eastmeg2

Hi Rick,

I'm not too sure about IvoProp pricing but I do think Bolly pricing is higher even with the new composite hub which I'm using on the 62 inch prop. Pricing is on their website.

Hi Rick,

I had a 60x3 IvoProp on a R503 + 2.58 B-Type box, which I replaced with a 62 inch Bolly BOS-3.

Both were pitched for max static revs of 6,400 rpm.

Take off roll and ROC were noticeably improved with the new 62 inch prop.

Revs at 50kt cruise was also down from 5,600rpm to 5,400rpm.

This is on a Pursuit-10 single seat trike.

Cheers,

Glen

I have a trike wing on its way from USA. USD 1,300 for door to door sea freight.

Speaking of engines. The O-233 from Lycoming is 115hp with a 2,400hr TBO for USD 21k, or USD 23k with fuel injection. A bit heavier than a Rotax-914 but USD 10k cheaper and no coolant hoses to maintain as it's air cooled.

One morning in July 2005 as I was pre-flighting my trike for a morning flight I found that nearly 300mm of the seam between the undersurface and leading edge had been opened up. Closer inspection found lots of little chewed bits of dacron sail material inside the wing and little muddy mouse footprints from the nose of the trike all the way up the front profile tube to the hang point where the little critter obviously gained access into the interior of the wing. We flew a different trike that day and I took the wing to Airborne for repair.

Since then we have always kept rat baits and traps around the hangar and leave all front profile tubes disconnected in a near vertical position so they're much harder to climb and we place a board over the purlin in the back of the hangar that the first trike in noses up to so the little critters can't get on so easily any more.

We still regularly find green rat/mouse poop around the hangar and use the little chip packet style baits which seem to work very well since the little darlings love to chew through things (the packet) to get at stuff (the bait).

Cheers,

Glen

Looks like he's over Dubbo now. I wonder if he plans to land there to give the Quik one last drink before coming into Sydney.

MTOW and stall speed fit the bill for RAAus, but the RAAus Op's Manual probably won't cover the "engine off" aspects of flying a motor glider.

Yep, saw it, touched their mock up and got their RC simulator stick in the weeds. ;-) Had to be reset.

My travelling buddy decided to get a Kitfox instead, with the Lycoming IO-233 engine option. 2,400hr TBO, 115hp naturally aspirated, air cooled, USD 10k cheaper than Rotax-914, though a bit heavier.

www.kitfoxaircraft.com

Cheers,

Glen

Hi Pud,

I think there is a brown wire coming out of the engine loom that needs to be connected tothe airframe/engine earth but does not appear in the basic wiring diagram and can easily be missed.

Cheers, From Oshkosh,

Glen

I really don't know why he went to so much effort. Everyone knows that the simplest way to fly is to pull really hard on your own shoe laces . . .

When the 2S endorsement first appeared in RAAus I was bemused to see that I didn't automatically get it, but then realised they can't just dish it out to everyone willy nilly. As I'd been taught to fly on 2-stroke trikes and subsequently flown over 200 hours in them I contacted the Op's Manager to see what he required to correct the matter and it was all sorted fairly quickly.

Cheers,

Glen

Hi Boaty,

I recommend that you build some slack into your schedule for bad weather no-fly days. I did a 2 week trip with 2 other trikes last year with 2 days allowed for weather and we used them both.

Hi John,

That makes sense. I realised afterwards that he overflew Langkawi, which is part of Malaysia. I spent a week in Langkawi a couple of years ago, very nice place.

Looks like he's starting to move again, with another position report coming in 5 minutes ago.

That's a big leg from Griffith to Arkaroola, with a lot of possibilities in between.

Looking at Daves track just now, I get the impression he is out over the water to stay outside Malaysian territorial waters/airspace (12Nm from land) and may be going straight from Thailand to Indonesia.

Eastmeg2Are you aware of some dodgy facts regarding either the Thruster or the vendor in this ebay auction that the rest of us should know about or are you simply confirming the adage of "if it's too good to be true, it usually is"? I do agree, descriptions of "almost xx hours on engine and "around xx hrs on airframe" in the ad doesn't indicate that a logbook is available or being referred to however, your post might be unfairly off-putting to a potential bidder if not justifiable. Please advise if you have any info which indicates a potential 'scam' in this ebay offering. Standing by Riley

I have no knowledge of the specific Thruster you're referring too. I've not even seen the eBay add.

What gets my alarm bells ringing on this one is that there may be no log books or history and it's being sold by someone with no aviation background allegedly on behalf of the alleged owner. I'd at least want to meet the owner, verify their ID, RAAus membership details (even if lapsed) and X-Check with RAAus their membership and aircraft rego before proceeding any further.

Even if you can't put your hands on actual registration papers (current or lapsed), as Terry mentioned, a serial number may give you a lead to follow with either the TOSG or RAAus. If the serial number is missing there is no way I would consider purchasing it except perhaps for garden furniture as David mentioned.

Cheers,

Glen

!!!! CAUTION !!!! SCAM-ware scan required.

Hi Nunans,

It probably depends almost as much on the condition and completeness of the log books and previous registration paperwork of the aircraft as much as the condition of the actual aircraft, to establish it's history and that you're the rightful owner etc . . . no doubt some of the Thruster folk on this forum will fill in the Thruster specifics.

Cheers,

Glen

I suppose you could take your pet dog and a lot of luggage too . . .

CAO 20.11, under 14, briefing of passengers.

Did anyone see my emergency exit? I can't find it? (See my avatar)

The link wouldn't work for me. Where is Tumut?

Looks like Dave has finally made some progress today and made it to Yangoon.

Hi Terry,

Here's the link to the relevant document on the Australian customs website.

http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/chapter88goods_a.pdf

I can find it fairly quickly now that I've written down: Schedule 3, Section 17, Chapter 88/3

I just noticed you're talking about tools, sorry can't answer that for you - whether they're aircraft specific or not.

Cheers,

Glen

Hi Bill,

Ive been keeping my finger on the pulse of what's available in single seat trikes around the world for a few years and several manufacturers caught my eye. Here are my observations . . .

AirCreation Racer - no longer in production and none known to be in Australia

Northwing(USA) - browsed their website many times, but they seem to be sticking with 30ft+ wingspans and mainly with king-posts.

Evolution USA Trikes - no single seaters on the market yet but may do so in next 2 years possibly with a lighter USA Part103 version of their Reflex wings but are not likely to be cheap. Coincidently, I plan to take a flight in a 100hp Revo Sport (12.5sqm wing - for the altitude) with a CFI in Colorado in August on my way home from Oshkosh.

Pegasus Chaser S - no longer in production, though some known to be in Australia and parts available from a UK vendor.

Pursuit-10 (Homebuilt) - virtually identical to the Chaser S.

Gibbo-Gear BB-103 - Might not have the same CNC milled parts as Airborne and Evolution, but reputed to be well built, good performing topless, reduced span wings. Been in the industry for several decades. Lower pricing.

Last year I bought a 2nd hand Pursuit-10 from Drifterdriver. It's a bit long in the tooth and I've been over the trike base and it has no life-span issues. The wing I think may have lifespan issues and probably not so many years of safe operating life remaining, so no prizes for guessing that the new wing I'm buying is for the Pursuit-10.

The existing wing is a Pegasus Chaser-S wing. Wing span = 8m, area = 10sqm. But before you squeal about how fast that must be, MTOW of just 220kg only makes this wing trim at around 50knots.

The wing I am buying is the Orca wing from Gibbo-Gear http://www.gibbogear.com/ in Texas. Besides being a topless wing it will be pretty much the same span and surface area as the Chaser-S wing I have now but with a 650 pound MTOW, versus 500 pound MTOW of the Chaser-S wing.

When Mark announced his "May Summer Sale", combine that with the strong Aussie Dollar - my legs turned to jelly and I put my order in.

So there you have it. What do you think?

I'm thinking it's great value for money, and am thinking how can I get the MTOW of my (CAO 95.10) trike up from 500 pounds to 650 pounds - or somewhere in between. Some potentially destructive testing of the trike base comes to mind.

Cheers,

Glen

Should I tell . . . or keep everyone guessing a bit longer?