cscotthendry

Mark: This seems to be the "marketer's disease" that more features need to be added with each release to keep sales going. The video editing software I use suffers from the same "feature-itis" and I've stopped buying updates because of that. The software company's response to that is to go to a subscription model. Sound familiar?

I've made several suggestions to the OR people and the answer is always the same; Too hard. They call themselves programmers, but every suggestion seems to be "Too hard" for them. Then when a new version comes out, I look at most of the upgrades and wonder who would have asked for those. I have a video editing program that I stopped buying upgrades for because the company continues to add just more fizzy transitions and gimmicky stuff rather than features that make me as a user more productive. It's a triumph of style over substance.

Be very careful with the elbow. They are thin and very soft. A good heat source is a heat gun, don't use a blow torch. A close fitting dowel into the tube is a good ide as others have said, but don't put a lot of force on the elbow or you'll be up for a new one. And whatever you do, don't grip it with pliers or a pair of multi grips. Ask me how I know that!

I use the Claw tie downs, but I dont use the rope that came with it. I use the luggage type straps that are rated for the job. Note, I don't use the mechanical ratchet type tensioners. The object is to tie the plane down, not bend it in half. My straps have metal buckles and I don't cinch them up super tight, just take the slack out of them. I also tie the free end of the strap around the running part of the strap to help prevent the strap from being pulled out of the buckle. I use carabiners between the strap and the wing strut hard points. The system is very quick to set up once I have the claws nailed to the ground. Note that nothing is weatherproof completely and I recently saw a video where the Claws were pulled out of the ground. But that was at a place where the ground was relatively soft and there was a significantly strong storm.

Have you checked that the float is floating properly? This is one of the checks for the Rotax engines as some floats can get fuel in them and the don't float at the correct height.

I have been to several Old Station and RAAUS flyins and I agree with Yenn. The Old Station flyin left the "official" RAAUS event for dead. Maybe the RAAUS/Airventure crew could have sought some advice on how to stage one of these events from the Creed family. The Old Station flyins stopped after Leonie passed away, but I'd bet London to a brick, if her boys decide to put another one on, the attendance would be what they used to be. One big difference I noticed between the two events was that there was an air of conviviality at Old Station that seemed missing from the RAAUS events. The RAAUS events always had an air of "officialdom" for me which was offputting.

Since the two Michaels took over RAAUS, we've lost the printed Sport Pilot as part of our membership and gained having our details handed to Avdata. Yep, they're working for the members ... For sure! Oh, and I forgot, we're about to get a weight increase, that benefits ... Who?

Was the pilot conducting a short circuit?

This move to the higher weight limit also puzzled me. That is until I looked at it through the administration's eyes. Consider the decision between the two objectives, which to pursue first. Higher weight limit: A higher weight limit will capture some of the smaller GA planes thus increasing the membership count and consequently an increase in revenue for RAAUS. The benefit to members is limited to the new ex-GA owners and those with deeper pockets who want to buy heavier, more expensive aircraft. CTA access: Benefits all existing and potential members, but after all the effort to be expended, only increases RAAUS regulatory obligations without any increase in revenue or membership numbers. It's pretty obvious to me why the RAAUS administration pursued the heavier weight limit first and has put the CTA access in the "too hard" basket, the administration is looking after the interests of the administration first, members second.

Don't know about the collapsed valve clearance on Rotax engines, but Rotax have a procedure for bleeding possible air out of the lifters. From what I've read, it only has to be done when (if) possible air has been introduced to the oil system as in, if the engine is turned backwards or air is allowed into the system during oil changes.

Whoa! Really? You did that? Waaaay cool!!!

Congrats to Matty, he has worked long and hard for this success. He will be champion for life since there will be no more RBAR. I have met him several times and he is a true gentleman, very friendly and approachable.

Gary: Can you post the SB number for that fault pls.

I've been studying the air charts here and comparing what we have at home in Oz. Here's what I've discovered different so far... In Oz, most of our airspace is class G. In the US, it's mostly class E. Class G in the US only extends to either 700' or 1,200' AGL. Then it is class E up to 10,000'AMSL which is class A. If the class E in the US is similar to Oz's class E, that means that anything that flies in class E (ie real airplanes) has to have a transponder. It seems to me that class G in the US is intended for things like model airplanes, drones and model rockets etc. In Oz, I'm not aware of any class B airspace (but could be wrong on this). In the US they do have it. I haven't studied the difference between class B,C and D in the US yet, but I think class D is like our class D, that is like class C with limited hours of operation. Still studying the charts... More later.

Have you done compression (leakdown) tests on the engine? That will tell you what you need to know. There is no other reason I know of for an engine to be "easy" to pull through when cold but not so much when warm.

I am currentlt visiting the US and was wondering whether my RAAUS qualifications are recognized here. Also was wondering what qualification rec pilots have here. Is it like we have in Oz, a "pilot certificate" or do rec pilots here just have PPLs? Would any Americans on the forum care to have a stab at this?

A couple of WWII themed movies Battle of Britain Dark Blue World Dunquirk One about Howard Hughes The Aviator This one's a bit corny, but fun The right stuff One about space Apollo 11 (documentary)

It's 6:30 am here in Oshkosh on Monday morning, the first day of the show. We are camped in 101 Woods and would like to know about any other forumites that are here. If you are here, stop by for a cuppa, and let us know if you're going to the international dinner. If we're not in the trailer when you stop by, leave us a note for how we can contact you here.

There is another possibility here and of course this is just speculation. It is whale season and maybe they were looking for or at whales and just got that little bit too close to the water. I say this, because it happened to me the other day up off the beach south of Double Island point. I let my attention wander for just a second while my wife was filming a whale and when I looked back to the front the plane was in a nose down attitude headed for the water. I won't say what height we were at, but it was a wake up call.

Have a look through the Rotax SBs. I seem to recall a SB that came out shortly after the new style heads were introduced that had something to do with where the temp sensor went in. I think some heads were over drilled or something like that.

Mike: That's really exciting news! I would be interested to know what you have to change to get the uprated MTOW.

An example of how little things can bring a plane down. It also raises the question of whether someone who isn't going to be flying in the plane will do maintenance as carefully as the person who will be in the plane. I know that I feel safer doing my own maintenance after seeing how some mechanics go about their work.

That's the third plane I know of to go in the water in that area. Is this a Bermuda triangle for aviation? Also, all of the planes that went in there have been aerobatic types.

Richard: RA-AUS have a certification called "L1". With that you can maintain your own aircraft. The restriction is that an L1 maintained aircraft cannot be used for commercial purposes, ie rented to a flying school. If your intent is solely to fly the plane for your own enjoyment and take some friends up flying, you're good to go with an L1. As I understand it, an L1 authority allows you to maintain your aircraft, but not modify it, unless you are the original builder. On the question of speed. As you rightly spotted, some aircraft are more draggy than others, depending on the wing profile and the general design and construction. As a general rule, with a 100HP Rotax you can usually expect 78 knots or more (usually more). That translates to about 150Kph at the minimum. Remember that that is in a straight line with no stopping for traffic lights or slowing down through one-horse towns. You can cover a lot of ground at that speed on a cross country flight. If you build something that goes faster than the 78Kts, you'll find that it ultimately doesn't make a huge difference in travel time for the average 1-1/2 to 2 hour flight leg. Plan for that and you'll have comfortable flying. Our current plane flies at 110Kts and we regularly fly with a couple of Savannahs that cruise around the 78 Kts. If we all start together, the Savs arrive around 15-20 minutes after us. Usually, we're still refuelling when they arrive. On the question of fuel burn. The fuel consumption is related to the engine horsepower. A 100HP Rotax will burn around 20Lph at cruise throttle regardless of what it's towing around the sky. What changes with drag is the resulting airspeed and consequently the time it takes to get from A to B, but as I mentioned before, not as much difference as you might think. Finally, in case I didn't make the point earlier clear enough, if you decide to build, I strongly reccomend a quick build kit so that you can get up and flying soonest with the least amount of extra expense renting. Leave thinking about a "flash" airplane for when you've got more flying experience and know more about what you want from your flying. Take the easiest, quickest route into flying. Don't buy a kit that might take you 7 years to complete; you most likely won't finish it. As another shameless plug for the Nynja, mine took me 11 months to build and I took it very slowly. The dealer, Greg Robertson, built his Nynja in 10 weeks, but then he had built a Skyranger Swift before that so he was very familiar with the kit. As always, blue skies and tailwinds.

Hi Bruce: we did Lake Eyre a couple of years ago and it had water in it then. We stayed at the William Creek pub. It's a short hop from the pub to the southern end of the lake and the pub has avgas AND the young cuties come out and pump it for you! William Creek has a sealed all weather runway so if there has been rain in the area you can still land and take off there.