old man emu

The J160s I work on have the facility to alter the fore/aft length of the rudder pedals through the movement of the T-shaped pedal in a tube attached to a vertical. The T-shaped part is held in place by a pin that is designed to be taken in and out.

Would it be possible to make a new T-shaped piece, but put an S-bend in it so that the cross bar piece of the pedal is brought down closer to the cockpit floor?

Old Man Emu

Boy, that's as clear as mud. Probably simpler with a diagram

Broken door hinges

Check the length of the fabric strap which sets the limit on how wide the doors of your aircraft will swing open. I've just pulled the door off an aircraft that has had its door hinges come loose within the door assembly.

Don't know yet if the hinges can be re-attached to the door, or if the owner is up for a new door.

Old Man Emu

The word I heard via the refuelling agent at Bankstown was that the aircraft had too much air in its fuel tanks.

Old Man Emu

5:40pm on Monday 7/5/07 in Sydney?

I hope it was night VMC training.

Old Man Emu

Hmmmm.

Sounds like your Jabiru is pigeon-toed!

Old Man Emu

Be sure to read the associated Service Letter, JSL002 which relates to the changing of carburettor jets which will result in an alteration to the fuel/air mixture with the aim of running the engine cooler.

It seems that it will soon become routine to check and tighten the head bolts every 33 hours.

Old Man Emu

A screw loose

I've been helping to service another Jabiru and found the following:

1. Head bolts required re-torquing.

2. The nuts holding the alternator in place were loose about a quarter turn.

3. The HT leads at the magnetos were loose.

This in an aircraft with about 300 hours' time. It's a flying school aircraft, so the hours are racked up quickly.

If you are maintaining your own aircraft, it would pay to wave a torque wrench around in the engine bay about every 25 to 33 hours.

Old Man Emu

Morgan000,

Two things come quickly to mind in relation to the total cost of getting a licence:

1. Cost per hour in the air

2. The break between lessons.

The cost per hour will depend on the aircraft you train in. I guess you're using a Warrior. That's going to be dearer than a C152, which is dearer than a Jabiru. So just while you're training, downsize your aircraft.

Does the plane cost the same per hour solo and dual? If you can get a plan where the solo hours are cheaper than dual hours, you'll save.

How much time do you waste going to and from the training area? This travel is sort of unproductive time towards your licence. If you can, try to fly with a school within the training area. Camden is good for this, and the circuit is usually quieter than BK. Hoxton Park would be the same as Camden.

Another way to cut costs is to train at a school which has both VH reg and RAA reg aircraft. You'll get cheap hours in the RAA reg, and then can do a test in the VH reg to get a GA licence. You can't do that at BK, but you can at Camden and maybe Hoxton Park.

You could also try some horse trading. If you can arange it, estimate how much about 40 hours' flying will cost(eg $8000 @ $200/Hr) and try walking into a flying school and slamming $7000 cash down on the desk. That's 40 Hrs @ $175/Hr. Then haggle a price. You've got the money that the Flying School wants, and because the CFI wants his bread and jam, he'll talk turkey.

The biggest thing which extends the time it takes to get a licence is the time between lessons. If you can, organise for either a week's holidays from your employment and have two or three lessons per day for a week. Failing that, try to get a day off each week during Mon - Fri and try for three lessons per day on that day.

The more frequently you fly during your initial training, the less you'll forget between lessons, which is less time wasted re-learning previous lessons.

Once you get your licence, you can get endorsed on other types at your leisure.

Good luck with your training.

Old Man Emu

"Clean the top of the wings" be damned. I reckon the C of G would be nudging the rear limit if the tall guy was sitting facing foward. His butt would be at the rear cabin bulkhead :;)2:

Old Man Emu

Just to add to the list of things that shouldn't be applied to aircraft fabric such as dacron :- battery acid.

I've just spent all day stripping the fabric from a GA aircraft because sometime in the past, someone put an usealed lead acid battery in it, and the acid leaked onto the fabric. Over time, the acid dissolved the dacron and all that was keeping the skin together was the paint.

The whole skin has had to be removed and replacement will cost $10,000 plus. As well, the aircraft will be out of service for several months while other parts are made/imported to replace damaged structural items.

Suggestions to prevent this happening to your plane include,

fitting sealed batteries; ensuring overflow pipes are unclogged, and reglularly wiping the battery box and surrounds with a solution of bicarbonate of soda.

Old Man Emu

I have no doubt that what pelorus 32 posted in relation to stretch performance of various rope materials is correct, and should be taken into account in situations where there are big loads on ropes, as in sailing, lifting or towing. However, those loads are not expected to apply in the tie-down situation.

As I said, consider the expected windstrength when tieing down, and the wind direction. We had a Cessna 172 flipped by 100KpH gusts at Camden earlier in the month. The plane was tied down OK, but had its tail into the wind. It was the only aircraft damaged in that storm. An aricraft tied down beside it, with nose to wind, didn't move.

Old Man Emu

I'd suggest 12mm (1/2 inch) nylon twisted rope. Strong enough for a Jab; won't shrink if wet; will dry out quickly if it does, and is as cheap as chips.

As for knots. Pass a looped of of the rope thru the tie-down ring, then come back around the line from your peg to the ring with a couple of half hitches.

Don't have the ropes tight, or you'll damage your wing. Let the rope sag a bit. You're not trying to hold down an untamed brumby. What's the strongest wind you expect to experience while the plane is tied down? How much lift do you get at that airspeed?

The biggest danger is the tie-down pegs pulling out of the ground. Test them by screwing them in as far as possible, and then trying to pull them loose. Do that test before you fly away from home. Tie-downs should be put in at an angle so that the head is pointing away from the tie-down ring, ie towards the wing tip and away from the tail for the rear tie-down.

Hope that helps.

Old Man Emu

Why are the toilets that are specially designed for people with physical handicaps always busted?

I've never seen one yet that didn't have a sign outside saying, "Disabled Toilet".

Old Man Emu

Where I work, the calibrated torque wrenches and other testing equipment that needs to be calibrated all belong to the business. I'll have a look tomorrow who does the calibrations, but I know they are due again in November 2007, and they weren't done last November, so the calibration certificates must last for at least 2 years.

Yep, 4 years to complete the trade certificate, then a lifetime of learning the finer details. Damn aircraft manufacturers keep moving the goal posts.

Old Man Emu

Sorry, Chris. I did not mean to belittle you.

As in all things, there are degrees of mechanical mindedness. I misjudged your skill level.

I thought the idea of the suggested course was to teach people what was correct, and if something did not look correct, to give them the skill to decide whether a repair was needed immediately or could be put off, and allow them to decide if the repair was within their capabilities or not.

Old Man Emu

Is this an anomaly in Subregulation 5.01?

As a Constable of Police in New South Wales, I beleive I am authorised to exercise the powers of an aviation security officer. I am expected to be ready to perform my constabulary duties 24/7. I don't have an ASIC card.

Do I need an ASIC card for when I pop out to the airfield on my rostered day off to chat with the fellows, or decide to go on a X-country? Isn't my Police ID (with photo) better than one of these cards?

Old Man Emu

I do not own my own plane yet, but would like to as soon as possible. My main concern is the maintenance of the a/c and if I can do it or not,

for I am not all that mechanically minded.

 

I would LOVE to do a course that would teach me the basics of maintaining my a/c, I would be definitely FOR IT. Anything that makes the industry safer, can only be a good thing!

You would be the type of person for whom some sort of basic maintenance course would be extremely valuable. I say this on the basis of the words I highlighted in the quote.

It makes me wonder how effective a person's pre-flight is if they don't have the mechanical knowledge to spot what is out of the ordinary, and to be able to make the correct judgement of whether or not what is odd is a minor or major thing.

I don't think the average owner/pilot needs to be able to pull down and rebuild his motor, but should be capable of doing plugs and filters AND knowing how tighten them correctly and lockwire what has to be lock wired.

The same bod (politically correct term for bloke/sheila) should understand the plumbing for the pressure instruments so they don't blow them apart with high pressure air when clearing pitot blockages.

A course as suggested should encourage bods to know what the limits of their capabilities are and to have the courage to stop when those limits are reached and pass on the problem to a higher qualified person.

Old Man Emu

Would some one be able to supply a link to, or actually provide the specs of a Foxcan Terrier 100 (not the 200), as well as performance data?

I note there are a couple for sale around the place, ad I'd be interested in investigating the aircraft.

Thanks,

Old Man Emu

Marking your pitot and static plumbing

While investigating a problem with an airspeed indicator and altimeter which were not operating properly, we had cause to check the plumbing between the pitot tube and the junction at the starboard wing strut root.

Hmmm ... both pipes looked exactly the same and went into connectors which looked the same as each other. This was a actory built plane. Which was which? Well, after we had disconnected the lines and did some sucking and blowing, we found out.

HINT 1: Wrap a piece of masking tape around each pipe and write "pitot" or "static" as appropriate on the tape on each pipe. Do the same for the pipes leaving the connector and going to the instruments.

HINT 2: If you are going to check for blockages in the pitot system plumbing by blowing from your lungs, don't blow like you're blowing up party balloons ;) , and definately don't use air from a compressor.

A very slight puff is sufficient to move the needle on an ASI or altimeter. If you need to maintain continuous pressure, just take a deep breath; put your mouth over the pitot head and contract your diaphragm.

Old Man Emu

My bad. I'll have to stick my head in the footwell to see if the Jab has toe-brakes. I haven't been working on them long, and haven't needed to work on the brakes.

Old Man Emu

Is there a good fix for the annoying habit of the brake ratchet running out of teeth, rotating past the last segment and then falling through the opening?

I'd only use that method of applying the brakes for short stops, like while getting fuel, or doing a pre-takeoff run up. If you are going to leave the aircraft parked and unattended, I'd got for wheel chocks and leave the brakes off. You won't be holding pressure in the system, and you a/c can be pushed around if an emeregency arises and you aen't there.

You can get cheap metal folding wheel chocks at discount car parts shops.

Old Man Emu

Since I'm involved in maintaining a couple of Jabirus that are on line at a flying school, I might see little niggly things to do with maintenance. They are simple things that may be overlook in the hurley-burley of this type of use. If you use a Jab from a flying school, you might like to look out for these things.

1. Oil.

The sump doesn't hold much. I had to get a longer dipstick to find out how much oil was in one just before it set off on a 3 hr Nav. It took about 800ml to get the level back to full.

2. Door hinges.

Don't let the wind catch the doors and fling them open. It cracks the hinges. Don't leave doors open and unattended on the ground in case of wind gusts.

3. Report missing lock screws from around the top cowl, and loose or missing screws from the lower cowl.

I'm sure to have more to report as time goes by.

Old Man Emu

The Jabiru is a very nice light wieght plane which is quite suitable to the owner/pilot's needs.

If I was going to buy one and put it on line at a flying school in the Sydney Basin (Bankstown or Camden) there are a few things I'd make sure were considered in determining the hourly rate I'd be asking for.

1. The plane will be used for ab initio training. That means that it will suffer from heavy landings, hard braking and generally rough treatment on the ground. Expect to experience damage to the nose wheel and firewall at some stage. It is also easy for a student to suffer a prop strike on landing. With luck, you'll only be up for a new prop and labour, but there is the risk of bending the crankshaft. If that happened, I'd expect damage further down the fuselage.

2. Every Tom, Dick and Harry will be using your plane. The rate of wear and tear will be a lot higher than if it was only you flying it. Basically, the plane will get tatty looking much quicker.

3. Along with regular wear and tear, there is the possibility of occasional accident damage. For example, if someone doesn't pull their arms in while closing the doors, their elbow could hit and crack the door window. It's not a quick and easy job to replace the window, adding to the overall cost (parts and labout) of the job.

4. Your plane will run up hours a lot more quickly than it would if it was not on line. This would mean an accelerated depreciation rate should be applied to its value. Say a recreational pilot flew 50 hours per year. A plane on line at a busy school could easily fly 100 hours per month.

If you are conscious of the likely extra costs arising from greater useage, not just the known costs (cost of 100 hourly, rego, insurance, hangarage) then you would be wise to ask for a price that allows for the inevitable emergency repairs. For that reason, the cost of dry hire would need to approach that asked for, say an ab initio trainer type from Cessa or Piper. For the student, there might be a saving due to a lower fuel useage, but the Instructor should still cost the same.

Old Man Emu

I remember years ago seeing a report on the TV of someone doing just that. If I remember correctly, they flew from England to France to set an endurance record.

Old Man Emu

Hello, all.

My name's Mark. I post regularly on a radio controlled modellers' forum, but I've joined yours to keep up to speed on Jabarus.

I'm hoping to start an LAME apprenticeship in 2008. That's going to be my sea change. I'm hoping to retire from my present profession by mid 2007; have a holiday on England and come back to start the apprenticeship.

I'm currently getting some experience at a GA maintenance facility in the Sydeny area, and regularly work on Jabarus which are being used for ab initio training, so I see some things that are worth reporting.

Hope I can contribute useful info to your forums.

Mark

Old Man Emu