tiketyboo

it is a funny thing, but rotax came out about a month ago with an urgent update, replace the high pressure fuel line from the fuel pump, guess what we did months ago to solve the problem, replaced the fuel lines... i plan on checking the plugs as one member said at 25 hours to see if there is a difference thanks gang been flying around nice and smooth now

well gang, thanks a million for all the ideas and thoughts, the bird is running much better, routed the vent tubes, replaced the gaskets and needle jets, cleaned the carb and finally replaced the bloody fuel lines forward of the filter, now is running even better than before. thanks again.

i will do some studying about vents etc and hopefuly will be able to fly again soon

will try the vent tubes on my next try, hopefully we will get a couple more days of flying before the snow sets in happy new year all and thanks

the vent pipe as you say might be involved as a few times i can smell gasoline, and do not know where it is coming from. altitudes were 500, 1000 and 1500 all the same, got everything on hold now as the bloody runway is covered with snow, can not get off to try anything, happy new year to all and thanks tony

thanks, we finally got the carbs synchronised after we cleaned them, we went thro all the steps, adjusting the cables, tieing them down etc and she was smooth, i took it for one circuit and she was just like before i put the motor in storage for 5 months. i was very happy, Next day i took it out to do some flying as i had only done one circuit the day before and it started to run rough again at cruise, 4000 to 5200 rpm, she starts well, accelerates well, climbs 1400 fpm, everything up to them is good. once i am at cruising altitude i level out and pull back the throttle and within a minute it starts to run rough, and will continue from 5200 down to 4000. the last time i had it up i pulled the choke out a little when she was running rough and that made it run a little smoother. it is not a regular rough like a propeller out of balance more like a car running on bad plugs or bad gas. i have now tied the overflow tubes to the air filters behind the carbs, installed new fuel filter and lowered the clips on the main jets one notch to the bottom notch, checked the carb bowls for dirt(none). re did the synchronisation on the carbs and hopefully will get it up in a day or so if the snow keeps away, very frustrating for sure,

i checked the rubber connections well, i am thinking that the plastic tube overflow lines are maybe in the wrong place as they are hanging down the side of the carbs but i do not remember where they are supposed to be, i will have to look again and see where they should be located, now i am waiting for the snow to go away hopefully it will leave soon other wise it will be spring before i will get up again as we have no snow plow at the strip.

guess i am back at the drawing board then,,,,,,, what with the choke facts, the vent pipe facts etc. will have to tie down the vent pipe and re think the jets. son of a gun

well the clean carbs lasted about 10 minutes, then rough running again, some one suggested pulling the choke out while flying with rough running engine, sure made it smoother so it means the carbs or carb is running lean, going to change the needle clip lower and see how that works

bought the carbmate and still could not synchronize the carbs or get it to run smooth so took the carbs off and cleaned them, installed them today and she is running smooooooooooth. i have put in new plugs so will check them in say 15 to 20 hours to see how they look but the one side with real clean plugs was the side that had the dirty carb.

i am flying a jk 05 with a rotax 912ul, i had the unit repainted and the motor sat for 5 months and now it starts good, accelerates good, idles good but once at cruise it runs rough, not steady but irregular rough, checked the plugs, cylinder 1, 2 and 4 are fine, cylinder 3 plugs are pure white like new, no brown or anything, you would swear they are new. any one got any ideas or history of this kind of thing.what should i be checking or looking for. tony

look forward to more ultralight pilots in canada for sure, never enough for my liking, good luck, where abouts are you thinking of landing

any one got any good ideas on removing a stripped gear box magnetic plug on a rotax 912 and where to get a new one, not with a torx fitting, more a square drive or a nut top. went to check the plug on the motor i bought but it was stripped and i do not want to make more of a mess.

thanks, these are just what i am looking for, this will help with my presentation to my club about safe flying tony

we had one guy in the club who had his engine burp and sort of stall on him but not quite die, he opened the cowling, checked the wires, checked the fuel lines etc and figure, must just have a been a bad spot and took off again, of course he stall completely at 100' and crashed, was a fuel blockage that was fine at idle but got worse at full flow. this is the sort of thing i am looking for. tony

i am doing some research for a presentation to our club and am looking for examples of where the pilot does not listen to his engine and this causes accidents. had one where the pilot said on a bit short landing he gave it gas and "you know how it sort of hesitates before going to full power" plane engines do not hesitate, he was not listening to his motor talking to him and of cause landed short and had some damage.. so if anyone has any examples of this kind of thing i would love to get the general details for my presentation. thanks

we just had a similar fatal accident when one builder took off on his maiden flight and within 5 minutes crashed. this was a new engine in his plane not a total build and he told his wife he was just going to go and do some checking, did not tell her he planned to fly as there was no one at the airport. sure caused us a lot of anguish.

anyone out there had experience with inflight adjustable props particularly on rotax 912's, would love to hear of your experiences. in talking with engineers i am led to believe we need one setting for one temperature and humidity and at each change in temperature and humidity you need another setting so having a fixed pitched prop is not really the best solution for flying in changing weather like here in Ontario. if the temperature is cold and dry you are trying to move a lot more weight and air than when the temperature and humidity is high. so to make your plane work well you need to change your pitch to meet the type of air you are in. makes sense to me. i have googled this subject but did not find much information. i have a 912 rotax on a jk 05 pathmaker, she flies well but you know how it is, i want it better.

nice clean looking bird, any idea if they are still available and cost

four stages of competency, i use this all the time and it amazes me the number of people who do not get it, some times i just give up and go on but for sure if more understood those four rules many things besides flying would be vastly improved, maybe even posts here, smile.

gee, does not sound good down there in NSW, thank goodness i am in Canada and within 30 minutes of my house there are 3 small airports populated mostly with karatoos, taylorcraft, challengers, lazairs, bussards and other assorted rag taildraggers. we have one very close community and very helpfull if you run into a problem. there are at least 3 trainers that i know of in the area also and while we are paying $120 per hour training we really can not complain. There is a very active community involved in ultralights, under 1232 pounds and i see this is going to be a sustained interest. on weekends we fly to visit one anothers clubs for breakfast or lunch and socialise and i would not trade it for flights to big cities for sure. good luck in your search, or come visit me. tony

there is the old and there is the new and for me i love them both, having a jk 05 Pathmaker, we call it jurasic plastic but the walk around is a breeze compared to my 1946 taylorcraft, you can not really compare them except to say there are two different birds, two different characters, i love them both. it is like driving a 1957 chevie and a camaro. hopefully we will continue to have people around who appreciate both the ragtop and the plastic.

yes, the one blade is out of balance at the stub end when i balance them off that is what it shows but maybe by laquering that end only a few times will add weight to that blade and change the centre of balance to match the other two. also adding laquer another good way to change the centre of balance of uneven blades. for sure you have to have the weight right plus the balance right for it to work right and have no vibration. t thanks tony

brilliant idea, simple but i am sure it works well, i will try it. thanks

hi i have a three bladed composite fibre Aero-sail prop set that has one blade out 20 grams. i have talked to the factory (poland) and they want me to ship it back and they will balance and charge me and ship back. the props are in good shape with no damage and rather than pay $200 plus balancing i am wondering does any one know how to or have experience in changing the weight of composite blades?