graham brown

I found the ribs sticking up above the spar needed filing off. Sikaflex in the ones that were too low. Jigs/spaces were needed where the ribs were going to go to get the spar to have the right height at that point. A folded web would make it easier.

Separation is a worry. It has always bothered me outside controlled airspace.

Too many people argue without quantification that there is a risk and the mitigation is restrictive airspace that requires expensive equipment and qualifications to get access to it. CASA do this too because they might get blamed if there was an accident.

Class G airspace (uncontrolled) is where we fly and we should only let others take it off us if there is a quantifiable risk that justifies another class of airspace and its associated costs. DS has not provided this justification.

Dick Smith is a lovely bloke.... yeah yeah

However if he wants class E airspace down to the deck on the approaches to aerodromes like Ballina then be afraid. You will need transponders and that will cost you. Later he may want ADSB for VFR aircraft so he can be directed accordingly and that will cost even more. Ballina then the next and the next.....Our freedom to fly needs to be defended. This may get out of control if not opposed.

Here's another method for doing all those holes literally anywhere on the build including curved surfaces, go buy some perforated aluminium sheet with 3mm holes and cut some strips off it (if you can't actually buy an offcut), drill a hole in each end relative to your workpiece, pop a rivet/cleco in each end and drill out all your holes at your selected intervals (I use a nikko pen to mark my holes first). Remove and clean up, rivet away.

That's interesting. Which way was it not straight? The only thing I noticed doing the spar was that the rivets expanded one side of the angle and not the other which gave it a slight sweep back/forward. Only about 10mm though.

Great job Kevin. The gas struts are on I see. I'd be interested in your testing schedule as I'm about to do mine. I have the benefit of being at Garry's with all the experience but I'm still going to do a test schedule and stick to it. There have been too many 1st flight disasters with homebuilts recently.

Cheers

Graham

Shorter wings will make the rate of roll quicker so manoeuvring to stay in the tight thermal will be easier.

18M gliders today perform as good as 22 and 25M gliders of 10 years ago. Material technology is making the wings change as Garry suggests rather than the discovery of new aerofoils. Thin wings are good as long as they are strong enough.

Epoxy shrinks as it cures and also shrinks a small amount over time so the grip on the roughened tube is very good. I did a test piece on a tube and could not get it to separate.

If you want to assemble a plane buy an RV12. If the kit doesn't go together you have done it wrong as they have drilled all the holes and made all the bits. If you want to build a plane buy the Morgan. Its a lot of work but you get the added satisfaction you have built the plane not just assembled a kit. Quality control is up to you to do it well. If you want a ready made plane I would look elsewhere as it costs a lot to have someone assemble/build one for you and its also not the purpose of these homebuilt kits.

Nothing wrong landing on roads. Many years ago in Missouri USA one of the gliding club members I was associated with stuffed up his circuit and couldn't make the 180 degree turn to the runway and ended up landing on the I35 interstate which was next to the airport. No problems but how do we retrieve the glider. Answer fly the J3 onto the I35 and tow it off. All good until the authorities came looking for us. We didn't show our heads for months.

Many thanks. My Glider has a matt black panel and I have liked that over the years. Easy to touch up.

The paint will come soon but the preparation is taking longer than I thought. I'm still fibre glassing the engine cooling ducts and fitting the spats. I haven't even started sanding and alodining it yet. Maybe early next month. It will then be moved to Taree.

I put in the 6.

Rigged the Sierra today probably the last time before taking it to the paint shop. Now need to have all the parts painted including all the small bits that will be put on later. We had a bit of trouble getting the engine mount right for the CAMIT motor. The alternator sticks out the back requiring some mods to the mount. I would probably try a different mount arrangement or order it with the old motor bike type coils if I had my time again. Anyhow all done now.

I am building one of these aircraft and this incident and discussion has indeed provoked me to think a lot about the project.

One of the conditions of the 51% rule is…

“The aircraft is intended for educational or recreational purposes”

Well I am doing both and I guess the education part just got a lot more emphasis.

I have indeed downloaded some of the standards and have found them pretty easy to read. I’m an engineer however they are not that technical and not beyond anyone constructing one of these kits. The manufacturer probably has a good idea of how the aircraft design complies with the standards and a discussion with them is a good idea. The construction standards are completely up to you and if you don’t know how to do something then asking the manufacturer and consulting the standards is a good idea. I have maintained my glider for the last 30years and worked under the guidance of professionals so I have learned some of the industry practices but building a whole aircraft is a whole lot more. The manufacturer, Morgan, has been extremely helpful and I’m sure all other manufacturers do the same. I would recommend the manufacturer do the inspections of the construction as they have seen most instances and are aware of the design constraints. “how do you do this” and “can I do this” are my most frequent question to Morgan. Their advice is without guarantee of course but standards and the manufactures experience is the best you can access.

By the end of this I will be happy to fly my aircraft knowing I have made informed decisions. However I will be reluctant to take passengers as they will in most cases have no idea the risks they are taking. I will probably only take those who technically know about homebuilt aircraft and the processes involved. This a lot different to what I imagined only a few weeks before.

The suggested log of the risk assessment is not a bad idea to get around some of this.

On the bottom of the pile on photo 18 it looks like the rudder to me. It looks like where the skins are riveted to the tapered tube. I'm constructing one of these so the investigation will be of great interest. Indeed I won't fly it until there is some real information available on this incident.

Hi John, I imported it from the USA; a place called home and habitat. They have all sorts of fabrics that would probably do the job.

http://www.ahh.biz/fabric/rubberized/hypalon.php

It cost about $200 by the time it landed at my place.

The ballistic nylon looked good too but you would have to find out what glue to use.

I knew Hypalon and the glue from my boating days.

Graham

Thanks Dallas, A better arrangement is needed especially down the coast route. AOPA had a go at this a few years ago and got some improvements. Both routes around this airspace are not good for non transponder equipped aircraft. I'll write a few lines and send it to CASA. I'll also alert the guys at Taree.

Hypalon Fuel Tank Cover

The Morgan Sierra like other similar aircraft has a fiberglass fuel tank between the cockpit and the firewall. It’s light weight and does the job but I have always been concerned that it may break open in a crash and there wouldn’t be much protection for the occupants. The Piper Pawnee Tug at our gliding club is the same however it has an internal bag to contain the fuel if the tank splits open. I went down the path of obtaining an internal bag however the company I sent the request to never bothered to reply. Not daunted, I turned to Google and found in the 2nd WW lots of fuel tanks had external coverings of rubber to stop the leaks caused by bullets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-sealing_fuel_tank Well if it’s good enough for a Spitfire it’s good enough for my Morgan Sirrea! Not that I’m expecting someone to shoot me down.

After some research I chose Hypalon as the fabric as it is tough and inert to most liquids including petrol. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypalon I used Hypalon glue for repairing rubber boats which is a 2 part glue and very tough. I have used this on my rubber ducky and was amazed at how strong the joints were. It has added about 1.5 Kg the weight to the Morgan tank and I have no intention of testing it in a crash. I have crashed my rubber ducky flat out into a wharf at night though. No problems with the hypalon or the seams just the skipper.

I cut the hypalon so it would wrap around in one piece and the main

seam is at the back. The sides are cut to fit and glued to the tank. All seams then had an additional piece glued on top. The Hypalon is glued to the tank at the outlets and fuel gauge sender.

The glue is not forgiving once the 2 pieces touch and cannot be separated so you end up with a few wrinkles.

Here are some pics.

The problem with a sh1t fight is that everyone gets covered with sh1t!

This has happened with this incident.

I agree; work together to improve ourselves and our sport.

Also don't let anyone impose crap on us.

Hi David,

I have been building it for one year and 3 months but lots of things get in the way.

Cheers

Graham

Sorry I should have attached some photos.

Hi David,

I'm building a Sierra 100 and have the airframe nearly completed. Garry needs to come down soon and inspect the internals on the wings before it is closed up. The fuel tank is getting an external fabric liner and then the top front deck will go on. I'll order the motor and instrument kit then. Jab 3300 will power it.

R's

Graham