kgwilson

During a BFR the PIC is the Instructor so if you crash the instructor has failed. Other than that you cannot fail a BFR but the instructor can decide not to sign you off until you have improved on some aspect he is not happy with so will advise some additional training and another check flight.

The latest Jabiru manual JEM002-8 dated 22 May 2019 has these instructions. Note that full power should not be applied until the oil temperature has reached 40deg C. The earlier manual stated 50deg C. 15deg C only applies for the mag check. I warm my engine up for a bit longer and always wait till the oil is at 50 deg C before takeoff. CHT is always above 100 deg C by the time the oil temp is at 50 deg. 5.3 Warming Up Period • Start the warming up period with the engine running at 1200 RPM for around 1 minute. • Continue at 2000 RPM depending on ambient temperature, until oil t

There was extensive discussion and tests done during the Max issues surrounding runaway trim. There is a procedure for dealing with it but pilots found that once it had occurred turning the manual trim wheels required herculean effort & even with both pilots trying to turn them it took too long and the aircraft would likely have crashed. There were videos produced of this at the time. I'll have a hunt for them.

Mercs & BMWs alike are quality vehicles that cost a lot of money. They also require a lot of maintenance to ensure they keep running and this must be done by factory certified technicians (They do not have mechanics any more) and the cost is eye watering. My Japanese Mitsubishi new in 2012 has now been round the clock twice. 2 batteries and 3 sets of tyres plus oil and filters is everything I have had to spend on maintenance. They also had the confidence to give me a 10 year drive train warranty. I could have bought another new one for less than it costs for the Merc maintenance in that ti

The US dept of Justice has fined Boeing USD 2.5 billion citing the Max fiasco deception, coverup and half truths. Calhoun who was recently stripped of his role as Chairman due to shareholder pressure had this to say. “I firmly believe that entering into this resolution is the right thing for us to do — a step that appropriately acknowledges how we fell short of our values and expectations. This resolution is a serious reminder to all of us of how critical our obligation of transparency to regulators is, and the consequences that our company can face if any one of us falls short of

When I built my aircraft I decided to install auxilliary wing tanks to supplement the 100 litre main fuselage mounted tank for long trips or the ability to get back from somewhere where fuel was unavailable. I put in a L/R/Off selector valve and a 4-6 PSI Facet fuel pump to pump the fuel via a T connector in the main fuel line where it feeds into the main tank and feeds the engine (before the filter and main electric fuel pump) at the same time. I did tests for how long it took to empty each 35 litre wing tank & also found that when the tank was empty the pump made a loud clatter which I c

The Jabiru 3300A will not windmill either at least not at 80 knots. It may in a dangerous high speed dive but I am not going to try this unless I have to. Like JG I have always known the performance difference because I have done plenty of purposeful dead stick landings which is why I advocated the switching the engine off on down wind at 1000 feet abeam the threshold and then turning immediately on to base to test it out. Thanks for the test values. These will vary by aircraft and of course any headwind. FH your theory does not pass scrutiny for many high performance aircraft either though it

Wow you actually found a fine day to do it.

My GA BFRs were never an issue and in 30 years never had to do a cross country (or a flight plan) although as the years progressed some theory stuff got introduced which was good as it highlighted things that had been put to the back of the memory. The CFI knew how much XC flying I'd done as it was all in the club aircraft so in his opinion there was little point and kept the cost down. I have done my 5th RA BFR recently and as I now have my own aircraft and fly around 50 hours a year it was really just going through the motions. This time I flew a Jab 160 for the first time ever (

I take a little longer to warm my 3300A & don't start to move till the CHT temperature is at the start of the green zone but before the oil temperature gets to 50 deg. After taxi the oil will normally be at 40 deg or more before I do the runup. I always wait till the temperature reaches 50 deg before applying full power for takeoff and by the time I get to 500 feet the temperature is about 70 deg eventually settling around 90 deg. Original Jabiru operating instructions were 50 degrees before applying full takeoff power but in the latest update this has been reduced to 40 degrees.

It's usually only passengers that get sick. Best then to be the pilot.

The fins were removed from the 2200 engine but have been retained on the 3300. Overheating was an issue with early Jabirus mainly due to the airflow having too small an exhaust area and a fibreglass lip kit was produced to assist with sucking exhaust air out. The accepted minimum is 3 times exhaust area to intake. The original Jab oil coolers were thin and small and attached to the sump so not as efficient as they could have been. When i installed my 3300A engine I spent quite some time working on cooling and there is an excellent, if very technical paper created by NASA in the 80s on cooling

I recently did my BFR in a Jabiru 160. All the speeds (Rotate, Approach Best Glide) are about 65 knots indicated & climb out at 70 knots. The high stalls I did had the ASI back to about 35-40 knots & landing I didn't look. I found it easy to fly but with me at 75kgs & a 110kg instructor the performance was shall we say leisurely at about 100 fpm and 70knots. The stall speed would have to be 45 knots or less in the landing configuration or it could not be registered with RA-Aus.

Without all of the control augmentation the Max is not a stable aircraft. They have sorted the MCAS and other control systems out now and it has been approved to fly. This does not resolve all of Boeings issues though. The "Profit before Safety" culture is Boeings Archilles Heel. They are finding issues with the 787 and 777 relating to the quality of components and even in the earlier 737NG. Boeing employees blew the whistle 10 years ago and the SBS Doco showed this up. As expected back then, the whistle blowers were sacked & with the power and money of the Boeing organisation everything w

I was a bit of a madman in my younger days, basically bullet proof but I came unstuck & I almost gave up flying. I had been to the national hang gliding comps and saw some of the daredevils looping & figured I could do that but didn't want to try it with a large audience. Once back home I started to do wingovers to 90 degrees & then a bit more till I was getting way past vertical. The feeling was exhilarating but I pushed the boundary too far & in an almost loop stopped upside down & fell on to the crossbar. The glider had assumed a falling leaf configuration & I got my