideration. The Cheetah has great shoulder width, more leg room than I need, and I have never hit my head on the canopy. Organisation on a trip is easy. There are pockets and storage areas easily reached while in flight. The centre stick leaves your lap free for maps and kneeboard. Big tick here. Handling - fantastic. Very light and direct feel, benign stall with good feel and warning (stick shake - not audible), excellent cruise comfort with hands off flying (aileron and elevator trim via bungies - elevator trim via wheel), fully castoring nosewheel with excellent toe brakes for unmatchable ground handling. When flying, it feels extremely solid in a turn, and will sit where it's put. The winglets give it incredible banking stability, as well as adding yaw stability when flying in turbulence. I put many hours on Garry's winglet-less Cheetah and know exactly how much difference they make. Layout - I put a lot of attention into where everything went, and I'm extremely happy with the result. The stick and throttle are in exactly the right places for hours of cruising without fatigue. The gauges and switches are optimally placed so everything is easy to see and reach. Seating position is just right, and the seats are extremely comfortable. I have done a number of 4 hour legs, and I always feel that I could keep going. Nothing gets sore. The 4 point harness is very comfortable, and they work really well . Simplicity - it is a very straightforward aeroplane to build, to fly and to maintain. Looks - obviously, this is a bit subjective, but I love it. I think the lines are sexy, and it looks like a sports machine. Of course, I went a bit overboard with the graphics and paint on mine, but even plain white - they look great. Visibility - excellent. Hard to beat a low wing, and this is better than most. The nose-down attitude when cruising gives great forward visibility too. I have the original canopy and love it, but sometime I will replace it with one of the new one-piece canopies Garry now makes. Totally uninterrupted vision, and smooth lines. They look fantastic. Just remember to wear a hat and sunscreen. Ventilation - excellent. I put a rear-facing scoop under the cockpit to create negative pressure and it works a treat. When the 2 Naca vents are open, you have to keep the maps out of the way. Fantastic flow. I put cabin heat in too - just so my wife would have one less excuse. Support - Garry is fanstastic to deal with. He is always available to talk, works hard to keep you happy, and is very helpful. If a problem is discovered with kits, or a better way to do something is found, he will supply new bits or new advice to everybody, and usually for free. He evens loans me his car everytime I go to Taree. Be warned - there are about 5 people who hold the opposite view of Garry, and relate totally negative experiences. I can only relate my experience. Problems arose with early kits, and the people involved are not happy with the way with which they were dealt. I guess you can't please everyone. There are only a couple of outstanding niggles:- Mine still doesn't reliably cruise at 110 knots. We are still trying to get to the bottom of it. I have tried about 6 props. The one I have now is probably the best of them. It climbs really well, accelerates well, and cruises comfortably in a good rev range. It still only cruises around 100 knots indicated. There is a possibility that the ASI has a leak and the indicated speed is wrong. Looking into that now. Other Cheetahs are cruising at 110 knots. John Bale built an all-metal Cheetah with flaps, and despite being quite a bit heavier than mine, it will cruise at 115 knots - on some days even more. Nose leg pivot - I have had a lot of trouble getting the tension right on this. I frequently land somewhere and get a nasty shimmy. I then have to adjust it before I leave again (easy enough to do, but a pain). I think I have finally got to the bottom of it - not enough spring tension. If not, I will consider a redesign. Sink rate - when heavy, you really have to watch your speed on approach. It gets into a high sink rate configuration where there isn't as much flare available as you think. I'm on top of it now, but it bit me a few times. It seems to only happen with mine. Floating - it took me a while to learn to land it consistently. It really wants to fly, and will bounce if you don't handle the energy properly. Just practice and awareness though. Flaps would solve both of the last 2 problems and make landing a lot easier, but I don't mind not having flaps. Once you're used to it, I find no need for them. The attidude on approach gives great visibility, the aircraft side-slips well, and speed control is fine - just a bit slippery. Not having flaps simplifies things considerably. I built mine with factory assist in Taree. It was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend doing it that way. All the tools, advice, materials and labour savers are there. The kit is designed to be built quickly and easily - even by those with no prior experience. So you could build at home almost as simply. Garry is always available to help over the phone. He seems to spend half his days telephonised. If you are considering a Cheetah (and you'd be mad not to), talk to John Bale about his. He made it all metal, and put flaps on it. It looks great and flies even better. Definitely worth considering over half fabric like mine. The weight penalty wasn't as much as you'd expect, and the performance hasn't suffered at all (and VNE is higher). Of course you could always go the whole hog and build a Sierra. That has a 6 cylinder and cruises at 135 knots. Climb cruise of at leat 800' fpm at 100 knots. It's a magic aeroplane. So there you go. I have about 130 hours on it at the time of writing this. I am extremely happy with it, and would recommend them to everyone. I plan to be at Narromine, so that would be a perfect time to check it out and come for a ride. I think there are a few on this forum who have been promised a ride and not had theirs yet (Mal, Alan, etc.), so that would be the right time for you guys too. The best thing about it? It's not just another Jabiru. They are like carp. If we don't keep them in check, they'll kill everything else Informationally, Ross [ATTACH]7322.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7323.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]7324.vB[/ATTACH]

Just a few photos Gitta sent me from the monthly get together at YADY last Sunday. Things are pretty quiet there, but the politics is being sorted out, so I might turn up more often. Great bunch of people, so plan to drop in sometime. There are 5 hangars up now. The usual BBQ. [ATTACH]7309.vB[/ATTACH] A chat at the sock. It's very dry there right now. [ATTACH]7310.vB[/ATTACH] Peter trying to reclaim the taxiway from the thistles. [ATTACH]7311.vB[/ATTACH] Peter's dog had us laughing hard at her misadventure. The poor thing jumped when someone moved, so the chair moved toward her, which frightened her and she jumped some more, which made the chair move more, which made her run away, and the chair followed in hot pursuit. She nearly got away, but damn that chair was fast! [ATTACH]7313.vB[/ATTACH] Me leaving. [ATTACH]7312.vB[/ATTACH]

Jodie, pick the forum you want to post the new thread in, for example "General Discussion" and click the "new thread" button. Sorry it's so cryptic ;). (That's a "gentle ribbing" icon there) You then just enter a title and type away. Cheers, Ross

No worries. That must have been a buzz to even taxi. I would have loved to see it fly. There are kids from the crowd who will never know what it is to hear music, but it was worth it. That thing is LOUD. I love the shot of the Hawk crew with fingers in ears leaning and looking.

Welcome Simon. From your stated airstrip, I'm guessing you did your training with Peter Wilson. How did you find that? I was hoping to do my BFR with him on Saturday, but he can be a hard man to track down. Enjoy. Ross

Wow. That's fantastic. I had no idea that footage existed. Thanks Keith.

He'll be missed. A great pilot and a genuine guy. A friend wanted to meet him at Cowra in September and he was only too happy to help out. RIP Pip.

Welcome to our first (I think) Luxembourger. I decided to build a rear-facing scoop in the base of my cockpit area. The airflow past this creates negative pressure in the cockpit and gives fantastic ventilation when the naca vents are open or cabin heat is on. You could make one that is cable operated so it could be closed. I don't find it necessary though.

Welcome Ryan-O. Hope you enjoy your stay on the site. Cheers, Ross

This seems to be the only one I took. [ATTACH]7286.vB[/ATTACH] Sorry 'bout that chief.

Just in case you don't read my trip reports (and who could blame you?), I put up a gaggle of photos of this event in this album. I reckon they'll give you a fair taste of what the day entailed. Start at the end and work backwards. They loaded in the wrong order. Cheers, Ross

An interesting weekend indeed. The plan was originally, go to the Old Bar Fly-In. Then it was cancelled because the strip was too wet. So the plan then became, go to Taree and do the time trials on Saturday, then down to Wings Over Illawarra on Sunday. Left at sparrow's on Saturday with the expectation of a few showers on the coast, but otherwise nice. The view from the air on departing Goulburn indicated a lot of fog and cloud at least as far inland as Goulburn. Flew west for 10 minutes and found the edge. Tracked north from there hoping for it to be clear at the Hunter Valley, and to get under the cloud base and to the coast. Looked pretty enough. The view west: [ATTACH]7282.vB[/ATTACH] The view east: [ATTACH]7283.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]7284.vB[/ATTACH] Got within 5 miles of the Hunter, but there was no way under. So, change of plan again. Back to Bathurst to pick up some fuel, and make it to my mate's vineyard north of Goulburn to help with the netting after all. Got a front wheel shimmy on landing. No worries thinks I, just adjust the tension again. This happens periodically. Had a break and wander. Noone around. Took the spat off to adjust the tension and found that it wasn't just a shimmy, but the whole wheel had broken off the hub. The weld had completely given way. Figure it must have weakened during the little landing adventure last August, and not seen the damage. About then I remember the spare wheel back in my hangar, and how I carried it around with me most of last year. Mmmmm. Just then an angel appeared out of the aero club and holds up his car keys. "Here you go" says Kevin the angel. He then proceeds to apologize for it only being a diesel ute. He gave us a list of places to look and off we trot. Two hours and 6 stops later we settle on the second place we visited and grabbed a wheel for $10 which was the closest to doing the job. Back to the airport and amazingly it fits pretty well. I wouldn't want to have done 2 landings on it, but I was pretty sure it would handle 1. Said our thanks to Kevin, added a few litres, and headed home. On the way, overflew the vineyard and saw that there was a lot of work to do to get the nets finished. So decided I would be able to help for a few hours (or at least get a grand meal and catch up with friends) and changed plans again. Back to Goulburn after 4.5 hours and put it down gingerly, holding the nose off the ground until I got back to the hangar. Well almost. Jumped in the car and went to the vineyard. All the work was done after all, but the food was fantastic. Got home to Canberra around midnight, having changed plans again on the way. It was up early again, back to Goulburn and put the new wheel on (remember the one sitting in the hangar all this time?) and off to Wollongong. The ETA was sitting at around 12:09 most of the way, and I knew the airport closed at 12:10 for air displays. Throttle up a bit. Given that once I reached the escarpment I could go 120 knots all the way to the airport, I thought we'd have at least 3 minutes to spare. Made the 10 mile inbound call and confirmed closure time. All good. Then got a call from the Medical Helicopter advising priority departure. Made an expedited circuit after checking with him and telling him to let me know if I need to go around. He was cool with that. Got there with minutes to spare. All in the timing. Had a great day. See the photo album here. I whittled it down to just the best 80 or 90 shots for you. Ran into DaveC and JustFred again. Always a pleasure. HARS are doing a great job with our aviation heritage, and WOI is a great event. There must have been 20,000 people there again. Lots of great stuff flying, and even more on display. Check the photos anyway. Enough rambling.

Me thinks the Crappitan doth misunderstand. AstoundinggraspofthelanguagePete was saying that his return will be very important and noteworthy. Not that it is imminent.

The good news is that the ASIC lets you stay airside and get all those great up close photos that the multitudes behind the barriers only dream about. My son and I had a great time there last year. It was a special memory holding while the Catalina made an emergency landing in front of me then asking Connie (the Super Constellation on base) if I had time to roll in front of her. I've never had such an audience for a take-off, because all eyes were glued on the Catalina after they announced the emergency, and then waiting for Connie to land. Impressed my son on his first flight with me. Unfortunately, I'll be at Old Bar this weekend, so I'll miss it.