WestCoast

Is there anybody out there that has successfully installed a Perma-Cool Oil thermostat to their Rotax 912? I imported a thermostat a while back and a LAME fitted it in accordance with the instructions supplied, however I still cannot get the oil temperature into the green band other than by taping the oil cooler. The thermostat was initially installed as per Fig.B however it made absolutely no difference to the oil temperature, so I contacted Perma-Cool and they told me to try Fig. D which I did, but nothing changed and the engine oil temp. continued to run way too cool. I have now spent $750 on this installation where in the past a 5 cent piece of tape did the job quite adequately. The only reason I installed the thermostat was to have a permanent fix so that I could operate year round without having to install/remove tape on the oil cooler :black_eye: Ideally I would like to see around 100C oil temperature but at 9500 ft on a trip during winter I could not get it above around 62C. I test flew it again today in Config D. and these were the engine readings:- Altitude 3000 ft RPM 4710 MP 26.3 Fuel Flow 20.5 LPH OAT 11 C TAS 116 kts EGT 801/779 C CHT 98/104 C Oil Temp 80 C During descent and approach with about 2500 RPM, the oil temperature dropped to 69C. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Regards Dave Config. D

And another last week......not any fault of the CT though! http://www.wftv.com/news/13727480/detail.html

As well as a very long endurance bladder!! :confused:

From aeronews.net: IAF Pilots Attempting Circumnavigation Record In Micro Light Tue, 17 Jul '07 Flight Also Celebrates Indian Air Force 75th Anniversary Two Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots are winging a Flight Design CT across the world, and they've made it to the continental United States. Pilot Rahul Monga, 37, normally flies attack helicopters while his co-pilot Anil Kumar, 38, handles supersonic jet fighters. Right now, they are flying the German-manufactured CTSW Advance, hoping to cover the globe in about 45 days, according to the IAF. The empty weight of the plane is a little more than 661 pounds and it has a range of 869 miles with a ceiling of 14,000 feet. It has a glass cockpit and electronic flight instrumentation system (EFIS), internal GPS, a satellite tracker and a VOR coupled R/T set. It is also fitted with an emergency parachute recovery system. The two IAF Wing Commanders are scheduled to land near Los Angeles in the small town of Santa Paula, CA Tuesday morning. They have taken on this mission not only as an attempt to smash the current record for circumnavigating the globe in a micro light, but also as a goodwill mission to celebrate the IAF's 75th Anniversary. "I am proud to represent the country and the Indian Air Force in such an event. Me and my entire team have put in a lot of effort 'planning' the expedition, it's time to live it. With God's grace and well wishes of the entire country we will be successful," said Monga just prior to takeoff June 1. The two have already flown halfway around the world since leaving Delhi, India. They've battled monsoons up China's eastern coast, flown over frozen and sparsely-populated areas of Russia and leaped across the bone-chilling Bering Sea to land in Anchorage, Alaska. They crossed the International Date Line on July 4 and gained a day in their trek, according to the IAF. "We have got one more day in our expedition to live it fully," Monga said. They are attempting to lop 34 days off the nearly 98-day current record, but they are running 12 days behind schedule because foul weather grounded them in a number of countries. The two pilots say flying -- or, more accurately, landing -- the CT is just a bit different than their normal fighter jets. Since the aircraft weighs less than 1100 pounds on takeoff and is highly susceptible to wind gusts, the plane "lands like a drunken Dinosaur," according to an IAF release. At one remote Chinese airstrip they were just about to touch down when a powerful wind shot them 50 feet back up into the air. It took three more attempts before they touched down safely. The most dangerous passage to date was crossing the Bering Sea on July 5. Monga was the only one flying the craft as it crossed over the frigid waters because Kumar was replaced on the Russian leg by a local navigator, a mandatory requirement because that country's air controllers only speak Russian. If engine troubles had forced Monga to ditch the plane, he would have had only six minutes to three hours to survive, depending on whether he was able to get an immersion survival suit on in time. That is where some new tracking and communications technology onboard the tiny craft provided by a Canadian company would have come in handy. The Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRS) was developed by Flyht, a subsidiary of Calgary, Alberta-based AeroMechanical Services Ltd. It allows IAF officers sitting in a control room in north central India to constantly track the micro light's location and allows them to communicate with the pilot via satellite phone. Had Monga ditched the aircraft, IAF controllers could have called in Canadian, American and Russian rescue teams and told them exactly where in the Bering Sea to look. The vast majority of current commercial jets don't have radio contact in large patches of the world; nor can airlines track their craft in many regions of the globe, the company said. From Santa Paula, they are scheduled to head northeast to Colorado Springs, southeast to Jacksonville, FL then due north to Toronto, Canada. They hope to exit North America from Canada's frozen north, hop over to Greenland, Iceland, Europe and home to India. The journey can be tracked from the IAF website. FMI: www.amscanada.com, http://indianairforce.nic.in

For the Dynon users out there, the latest Firmware update is now available from Dynon here:- http://www.dynonavionics.com/docs/news_july_2007_firmware.html It has some great new features, including data logging on the EMS. Regards Dave

CT owners should check out the latest Tech Advice 13e ASAP to see if their aircraft is affected.

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer. In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a young boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you." The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?" She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him." The defense attorney almost died. The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, "If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you to the electric chair

This was written by the father of the pilot injured in the CT accident. RE: FDCT N22QT My father taught me that that it isn't what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you know that simply ain't so. So before the many sources of misinformation fill the internet, I thought I'd give you some real information. First, and most importantly, my son Daniel is fine, a new few cuts, scrapes and bruises. The rear bulkhead structure remained intact, Daniel remained securely belted in place, and the rest of the aircraft absorbed the impact. Your description of an intact egg in the middle of a debris field is most accurate. After the accident, Daniel was upside down. He released his seat belt, climbed out of the fuselage, a flagged down another aircraft. Then he called me to tell me that he was okay, but the airplane was pretty much destroyed. Daniel is a student pilot, he has a total of 49.7 hours in his logbook, 18.1 hours in type, and had logged 55 landings. His logbook shows 8.1 hrs of solo in N22QT. His other time is in C-172 and a Diamond. Daniel is 27 years old, and a Captain in the US Army. He is intelligent and an excellent student. He is relatively conservative in his self evaluation. N22QT belongs to my wife and I. We ordered the aircraft at Sun & Fun within days of Flight Designs SLSA approval in 2005. We took delivery in November from John Dunham in Carson City, Nevada. I am a Private Instrument pilot with 2000 hrs plus, primarily in complex single engine. About half of my time is in conventional gear. I have time in about 20 different types. Daniel is unable to qualify for a standard medical certificate at this time. His medical issues are not a factor. Therefore he has been training for his Sport Pilot's License. In order to qualify someone on our insurance as an instructor, we sent a 1500 hour CFII instructor to Lancaster, Penn to be checked out in the CT by John Calla. In addition, we had the instructor fly an additional 8 hours to familiarize himself with the aircraft before giving instruction. And while waiting for this process to happen, Daniel obtained 4.8 hrs of instruction in a Katana. Prior to this instruction, Daniel had flown approximately 20 hours with me in the CT and had made numerous landings requiring little or no assistance. I am working on my Sport Instructor rating and used Daniel as a practice student. Daniel training proceeded normally. He was well prepared for the lessons and made significant progress under the instructors guidance. By April 28th Daniel flew a "long" solo cross-country and completed the last requirement before his LSA checkride after 10.0 hrs of dual and 6.6 solo in type. Most of his practice was at Tipton. On Sunday, April 29th at approx 00 EST Daniel took off from Tipton airport in Washington DC ADIZ. He had filed a flight plan from Tipton to the Deale practice area, and back. He departed the RWY 28 with winds 300 at 9. He proceeded to Deale and burned avgas for about an hour doing whatever student pilots do in a practice area. It was a beautiful spring day, slightly turbulent. Daniel contacted Potomac approach and returned to Tipton airport. When he arrived back at Tipton, at about 10:30, the winds had increased to 9 with gusts to 14, from 350. At 10:30 I was 5 miles west of the airport walking out of church, and the wind was over 20 in an open area. For those of you not familiar with Tipton, Tipton in a former Military airport also know as Fort Meade. It has one 3000 ft. runway, 10-28, and is surrounded by trees. When it's windy at Tipton the wind sock can dance about 90 degrees in the turbulance. The rotors and eddys off the trees can be interesting with any amount of wind. Daniel considered going somewhere else to land but after considering his options decided that Tipton was as good of a choice as any. He decided to attempt a landing at Tipton. He flew the approach with one notch and maintained his airspeed around 60-65 because of the gusts. Daniel would have landed with a crosswind component at or exceeding maximum. Crosswind was from the side opposite the pilot, "the light wing". The landing was a challenge, and when he landed he was relieved to be rolling on the runway. For a few seconds at least he was rolling out. Because he had landed a bit long, and he needed to taxi to the end of the runway, he did not immediately apply brakes. Daniel specifically reported that he felt very relieved to have successfully landed. I estimate this relief probably translated into relaxing pressure on the controls, and possibly distraction of attention. Within less than 10 seconds of landing, a gust lifted the right wing, then the entire aircraft, blowing the aircraft to the left and as the angle of bank increased the aircraft started to turn to the left. Daniel was now maybe 20-30 ft in the air, banking left towards the trees, heading 45% off the runway, turning downwind, well below stall speed. From this point forward, Daniel was just a passenger on his way to an airplane crash. In response, Daniel applied full power. The right wing continued to rise and as the aircraft rolled left. Within 200 ft of liftoff the left wing struck the ground with the aircraft moving 90 degrees to the runway. The left wing absorbed the energy by cleanly breaking the spar at the root. Following impact of the left wing the fuselage rolled inverted and hit the ground at an angle greater than 45 degrees. The prop and engine were torn loose. It appears that the next impact was tail first because the horizontal stabilizer was stuck in the ground like a shovel. The "egg" came to rest inverted with the right wing and engine groups loosely attached. As reported above, the pilot released his belt and climbed out. There were a number of contributing factors in this accident. The order I am listing these does not attempt to allocate relative importance. 1. Washington DC ADIZ - interfered with student training. 2. Washington DC ADIZ - interfered with students perception of options 3. Changing weather conditions. 4. Airport topography less than optimum. 5. Pilots Failure to use proper ground roll technique. IE. immediate application of brakes, full aileron into wind, -6 flaps on landing. resulting in loss of control on rollout. The following are not factors. 1. Aircraft crosswind capabilities. (The aircraft was landed) 2. Student preparation (Student was aware of risks and acted appropriately) 3. Student judgement and self-assessment. (Student did attempt and successfully land in the crosswind) 4. Decision to add power. (Only added energy to the existing problem and relocated the debris field.) Aviation is not inherently dangerous, but like the sea it is terribly unforgiving of inattention or neglect. Daniel did not have enough experience to appreciate the importance of reducing lift immediately upon landing in these condition. I firmly believe that this flaw in his education has now been completely remedied. As soon as the dust settles, my wife and I will be purchasing another FDCT. It is an exceptionally good and honest airplane. I decided it would be an excellent trainer for my sons because once someone has mastered a CT, he can fly heavier singles with relative ease. The CT requires you to learn how to use all of the control surfaces correctly, to be an honest pilot. It may not be the easiest SLSA trainer to fly, but if you learn in a CT, you'll have very good skills and habits. I enjoy flying the CT, it flys as well as my C-180 and it’s easier to wipe the bugs off. I have found no gremlins in the behavior of the aircraft. It is a very capable aircraft when flown correctly. A FDCT is like a C-180, when the prop is turning, you need to pay attention. Thank you for all your help and support. I’ll keep you updated if any other information comes available. The FAA visited the crash site immediately and will issue a report. NTSB didn’t care because there were no bodies. Orlo Ellison

Good news for those using the Dynon avionics (EFIS & EMS) as there is a new firmware upgrade due early June 07. (can be downloaded free of charge as in the past) See details here:- http://www.dynonavionics.com/docs/news_spring_2007_firmware.html The changes put this gear in the same league as the B737NG /B777 as far as visual presentation and features go. The ability to carry out data logging on the EMS is also a huge plus. Regards Dave

How about somewhere a little more central so we 'tothersiders' can participate........the Barossa Valley or Goolwa maybe?:) Regards Dave

I came across this post on a US CT owners forum which I thought might be of interest to current and/or future CT owners as it explains certain characteristics of the CT during approach and landing. (The author is a retired US Navy aviator and engineer and a current CT owner.........I obtained his permission to post this here) Quote The mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) of the wing is a line drawn from the leading edge to the trailing edge. Assume a CTsw cruising along at 80 kts, say, with flaps up. The angle of incidence has been chosen by the manufacturer and is fixed. The pitch angle has been set by the pilot to hold the altitude and the angle of attack is that which results. Now, lower the flaps to 15 degrees. Redraw the MAC from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the flaps. In effect, the angle of incidence has been increased. To maintain a reasonable angle of attack, the pitch angle must be lowered. Said another way, lowering the flaps results in a flatter pitch angle. Lowering the flaps more and more results in lowering the pitch angle more and more. In the CTsw, this effect is particularly pronounced when compared to most other aircraft. At 15 degrees of flap, as at takeoff, the pitch angle which just barely raises the nose wheel off the ground is correct for lift off. This is a relatively shallow climb angle compared to most aircraft at take off. Raising the flaps and assuming a 70 knot airspeed for climb results in an increased pitch angle as the above would suggest. If one selects 30 degrees of flap and reduces power at the base turn, the pitch angle is very much below the horizon to keep 55 knots. In fact if the engine is at idle, the nose down attitude is rather striking and surprizing at first, compared to most other aircraft. The touchdown angle is, according to this theory, also flatter than it is for 15 degree flap landings. For this reason, the change of pitch angle in the flare for 15 degree flap landings and approaches is much less than that for 30 degree flap landings. The approach and touchdown angles for a 15 degree flap landing approximates that of most other aircraft. However, the transition from final to touchdown at 30 degree flaps must be learned in the CTsw. It isn't difficult, it is just a bit different. The 30 degree flap approach angle is fairly steep and the landing pitch angle is fairly flat, with nose wheel just barely off the ground. Increasing pitch angle too much by holding the plane off the ground can cause it to abruptly drop...this is just fine if you are just inches off the ground, but not so good if you are high. I suspect that a part of the explanation for the more dramatic effect of flaps on pitch angle in the CTsw is the fact that essentially the flaps extend across the entire wing since the ailerons droop as well as the flaps. Flaps cover only about half the wing in other aircraft, so the effect is less dramatic. Now, it follows that the landing pitch angle for a 40 degree flap landing will be flatter yet. In fact, it will be very very flat, almost three points. We (correctly) don't want the nose gear participating in the landing shock so we will naturally try to get the nose a bit higher and face the real possibility of a drop out. Again this is OK if you have skillfully got the gear a few inches off the ground, but very bad if you are a foot or more in the air. Recovery isn't easy with the drag of 40 degree flaps. Getting it right is a lot easier if a little power is carried. My advice for new pilots is to learn the CTsw using 15 degree flaps for takeoff and landings. When that feels comfortable, do a lot of slow flight at the other flap settings and then work on the 30 degree flap setting landings. Only later, when your skills have developed and you want to study short field landings, work out your technique for 40 degree flap landings. Or not. The only reason I can think of to do a 40 degree flap landing is for short field work and I am not sure it would help much there. For gusty conditions and/or crosswinds, use either no flaps or 15 degrees only and increase speed. Increase speed by one half the gust value. In gusts, get set up with a little power on (and hand on the power) and cruise down the runway fishing for the sweet spot. For ample runways, a little power on any final approach generally makes smooth landings easier, but you should practice power off approaches and landings regularly to be ready for the day when there is no choice in the matter.

There are two BD-5 based at YSEN here in Western Australia......not sure about any Australian agents. see here:- http://sabc.org.au/All/Photos/Aircraft/BD5.html Regards Dave

Thanks Ian....that is the sort of information I am seeking. I still can not get my head around how the auto-pilot disengages when the button is pressed momentarily but if held down for longer (> 1.5 secs), will re-engage the servos when released. The TruTrak and FD circuit diagrams show the control wheel switch with a connection to Pin 3 on the programmer module, then going straight to earth when the switch is pressed. (as long as it works....then that's fine!) Oh and one other query......I notice you have an ALT HOLD c/b ?? There is only one c/b shown on the circuit diagram for the whole autopilot. Perhaps this c/b was installed for another application? When you try out your new A/P, can you pop the ALT HOLD c/b and let me know if it has any effect on the autopilot...ie. will the a/p maintain the selected altitude?? Regards Dave

This is an enquiry for information from anybody who has a factory fitted TruTrak Digiflight auto-pilot in their CT. I am presently having a TruTrak a/p retrofitted to my CTsw and would like to know whether the factory fitted units have a dedicated "On/Off" (master) switch for the a/p included on the panel. I am aware that the 8A circuit breaker is wired via the 'Avionics Master' switch however the wiring diagram supplied by Flight Design does not show an actual auto-pilot master switch. My understanding of the momentary switch on the control column is that when held down the aircraft reverts to CWS but re-engages the servos when released. Quote from TruTrak The control wheel switch is a momentary contact switch mounted on the control wheel/stick. When the switch is held down for 1.5 seconds or more, the autopilot enters the control wheel steering mode. During the time that the switch is held down, the servo/servos will be disengaged and the pilot can manually fly to the new desired track. Upon release of the switch, the unit will synchronize to the track being flown at the time. All of the multi-axis with vertical speed capability will also synchronize to the vertical speed being flown at the time of control wheel switch release. Can anybody enlighten me on this and if possible show a picture of where the A/P "on/off" switch is located if indeed one has been included. Regards Dave

I saw this EFIS with Synthetic Vision & 3D overlay on another forum.......am not sure who produces it but if it is for real, then it's a very impressive piece of equipment. Location appears to be in France. Regards Dave

This outfit certainly have a large range of tapes : http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ap/tapes.html however I managed to buy some 6" leading edge tape at Western Airmotive at Jandakot recently, however it's not cheap (about $11 per foot). Dave

OK thanks Roger...thats a pity as I thought the AVmap might have been ARINC capable but as you say, not a necessity for aircraft in this speed category. I understand the following have ARINC 429 output :- Garmin 250/300XL, Garmin GNC 430/530, Apollo GX50/55/60/65 and CNX80, King KLN 90/90B, and Sierra Flight Systems. I will be very interested to hear how it compares with the Skymap IIIc which I think Ian had in his previous CT. Regards Dave

The following new and revised Service Instruction documents have been released by Rotax: SI-912-010 R2, SI-914-011 R2 - OIL CHANGE ON ROTAX ENGINE TYPE 912 AND 914 (SERIES) SI-912-018, SI-914-020 - PURGING OF LUBRICATION SYSTEM FOR ROTAX ENGINE TYPE 912 AND 914 (SERIES) These new and revised service documents may be downloaded from www.rotax-owner.com SI-912-010 R2 - http://www.rotax-owner.com/si_tb_info/getdoc.asp?USERID=byteboy&DOCID=SI-912-010&S_TYPE=NW SI-914-011 R2 - http://www.rotax-owner.com/si_tb_info/getdoc.asp?USERID=byteboy&DOCID=SI-914-011&S_TYPE=NW SI-912-018 - http://www.rotax-owner.com/si_tb_info/getdoc.asp?USERID=byteboy&DOCID=SI-912-018&S_TYPE=NW SI-914-020 - http://www.rotax-owner.com/si_tb_info/getdoc.asp?USERID=byteboy&DOCID=SI-914-020&S_TYPE=NW Regards Dave

Ian...looking forward to seeing some more pictures when you have the CT assembled.....also a full report on the AVmap and it's features once you have had some time using it. (does it output ARINC 429 data?) Regards Dave

Guess it must be the luck of the draw.....I had 2 headsets sent from California and transported by UPS. They were despatched on a Tuesday (Monday US time) and arrived here in Perth on the Friday morning (same week). I was able to track them from San Diego via Anchorage, Hong Kong, Singapore and on to Perth. Amazing service. Dave

For those who may have not seen it, this is quite a good article on oil for the Rotax 912. http://www.sportpilot.org/magazine/feature/2004%20-%2010%20October%20-%20Power%20On.pdf

The full synthetic oils have difficulty suspending the lead that works its way into the oil when burning 100LL or 100/130. This can result in the buildup of a lead paste in the oil passageways of the engine.

As far as I know, Bert Flood Imports still recommend using Castrol GPS in the Rotax. I would ceratinly be staying away from a "full synthetic" oil if you ever use any Avgas. Regards Dave

Ian...I think less colour near the cabin area is better and yes, lifting the line higher would improve the appearance. I also added an Aussie flag to both sides of the fin to break up the large expanse of white as I have the line running straight through to the end of the fuselage rather than sweeping up the fin. Regards Dave

Yes I tend to agree Ian.....the CT needs the fore/aft colour line running without interruption the full length of the fuselage and sweeping up the fin to reduce the "egg" shape appearance which is very obvious when you look at the unpainted CTs. Regards Dave