old man emu

Check out the Suppliers & Services thread.

Old Man Emu

For those of you who like to join sheets of metal together to make aeroplanes, here are some Special Purpose Fasteners which could be useful to you:

Here is the information about terminals and splices.

OME

Don't worry about Nicopress oval sleeves. Their sizes are specific for the size of the cable they are swaging. You'll need a special swaging tool to do this job. It's not worth you while to buy one for just one build. Better to seek the generosity of the homebuilder brotherhood.

Looks like a trip to Sydney, maybe.

I checked at work today, and the boss said to get your crimper from Bunnings. Buy one with a bit of quality, but you shouldn't have to go much over $50 or so.

For cable terminals you'll order things in the MS25036- group.

If you have a wire leading to, say, a lamp fitted to a cowl, and you want to be able to remove the cowl easily, you need to make a breakable link. For that you use a knife splice.

Ring terminals and knife splices are made by AMP Inc of Harrisburg PA.

If my scanner gets fixed tonight, I'll post some data for your infrmation.

Old Man Emu

Scotty,

It's against my agreement with Ian to answer your question here as it would appear that I am touting for business. However, I'm sure that if you posted in the Suppliers section, you would get the answer that you need.

Old Man Emu

If someone out there sells this stuff and is concerned about breaching forum advertising guidelines please feel free to PM me. Mark

Since I do have a thread in the Sellers folder, I was going to advertise there if I could find a source and get supplies.

I will definately NOT be PMing anyone to get sales. You'll have to check out that folder.

Old Man Emu

Actually AN, MS and NAS systems are cataloguing systems, and each type of thing has its defined specification.

The first system was AN, which is a USA system where the military set the specifications when it let the tenders for production.

The next system was the MS one, where once again the military published a specification for tenderers. In some cases the original AN descriptor was replaced by an MS descriptor, and the AN was deemed "Not Suitable for Design" after certain dates. You can still use a superceded AN part as a replacement in an aircraft designed before that date, but you can't call up a superceded AN part number when designing after that date. These dates vary from item to item.

Another system is the NAS system, which once again is used to replace AN descriptors.

If you happen to have a de Haviland, or other British built antique aricraft - good luck. You're on your own, brother.

Then, of course, we've got the European designed aircraft. Right now, I'm searching the world for some MS bolts for a Tecnam to replace metric ones. The manufacturer has specified some rarely used MS bolts as replacements for metric bolts in the undercarriage.

A WORD OF WARNING

If you are replacing hardware on fuel or oil hoses, take a look at the items. If they have the letters "AN" stamped on them, you can't pop into your local auto shop, or Pirtek dealer and buy fittings from them. The thread design of AN fittings is different from that of automotive fittings, and you will not get a correct seal. You may strip the thread on an expensive engine part as well.

Old Man Emu

Jabiru sent us different caby jets to see if a change there would help. Unfortunately, we completed the job on last Thursday, and the weather prevented flying on Friday, so I don't know if the problem has been rectified.

As usual, I'm at hiome as I write this and don't have access to the jest supplied, I'll check on Monday and advise.

Old Man Emu

Jabiru Phil,

The winter setting for spark plug gaps is 0.018". That's the word from Bundaberg. Also use some choke.

The engine needs to spin above 300RPM to fire, so your battery needs to be in good nick.

Old Man Emu

I just dont get the AN measuring system at all, proves i must be dumb i guess.

The AN, NAS and MS systems are based on 1/16" and 1/8".

The diameter of bolts is given in 1/16". Bolts in the AN3 group have a diameter of 3/16"; AN4 = 4/16" (1/4"); AN5 = 5/16" etc.

The length of AN bolts is given in 1/8" increments, with the shortest length being 3/8". Therefore an AN4 bolt which is 5/8" long is an AN4-5

The confusing thing is that there are no -8 or -9 lengths. This is because a -8 bolt length is 8/8" long, which is 1" (written 10), and a -9 bolt would be 9/8" long or (1 + 1/8") which is writen 11. Therefore an AN3 bolt which is 8/8" long is an AN3-10, and a 1-1/8" long AN3 bolt is an AN3-11.

As the bolts get longer, you get up into the 20's, 30's, 40's etc. For example a bolt with a half inch diameter, 3-5/8 long is an AN8-35.

Then there are code letters describing the holes drilled in a bolt. A bolt described as an AN4-5 has a hole drilled through the threads to accept a split pin. The same length bolt without a hole is an AN4-5A, where A stands for "absent".

If there was a hole drilled in the head of the bolt, it would be an AN4H5A. With holes in the head and threads it would be an AN4H5.

Here endeth the First Lesson.

Old Man Emu

Please pardon this post, which some may see as advertising, but it's not meant to be.

I was wondering if LSA aircraft built or sourced from Europe use Metric or Imperial nuts and bolts in their construction.

If so, can metric hardware be sourced in Australia.

Old Man Emu

This weekend is the time to winterise your Jabiru engine if your aircraft lives where the overnight temperature gets below 5 degrees, because Jabs don't like to start when they are chilly.

The simplest thing to do is to whip out the spark plugs and regap them. For easier starting in winter, set your gap at 0.018". Come next Srping, you can open them out to 0.022".

Old Man Emu

Great responses, especially from Veverjg and jacmiles.

Thank you

Old Man Emu

When you dip the oil in your Jabiru engine, do you screw the dipstick down, or just rest the threaded bit on top of the filler tube?

Old Man Emu

Mechanic's Toolbox CD

If ever there was an encycylopedia which contained the information you needed about aircraft hardware and practical aircraft maintenance, this is it:

THE MECHANICS TOOLBOX

The contents are too much to list here, so have a look at www.mechanicsupport.com

QED Aircraft Parts and Hardware's price is $AU39.95 ( after the currency exchange, that's 10% less than the $US price).

[Don't forget the further 10% discount if this is your first order]

It is a bit hard to list all the hardware items we sell. We don't have a website, or a catalogue as such.

Basically, we stock nuts, bolts, washers, split pins, rivets (solid and CherryMax).

Items are AN, NAS, or MS part numbers. All have proper traceability. (We use the same stock items as we sell in the certified aircraft we maintain.)

The easiest way to find out if we have what you need is to email a "Price & Availability" request. We'll return a quotation.

Old Man Emu

QED Aircraft Parts and Hardware

QED supplies certified aircraft hardware for GA and RAA aircraft.

Backed by over 40 years' experience in the aviation industry, QED has the knowledge and experience to give you the right advice about the hardware you need to build and maintain your aircraft.

If it's rag and tube; fully sheeted, or composite, QED has the experience to know the right hardware for you. It's priced at the price we'd like to pay if we were you. And when we send you your order, we keep the postage to a minimum.

QED is located in Hangar 740, Camden Airport, Camden NSW 2570.

You can email your order to: [email protected]

Or phone it through on 02 46551514.

$$ OPENING SPECIAL 10% DISCOUNT $$

Mention our special codeword: Gee Bee and get 10% discount on your first order.

I know a girl who is really ugly.

How ugly?

She's so ugly, her Facebook page broke the Server.

OME

Andy,

You raise that report. I think the yellow donuts might have been used in early aircraft, and have succombed to UV degradation.

You are correct. If the donuts collapse, you'll suffer a prop strike. The one I was told about suffered the failure during taxi-ing after having been pre-flighted by the owner who is a GA instructor.

Old Man Emu

Has anyone heard reports of nose gear suspension donuts failing?

Are yellow donuts still being used, or are they all red ones now?

OME

What diameter prop are people using on a Super Diamond with a Jabiru engine?

I've got a ground clearance problem with teh standard Jab prop.

Old Man Emu

Are there any propellors available for a Jabiru 2200 that have a smaller diameter than the standard Jab prop?

Old Man Emu

I had a similar experience at the same airport as MOY. I finally managed to scrape the money together to spend on getting back into flying after a 20 year break. I have GA licence.

My situation was that I needed brushing up on flying skills. Now, I've flown the usual flying school Cessnas and Pipers, but never a Jabiru. I was advised that Jabirus fly differently to C's & P's. There I was on climb out, in a circuit I was not familiar with, and the ASI needle is going back and forth across the dial like a windscreen wiper in a downpour.

Was it to be unexpected that I couldn't fly a decent circuit for love nor money? I persevered with a couple of more lessons, but the stress, and disappointment at not being able to fly as well as I used to, exacerbated my tendency to airsickness, and I unloaded my lunch into the footwell.

I decided to go to another school, whose aircraft the company I work for services. Nice new Jabs (of course meticulously maintained). I had no trouble in flying good circuits and making decent landings. The only thing that baulk me was the glass cockpit - I'm an old fashioned dial type of guy.

I agree with the comment that if anyone has aircraft for hire, either for training or touring, the aircraft must be fully airworthy. Afterall, top dollar is charged.

This harkens back to another thread in which a student asked if he should record aircraft defects on the M/R even though the student had little aeronautical experience.

Of course you should. What's the point of doing a thorough pre-flight if you adopt a "she'll be right, mate" attitude to any snags you might find.

"Fix it before you fly it" isn't a bad safety advisory. Afterall, if you crack up in an unairworthy aircraft, you'll be dead; the insurance company will pay out because of "pilot error"; and the operator will talk about the d-ckhead who wrote off the plane he had before this new one he got with the insurance money.

Old Man Emu

The Europa looks like a nice plane but the undercarriage seems bizarre to me. I believe some have been done with a "proper" tricycle undercarriage. Anyone got a comment on the single centre wheel undercarriage. Does it retract?

We maintain a Europa where I work. It's a nice plane, and the owner has made a really pretty job of the placarding in the cockpit.

Twenty-two thousand pounds for everything aft of the firewall seems of good price, then there's the cost of the Rotax and engine mount.

I love the shed the bloke is building in. Whose workshop is as neat and tidy as that?

Old Mna Emu

Just as an aside to this stoy ...

This machine was mentioned in a recent episode of the TV drama "NCIS". The story dealt with the death of the operator of a "rocket belt"

I can't see this mob being too successful. They displayed thier machine at Oshkosh last year, and the flight was an major anticlimax. They had the machine and pilot tethered so it couldn't do anything but hover a few feet off the ground.

Old Man Emu