eastmeg2

Mike, I've been refered to the same Rotax Service Instruction before, and note that Section 3.4 of the URL document Dave provided advises that Rotax no longer recommends using Castrol GPS due to changes in its formulation. I now use Shell Advance VSX4 in my XT-912 trike. Rgds, Glen

Sorry I just could not make it on the day, as the Missus roped me in to other duties even though we were only 35 minutes drive away.

Did anyone actually make it to Evans Head? I departed a private strip near Taree in the Afternoon on Thursday 27th Dec with 3 other trikes. After a landing at Kempsey Airport to regroup we flew to a private farm paddocck strip 10 miles to the north and stayed in the hut there for the night. We Rose early and it rained at 5am. I think that after everyone had been downloading the weather charts on their phones the night before we all decided it was not such a good idea to continue North. So we BRAVELY turned tail and fled the weather Southbound coastal, landing at Camden Haven and then Old Bar before returning to the Private Strip near Taree. I have just spent the last 8 days flying every day around Taree, Old Bar and Foster.:big_grin:

I use extended touring screens on an Edge X 582 Streak-1 and XT-912 Streak-3. Both have GPS's fitted and neither register a higher speed on the GPS with the extended screens fitted, though both read higher on the ASI. Hangar 19 at Yarrawonga have been selling the extended trike screens for some time already.

Hi Campslive, I hate to burst your windscreen bubble, but I'm sure that you will find that your indicated minimum straight & level speed has increased too. The reason being that the extended windscreens cause your airspeed indicator to read higher by lowering the air velocity inside the cockpit, therefore increasing the pressure differential between your static line and pitot tube, which is what your ASI reads. It's just something to be aware of but the screen is definitely worth it on the longer or colder flights.

All my trike covers are Punkinhead, including the camp cover which is always carried on the trike. It covers the entire trike base and folds up to the size of a pencil case. It sounds like you're looking for something similar to the camp cover Punkinhead makes for trikes. I'm sure Dianne can make some suggestions and may already have some templates for the Cheetah. She gets around. Cheers, Glen

I think that sheep make better airstrip companions since their poop tends to be less likely to spray and they do tend to get out of your way and depart the strip, unlike a cow which will just look and sneer, like, "I was here first", or "you want me to move? Make me!"

Ian, Please wind down the window of your Volvo so I can start hitting your helmet with my rubber mallet.

I've only used a Garmin296 for a 1 hour flight in a friends trike and researched the 196 as well. The first obvious thing is the greyscale display, ie, no colour. This may or may not be an issue. The other thing is that it's computer connection is via Serial Cable only, compared to the 296 having USB cable connectivity. Whether or not this is an issue for you depends on how often you would want to connect it to your computer. Also since I've not tried the 196 yet I don't know if the relatively low speed of the serial connection would be an issue or not. On the good side it does have some useful functions, I have seen the 196 advertised with a 12v cigerette lighter power cable, and they are roughly half the price of the 296. Rgds, Glen

My mates reply to the text from your first post: "Yes All of the above and I had to replace the stator as they have a low current problem under high load operation." Rgds, Glen

Also, what temperatures are your EGT's reaching? Should be somewhere between 1100-1200F with the 582. A short ground run at 4000rpm should give you a good reading, just don't do it for too long, or risk overheating your motor.

Maynard, That sounds exectly like a problem a friend of mine had with an older trike a few years back. It also ran a silvertop 582. If it was not so serious it would have been funny to watch his trike reach 100ft AGL, loose power and start descending, then he'd squeeze his fuel primer bulb, briefly get power back and start going up again, then down again, etc, etc. His engine also ran flawlessly in ground test runs. I think I remember it being that the circlips on his carburettor needles were in the wrong position by one groove. I have taken the liberty to email the text from your first post in this thread to him for his feedback and am trying to entice him to come to the Goulburn airport BBQ again on 22nd Dec. He's also a self employed mechanic. Cheers, Glen

Will be there . . . x2

I got a reply email overnight. My questions in black text, Mark Gibsons replies inblue text. Rgds, Glen There are a few Pursuit-10’s and Chaser-S single seat trikes around and 2nd hand they tend to sell very quickly for around AUD 7,000 on the rare occasion that one does appear for sale and then you’re looking at an ageing machine, though it’s rumoured that one or both of these models may be coming into production again. After much trawling around the web I’ve found several manufacturers of single seat trikes including yourself and AirCreation in France. The Manta flys circles around the AC Fun single seater....You won't be left to far behind chasing you 912 either.... Your Manta Ray RST 12.5 103 Single Seat Wing and BB103 single seat trike have sparked my interest more than any other due to the reduced wing span and topless wing design. RST is the way to go, both 103 and LSA....The performance increase for the 103 class is really obvious. Can you provide any further data sheets on the wing, are other engine options available (due to Rotax stopping production of 447 & 503 motors), Rotax has made a two year supply of 447, they say if demand goes up they may still produce...The 503 hasn't been taken off line yet. and is the trike available in kit form at a reduced price? (Save on shipping costs too?) A kit would save you a bunch...their prices are listed on my website. Would there be any examples of this trike in Australia? Lots of OZ interest but no M's there yet...

Hi Warren, http://gibbogear.com/ I think these "GibboGear" trikes are interesting, more so the Manta Ray RST 12.5 103 Single Seat Wing and BB103 single seat trike. I like the 8m wingspan folding topless wing concept so much I've sent an enquiry email. Might be able to shoehorn the whole thing into the back of my wifes Hiace van. Rgds, Glen

HPD, I think CASA would have an extremely difficult time legally, trying to ping you for most things while you are flying low over your own private property, and that as the land owner you can set the circuit rules and decide who can or cannot fly below CASA prescribed minimum heights.

Like I said, "Bigger is better" . . .

Another thing, I'm pretty sure that if you read the HGFA Reg's, if you get a Trike license, you can fly Microlights and Tricycle undercarriage Nanolights as well.

Hi Jason, I definitely recommend "Bigger is better", when it comes to windsocks. We usually arrive back over our strip at 1000ft AGL and our 8ft windsock is just the right size to give a meaningful indication of what the wind is doing on the ground. Wind generator is good for a 2nd opinion too. Cheers, Glen

I have seen that one before and previously thought it was a nanolight trike, but this time spotted the faint shadow of a 3 axis ultrlight as he passed over the carpark.

Hi Warren, From what I've seen and heard of Nano's, they have not enjoyed the same level of development specific to powered flight with undercarriage, as Micro's have. By this I mean that the HG wings used on Nanos don't have as much redundancy built in and the engines they use are supposedly not as developed or reliable as a Rotax447/503 which a single seater Micro would use, though these engines are apparently being discontinued by Rotax. I'm a bit disapointed about the lack of single seater micro's commercially available, as I would not mind a single seater micro that I can jam into the back of a station wagon after removing the prop and possibly the rear undercarriage, which is the advantage Nano's have at the moment. I have found a few commercially available single seater micros though. One is made by AirCreation in France http://www.aircreation.net/aircraft/racer.html, the other by Magic Trikes USA http://www.magictrikes.us/ and the other USA manufacturer http://www.flyforfun.net/dfs.htm Cheers, Glen

Any HG wing should be fine, so long as it is rated for the maximum combined weight of yourself and the trike base. And to be legal the empty all up weight (AUW) of your nano has to be under 70kg. I don't beleive that 70kg figure includes weight of fuel.

Hi Phil, Have read in previous travel logs that there is a lot of support for private recreational aviation in Indonesia and that the Indonesian Airforce also supports it. Have no contacts, but if you do a Google on "Lido Lakes" Ultralights or Microlights you may come up with some useful contacts who could assist to point you in the right direction. Rgds, Glen

Very interesting. Has there been any indication of pricing of blocks in the residential area of the proposed airpark?

Put a cover over your engine to keep the water off, disconnect your front pole and tilit the wing right back. Then use the hose. That's if you're lacking the eneergy to remove the wing from your trike or the ground is too dusty. Otherwise, like crusty said use the Napisan but with a soft haired broom and the hose. Did this in my back yard once and the results were pretty good. Neighbour said I was breaking the water laws but I told him the law says no hosing of hard surfaces and a sail is not a hard surface. Cheers, Glen