Mike Gearon

Well, it’s over a year since I brought the subject up. I couldn’t be more sure after this time of what should be going on.

1. Agreed on minimal calls. Dangerous to plug up the CTAF with 3 calls.

2. I’m very sure now (was somewhat unsure at times before….) There should be a mandated downwind call. There should be advisory of making final call if an aircraft is at the departure end or nearby taxiing.

Mandating a call gives certainty to instructors, students and general aviation pilots that no matter where they visit they will always expect the same call to be made.

Base is the useless call. It doesn’t help aircraft joining cross, downwind or base.

Base doesn’t help aircraft that are at departure waiting to take off. Final does.

When I’m in USA and suitably bored I’ll write a letter to casa for somebody to file away and ignore.

Just the CofA now and VH-8W8 can take to the skies. I was trying to get sorted before leaving for Taiwan and USA next week. Safer option is to go slow on the final checks ad fly when home early August.

Main take home is just how slow all the final stuff goes. Building the frame is very satisfying. Avionics, engine install, cowling  etc are really time consuming.

I think this is now sorted. It’s much more fun with others. I enjoyed hanging out at Oshkosh with a couple of the rec flier group a few years back.

Hi guys. I have a spare spot for Oshkosh 2025. 4 bedroom house by the lake. Message me if you’re interested. It’s Monday 21st July through to Sunday. We will have a car so car rental and parking taken care of. Cost of the whole house was 10,600 AUD. I’m subsidising because my wife insisted on a more expensive option so 2k Aussie for a great location just north of the show and no travel expenses.

3 other pilots and we are all aircraft builders so have a real passion for flying and building. I’ve done the show a number of times and we plan on a schedule of seminars etc and casual wondering along with the night show. So PM if interested. Note, my wife and I will already be in USA. We will drive up from Lincoln, Nebraska.

Aircraft 2.

We have motor and avionics sorted. Tomorrow is taxiiing and going through the avionics on the G3X such as checking radios, magnetometer etc. Big deal to close the boot cowl and limited access to the wiring. So, getting it as right as possible now is essential.

whirlwind prop is a drama. I’ll post about that once sorted. We’ve had some failures in S21’s related to the 3/8th bolts. It’s a bit like the Jabiru saga with 3/8th and upgrade to 7/16th. I’ll start with the 3/8ths and expect or hope for an upgrade kit with 7/16th prop lugs and bolts.
 

After boot cowl closed we are onto windscreen, sunroof and engine cowl. That’s it. 
 

So… maybe 4-6 weeks to flying subject to paperwork. 
 

5kw wind turbine to follow. Aircraft takes priority over the turbine patent.

Pic yesterday front and back and picking up Deb for a trip in the RV6. The cows hardly move for take offs and landings. Have to sort of land between them. Cow poop on the new aircraft will be annoying. But.. when going away such as trips back to USA I realise how damn good it is to have your own runway and just wheel it out and be in the air in a few minutes. Warm up is the slowest part of proceedings.

2 hours ago, Blueadventures said:

Mike, your aware that sika needs to be protected from UV?  Thats the role of the black colour on glass etc; it's to shade the UV not for looks in the first instance. 

I prob should have added detail pics and the Sika product. 295UV. I’ve worked with polycarbonate as a mass production manufacturer so very aware of its tempremental nature and the 295 won’t cause crazing/ cracking.
 

Also, there is an aluminum cover plate over the 2 door polycarbonate panels that meet. I’m adding the sika 295UV underneath to both bond and waterproof. . It’s suitable for polycarbonate without crazing. It’s UV resistant. But… in this case it’s also covered by the aluminum strip.

Aircraft 1

First oil change at 15 hours. We can now do the extensive test card work. Would have been today if the wild weather wasn’t a problem. We debate speed at 2650rpm 9500ft. I’m thinking 150 knots. Will report back with actual data/ video.

Aircraft 2

Doors mostly done. They are just as painful as everyone says. Really should be a polycarbonate moulded piece. I guess the fact that Rans would have to make left and right tools is why it isn’t done. Getting the center where the 2 pieces meet over the door bow isn’t fun. We know of one lower panel blowing out in flight so I’ve added UHB tape under the polycarbonate where it’s specified to go on top. I’m also going Sika on top before putting on the aluminum strip. It’s not going anywhere!

I’ve planned from the start to add the upper flap lever. It’s the only spot on the aircraft I’ve gone off script. The mechanism is exactly copied from Rans so nothing new going on in the ratchet mechanism. It’s proven so why mess with it? The change is just upper mount and reduced range of travel from 90 degree to 45 degree. 
 

Ready to go to laser cutter and the 3d printed console with room for iPads, maps etc, iPhone and drink bottles needs a little refining before going out. 
 

Advantages.

real estate at center of seats is now fully usable.

headphone jacks come from the upper cross piece.

headphones have a hangar for each.

4 point harness mount points now provided. 
 

‘’It all mounts off the seatbelt rear connect point so not an issue for seat belt security. If anything it’s just a little more forgiving in that the cross piece would bend a little in use. We do hope to never test this.

Nic and I fly the S21 with UL520t in the morning then build. Some beautiful flying weather lately.

Build 1

UL520t is giving us some problems. Engine temps aren’t as well behaved as we first thought after getting the prop sorted and higher flying speeds. Starting to run out of options and will buy the louvers as next step.

We also have black smoke and engine cutting out on take off. I’ll video next time. Observed 3 separate puffs of black smoke watching Nic on take off going home yesterday. We know we have that hesitation. Something to do with the FADEC deciding to cut ignition and we are around 2400 2450 at this stage of climb out. Will discuss with local distributor then look to support from Herman in Florida and perhaps UL engineers in Europe. 
 

My take on this is that the FADEC programmers have some parameter that is being exceeded and they cut the ignition. I do know that Nic feeds the throttle in slowly on take off roll to reduce the chances of this problem. We plan on running laptop in aircraft to assess what the turbo is doing and other things we can’t get through the G3X

Build 2

Prop on last night. Nic is nearly through the avionics. We should be at engine cowl, doors, skylight, windscreen and near finish at some stage. Maybe next few months. It goes frustratingly slowly then seems to leap forward.

I didn’t put the pic up. Big day… here.

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

Sensenich are a highly regarded prop manufacturer, I'd stick with a light weight prop and don't do sharp turns on the ground with high revs on the engine. and one wheel nearly locked. Is it fitted with good fitting cooling baffles around the cylinders and an adjustable cowl flap?  Nev

We worked extra hard to cool the slow aircraft and now we suddenly have it almost cooling too well. Could need cowl flaps!

I never thought about stressing the prop with sharp turns. That’s a really good point. I whiz the RV6 around and will now make sure that’s just inertia and not much prop. I’m very familiar with blade stress on moment arms and have a patent lodged last July 2024 with exactly that problem solved for small scale wind turbines. Those little turbines can still throw blades a half a km or more! I’m building the first prototype and I’ll share when it’s on the tower. 5kw with a 5 meter spread of blades. It’s not that small!

2 minutes ago, RFguy said:

that's the thing- speed envelope... if you have plenty of power and runway, tune for top end.... no need for a CSU.... . how many ml/nm at 140k TAS  ?  (lph / TAS) 

as for the busted  crank, could be anything. but one needs ot be careful of the situation of having  a heavy weight at both ends of the crank.

520 manual says "Propellers with a Rotational Moment of Inertia of up to 0,8kgm² have been used with no known problems"

whatever that means...

The airmaster https://www.propellor.com/ap533hctf-snr67je     says it's 0.5kg.m2 

But ya dont know about the possible harmonic behaviour without some instrumentation attached.... I'd go with a 3 blade. and put some vibration instrumentation in xyz on the crankcase.

 

Hey, that’s good research! I know in the RV6 I can’t use 2100 to 2300RMP and respect that completely. It’s for good reason they restrict RPM’s. So, any info such as that max .8kgm is helpful.

Yes, I think the 3 blade Sensenich carbon fibre is a good option as far as balance and light weight go. Hoping we get a good run and long term reliability. 

Aircraft 2 has the engine mounted and avionics are near finished. Nic is a work maniac as I think I’ve mentioned. I have to get down to hangar by 7am or he’s beaten me to it. I take a break at lunchtime and a little siesta then comeback and often Nic is still there and worked through. I don’t think he’ll be back for the more mechanical stuff and he’s a bit over the avionics and just wanting it finished.  Still, I appreciate the help and very grateful he’s giving me time. 
 

Deb is top left. She’s lost 50lb last 4 months (American so she loses lb’s). Only started flying with me recently and happy to come into Tyabb but not so keen on the island runway landings between trees, birds, cows and the uneven ground. She’s surprised herself by looking forward to the Rans being finished and going on adventures. It’s heaps more comfortable than the RV. The seats are like armchairs in comparison and the big tyres make my runway feel smooth. Those things along with the slower landing speeds will really help her confidence in flying with me.

Job today is antennae’s so Nic doesn’t run out of things to do. Then onto wiring the light speed ignition in. After that the big jobs are wings on (we learned from first aircraft… don’t put the wings on early. They are just in the way) then skylight, windscreen, prop and engine cowl. 
 

After that it’s flying and trying to keep up with Nic. 

4 hours ago, RFguy said:

Mike, any reason this aircraft didnt get a CS /IFA prop  ? particularly suited to a turbocharged engine? DOes it operate boost (>30") or is it pressure normalizing ?

Seems like takeoff engine power left on the table with low static RPM..... 

There was an airmaster 4 blade on an S21 that broke a crank. It looked like a monster blade assembly. We didn’t want to go the same way just in case. There were a number of circumstances around that crank break such as a very hard landing and some other unusual things went on.

I’ve personally been against a CSU based on the RV6 I fly. I could leave it at 2400RPM and it’ll still take off and climb at some 1500fpm then cruise up high at 170kn. Only reason for the CSU in that aircraft I can see is aerobatic or perhaps short runway/ obstacle performance.

However, this morning was an eye opener. We were maxed out at 2350rpm on take off and climb then finally levelled out it started to get longer legs and the rpm and speed climbed. So, yeah… maybe a CSU is possible with reference to concerns over the aircraft that had the crank break. That aircraft now runs a 520 non turbo.

another “however”… Steve, the Sensenich guy said he’s considering running a smaller dia prop of say 74” against the 79.5” we have and working his magic with taper, twist etc. Sensenich are one of the manufacturers who are willing to work hard at getting it right. He said the Rans S21 is a real challenge with its speed envelope between stall and high speed. 

Finally I can report on the S21 with UL520t
We have 140kn TAS cruise at 2700rpm 1500ft. We also have stable oil and CHT temps. 

Game changer was talking to Steve at Sensenich this morning. We moved 2 degrees past the maximum gauge setting of 7. Each gauge is .7 degrees. So, we are at a ten. Static is 2150rpm and as you’ll see in video it’s almost spot on 2700max in the air. About 2300climb out max rpm. So, we’ve gone from a frustrating overrevving overheating 115k aircraft to the aircraft we thought it should be. Up high TAS? Maybe 150kn. Pity the American and Australian UL distributors aren’t more personable. The Australian guy suggested we f&$k off when we first visited. That should have been the red flag we ignored. The American guy is nicer with communication problems. UL Europe and UL Dutch guy in Florida USA are really good so it’s not all difficult people

Build update. 

On topic of radio noise.

In thr RV6 I have 2 icom radios.

128.00 which is Tyabb frequency is a known problem with these radios. Static that comes and goes. Ended up a few weeks back with static on both radios on any frequency. Had it checked out and didn’t really come up with a solution other than it appeared to be alternator noise. 
 

Today both radios were crystal clear and yesterday they were both terrible. That bothers me a lot. Has anyone experienced this?

SAAA Maintenance course. Adelaide at Parafield. Norm, Greg and Martin presented. Must complete this course to sign off annual. Also involves about 3 hours of online exam. Even open book it takes time. 

First day is a lot of regulations and it’s extremely difficult to stay awake. Norm did his best to make it lively and I don’t think it could have been presented better. The side detours to aircraft war stories make it much more interesting and I think we really benefit from those decades of experience. Second day is a bit more hands on but we don’t get greasy hands. Just writing up info as if we are doing actual maintenance logs.

I get it. We become the Lamie/ A&P. It’s a bit like radio calls with who we are, where we are and what we are going to do.

In this case it’s roughly…..

Why we are qualified to do it.

What reg we do it under.

Why we are doing what we are doing.

What we are doing/ replacing the thing and what maintenance info we referred to.

Biggest benefit of doing all this properly is our own reference and a secondary but I ortant consideration is that the aircraft is worth more to sell if the records look good. So, in conclusion it’s a big hassle but worth it!

Aircraft 1 is still about to fly, maybe next week.

Aircraft 2 is starting to move along. Brake lines, header tank and fuel lines in. Controls mostly complete. 
 

Painted most surfaces and tail feathers and engine possibly on next week. 

Aircraft 1

Pics below. Test pilot Ben checking detail throughout the aircraft before scheduling a test flight day. I thought it was the test flight day. Makes a whole lot of sense to spend a day thoroughly checking every aspect of the build before venturing into the air. We were lucky to get Ben as test pilot. He spends most of his time flying executive jets around the world.

Aircraft 2

It’s the first time for a year that I’ve been able to get stuck full time into the build. It’s a bit like your first day on a new job starting back in. I got off to a rocky start putting fuel tank holes in the wrong spot a few months back. If you don’t do any building you can’t make a mistake. But….slowly got back into it and it’s been very satisfying laying down paint that’s not orange peel. Used to be and the paint shop sold me a HPLV spray gun. What a difference. I apply the paint in 1/4 to 1/3rd runs that isn’t too thick. That way if it’s slightly under or over the paint blends in and it’s near enough to perfect.

Put the header tank in with triple and quadruple checks before drilling holes. The manual actually tells you to triple check. Don’t know what I was thinking when I drilled those fuel tank holes wrong. Probably over confident. Fixed that problem now!

I’m back to the rhythm I had a year ago. Enthusiastic and putting in 8-11  hour days not including time spent each day on YouTube’s and sitting watching tv while thumbing through Rans parts, text and figure manuals. 
 

Nic and I are off to Parafield this weekend for an SAAA course in maintenance. Compulsory if you want to do your own annual etc. 8 participants and apart form the boring regulation stuff it should be fun with fellow builders. I then fly back to Melbourne and immediately board flight up to Taipei for 5 days. 

‘Then back into build process only interrupted by hay baling. Nic will work with me on avionics. Expect to have avionics done and Titan engine all plumbed in by years end then maybe January finish up the skylight, windshield, doors and engine cowling. 
 

We should be flying Nic’s really soon.

1 hour ago, Thruster88 said:

DA40 has had stall related fatal accidents. The quote is just sales BS.

 

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2017/aair/ao-2017-096

Good catch. I lifted that quote off Wiki. Not a sales brochure. Must admit it seemed a stretch of a statement. 

Wiki joins the trust but verify list now.

Heart goes out to that family that lost the boys. I’m building an aircraft  at the moment and talk with my daughters about one of the three grandchildren maybe taking over the S21 one day. Maybe the motor glider is a better option? I just purchased a Diamond aircraft Super Dimona.
 

Was reading up on the Diamond DA40 accident rate. It’s super low. Read below. No stall related accidents. 

The flight data when combined with a rough measurement of the turn along with altitude and speed don’t look good.

The DA40 has accumulated a very low accident record, particularly with regard to stall and spin accidents. Its overall and fatal accident rates are one-eighth that of the general aviation fleet and include no stall-related accidents. The level of safe operation is attributed to its high aspect ratio wing, low wing loading and benign flight characteristics. The aircraft can be trimmed full nose up, engine set to idle and it will descend at 600–1,200 feet per minute (180–370 m/min) at 48 kn (55 mph; 89 km/h) hands-off, a lower rate of descent than the competitor Cirrus SR22 can achieve with its airframe ballistic parachute deployed.^[13]

10 hours ago, sfGnome said:

My beloved gets to choose our car colours, and her choice is normally red. However, her current car is white because she hated the ugly dark reds that seem to be the only option these days. Definitely a vote for nice bright fire engine red! 

Glad to hear that. I’ve also seen dark gray in the new car pool. It’s a really popular option. I can’t understand that one at all.

Should aircraft builders follow color fashion? I think it was peer group pressure driving down the road and seeing the dark reds one after another.

The decider was when I was reviewing old pics and came across this one. Contrast between the inner and outer wasn’t going to work well. Also, I’d put a fair bit of work into the interior paint. Blasting it deep red didn’t seem right.

Wing painting today. 

Update 

Aircraft 1

We hope to be flying today. Test pilot visiting and if all go we fly. We are higher temp on cylinders 3 and 4 on high rev taxi so this could influence our decision making. 
 

Nic was very certain we wouldn’t have a vacuum explosion when vacuuming out the tanks with a little gas in the bottom. Thankfully he was correct. I must admit I was a little chicken and stayed back out of shrapnel range. 
 

Aircraft 2

I had a moment where deep red seemed the modern option looking at the latest car colors. Returned to a more traditional fire engine red. Which red is better? I still don’t know 🙂

We are thinking of leaving the wings off aircraft 2 and maybe even the wheels to make interior/ avionics easier to work on. Sit the fuselage on a box about half what it’d be on wheels and no climbing over wheels or ducking under wing to work. 
 

Only disadvantage I can see is it won’t be looking as finished and exciting as sitting on wheels with wings on.

little yellow balloon stayed up for 24 hours on 1 wing tank without deflating. Made it through 6 hours on tank 2. No visible leaks with soap test so I think okay. No proseal used between gasket and tank. Proseal between gasket and wing skin.

3 hours ago, facthunter said:

Did you check for bullet holes?  Nev

We have had one guy in the island threaten to shoot at aircraft. We had another guy threatened to bomb the ferry. Police came and took his firearms away. Overall it’s pretty safe.

French Island runway extension. Early in this thread I was considering runway locations. Up the hill was discounted and now I’ve added it. Just waiting on the grass to grow and the soil to consolidate for landings. Also, I have trees in north to take out. About 5 pine trees that are considered to be weeds on French island. Need a strong northerly to cut them down so they fall my way.

Note the 2 cape barren north of the larger hanger. Just shows a low flight doesn’t scare them off. I to land before or after them. The longer runway really helps to pick a spot.
 

On 28/10/2024 at 12:12 PM, F10 said:

I think ADSB hints at treating the symptom, not the cause. As I said, East and West Sale work fine with everyone within 20 miles on 118.3, yes traffic is light, but then the use of reporting points and traffic corridors, getting traffic at least streamed in the same direction, is another way to skin this cat. Also, being forced by law to install over $5000 of ADSB in my aircraft, will result in a “For Sale” sign hanging from the prop. How much is a life worth…well yes, no argument…..Still has the for sale sign up.

That’s reasonable if say it’s a BRS and you’re making a purchase for own risk management. We are talking about shared airspace here and risk minimisation for everyone.

That being said I guess there’s a 5k factor in owning a 20k aircraft. That’d be understandable and hang the sign up.

But…. There’s the sky echo. 1k or less is very cheap insurance and helps everyone see and avoid.