dlegg

Do you have a high wing aircraft or low? If high with tanks in them, you probably don't even need a pump. But you must have an engine driven pump?

Very important your engine spins at least 300rpm when trying to start. So need a good battery and starter motor, as magnets for coils supply weak spark at low revs. I have fitted an electronic ignition on one side, now starts at very low revs and in the cold weather. 

That is a conundrum. 

Was the microair identifying as an mgl?

I have a Mgl V6 radio, been perfect for 10 years. It replaced a Microair, wasn't very old but just died. Stay away from them.

Can an alternator be fitted to a Rotax? Changed to one on a Jabiru, no issues since.

11 minutes ago, BurnieM said:

A lot of people using them in the US.

 

Only issue is it takes weight away in front of the firewall and and effects w&b.

 

Yes, mine needs a heavy batt fwf. And for about $130 for a lead acid, can't fathom paying over $500 for a lithium.

Sure complicates what should be a simple system. And a ludicrous price.

If all the material costs have gone up roughly 3X then surely the flying planes will have to at least double in value. 

10 minutes ago, KRviator said:

I got quoted $38K USD for a new engine without EFII a few months ago. Adding that brings it up to about $70K (AUD), then shipping and GST and suddenly that 916 pricing is is pretty attractive, you know!

Given the choice, I'd take Rotax anyday though. That turbo would make the -9 one hell of an economical cruiser up high.

https://www.rv916.com/

Super expensive 

A Zenith 650 kit is about 80k landed in oz. No engine, avionics etc.

7 minutes ago, rgmwa said:

My RV 12 cost AUD $96k at its first flight in 2015. A similarly equipped RV12 kit with a fuel injected Rotax 912iS from Vans today is US $128,800. That's before shipping, painting etc. My engine is a 912 ULS so that would reduce the price to about US$124,000. At the current exchange rate you would be looking at AUD $210 - $230k to build one today including a basic paint scheme.

 

So it's over double the cost and you haven't even assembled it yet, no paint etc. Would you build one now at the current cost?

Not mass produced but surely enough are made now that they have recovered initial investment and are now making massive profits.

After completing my kit aircraft build in 2013, I have been getting in new prices for current costs for what I have. My total costs were 60k, including importing complete kit from the US. Today's prices show I would need nearly 170k for the same aircraft. Nearly 3 times the cost. Surely kit building is now too far out of reach for anyone. RV's etc used to be affordable, almost. Are our completed aircraft now worth 3 times more?

Absolutely insane pricing for someone trying to build a kit plane.

3 minutes ago, onetrack said:

The outlanding is genuine, it's just that someone has manufactured a fake video of it happening, when in fact it's highly unlikely that anyone would be able to video the precise moments it all happened.

Add in the fact that the photo of where the aircraft stopped, is a whole lot different point to where the video shows it stopped.

I agree, plane definitely landed there, video is suspect as he'll.

10 hours ago, Jabiru7252 said:

Fake as...

Yep I agree, news reports (reputable) only show aircraft parked. Sure looks AI video of plane coming in.

2 hours ago, Thruster88 said:

I would not call any crankshaft breakage normal. As Paul points out in his vid, the front bearing is very short, the standard prop extension is too long. The crank is not properly supported.   

You would also have to think that if the crank support was inadequate then the crank case itself would fail. That doesn't seem to be the case, nor does a crankshaft breakage history.

So a touring RAA pilot needs an asic to land at a sec controlled airstrip to refuel and take off again. When applying for asic an RAA pilot is discouraged from applying as deemed not necessary. What to do, what to do...

On 25/01/2025 at 7:48 PM, danny_galaga said:

I have the endorsement, but only got about five hours practice before the Savage Cub the school leased got sold. Doh! 

I was having some lessons and a lot of fun with Dave in the cub, I came in to land and his left foot shoe got jammed around the rudder pedal. We were heading for the fence, Dave swearing away, ended up ground looping in time, no damage, but Dave took of his shoes and chucked them over the fence. We then lay on the ground just laughing like crazy. RIP Dave.

On 19/12/2024 at 9:01 PM, skippydiesel said:

Red - EBay temps quoted, are in Cruise eg OAT 20C/ EBay 35C. After flight, taxi, shutdown, can get to 65C

Those temps entirely normal for cowled engine, good luck getting better.

Is that at Boonah?

There might have been "only" 6 fatalities last year but we are off to a horror start this year.

On 17/12/2024 at 7:56 AM, FlyBoy1960 said:

Sure, I am just copying and pasting from my aviation reference material so I don't pretend to be an expert just somebody who understands more than I should and has easy reference to it.

 

The Bernoulli Principle in Aviation

When you think about how an airplane stays in the sky, the Bernoulli principle is a big part of the answer. Named after Daniel Bernoulli, who figured this out way back in the 1700s, it’s a concept about how air (or any fluid) moves and creates pressure.

 

Here’s how it all works:

 

Faster-moving air creates lower pressure.

In aviation, this comes into play with the shape of the airplane’s wings, or the airfoil. Wings are designed so that the top surface is curved more than the bottom. When the airplane moves forward, the air traveling over the top of the wing has to move faster to "catch up" with the air traveling below. Since the air on top is moving faster, it creates less pressure compared to the slower air underneath the wing.

This difference in pressure is what gives you lift. The higher pressure under the wing literally pushes the wing (and the plane) upward. The wing essentially "floats" on this pressure difference, like how a beach ball can sit on a stream of water from a hose.

---

How This Works in Real Life

Pilots don’t need to do a lot of math to understand Bernoulli; you see it every time you take off. When you add power and the plane accelerates down the runway, the air starts moving faster over the wings. At a certain speed (called the stall speed), the pressure difference becomes strong enough to lift the plane into the air.

It’s also why an airplane’s angle of attack (the angle the wing makes with the oncoming air) is so important. The more you tilt the wing, the bigger the pressure difference—up to a point. If you tilt too much, the airflow can’t stay smooth over the wing, and you lose lift (that’s called a stall).

---

A Quick Reality Check

The Bernoulli principle isn’t the only thing creating lift. There’s also something called Newton’s third law: for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. That plays a part too—air gets deflected downward by the wing, and the reaction pushes the wing up. So, lift is really a combination of Bernoulli and Newton working together.

But when it comes to explaining why wings work in a simple way, Bernoulli gives you the big picture: fast air = low pressure, slow air = high pressure, and the difference lifts the plane.

---

This is why proper wing design and airflow are such a big deal in aviation. It’s also why things like frost or damage on a wing are dangerous—they mess up the airflow and ruin the lift that Bernoulli and Newton worked so hard to give us!

I really appreciate Bernoulli but surely if you got a BBQ plate moving fast enough and increased AOA it would fly. Lots of aircraft have wings with identical profiles each side of the centreline, so does the Bernoulli effect simply enhance a wings behaviour..?

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

Do you fit Gust locks? .  Nev

Mandatory or you're in for a nasty surprise