REastwood

What was wrong with the coffee John?

The problem is that if your aircraft is picked up on behalf of the insurance company after an accident due to total engine failure (as it was in our case) and shipped back to Bundaberg for repair you will never find out what actually caused the engine to fail. We asked the person who initially inspected the engine and he said that the No. 4 big end or gudgeon pin let go, then when it got to Jabiru, it was at first "you must speak to xxx", then xxx would say "you must speak to yyy", then it was several days of incrimination "you ran it too hot", "you used the wrong fuel". After showing evidence and sworn statements that it had in fact ran within the parameters specified in the POH and asking for the engine to be returned for independent analysis we were offered a new engine minus rebated hours. We never did find out what caused the failure.

Hi, A GA BFR will count for a RAA BFR for a high performance endorsement. All you have to do is send in a copy of your log book showing the completed BFR to RAA. You will have to do a separate BFR for low performance endorsements.

Alan, Lyndon Trethewey at Custom Aircraft Centre is fitting them, if you go to www.goolwaairport.com.au under Services and Conditions his number is there. Cheers, Richard.

Hi Alan, They are all the same, the unit is by Simple Digital Systems, http://www.sdsefi.com/ Richard.

I have seen a quite a few Jabiru's come through here and the consensus is that the 4 cylinders do quite well because they run them between 2950 and 3000 RPM, as long as they don't break a through bolt they seem OK. The 6 cylinders on the other hand average about 260 hours before the heads & barrels have to come off, usually because of lead build-up (SA has the Green AVGAS) and uneven CHT and EGT - mainly on cylinders 2,3 & 4. Those that run on Unleaded seem to fare better but the uneven EGT's seem to get the valves way before 1000 hours. Flying Schools also fare worse mainly because of circuits, the engines do not like running below 2850. The solution it seems is to fuel inject the engine, balance the mixtures giving even EGT's and run on MOGAS and fiddle with the baffling to get even CHT's. I know of 5 230's now on fuel injection and they all appear to be going well.

Hi, Have you tried the AirServices WebTrak? it keeps a history of all flights within a CTA area (generally for noise control). In the bottom left corner you can enter a date and time. It's only about a 50Km radius from YSSY but hopefully it will have what you want.

I was first told it was a big end failure but the aircraft was sent back to Bundaberg for repair before I could look at it. They would not comment on what went wrong and when asked to send the engine back for independent analysis (they would not cover it under warranty) they quickly changed their mind and put in a new engine. Of course no engine is 100% reliable, but from talking to a lot of people who have spent many thousands of hours in Cessna 172's the engine very rarely just stops, things might break, can lose a lot of oil, run rough as guts but you usually have enough time to get it on the ground safely. I remember one story where the engine started running on three cylinders, the pilot diverted to the nearest strip (5 min away) but mucked up the approach, was able to do a go-round and land safely. Turned out that one of the pistons had seized separating the piston head from the skirt.

Hi Pete, I started in RAA but after an engine failure after only 280 hours in a brand new aircraft I decided to go to GA. I recently bought a Cessna 172M in excellent condition, it took a bit of looking and traveling to find but it was worth it. The engine is the o320-e2d with an STC for MOGAS, and are well known for their reliability. The aircraft is a joy to fly, we mainly go touring and it is perfectly suited to that role. As for the "dreaded annual" costing "many thousands of dollars" this does not have to be the case, do your homework, find the right LAME (even if you have to fly a few hours to get to a good one) and learn about your aircraft and what you can do yourself. I now have an aircraft I am confident in, I can put two fold up bikes in the back, I can fly into a city airport if I wish all for very little more than the cost of running a J230.

The normal procedure is when going cross country is to set ALT to either local QNH provided by ATIS or TAF or to set ALT based on airfield height. Once at top of climb set ALT to area QNH and reset when crossing aera boundaries or aera sections as noted in NAIPS or as given by FIA. When approaching destination (start of descent) ALT is set to local QNH as received from ATIS, TAF or if neither is provided then leave on aera QNH. If the ALT does not have a sub scale then the pilot will just need to take extra care when going cross country in regards to other aircraft and the stated altitude given by them.

Did an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic, then did a degree in Computer Science, then a volunteer helping the disabled, then worked as a musician (Flute and Bass), then Computer Hardware repairer, then software engineer, then Business Analyst/Programmer working in Forensic Science, now working in the family business as owner/manager of Goolwa Airport, as well as a flying instructor, but I always wanted to be a Physicist involved in High Energy Particle Research! Maybe when I retire....

I can think of at least one example where unprofessional radio calls can lead to an unsafe situation; A busy circuit on a calm day, runway in use is 20, aircraft calls "10 miles to the west", arrives 4 minutes later from the east. Calls "turning downwind" (but does not indicate runway) and a few minutes later the aircraft is spotted turning base for runway 02. Several calls go out to the aircraft but there is no response. Fortunately the aircraft doesn't turn final and flys off to the west. One aircraft in the circuit managed to see the rego number of the offending aircraft. So here is a hypothetical situation where unprofessional radio calls and poor airmanship could have led to an accident, but fortunately nothing happened. They cannot talk to the pilot, or call the CFI from their airfield as they do no know who they are. I would: contact Mick Poole (as the a/c had a RAA rego) via phone or email, giving a factual account of the situation with names of other witnesses if possible. If Mick Poole recommended me to also contact other authorities I would do so, otherwise I'd leave it up to RA-Aus to self regulate.

There is another, more controversial*, theory developed from data returned from the Cassini and Voyager probes as well as the GPS network that indicates the speed of light in a vacuum is variable and that time is constant. The difference between clocks on Earth and those in orbit are due to the effect gravity exerts on time measuring devices (atomic clocks) as apposed to gravity slowing down time itself. The variability of light would dispense with the need for dark matter & dark energy (which no one can find) thus stopping the runaway complexity of current theories trying to explain observed discrepancies. * Controversial because it means Einstein was wrong - Google "Einstein was wrong" and in between a lot of rubbish there is some respected scientific study indicating that the invariance of c is false.

Information on the Tyro is now available on http://www.goolwaairport.com.au under "tyro", there is also one for sale with a VW engine.

Hi Doug, it was most likely Roger Stokes you saw at Murray Bridge, which is VH registered. I reckon a 6' 100kg pilot would fit in and still have 1 1/2 hours fuel. I think the issue with certain types of aircraft getting into RA-Aus is where the first of a new type or conversion is done and checked and subsequently passed and all is OK. But the tenth one gets in because the first one did, but it is not necessarily the same.

The Spitfire is RAA registered "19" which is the RAA experimental category (homebuilt). In both GA and RAA there are many various Experimental rules and limitations and it all depends on the aircraft and it's intended use. On the other hand, most ex-military aircraft will come under the Limited category and can be used under the "Warbird" ruling allowing for warbird flights. The replica Spitfire (Geoff Eastwood's, I only placed the add for him) has the Jabiru 8 cyl engine and is a single seat, plus a stall speed of less than 45knots in landing config. With pilot and 2 odd hours of fuel it comes under the 544kg limit. As it was homebuilt it fits under the "19" reg for RAA, wether it has retractable undercarriage, or anything else makes no difference, as long as it is airworthy and meets the requirements for RAA. Richard.

I'll ask him next time he is here and see if it's OK to pass on his number. Or you can call Custom Aircraft Centre (Lyndon Trethewey) who helped/did? the installation with John. The only number I have for Lyndon is: 0417 802 964

Hi Flying dog, didn't take it that way at all. I think the more discussion there is and more analysis of what else could be done or done differently in these situations the more chance that that information will lodge in your memory, and when, or if, it ever happens again that little bit of information may just help. The discussion on EPIRBs had made me realise that it's not good enough just having it with you, I need to know how to operate it quickly without thinking too much about it. Also, as part of the pre-flight make sure the monthly test of the EPIRB has been done.

I must admit these PLB's (mine is a GME accsat) do not lend themselves to quick activation. I reckon it could take 20 - 30 seconds to activate (pull it out, remove cap etc), a lot of time when you are only 1,500 ft AGL. Flying Dog, you are right of course, I should have activated it but things happened pretty quick and while I always carry the PLB I don't always run through the instructions on how to activate it. I guess a lesson to learn from this is to make sure you know how to activate your PLB without really thinking so it doesn't distract you from flying the aircraft.

The exact cause is still to be determined, all I know so far is that it was No. 4 cylinder (large bulge in crankcase) and the valves are still in place. That leaves the Big End, Little End, Conrod or Piston. The engine ran on 5 cyl. for 30 secs before seizing, so...? Both wings are badly damaged due to the flip over, the left wing more so than the right. As both main wheels were on the ground for about 15 metres before the nose wheel touched and dug in, I can only assume that it leaned to the left as it was flipping over. It looks like its being sent up to Jabiru to be put back together.

I didn't activate my EPIRB, I did make sure I had it around my neck and ready to go. I'm not sure why I didn't activate it, maybe because I put it down within a few hundred meters of civilisation.

I made a Mayday call yesterday! Initially engine suddenly went to 5 cylinders only, after checks etc, and with engine still running, started looking for paddock and made sure VHF and area freq. 30 seconds later it went very quiet. I have just finished my Instructor training and you are taught "if the engine stops it's a Mayday". I had a paddock selected while engine was still running, and though hilly it looked OK, but as soon as the engine stopped I gave a Mayday call. I just ran through the drill: "Mayday x 3, Aircraft x 3, Engine failure, approx. position, 1 POB, intentions to land in paddock, will call on ground if possible". Adelaide radar responded that they had noted Mayday, confirm position if possible and that emergency services have been notified. I think I dropped out of radar after about a minute after calling and once on the ground I could not make contact (aircraft had flipped.) so I called the police and gave exact position (iPhones are great!) and that I was uninjured. All in all it happened very quick, it turned out OK, and if it happened again I would still make a Mayday call. I could have been injured, unconscious etc. A Mayday indicates you have a serious problem. If I had just said something is wrong with the engine and I'm going to land, it could be taken that all is under control. Whilst having a whole load of police, ambulance, fire trucks and media helicopters rolling up is quite embarrassing, better being embarrassed than something worse.

Hi DestinyFlyer, yes I was the pilot.

Hi, The aircraft is a Jabiru 230D, with 285 hours. On transit from Goolwa to Port Augusta at approx. 40 min into the flight the engine immediately started running rough, like it was only firing on 5 cylinders and vibrating. Carby heat was pulled on, fuel pump on and full power given. There was no change at all to RPM and the engine continued to run rough for approx 30 sec. Aircraft had slowed to 90 knots and dropped to 2500 feet (1500 AGL) when the engine stopped dead (no windmilling). Paddock had already been selected, Adelaide Radar notified and 2 min. later a forced landing executed. At about 30 km/h the front wheel dug into the soft soil and the aircraft flipped. At this stage the insurance company has retrieved the aircraft and will hopefully determine what caused the failure. The only thing that was not tried was a restart, but with limited time and the need to "aviate", the time was used to avoid a steep gully and aim the only flattish ground around.

A couple of people to contact regarding Port Noarlunga would be Ivor Paech and Bob Pratt. They should should be in the phone book, but I can post their details once I get the OK from them (don't like posting phone numbers etc on the web) Richard.