Ross

Hi shop Me too. But there are no fuel Mr funnels in the forum shop. Regards Ross

Hi Crews Sorry about this. I originally posted these pics under the wrong topic. So I copied it then pasted it under this topic where it should have been in the first place. It appears to have worked Ok. I will see what happens when I delete it under the other wrong topic. Well it did not all work OK. All the text went across Ok but only some of the pics appeared. The first three only appeared as empty boxes with a small red cross in the top left corner - very strange. So I deleted the empty boxes then did an "insert an image" again (the green tree icon buton) for each of the missing pictures. Some pics of where we are up to a few days ago now. [ATTACH]821[/ATTACH] Co pilot PTT button - packed out to help tank clearance under seat [ATTACH]822[/ATTACH] Co_Pilot PTT Cable Ties_ under Passenger seat Header tank [ATTACH]823[/ATTACH] Radio harness - Header tank under copilot seat- note lining all around tank to prevent fibreglass to fibreglass contact. [ATTACH]824[/ATTACH] Regards Ross

Hi Clem Great idea. I need one for my lawnmower as well! Regards

Hi Roger Hi Roger thanks for the info. However I needto accompany my wifeto Wagga :;)5: the day before WOW after an early dental appointment :yuk: ! A few days later I have another couple of drastic dental appointments:yuk: :yuk: . And I really don't need any more excuses not to work on the J160.:confused: I will probably weaken and turn up at Narrandera every now and then especially after Wednesday.:big_grin: Regards

Hi Roger Did your syndicate new J230 get flown home to Narrandera yet. Tell us about it. While working on the J160 today I had the radio going and heard a couple of "touch & go calls" from Narrandera from an AC with a lot of background noise. I did not get the call sign. Regards Ross Arnold

Hi Clem & DonC I would be much more interested and would like to know for both the cases quoted what were the engine numbers. The point is the engines have changed with type of material used, manufacturing methods and recommended operational temperatures pertaining to head temps ie valves. So things have changed since the 1600 motors and the early 2200 motors. I do not think that the information of wear and tear means much unless the model and engine numbers are identified and perhaps the job that the aeroplane was doing. The same comments apply to the Rotax engines as well because there have been many changes to them as well. Just go to both their web sites to see the changes that they tell you about let alone the ones they do not. Regards

Hi Clem My information on the current Jabiu engines is they haverevised their maintenance frequencies back in 2004. Depending on the serial number of the engine, they require a top overhaul at 1,000 hrs and a major at 2,000 hrs for both the 2200 motor and the 3300 motor. http://www.jabiru.net.au/news/technical/Engine%20files/Revised_Jabiru_Engine_TBO.pdf See the above information on the Jabiru site. Regards

Hi Crew I think I have resolved the main strobe noise problem. When testing I had set the radio to scan a number of frequencies not taking any particular notice of where they were when I was testing. So today I had a listen at what I would be monitoring if I were flying locally or through the area which would be the YGTH CTAF-R 126.55 at about 25 NM and the Melbourne Center 22 area frequency 126.00 at Mt Bingar about 30 NM and the Narrandera CTAF 126.7 about 15 NM distance. So I tried those frequencies with the strobe going (the J160 is still in the carport in a brick house with a tile roof) and the result was far better than I expected. I only needed to rotate the squelch knob a further fraction more than the non strobe position - probably only a couple of degrees. There is still a barely perceptible background tick which I am sure I would not even hear if the engine were running - but that will be another story. I still have to permanently route the strobe 12 volt supply and the copilot PTT cables up the console where the power will split off and continue to behind the pilot seat so that might affect the RFI as well. Today I bought an "Automaticbattery charger suitable for sealed lead acid batteries" because my 30 year old $15 battery charger gets up to 6 Volts which has not seemed to worry the lawnmower. I tried the new charger today. It was up over 14.7 Volts on my multimeter after a couple of hours and still showing 1 amp on its ammeter! [ATTACH]820[/ATTACH] BTW I just got knocked back by the forum system as I "was noteligible to make a post" - this has happend previously. The first indication is when you try to make the post or to upload a picture file. The reason is I had double clicked on the icon to open the forum and therefore actually had two copies of the forum running and was trying to update the second copy which would have automatically been locked out by the first copy running. So I copied what I had already done - closed that copy of the forum down went to the other copy and inserted the copied material into a new post there then tried to insert the jpeg file above only to discover that it still exceeded the allowable size limit of 150 KBytes by 1 kByte. So I had to go and resize it again to be a little smaller. Actually I can see on the photo that I posed for my wife the radio is running but the strobe switch is not turned on. We had both just had a couple of glasses of wine. Probably closing either running copy of the forum would more than likely have unlocked the remaining one and made it available for posts but I had wasted enough time already so I did not try that alternative. Regards

Hi Clem Thanks for that. I would be intersted in any detail you can find out. I can use the squelch to tune the worst of thestrobeRFI out. It takes anything from about 1/8 of a turn to about 3/8 turn of the squelch knob. That will get rid of the worst of it but there is still a noticeable improvement once you turn off the strobe. I don't know how much radio traffic distance reception is being reduced say an extra 1/8 to possibly 1/2 turn of the squelch knob. They should be able to run flashing LEDs as strobes nowadays as they probably run on a far lower voltage than the classic strobe. I have no idea of what sort of RFI they produce if any. I might check it out. They seem to be used in lots more applications as they are a more efficient light producer than classic globes. There is still a bit of panel wiring to tidy up and rearrange also I can not take the fuselage out in the open yet to test open air reception until I widen the existing temporary doorway of the carport - garage with no permanent door. Regards

Hi Roger, Geoff and Micgrace Thanks forall the suggestions - I am working on all of them. Essentially I am running the coax down the bottom middle of the fuse as far as the sound curtain then down the passenger side wall over the door and into the side of the panel. Once in there it is pretty hard to avoid all leads but I am in the process of lengthening some power leads under the panel to give more flexabilty in location. The temporary low tension power leads to the strobe power unit are strung from the panel across the top of pilots seat to the strobe power unit. The Strobe high tension power leads go from the unit along the pilot side of the fuse to the tail unit. They cross the aerial coax at the base of the tail. The whole thing might be better in the open away from the building and trees which must soak soak up some of the radio signal and therefore allowing the strobe RFI to be a nuisance, relatively stronger than normal!? After trying a few things this morning I got to thinking of putting the power unit in a bucket of water to shut up the interference but settled on an empty steel paint bucket - that did not work either! To cut out the strobe RFI requires about another half turn or more of the squelch knob. I shall have to quantify that more carefully. At the moment the battery is on the charger. The RFI is stronger on some frequencies than others. Well I had better go and try a few more ideas! Regards

Hi Crew Ran the wires and installed the copilot radio jacks Tied the head set wiresunder the beam behind the seats. Installed the PTT button on the top of the joystick Installed the radio MEM button near the top of the joystick allowing the choice of the next prerecorded frequency set in one of the radios 25 memory locations. It can only roll the selected frequency forwards from 1 to 25 then starts again. Installed temporary power leads for the tail mounted strobe and tried the strobe with the radio going - the strobe power unit is producing a lot of interference on the radio as the charge builds up before it fires the strobe even after moving the power unit further back near the sound curtain. Any suggestions? Regards

Hi Crew Realised the weekend was not over so did a bit more electrical panel stuff. Passed a piece of 12 gauge tie wire (tie wire for fencing) up the console from the aft end to draw the radio harness wires to the rear just behind the seats. Taped up the radio harness for the pilot & copilot microphone & headset jacks. Pulled the pilot & copilot jack wires through the console. Drilled two 3/8" holes to left side of pilot's seat for the pilot radio jacks. Despite both jacks needing the same size hole they have different nut sizes & so require two spanners to do them up 11 mm & 12 mm I think they were! Soldered the connections for the pilot side & copilot side radio jacks. Installed thepilot side radio jacks. Tried the radio reception for pilot side jacks - works fine with earphones and small speaker. Tried the intercom - can hear myself in the earphones - sounds fine so far. Still to put holes in the cabin lining for the jacks and re-glue the lining for pilot & copilot sides and clean up - vacuum etc). [ATTACH]819[/ATTACH] Photo taken through window hole behind the pilot seat showing the pilot radio jacks between the pilot seat & fuse wall. Also note both pilot & copilot wiring shown both yet to be secured under their respective beams behind their respective seats. The lining is yet to be holed to suit the jacks and re-glued. As you cannot see the jacks when you are flying I would really like them to be visible and accessible when you are airborne. There seems to be virtually no other conveneient location for them. The shiny item in the foreground is the power unit for the tail mounted strobe yet to be supplied with power.If it interferes with the radio I can shift it aft a foot or two with the mounting strips already fitted under the lining! Regards Ross

Hi All Did more work on panel over weekend. Got the battery installed and hooked up to an negative earth strap on the stainless steel firewall and to the positive starter motor solenoid on the firewall. Because I have mounted the switches and circuit breakers close to the bottom of the panel I had to trim a lot of material from the fibreglass panel edges. The large size of the supplied switches does not help.There are a number of safer types on the market so that you don't end up with the possibility of a switch knob embedded in your skull. See Captain's switches - loverley. The key operated solenoid to power the two positive panel busses is connected powering the main buss & the instrument buss. It works. I have previously tested the temperature gauges roughly using hot water on the oil temp and a heat gun on the CHT and EGT. The starter solenoid button works and is only live when the master switch is activated. The radio is wired up to power and the aerial but not the sockets for headphones yet. A temporary single socket with a small speaker plugged in shows that it is picking up traffic as far away as Bathurst and Dubbo plus Melbourne Centre - all this in my garage at Leeton under a tile roof and some close large gum trees about 70+ feet high! Electrical Still to do: Get some more 10 gauge wire! (my mistake) Replace some temporary wire with 10 gauge. Electric booster fuel pump to connect to panel. Probe power unit to connect to panel buss. Engine to reinstall but will probably leave till a bit more other work is done. Instruments to connect to engine. Earth carburettor to engine. Earth engine to firewall earth. Connect up ignition kill wires to engine. Connect alternator wires to panel. Regards

I always thought that anyone who designs a machine of any description should have to do compulsory maintenance on it for a least a year whether the machine needs it or not. Regards

Hi All Found panel bolt holes in firewall and cleaned them out. Cleared cable holes for choke & throttle, carby heat and cabin heat. Used longer bolts by 1/8" for panel mounting - will check them later as the foam & felt compresses overtime. Mounted compass on top of panel in front of pilot seat - used three brass mounting bolts, nuts & washers to eliminate interference. The shiny, not stainless, steel panel mounting screw below and near the compass did not have a noticeable affect on that bearing of the compass whether it was in or out. I did not try removing the retained nut used by the panel mounting screw. [ATTACH]818[/ATTACH] The electrical wiring through the fire wall is not done yet. The choke, carburettor heat & cabin heat cables are mounted below the panel to make access easier to the back of the panel. Regards

Hi All My excuse is we had late afternoon visitors but got a bit done but not the panel installed. [ATTACH]815[/ATTACH] Disconnect fuel line - remove rudder pedal stops - Fit & glue the foam to the back of the firewall [ATTACH]816[/ATTACH] Fit & glue felt - Reinstall Rudder pedal stops - Connect fuel line [ATTACH]817[/ATTACH] Paint air cleaner - Prefit & Pop rivet air cleaner to firewall Regards

Hi Geoff & Roger I am not going to beat either of you into the air but from what I heard in Narrandera at the barbecue on Sunday Roger's crew are going to win the race on about 19th October. Well I have got most of the lining done and some felt on the instrument panel housing and the aircleaner mounted on the engine side of the firewall. Tomorrow, hopefully, I should get the firewall lining done and the instrument panel mounted in the cabin. Note the difference between my J160 panel and Geoff's panel. I am still deciding where exactly to put the carby heat cable through the firewall! It is a bit cramped! [ATTACH]809[/ATTACH] Sound curtain installed - Aerial leadwire on LHS - Strobe HT lead on RHS [ATTACH]810[/ATTACH] Luggage floor, walls and most of roof lined - strobe wire with cover on RHS & mounting strips behind pilot seat [ATTACH]811[/ATTACH] Aerial lead - Luggage floor & wall - Some joins to tidy up [ATTACH]812[/ATTACH] Strobe power mounting strips and covered strobe HT lead [ATTACH]813[/ATTACH] Passenger side cabin roof lining [ATTACH]814[/ATTACH] Instrument Panel attached to clamp felt - white (glue) blotches will largely disappear once they dry. Regards Ross

Hi Kitfox 4004 That sounds just like the Jabiru proviso for their engines. I think that they have to crank at 300 rpm to generate a spark - hence it is unlikely that you can do a propair start with a jab as you would need to get to VNE or near it to get the required prop revs per min. You need to pull up near a stall to stop the prop then use the starter motor to get 300+ RPM or no spark. You need to stop the motor spinning to use the stater motor. Obviously you can't do that at low AGLs with the danger of a stall & spin into the ground. Regards Ross

Hi Rick P From what I have seen of these "discussions" on theRotax & Jabiru engine nobody seems to take any notice of what model motor or what serial number motor they are quoting or talking about. No doubt there have been many changes in both brands and all models. These changes arenot only in their ancillary equipment like undercarriage, cooling ducts, carburettors, propellors, starter motors, alternators, oil pumps, radiators but the actual engine design of parts like pistons, valves and seats, fins on cylinder barells, head design as well and it's service requirements and service frequency. There have beenmany changes to both brands of motors and their respective models and probably many of these are unpublished. So remarks by consumers about an engine are about that particular engine and often cannot be generally applied to describe the current models. The changes do not all occur at one particular engine number but are generally a continous process over the life of the engine model. AJabiru 2200cc enginecame withmy J160 kit before the J160 plane was certified.The fuselage was number 14 in the J160 series. In this engineor its equipment or its service requirements are quite different from the "same" engine manufactured two weeks earlier and different again from one manufacturedsome weeks later. I would want to know the brand, model number and serial number of the engine when any detail is quoted because the information is quite meaningless without that information. Regards Ross

Geoff Sounds like it would leave the 303 model for dead with better and lower faster flying characteristics.

The two front runners look like a fairly convincing argument depending on what speed they cruise at.

Hi Darren I did my BFR a few weeks ago. I was as nervous as hell - my first BFR. You are not wrong there on the trip comment. I have already flight planned it a number of times. Flying it would have takenless than three hours versus about six hours driving. (I don't count planning, fuelling, preparation and ferrying to and from aerodromes) I have a Kit Fox brother in Wentworth (near Mildura), a sister in Howlong (ex Narromine Soaring Centre) near Albury, a sister in Ballina, a brother in Sydney(lapsed GA pilot), another brother in Melbourne, another sister in each of Adelaide and Ballarat. Another retired brother like me lives here in Leeton and loves flying as a passenger but has shown no inclination to help on the J160 build. I visited the Ballarat sister on one of my cross country exercises while training. Another training flight was into Albury aerodrome (an activecontrol zone) with my instructor who did a test there while I flight planned back to Griffith. That was the same day of the fatal plane loss in the Victorian Alps. I was worried with a continuously lowering ceiling as we returned to Griffith. So I am fairly centrally placed to visit most of my siblings in the J160 and far enough away to justify the flight provided we still have fuel and aerodromes when I finish building it. Regards Ross

Hi Captain Did you see all the gliders amongst the GA aircraft that lost their registration on the CASA list. There seemed to be a lot of L13 Blaniks. I noticed that most of the ex Leeton Gliders now owned by others that I flew were on the deregisterd list. I think I saw GIX, IUK, IUU amogst others that I was familiar with. Regards

Hi Clem Mainly the blimpwould not come close enough. I was contending with houses, trees and powerlines to get that last shot. This morning I discovered our tarpaulin manufacturer in Leeton stocks Velcro and a limited amount of felt. As well as that I got more carpet tack goo from the local furniture and carpet shop this morning. So I was able to make up covers using felt a bit heavier than I wanted with Velcro zipsfor the fuel lines on the J160 today as well as doing the last of the screen side and top felt cabin liners. :big_grin: So it was a reasonably productive day compared to some. But it did have a bad start as I put my fingers into a tin full of pens and pencils to extract a rechargeable battery (the clock in my office had stopped) only to slice open one of my fingers next to the index finger on a very sharp razor blade in the bottom of the tin. It kept getting acetone (and my attention)on it during the day! Tomorrow I will get to lining the luggage area. I have changed the position ofthe power unit for the flasher to behind the pilot seat on the fuse wall. Regards

Eastmeg2 from Sydney has just arrived at 7:53 at the forum. So welcome aboard Glen. Do a few posts to tell us where you are up to and where you want to go. Regards Ross