Virago

Great footage ... thanks for posting this! The glider shown in the opening clip is an ES52 Kookaburra. My earliest flights (in the early 60's) were in one of these at Cunderdin in W.A.

NAT (Northern Airborne Technology) make a small adapter box specifically to interface commercial radios into aircraft audio systems. We used them when fitting UHF CB's etc and when fitting forestry dept FM radios to the fire bombers. A simple method of interfacing the receiver audio is to fit a 15 ohm 5 watt resistor in place of the speaker and then take a 470 ohm 0.5 watt resistor from the high side through a switch into the headphone line. Always worked a treat for me. John.

I saw two of these at Jandakot many years ago. One (VH-MGP) stayed but the other one didn't. They may well have been imported by Hawker de Havilland which had a sales base at Jandakot.

Downunder, I have a six foot length of RG400 left over from my Morgan Sierra project. If six feet is long enough for your purpose, I can fit quality BNC connectors to each end. Let me know If I can be of any help. Regards, John (retired avionics LAME).

RG-400 is the only coax cable I would consider using these days. RG58 uses soft polythene type inner insulation which is prone to deformation (and melting under the right conditions). I remember tracking a transponder fault down to a length of RG58 which had been laid in the vicinity of a Cessna's hot air duct (near the bottom of the door pillar). The duct had partly come adrift from the outlet fitting allowing warm air to escape into the area behind the upholstery. The length of RG58 looked alright but a six inch section of inner insulation had melted, allowing the braid to short to the inner conductor. RG400 is more expensive and not as easy to work with but it's worth the extra expense and effort. I also recommend the use of quality crimp type BNC (and/or TNC) connectors. John

Jim, back when I retired from running Skycraft Electronics nine years ago, both these transponders were considered bad news. Both types used earlier, inferior technology with many individual adjustments which became very unstable with advancing age. I understand that not everyone can afford to buy new avionics but a good second hand KT-76A with it's microprocessor controlled technology would be a much better proposition if one can be located. IMHO, any money spent on the models you mention may not be money well spent. John.

Aircraft that left outside tend to fair better when they are flown often. The fastest way to have then deteriorate is to leave them outside and never fly them. John.

I prefer "recreational flying" as the name "aircraft pilots" tends to create the idea that the site is specifically for pilots. There are many other people who are involved with, or interested in, aviation activities of a sporting or recreational nature who would like to feel part of this forum. John.

The most significant preflight "find" for me was to discover that one exhaust manifold pipe had broken away at the cylinder flange (IO-470K) on my (ex) Beech C33 Debonair. As my proposed trip was from Jandakot to Yulara, I consider this a life saving find. I actually went looking for an exhaust defect as my GEM engine monitor had shown high CHT and low EGT on that cylinder during the previous flight. Another time (many years earlier) I discovered a hole the size of a five cent piece in the rear of a Pawnee muffler, immediately in front of the firewall. As the fibreglass fuel tank was right behind the firewall, I grounded the gliding clubs tug for the weekend. Some club members were incensed at this and I actually got dropped from the tug pilot roster because of it. Thirty years later, I still fail to see that I did anything wrong. I wanted to fly as much as they did! John.

So sorry to hear this tragic news. My recollections of David 's posts on this forum are that he was a good, decent man who made a lot of sense. It was clear that he was very keen on promoting safety and good airmanship amongst his peers. Deepest sincere sympathy to David's family and friends. John.

I'd probably go for a knee pad mount before fitting a flexible arm. A yoke mount is out of the question because the Sierra has a centre mounted control stick. Just like the Victa 115 I learned to fly on in 1970. John..

Hi Andy! You betcha! In the sixties we used to tie looms with a "nylex" cord ... solid plastic stuff about 1mm thick. When waxed string, and later, waxed lacing cord came out, we thought it was heaven. Then cable ties arrived on the scene and these were the bee's knees! I wouldn't mind a dollar for every cable ties I've used. The best cable ties are nylon with the little metal locking tab. I think they were made by "Thomas and Betts". We also found that the black cable ties didn't perish as much as the white ones even though the nylon ones are practically indestructible. Ever tried to cut a cable tie only to find you've cut a wire in the loom? Usually in the most inaccessible location! My Beech Debonair was always a work in progress too. Geez I miss that plane! John.

Thanks GG. The centre panel (which is about an inch proud of the main flight panel) of the Morgan Sierra is just too narrow for the iPad. It would overhang the edges. I guess the iPad just wasn't designed with standard avionics unit widths (6.25") in mind. John. P.S. I did notice the question had been asked before ... after I made posted the question.

Is there (or will there be) a version for use with android devices? John.

Hi Diggler! As a retired avionics LAME I can tell you that is an excellent job ... I couldn't have done it better myself. It's well thought out, neat, practical and safe! You have also used approved wire - looks like tefzel. You can be proud of that! John.

Smoke is what makes IC's and transistors actually work. If the smoke escapes, they don't work anymore! Resistors and capacitors work on the same principle! John.

It's amazing what you can do with a handful of cable ties!

As I am about to start mounting things in the instrument panel, I need to source a tacho (either new or good used) to suit a Jabiru 2200. Can anyone advise me of the type of tacho I would need and also a supply source. I know there are such differences as 1 pulse versus 2 pulse and also different RPM ranges. Any info will be most appreciated. John.

You know, quite a few of those items on the list are TRUE! I haven't flown an Auster since 1974 but I remember all too well: 1/. Descending when I was supposed to be climbing (with a glider in tow). 2/. Multiple landings off the one approach. 3/. Touching down at 28 Kts. 4/. What about trying to operate that darn flap lever ... guaranteed to put your shoulder out every time and 5/. That #$@%*& steel bar across the lumbar region of the seat back ... if you don't have a crook back when you get in ... you'll sure have one when you get out!! Come to think of it ... my back's still crook! John.

You guys are going like a house on fire Gavin! John.

I use Kitlog Pro too. It works pretty well. John.

Hi Kevin, Great pics! You're making real good progress and I can see you're going to end up with a superb aircraft! Neat work buddy! Now, if I could just get my act into gear and upload some photos... John.

Must be something in the (Lake Kununurra) water! I seem to recall the same thing happening to Ord Air Charter (Wyndham based ... a stones throw from Kununurra) back around ten or eleven years back. John.

Facthunter wrote: If I recall rightly, the first Cessna "push/pull" aircraft, the 336, had a whole set of individual vernier controls which would have been quite unwieldly to operate. The later version, the 337 Skymaster had the more conventional quadrant controls. John.

My (ex) Beech Debonair had full vernier controls for throttle, mixture and prop. Never had a problem with them and the vernier makes it easy to make incremental adjustments. It seems to me that the fault Wayne T.Mathews refers to may be an isolated case as it never happened to me in the ten years I owned DYT. Go for it ... if I didn't need to fit dual throttles to the Morgan Sierra, I'd be looking at vernier for that project. John.