hiperlight

There is a report in The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) Friday, April 13, 2007, that Bobby Gibbes died last Wednesday at the age of 90. His last plane was a Cri-Cri ultralight which he built himself and I think he flew it in his 80's. Does anyone know if that is a fact? Bruce

Hello Rob I don't think Richard Sweetapple has a website but this contact info was given to me: Sweetapple R M Sweetapple 56 Howlett Rd Capalaba 4157 (07) 3245 2579 Sweetapple Mobile Service 0427 002 043 Regards Bruce

Yeah!!! Check out the website painted on the side of the BD5 cockpit...no pun intended! Bruce

Hello John Brandon, John, as a person who prefers to study workshop and spare parts manuals than to read novels, I find your presentations very informative and stimulating. Your 'proposed safety publication' gets to the nitty-gritty of the subject without flamboyant emotion. Each section can be studied in isolation, which I prefer. With my limited knowledge of some of the technicalities of aerodynamics I enjoy studying and analysing the details in each section of your presentations. Keep up your good work John....please! Bruce P.S. Did you get a copy of 'Aeroplane' with the article on Seafires? BH

A bit like a Vampire SV2? Bruce

Ian, Like you I have an interest in ultralight design. My preference is for a single seat biplane, taildragger, tractor four stroke engine, lightly turbocharged to overcome power drop with altitude (below 5000'). Wet top wings with gravity feed to the motor. Enough luggage space for a cut lunch and a sleeping bag. STOL performance for short field operation if necessary. Bruce

Don't forget to wear a nappy! Bruce

...and red is SEXY!!! Chris...you're easily pleased! The touch of a warm female is my idea of sexy. fffffffff I must stop thinking about it. Colours don't turn me on...but then I'm from a different generation. And I haven't quite reached the stage of being turned on by anything mechanical...the closest would possibly be a BRG Jaguar XK8 fixed head coupe. Anyway, I reckon 'Ultralights' Sadler Vampire would look good (and I don't mean sexy) with bright yellow replacing the red and the white printing replaced by flat black, with a thin flat black line separating the yellow from the polished aluminium. Bruce

Thursday afternoon 08/03/07 ...In the first pic this storm was at Stanwell Park and quickly moved north east away from the coast. Bruce

The 912 starter motor has 5mm studs (I think) and the nuts should be torqued to 6N-m (about 55in-lbs or 4.5ft-lbs). The flywheel bolt is M16 and should be torqued to 120N-m (about 88ft-lbs). Is that what you have? Bruce

And my dad used to tell me that it would send me deaf! Bruce

I know what it is, Ian...you've eaten too many bananas before going to sleep and now you're dreaming that you've broken the sound barrier and the controls have reversed. Bruce

Paul, If your aircraft is wired as shown on the circuit diagram supplied by 'Seabug' then all electrical systems are protected by the 25A fuse (or circuit breaker) on the battery side of the master switch (and other individual lower current fuses) including the solenoid side of the starter relay. So if the 100A fuse is the correct one it looks as though the starter could have an internal short or excessive load...like stiff or partly seized bearings, bent shaft etc. or the Rotax 912 is hard to turn (as 'AusDarren' suggested). If I were you I'd whip the starter off and have it checked. Also if the starter is too small for the job it would draw excessive current. But if you fit a larger starter you would probably need a larger fuse. I have done some research and find that starters on large diesel engines used in mining have overload protection to 'interrupt current flow before the starter motor or cable are damaged from overcurrent conditions' to reduce the risk of fire in mines. The initial current draw by the starter in these cases is often in excess of 1200A. Bruce

Trouble is Penrite Green Slime is no longer available. Bruce

This Learjet used to be operated by Cathay Pacific (for crew training) out of Parafield. It's now on line with Execujets, Mascot, for 5000 bucks an hour (wheels up to wheels down). My friend is rated on the machine and keeps his hand in whenever he can. It will fly Sydney/Perth non-stop and will wind up to mach .83 on cruise. Bruce

Quickies Available iN Toilets Ask Staff Bruce

'so, will a low amperagte battery alone cause the master fuse to blow when there is high demand - i.e. starter cranking?' The short answer is NO! All things being equal the exact opposite should happen. Last week I was talking to the CFI at Mid Murray Flying Club at Swan Hill. They have a Tecnam 92S Echo on line. He told me he has had a 100 amp fuse blow just once. I'm not privy to the wiring setup on all aircraft but I haven't heard of the battery to starter cable being fused. Why 'fuse' a cable capable of carrying 400-500 amps with little voltage drop? I really don't understand. The way the Tecnam is wired, if the 100 amp fuse blows, you lose the lot...as you know. The standard starter on a Rotax 912 is one kilowatt and in theory should draw less than 85 amps. However if your battery is supplying full voltage and you hit the starter the initial current draw could be 150 to 200 amps. Are you using an OEM fuse? (which may be designed to carry an initial current surge.) Of course if you have other electrical equipment switched on during starting that could contribute to the problem. I'll do some more research and I'll let you know if I come up with a brilliant solution. Bruce

About a week ago I had a quick flight from Sydney KSA to Swan Hill and return in about three hours total... in a Learjet 45 which belongs to a friend of mine (that's him in the left hand seat). Doors close Sydney 1650, cruise at FL400 at about Mach .78, doors open Swan Hill 1805. Bruce

I am occasionally exposed to eastern browns on my farm...they don't frighten me...they terrify me. Bruce

The aircraft's tyres are not glued to the conveyor belt...come on...think about it. For a given aircraft speed the wheels will turn at twice the normal takeoff rate of rotation (until the aircraft is airborne of course) Bruce

Ross, Doug and Davidh, I put it to you that if the aircraft has no airspeed (or groundspeed) it is not moving and thus the automatic conveyor belt is also stationary. Think about it! Read the original 'quote' again. The initial rotation of the wheels and the consequential movement of the conveyor belt will not happen until the aircraft starts to move forward. Bruce

The short answer is: YES, it can takeoff...quite normally. However, while the wheels are in contact with the conveyor belt the wheel bearings are taking a hammering as they are turning at twice the speed they would if the conveyor belt was stationary. (Look at it this way...if the aircraft has no airspeed or groundspeed the conveyor belt is stationary...it only starts to move in the opposite direction when the aircraft moves forward.) Bruce

Knighty Look up Dick Smiths Annual Catalogue 2005/2006 page 351 or google 'wiring rf plugs' and download the 56 page CASA document on 'RF Connectors and Cabling' at: www.casa.gov.au/rules/1998casr/021/021c99s2c12.pdf Bruce

See CAAP 155-1(0) AEROBATICS January 2007: 2.1 Definitions and Terminology 2.1.1 Current regulations refer to 'acrobatic flight', however 'aerobatics' is a more specific term which is in widespread use and will be used in the proposed new CASRs Parts 91 (General Operating and Flight Rules) and 61 (Flight Crew Licensing). Therefore this CAAP will use the term 'aerobatics' in relation to 'acrobatic flight'. Bruce

I'd suggest that is not usual to have a fuse in the HT cable between the battery and the starter motor in motor cars or aircraft. Are there any LAME's or others who would be prepared to comment? Bruce