RFguy

I will buy a Mr Funnel as a starting point , See suitable sizes are the F8 C LARGE (19 litres per minute size) or XL (45 LPM) . same physical size.

Any preferred vendor I should use ? I have purchased from the Mr Funnel website (F15 size - 45LPM)

Now, I need to look for a suitable hand pump , hose , caps. Will fit a big dog clip at the filling end so the output end of the hose can clamp to Mr Funnel edge.

The headset is cheap and they are ubiquitous, so a simple low cost interface would be useful. The headet is an "end point" The HOST is usually a dedicated digital connection to the internals of the computer, however there are some analog interface chipsets that I might look around for to use on another project.

Bruce, I don't think that you are a cheapskate, from what I have gleaned you simply don't have alot of money to spend on aviation.

Ah confusion rains. Sorry - Jack had the original question and he sounds like he is sorted.

Now that's why I was confused.

Bruce - OK, so radio in the panel, intercom, your GA headset plugged into the Jab ? and you want to do what ?

Oh a Bluetooth- yes they are available, but most likely more than you want to spend.

I'll be changing to the single "NATO 4 pin" in my bird. The dual plug arrangement drives me nuts.

Usually skip I have a automatic ducking of other audio when the ATC radio is active. I put a 1 second delay into the radio feed so that other audio is ducked or muted for a full second so that your attention is got so u don't miss the first words. Anyway back to plugs and sockets. Bruce what are u using now?

There is a filter in most petroleum bowsers, so if the hose and Jerry's are clean., should be OK. ... There would be the potential for the fueling nozzle at the bowser to get dirty, so that needs some attention. Lots of dirt and crap accumulates around the filling cap of my vehicle. Still, I'd like ahand pump and filter and hose. I can reach up to the filling caps on the high wing brumby.

Mark Kyle would know. Bruce what is your radio connected to right now? , IE how do you have comms at the moment ?

I will need to learn about GA headset cables, and levels. my world is a 4 pin NATO plug (helicopter headset with high level Electret mic ). I've built alot of multi user, multi radio custom helicopter intercoms....

Bruce, can you solder well ?

How do they work ? depends. They may sense the presence of a dielectric , or they may sense a change of dielectric, or they may sens ea change in reflected IR light. could be any of those in a cheapie.

A dielectric in this case is anything other than air. like a liquid. if the FRP is too thick, it wont see the change.

you can get them for $10 in singles in the link I previously posted here. maybe buy one, see how it goes.

Are you using a 'Mr Filter' in this refueling procedure. If not I recommend using such. Cheers

Not at the moment, although I am careful with not using the bottom of the jerry can, and toss that out. Yes I will organise a filter and some sort of hand pump. I think the fueling procedure, especially since it is at home at the aerodrome, could be tightened up a bit. I've only been there for 2 weeks. (I started flying 29 Aug, Solo 11 Sept 19.2h ) , but I have put about 350 litres in I guess...

I really want what we use during helicopter operations- long draw stick, rotary handle pump with a filter and hose. Need to locate that.

Where to buy/ procure - doesnt need to be for drums like JetA, but must have same functionality. No electric pumps thanks on refueling with gasoline.

-Glen.

Yeah. At the moment the plane's fuel is in the tanks for no more than about 5 days before it is used completely . I fuelled it last on friday evening after flying. Due to the plane going U/S saturday, (sunken Bing float) , probably will use that on Thursday or Friday and fresh will go in immediately. (ROTAX)

The Turtlepac site is good. A must have. Thanks Skip.

There is no need to dump either Mogas or Avgas as a shandy is quite acceptable. I run exclusively on Premium Mogas but fill up with Avgan the plugs and heads can cause problems.

Hi KG. .....Thanks for the comment. .Oh yeah no argument from me on using MOGAS. I do plan on it being my primary fuel.

(assumption Jabiru) ... Seems the margins are % of ethanol that the fuel system (seals, hoses etc etc ) can (or was designed to) cope with without damage, and be aware of the % ethanol you might have in a fuel batch, etc etc, vaporization , contamination, bla bla bla etc etc etc

( all the stuff well covered on this website already - anyone interested just search MOGAS here and you will find a few hundred posts to read with various opinions and information.) .

Actually the Jabiru website has, in my opinion, an excellent treatment on the subject. (and taking into account in the reading the liability factor for a mfr writing up something)

https://jabiru.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/JSL007-7_Fuel_Guidance.pdf

On local then cross country...

At the moment, I fill up the airplane I train in at Cowra from the 98 bowser (in Cowra) into Jerrys and cart them to the airport, and fuel 'my plane', I do the alcohol test on new fuel, and and dump the bottom of the jerry cans .

Now, if I am planning a cross country, seems I need to either

a) go avgas : dump the MOGAS out of the system and go to AVGAS for the trip.

b) stay mogas : have a sufficient endurance to en route via MOGAS availability either at the airport, or get into local town with a couple of 20 litre jerrys or transport bladders. Or carry extra inboard

is this the general method ?

indeed

a good dose of reality : sobering reading the stats and some accident summaries :

https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/4475634/ar-2012-122.pdf

RFguy,

 

Like there are VFR days and VFR days so too at night, the weather and conditions can make big difference. On a clear night with a moon fullter than 3/4 up you don't need night vision goggles. Let your eyes adjust and you can actually see quite well... Fly high and plan your flight from suitable landing location to suitable landing location so that if you have an engine issue you know where you are heading....

 

Night vision goggles wont be the solution you think they are. As well as loosing peripheral vision, you lose depth perception and some need to account for the differing focusing from inside the cockpit to outside the cockpit. You have also introduced a situation where the failure of the goggles would lead to a worse situation than not having them to begin with.

 

Nobody

yeah agreed on the complications. and a 3/4 moon. as long as there isn't something in the cockpit cooking your eyes. --

I would guess red instrument lights are best because they don't affect your sensitive green end of the vision range.

ANR headset not available ? certainly poor fitting headset ear cups make for position and fitting sensitivity in a noisy cockpit, even if they are ANR.

In high noise environments I am involved in, best solution is a silicone ear bud that pushes into the ear canal- IE the air tube earphones.

I would suggest, for a cheapie, using pneumatic ear buds, with custom eartips if possible. (yes I do this for a living- headsets, earbuds, noise reduction )

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/In-Ear-Straight-Insert-Stereo-With-Microphone-Air-Tube-Music-Play-Mono-Earphone/114361391206

but you have to deal with the aircraft audio interface.

and maybe some of that transparent aluminium from Star Trek for a thicker windscreen ? ALTHOUGH an insensitive sound level meter with a good super cardioid shotgun microphone would tell you where it is getting in.

The web page :

https://vfrg.casa.gov.au/operations/night-vfr/checklist/

is quite useful.

I wonder how well high performance true night-vision image enhancer setups That might enable you to see your empty paddock. Spatial / level awareness means you you need to be able to fly on instruments alone since night vision "goggles" don't provide any peripheral vision.

I read the full history on this topic. There are plenty of robust opinions. Both sides of the story and argument for and against have been presented ....

Being NVFR qualified might be useful for scrapping it in on last light due to a bad headwind. I'll have to look at what the rules are there for VFR pilots.

I wouldn't contemplate NVFR without a twin, or assisted power options (battery+EDF), or parachute . How the hell are you going to see the powerlines and the creeks and fences for your outfield emergency landing ?

I just scan the pages with a flat-bed scanner for backup.

People are distracted from their discretionary pursuits right now. People are distracted by the change of routines.

In other interest forums and sites I am involved in (ham radio , robotics etc) I have seen similar declines in activity.

The Covid phenonomen has changed life for the moment. People are not flying as much, and reduced flying may directly affect forum interest. IE I have seen people l (in other interests/hobbies just move their time and interest temporarily onto something else, that they can do.

Also, business wise, many business people have the fight of their lives on.

I think this is a great site, and has an enormous repository of information in past topics, which I have now referenced extensively.

and Grant- not sure what time of day you are flying. first thing in the morning I am rusty but good after 1 or 2 approaches. The flight around noon ish is bumpy and breezy and I experience a high cognitive load flying the aircraft with all the bumps in a nice straight level line, and then I come to base and final and mess it up because I am fatigued- and of course something like being too high on final you fight it to the ground making sure you dont overspeed the flaps (unless you put in some big turns or slip it)

IE low hour pilots - our skills are fragile and easily fatigued by high cognitive load conditions... It's normal. Performance is up and down.

Hi Grant

18h and not soloed is just fine ! By the time you do solo, you will have, in my opinion a much better feel and more instinctive response to flying the airplane, and for what the plane does, and you will have been through alot more different flight configurations and actions compared to someone soloing at 10 hours. There is no hurry.

4 days in a row like you were doing---- for me, I did 3 days in a row once actually, it was hard work - 4 days sounds too much.

- I think you need some soak time between sessions. - Two days in a row I max at now, which gives me a 5 to 7 days then to think about what I was doing, what else I could do differently.

I have recently soloed (@ 18.5h). Landings take time to learn. In fact different people take different time to learn particular skills. For every person, there is a slightly different way of learning. Yourself and or your instructor will need to cycle through methods. Yoru instructor just might not see what you are missing but you will find it yourself with a combination of experience, study, reading etc ....

The other thing is ,the presence of the instructor can make you nervous. On my solo, I flew perfectly down the wire, didnt miss a thing. I was relaxed and chilled and just flew the plane. You also now can appreciate the difference between airplanes. - GLEN.

Like I said, I wonder just how many hours he had before been sent up solo. Assessed competency etc, total flying time.

The other possibility is, something in his brain got spooked and he went into some sort of mental meltdown, something that was previously undiscovered in his life, now discovered that might rule him out for being a pilot.

Still, comes back to, for me, essential actions not yet firmly imprinted in brain.

I was being flippant/silly-with options for controlling the throttle with your feet, freeing up your hands. ignore me.

Yeah I think you covered this before," essential actions not yet imprinted in his memory"

I wonder how many hours he was before solo ?

I was 18.5 hours of dual , I knew the aircraft pretty well by the time I soloed (last week) . went like clockwork, I think my heartrate was same as resting.

I talked to my instructor last week about this. This tractor throttle issue is not uncommon in teaching circles.

I like differential brakes. How about differential throttles for a twin? IE pull back on the pedal hoops with your toes.