Methusala

My brother, who lives out of the country , has a Rutan Solitaire stored in John's hanger. This was the winning entrant when the US soaring body held a design comp for best home buildable , self launched sailplane in the 80's. It is a lovely thing but not without problems. It is a monowheel design with in-line skate wheels on outriggers trailing from the wing tips. This gives it very poor ground handling. It is powered by a Zenoah 320 opposed 2 stroke twin which retracts into the nose via a lovely piece of electronic/mechanical leverage. Once in the air it climbs adequately and has an l/d around 38:1. It utilises 'spoil flaps' similar to a club Libelle for glideslope control which induce no pitch change in operation. I, as you know, once had a Pteradactyl, which was lovely in mild conditions and would have been quite safe but for the spar tubes being too light-on in wall thickness. Like every thing aeronautical, there are good and bad sides to most designs. I never would have believed that a Europa could crash so tragically as happened up near Hervey Bay but I don't know the details of that one. As I say,"a million ways that an aeroplane can kill you!" Don

Not stopping...raise flaps, power on and go around! Don

I would guess that the zinc coated ones would be for galvanised wire. The copper against the zinc (galvanising) would make for great electrolytic corrosion. Don

This insultingly amateur bunch of wannabees won't do anything that doesn't involve a) Sticking their noses deeper into the public funds trough; 2) Seeking to defend and extend the "right" of their mates to do the same thing; or 3) Use any means at their reach to try to blacken the image of their political opponents. Don ( BTW what about getting rid of that odious piece of red tape BS the ASIC card?)

Had an Aeropower conversion about 2070cc built by Mike Muninger (snr) with through bolt conversion in my VP-2. Did 350hrs with no trouble. Drove a 56"x30" Sweetapple prop at 3600 max and 3200 continuous. Would cruise at 60kt and climb was gradual (250fpm) from 2500ft but I had a long strip. Aircraft was about 450kg full weight. No cooling issues, although the barrels were out in the breeze with scoops. Efi kept cht's to around 250C and egt's about 1100 F. Oil pressure sat at 38psi and temp at around 75C. Don

The water pump does not open into the crankcase. So the sealing between 2 crankcase halves will not result in a water leak. The water pump will allow water into the labyrinth seal between the two case chambers. As Nev says this will show up as water contamination of the oil in the small reservoir. The problem with sealing the water pump was all but eliminated when the 99 came out with ceramic seals. Therefore the most likely place for a leak is on the gasket sealing the coolant manifold to the case. Don

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turboencabulator link for anyone interested to follow. Don

Maybe heart attack/natural causes?

Make sure that the engine is well primed before attempting to start. Full choke and pull through 8 blades with throttle closed, switches off. Then open throttle a little and flick. should start within 2-3 tries. If it is flooded then open throttle fully and flick (with some one in the cockpit and chocks in place). As fact hunter says, correct adjustment of tappets is vital. Regards, Don

Bought a 2nd hand TOM TOM today for $50. Loaded with US data. Thanks, Don

Thanks for the info. I have a Samsung Galaxy 2s which should support the apps. Will give it a try. Don

My flying mate and I are in the advanced stages of planning a fly/drive trip across the US in April next year. We will be renting cars at various stages and require a gps based nav system. If anyone would have such a thing and could lend, hire or sell it we would be most pleased. Regards, Don

I didn't wish to make an offence or to intrude into anyone's private business...just couldn't resist the funny side. Don

No Ross, I said that I can't stomach beer brewed by CUB. I think that the wonderful XXXX is brewed by Lion Nathan. Don't have any problems with that (in moderation...of course). Don

John, could you please affix to your list an indication of the type of beer they serve...can't drink anything by CUB. Thanks in advance, Don

Hongie stole a Zenith 601 Zodiac. Don:roflmao:

The hyphen, as a safety device has a lot to recommend it. Not too sure about a serif! Just sayin'. Don

If they can stop the registration process because of a missing hyphen in the fuselage rego nos then they would probably hang you if you were found aviating without a stall warning thingy! Don

I was flying my Volksplane back from Tumut some years back when I noticed that the round pill in a plastic bubble started to turn black. I had climbed about 3000ft out of the valley and so did not want to return particularly. It was about 70 nm to my base which normally would take a little over an hour to go. However I encountered a stiff breeze on the nose which slowed progress to barely 40kts. I spent the next hour doing mental arithmetic, touching the end of my nose, feeling my fingertips for any numbness and hoping that the forest in the distance which marked home base would hurry up and arrive, When I landed I found that the sharp 180 deg bends on the exhaust headers had corroded through. This is the only time that I have had a CO scare, but the cheap chemical indicator worked a treat. Don

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/19/pilots-death-fire-service-to-investigate-claims-of-intimidation Just saw this news article on the Guardian, Don

Good news Ross. Best of luck, Don

I don't think that anything can be learnt from this accident (Tragic accident). My personal opinion (I know every one has one...) and I was thinking about it today would lean towards pilot incapacitation. I did not know Wayne but I did deal with him buying new skins for the Thruster. He treated me very well and this high opinion of him is general among forum members. We lose some very great friends in our valiant struggle against the law of gravity. Don

Its often said that one "Lives to Fly". But it would be even greater if we heard "Fly to Live" as a good sense motto. Honestly I don't think that I am of the Wrapped in cotton wool mob. But life is the most valuable asset of all and if I considered flying over more water than I could swim out of, I would plan very carefully and take every precaution. I walked with my wife to a scenic spot in the Bridabellas the other month. From a high vantage we could see stretched out before us unbroken forest. Would I feel comfortable flying over that in the Kitfox? No way! I just think that the tragedy of lost life in an aircraft crash is the saddest thing. A moment before people in the best of health in a perfectly good plane and then...disaster. Sorry for being maudlin but its the way I feel. Don

Don't accuse me of acting out of ignorance and don't speculate about what's going on in my mind,please! I did not speculate, I merely offered my opinion about an action which appears to be reckless and foolhardy. Regards, Don

I find it extremely foolhardy to attempt what these two did. And Eugene Reid was apparently there to wave them off! (Shaking his head in disbelief) Regards, Don