Old Koreelah

Good morning Balázs. 
Oil should cover the lowest, rippled section of the Jabiru dipstick.

As the others have said, your airspeed is important; when I climb out steeply, at 60knots, the heads heat up fast, because they’re getting much less airflow.

Jabiru is one of the most intensively-tested aircraft, but I bet the factory only tested their engines installed in Jabiru airframes, which are not designed for slow flight. Therefore, avoid low airspeeds while at full power.

Your oil cooler looks like mine, which has been very successful for years. The difference is that mine is mounted horizontally, under the spinner, so it gets plenty of airflow. If yours has been squeezed inside the cowling at an angle, it may not be getting good airflow, unless you carefully design and seal the ducting.

You are right to be concerned about overheating the cylinder heads; the alloy Jabiru used is suitable for CNC machining, but not as heat-tolerant as some other engines. If overheated, it permanently softens the metal, leading to the recession of valves and head bolts. My engine has avoided that by staying under 150C. Remove your tappet covers to see the colour of the metal just above the combustion chamber; light brown is okey, black is bad.

Hello, another Australian response: you have a neat looking aeroplane.

I too had cooling problems with my Jab 2200, but followed advice to very carefully seal every little air leak, so that all incoming air is forced to go through the cooling fins. That reduced my cylinder head temperatures to safe levels.
I can see quite a large gap in one of your pictures- seal these leaks and you might be very happy.
 

Your oil cooler looks the same as the one I’ve used for 12 years. Yours may not be getting direct airflow. It needs to be carefully ducted so no air leaks past it.

Jabiru has changed their oil dipstick several times, so it might be a good idea to add the recommended 2 litres and then calibrate your dipstick yourself. If the oil level is too high, Jabiru engines tend to run hotter and spit out the excess.

14 minutes ago, facthunter said:

A big discussion in the USA currently is about making radio mandatory…

It amazes me that it isn’t. We’re almost a quarter way through the 21st Century, half the world’s people can afford mobile phones, most forms of transport is closely tracked and co-ordinated, yet we allow people to buzz through our skies with no communications?

No excuse if the plane has no charging system. My radio lasts a long trip on internal batteries.

4 hours ago, turboplanner said:

If Avdata's collection method is a safety hazard it should be reported

Good idea; the problem is widespread.

4 hours ago, turboplanner said:

Writing the runway numbers into your Flight Plan reduces the pain.

Being a visual thinker, I draw a little runway diagram showing orientation, numbers and the location of the sock.

32 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

Situational awareness is the key but you cannot plan for the failure of others.

Good advice, KG. Even the most skilled and sensible pilots make mistakes, so we should assume they’ll do it in front of us.
 

I guess it’s like driving: be ready for the worst in other drivers. The authorities probably have statistics on the percentage of road users who are impaired, underskilled, near blind, unlicensed, drug-affected, etc. Add them all together and you might be too scared to get in your car. At least it should motivate you to be vigilant.

2 hours ago, aro said:

One of the traps with traffic displays is you start looking for an aircraft when it might be 5 or more miles away, when it really is a tiny dot in the distance or invisible. But circuit distances are generally less than 2 miles.

Aro that’s a good point and shows how important it is to adjust your map scale to the circumstances.
Near the circuit, zoom in, so the ten-mile circle fills the screen. That way, you filter out the distant planes that will be no danger, allowing your eyes more time outside.

RF is spot on about the limitations of the human eye. I’m glad we all now have access to affordable ADS-B, so we know where to look for other aeroplanes.

On 17/7/2023 at 8:16 AM, RFguy said:

 

YCWR >> YCBB
Nice flight to go and look at a Thruster  for sale with @Thruster88. 
 

Crickey, is T88 trying to set up a Thruster Air Force? How many does he have now?

On 17/7/2023 at 8:16 AM, RFguy said:

Owner did have 900m field  , I did an approach  but felt it a bit much for my experience with sloped fields. On walking it, the slope seems less intimidating than from the air. wide and smooth. was original Coonabarabran airport from 1958 . 

Didn’t know about that strip. Found it on GE.
I guess it’s private, but I’ve added it as an emergency option. 

On 17/7/2023 at 8:16 AM, RFguy said:

....Went back to the town airport 4 miles away. 
Nice spot for an airport, very clean and open field with good approaches and a nice surface. 

Coona Airport once got me out of a pickle. It’s an interesting strip to fly out of; taking off to the SE, it’s quite spectacular how the land drops away. 
 

Not the best place for an airport, due to it’s elevation and poor water supply.

Was there during the big fires. The place was busy as Tempelhof during the Berlin Airlift! 30plus water bombers cycling through, being loaded with retardant and water that had to be trucked in.

Just now, turboplanner said:

That and looking down are one of the Achilles Heels of "See and be seen."   Another one is turning Downwind and trying to find a tiny white LSA55 on late downwind against a cloudy sky.

That can be overcome by strong LED beacons.

…and darker, contrasting paint on the underside, where the sun doesn’t shine.

13 minutes ago, turboplanner said:

The hardest circuits I've found are country strips with one other aircraft in the circuit out of sight and unclear radio transmissions.

…and paint jobs that blend in.

51 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Those simulators cost heaps to  buy and run. Some 1000's of dollars/hour…

My wife has flown one, when she and a heap of others afraid of aviation, did a “Fearless Flying” course run be some female Qantas pilots.

51 minutes ago, facthunter said:

There's also the real risk of flying anything in an emergency situation you created on purpose. Too many have been killed in the past doing just that…

We’re told that’s why spins were removed from the cirriculum; fewer were killed by spins than were killed training to survive them.

These full-motion flight simulators are plurry expensive; is there any chance they’ll be produced in large enough numbers to get the price down within reach of RA flying schools?

On 8/7/2023 at 2:21 PM, red750 said:

Didn't get the warning about meteor showers.

 

Bugger! That was a Jodel.

9 hours ago, onetrack said:

This unexpected movement threw his ladder to the ground, he fell 4M onto an open concrete area out front of the shed, and broke his leg and elbow. He said the last thing he expected was a sudden wind change and gust, because the weather pattern showed a relatively calm day with light winds.

Damned hangar doors probably cause more injuries than aeroplanes; our club’s folding door once bit me big time.

It can be instructive to listen to long-time residents about the weather; farmers often have a deep insight built on decades of observations (on which their livelihood depends) and can give pretty reliable forecasts.

Some local farmers I regularly talk to always ask how much rain we got and compare it to theirs. 

We’re on the edge of the hills and usually get considerably more that those out on the plains.

Glen is this poor reception in your Jab?
Just wondering if SE “sees” more easily through fibreglass and plywood aeroplanes than metal ones.

1 hour ago, kgwilson said:

Yesterday the forecast was for Westerlies 15-30kmh and fine conditions. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and little wind when I left home. There was a 10-15 knot wind from the SW when I got to South Grafton straight down the runway…

As I approached these I got trashed. They were small but very punchy & I had over 1000 up followed by 1000 down within a few seconds and got involuntarily turned 90 deg & banked 60-70 deg a few times. I instantly pulled the thriottle back till well under VA (85 knots) after the first one but even at 70 knots it was most unpleasant…

Too rough for wimps like me! I hate being tossed about and your report has me revising my planned flight to Qld this Saturday for the Superbikes. Besides, the planes’s far from ready and I need a few days of test flying before a trip like that. 

This is my favourite time of year for flying: weaker thermals and clear skies, but those westerlies carry mechanical turbulance for miles.

1 hour ago, kgwilson said:

You can pass all of the exams by just having read what is in the books but never actually taking much heed of what the real message is.

I happen to be pretty good at breezing thru written exams, but that doesn’t make me any more competent than the person who struggles with literacy.

Much like IQ tests, exams were developed as a cheap way to catagorise huge numbers of people; they are not a very reliable indicator of a person’s potential.

After five decades in the education and training sector, I’m heartily sick of administrators over-using office technology to generate reams of bureaucratic waffle. In one role I’m still saddled with, I am required to be on top of hundreds of pages of repetitious piffle, just to train volunteers. 

These days technology should be able to reliably test an individual’s ability to perform a task. Simulators could help us train and assess recreational pilots; modern cars already use technology to assess a driver’s reaction time and alertness. Perhaps flying schools could as well.

3 hours ago, turboplanner said:

…most common was the person who had got into cloud, managed to hold the aircraft upright, so became confident enough to try it again and bingo!

Perhaps the regulators should focus on personality disorders.

Looks like a product of Queensland: a Terrier 200.

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

 A sudden disconnect of the charging circuit can see that AC current spike to unacceptably high levels, and cause damage to the alternator...

The next question: is there some way to divert that energy before it does damage?

Danny I can’t help with current legalities, but when I’ve consulted RAA about my build, they’ve simply quoted the broad rules about 19-reg which didn’t mention such details.

Rules aside, having a foolproof way of disconnecting the battery makes sense. (I don’t trust those cheap isolators with a red plastic key: even if turned to the OFF position, a slight press on the key reconnects the current.)

I installed a home-made isolator that automatically disconnects the (-) side of my battery in the event of a prang and use it as part of my startup checklist.

A lever near my right leg is weighted with a small lump of lead, so that rapid deceleration swings it forward, pulling back on a wooden rod that releases the contact. This is made from the round tip of the aluminium brake lever off my old Speedwell bicycle. When contacted, it sits neatly into a nut on the end of the top right engine mount. Simple and reliable.

I have no idea what damage could result if I feel the need to disconnect the battery in flight. The alternator would be spinning without anywhere for its current to go. Any advice welcome.

2 hours ago, Garfly said:

Yeah, well, I'm full of curiosity as to the colour of my BRS. Will I ever see it!?

Imagine buying a $9000 dollar item and never getting to post an unboxing video on YouTube.  

Did you install it yourself? If so, you’d have needed to peel open the velcroed flap cover to access the harness connector. Mine is military-looking green, but I’ve heard of others being bright orange.

3 hours ago, facthunter said:

The Chutes you sit on have very long straps. When you stand it's near the back of your knees. It would be easy to get it tangled somewhere unless you are jumping out of something like a DC3.  Nev

Can’t see the advantage of a personal ‘chute in our little planes; I’d rather stay in my safe cockpit while my parachute carries me down.
I can understand that sailplane pilots wear one because of the higher chance of collision with lots of gliders in a thermal, but they’re usually up pretty high, with plenty of time to get out.

Hang around your airstrip and watch people struggling to get out of their little aeroplanes;  what hope do we have of getting clear at circuit height?

6 hours ago, kgwilson said:

…I had my plugs set for warm weather…

Stlll wouldn't start till I closed the plug gaps..

KG did you need to change the gap on all plugs, or just one from each cylinder?

With two plugs in each head, it might be possible to have one set for summer and the other for winter.