jakej

More interesting is the question - how many won't renew, or will think about not renewing membership ? That's potentially real scary.

I wonder how many 'pro' ballistic shute people do aerobatics ?

Track up - so that looking out the window, which we all do , what we see is what's on the map/gps therefore immediate situational awareness

That can be the problem with these 'aids' - another example is twin engined aircraft, 2 engines are better than 1 in a lot of peoples eyes. However good the theory it's been proven that what happens in practice is an entirely different matter & pilots haven't necessarily used the best option. What happens in the air, when things go seriously wrong is usually totally different to the pontification on the ground.

and.....I have to agree with Dieselten ...once deployed, you are out of control & along for the ride (crash?) be it into rocks, water or maybe powerlines that's the scary issue for me. Learn to handle the 'emergencies' & while the aircraft is controllable & you are still breathing never give up - aircraft don't usually fall apart (like in the movies) unless overstressed by the pilot.

Overtemps and fuel distribution are a well known problem and have been since day one. Before EFI most automotive engines had similar issues. Everytime Motz or others have had problems the question is asked regarding the EGT and CHT on ALL cylinders and rarely can the answers be given. Pretty basic EMS systems can alarm (even students cant ignore) and log data so real problems may be found. I know of some very well trained mechanics and LAME/L2 who do not know the Jabiru very well. Some even smart enough to say so and suggest you get someone with currency and experience work on them despite their training and qualifications. jetjr, If temps are so important, & I believe they are, then I wonder why so many factory Jabbys have only 2 of each EGT/CHT probes fitted. Jake J

how'd the SWR check turn out ?

FV - you still in town ?

from an unthinking, unenlightened and uninformed minority with personal issues to pursue. Unquote Begs the question - will he enlighten & inform us so that we can think about it ?? Jake J

As an aside, I believe the automatic Solar lights runway lights at Tintinara (SA) are available 24/7 so no need to activate them from the cockpit - maybe the way to go for other places too. Jake J

I don't get it - thought rec flying was about lower costs, now we're talking about 900 bucks for strobes:insane: I've been using the bright LED ones $130+ for IFR aircraft too - however nothing beats looking out the window IMO Jake J

AFAIK there are no rules for day VFR for strobes - not required but anything that makes you more 'visible' to other aircraft IMO is good. Jake J

Scott - they are very low on brightness unlike the whelens or others which use a magnifying lens, but cheap. Gareth - there are other LED types around for approx $130 + each tip NOT requiring a base unit and only draw .5 of an amp pm me if you need to know more. Jake J

I saw a Subaru conversion that appeared to have just been ripped out of a car, nothing like the adverts. Also the guy was told he would have to replace redrive at a cost of $3000 or $5000 if bought later, engine hadn't even had it's first start at that stage - wiring loom was a shocker too, I had to sort it out. Jake J

Eighty knots Did you not read this -- " By that point they had experienced some high oil temps, and I heard talk that they were thinking of flying the aircraft down to Jan Eggenfellner's shop to work on it before AirVenture." or this ---" I realized by talking to him that he had never calibrated ANY of his avionics, so headings were off (I had heard by 30 to 70 degrees), engine items were alarming all the time and he had issues with choosing to display propeller RPM or engine RPM (due to the reduction unit), he had no pitot test, and nothing had been debugged much at all." & " It really started to worry me that he and Jan Eggenfellner were showing such lack of pilot judgment in participating in such a trip." My main question is this - Has anyone actually talked to someone with an Eggenfellner engine installed? What was their experience with the engine & Jan like ? Viking engine -- my point remains is that why be a part of the R & D team ? for anything, unless of course you have plenty of money to spare in whch case go for it. Jake J

FT Has anyone read about the RV10 (using Eggenfellner engine) crash in the USA -? makes scary reading http://www.meyette.us/RV10crash.htm a wake up call re Human Factors Too. (Jan) Eggenfellner Subaru engines have/had all sorts of publicity, self promotion & glossy pictures on their website, now with the Viking there is no mention anywhere of Jan Eggenfellner - why ? Has anyone actually talked to someone with an Eggenfellner engine installed? I have been directly involved with one & it's not a good story. I believe there's an RV9 in Vic that has had at least 3 (Subaru) engine failures resulting in deadstick landings, not sure whether it was an own conversion or from USA . Viking engine - this may be a good one, only time will tell, however I believe the question is not necessarily about the engine itself , a glossy brochure just doesn't cut it for me. It's apparent, from other areas I'm involved in, that there is too much reliance on customers being the R&D bunnies. Not this black duck. Jake J

Agreed Nev re damage to fabric however on an aircraft where you can't see the cap, having it on a wire or chain will surely get your attention, there will be some minor damage in fiberglass or metal aircraft but you will know the cap is off. Without the tethering of the caps you could lose a lot of fuel (you generally won't see it flowing out) before it will show on the 'trusty' fuel gauge, a fuel computer won't be of any use in this situation as it only measures fuel used. Not an ideal situation if on a long cross country trip miles from anywhere. Doing the checks is always the answer to minimising the risks - I still ocassionally get out of the plane (despite just buckling up) to check the oil dipstick security as a result of being distracted etc then not absolutely sure that I did tighten it - still happens now after 2900 + hrs. Jake J

How many items do we then carry spares for Alan, no need IMO just do the proper checks in this case before flying. In the 'certified' aircraft market there is a requirement for a restraining system (eg chain or cable etc) for fuel caps that can't be seen while in pilots seat - a very good idea for ALL aircraft, but I wonder how many meet this requirement Jake J

Doesn't NTSB belong to the USA, we have ATSB Jake J

Hi Alan You can do some maintenance, it's called schedule 8 http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/download/caaps/airworth/42zc_1.pdf (note the info on page 3) however you can't issue your own maintenance release or 'sign off' (without going into detail here) anything that requires a LAME's signature. Jake J

Alan Are all the systems 'tuned' now eg autopilot ? Jake J

If that's the case then why commute to GLB Jake J:cheezy grin:

Hi Don Please say hi to Brian for me, we (the now defunct ACT Chapter Aust Aerobatic Club) used to fly out of there in the 90's. Jake J