skippydiesel

That is nonsense - a letter of approval, to install a modification, from the factory, is a legitimate pathway - I have been there.

Another thought - Contact the factory & request the approval to install a ferry tank. Nothing radical about ferry tanks, they are an established method of extending the flight duration in all sorts of aircraft. The approval may or may not be given and at this speculative stage (no aircraft) I don't know what factory aircraft you may end up with, however some production aircraft manufacturers' are more flexible than others when it comes to modifying their design.

Why go for a factory build. Even if thats what you eventually purchase - go E registration for EXPERIMENTAL and do the mods (sensibly)

Be sure to know the answer BEFORE asking the question. It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission"

Anyone know if there is a person at Parkes, who may be willing to do a dynamic propeller balance for me, this weekend?????

Fit a an auxiliary tank. with in flight transfer pump. You will still need two 20L fuel bladder (two keeps you within your personal W&B🙂) & a good quality filter funnel but now your aircraft has longer legs/duration, to get you to that airfield where there is ULP on tap/courtesy car to go to the nearest appropriate servo/helpful people to drive you there & back.

What does this mean "circuits flown to the North and East of the field." ? It simply means right hand circuits on 30, and left hand circuits on 12.

I have deep pockets (I wish) but very short arms - no desire to contaminate my little Rotax with costly liquor and the inevitable coating of her arteries.😜

Your no fun!!😈

"...........what fuel 912s use or don't use..." Well there you go, that explains why you don't quite follow my concern about RAA's lack of foresight/ planning for the Parkes event. "...........Latrobe" - that's somewhere in Mexico - right? Explains everything 😈 "...fuel companys would be reluctant to send mogas out to an airfield. leaves them liable if contaminants cause an engine failure." Mate - it was your (possibly unintended) suggestion of heightened risk in using ULP "Grumpy" - Yep! got to that age - no intention to offend/ hope none taken🙃

To what purpose? If they supply - Great! If the don't! no change! - either way it does not change RAA failure to support a large contingent of their members/aircraft. It's up to you.

My apologise - I tend toward verbosity, so tried for brevity/clarity of argument. What you say is true, although your interpretation of 30% AvGas, would not be mine. I would, only if I had to, space my AvGas usage throughout the service period. Dont have a strong argument for this, just the way I would go. How about if trying to minimise lead build up better to use AVGas in a less concentrated way, than you described. As I have said - when all else fails, I have used AvGas but would very much prefer not to, for all the aforementioned reasons.

Turbs - What initiatives exhibitors provide on the day(s) is for them. When I enquired, about ULP supply, with the organisers, RAA, they had not even thought about it . After further discussion, sort of agreed to the cartage of fuel on the courtesy bus (Parkes town/Airfield)

Maaaaate!: Fact - Rotax 9's are designed to run on unleaded petrol (ULP) minimum 95 RON. Fact- Rotax 9's can run on leaded (AvGas) but in doing so it is recommended that the service (oil changes) intervals be halved and that the gearbox be removed for inspection/cleaning, at,I think, 600 hrs which is also half the interval for an engine run predominantly on ULP.-significant additional cost in fuel & service Fact - Rotax 9s do not perform any better using AvGas, than ULP - possible exception for high altitude performance (not usually an issue in Australia) Fact- In using AvGas you are unnecessarily adding a lead pollutant to the environment - why do it if you don't have to? Fact- This topic, Rotax 9's / use of ULP/Avgas, has been absolutely done to death. All the hysteria (including the legal liability mumbo jumbo) about lower quality control standards for ULP compared with AvGas has been debunked - assuming basic precautions are taken ie: Purchase ULP from a high turnover retailer (preferably a well known/established brand) Filtering fuel in to your aircraft tanks ie a use a filter funnel (best if it has a water separating function as well) Do your pre flight fuel sampling, to check for contaminants - keep sampling until no contamination in sample Inspect/service your aircrafts in line fuel filters/water traps at regular interval Store ULP in sealed containers 75% + full - good for at least 6 months Add fresh fuel to fuel tanks, before flight (not after) If flying infrequently (my guess less than once a month) drain all fuel from the aircraft between flights Speculation: I think there is a strong case for businesses, using ULP, for "off road" use ie powerig aircraft, to claim rebate on road tax portion of the ULP fuel cost - further reducing running costs. As for aircraft fueling services - the reality is that in most instances/airfields the demand would be miniscule, compared with AvGas/JetA ie it would not be a paying proposition. They run a business, not a charity, it must pay its way. I contacted the Parkes fueling service as a courtesy/completeness of investigating the supply of ULP at the coming event, not because I really expected them to supply/ provide this service. I am still of the opinion that RAA (the event organiser) have failed to support their members in this matter.

"leaves them liable if contaminants cause an engine failure. " What!!!! This is hysterical/ill informed BS that serves no one well. I have been using ULP in my Rotax 912 ULS for about 15 years - have yet to have a problem. I use a filter funnel for all fuel in to my tanks and have a gascolator/filter before the engine.. Previse aircraft, used in line, transparent case, disposable filters - rarely had any contamination on filter gauze. Rotax recommended a minimum of 95 RON, I use 98 RON, just in case it has been adulterated with lesser grade - never had a problem. In my short time associated with RAA, I have yet to hear of an incident due to contaminated ULP .

Have contacted the fuel company that will be servicing the Fly-In. Person I spoke to, didn't know that many small aircraft use ULP and has no plans to make it available for the event.

Thanks Blue, I am aware of Decalin - very popular in the USA. I am on my second Rotax 912 ULS - except for the 1-2 times/15 years, I topped up (shandy) with AvGas, I don't use it. There is no discernible improvement in performance (I am told there may be a high altitude benefit, but I don't fly above 10,000ft ). There is a significant cost/L penalty and if used regularly, additional service cost due to lead build up. I don't plan on using AvGas any time soon. Decalin treats a problem, that I would rather avoid in first instance. For pilots who don't fly regularilly, AvGas is much slower to "go stale" than ULP (especially 98 RON). I haven't been in this situation but would suggest draining tanks & carburettor bowl, rather than using AvGas. Thanks anyhow for the thought

What Nev said. As I said, I will use it if there is no reasonable alternative - I think it would be reasonable for RAA to ensure a supply at Parkes

I am definitely "overly fussy". While I have used AvGas, about 2 times over 15 years, I will make every reasonable effort to avoid it. On "away trips" I carry two x 20L collapsible bladders/jerry cans, so that I can get a lift/taxi/walk to the nearest appropriate servo for fuel. I dont think its unreasonable to expect that a Fly-In, that is principally aimed at small (RAA) level aircraft, many of which will use ULP, would organise to have this fuel available.

None of this is new - Sonex developed a "drone" version of its popular homebuilt about 2 years ago. Externally identical, except that the cockpit are featured no transparent "skin". Attention: Politicians wishing to jump on this non existent bandwagon - A bad person(s) would first have to steal/build the potential drone. Convert it in a hidden workshop, alongside an airfield (could be private) Test fly, without anyone noticing this over large drone. Rough estimate 6 - 24 months of development before loading with explosives. My guess if the baddies want to go down this route, they would just go and purchase a commercially available drone, fly it from a nearby car park or similar open space, adjacent to the target and do the deed.

Organisers got back to me - sound very welcoming: "Yes most certainly we welcome non competing pilots. Depending what your plans are, most arrive on Friday and depart Sunday and camp underwing. If you just wanted to come for the day on Saturday, i'd plan to arrive well before 10am which is typically when the event starts, and plan to depart sometime after 2-3pmish. Cheers, Scott Donald"

Your are accommodating chappy Blue. Seems to me you miss the point. - Let me spell it out for you: This event is the RAA's Annual Fly-In (a "flagship" event I assume ??). You are possibly unaware that RAA is an organisation for pilots, who fly aircraft, a great many of which are designed/recomend to operate on ULP. A simple person , like myself, might expect that this preference for ULP, might be accommodated by such an organisation as RAA, for their most important annual event. Interestingly other fly-ins, such as Clifton, Qld, Oz-Stol, NSW, run by volunteers (not salaried staff like RAA) manage to offer ULP, at their much smaller events - this would lead me to the question...........(I leaveit to you)????? As for carrying fuel, in designated fuel containers, on a bus, or any vehicle - NSW has laws allowing the carriage of small quantities of fuel, however this is likely to be at the discretion of the driver/operator.

RAA responded to my enquiry regarding UPL: uncertain about ULP availability on the field and vague about carrying fuel containers on the courtesy bus to from town.