kgwilson

RV & SR22 chromolly nose legs are quite long and the Nose Job is well engineered and would appear to be effective, especially as if you do bend the nose leg it in theory pushes the nose up rather than in to the ground without it. Mine is far too short for such a system and it doesn't flex much. Still I land on the grass and on some rough strips. There is no secret, just keep the weight of the nose by increasing up elevator progressively from touchdown till walking pace. It took a while to master initially due to the sensitiveness of a full flying elevator (stabilator). What you don't want to happen is for the aircraft to leave the ground again as it can quite easily drop the nose heavily after it stalls again.

There have now been 6 incidents in less than a week, the latest turnback to Fiji with fumes from the galley oven cited as the issue. Maybe it is just that these have all been reported in the Press when they normally wouldn't. Apparently there are over 10,000 turnbacks annually with Qantas averaging 60. They are well ahead of their average this year if the last week is anything to go by.

It depends on what your USB supply is capable of. As Uavionix say the SE2 may consume more power that the USB supply can deliver. It will slow the battery depletion though by whatever the output is. I think the maximum charging voltage is 5 volts so in theory if your USB could deliver 5amps that would more than keep up with the power useage. I know with my 1-2 amp USB supply in the aircraft, my phone will keep functioning when connected for as long as the flight but there is no more power in the battery when I disconnect than when I started. I have thought about getting a bigger one but have not done so as I am unsure whether I'll get radio interference. The first cheap one I had was useless. The one I have now is Baseus & no interference. It seems to be a good brand. I have a 20,000 mAh 20W Baseus power bank & that is excellent so I take that with me to recharge things if I am nowhere near a power point. It is quite heavy.

The SE2 contains 4 x LG INR18650 F1L Li ion batteries of 3350 mAh each. That is 4 times the average phone battery of a couple of years ago. Battery capacity and chargers have increased a lot in the last few years so the old 1-2 amp chargers you got with everything years ago won't cut it any more as the time to charge larger batteries is too long. Uavionix states in the installation manual (you can download this from their web site) below. 8.2.1 Connection Notes It is important to choose an appropriate power supply and cable to ensure proper charging of SkyEcho. 1. It is recommended for fastest charging that the chosen USB power supply should be compliant with the Quick Charge 3 (QC3) standard. Use one which provides at least 18W. SkyEcho will not adequately charge at less than 2.5 amps. 2. SkyEcho has a high-capacity battery that will permit up to 12 hours of use. It is recommended that, where practical, charging is conducted at least monthly on the power supply until full. 3. Regardless of adapter output, it is not recommended that the SkyEcho be used permanently in-aircraft using a 12V USB adapter as the SkyEcho will consume more power than can be provided by the adapter. 4. While SkyEcho is fitted with a USB-C charging socket, it is not USB PD compliant. USB PD chargers will not properly handshake with and charge the SkyEcho. Instead, use only chargers equipped with USB-A output ports, and utilize the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable. 5. Computer USB ports (Mac or PC) cannot deliver sufficient power to charge a SkyEcho. Given that when fully charged to SE2 provides 12 hours of use, there is no real need to charge it from your aircraft power supply anyway.

Fletchers & Crescos are not bush planes but they do operate from some pretty rough strips with a ton of super phosphate on board but always land empty. I went for a ride in a Cresco off my neighbours strip In NZ. The approach was under some 110 kVA power lines to a 30deg up slope strip with the loader on the top flat turnaround. I did about 6 runs with the pilot. Each one only took a couple of minutes, takeoff to landing.

Apple chargers are Chinese like all the rest, they just charge 2-3 times more for them. Apple do not have PD (power delivery) chargers but I suspect that will change with the next model iPhones & iPads. Check Ebay, there are plenty of 3.5 amp and above chargers there as well as 3.5 amp car adaptors. Uavionix do not recommend USB C to USB C cables mainly because most of these are PD standard to allow for high speed charging. Many new models of Android phones can charge at 100 watts or even more so you can charge a 5-6000 mAh phone battery from empty to full in half an hour or so. The USB cable that comes in the box with the SE2 is QC3 standard and is USB A at the charger end and USB C at the SE2 end. The QC3 standard has a maximum current of 4.6 amps so at 5 volts that provides 23 watts to the battery being charged. There is a dual USB A wall charger on Ebay for $9.95 delivered that supplies 5 amps so will charge at 25 watts . This is locally supplied with an Australian plug. There are plenty of different suppliers and prices. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/374111703682?hash=item571acb9282:g:dXUAAOSwAUdimZjM&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4Hbw8VHuW1eNI9O%2F4P9uwRHss%2BfhWDxs4Fm2DsLbpYk4fZNF9vwMEtazqV4qisxaEv069I81R1Jl%2F7EMUCaGXg0yRv2rkhrYW49ibLwhLYZpRSyG94aUK4tPAaZqfcgEl5YPExowNZjePRw34LxB4apXYH8vLQlt15QR2Pt4sSgo16%2Fx8HVCtM46FFDLON8s9plBSoEiY8BgdKXU8qUkRAUwIJFUGiEqo5ktAGCzEy6vmMw2BKh70SS1lun8kV65gYAFay36Ef0qYEJRrmFYzkZufDHjORKJV8bks%2Bi6TxYi|tkp%3ABFBMsKfOgLth

Cessna nose legs fail too. The 172 & above have pretty beefy Oleo strut noselegs but they are heavy complex and expensive.

Have you set the "Ownship" filter to "On" in your SE2. If it is not set and you have Mode S out or SE2 set to transmit out it can cause a ghost image of your aircraft on your nav device.

It is not called the "Flying Bum" for nothing.

Nosewheels on most aircraft are a weak point especially in rough landing spots. That's why Bush planes are taildraggers.

Uavionix say that a supply of less than 2.5amps will not adequately charge the SE2. A 2 amp supply will probably charge it to a certain level but it may not fully charge. They also say not to keep it plugged in to your aircraft USB supply as it will consume more than the power outlet can supply. That may be the case for factory built aircraft but if you build your own you could install a 3.5 amp USB outlet. Still that depends on how much power your alternator can supply. New phones & tablets (except Apple) now use PD supply which as I said can deliver 100 watts but the SE2 is still one step back in charging technology using QC3 which new Apple devices also use. Apple has not caught up with the rest of the world in charging technology. A 3.5 amp charger costs very little ($10-15) & you can get car adaptors for about the same price. Make sure though that the charger end is USB A as a lot of new ones are USB C and USB C to USB C are more likely to be PD cables which won't work with the SE2.

It doesn't even look like that engine photo is from that aircraft.

Many of your old chargers won't be any good as they will charge at 2.0 amps or less. At 5 volts nominal output this is only 10 watts. This is insufficient to charge a SE2. Uavionix specify 18 watts or more. The cable supplied is a QC3 cable so you will require a charger with 3.5amps or more. At x 5 volts of output that is 17.5 watts which is fine. You cannot use the later PD (power delivery) USB cables which are capable of delivering up to 100 watts, they just won't work.

I wonder if it was the fact that the Press had loudly published MAYDAY. As it probably came from the Oceanic Datalink Comms emergency transmission how did the Press know unless there was a leak from someone?

I just had a look at mine and the suction cup does sit about 5mm higher than the SE2 in the case. It is a fairly hard cover though and the USB cable doesn't take up much room so I reckon there would have to be a lot of pressure to switch it on & the SE2 switch is recessed as well.

They must have changed the packaging. The new ones come in a hard cover zippered case with the SE2 and suction cup in separate moulded compartments so there is nothing that can switch it on when packed.

I don't know the regulations but I imagine it would be mandatory to divert to the nearest useable aerodrome for the type when one engine failed. In this case Sydney was it anyway.

ETOPS (Extended range Twin engine Operations Performance Standards) began in the 1960s with ETOPS 60 which certified twin engine aircraft to fly for 60 minutes at a specified single engine cruise speed. Now almost all airliners are twin engines and the standards have been updated to much longer times. Ratings go up to ETOPS 370 but actual type approvals are fewer. The highest in ETOPS >180 to design limit.

Yesterday, 18/1/22 Qantas flight QF144 from Auckland to Sydney declared a Mayday an hour out from Sydney. One engine malfunctioned and was shut down. The Mayday was later downgraded to a PAN and the aircraft landed safely. But dozens of ambulances and fire trucks were rushed to the airport on the basis of the mayday obviously reducing their availability elsewhere. A 737-800 can safely fly and land on one engine and even take off with one engine so why would the pilot call a Mayday? My thoughts are that some sort of initial panic set in. Pilots should be trained to deal with such things and not panic. When I heard this on the radio driving home yesterday my immediate reaction was "that's not a Mayday it's a Pan" which is what it turned out to be. Now I see from the ABC news this morning another former Qantas pilot is questioning this decision as well.

If I knew who it was I'd make a point of contacting him and making him aware of his poor airmanship, of course in the nicest possible way. Most people will respond positively if approached correctly. If they become defensive or worse aggressive it is time to back off and write a report to CASA and hold nothing back..

If you don't have Ozrunways or Avplan, Enroute Flight Navigation is a free navigation App that runs on anything Android and has the Skyecho as a traffic receiver interface which works really well. I use it on my phone and my Teclast tablet. Wifi connects automatically & yes you do not want other apps trying to use WiFi at the same time. Any app that allows GDL90 as an interface protocol will work with the SE2.

The Bonza CEO says that using the 737 Max will keep prices low. Given there are plenty of new Max 8s sitting around unsold maybe Bonza got them for a bargain basement price. Their first 3 aircraft have been named Shazza, Bazza & Sheila.

Agreeing sequence numbers among pilots in a circuit is common courtesy and common sense so you all know the order of landing. This is also why ATC does it. Someone coming straight in when the circuit is already established is obnoxious and being lazy when they should have joined the established circuit. The straight in pilot knows the RIU from radio calls of those already in the circuit. Nobody likes queue jumpers. CASA has produced a simple guide for radio calls in uncontrolled airspace entitled "Be seen, be heard, be safe". It is free on line and they will send hard copies free as well.

It is always the pilots responsibility for his/her own safety even if that means breaking rules. If the situation requires it I'll break away. Pilots who insist on coming straight in when there is already an established circuit happening are irresponsible. In those situations joining overhead , descending on the dead side and then slotting in to the circuit is the correct and safest thing to do.

Just to be clear, there are no mandatory calls in CTAF other than to avoid a collision. I have been flying in to events for many years and they range from full ATC to nothing. At warbirds over Wanaka in 2000, 600 light aircraft flew in on the Saturday morning. Even with temporary ATC it was bedlam. At the reporting point I has told I was No15 & saw nothing in front till we started to bunch up & then drama as the twin comanche in front of me forgot to put his gear down. he did at the last minute. It is recommended that you make a 10 mile call with your callsign, location, height inbound intentions and ETA at the circuit. Then you listen as you should have been doing all along. Depending on traffic chatter you can make a 3 mile call and continue. If there is traffic you should now know the runway in use and determine whereabouts to join the circuit (crosswind, downwind, base or straight in) and make that announcement. If there are aircraft in front say No 2 (or whatever position you are) to the Cessna on downwind. You then make a call on every leg, (turning base, turning final & even short final depending on traffic). This will also inform those following. There is always contention of what the right thing to do is when there is an event on an the main one is aircraft calling straight in when the circuit is already established. Straight in is fine so long as there is no conflict. Straight in is just joining the circuit on final. The problem arises when you are already in the circuit and No 2 to an aircraft that has just turned base & you are downwind & then someone announces they are on 3 mile final straight in. You have right of way as No 2 in the circuit & this upstart is pushing in & you can't see him. This has happened to me several times. The last 2 times were at the last Evans Head Great Eastern Flyin & Airventure at Parkes in 2019. My response has been to immediately announce turning base & tell the straight in aircraft he is No3. If he doesn't acknowledge, tell him to acknowledge. When things get busy stress levels go through the roof especially of you are not used to lots of traffic.