eastmeg2

Hi John,

I was reading in a Rotax Service Instruction the other day, that the 912 should be revved between 2500-2750rpm for warm up & warm down, whenever not actually being used for climb or cruise power. It's also supposed to stop shock cooling of the engine during descent.

Rgds,

Glen

If the banks treated our money with the same level of security they use for their own these problems wouldn't occur.

Perhaps we shoudl extend this discussion to private strips as well. I'm sure there are more than a couple of recreational pilots on this forum who, like myself, do most of their operations out of private airstrips which don't provide all the relative luxuries of a proper town/city airport.

In my own case I've already identified likely escape paths and paddocks I should be able to reach in an EFATO, reasonably confident that the ground there is smooth enough, hard enough and long enough for me to put down in an emergency without being flipped over, dug in or run out of space. Departure circuit is also well established as a right hand circuit which provides the quickest route to much larger, open, flat paddocks.

I still don't know, and probably won't until it actualy happens, whether I would persist with landing into a run-off area or if I would pull the GRS handle.

I'm just wondering, how many private strip operaters go through these preparatory processes?

Rgds,

Glen

Hi Mike,

If you're intending to do a lot of beach landings and base your flight plans on them I'd recommend the Tundra wheels as you can't safely land on soft sand with the standard wheels, you need well compacted sand for that.

Then depending on the length of your beaches over there you might want to look at the Cruze wing option. However if your beaches are all miles long with no humps you should have no issues with the Streak-3.

Rgds,

Glen

Hi Mundoo, isn't Cairns an international airport with customs facilities? If you can get it delivered there, even via Brisbane that should help with your logistics of collecting it.

Thank you Planedriver for taking the time to explain that one.

The problem being for birds that they have no lips with which to KISS - and get pregnant. I always thought there had to be another way.

Takes me back to reading the book of Joshua Slocum doing the first ever solo world circumnavigation in a sailing yacht. Sydney was the only port in the world that tried to charge him harbour fees.

He cheated them out out that by promising to pay before he sailed out again, then transported his yacht overland to Newcastle for a display and sailed on from there.

Another beautiful day of flying near Goulburn today.

The traffic on the Hume Highway this weekend going south out of Sydney on Friday and back again today was the heaviest I've seen in many a long weekend, the only difference being that this time there was no double demerits in place and very few speed traps - if any. Yet I found the traffic very well behaved, probably better than other long weekends. I'm sure the police commissioner has a good explanation.;)

Cheers,

Glen

At that price with an HKS, AUD 29k delivered to your nearest capital city, it looks like a definite threat to Airborne's market share here in Oz.

Seems too good to be true. Does that price include the wing? The reason I ask is that a lot of trike manufacturers price the wing separately.

My 912 gets 9 L/hr (Measured, not the fuel flow meter which reads 6 L/hr) if I slow it down to 55kts and the HKS has fewer moving parts inside, so should be able to drink less.

The only trike I have personally seen with the HKS motor was a nice black Pegasus Quantum, from Bright in Victoria if I remember correctly.

Seemed to run quite well.

Rgds,

Glen

Put in an order with Airborne for an XT-700 - yeah right ! . . . LOL.

Or,

Maybe that's the only thing that might make Rick & Rob seriously consider it, if they get firm orders for trikes on the proviso that they are fitted with the HKS motor.

If that's their attitude they should never have accepted the taking over of the airport from the Federal government in the first place. They should give it back.

Darn,

I'll be jetting out of the country for a week or two for work that weekend.

Which weekend in October ??? And is it a 3-dayer.

Thanks Ian

BUGGER IT DIDN'T WORK - AGAIN !!!

Matt it was a pleasure to meet you and your lady friend at Goulburn.

To everyone else there were actually 4 trikes present. 2 towed from Nowra and the other 2 of us flew in from a private strip 30Nm away.

Assuming this is my first post to successfully include an image (I have no paperclip to use), this has to be the best artwork I've yet seen on a trike. The eyes are the landing lights.

Cheers,

Glen

Once I tried to encourage Airborne to look into making the HKS700 available on some of their trike models which I personally think would be a great idea for any of their models except the Streak-3 wing, but they didn't seem to interested and seemd to fixate on the problems with the earlier HKS engines.

It'd be great with the Wizard, Cruze and Streak-2 wing combinations, providing the fuel economy of a 4 stroke without quite the same expense as a 912.

It's true that the distance between airports in the Goulburn area is greater than most other areas on the eastern seaboard and closing it will leave a big hole, creating the safety issue and potentially precautionary landings / forced landings where they're not wanted.

Thanks Don,

The main reason we ever dropped in to Currandooley in the past was to socialise with anyone we might spot on the ground there if we happen to fly that way. We've previously been briefed to keep any circuits to the couthern side and trikes tend to fly tight circuits anyway.

Have not overflown that strip for probably 6 months now.

Maybe we'll see you at the Goulburn Airport BBQ on Saturday . . .

Rgds,

Glen

Don,

I notice you've list Currandooley as your airstrip what's the status of that strip now? We thought it'd been closed due to a combination of wind erosion and the passing on of ownership from one generation to the next.

We used to drop in there from time to time in our trikes.

Rgds,

Glen

Then I will and Crezzi probably should, take it as a compliment to our descriptive skills. The XT is a more relaxed ride than the Classic, lower engine note, less physical and smoother ride.

Only thing that's bugged me since getting the XTS-912 has been the weather. Our strip limits our flying opportunities a bit compared to an airport and we tend to err on the side of caution.

Cheers,

Glen

I was just told today that somebody who works on the same office floor as me is going solo for their PPL at Bankstown on Thursday . . . First day of the APEC lockdown.

Me thinks that was a well timed exit from Sydney airspace, get out while you can, ie, after tomorrow OUR airspace will be thick with APEC.

Ian,

Have you already been for a ride in an XT-912? 'Cause your actions suggest that you have.

Perhaps we'll see you at the Wangaratta Trike gathering in your XT next March or April?