AVOCET

why do woman ware perfume & makeup?

because their ugly and they stink!

Thanks for that - it puts it all into perspective. Very useful.I have been thinking, for quite a while, that there might be a niche for an aircraft that one might describe as "half a Cessna 180" - i.e. a two-seater, built to be durable, with sufficient power to be able to take off in less distance than it lands, with a full-flap stall speed just under 45 KCAS, and the docile sort of handling exhibited by the Seabird Seeker - but with a cruise speed around 130 KCAS. It needs to be readily adaptable to whatever use its operator desires, which means it has to have versatility designed into it. It needs to be certificated in a category that allows aerial work in VMC by day.

IDE be interested in building a prototype to your specs .

mike.

I was lucky enough this morning to witness the first flight in Australia of an aircraft type new to the Australian market, the Skyleader 500.For info see www.atlasaviation.com.au

 

Disclaimer : I have no connection to this aircraft, just happened to be there for the test flight.

"Indicated, True or Calibrated"You forgot to mention......"Fabricated". !

I can't comment on the Hornet; I've no real knowledge of it. It looks like an honest attempt to produce a workhorse style of aircraft; but how good it is depends very much on the detail - and that's not something one can pick up from a website.A serious main undercarriage generally weighs at least 5% of the aircraft MTOW, and that's for one designed for FAR 23 type loads (around 10 ft/sec limit impact velocity). Most of the spring-legs on recreational-type aeroplanes try to keep the weight down by setting the main legs at a fairly steep angle; but that makes them very vulnerable to side-drift landings, because if the resultant of the vertical and the side load passes close to the outer clamp of the undercarriage, it has very little "give" and the consequent loading generally snaps the leg (or damages it so it snaps one or two landings later). It's very difficult to beat a properly-designed steel spring-leg for durability and cost, but there's no getting away from the weight of it; and yes, damping is a problem for which there is no really satisfactory answer. Almost all recreational aircraft undercarriages are really under-designed in one way or another, in order to meet the category weight limits.

 

It's an eye-opener to look at the structure of a Beech Skipper, especially the main gear. That aircraft is essentially an undercarriage with not much aeroplane wrapped around it. It contrasts hugely with a typical LSA aircraft; and to my mind this says the very tight weight limits on recreational aircraft are the result of unsound thinking. I was under the impression that Ole originally made the Hornet an experimental VH kit because he realised that making it sufficiently frail to stay within the CAO 95.55 limits was self-defeating - but perhaps I am wrong in that notion.

quote : design it for the new 750 kg MTOW it's definitely going to happen !!

we'll we all know now ,

mike .

I tried som v/g on ,in from the l/edge in front of the ailerons and took it for a fly hoping to improve the slow end roll . they didn't feel right

I've now tried winglets on the 250 j wings and feels a lot better ,

also seemed to improve the cruise .

I was wondering about trying wool tufts around a few areas ,Dafydd, can you put tufts all over the plane at once , or is it better to do a section at a time ??

cheers Mike

you know another problem I've had over the years in maintaining someone's aircraft to find out that between service's that someone else has been "tinkering " .

mike

Thanks, Tom. I'd use VGs on my own aircraft - but set up for the improved stall behaviour, not because of the numbers. What they do, is to make the full speed range usable. One of the demonstrations I have used in the Seeker, is to simulate a violent evasive manoeuvre - such as one might make if somebody were shooting at you - from 65 knots (the flaps-up stall speed being 56 knots): Boot full rudder, full aileron, stick on back stop and full power, to haul the thing into a tight turn. Any normal aeroplane would flick-roll from such treatment. The Seeker simply turns and keeps flying, with a barely-perceptible buffet from the stalled centre-section. The people marketing VGs are pushing the wrong aspect of them, in my view; used properly, they are a magnificent safety device. Used wrongly, they are bloody dangerous. I just wanted to explain that to people.

mike

I think the problem might be that it's recreational flying and therefor it's based on mates helping mates ( sometimes )

I've just done two jobs at Pt Lincon

both customers (mates)paid for travel , put nic & I up for two nights, fed us , and paid what we asked .

I think there are two many l2 that will do the work just to help out and to a degre , There'sa few that .... naah! not going there!

cheers

mike

HITC, my thoughts & feelings exactly ,

although , I've never had the problem of being over paid ,

it's usually the other way around ,

customer comes in for a service , change oil ect ect , aah! problem found,

aah!,um,!no extra money ,

so you do it for nicks ,

I'm still considering weather to keep the L2

I might get one or two insurance jobs per year & maybe 3,or4 service repairs a year , plus my own ongoing work with the Avocet

it's still not enough to justify 3or 4 $0000's for the insurance policy

on the other hand , if l2 start disappearing it might be worth staying on and round up some more business ,

ie. advertise in the mags ect ,( not cheep )

by the way , I rang tec man the other day or 4 ago , hasn't returned my call ,

makes me feel IDE only be bothering him if I called back.

May bee CASA wants to get rid of l2 's

and deligate & stimulate LAME's???

Russ can this be bought in Aust?, I see on their website it's a US product.Thanks

I know you can use wax & grease remover , but that won't remove the potential build up in and below the gelcoat

mike

Mike thanks, never heard the word flock before, can u elaborate pls

cheers mike

I've repaired jabiru wings that leak fuel when filled to the brim , it's usually the fuel cap carriage hasn't been flocked into the tank properly when built .

easy to fix by wiping some resin & flock up & under with your finger .

and I'm pretty sure the high density foam in the jabiru wet wings isn't effected by petrol .

not like the old poly styrene wings

cheers mike

when you find the fault let us know

mike

check under dissy caps ,

check mag gaps ,

sucking air in intake some ware ,

worst case , loose fly wheel .

plugs may look good might be worth changing them & try a new set

mike

s

End of daylight in Hobart at this time of year is about 1705LMT. Facthunter has the only possible explanations.

there's a clip on dynon web site where a plane a t night flys down between hills & lands at night . the synthetic vision guides you down though the boxes

something I wouldn't try

mike

I've had to bleed a couple of lifters to get them pumped .

you can make a tool that is just apiece of ally with holes that line up with the rocker cover screws . and a thread that you can screw down in the rocker ,

wind down til it goes hard ( expelled air ) & leave it done up for a few mins .

some times i had to do it twice .

now I've got hard & hydrolic .

cheers mike

c

I could be wrong, but I think if you build an LSA kit (which you can't change), when finished, it is registered as an ELSA and given an E24-xxxx number?The problem with 95:55 is that when LSA came along, instead of writing a new ANO, a modified version of 95:55 was written and confusion followed.

I've had 2 Thompson props , shame to hear of Brett's illness , will be missed.

I hope the new owner gets it together after a rocky start , I'll give omega a go & the benefit of the doubt ,on the next prop .

mike

I wouldn't be to quick to right omega off.

one example of crappy looking prop

I had a prop made a few years ago & the prop maker had contracted a few props out to have the holes drilled ,while he moved workshops .

His drill bed wasn't square, and blunt drills , torn wood and wobbly holes,

any way , it doesn't take much to get a bad reputation once it goes viral

mike

Thanks Avocet, I am pretty sure I can modify my aircraft as I see fit, as a 19-XXXX aircraft under para 1.2 (e) of the the CAO. But it gets confusing, because there appears to be another classification of 19-XXXX under para 1.2 (h) which I think is for experimental LSA, which I assume cannot be modified without approval ?So it may not be true that ALL 19-XXXX aircraft can be modified without approval ???

Ducky

I remember when 19 happened and it was discussed what to do with 19 aircraft after the owner builder wanted to sell , it was suggested that you would have to burn the aircraft to stop anybody else using it !!

i

Can anyone provide a basic summary of how to go about changing a RAA 19 reg to VH reg? If you have already built your own plane, changing over rego, getting the RPL and a CTA endorsement would really open up the country.

I think it's possible if your a member of the SAAA and can prove your the original builder , and a decent build log , and I would imagine an inspection by an

ortherised casa deligated inspector ,

this could be expensive , depending on where you lived .

let's us know how you get on .

cheers mike

there are lots of modified 19 aircraft ,

I've seen a number of kit built aircraft that the builder has taken it upon him or her self to change the original design , you do so at your at your own risk ,

. that's what 19 xxxx is all about .

I might add that in some cases the mods are an improvement , but some are thinking ,the original designer isn't as smart as me ,.....

Yea'r, that's when it could get dangerous , or what.!

mike

the avocets a design idea I came up with a few years ago when the 760kg weight increase was going to happen ,

it's basically an ultralight ute , or panel van ,with the back opening doors allows a motorbike or a stretcher to fit in , but as the rules are now it's limited to 600 kg.

there's some more stuff on the web,

Google mike sharples avocet

cheers Mike

hi , welcome , how long has the build been going ?

got any pics ?