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kgwilson

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Everything posted by kgwilson

  1. kgwilson
    Yesterday the forecast was for Westerlies 15-30kmh and fine conditions. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and little wind when I left home. There was a 10-15 knot wind from the SW when I got to South Grafton straight down the runway. It is mostly bush till about 10 NM from Casino which was where I decided to go. I knew it would not be smooth flying. It was quite rough in fact and I could see the clouds forming from small thermals that were popping off the brown farm patches & then get shredded by the wind. I was at 3500 feet and the base of these a bit over 4000. As I approached these I got trashed. They were small but very punchy & I had over 1000 up followed by 1000 down within a few seconds and got involuntarily turned 90 deg & banked 60-70 deg a few times. I instantly pulled the thriottle back till well under VA (85 knots) after the first one but even at 70 knots it was most unpleasant. I knew what this was but would a new pilot with 5 hours solo have any real idea and then know what to do?
  2. kgwilson
    A few hours solo & having sat the exams etc in no way prepares you for flying in bad weather. That is an attitude issue unless it has been drummed in to you by an instructor or you have flown with someone competent in those situations. You can pass all of the exams by just having read what is in the books but never actually taking much heed of what the real message is.
  3. kgwilson
    I enjoyed every minute of my 5 year build project. It was not full time obviously. I spent about 1000 hours in total. In the same 5 years I had several holidays, re-built a hangar, re-built part of a house and spent plenty of time with family etc.
  4. kgwilson
    Whatever else she did or forgot to do I don't know but she did pull off a textbook ditching.
  5. kgwilson
    As I remember from the incident at the time that RH wing got left behind before the aircraft fell in love with the back of the hangar.
  6. kgwilson
    I was 90% complete after about 2 years but it took another 3 years to finish the other 90%. Take some comfort (when you di finish) in the fact that about 50% of all aircraft building projects never get finished at all.
  7. kgwilson
    This was reported in the other thread https://www.recreationalflying.com/forums/topic/38971-3rd-april-2023-proserpine-light-aircraft-crash/page/2/#comment-549735 where the ATSB has discontinued it's investigation. It just shows there are still idiots prepared to do their own thing rather than follow established rules and procedures. The sad part is he took out his pregnant wife due to this attitude.
  8. kgwilson
    The solenoid in the Jab is for the starter motor.
  9. kgwilson
    No 3600 is the total of all ATC employees
  10. kgwilson
    Park on the grass on the other side of the sealed taxiway opposite the Aero Club. They run a flying school so are open most of the time. Rod Davison runs everything. PM me for his phone number.
  11. kgwilson
    The Facet pumps I installed came with their own nipples which fitted the 1/4" automotive fuel line so there were no AN fittings required. The main boost pump is 1.5-4 PSI & has heaps of flow to a Jab 3.3 engine so will have no issue with feeding a rotax. The wing tanks have a 4-6 PSI pump to transfer fuel to the main fuselage tank
  12. kgwilson
    I agree but there is always a limit to what can be done to minimise the risk of a fire. The risk will decrease with the preventative meaures taken but the tradeoff is added complexity and weight. Even the addition of items to help with prevention could cause other problems should they fail to operate as required. So there is a compromise to be reached and be determined by the builder. Good quality components correct wiring protocols, procedures and continued preventative maintenance will minimise the risk of failure. If these things are properly carried out the risk will be minimised to a level that is acceptable to the builder. Statistics from the US show that in 2022 there were 1,529.9 fires in petrol powered cars per 100,000 sales or 1.53% and this was all fires, not just those caused by electrics. The vast majority were fires caused by accidents and fuel spilled onto hot engines For EVs the number was just 0.025%. So the conclusion is that the risk is extremely low without adding extra prvenative measures. If after looking at statistics and analysis you still think extra measures are required either do them or don't fly. I am happy with the knowledge of having wired the aircraft to very high standards and the risk of fire with the system I have installed is very low so as to not bother me.
  13. kgwilson
    My hourly costs are minimal as I usually only have fuel as outlay. I don't bother factoring in depreciation so I have written off the build cost. Since new in 2015 I have installed a new Bolly prop in 2018 at a cost of $1,700.00 and other parts have been $300.00 for a coil, 2 batteries $280.00, starter clutch $220.00, new mains tyres $325.00, engine mount rubbers $130.00, tacho sender $65.00, oil/filter every 25 hours $45.00, spark plugs every 100 hours $55.00 & air filter $25.00. There are a few other minor things but that's it so far.
  14. kgwilson
    To answer the question definitively. There is NO legal requirement to instal a battery isolator in a 19 registered amateur built aircraft. Wiring is entirely up to the builder. You can instal motor vehicle cables or certified tefzel cables and the switch gear can be anything you like so long as it works & considered safe by you the builder. When the pre-flight inspection is carried out, that is done by you and observed by a L4. Personally I have nothing that will isolate the electrical system except a 30amp fuse on the firewall for all electrical power to the master to deal with a direct short and various size fuses and circuit breakers for the various bits of electrical equipment in the cabin. The quality of the wiring installed will be determined by the knowledge and experience of the installer. If I had a lithium battery I would instal an isolator but even that may not prevent a runaway internal circuit failure. I've seen some terrible installations with cables bundled allowing for electromagnetic interference, too close to hot surfaces, poor joins and bad insulation some even showing bare wire, cable runs throgh drilled holes with no grommets or glands, the list goes on.
  15. kgwilson
    Air Traffic Controllers are employed by Air Services Australia. If you add their 3600 to CASA's 900 gives a better comparison of 4,500 to the FAAs 45,000
  16. kgwilson
    49?? According to US government Accountability office there are nearly 45,000 FAA employees. FAA Workforce: Better Assessing Employees' Skill Gaps Could Help FAA Prepare for Changes in Technology WWW.GAO.GOV The Federal Aviation Administration relies on a workforce of nearly 45,000 to operate the national airspace system. Changes in the aviation industry...
  17. kgwilson
    I'm not so sure. The only Westach instrument i installed is a Carburettor Temperture gauge. The probe stopped working after a couple of years and then the needle fell off the gauge making it entirely useless.
  18. kgwilson
    Absolutely the best and least expensive way to fly is to build your own aircraft especially an approved design. You can modify it and maintain it yourself and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you are not trusting the strength and integrity of the build to anyone else but you. I am talking about a full build of every nut, bolt, rivet and fibreglass/resin part here not a quick build kit which is more like an assembly and paint job. Not flying over built up areas and in controlled airspace are just stupid rules that mean nothing as far as I am concerned. The only thing is that my aircraft has 19 & not VH in the rego. If I was across the ditch there is no difference.
  19. kgwilson
    Well at least we can land on sports grounds, golf courses and roads without power lines in our small aircraft.
  20. kgwilson
    This bloke clearly has not done his homework. Who is going to finance an unproven new internal combustion engine when clearly all manufacturers are moving to electric and hydrogen power to meet zero emission standards in the future. Janus trucks here have an electric B double that can get from Sydney to Coffs harbour on a single charge & the battery can be swapped out in 15 minutes while the driver has a compulsory 2 hour stand down period. All he is advocating is another Hybrid & these have been shown to be the worst of both worlds, though Toyota is persisting with them...... for now. He hasn't kept up with battery development. The new Sodium batterys have energy density almost as good as lithium 200Wh/KG and CATL says they will surpass lithium density within 2 years. They also do not require cobalt or nickel & even the LIFePO4 batteries do not require cobalt.
  21. kgwilson
    MARAP of course relates only to factory built aircraft but I think the $660.00 fee is over the top and some justification for this fee is required even though it is published as such. I built my own aircraft and so can maintain and modify it as I wish. I installed a new 2 blade Bolly BOS-5 prop in December 2018, completed the appropriate form with the prop data supplied by Bolly and that was it. No fee and my aircraft record is updated so why this exhorbitant fee for doing essentially the same thing. Given the prop being replaced is identical and I imagine is also installed on other Gazelles I can see no justification at all. RA was supposed to make aircraft ownership more affordable but all they seem to be doing is trying to emulate the ridiculous compliance costs of GA. The circumstances surrounding this specific case should see the fee refunded in full in my opinion.
  22. kgwilson
    I have a twin piston compressor for inflating tyres. It will inflate a completely flat tyre to 40 PSI in a couple of minutes. It came with a cigarette lighter fitting as well as aligator clips for direct battery connection. I tried the cig lighter fitting & it blew the fuse straight away. It uses about 25 amps. Any mob that thinks their jump starter can be used via a cig lighter socket has rocks in their heads. Don't even think of buying anything they try to sell. There are heaps of jump starters on Ebay from $35.00 to about $300.00. Lots around the $100.00 mark. Check for a money back guarantee and Australian supplier plus customer ratings. The lithium packs are pretty light & they also often have a torch & various USB outlets so can be used to charge your phone, SE2 and other devices. Some also have wireless charging.
  23. kgwilson
    Cars usually have them specially made with all the appropriate bends in the one hose. This won't be the case for a homebuilt aircraft unless you have planned everything around the chosen radiator hose. Not my field of expertise but I'd think that you only need flexibility between the engine and fuselage and the rest could be an alloy pipe if there was a longish run.
  24. kgwilson
    Who cares when the wings have fallen off.
  25. kgwilson
    The alternator on my 3300A engine charges at a consistent 14.2 volts but I would have thought it is the current (amps) that it charges at via the regulator that is more important. Most vehicle batteries are never fully charged by the vehicle alternator. Even after a long run you can put the battery on charge with a good quality intelligent charger like a CTEK MXS-5.0 and it will usually go in to charge mode for a while before deciding the battery is fully charged and switching to trickle or maintain status.
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