Carbon Canary

Thank you for the follow-up. if there is a like for like performance comparison against a DUC Swirl 3, anywhere, I’d be interested in reading it. I will need to make a prop decision in about 6 months.Standard figment is a DUC.

Is there any calendar TBO ? I believe DUC imposes a 5 year and/or 2000 hr TBO, hence my question. Also interested in any direct comparisons between DUC Swirl 3 and the equivalent e-prop, all other things being equal, if one exists.

I think the demand is still there, but there is less supply.

I just flicked through a 2014 issue of Sportpilot, and there were 116 aircraft for sale. The most recent Sportpilot had 32. what does this tell us ??

On the later C172s there are 13 fuel drain points. Textron got a bit carried away, possibly after a law suit.

I had a leaky mitral heart valve resulting in breathlessness on exertion. I voluntarily grounded myself but hadn’t got around to formally advising CASA. On my most recent visit with the cardiologist involving a treadmill stress test, ecg, ultrasound etc. the leaky valve problem has completely resolved by itself, and the cardiologist doesn’t wish to see me for at least two years. Do I inform CASA that I had an unreported historical problem, but now I don’t ?

Don’t hear much about the Sarich orbital engine these days, although the ASX listed company still exists albeit pursuing different technologies now.

A different angle on this tragic situation. Who knows if there is any truth in this ? https://au.news.yahoo.com/pilot-killed-alongside-pregnant-wife-may-not-have-had-licence-071037118.html

There is commentary on another site that this was fuel exhaustion/switching related. No verification of how this conclusion was arrived at was supplied however, so take that with a large grain of NaCl.

As the saying goes for twin engine aircraft……..”it’s ok if one engine quits - the other will still be able to carry you to the scene of the crash” The pilot did well to walk away from this one- I wish her a speedy recovery. The contents of those eskies is a concern though. A good chance they were blood supplies leading into Easter.

Most smartphones have the ability to provide the current times in many locations including UTC. Just search for UTC on your phone clock. This is a simple way to confirm local time to UTC particularly around daylight savings changeover.

Ok, I’ll bite. They had a new design ready to go and orders for existing aircraft unfulfilled, but left the company to wither on the vine. They may have the For Sale sign out for the business, but it’s gathering dust by the day, simply servicing the existing fleet and nothing more.

Pity Mahindra killed the company.

Speaking of the media, ABC reporting a Gipps GA8 (well, they did actually say Gibbs) over-ran the end of the strip on Rat Island, WA today - no injuries. I don't think it rates a new thread, but I did have to look up where Rat Island is ! Seven people escape injury in Abrolhos Islands plane crash - ABC News

Is the servo still operating in Toora ? - I thought it had closed up shop. Vague rumour of a self-contained isotainer with integrated bowser being located somewhere nearby but I think it was for diesel anyhow.

Your cricket pitch idea is right on the money. Scouts are taught circuit procedures using a fence paling as the runway and a garden hose laid out in a rectangle representing the circuit. They then ‘fly the circuit’ by walking along the hose, and know what they need to do on each leg of the circuit. Much more effective than a blackboard. Sometimes you have to buzz the squatters though !

Going to Aero at Freidrichshafen is on my bucket list - but not this year. Always lots of innovation on display in all the different segments and over the past few years an increasing amount of electric propulsion. It will be interesting to see if the aviation industry can ever make this truly viable, and if not what the alternatives will be.

A relevant article from AOPA neatly explains many of the points raised in this thread. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/may/flight-training-magazine/ol-maneuvering-speed

it gets worse…… The Daily Mail known for entertainment, not news, appears to cobble together whatever they think will sell a story. Apparently this guy broke his leg, but the post crash video (where he of course was posting to social media) shows him walking just fine. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11923059/Learner-pilot-Jake-Elven-survives-plane-crash-Camden-driving-hospital.html OME, I appreciate the sentiment and indignation, but taking on the likes of Murdoch would take a global movement somewhat larger than what can be mobilised here. And it’s not just Murdoch, the Daily Mail is owned by a Viscount. Sigh.

I was told of an incident in Germany where a student had an engine failure in a LSA in the circuit and elected to pull the chute. There was a lot of head scratching as to why a forced landing on the adjacent 1000m bitumen strip wasn’t attempted. I guess none of us know how we will react to the startle effect. Regardless, the student walked away from it, and despite the ‘chute’ landing, the aircraft was back flying again within 6 weeks.

A European LSA aircraft I was looking at had a 5% price rise in Nov last year in response to rises in input costs in Europe. This was on top of a similar price rise the year before, but I think that was still less than inflation in Europe. The big killer was the substantial increase in global shipping costs last year to ridiculous levels and very long lead times. No doubt rising sale prices of new aircraft raises the value of 2nd hand aircraft as well. Particularly in Australia where importing aircraft is an expensive and pain in the A exercise. So the old adage of ‘having the right stuff at the right place at the right time means you can charge whatever you want’, tends to hold true.

Its a personal cost/benefit decision in what the extra slice of Swiss cheese is worth. I currently drive a 27 year old car that has no airbags or ABS brakes. Do I feel safe in it ? Not particularly, but I still drive it at 110kph on the motorway. If I were to buy a new car though, I would expect it to have the latest safety features. For a new LSA type aircraft that I was looking at, a BRS system was about the same price as an optional three-colour paint scheme (vs 2 colour). What should I choose ? I understand the 7kg in extra weight is significant in some LSA aircraft.

Oh, and also mandatory in Italy, since 2010.

In Germany, BRS was made mandatory as a compensation for the relaxed certification requirements for “microlights” which were originally limited to 472.5kg. This category has more recently been raised to 600kg MTOW.

Well, pulling the chute is an option, not mandatory.