boleropilot

hey Callahan, is that a Drifter cockpit on your avatar ? BP

I crack myself up, I really do..............

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I have installed a 3 unit panel that contains a 12 volt voltmeter, 2 x USB ports and a 12 Volt 'marine' style socket - it cost under $20 but I haven't used it yet so I don't know if there will be any noise (or other) issues. the website for this (and other panels) is: 12v usb voltmeter panel - Buy Cheap 12v usb voltmeter panel - From Banggood please, no sniggering about the name of the company - they do also sell a lot of quite good quality electronic 'stuff', including 5 volt thingos... they are a little slow with shipping but it is free and I have never had an issue with anything I have bought from them BP

wow, noice! not sure about the wheel chock tho..... BP

I've received an email from Bob Davis at Competition Aircraft about the 'new' high performance blades they have been working on for some time - they are now shipping these propellers. Info: http://www.competitionaircraft.com/Ultra_Prop_II.pdf At this point in time they only have data for 66" props but Bob has said he will commence dyno testing for my setup = 60" - Rotax 582 - 2.62 ratio - pusher config, to determine the optimum blades/pitch He has quoted me $425 for 3 blade and $500 for the 4 blade, with shipping about $100 - buyers would need to consider the exchange rate and local taxes. Obviously there has to be consideration of a brand new product that would also (in my case) alter the 25 rego of my aircraft, but at this point in time I am willing to consider this product BP

bugger - forgot to say - your props look awesome !!!

g'day Arthur, thanks for the input - as far as making my own, I have trouble making a cup of coffee - does that kettle button go up or down - why won't it start? I see your 'bottom of page' info lists your status as 'semi-retired' - does that mean you have a little spare time on your hands and would like to make a few dollars? the Brolga prop hanging on the wall of my batcave looks a little worse for wear, perhaps all it needs is a good clean up but there are a few little dings in the blades...the hub's not pretty either I may be able to get some help from my fellow Flying Tigers members with the epoxy repair for the dings and just get a hub from Ultra-Prop for $70 (which appears to be the same as the Brolga) just did some reading of my downloads from Competition Aircraft : "High performance Brolga blades are no longer available through Competition Aircraft - we still carry the hubs, pitch blocks, spinners, and hardware" and "our standard blades are made with glass reinforced nylon" - I assume these are the plastic blades you mentioned? they are listed on the pricelist at $75 USD each with the Drifter I am limited to 60" for clearance, but I may have options for either a three or five blade setup - Bolly recommend a three blade and I believe they have good reviews from Drifter drivers (as you say - a bit dear) one other issue is the fact that 0455 is 25 registered, but the next custodian would need to do a few 'other' things anyway if they wanted to retain that for training dolphins (porpoises) (you have to say it out loud to get it) (with apologies to the late great Robin Williams : "you did that on dolphin") (on porpoise)... cheers BP

g'day all, resurrecting this thread because I am currently communicating with Ultra-Prop about a replacement for the Brolga 4 blade on my Drifter it has done over 3,500 hours and I have to say that their original pricing seems very reasonable = complete 4 blade kit $350 USD I am aware of extra dollars to be spent with exchange rates and shipping + import duties, once I have all that information and a final price I will re-post here in the meantime, any information on those who may have dealt with this company since 2009 would be much appreciated BP

is this the F22 ???

g'day Spades, and welcome to the asylum... if you do decide to Tony's advice and get into flight simming, let me know and I'll help wherever I can in the past I've written numerous articles on flight simming for Oz GA magazines - I was going to offer to help you set up a system but then I saw where you live - oops...Boonah to Perth is a long flight for a Drifter... don't forget we have a RC section here on this forum as well, you might want to drop them a line and say g'day cheers Boleropilot

the E box is now completely removed and disassembled for checking out and finally fitting to the 582 I got from Clifton everything inside is in A1 condition so it is a relatively simple matter to do that - as above, the only drawback is how the radiator lower connection pipe is routed there may also be an issue with the starter motor clearing the engine mounting frame, I've been told that is not likely to be a problem because the frame was designed to accept all gearboxes - we shall see! btw, one of the benefits of the E box is that with the mounting of the starter motor at the back of the engine it is possible to have the pull starter system on the front as a backup - nice... hoping to have both motor and gearbox mounted within a couple of weeks - watch this space BP

I just had an epiphany.... aerobatics being decreed as illegal for RAA registered aircraft by the powers that be might just be another example of RAA pilots/aircraft being considered 'inferior' in relation to GA pilots/aircraft... if the pilot is endorsed and the aircraft is fully capable and rated for aerobatic manoeuvres, then - Why Not ? I'm just sayin'..... BP

Don - skydiving and paragliding experience + many years flying through the trees in choppers with the doors removed for better visibility (Army Aviation) = the Drifter is top of my list. Price wise, it's within my budget, which is at the very bottom of the 'money to spend' factor. The fact that I consider myself a 'fair weather pilot' is fine - having been turned almost upside down whilst flying on a hot summer day (see post above) I now tend to avoid 'big thermal' days....not fun The fact that it happened at 2,000 feet was something to be grateful for - I try not to think about what may have happened if I were on short final..... I'm not sure how other RAA aircraft would have handled the invisible monster I flew into, but I also realise that the very low MAUW of the Drifter probably contributed to the degree of 'instability' that occurred If the numbered ping pong balls fell 'the right way' for me I'd probably buy a Vixen A32 - the last thing I would want to own is a fast, slippery little high-powered beasty that would easily get ahead of me BP

I'm going to have my camera turned on for every flight from now on - infer from that what you will as far as illegal aerobatics are concerned (and I'm not suggesting that happened in this case, but there's a possibility it did) I for one have seen a few cases of this some were conducted by very competent and experienced pilots in aircraft that may well have been structurally capable (but probably not for inverted flight, which entails certain mechanical mods) of course I am assuming a few seconds of positive g inverted flight is not going to cause an engine stoppage - not that I am likely to ever find out ! let's face it - the standard wire braced Drifter is rated at something like +6 / -4gs, so I am confident I would be OK if I were turned almost upside down by a very strong thermal (pity I didn't have the camera on for that one) some were conducted by pilots who definitely did not have the required experience and the fact that they did so if full view of others is another scary factor... with the RAA email releasing certain factors concerning the accident there is more writing on the wall but we're still not where we want to be in relation to The Facts - hopefully we will be some time soon once again, RIP Ian - instruments in the green and tailwinds for you from now on BP

wow I'd forgotten all about that...never did manage to arrange the trip due to - wait for it - the cost of public liability insurance - who wooda thunk...

yeah Wally the Stinson crash was an amazing story - anyone who hasn't read the story should get a copy of the book titled Green Mountains and Cullenbenbong, by Bernard O'Reilly he was the legendary character who visited a family member the day after the Stinson went missing and was told it had flown over the property on track for Lismore, flying very low under the cloudbase (no navigation aids in 1937) as Wally stated, there were numerous sightings (from people who knew the aircraft commonly flew down the coast in bad weather conditions) but Bernard knew they were all false he rode his horse to a high spot where he could see the track the aircraft would have taken - on the last ridge (of 3) he saw a burnt tree and decided to investigate, sending his horse home due to the rough terrain - the rest of the story is incredible, Bernard finding the wreckage after a herculean effort that was then extended even further before he finally managed to notify the authorities of the location of the crash-site and then leading a rescue party back to the survivors if you are ever in Beaudesert make sure you visit the Historical Museum - it has a Stinson Room with an amazing collection of memorabilia of the event they even have the bashed and blackened stainless steel flask that Proud used to bring water from a nearby creek to Binstead, who had a badly broken leg - I've held that flask in my hands and was truly touched to hold that incredible object... after visiting the museum you can take a short drive to the lovely little church and cemetery where Bernard is buried - do what I did and take along a few flowers... btw there's a full-size Stinson replica at Green Mountains (Lamington National Park) but last time I saw it there was a huge amount of degradation to it - hope they sorted that out, it was sad to see

yeah Wally I was thinking the same thing - gotta scratch ya head sometimes when this stuff happens been telling my wife about this event from start to finish and all she can say is "it's not called tiger country for nothing, David" I guess we'll find out about the 'where and why' eventually, bottom line is we've lost another very experienced pilot, and that's both sad and scary...

hey Mike, I know what you mean re. costs - my graphics card cost $800, but I can run six monitors off it so I shouldn't complain too much - with a LOT of aircraft and scenery added I still get 25 FPS minimum... I see you're at Bribie Island - any time you're near the Scenic Rim (Ipswich - Boonah) let me know via PM and I'm happy for you to spend a couple of hours on my sim cheers BP

Yeah 80, I'm with you - wotcha reckon Heather ? Da Boyz are asking for 'more' but you're a quiet lil' character.... one of the flying schools in Gympie have got a 32 (and they owe me a little favour) so I might ask for a cheapie flight...

hey thanks for the feedback winsor68, much appreciated m8

g'day Kite - Simviation has a very nice freeware A22 by Rick piper, don't know if it will work for you, it's FSX- this link may work: Simviation: Microsoft Flight Simulator Addons as for the Drifter by Ant's Airplanes, it has fairly accurate flight dynamics - 0455 is my 1:1 aircraft and I was one of the beta testers for Anthony I know for a fact he did a lot of amazing work on this aircraft - zoom in on the air cleaners to get an idea of what I mean - he also came for a flight with me to record all the sounds I did test flights with all sorts of parameters for Anthony and then compared the results to what happened on the simulator - I reckon it's just about spot on (that's actually moi in the red helmet as the pilot...)

yeah, got the hots for one big time - damn numbered ping pong balls aren't helping me here... re. Heather - joined 2011 and only 9 messages - but 6 likes - interesting stats....

thanks Wally - I'm the first to admit I'm a bit precious (and a little thin skinned) - two traits that should make me avoid forums.... BP

considering the total (apart from 1 x Like from RKW - thanks m8) lack of interest in my offer of the use of my property for a RC weekend, the event is cancelled permanently apart from that I find it a little unusual for a poster to join a forum/thread and says g'day, then doesn't even get one reply? feels like wandering into a noisy pub in a small country town and every set of eyes turn around to look you up and down, and it gets real quiet...... I'm just sayin'.... BP