boleropilot

G'day Jenny - how's your flightsimming going? BP

Yes of course Geoff, I see where you're coming from (and I hope you keep heading in that direction as quickly as possible). The trailer was not loaded by a girl - it was loaded by someone who should have been trained and had a DUTY OF CARE to load it correctly. The person in the sales office who said "looks OK, just don't go over 80" was, in hindsight, not the best person to ask - nevertheless, he also had a DUTY OF CARE to make an informed comment as to the safety of the load. As the RACQ statements indicated, either of these employees should have asked for advice from a professional if they were not qualified to respond correctly to TWO requests for confirmation that the pipes were loaded correctly. And why should anyone have to Google "double pendulum" - surely this is a concept that should be taught in Grade 1. As should Trailers 101, which of course would give all persons an intimate knowledge of ALL the technical and safety information required for the operation of trailers - in fact, it surprises me that all babies are not born with this information firmly planted in their little brains. We should all know this stuff, shouldn't we??????? As we should all know from birth that a light sprinkle of rain on a road that has not seen rain for a long time will make it as greasy as a butchers block - but people keep crashing their cars, thinking that a tiny mist of rain will not make the road slippery. My response to your post is this - THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT OF THE RACQ GAVE ME DOCUMENTS THAT CLEARLY STATED THAT THE COMPANY THAT LOADED THE PIPES WAS 100% AT FAULT. Silly me, but I prefer to accept THEIR opinion to yours. Part of their decision to make this statement was that "as there are no legal requirements for operators of domestic trailers to obtain knowledge of trailer dynamics (whereas companies do have a Duty of Care in that respect when they are involved in the loading of trailers) we consider the driver not at fault in this case, notwithstanding his multiple attempts to obtain confirmation that the load was safe". I have broken my Number One rule to wait 24 hours and not respond to words that make me want to scream at the computer monitor, because steam is still coming out of my ears. I find it difficult to understand that you could even consider that everybody should know everything, and if they don't, they could ask for guidance, and if that guidance is flawed, and someone gets hurt, then it's their fault entirely. What a crock of you know what.

wooda done better if I hadn't closed me eyes on short final......

I know, I did one, and it wasn't pretty............

holy moley yen, I wish someone had told me that before I started flying - the other day an old bloke at the airfield said to me "why don't you try a touch and go at VNE?" and I blindly accepted that what he told me was OK...and the landing was a bit hard and the gear collapsed and the underslung fuel tank exploded and the Drifter ended up skidding down the runway in a ball of fire and............. get my drift? BP

Not sure what the forst you are talking about Yenn - there was nothing 'unroadworthy' about the trailer - it was loaded incorrectly by persons who should have known their job. As far as I am aware there is no training or licensing for trailers in Oz (there should be) and if the RACQ have the opinion that no fault was attributed to me then I think I'll take their word for it. I have personally pulled over three drivers towing trailers which obviously were loaded with a rearward C of G - none of them had any idea about the concept - neither did I until my unfortunate incident. I also pulled over a driver who had left the dolly wheel down, it had virtually disintegrated and was dropping bits of wreckage as it went along - the driver had no idea and was even more surprised when I showed him how to lock the ball in place (true story - he thought you just dropped the trailer on the towball and the chains stopped it from "going anywhere"). My current trailer is a heavy duty unit - I have replaced the lights with LEDs and replaced the crappy old s/h tyres with new light truck tyres - I check underneath the trailer and re-grease the wheel bearings on the 1st April every year (the same day I replace all my smoke detector batteries). And I do a double check of all items (including lights) before I drive off. Trailers are damn dangerous thingys, and now that I am older and wiser I can see a real need for drivers to have a nice big T on their licence to indicate they have attended the Trailer Information Session run by the RACQ (or similar). BP

I had an unpleasant experience when a 6x4 box trailer was loaded incorrectly by a concrete pipe manufacturer. The weight was within limits (75%) but the pipes were 7 feet long and 18 inches in diameter - they loaded two first side by side, then the other on top of those two, with the bottom two resting on the tailgate of the trailer. It looked a bit weird because there was so much weight on the top of the tailgate that it created a negative weight on the towball, and the back suspension of the Fairlane was lifted up about 2 inches. I asked the loader if that was OK, he said yes - I asked at the office if it was OK, the guy peered out the window and said "yeah, just don't go over 80". Right. Slowly I enter the freeway, and at about 30 km/h the trailer starts to move from side to side - I start to gently lift the throttle but to no avail - the trailer wobble increases incredibly rapidly, within about two seconds it has swung right around into the side of the Fairlane and the 3 pipes fly off down the motorway in 3 different directions. The trailer is upside down and a twisted mess, the pipes are fine, the Fairlane is facing back the way I came with the left side destroyed. The culprit was the negative pressure on the towbar, which basically makes any load unstable (depending on the degree of negative weight - my situation was extreme). The RACQ were asked to investigate and they provided statements to my insurance company that basically forced the pipe manufacturer to pay for everything, including the hire of the crane truck to move the pipes and the trailer to our home. What did I learn from this event? 1. Don't try to be a cheapskate to save on delivery costs - it usually ends in disaster 2. Don't ask for advice from people unless you are certain they know what they are talking about 3. Always double check the trailer setup for negative pressure on the towball, hitch locked, chains secure, dolly wheel UP, and lights all working 4. If you're stepping into the ring, make sure you have some clout on your side - without the RACQ this would have cost me a small fortune... Here endeth the sermon. Cheers, BP

OK, I get the good airframe being a component of the outcome here, but there were a LOT of factors that contributed to the end result, any of which being missing/different could have resulted in a far worse outcome. The speed of the aircraft, the rate of descent, where the wire/s struck the aircraft, no fire (even though there was leaking fuel + broken power lines), the manner in which the aircraft impacted the ground, etc. - any one of these factors being different could have resulted in the aircraft cartwheeling down the 'strip in a ball of flames. Having flown paragliders from Mount Borah I am aware of the potential for turbulence in the area - the pilot obviously knew there are power lines across one end of the 'strip, so the reason for the aircraft coming into contact with the lines seems obvious. Bottom line is, sometimes the Earth decides to rise up and smite thee (why I gave up paragliding, actually) but sometimes things go your way - sometimes they don't. It's wonderful to see a pilot (albeit with a limp) walk away from such a potentially life-threatening encounter with terra firma. BP

just another wannabe carrier pilot who thought he was flyin' a Tomcat.... on a more serious note, I get the impression he had a whole lotta luck with the way things went after the wire strike BP

G'day All, The rebuild of my lil Drifter 0455 is moving ahead gradually, but one problem I haven't manage to resolve yet is to acquire the services of an experienced electrician with aviation experience. The aircraft is currently at Boonah and I am willing to pay travelling plus a reasonable amount of $ per hour - I would think that at least 2 or 3 hours would complete the work, but I may be wrong...there is a fair bit of work to do, including moving the battery, installing strobe/landing light, new switches, and basically running all the electrics off a fused buss bar. Looking forward to replies, Cheers, Boleropilot PS pm me for contact details if you require a phone number

sounds good, I might see if I can coax the Flying Tigers into their aircraft to fly down there for breakfast one morning...

old thread I've just come across - better late than never: hey Jabba Jenny, what did you end up doing about a flight simulator? I've written numerous articles for Oz GA magazines on the subject, so I may be able to help with any problems you may have in setting up a flightsim system. one of the big problems with using a flightsim system for 'helping' with real life flying is the accuracy of the flight dynamics of the aircraft - my Drifter (0455) was used for Ant's Airplanes Drifter for FSX and myself and other Drifter drivers helped out with the development of the software by comparing the flightsim version with what happens in real life. That was a big bonus for Anthony, and he was able to spend time on setting up the Drifter so that it actually does things like side-slipping - a lot of FSX aircraft don't do that, even some payware aircraft. looking forward to hearing from you BP

coincidental thread - the overhaul of 0455 includes some serious cockpit redesigning - to see what the current cockpit looked like, check out the flight sim version of 0455 at the Ant's Airplanes website considering I have had a couple of close calls with 'traffic' I am adding a strobe to the top of the kingpost and a very bright (wide angle) led landing light under the cockpit not going to do anything about the radio, I've had some real positive comments about how clear my transmissions are (Icom A22 and the Micro Avionics radio interface) adding a fused buss box to supply voltage to all electrical items, and a set of switches marked GPS STROBE LANDING - plus a separate switch for power to the radio on the side panel that used to house a UHF CB I am putting in a small panel with voltmeter, USB and cig lighter sockets the battery and regulator will be moved to an alloy box mounted in the space behind the pilots seat (battery is hard to reach, in the nose - moving it back will help with CG problems associated with fat pilots) naturally all electrical work will be carried out by an electrician, if anyone has contact details for an aviation electrician near Boonah I am happy to pay them 'handsomely' for the work BP

g'day Byron - just as a heads up m8, if you don't have one of those cameras on the end of a flexible tube you need to get one - the only structural failure in a Drifter that caused a fatal crash (that I know of) was of a Drifter in the USA that was on floats - evidently the aircraft was in top condition but there was corrosion in the main boom at the tail, and it failed during flight. the corrosion was in an area that was not visible from outside, but I would expect a 'tube' camera to be able to get into just about every nook and cranny in a Drifter - I'm just started using one on mine (big overhaul) and have just discovered the remains of a rats nest in the floor, which I hope I can blow out using my Stihl blower connected to a taped-on length of garden hose... cheers BP

have you seen the F16 screen fitted to Walkers Drifter at Boonah - pretty flash bit of kit - can post a couple of pix if ya like... BP

had my first flights in a 380 (Emirates) at Easter this year (a week either side of Easter in NZ, for Wanaka airshow) = holy cow, what an aircraft. first impression up close is the size of the tailfeathers - crikey they are BIG... second impression, the width of the cabin (cattle class, of course) - with a movie running on the back of each headrest, I watched ten different movies....pity about the lack of earphones, but hey...fun! biggest impression = the power of those big engines - never felt acceleration like it, huge grunt and it just kept going, I thought it would taper off but it kept pushing you into the seat right up to rotate big thrill was being allowed to have a chat with the flightcrew on leaving the aircraft - in their office! one of the pilots (an Aussie) said he'd heard a lot about Drifters and was going to hunt one up - I told him they're perfect for working on your "stick and rudder skills" - they both thought that was bloody funny!!! oh yeah, before I forget - a big welcome to inas, g'day m8. BP

scanned it - hope it comes out ok...pic taken (unfortunately) a week before I fitted a new windscreen... BP

absolutely - a little hand held clipped to the harness and an earphone/mike with a PTT button is all you need - second hand, maybe $200 tops? BP

g'day Ben - solo must have been a hoot alright - congratulations! by now you must be getting the idea that there is nothing in the aviation world like a Drifter - so exposed, so out there, so scary (to many), so brilliantly simple yet so bloody robust - sometimes I think you could whack one of these little puppies down just about anywhere if you needed to - have you had a crack at sideslipping yet? on the wall of my study I have a framed cover of Sport Pilot magazine November 2012 - in the photo I am sideslipping into Boonah airfield, I am looking off to my right (where the aircraft is going) but the nose is pointing way off to the left - my 'turn and slip indicator' (6 inch piece of red wool attached to the bottom of the windscreen) is laying flat against the 'screen to the left, showing clearly that the aircraft is going quite sideways at that point... one of my most prized possessions, that little framed pic cheers for now m8, keep in touch, looking forward to seeing you at Boonah one of these days (get Peter to include Boonah into one of your navex exercises on the third Sunday of any month, for visit + lunch) BP

g'day again Ben - haven't heard from you for a couple of weeks so thought I'd say g'day - saw your post on maintenance, big difference betwixt 912s and those scary lil 2 strokes in that respect RAAus have changed the rules since I did my course (2008) so now you don't get automatic L1 qualification with your licence - not sure what the process is now but no doubt it will mean more exams and more little letters on your licence the Big Deal with maintenance is the club environment - at my club (the famous Talking Tigers) all I have to do is say something like "got a tiny problem with X - can you take a peek for me Grummy?" and within about one minute there will be 4 very experienced aviators swarming over my Drifter, looking for anything else that might not be ticketyboo - my expectation is that all clubs would be the same as soon as the spanner set comes out, they're like flies to a honeypot mate - any chance to potter about with a hairyplane (including advice) is what we all love to do... enough on that subject - how's the training going? and on that subject, Peter tells me you have a little experience with things that fly, which of course makes me blush about me giving you advice...

two points - 1 - Ozkosh is cringe worthy - we have so much US influence on our lives, surely we can come up with something a little more original than that... (we can come up with something more original, and stop calling me Shirley) 2 - I am certain my radio has saved both my life and the lives of others - I would not fly without it, and my life has been compromised by another pilot flying without one I voted YES BP

did my BFR at Gympie on Thursday, followed up with half a dozen circuits on Friday to polish my landings (some were real greasers - others...not so) - but as someone else said on this thread, Drifters are not all that hard to come back to after a break. for me it was 18 months and man did it feel good to be back in the air again!!! gotta say I was surprised how easy it was to get back in the groove. did some work on 0455 today, going back into Boonah on Thursday to finish off a few little jobs before the blue head 582 goes on - got some pressies for the lil beasty including a very nice 4 led landing light (let's call it a 'here I am' light) and (to be sure) a nice little strobe for the top of the kingpost. and yes, I did have a tiny little close call in the circuit at Gympie (and at Boonah in the past) so I'm a bit titchy about being seen..... someone else mentioned grey head motors, guys, let me know if you need bits and pieces for these, I have two including gearboxes and carbs. BP

thanks Frank, your comments pretty well mirror my opinion (and legal advice I have been offered in the past) BP

I recently had a SFI advise me to always ask the passenger to sign a waiver form, and if they refused to sign then the passenger should not be taken up I was always of the opinion that they (waivers) weren't worth the paper they are written on, and I have to say I have never considered it wotcha reckon ?

what, you starting your training already? keen, I like that - but then again, what's not to like when you strap on a Drifter btw, any further thoughts on the strutter you were looking at? I'll do my best with the Gympie machine m8 but can't promise anything, haven't flown for about a year...mind you, I do got 200 hours up so I should remember some of it...hang on let me think - ah yes, it's coming back to me - stick forward, trees get bigger, stick back, trees get smaller - yep, I'm on it m8..... cheers BP