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Stall speed probably in the low thirties, but 20 is fast enough to do the tail up exercise, and don't do it if the wind is gusty if you don't think you can handle it. Remember, that sooner or later when you actually go flying solo in one, you might actually have to land, both in cross winds or gusty conditions, so a bit of practice handling it on the ground will benefit you in the long run. It all gets easier with a bit of practice. A wide grass strip helps too. Good luck, David

Don't get the tail too high. It isn't nice skating along the runway on the nose of the pod. I hope you are doing it on grass although gravel is better when you do a ground loop. David

Back when I was learning to fly in a Thruster at about age 55, I did a fair bit of solo taxi time. It helps a lot to get you sorted out before you actually take off or land solo as you are the accustomed to the much lighter weight, particularly when there is a cross wind. I only managed to do one unintentional ground loop. In a Thruster, you don't need to go very fast to get it very light on the wheels just under lift off in ground effect with the tail wheel up, and you quickly learn to dance on the pedals. David

I see where you are coming from. Must have been having a "Seniors" moment. The most important thing to stop threads seizing or otherwise damaged, is not to overtorque the plugs. I have an old Honda 6.5 HP motor with virtually no thread left in the head. I need to put a helicoil in it. It used to fire the plugs out after a while. I lent it to the builders to run a 240 volt alternator to run their docking saw while they were building my house and came in one day to find a couple of slivers of wood driven in beside the plug to keep it in. Not the sort of thing you would need in an aeroplane. David

Why do you think you need an anti seize paste anyway. A correctly torqued plug should not come out. David

I was wondering what weight you might be flying at. It just seemed that it might be a trifle heavy for an Ultralight with all the gear and fuel you would need to carry for the long trips. David

I wonder is your 230D registered GA or RAus David

Brent's comment that "One of the reasons for buying the J120 is because it's factory built and able to be put on-line." would be invalidated if it was modified without approval from the manufacturer and lost its LSA status. David

The following paragraphs have been copied from the RaAus web pages regarding modifications to LSA aircraft. David The manufacturer is also responsible for approving all modifications to production aircraft (not kit built aircraft) even if the modification has been approved by a CAR 35 engineer. The reason for this is that the manufacturer is now responsible for the continuing airworthiness of these aircraft which includes modifications. CASA authorised persons may issue a special certificate of airworthiness for LSA (production ready-to-fly aircraft) or an experimental certificate for LSA (kit built aircraft or production aircraft that no longer satisfy the LSA standards). However, if the aircraft is not maintained in accordance with the manufacturer, or the manufacturer can no longer provide the continuing airworthiness, or the aircraft is modified without the manufacturer’s approval, the Special Certificate of Airworthiness will no longer be in force and the owner will need to apply for an Experimental Certificate to operate the aircraft. An Experimental Certificate for LSA is available for kit built LSA and for aircraft that no longer satisfy the requirements of the Special Certificate of Airworthiness. Before an Experimental Certificate can be issued to a kit built aircraft, the manufacturer should have produced a production aircraft of the same model issued with a Special Certificate of Airworthiness. Unlike the amateur built aircraft, there is no requirement that the owner must build 51% of the aircraft. The Experimental Certificate also provides an avenue for operating aircraft that no longer comply with the requirements of the Special Certificate of Airworthiness for LSA. There are a number of circumstances where this could arise such as the aircraft has been modified without the manufacturer’s approval or has not been maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements. Another circumstance may be that the manufacturer has gone out of business and no suitable persons or organisations have taken over the continuing airworthiness functions for the aircraft.

I think that if you have an AH there will be more of a temptation for you to press on, even if the conditions deteriorate below legal VMC conditions. i.e 1000 ft agl and 5 kilometres visibility. I live on the direct line between Moorabin and Latrobe Valley and I know that it happens. David

Like I have said in a previous post. "With too many superfluous instruments that you don't really need, you spend too much of your time with your head in the cockpit instead of looking out the window for other aircraft, or even enjoying the view." David

A bit more on Wake Turbulence if anyone wants a read. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12044 David

Mazda, it sounds like your squelch is open all the time. I had a similar problem with a noisy switch mode power supply. The set was OK running off its own battery, but with the power adapter plugged into the cigarette lighter, all sorts of crap got into the receiver via the antenna, which at the time was just the rubber ducky mounted to the set. The cure was to place an external antenna half way back along the fuselage. David

If you think you have one of the offending gear boxes, just ring up Bert Floods and talk to Wally and get the right information straight from the horses mouth. David

I would respectfully suggest that anyone who thinks he doesn't need a radio should read the above mentioned report which can be found at http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/1991/limit_see_avoid.aspx David

People interested in weather should also look at http://www.weatherzone.com.au/radar.jsp David

Hi Mark, Also have a look at the Glenburn Gap. I also consider it to be a better route when flying from Mangalore or Shep to Coldstream or LV. David

Hi Bob, Convert yourself to an Ultralight Certificate and you will have just as much pleasure for a fraction of the price. David

Have a look at http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/patog/week43/OG/html/1323-4/US07284421-20071023.html or put "sodar andrew martin " into google without the quotes David

Just as a matter of interest, Nylon melts at around 200 degrees C. David

Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. David

My episode was in a Gemini with the engine fairly close to the pod. The prop was still well clear of the ground. David

I understand that the fatality at LV last week end did have a chute. David

Cirrrus et al, the wheel has already been invented. Further to the above also see http://www.lxavionics.co.uk/flarm.htm for a most detailed explanation. The Queensland Gliding Federation are also a source of info. David

There already is a system out there which is being used by around 9000 aircraft, mainly gliders. It is called FLARM. It requires 12 volts at 50 milliamps. See http://www.flarm.com/ and my post at http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6135 David