cscotthendry

The world looks beautiful and green up your way. It's green down here too, but not quite like that!Thnx for sharing

I went to the one they called "OzKosh" at Narromine and I see they're now calling this one "Airventure Australia". Unless this event is somehow linked with Airventure Oshkosh, I think the name is a bit cringeworthy. Why couldn't they call it something uniquely Australian. I have been to Oshkosh and for RA-Aus to try and leverage the name with our local "airshow" seems a bit pathetic. But in any case, I hope it is a success this year. We fly into Cessnock to get our annual service done there and the facility is pretty good. It's a bit further from town than Narromine was. In strong westerlies, landing there can be a little tricky as there is a ridge to the west of the airfield that generates a bit of turbulence over the runway. There is some amazing views on the run in from the northwest as you fly over the coal mines.

When I built the Nynja, I used the Avia Sport instruments. I'm not sure if they're still in business though.

Grounding at both ends can cause ground loops (no not the flying kind) that also cause noise and interference.

No, it makes you a bloody hero in my book. Well done!

Yes, it shows. Very well done. Very entertaining to watch. Thanks for sharing.BTW, I did my conversion from trikes to 3 axis at GoFly also. I did most of my flying with Damien and also Neil Schaeffer when he was there. I am still good friends withe Neil and like to catch up with him when I can, usually at a fly in when he's representing RA-Aus.

This feedback on transmission has been an ongoing issue with the MicroAir radios. I know quite a few people who have had this issue going all the way back to the revQ radios. In the cases I'm aware of (mostly on trikes) the radio was coupled to an intercom system. As an ex USAF avionics tech, my guess is that the radio doesn't have sufficient filtering on the mic inputs. When you key the transmitter, RF energy gets picked up by the mic elements and feeds back into the radio. I haven't done any specific testing on this, it just is an educated guess, so don't quote me. The thing I most dislike about the MicroAir radios though, has nothing to do with their performance. I find the display on them too small to read without my glasses and the user interface is a bit fiddly to use in flight.

Very professionally produced. Is this what you do as a day job?

We have always rented and mostly have had no issues. In one rented hangar, one of the other tenants was a tiger moth joyride business. They used to leave the hangar door open when they took someone up and we had a few tools and bits and pieces go missing, but nothing serious. WRT to buying, you're investing a lot of money into an asset that has a small resale market. So if you buy, expect it to take a while to sell when you need to. That said, at almost every airfield I've been to, hangar space is at a premium. I'm not sure though how that would translate if you were looking to sell a hangar. Also, owning a hangar ties you to that airfield. If you need or want to move, or something happens at the airfield that changes the conditions like the local or airfield council suddenly jack up the rates etc, then you are stuck with that until you can sell the hangar. Also, as others have said, if the local council decides to sell the airfield to property developers, where does that leave you?

Kyle: I can't speak for others, but the first few times I flew into "other airfields" I was also apprehensive. I had to do a lot of position plotting in my head about where to approach the airfield from to enter the circuit etc and that added a bit to my stress levels. It does get easier with practice. It never gets as relaxed as driving a car, but as you get more confidence with your navigation the workload eases up and you start to get ahead of the airplane rather than just keeping up. The other thing that helps is a familiarity with the airplane you're flying. If you try to fly the one plane as much as possible, that will settle the nerves a bit as your muscle memory will help with the control positions etc so there's less to focus on just to fly the plane. BUT, that can be a double edged sword if you are then forced to fly an unfamiliar airplane. The rotor off Mt Brisbane at Watts Bridge can be a little unsettling if the winds are from the SE at or above 25Kt and you can't afford to be complacent in the approach. That said, I have been flying out of Watts Bridge for some time and have not yet encountered dangerous conditions there. I doubt your instructor would let you fly there if the conditions were dangerous, It is good for you to remember about rotor on the lee side of hills/mountains and be ready to take quick action if things start to look dodgy. WRT to height over the range, keep an eye on your height in that area too. On the south side of the Woodford valley, the overhead steps vary from 3500 on the east side to 4500 somewhere in the middle so you can't let any updraft carry you up too high. North of the Woodford valley is a different matter and there is more room there. No, as regards to navigation in the "local" area. When I first started flying, my "local" area was around Caboolture, up to Noosa, and to the west to the Glass House mountains. After a few flights, I could navigate in that area without reference to charts and always know where I was. Now, my "local" area extends to the west to about Chinchilla, North to Rockhampton, and south to Inverell. I can navigate those areas without a chart and pretty well know where I am at any given time. Just as the airplane gets you further faster, it also expands the area that you'll feel comfortable with navigating by landmarks. As you get to know your neighborhood roads by car, you'll get to know your neighborhood landmarks navigating by air. WRT Turbulence. LOL, I still don't like flying in the bumps and avoid them when I can, by going higher, but they don't make me weak at the knees like they used to. It does get better, especially when you finally realise that the turbulence is not going to rip the wings off or turn the airplane upside down. That is to say, those things could happen, but I seriously doubt you would choose to go up in the kind of conditions that would rip the wings off the plane. And finally (yeah I know this was a long rant) if you can afford to buy a plane now or in the future, there are a lot of advantages that you can't get renting. For a start, when you're renting, you have to book ahead. Then the weather goes south and that's another flight missed. Also, when the weather is looking good and you want to book a plane ... everyone else does too. In addition, there are a lot of overnight flying events and trying to convince a flying scholl to let you have their airplane for 24-48 hours for 5-6 hours hobbs time is a big ask. AND, those overnight fly ins usually will take you further and give you more nav experience. But most fun of all with your own plane you can join a touring group and go to amazing places, Since we've been in our touring group (Puk Airlines) we've been to Ayers Rock, Lake Eyre, Coober Pedy, Lighning Ridge, Longreach, Carnarvon Gorge, Great Keppel, Broken Hill and a lot of others. And more to come. Good luck with your flying. Fair skies and tailwinds.

Commentator "Give him a hand..." For what? Wrecking his airplane? I know it's hard to see over the nose of a tail dragger after you're on the ground, but surely part of the approach checklist is "runway clear of obstacles"???

I'm not sure about the Jab fuel pumps, but I think it was possible with the Rotax fuel pumps. They put out a modified fuel pump some time back because of that exact problem.

+2 on that. They'll be the ones teaching you, so they're best placed to tell you where to start.LOL, where you'll start will be in a cockpit on a Trial Instruction Flight. Then you'll have an idea if flying is really for you. Good luck, never give up.

Second that. I've never had anything repaired by them, but I've bought a bunch of stuff from them and they're good to deal with.

Absolutely awesome video work!

Ask for fuel injection grade hose. It's more expensive, but sturdier as it's designed for high pressure use.

Bruce: The rise in fuel pressure after shutdown is due to vaporisation in the fuel lines near the engine from heat soak. It is normal. If your pressure gauge is between the last fuel pump and the carbies you will get this unless you have a fuel return line to the tank. Rotax recommend this return line to let fuel vapor vent back to the tank and stop vapor lock. When you were climbing out, did you have both pumps on? I always use both pumps in critical segments of the flight such as take off, climb to altitude and landing. Having said that, there have been times when I forgot to turn the electric boost pump on during TO or climb and I don't recall fuel pressures that low. Maybe some further investigation is warranted, especially seeing as you're flying a high wing with wing tanks. Edit: When I built the Nynja, I did the fuel flow test straight out of the fuel line (disconnected from the carby). I think that is the normal way to do it. It shows what the pump and lines will support if they are called upon.

Sorry, but that is not correct. GPS works independent of wifi. There is a little dot in the upper right side of the OzRunway screen that is yellow when no GPS is available, and green when GPS data is valid.I have seen apps report something like "Position accuracy is increased with wifi turned on", but I don't know how that works.

If you're flying with an iPhone or iPad and getting noise through the radio while on the charger, first make sure the wifi is turned off. It seems like the apple devices go into a high power mode when they're on charge and if the wifi is looking for a connection, it makes a lot of radio hash. It seems to be worse on some frequencies.

The best thing to use for blocking part of your oil cooler is the Teflon sheet you can buy in the hardware store as a cooking sheet for barbeques. This sheet is rated to 260 Deg C. If your oil ever gets to that temperature, you'll have more problems than a scorched sheet. Also, I have tested this stuff with a direct flame. While the blowtorch was on the sheet it would burn, but if you take the flame away from the sheet, the burning stops. I'm not sure how the sheet would go if it was set on fire and subjected to high speed air flow though.

The D motor is an interesting one. Liquid cooled and very ancient, but proven side valve technology coupled to electronic ignition (and fuel injection I think). Slow revving and if other side valve engines are anything to go by, nearly bulletproof. Unfortunately they haven't been in use for very long and there's not a lot of planes about that have them, so the reliability is still a little unknown.

So disappointed. I look forward to the Clifton fly in, it is one of my favorites. The predicted strong gusty winds made me stay away.

I think you summed it up pretty well there.For me, reliability is the most important factor in an aircraft engine choice. The purchase price of the engine is a one off cost. I've heard a lot of Jab owners say "Rotax spares are so expensive" which is true, but apart from consumables, the Rotax engines mostly don't require spares. As for the complexity of having a gearbox, that is also true and as the saying goes "more things to go wrong" but the Rotax gearbox has a lot of history of reliable operation. That's saying something because with a lot of other types of engines (particularly converted car engines) the PSRU is the part that seems most prone to failure regardless whether it's gears or belts. One of the side benefits of the gearbox in the Rotax (particularly the 100HP) is that it protects the crankshaft somewhat in the case of a prop strike. In a direct drive engine, a prop strike will most likely bend or possibly break the crank.

Mark: Thanks for posting that video. I had been considering buying one of these for a while, but had never seen anything like what you posted here with actual measurements. Were you able to notice the difference before and after through the feel of the airframe?

Shortly after I left high school, I was driving home in my FX ute during a storm. I saw a bright flash, then there was this huge ball of light barreling straight up the road at me. Before I could react and hit the brakes or swerve, it reached the front of the ute ... And disappeared. Scared the crap out of me. I had never seen ball lightning before that, nor even heard of it, and never seen it since.