cscotthendry

OK: For the flap involvement, I was wondering if the mechanical movement of the flaps and linkage could be causing interference with the electrical system by disturbing nearby wiring or plugs etc. Another area to look at: with Rotax systems, there is a large electrolytic capacitor that is wired across + and - downstream of the regulator. This is to act as a load for the regulator should the connection to the rest of the electrical system be lost downstream. Some Rotax systems don't have this cap, but Rotax recommend it. Does the Jab setup have something similar? If a big cap like that was shorting internally, it might cause something like you describe. But I think if that happened, the cap would most likely smoke or possibly even explode. That might be the component chucking a hissy. Also, capacitors are notorious components in electrocal circuits for causing problems. Most electronic faults are cause by ageing caps and when we used to have mechanical points in car ignitions, the "condenser" (which is another name for a capacitor) across the distributor points was a common source of engine problems.

Bruce: Here's the run from Watts Bridge to Clifton

Hi Bruce: As you near the range from Clifton, dial up 121.2 on the radio and ask for the status of Amberly airspace. I do it regularly and the controllers are always happy to oblige. They prefer pilots to ask rather than to just blunder into restricted airspace. At 4,500 AMSL you have sufficient clearance over the range and once you clear the range you can drop down to 3,500 no probs. As others have said, track up towards Watts Bridge, then across Mt Brisbane to Kilcoy and up the Woodford valley to Caloundra. It's an easy run, but you will get thermals in that area. It'a always a little bumpy. But by the time you get to Watts Bridge, you're only about 1/2 hour from Caloundra anyway. Flying around Amberley airspace isn't as daunting as you might think. We do it all the time and it has completely de-mystified flying around PRD airspaces for us. Give yourself 100' clearance under the 4,500' step and a couple miles lateral clearance from the lower steps and you're good to go. I wouldn't advise the route between Amberley and Archerfield though. It's only a couple of miles wide in places and there's significant amounts of traffic in and out of YBAF.

To have total electrical failure in a system with an alternator and a regulator, I would think it would be a connection fault. The next question is: How is the main current carried from the charging/storage system to the instruments? Is it a heavy duty battery isolator switch or a relay/solenoid? Obviously your engine is not losing power, so is the ignition electronic as in the Rotax engines or magnetos as in Lyc/ Cont engines? Next question: Have you tried extending the flaps to takeoff position, then putting some pressure on the flaps about equivalent to the aerodynamic pressure of takeoff? I think even if the alternator stopped charging, you would still get power from the battery. Even if the battery was going open circuit you should still get power from the alternator. I don't know specifics of JAB engines nor the setup in your plane and these are just some general troubleshooting techniques. HTH

When we do our Outback flights, we just use whatever is available, whether it's 98 mogas or Avgas. The Rotax will happily dine on either. If you use more than 30% Avgas you just have to change the oil every 25 hours. For a simple ferry flight, I wouldn't worry about it.

Haydn & Alicia started a YouTube channel for their Australian Adventure. They built an RV in their lounge room, pulled the pin on corporate life and set off into the Outback. In their 10th video, the alluded to having to fly home urgently although the reason wasn't made clear. After that episode ... *crickets* I have left comments on their channel asking if they were OK, or why they stopped making videos etc. *crickets* Does anyone know what happened to them? They were based out of Cessnock IIRC.

There are two types of vinyl for graphics; standard vinyl and wraps. They are different products and applied in different ways. Vinyl has a sticky backing and is usually applied (by us amateurs) by spraying soapy water on the surface and then after laying the graphic in place very carefully squeegeeing ALL of the water out from underneath. Vinyl will not do small radius compound curves. Vinyl wrap has an adhesive that is only slightly sticky, enough to hold it in place, but can be placed and lifted without damage. The adhesive is heat activated and that is needed to make it stick properly. Wrap will conform to small radius compound curves. Returning to the question, I would defintely do the nose art in stick on graphics. That way it can be repaired/replaced easily. Even shaded graphics can be done as some Vinyls can be printed on before application..

All may not be lost Phil. Most chargers these days are international. They usually will work on anything from 110 to 240V. iCom are a pretty savvy company so your martian may yet find a pair of scissors!

I'll second what Mike said about the carby cables. Remember that your throttle control doesn't drive the carby position. The springs do that. If there is any drag in the cables at any point, it could cause an uneven actuation of the throttle. It might be worth completely pulling the cable inners out and inspecting them careflly for wear or taipans. And while you have them out would be a good time to lubricate them.

Ok, a confession of sorts, more of a cautionary tale. I took a friend up for a fly on a gusty day. The flight went all to plan until the landing phase. As we approached the field, the wind was a bit cross to the runway, but very gusty. On short final, the plane started an uncommanded left bank. I thought "What have I flown into? Is it some kind of willy willy?" After a couple of seconds wondering what was happening, we were over the side fence of the airfield and about halfway down the runway. I decided that it would be just about impossible to fly back to the runway so I pushed the nose down, gave it full throttle and called "going around". So what happened? My guess is that I let the airspeed drop and stalled a wing. Fortunately for me and my friend, my training caused me to do the correct response, nose over and throttle. Had I tried to correct the uncommanded left bank with ailerons, we might have been a smoking hole in the paddock. I have practiced stalls many times, but haven't had a wing drop like that before. It started out gently and I applied a little aileron pressure, but got no response like I usually get. That was when I figured that the plane was out of my control and that it wasn't going to be possible to fly back to the runway. I have a fair bit of history with go-arounds as I fairly often mis-judge my approach and end up too high on short final. It's my biggest shortcoming as a pilot, but I just go around and work it out. So the point is, I don't hesitate to abort a landing if things aren't to my liking. In this case my comfort with go-arounds save two lives.

Sorry to hear about your eye troubles Ian. They sound serious. I have had a few issues with my eyes, but they have all been treated successfully. It was only when I started having these issues (torn retina and wet Macular Degeneration) that I really started to value my sight. Fortunately for me, laser treatment welded my retinas back and I'm currently having injections in the eyeball for the MD. When we were kids, we had an oath to swear that what we were saying was true; "Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye." Having a needle stuck in my eye was about the worst thing I could ever imagine. It turns out that I'll tolerate some unimaginable stuff to keep my sight. And it turns out having an injection in your eyeball is not quite as bad as it sounds. The laser treatment though, is another matter entirely. One of the worst experiences in my life. Again, sorry to hear about your troubles.

Welcome to the forums and to flying. Blue skies and tailwinds.

Hi Mike: I'll give you a call WRT to the ceramic coating option. That sounds interesting. Thanks.

WRT the oil temp for takeoff 1) Rotax specify that as a minimum 2) I have heard that this is because there is a bypass valve in the oil filter that remains open until the oil is at 50 degrees 3) I masked off a third of my oil cooler because my oil temps were too low during flight, but especially on descent. Now, my oil temps run in the middle of the green arc during flight, climb to the top of the green/bottom of the yellow on a sustained climb and sit at the bottom of the green on descent. Clearly, the Rotax supplied oil cooler on my airplane is providing more cooling than my engine needs. I have a simple normally aspirated 100HP 912ULS. As for not doing runups before takeoff? Not this little black duck. I do them every time. I want to know that both mags are sparking before I go hurtling down the runway with a fence at the end of it. WRT to cooking the engine? IMO, if you're keeping an eye on the temp gauges, you shouldn't be cooking the engine. I couldn't vouch for air cooled engines, but the Rotax doesn't cook like that. I have had an occasion with a warm start on a very hot day when my coolant temp rose above normal, but as soon as I started my takeoff roll, the temp came down about halfway down the runway. So, how a pilot treats his own aircraft with Lycomings is his business. That it "doesn't use a drop of oil" says only that his engine is still in reasonably good condition, but it doesn't logically follow that his lack of runups is the reason. That's a bit like saying that because rain comes from clouds, if there are clouds in the sky it must be raining. Finally, WRT to the long warmup time for the Vixen, yes, he probably had a similar setup as most Rotax engines. I think the standard oil cooler has been designed to cope with the higher power and turbo charged engines. With the standard oil cooler on a normally aspirated 80 or 100HP engine it can take a while to get the oil temp up, especially in the winter, but it's still required by Rotax.