cscotthendry

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.

Had a look at the RAAus paperwork, couldn't find anything saying a non builder could not do maintenance. It looks like the owner can do some maintenance as can someone with a Pilot Certificate but it does get a bit complicated as to who can do what. Anyway the important thing is it looks like if I bought a built RAAus eligible aircraft I'm not barred from doing (some) maintenance.

 

On speed, how much variation is there between similar sized and engined aircraft? Some designs look less draggy aerodynamically than others so I was thinking this could make a noticeable difference to general performance and fuel burn.

 

EDIT: Oh and the RAAus Pilot Certificate maximum aircraft take off weight is 600 kg. Which should allow something decent?

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.

iBob:

If you're looking for 1.5mm tinted Lexan in this country, forget about it. I went down that path when I was building the Nynja and had to replace some Lexan that I messed up. Every where I went the answer was the same "Not available in Oz". It is available in Europe as my Nynja kit came with 1.5mm tinted Lexan sheets.

Datson:

I agree with the others that you should learn to fly first before you start to think about building or buying.

From my experience, building an airplane (and doing it properly) will cost nearly as much as buying the equivalent, second hand. However, building will give you a very thorough understanding of your airplane and demystify a lot of things about airplanes and what is critical to flight safety and what is not.

FWIW, here's my two cents worth, and this comes from someone who started to learn to fly in his late fifties.

1) First and foremost, learning to fly is a mechanical skill like any other. There is no "right stuff" without which you won't be able to fly. The act of flying is about concentration to the flight parameters and building the muscle memory to control the aircraft much like you do when driving a car. That said, recognize that if you are starting later in life, you have forgotten how long it took you to become properly proficient with your driving abilities. Because of that, a lot of people (myself included) hit a point in their flying training where they think "It's not working. I can't make the airplane do what I want it to. It's no use, I'll never learn to fly." This is a critical point where a lot of people give up. Unless you have real physical or intellectual limitations, you CAN learn to fly. But you have to be committed to it and keep going. Trust me on this, if you keep going, you'll also reach a point where you think "Ahhhh! I got it!" and you will suddenly realize that you CAN fly.

2) Expect the first few years of flying to not be what you expected. What you think it will be is almost invariably the feeling of unrestrained freedom roaming the skies in three dimensions, soaring effortlessly among the clouds without a care in the world. It gets to be sort of like that but it takes quite a while to get to where you are comfortable managing all the systems, radio, traffic and situational awareness of flying. In the beginning it is a large and stressful workload and it will be easy to say "This is not how I thought flying would be." and give it up. DON'T! Keep going and going. It gets easier with time and experience, as everything does. Recognize that and don't give up once you've started.

3) Building vs. flying: I know a lot of people who really enjoy building airplanes; flying not so much. I know a lot of people who enjoy flying and not so much the building. I was one somewhere in the middle. The point is, if you choose to build an airplane, go and talk to other people who are building that kind of plane. Take note especially how long they have been building it. I personally know of a number of people who took on airplane projects and spent years building the plane. In the mean time, to keep current, they have to rent airplanes. That all adds to the expense of flying and can be a big deterrent, especially as when you want to rent a plane and go flying, so does every other Tom, Dick and Harry. So you get to your favorite flying school to find all the airplanes are already booked. That's another roadblock. Think about the easiest way to do what you want.

In my case, I settled on a kit plane that I knew would be very quick to build and there was an experienced distributor here in Oz for support. I wanted to build a plane, but I also wanted to get up flying quickly and be independent of the rental scene as soon as I could. In the end, my choice of kit worked out very well and I had many happy hours flying it and building my flying skills. I also had a great time building the plane and I learned a lot about the Rotax engines along the way. I have since moved to a factory built airplane, but the things that building taught me have been very useful for maintaining my aircraft and the safety of myself and my wife.

Welcome to the forums. Welcome to the flying addiction. I wish you fair skies and tail winds in whatever you choose to do. But never give up!

Here's some videos that I hope will inspire you

Building my Nynja

OK, for the hard core contingent, here's the full length Victor 1 flight. We had superb weather thanks to Cap'n Puk's superior planning skills and the light was perfect for photography.

Is it possible to safely use 18mm coolant hose where Rotax calls for the difficult to source 17mm?

 

many thanks

Fellow aviators, a question, Why do we turn off the fuel boost pump after take off ?

 

My regular instructor, good bloke, makes me turn the pump off once airborne, I asked him the other day why, his answer was it’s normal procedure and as per flight manual, still no explanation.

 

Recently I did some mustering flying with a bloke in FNQ in a Jabby 160 and after take off noticed he left the pump on, I pointed to the pump and said u left it on, his answer was why turn it off, you aren’t one of those DH’s that turns it off to save the fuel pump and my answer was yes I do, so he turns off a magneto and I said WTF, his answer was let’s save a magneto.

 

Later that nite I got talkin to him regarding the fuel pump issue and his answer was that turning the pump off is old GA kerfuffle to save the expensive, certified electric pump, the modern Jabiru has a cheep very reliable electric pump and he doesn’t want to have a pump failure down low when mustering, so he runs both pumps and both mags on. I did take note that when he starts the engine the electric pump is off and he checks the pressure at run up then turns the electric pump on, checks for a slight pressure increase and u can just hear the pump ticking in the back ground noise.

 

OK who is doing the right thing ???

However, in normal flying where I am at cruising altitude, I turn the boost pump off. I have a fuel pressure gauge and I monitor it regularly during flight. If there is sufficient fuel pressure, the boost pump is superfluous and just adds a little extra electrical load on the engine. Also, the more you run anything, the sooner it will wear out. That is a simple law of physics.

So, I run the boost pump when an engine pump failure would cause danger and leave it off otherwise.

But, if the POH states when the boost pump should be used, you should use it at those times regardless of any advice from me or anyone else.

Victor 1 on a beautiful Autumn morning.

Thanks CS. 

I know enough to have designed and installed the whole electrical system downstream of the engine/alternator/regulator

 

(but that doesn't mean I know how it works!)

 

I initially suspected my battery isolator, but fiddling with it in flight doesn't replicate the symptoms.

 

As with all Jabs, the engine ignition system is independent of the battery. 

 

My flaps have no connection to the electrical system, so I can't see why they'd be involved.

 

Could some electrical component be chucking a hissy fit as it warms up?

For the flap involvement, I was wondering if the mechanical movement of the flaps and linkage could be causing interference with the electrical system by disturbing nearby wiring or plugs etc.

Another area to look at: with Rotax systems, there is a large electrolytic capacitor that is wired across + and - downstream of the regulator. This is to act as a load for the regulator should the connection to the rest of the electrical system be lost downstream. Some Rotax systems don't have this cap, but Rotax recommend it. Does the Jab setup have something similar? If a big cap like that was shorting internally, it might cause something like you describe. But I think if that happened, the cap would most likely smoke or possibly even explode. That might be the component chucking a hissy. Also, capacitors are notorious components in electrocal circuits for causing problems. Most electronic faults are cause by ageing caps and when we used to have mechanical points in car ignitions, the "condenser" (which is another name for a capacitor) across the distributor points was a common source of engine problems.

Bruce:

Here's the run from Watts Bridge to Clifton

Hi Bruce:

As you near the range from Clifton, dial up 121.2 on the radio and ask for the status of Amberly airspace. I do it regularly and the controllers are always happy to oblige. They prefer pilots to ask rather than to just blunder into restricted airspace. At 4,500 AMSL you have sufficient clearance over the range and once you clear the range you can drop down to 3,500 no probs. As others have said, track up towards Watts Bridge, then across Mt Brisbane to Kilcoy and up the Woodford valley to Caloundra. It's an easy run, but you will get thermals in that area. It'a always a little bumpy. But by the time you get to Watts Bridge, you're only about 1/2 hour from Caloundra anyway.

Flying around Amberley airspace isn't as daunting as you might think. We do it all the time and it has completely de-mystified flying around PRD airspaces for us. Give yourself 100' clearance under the 4,500' step and a couple miles lateral clearance from the lower steps and you're good to go.

I wouldn't advise the route between Amberley and Archerfield though. It's only a couple of miles wide in places and there's significant amounts of traffic in and out of YBAF.

To have total electrical failure in a system with an alternator and a regulator, I would think it would be a connection fault.

The next question is: How is the main current carried from the charging/storage system to the instruments? Is it a heavy duty battery isolator switch or a relay/solenoid? Obviously your engine is not losing power, so is the ignition electronic as in the Rotax engines or magnetos as in Lyc/ Cont engines? Next question: Have you tried extending the flaps to takeoff position, then putting some pressure on the flaps about equivalent to the aerodynamic pressure of takeoff?

I think even if the alternator stopped charging, you would still get power from the battery. Even if the battery was going open circuit you should still get power from the alternator.

I don't know specifics of JAB engines nor the setup in your plane and these are just some general troubleshooting techniques. HTH

When we do our Outback flights, we just use whatever is available, whether it's 98 mogas or Avgas. The Rotax will happily dine on either. If you use more than 30% Avgas you just have to change the oil every 25 hours. For a simple ferry flight, I wouldn't worry about it.

Haydn & Alicia started a YouTube channel for their Australian Adventure. They built an RV in their lounge room, pulled the pin on corporate life and set off into the Outback.

In their 10th video, the alluded to having to fly home urgently although the reason wasn't made clear. After that episode ...

*crickets*

I have left comments on their channel asking if they were OK, or why they stopped making videos etc.

*crickets*

Does anyone know what happened to them? They were based out of Cessnock IIRC.

Not sure where this idea comes from. 

But vinyl can be applied to any complex curve. Wrap techniques which involve heat gun application can be used on pretty much any shape. I’ve seen a video where it’s even applied to ball! I’ve wrapped a few less challenging shapes but definitely complex multi-plane curves. 

Vinyl has a sticky backing and is usually applied (by us amateurs) by spraying soapy water on the surface and then after laying the graphic in place very carefully squeegeeing ALL of the water out from underneath. Vinyl will not do small radius compound curves.

Vinyl wrap has an adhesive that is only slightly sticky, enough to hold it in place, but can be placed and lifted without damage. The adhesive is heat activated and that is needed to make it stick properly. Wrap will conform to small radius compound curves.

Returning to the question, I would defintely do the nose art in stick on graphics. That way it can be repaired/replaced easily. Even shaded graphics can be done as some Vinyls can be printed on before application..

All may not be lost Phil. Most chargers these days are international. They usually will work on anything from 110 to 240V. iCom are a pretty savvy company so your martian may yet find a pair of scissors!

I'll second what Mike said about the carby cables.

Remember that your throttle control doesn't drive the carby position. The springs do that. If there is any drag in the cables at any point, it could cause an uneven actuation of the throttle. It might be worth completely pulling the cable inners out and inspecting them careflly for wear or taipans. And while you have them out would be a good time to lubricate them.

Ok, a confession of sorts, more of a cautionary tale.

I took a friend up for a fly on a gusty day. The flight went all to plan until the landing phase. As we approached the field, the wind was a bit cross to the runway, but very gusty.

On short final, the plane started an uncommanded left bank. I thought "What have I flown into? Is it some kind of willy willy?" After a couple of seconds wondering what was happening, we were over the side fence of the airfield and about halfway down the runway. I decided that it would be just about impossible to fly back to the runway so I pushed the nose down, gave it full throttle and called "going around".

So what happened? My guess is that I let the airspeed drop and stalled a wing. Fortunately for me and my friend, my training caused me to do the correct response, nose over and throttle. Had I tried to correct the uncommanded left bank with ailerons, we might have been a smoking hole in the paddock.

I have practiced stalls many times, but haven't had a wing drop like that before. It started out gently and I applied a little aileron pressure, but got no response like I usually get. That was when I figured that the plane was out of my control and that it wasn't going to be possible to fly back to the runway.

I have a fair bit of history with go-arounds as I fairly often mis-judge my approach and end up too high on short final. It's my biggest shortcoming as a pilot, but I just go around and work it out. So the point is, I don't hesitate to abort a landing if things aren't to my liking. In this case my comfort with go-arounds save two lives.

Welcome to the forums and to flying.

Blue skies and tailwinds.

Hi Scott Mark has left the details above of the info message I left on you phone.  Also if the gap is small could you ceramic coat the ends one or more times to increase the diameters.  Cheers

I'll give you a call WRT to the ceramic coating option. That sounds interesting.

Thanks.

11 hours ago, onetrack said:

 

cscotthendry - Take a look at this exhaust tube bender in action between 2.50 and 3.55 min, and you will be enlightened!

 

WRT the oil temp for takeoff

1) Rotax specify that as a minimum

2) I have heard that this is because there is a bypass valve in the oil filter that remains open until the oil is at 50 degrees

3) I masked off a third of my oil cooler because my oil temps were too low during flight, but especially on descent. Now, my oil temps run in the middle of the green arc during flight, climb to the top of the green/bottom of the yellow on a sustained climb and sit at the bottom of the green on descent. Clearly, the Rotax supplied oil cooler on my airplane is providing more cooling than my engine needs. I have a simple normally aspirated 100HP 912ULS.

As for not doing runups before takeoff? Not this little black duck. I do them every time. I want to know that both mags are sparking before I go hurtling down the runway with a fence at the end of it.

WRT to cooking the engine? IMO, if you're keeping an eye on the temp gauges, you shouldn't be cooking the engine. I couldn't vouch for air cooled engines, but the Rotax doesn't cook like that. I have had an occasion with a warm start on a very hot day when my coolant temp rose above normal, but as soon as I started my takeoff roll, the temp came down about halfway down the runway.

So, how a pilot treats his own aircraft with Lycomings is his business. That it "doesn't use a drop of oil" says only that his engine is still in reasonably good condition, but it doesn't logically follow that his lack of runups is the reason. That's a bit like saying that because rain comes from clouds, if there are clouds in the sky it must be raining.

Finally, WRT to the long warmup time for the Vixen, yes, he probably had a similar setup as most Rotax engines. I think the standard oil cooler has been designed to cope with the higher power and turbo charged engines. With the standard oil cooler on a normally aspirated 80 or 100HP engine it can take a while to get the oil temp up, especially in the winter, but it's still required by Rotax.

Does anybody know what kind of tool can make ball ends in exhaust tubing? If so, does anyboy know of someone or business that has one? The ball ends of my exhaust pipes don't seal in the sockets in the muffler. They are just a shade too small and need to be expanded out a bit

Bolly for sure. They're great people to deal with, will help you select the right prop and being a local manufacturer, they're close by for repairs or advice if needed. Also, they make good gear.

Probably the Bolly BOS3.