Mike Gearon

That would have been the Foxbat or perhaps The Husky. Both are yellow ....Pic here with property circled. Waiting on the road grader to come in and really level before rolling. Tractor grader did okay but worth doing it right before grass grows again. Being French Island there is just the one road grader and it’ll happen next few days, weeks or months and I can’t hurry it. I’ve tried. I’ll post here when we look suitable for landings and I’ll test land prior. On that subject my flying is finally going really well. Flew 3 solo landings yesterday that were near perfect. One slight stumble on radio call first line up because USA calls are a little different. I can see the benefits of the Oz calls and mostly have it sorted now. Focus... just flying the one aircraft out of Tyabb rather than mixing aircraft and airports and focus with business activity settling down. Now with good experience of Tyabb and Tooradin I’d not say either has better instructors or aircraft. Both very good. Difference for me finally being the Foxbat is close in flying to the Nynja. difference also in just the one LSA aircraft at Tyabb and 3 or 4 at Tooradin. Flying yesterday in Foxbat finally felt like it had in the Cessna 172 in USA over a year ago. Felt competent, ahead of the aircraft and able to deal with the unexpected in a calm manner. Talking calm, Special thanks to DB. Seems to be a covid game changer going on. Return to Taiwan in early May is 5 days home quarantine. USA opening up and I hope to visit the Quicksilver and the airbike now in storage in Seattle then on to Nebraska in August or after vax in Taiwan. Can’t work out what to do with these aircraft yet. Leaning toward selling QS on and bringing the airbike to Oz. Pat says airbike is a load of fun. Might even be able to get back to that fun little airport in the Philippines for weekend breaks from Taiwan.

I’ve been thinking about this with my 110 flying hours limited knowledge. Can I use the following... As long as the wing in front of me is low and forward and I’m ground tracking in the right direction With sufficient airspeed (say best glide) the aircraft is in a relatively safe attitude.

While Stick and Rudder is still fresh I can more or less quote it... The “old timers” would do a forced landing while pretending an actual airfield was beneath them. As the book was written in the 40’s the old timers were really the first aviators with unreliable engines. They knew their stuff. I know in the mid west where I had a reasonable chance of a corn field landing the idea was to land on the corntops as if it’s the runway. A rocky field would take some guts to do so but what choice if that’s the only one left. Do a normal landing onto the rocky field.

I get you’ve tried to soften this and you’re dealing with a bunch of rabble including myself. I like being rabble, dislike being told what to do unless it’s the doctor, the CFI or others I respect and that does include yourself and most of the other rabble. I’ve only just seen as you’ve indicated it’s a sister site. Won’t be adding yet another site.

On the subject of centrifugal force.... I read that discussion. The weight on string only lifts from surface when swung under the right conditions. Those conditions make my head hurt and I’ve stopped thinking about it.

Proof of concept

I’m unsure if this means I use the rudder Jesus sways toward?

Maybe dashboard Jesus would make a good turn indicator? I’ve ordered a non religious more traditional portable type ball indicator to sit up in foxbat tomorrow. Might take Jesus until ball indicator turns up.

I’ve gone from hangar greenhouse style to realization I have a huge shed and can drop out an upright with added double C purlin 250mm x 2.5mm. Easy job with extended tracks and same sheets used to make second slide door. 20 hours and 700 dollars. Have 10mm sag and will Jack up 20mm and add 20mm tensioned rods angling up and to each side. I’ll bet it unjacks to perfect. Unjack must be a word. I just used it. wife doing her first ever weld in pic. I was surprised as it was okay. May polyurethane floor and line an area of 15m x 8m and buy a rans 21. Rans is 4 hours drive from my USA home and can partially build there and bring in if as a maybe long term plan.

Pilot doctor who gave me medical in USA mentioned airman. I remember Great Plains long drive home and thinking I was about to be a qualified airman and that was a big deal. Your post exceeds the knowledge input from Stick and Rudder. Exceeds in that it’s compact and full of on the mark explanation. Wolfgang is long winded and also talks about flippers instead of elevators. tyabb... I was shocked on first final to that skinny ribbon of bitumen. Used to runways you land nuclear bombers on. Wide and long. Now it’s not a consideration. Probably on topic drift now. I wonder about that. Who cares unless the thread is a factual reference point for quick scan. Sticky at thread start fixes that. Bugger, drifted again...

Should be dawning when closer to the ground and choosing a direction change or the parcel of wind itself choosing a direction change that makes the aircraft in relation to ground track weathercock slowdown speedup other? I’m probably missing something.. At my 110 hours this is what I’m trying to bring awareness of more strongly. Going to do more ground reference manoeuvres once landing LSA stops seeming to be difficult. Instructors last week really sorted it and I realised I’d been flying better a year ago. I remember last instructor a year ago and then just a few days ago saying to me a year ago I don’t have anything to do. I’ll sit back and relax. A few days ago not so much. Confident I’m sorting it. Less messing with controls and just want the upwind wheel nicely kissing the runway then settle the other guy then gently lower the nose. It’ll happen eventually.

In the 172 I was always on glide path or near enough. LSA I’ve been all the place and only really learned the above statement in the last few weeks. Well, learned because the CFI later asked why I didn’t just lift back up to the glide path and reduce speed at the same time instead of dragging it in while adding to an already too high airspeed.

2 things as I advance through thread... 1. okay, I get HF is not what this is about. 2. in the above list and perhaps at number 1 is coordinated turn and an uncoordinated skidding turn shielding the inside wing from airflow with disastrous results.

I’m just reading through this thread while looking for information on the accuracy or latency of dynon electronic ball. (I think it’s next to useless btw) I’ll comment further after reading all this thread...This post caught my eye though. It’s exactly where I am. The 172 I learned in heading for 2 years ago was so well behaved and predictable I’d not ever been too concerned about coordinating turns and well aware final is the most dangerous. Low and slow and tempted to tighten the turn with a badly managed strong tail wind. I did this once only and was quite rightly hammered by CFI enough it burned into memory. With steam gauges I’d just quickly glance at airspeed, altitude and the ball in 172. So, you’d think LSA would require really good turn coordinators so you can reliably step on the ball. I don’t think I’ve flown an accurate ball indicator or version of since being in Philippines and flying the ultralight with piece of red string coordinator. That was wonderful. Can’t of course have it with a front mounted prop.

I see so many aircraft over the strip. Will post a fly in thread when I'm confident the road grader has it nicely flattened and the Cape Barren geese have settled down to their pair per area. They flock for a while then seem to spread out. Yes, scones. My wife was just telling me how she will sort. I told her my English grandmother was always making them and I have it sorted... We will see. Slow combustion heater to cook so definitely when it cools down and prior to too wet to land. Pic this morning. I've moved it a bit based on the first landing. Trees gone and a realignment. Need to disc it thoroughly first so the road grader doesn't have to deal with clumped grass. I've a 5 ton road roller on permanent loan and that makes the difference. Suspect it's 200m and a few degrees up slope then same with down slope south. There's another 50m at North end to fence and 50m south where it drops away quickly. 500m sort of as a total then Westernport bay one way and grass paddock the other. I've had the ute up to 110k south and achieved a slight lift off. North, south and breakfast reading... VFRG is something I'll have to make peace with. Really sorted my FAA prior to check ride and now it's all a little different. Stick and rudder is written how I want to read. It's touch and feel of all those bits around us and the last bit I read before flying on Thursday was the aircraft fly in spite of us and not because of us. I managed to reinforce this by bringing in a flapless landing with everything perfect and nose held just right then dropped the right wing and right wheel on the runway. I am fairly certain this is the GA to LSA difference. The light aircraft aren't tolerant of control movements that are not precise. Particularly as happened when the aircraft was just settling down to gently touch the runaway and I messed with its ability to fly that last second or two... I'm around 110 hours now and only just starting to gain the confidence I had in USA in Cessna at 70 or 80 hours. Also reading The Killing Zone. 50 to 350 hours as the ones that are most dangerous. Happy to have had a bunch of different instructors and aircraft the last few months. Dashed my confidence for a while and just getting on top of it and hope to come out the other side a better pilot. Also, learner more about self assessment. Was driving to lesson and on phone regularly with business commitments. Would not have flown solo and figured the instructor was backup if it wasn't going well. It didn't. I've learned. If you're driving to the airport and can't easily run the whole thing in your head including radio calls, emergency procedures and unexpected traffic movements in pattern don't fly. Don't conduct business or emotional stuff on the way to the airport. Anyway, I hadn't posted here's for a while as I got my head together. At the moment ok I think about if flying and that's reflecting in a few posts here lately. Guess I'm a fairly extroverted introvert and don't mind sharing. Reward is meeting new friends and learning. Downside is potential criticism etc. I figure it's worth the risk. Talking risk I'll have to get legal advice on own runway and people landing. We will start bnb style accomodation soon. Fly in accomodation could be fun. It's certainly something I'd like to do once my Australian flying is sorted. Scones...

Would the NZ poster consider NZ not international? Australia not international? Both domestic? Does make me feel better about mine. No powerlines, less trees and a big expanse of water to sort it all out if things aren't going to plan.

Excellent. I'm a long way off future project so will keep looking with interest at developments. I have 3 aircraft now that will end up in farm hangar in Melbourne. An unexpected development. Between them I have Airbike... Take off and land in bugger all feet. 100 to 300 Quicksilver with floats. Nice option over Westernport. Nynja. Capable little aircraft and I'm not far from going to meet both it and Vince. Current thinking long term they'll be a single aircraft ikit build. Can fly and enjoy and build while not getting into too much trouble hopefully. Look forward to visitors once runway sorted.

As a future ground looper I'm bringing this airbike to Australia. Was going to send to Philippines and that was a good plan until Covid.. I'd have daily done tail wheel conversion there in the Angeles flying club drifter. I'm in Melbourne until Covid vaccinated.... Say 3 months.... flying out of Tyabb and Tooradin and don't know of any LSA options at these locations with tail wheel. Any options anywhere in Australia? Not far from being able to travel in the Skyranger as needed.

I've started playing with the idea of a Jabiru kit to stay gainfully occupied. I find myself hoping some item of farm mshcinery will break down so I can repair it. They all seem annoyingly resistant to failure at the moment. I've asked Jabiru about the D motor. They quite correctly suggest that their 7,000 motors plus compared to a company probably under a 1,000 motors isn't a good bet. https://d-motor.eu/ However....Side valves remove so much complexity and fuel injection adds the correct hi tech. It's definitely the engine I'd want to build from scratch and I'm still looking this direction as a future project. I'll dig up dimensional comparisons and a more accurate weight comparison if this still looks like an option in future. Questions then I'll relate to how it's going to fit and how air flow will work I'd say as important considerations. Especially when looking at the threads here in the subject of airflow.

That's interesting... I read the whole deal above JA. It both makes sense and I'll suggest can be summarised with a word. Yes. Or to expand more fully, yes, the advert is okay and it'd be even more okay with a qualifier such as " I believe". Interesting question asked above about home built in CTA. I did a brief Google and haven't found answer yet.

I watched your video Dan. Excellent. I'm reading the old Stick and Rudder at the moment and even just 40 years after flying first started he's discussing AOA as primarily what it's all about and the feasibility of AOA warning systems. The 172 I flew out to Wahoo, NE had a stall warning. Guess all the Cessna have one. Pulled out of shirt field take off ground affect too early once and pushed the stick back down with the horn in the background. CFI also pushed it down.... 2 X AOA systems 🙂 Flying the LSA variety now and they don't seem to feature this that I've come across so far. im a fan of yours now.. will keep watching your youtubes. Thanks.

Really glad I purchased this book. All the way back to basics and incredibly well written in simple terms. Pic taken today with runway in background. Cleared trees to left of workshop and next landing will be heaps easier. Especially if Melbourne lockdown ends today. Currently up to chapter 4 The Flying Instinct. Page 70... The Feel of Lift. Gently tugging back on the stick them letting it go forward... I'm realising this is of course how they'd have done it pre ASI. On base and feel the speed and nose up lift or a worrying lack of lift then nose down/ power on as appropriate. Have this feedback firmly current in mind and feel for founding and flare... Combine this and a bit of string center of screen and I think it'd be easier rather than harder compared to how we learn to fly. Oh yeah, I forgot.... You'd have the instructor in the rear seat tugging on your shirt left or right for rudder control. Don't think I'd have the same benefit by reading before learning. 100 hours or so in and it all makes a lot of sense.

I've purchased 2 X 250mm C purlins X 10 Metres to accomplish what you have there in those simple trusses and the 2 uprights either side of wing. Maybe the low labour input of my C purlins will balance this. I just stick them up and weld then cut out the middle support...500 dollars worth and I have to get them to french island....If I'd seen this I'd have been tempted to do similar. I'll stick pictures up as I get my workshop conversion to hangar sorted.

Cool. Nice meeting you as well. Glad we've made the connection and joined the dots 🙂 Will look forward to flying with you at some stage.

My first landing French Island. Happy to have visitors for a cup of tea and scones in the workshop/ hanger once I've sorted. Not yet! Going to get a road grader in to smooth better and remove a bit more fencing either side of strip. It goes up and downhill so an interesting challenge. Will remove more trees for next landing and that'll allow a much lower approach. https://youtu.be/QRWdfhP7fbM