frankmcm

I have just returned from Florida, where I attended first 2 days of Sun n Fun. On the second day the flight displays were postponed, then cancelled becaused of tornado warning. First days display was truly awesome, so I brought my family on the second day to enjoy the spectacle, and I was disappointed that the show was cancelled. As we left the site there was some heavy rain in the distance, but I reckoned that the weather fronts had mostly passed. However I had an impression that a fair few light aircraft were leaving the airfield at the same time. Next day was solid rain, electrical storms and wind. I didnt return to see the damage, but my memories are of a wonderful spectacle, with loads to see and enjoy, and learn. I have never seen such a display of light aircraft and warbirds. I hope this doesnt inhibit future airshow sponsors or visitors. My thoughts in particular go out to the ultralight flyers who came to camp by their planes in that vast exposed flat airfield..... having to watch their planes take such a beating.

Lots of useful advice coming through. Right now I'm in Florida for a few weeks. I see a couple of airshows locally, where I will be carefully scrutinising the cockpit arrangements of anything they let me close to.

My engineer favours separate mag toggles, as occasionally there may be a need to have both off but the avionics on. As you point out, rapid switchoff can sometimes be essential. I think I am looking at better shields, like Farnell... thanks for suggestions.

Thanks for the suggestions. Inverting would probably have prevented this episode, but would still have the potential for catching should I be making the opposite hand movement i.e. flap to throttle. So I dont think that will solve it. The existing switch cover should protect the switch. It didnt, which is what made me interested in exploring options. I like where your switches are positioned 4aplat. I think my switches are in the wrong place for me. They are right beside my knee, exposed to occasional knocking during entry, Time to redesign the dash? There isnt really a lot of free space on the dash for new holes, but I think it should be possible to make adjustments without a total rebuild. Rotary switch is tempting, but I hadnt thought of the risk of breaking the key off. Finally, as a general safety issue, it may be unwise to have them so close together. Maybe a minimum separation of a hand span should be recommended.??

I managed to accidentally switch off one mag during a go-around recently. While tempted to remain silent, and maybe disguise a clumsy mistake, I wonder if there may be a learning point worth passing on. My cockpit could be described as "snug" when I am inside, and the dash is within easy reach. I aborted a bouncy touchdown by applying full revs and climbing away. I then reached up to take off 2nd stage flaps. The Jab throttle handle is between my knees near the front of the seat, My left hand, in sweeping up from between my knees to the flap lever over the pilot door, contacted the mag switch. The cover flipped open and the switch toggled off.! No harm done this time, but I dread to think of the consequences had I managed to open both switches. They are about an inch apart, and could easily have both been affected. I believe the panel layout is fairly standard. Apart from being a lot more aware of the problem, I am considering if alternative switches may be a good idea. Any suggestions??

I understand that the wings of my Jab 450UL have a foam core. Does all that foam give it buoyancy should I have to ditch? From what I see in the hangar a Thruster or Xair would go straight to the bottom. I have seen references to floating Jabirus in the recent Australian floods, and I wondered if this was feature worthy of remark.

Finally ! Maintenance guys turned up to fix the flat on Tuesday morning. Diplomatic triumph. I still couldnt fly though. runway iced up and airfield shut. No salt allowed in case it causes corrosion. However this thread has confirmed that sorting out the little irritations on the ground can be the most troublesome aspect of flying. I sort of feel sorry for the Piper, Clearly no one loves her enough to keep her in good nick. Not a good prospect.

Started the "augmented diplomacy" route today. I might park it outside if that doesnt work. The thought of dust devils at my home strip makes me smile. We have an inch of snow here, and I'm planning to screen off the oil cooler to keep the temperature gauge happy.

Our hangar is tightly packed. We have 3 microlights in the back half, and an enormous 4 seater Piper in front. Before flying, we have to push the Piper out of the hangar, which is not too difficult so long as the tyres are inflated.. I spent 30minutes today inflating the Pipers front tyre. For the past month it has a slow leak, and invariably is flat just when I need to go flying. I turned up one morning without a pump, and was unable to get my plane out. It belongs to a group of 10 guys, none of whom seem able or prepared to fix the slow puncture. I think they actually pump it up before flying, on the understanding that it will still have some pressure when landing time comes around. So far they seem to have got away with it. I havent done anything very direct to date, in the hope that the guys would just get it fixed. However my patience is wearing thin. Any suggestions.

So I could set off with the following principles; As there is a fair bit of open water I do place some value on remaining within visible contact. Compare notes within the group before takeoff, but individually file a flight plan for each aircraft Ensure that each craft has accurate information about interim and final stops. In case the airfield is difficult to spot I can imagine a mess if several craft were to circle trying to locate an unfamiliar small green strip Least experienced leads, with an understanding that any surprises should be avoided. Other craft maintain a position where they can see ( and be seen?). I can see the advantages of agreeing a different altitude to each craft just in case , maybe 300ft separation vertically? No "follow the leader" in any circumstances. fly as autonomous and independent craft, remaining on the local control frequency. ( I doubt if we have technology to operate a chat channel ) If visual contact is lost and there is a risk of airprox, call in a position report, with each craft doing the same in turn. ??

Thanks for that 50ft... I am doing my homework for a planned outing, about 4 hours; flying up the Irish coast, crossing to Scotland, returning south and home again. Planned 3 interim landings and a fair bit of open water. With other aircraft in the vicinity, I would probably be more comfortable occupying a prearranged position, maybe "same height but 500metres to the left and behind", or something similar. Anything to minimise risk of airprox. I would be interested in any tried and tested strategies. I dont see this as formation flight, which I thought of as much more formally structured, and probably a much reduced separation.

Can anyone point me towards guidelines / rules / principles to be followed when flying in a group. I am thinking of about 3 or 4 craft with similar cruise capability on a round trip. Issues are things like spatial separation / nomination of single radio controller / handling unexpected events like divert etc. I imagine this has been comprehensively covered somewhere, but cant find anything.

I note and appreciate all the comments. Learning would seem to be the key message, and accepting a bit of flak helps hammer home the learning points. In my day job we make a big deal about "significant event analysis", and I see this thread as some sort of a gesture in that direction. I have'nt see too many similar posts on the forum. The big incidents with twisted metal get aired and discussed, and we all have an opportunity to absorb the messages. However I suspect that there might be incidents which are resolved before any damage is done, yet which could usefully be aired. I will let you know when next I get a feeling that something is not quite right in the Jab.....

Sounds like it's not common then, which is reassuring. I arrived at altitude because, once committed to climbing, I had little good alternative. Not IMC rated, but able to hold the wings level and correct airspeed etc because I had once practised with a colleague. I had got into trouble in the first place by flying under and dodging rain to get home. This was the really big learning experience for me, and I will in future be the first to turn around. I had not appreciated just how quickly a cloud base can jump down on you. Once the perspective of the horizon had been lost I didnt have a safe way to turn round. Maybe descending would have given me back some visibility, but I had to make a judgement call, so I went up. I had anticipated that I would find clear air much lower, and was getting more worried all the way up beyond 5000. Scottish ATC were great, allocating me a dedicated controller until I got down. I fortunately did find a hole and descended through it. Eventually made it to a retired military airfield. I learned more on that trip than I have ever done, and I appreciate my good fortune in being able to talk about it. Legality probably not an issue as I was doing my best to get out of trouble. Judgement certainly an acknowledged problem as it got me into the trouble in the first place. Flying is a complex business, and some messages dont get properly assimilated until suddenly they become very relevant. This was my learning opportunity and I got away with it.

Any experience of high altitudes? I stupidly flew under cloud trying to get home a week ago. The base closed down and suddenly I had no horizon visible. I elected to "climb through" as I had a bank indicator. Didnt get there until over 10000ft. I am appropriately chastened by the experience and wont go there again, but I am interested if this is a common experience.? Jab 450UL with 2200 engine.

I feel very welcome already. Thanks for that. Saturday we made a start. Crossed to mainland UK, down to Bagby, to the semi cancelled flyin. After a short stop headed back home. about 5 hours in the air My buddy Mike handled all the radio calls, otherwise I would probably be in trouble for crimes against the ATC. Outstanding impressions; 1 Immersion suits are a pig! 2 Finding a grass strip is no fun, when the whole county is grass fields. We almost turned for home without landing.! 3 England is'nt so big after all. Now for the next one.

Hi all. Maybe if I write something the reminder will go away! Last years project was learn to fly. Now I have an NPPL(A), and a third share in a Jabiru UL450. I fly out of Newtownards in Northern Ireland. Plan is to cross a few borders and log some ( a lot of) distant airfields in the coming months. That's the plan anyway...