vk3auu
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Everything posted by vk3auu
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I think that ADSB is overkill for most recreational aircraft. A better solution to the problem would be for every recreational and light aircraft to be equipped with the FLARM system. As I understand it, in its simplest form, the display consists of 12 LED's arranged in a circle . The top ones indicate a threat from above and the bottom ones below, either to the left or right to the front. If a collision is imminent an alarm sounds and the light in the appropriate sector lights. The PIC then takes the appropriate action presumably after having a look in the threatening sector. I am not too sure what happens if the threat is from the rear, presumably the other pilot gets the appropriate message. That strikes me as being a much more user friendly and effective system which doesn't require eyes in the cockpit unless an alarm is triggered. The glider pilots in Europe have been using it for a couple of years now. It is not too dear, about A$1000 and I believe it runs on about 12 volts and draws 52 milliamps. They have sold 9000 units. A good picture of the unit is at http://www.segelflugbedarf24.de/flarm/bilder/F06.jpg David
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Unicoms and Parachutes are of similar utility in my book. Better to have an AFRU. At the very least it will talk back to you and you will know that you are on the right frequency and if it doesn't then you can assume one of two options. Either you are on the wrong frequency, or another aircraft has called in the last five minutes so you should be looking out anyway. If the unicom operator is otherwise occupied, which can often be the case, then you won't get a reply, so that means you might as well not have one. I do believe that radios should be mandatory but should be used sparingly. Some pilots call at every turning point but this can get real messy at a busy airport. Better to just call Inbound, Joining circuit and Turning Final. Just keep your eyes outside the cockpit and if you are flying a slow ultralight, just track a little left of centreline so that an overtaking aircraft who perhaps doesn't see you, won't clean you up. David
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This thread seems to a bit about Thrusters in general. Yenn said that it was hard ti stand a Thruster on its nose. Not so. I landed into fairly stiff headwind on my 200 metre strip (wheeler of course), I turned around and taxyed back to the other end, perhaps a little too fast with the tail wind. I inadvertently put the stick back and the wind got under the elevator and up went the tail. So here I was skating along on the nose, fence coming up fast, what to do? Pull stick back again, quick dab on the throttle got the tail down again, then stood on the right rudder and another dab of the throttle for a controlled ground loop.
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Hi Big Pete, say G'day to my mate Bill Chandler in Cobar please. David
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I could be wrong, but the Zenith rivetter is probably just for pulling Avex pop rivets of which my CH701 has about 7000. David
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You can't beat the old Mk 1 eyeball. You don't really need a unicom, somebody will have to pay for the operator and that will ultimately be all of us, but you at least need an AFRU so that you can get an acknowledgement that you are on the right frequency. Another useful trick when you are flying in the circuit and not too high is to look at the ground and see where your shadow is. If there is another aircraft about to hit you from behind and you can't see it, you sure as hell will see the shadow converging. David
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What sort of rate of climb do you get? That should give you some indication as to whether you have a climb or cruise prop. Also remember that up the top end of the speed range, power required, hence fuel consumption, is a bit more than proportional to speed squared if you look at the drag curve. David
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You can't beat a piece of Gaffer Tape wrapped around the cooler. It is real cheap too. David
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As I recall, the Airvan difficulty was caused by the CoG being too far back and the pilot was unable to correct the problem in flight. David
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Don't forget also that you are still restricted to a MTOW of 550 Kg too, regardless of the specs of the 230. David
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I may be wrong, but my instincts tell me that it could be a metallurgical problem, (it won't be the first) not an oil problem. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with being cautious and treat the oil with respect. In particular, Jabiru owners could take a leaf out of the Rotax book and spend a bit more time making sure the engine is properly warmed up before committing aviation. David
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There is also Yarrawonga in the NE of Victoria. Handy to Lake Mulwalla if you like fishing. David
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I wouldn't have thought that 100 degrees was too hot for a decent oil. David
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My understanding is that you could register a 95.10 as VH if you wished so to do. As such, it would then need to be maintained by a LAME and you would also need to be have a PPL or better. I presume the usual restrictions would apply as to where you could fly depending on whether the engine was approved or with what other additional avionics it was equipped. David David
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SORRY ABOUT THE ADDED FILE. IT WAS MEANT TO BE A SMILEY. dAVID
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I can see now why they want us to have ADSB. With all these gadgets in the cockpit to look at you will have no time for the old fashioned see and avoid. Hi David
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What happened to see and avoid? David
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Having driven up that road and looking at the picture, the paddock probably wasn't an option. It is pretty scrubby up there. The locals were always taught to pick a couple of good stout trees and land between them. That left the wings and the fuel behind when you hit terra firma. David
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An aeronautical slaughter of epic proportions
vk3auu replied to Admin's topic in Student Pilot & Further Learning
I made a mistake earlier when I said we need a minimum of 40 hours. It should have been 20. Must have been having a "Senior's moment". Actually, I believe most people take a few more hours than that, so our CFI's are dong their jobs pretty well. Getting back to the spinning problem, my 701 will drop a wing very quickly if you try a power on stall, but that isn't the sort of thing you would do accidentally, even in a very tight turn. David -
An aeronautical slaughter of epic proportions
vk3auu replied to Admin's topic in Student Pilot & Further Learning
Considering the fact that to get an Ultralight Certificate in Oz needs a minimum of 40 hours, we probably haven't done too badly if Richard Collins' accident rates are kosha. Most ultralights seem to be pretty hard to spin and we should all be taught how to recover from an incipient spin before it is allowed to develop. I wonder what the road accident rate per 100,000 hours is by comparison? David -
The main problem encountered with the Hirth engine is the operator who thinks he can run them on 91 octane mogas. It is a high compression ratio engine and it needs to be fed accordingly. Ian Borg, the fuel consumption figures I was quoting were for the 100 HP 3300. David Hill. The figures you quote seem pretty close to what i would have expected at those sort of revs. I get 15 litres at around 4700. It probably does the engine more good than harm to run it for a while at a higher power setting occasionally if the car engine belonging to an elderly lady of my acquaintance is any example. David
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Danda, I am interested in the 80 HP Rotax which only seems to "sip" fuel. I wonder if you could also tell us what speed this aircraft is traveling at. The figures from Rotax themselves, indicate that an 80HP 912 uses around 23 litres at maximum power. At 3/4 power cruise, mine uses just under 17 litres per hour at just under 70 knots with the slats on. Most modern 4 stroke aircraft engines use between 0.45 and 0.48 pounds per HP per hour depending on the mixture. Two strokes are somewhat thirstier. My 503 in a Gemini, two up needed about 17 litres per hour to get anywhere. Power is definitely related to fuel consumption. You cannot produce power if you do not burn fuel. For example, the 100 HP Jabiru or 912S at cruise will use around 21 - 22 litres for 3/4 power. An engine which uses only 10 litres will only be producing 35 HP, possibly less. If you want to get below 0.4 pounds/HP/Hour you have to go to a diesel. If anyone out there says that their Dyno is producing better figures, then you are being snowed. Get then to check their instrumentation. David
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I would be surprised if you were not getting at least a 5 degree variation. The temperature measuring system probably isn't accurate to that amount anyway. David
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Doesn't sound like you are even approaching the power of a 503 if that is all the fuel it uses working hard. David
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If you have an intercom there is generally an input socket somewhere that does this for you. David