pluessy

I have been playing with the design for a 2/3 scale Vampy for a while. I have the plans for a 1/5 model and would use similar construction materials and techniques as the Spacek SD-1 Minisport (building one as a training exercise), Pik-26 or MC-30 Luciole (foam/carbon fibre spars, foam ribs, ply skins, wood stringer/ply skin fuselage). The 2/3 scale is just big enough to accommodate the pilot and gives 10m2 of wing area, with 300kg MTOW fits in the 95-10 category. If built really light, it should come in under 180kg empty (the SD-1 is 120-135kg empty, MTOW 240/255kg). Engine: 85kg thrust jet (PBS TJ80) or 75-100hp air-cooled 2-stroke with ducted fan (Hirth 3002/3003). The 85kg thrust jet would give the 2/3 Vampy the same thrust/weight ratio as the original (taking off like a lame duck till they accelerate to a reasonable speed). Only problem with the real jet engine is they use 80-100lph of fuel!

there must be some problems in the network, Essendon is coming up now but East Sale and Moorabbin have no data on both platforms (apps).

there are times when some stations are off-line. doesn't happen very often.

get "AeroWeather light" (IOS) or "Avia Weather" (Android) for clear-text aerodrome weather. It's like ATIS on your screen.

I bought mine at Super A-mart, the cheapest football sock that I could find. Get 2 pairs and you have 1 spare, material stretches and breathes, just for UV protection

The idea of the Wideband sensor is to give you the mixture average. You will still need to measure each cylinder in the testing phase (re-jetted carb, throttle body injector etc) to work out the mixture distribution across all cylinders. Even in normal use, an engine that is very sensitive to excessive heat will need CHT and EGT on every cylinder to monitor the operating conditions of each cylinder. On certified engines, through lots of testing the critical cylinder(s) have been determined and they are the ones with the EGT/CHT probes fitted (pre-EMS). The Wideband signal can be used to check the mixture distribution by putting it through an oscilloscope. The response time is fast enough to measure each cylinder if located in the exhaust stream. It won't tell you which cylinder is rich/lean but the variation between them. Pull a plug lead off and you can see which signal changes.

A straight O2 sensor doesn't have the range to properly display the mixture from full rich to full lean. They have a "tipping point" at the stoichiometric ratio of 1 (=Lambda 1) where the signal changes significantly and that is used to maintain the mixture ratio at Lambda 1. To get the full mixture range displayed, you need a "Wideband" sensor. They are able to display a mixture from Lambda 0.7 to over 2.0 eg full rich to full lean. To just display the mixture ratio, the sensor doesn't have to be in the full exhaust stream, it can be mounted slightly out of the stream and exposed to a reduced gas flow, prolonging the life. At our flying altitudes (10,000'), any error from the sensor due to altitude would be negligible as cars are operating at altitudes of 8,000' without problems. From the Bosch LSU4.2 sensor info: Sensors Used with leaded fuel Depending on the lead contents of the used fuel the expected service life time is: (preliminary data) - for 0.6 g Pb/l: 20 000 km - for 0.4 g Pb/l: 30 000 km - for 0.15 g Pb/l: 60 000 km

I agree with skippydiesel, there is no need to open the cooling system cap (pressure cap) at every pre-flight. What you need to do is get familiar with your overflow bottle level: - what is the level stone-cold (winter) and cold engine on a hot day? depending on your bottle diameter, there can be quite some different levels. - what is the level when the engine is hot? - keep an eye out for any stains around the overflow bottle, this indicates a leaking radiator cap or overheating cooling system - don't forget to include the radiator cap in the 5-yearly rubber hose replacement program (gasket is rubber and the most likely part to deteriorate and cause loss of cooling system pressure -> loss of coolant) Radiator cap is BMW P/N 17112345074 at about 1/2 of the Rotax price (fitted to BMW motorcycle F650 with Rotax engine). I had one event of total loss of coolant due to a (LAME-fitted) hose coming off on climb-out. caught it in time from increasing CHT (older style heads), reduce power, returned and landed normally. With about 4,000rpm, the CHT went back to normal thanks to the air-cooled cylinders. No damage to the engine, have done about 200h since. At the last annual, I removed the cap to inspect the condition and it was leaking slightly afterwards, noticed the stains on the overflow bottle after the test flight. The less you touch it, the fewer problems you are likely to have. Thomas

I think we need to take a step back and look at what we need to achieve: - VFR aircraft in class G airspace operating in the same vicinity on the same frequency, regardless of altitude or strip marked on map or not. - a means of communicating with ATC (or them with us) if required (emergency, traffic alert, SIGMET etc) - allocate local area frequencies if traffic volumes require it (to remove some congestion) Neither the current nor the proposed system is really addressing that. I have lasted about 5 minutes on area frequency and then got sick of listening to the jet-jockeys talking at twice the speed of sound from 100 miles away. What we need is an area frequency surface to top of class G, replacing the current CTAF. Then local CTAF frequencies in a geographical area (eg Whitsundays) or 10 or 25nm radius from regional airports with frequent RPT or flight training (eg Emerald, Gladstone, Bundaberg). This would create a single area frequency and avoid the congestion by removing high-use areas by allocating them a discreet frequency, again from SFC to top of class G. Separating IFR (any other than class G) from class G is required if the recreational pilots are to use it. I'm not holding my breathe that we get something workable:no: Cheers, Thomas

I have a JP instruments FS-450 fuel flow and totaliser with only one sensor in the line between electric fuel pump and mechanical fuel pump (Royax 912ULS, similar plumbing as shown by Scre80). My fuel flow meter has been calibrated to read the correct fuel flow at cruise power and will read a bit high at WOT and a bit low on descent/low power. This is due to the fixed amount of the returned fuel (3-4lph) compensated at the cruise fuel flow of about 18lph. I have suggested to JP Instruments to provide a calibration function to off-set the return fuel from the total fuel to give a more accurate reading. They replied that they would look into that. Calibration would be easy: electric pump on, engine off, measured fuel flow is return volume. A word of caution: if you have a LSA aircraft, you will need the approval of the manufacturer to change any of the plumbing or instrumentation. Cheers, Thomas

Trackely, the Bolly is pre-balanced, just assemble it and it will be right .Very important to get the pitch equal on all blades and check the tracking. I had painted the tips on mine and had to check the balance afterwards.

Hi Trackley, I have balanced a couple of props, but only static. Made up a small rig to do this. If the demand is here, I might consider getting a dynamic balancing tool (I have a restricted L2 maintenance authority now). Cheers, Thomas

Look at the arrows from re-curve or compound bows, they are available in carbon fibre and aluminium, most are 7-8mm OD and 5-6mm ID and come in length up to 750-800mm. I have a few broken ones from my son and use them for all sorts of things. If you know anyone who is shooting with bow & arrow, they will have some damaged ones. TP

I have been using the Hydrotac stick-on lenses for years on my non-polarised sunglasses (HydroTac® Lenses - Home). They can be cut to suit the lens shape and I find them excellent. I just need to lift the head a little bit to read the instruments and normal vision is straight through with no interference from the add-on lenses. I'm still on the original 1.5 strength but will need to change to the 2.0 soon. There are also safety glasses available with built-in reading glasses at the bottom. I use them for driving and at work but they are polarised and affect some of the clarity and readability of the aircraft instruments (digital and iPad/phone).

I have decided not to have it repaired as I don't need it anymore. More than happy with the Bolly. I will need a much smaller prop for my single-seat project and I might use the GT as a core for that prop.

Thanks everyone for their input. I'm thinking along the same lines, having to replace the complete sheeting. But I'm also not comfortable with a prop up front that can develop a hidden failure eg you don't know that the sheeting is delaminating until it is visible from the outside or is already peeling off. I have bought a Bolly BOS3 and the approval request is under way. I think a wooden prop should be covered with clear glass or varnish so that any damage to the core or cover is visible (check out the Jabiru prop manual). This GT might just become a very expensive clock

Thanks, will try him.

Thanks Soleair. As this is from an LSA, I was looking for someone who can sign off on this repair. I have bought and installed a Bolly BOS3, so I'm not grounded and have time to source the repair (or sell it).

Hi everyone, I have a 2-blade fixed-pitch wooden GT propeller (from my Tecnam P92) where the fibreglass sheeting on one tip has delaminated. I had a slight vibration and some funny noise, when I checked back on the ground the glass/paint had lifted just behind the leading edge protection. Pulling on it, a 12cm section pulled off easily, see attached photos. Does anyone have any experience with this type of repair or know of a repair shop (Australia)? GT has been of no help so far, referring me to the prop manual (the prop manual states to contact the manufacturer!). Thanks for any help, Thomas

My name is Thomas and I just joined this group. I restarted flying just over a year ago after an absence of 25 years. Now I'm building a Spacek SD-1 Minisport from a 51% kit, about 1/3 done. Once in a while I hire the ICP Savannah VG from the local RA-Aus flying school for a local flight or short trips. Looking forward to venture a bit further in the future. Cheers, Thomas