slartibartfast

The weather is shaping up pretty well, so I might just be there. Haven't run it past the love of my life yet. We'll see.

Onya Blueline - and to Prowse for the post. This is a great example of overriding our egos for the greater good. Focus. Aviate. Survive. Does Ian Anderson still play flute for Jethro Tull?

In-wing fuel tanks are already an option. That creates problems with fuel gauges and flow, but if that's what you want, you got it. Come on guys. The engine came through the firewall. Backwards. The pilot is always going to have a crapload of drama when that happens. He got himself out (and put himself out). As good a result as could be expected. I'm happy to continue flying with the fuel over my feet. It just makes me a bit more careful. If I screw up, maybe a bit more dead. C'est la mort.

Forgot to point you in the right direction Scotty. The first post in this thread has the draft sessions schedule.

If I practise that way, the wife will tell me to stick to my plane and stop using hers.

Here's the flyer. [ATTACH]13339.vB[/ATTACH] The PDF version is in the downloads section here.

I just received a PDF from Jabiru (via Garry Morgan) regarding the recent through-bolt failures. They have advised that the nuts should be replaced with wider 12 point nuts and Loctite 620 used. The buggers just sent me a new set of nuts a few weeks ago. You'd reckon they could have sent me the new ones. Anyway - the PDF is in the downloads section here.

Have you checked out the amazing around the world (via Oshkosh) journey 2 Sth African guys did in their Sling in 2009? Check the route here. They flew legs of up to 21.5 hours behind a Rotax. They also had external weather support and (dodgy) IFR capability. The beaurocracy involved in each country was the hardest part. They also had their share of luck. To read their news/blog entries from the start - go here.

Well covered David. The decreased pressure can also get you in other ways. I was once at nearly 10,000' (in a part of the country where you would need a tunnel to fly at 5000') and a loud explosion really focussed my attention. It took a minute to work out that the packet of chips in my flight bag had spontaneously opened. The best thing about the increased height will be the freedom to choose 5,500' when travelling east and 3,500' is too low. The turbulence avoidance is great too.

Do you mean 4507? Mmmm - this thread was badly named. No 4507 was resold already. The maroon one was 5172 and it has been sold too. Like sands through the hour glass......so are the Morgans of our lives. You all wish you had one.

Sorry Martin, I wasn't quoting a price, just having a guess at it. He didn't give me prices. It's up to Garry and you to negotiate. Hold out for the steak knives.

As I posted this morning, Garry has 2 Sierras for sale. I reckon $80k would get you the new fully optioned white one. Call him on 02 6553 9920.

The maroon Sierra was sold, but Garry now has a blue Sierra with about 60 hours on it, and a new fully optioned white Sierra. Both for sale and prices are negotiable.

... a member", she said admiring Tubbo's constituency. "Can I represent it?" Tubbo was taken aback, although not as far as he should be. "Well I didn't vote for you!", came a voice from stage right. Tubbo spun around and saw .......

My through bolts looked fine, so I got the factory to send new nuts. I torqued them all up fine, then backed one of them off because I thought another thread on one side would be wise. On re-torquing that one, the thread on the bolt stripped - not the nut. Jab want me to send it to them to check it out. They sent a new bolt, but not new nuts. So they seem to be all the same as original (4 year old engine).

Adrian has a Jab at Adaminaby too. No doubt Moruya also has something to hire.

Haven't got many pics done yet either. Here's a couple of shots of the crowd which I stitched into one panorama - just to give an idea of the turnout. I'll get some others later. It was a great show, although watching the weather to the west, I decided to bail early. Got "takeoff approved" right after a low pass by the Hudson and ran into a little of his wake on climb in front of 30,000 people. Good to catch up with those from here (congrats on the XC again Rachel). I won't get to Avalon, so this will have to do until Natfly. I wonder if an airshow has been approved for Natfly this year? It didn't make much difference to the display at WoW (this was the first airshow year), but it did make the display flying a little safer and more professional.

Just for those who are new to this (I know you know David) - remember a GPS can only act as a compass if there is no crosswind. A GPS shows you track made good, not where you are pointing.

That's the Corporate Air hangar at Goulburn. Garry was down there last week to show the Sierra to some people there, and at Tumut and Cooma. He was very impressed by the hangar. He hasn't started the new hangar yet. There are some very interested schools around the place, so Garry trailered the Sierra to Goulburn and based there for a few days to show it around. Where's the progress photos Alan?

Yup - http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=88939 Written off apparently.

VH-NRF. An Archer II from Sydney Aviators at YSBK. [ATTACH]13106.vB[/ATTACH]

That is extremely upsetting. Sam was a tireless worker for Mudgee flying, and a really nice guy. He was heavily involved in the Wings, Wheels and Wine every year. He will be sorely missed. Condolences to friends and family. Ross

I use one of these.

Nup. Mine's a 4. The 1 Hp gained will be lost in lowering the compression. Yes DJH, I'm reusing the pistons, so they won't be any tighter than they were. I couldn't go out to the hangar yesterday, so I'll do it on Wed.

Hi John. I was talking to an engine guy at Jabiru (I forget who - not Don) about my plans. Forum member Rodknee very helpfully offered to chat on the phone about K-Liners (that's what makes this forum so great) . He mentioned shimming to reduce compression so I asked the Jab guy. He said it was worth doing because over the years the compression had crept up as they made engine changes. Mine is serial 2659, so fairly recent (about 4 years - it didn't go straight into the plane). He says the compressions had got a little higher than necessary, and lowering them through shimming would help with longevity. DJH, I don't remember the clearance we ended up with. About a thou. There are no oversized pistons for Jabiru because you can't take any more material out of the bores. The pistons are actually oversized Commodore pistons with a few mods, but only one size goes into the Jab. I got new rings, but the same as the originals.