kevinfrost

I'm not knocking the drifter, they're a well proven A/C but I would consider doing a T/W indorsment on the likes of Light Wing etc. If you do it in a Drifter you'll probably get quite a shock when you jump into a Light Wing, Aeropup, Piper Cub or the likes. Having flown Drifter, Light Wing & Aero Pup the Drifter doesn't have the nose high attitude and characteristics of the others mentioned. Others might disagree

Having painted a number of gliders, fabric & glass as well as Light Wing (2 Pack) and Aerpup ( Poly Tone) the only way to go I think is Poly Tone on fabric for practicability and longevity. It's amazing how many spirals and paint fractures appear at fly ins or air shows with the more ridgid high gloss paints. I'm not saying there aren't good flexable high gloss finishes, I've Seen some really nice gloss work on fabric aerobatic A/C. Regards frosty

A friend found a US supplier for iridium plugs @ $7.40 each. He's waiting to see if they will ship to Oz

Just heard on the radio there was a gyro fatality at Lameroo hear in SA this morning. Not good:sad:

If I thought an aircraft needed a BRS for my safety because of structual failure in flight I would not fly it. In flight collision would probably prevent the BSR from deploying properly with little benifit to crew. Engine out? I'll go in with controlled stall just above the trees or tiger country, the end result would probably be the same. Better still buy Australian and there's less chance the air frame will need a back up.

Try flap adjustment instead of aileron. Works in most case with little adjustment. Playing with aileron adjustment in most cases doesn't work.

Watto, I've flown John Birrels Bushcaddy and it flys well, as you probably know he runs a Suby in his. For what it's worth I'd pass on the 3300 as the thrust on draggy A/C is restricted by the prop diameter, Reduction drive units will give you more flexibility with props

We've had our 120 for nearly 2 years and at around 2925 true air speed is 107 kts, really pxxxxs my brother in law off in his 66 Cessna 172 especially @ 15 lts per hr. He does have 2 extra seats though.

Hi Scotty I'm not knowledgable enough to write a thesis on the subject. Google "ground plain" and you'll find all the info you need. Basic is about 300mm x300mm of light metal sheet or even alfoil with aereal fitted to centre at right angles.Seen all sorts in gliders & ultra lights over the years. Most metal A/C need no additional ground plain. Makes a big difference. Frosty

Hi Scotty, We used a Vertex 220 in a Minicab (wood & fabric) and a Light Wing (Metal & Fab) with external aereals. We fitted ground plain to both A/C. We were very impressed with the range & clarity for such a small unit. They're great value. Frosty

Thank's for the offer of help Tomo, I flew Malcolm (the owner of the Aeropup) over to Pauls (alias, Curandero) and checked out his machine, got a few ideas and will try them. Pauls A/C is for sale if some one is looking for an Aeropup. It would save a lot of build time thus converting it to fly time. It will be at TEMORA if anyone is interested. He wants to step up. (He's short) Cheers Frosty

I've been test flying a friends just built AeroPup and the cylinder temp sits around 405 and the oil temp sits on around 103 on 28 deg days. He's running a 2.2 Jab motor. We would like to hear from anyone who has had this problem and over come it on an Aeropup. (apples for apples). We've exposed the oil cooler to full frontal air by opening the cowl with no noticable improvement. If anyone has solved this problem we'd like to hear from you. It will save him a lot of experimenting and a few headaches........Cheers Frosty

I really hope I'm wrong but I think the gap between RAAus and the SAAA has got that fine that it is just a matter of time and the two will be replaced by one governing body and it's not going to be in favor of cheap affordable flying. It's got to the stage where a lot of schools are purchasing AC that are so expensive it costs nearly as much to go solo as it does with GA. It's no wonder the the fly ins are full of old XXXXs like myself. I've got to go and change my bag.

If our representatives have our best interest at heart they should have enough clout to stand up to Mr Mc. Not to long back the GA clan wanted nothing to do with our lot. We were dangerous and irresponsible, well some were. I think our safety record is probably better for Hrs flown than GA. Once the performance of our AC got to GA levels our numbers started to swell because our costs were considerably less than GA as was our health requirements.It would be interesting to see how many of our members have come from GA. . It would also be interesting to see how many GA pilots first went solo in Ultralight AC, I think if it wasn't for RAAus the current GA situation could be worse. Most of the people that are pushing the barrow for more demanding standards and costs seem to be GA oriented, Either ex or would be if they could be. I think we lost a bit more of our independence with the move to Temora, Narromine was run for us by us. It now looks like we're under the arm of the big boys and I bet they'll let us know if they see something they dont like.. No point talking to the minister, he becomes the puppet of his advisors as he knows little of his port folio. The more you gain the less freedom you have. I think we should be happy with what we've got, fight to keep it. If you want more go GA. I'm Agree mostly with Don & Yenn and will now stop my rant.

There is another Aero Pup about to go on the register. Has anyone out there done wing loading tests (sand bags or the likes) and if so what loads did you take the wings up to. I'm asking for a friend who is not online and is not to sure how far to go.

Wouldn't be anything to do with the tractor tyres Stan?

In 69 myself and two mates were learning to fly at Bankstown with a crowd called Chieftain Aviation. I often wonder what happened to the mustang that was mounted on a pole outside the office. $16 an hr back then in a Cherokee. When we come back from overseas 12 months later it was $32. Only 18 at the time, got my priorities right, woman, booze and partying won out at the time.

I'm with Mad Dave, the bloke had no Current RAA or GA endorsments and flys an unregistered sports A/C. A lot of GA aviators fly sports A/C so why should RAA Aus or GA get paranoid about some dxxk flouting the law. If CASA were to penalize either camp for the actions of this chap their credability would be questionable.

Jodie, I'd say it was a crop duster, I know it was'nt the yellow Mini Cab as we sold it a year and a half ago. It now resides around the Sydney area.

A WORD OF CAUTION TO PILOTS Most of the planes we fly in Aus are well designed and structurally sound if flown within their design parameters. All a/c fly differently depending on design and wing configuration. If you fly it , get to know it. "A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT A PARTICULAR AIRCRAFT". No, just HUMAN FACTOR.

I always do my compression check with full choke and give it another four quick turns to get fuel through. I think this gives the motor the best shot of starting rather than wasting the battery power on sucking through fuel instead of getting enough revs to power up the ignition. Works for me.

Yenn, I've found that if the mixture is too lean the EGT is most likely higher around the cruise mark. On climb the CHT normally comes up but the EGT comes down due to the cooling effect of the increased fuel flow. That's the experience I've had in the past.

Graham, I 2nd Nevs response and am glad the first report I heard was not 100% accurate........Regards Kevin.

Any info on the prang sth of Waikerie on the week end. One fatality I've heard.

From memory if the timber is kept at around 3 - 5% moisture it has unlimited life, any less or more loss of strength occurs. Casine glue was use a lot in Europe but was found to crystalize in hot dry climates. A lot of wood A/C and gliders became uneconomic to repair. Resorsinol two pack glues fixed that problem. There are a number of two pack glues used today on wooden A/C. It may suprise some to know wood is still one of the strongest per weight material for building A/C.