boleropilot

that's EXACTLY why I gave up the big days at the gliding club, pushing gliders around all day for the end result of 30 minutes of instruction - gotta be a part of the club scene, can't just turn up for a flight - I get that but man it's a pain I always thought the best part of skydiving was being under canopy, so when I discovered paragliding I was over the moon - until that damn mountain got in the bloody way!!!!!!! right leg 'snapped' betwixt knee and ankle, top section buried itself into the ground - twas a hard hit - fractures are simple to fix (ask Barry Sheene) - my damn ankles give me hell every day BUT - I will never forget sharing a thermal with a huge wedgetailed eagle (friendly, thank the lord) or being at 5,000 feet, relaxing in my armchair - wild stuff, guys... BP PS doing my BFR and some XC work with Peter at Gympie tomorrow....

yeah m8, I get what you are saying - man do I miss paragliding....

not fair? please explain?

Hey Ben, congratulations m8 - had a funny idea you might like Driftereing....nice to see Peter showed you all the Drifter fun things - I'll be doing my BFR with him at Gympie soon, maybe even as soon as later this week. Good idea to still go ahead with the trike TIF, if you haven't tried it then you don't know the end result - just because old f#rts like moi can't fly 'em don't mean they're not a good thing. On a strictly personal note, I didn't take to the reversed control inputs and the delay in the aircraft responding to same. You may just think they're the bees knees, a lot of people do. Hope you took some pix m8, looking forward to seeing those. cheers BP

hmm, will have to get out with a measuring wheel and get an accurate length - I know that from my Drifter flying that I won't have a problem getting in/out, but I think being 'light' would be a good idea - perhaps the strip should be classified as 'experienced pilots only' - I wouldn't think Savannahs or Foxbats would have major problems though there are good options to the west for emergency landings - another Drifter driver suggested arriving high overhead and spiralling down onto final, 'tis a little hilly so not a bad idea, rotor could be a problem so really a fair weather strip - suits me, because I happen to be a fair weather pilot with departures I will be building up speed just above the runway (light weight again) and zooming up, then turning to the west (toward lower ground) in the case of the fan going quiet at the back of the aircraft.... I have 'enjoyed' flying in/out of Walkers Scary Place east of Boonah, and I can assure you that Woolooman is a LOT nicer than that little strip - big kahunas and fingers crossed for that one...loved the challenge but BP

G'day all - got a surprise this morning when I looked at the satellite pix of our property, address is 620 Woolooman Road, Woolooman, Qld, 4310. Woolooman International Airport is there! I hadn't looked at it for quite a while, these pix were taken in January 2016. As you can see, there's not much grass yet - hopefully by the time I hope to have a Drifter weekend fly-in sometime in 2017 it will have a full and luscious green runway (and the worlds biggest firepit). Length is a tad over 300 metres, approach from the south is straight down the slope, from the north will require a little low flying and then a 45 degree turn to the right at about 100 feet agl. I'll post some pix asap. Cheers, BP

oh yeah - my instructor got out of the back seat of the Drifter one day and forgot to take his seat cushion - about 30 seconds after take-off I heard/felt a thump and the aircraft yawed, I called 'returning' and did a close-in circuit. We found the remains of his cushion cover draped over the elevator...no doubt the cushion had gone through the prop. Lucky it was made of very soft rubber foam, if it had been a more substantial material it could have damaged a prop blade = blade fails = el mucho vibration = shut down motor and perform a forced landing - not something a student would pull off without making a misteak. Part of my pre-flight take-off checks now is to go over the back seat area as the last thing I do before I step up into the cockpit. BP

Hey Parky, gotta agree with Bob re. the music, I suspect he's an old #art like meself who is more into the flying side of the equation (and the momentous occasion) than the 'music'... apart from that, congratulations m8, what you just achieved is the dream of many and something that most mere mortals cannot fathom - because they have never "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" (as PIC) just remember - when you start flying, you are given two bags - a full one marked LUCK and an empty one marked EXPERIENCE - the idea is to fill the second one up before the first one runs out you are a Pilot now, and that entails significant responsibility - always consider safety and professionalism in everything aviation-related you do - to do otherwise is fraught with danger, for you, your family, and those poor buggers below you stuck on the ground and wishing they could achieve what you just did again, congratulations m8, and welcome to the fantastic fraternity of Pilots Boleropilot

hey Kev sounds good - maybe we can plan two round trips, one from BrisVegas and one from Darwin, meeting up somewhere about half way...that would be...Julia Creek? any other suggestions youse guys/gals? come on - let's do it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the trike TIF was exactly what I thought it would be in that it was a beautiful day over Bright (Victoria) and the open cockpit was gr8 the reversed controls and response delay was, imho, more than just unwieldy, it was weird, horrible, scary, and probably the most uncomfortable hour I have ever spent in an aircraft - just sayin'..... perhaps if I hadn't flown all those 3 axis hours and had more time to spend on the concept, things would turn out better - simply stated, not my cup of tea and for those that fly them (or them and 3 axis) I say goodonya, you're a better man than I am gungajin cheers BP

well the Boonah boyz flew to Avalon for the airshow...crikey!

Ah gee, the written word - it can be so confusing, and interpreting can be fraught - obviously. As for myself, I am most happy to influence ones opinion, particularly when it comes to Drifters. Parochial I am, said Yoda. Ben will (as you say) make his informed decision based on what the two vastly similar aircraft are like to fly - even though that opinion will be based on limited knowledge and experience. I suspect he will (after his GA experience and the Drifter TIF) consider the trike to be a little - shall we say - unwieldy? On another subject, if you ever want to find out whether your dog or your wife loves you more, try this little test. Lock them both in the shed for an hour, then see which one is happy to see you when you open the door. Luckily for me, I already know the answer to this question, so I can go on with my life a little longer... Hey John, I'm interested to know what you think of gyros - they look real nice to me, apparently time has been very kind to them and they are not anywhere as 'scary' as they used to be. BP PS Bertrand Russell was a smart man - another quote I found interesting was from Mao Tse-tung - he said (apparently): All religion is poison and of course I unreservedly apologise to anyone offended by that remark

you lucky bugger - two fuel containers on the back seat (the Boonah boys hang a big long soft bag about a foot in diameter under the tube that runs under the wing longitudinally and fill it up with their under-wing camping gear) and off ya go - man do I ever gotta do that before I shuffle off...

OK Crezzi m8, enlighten us with your reasons why Ben should take the trike option over the Drifter... anything as popular as trikes can't be all bad, no argument there, but btw, do you have any info on trikes in the EU converting from 2 strokes to BMW motorcycle engines to avoid pollution regs? I have seen some info on the conversion kits and I have to say they give me a woody (if you know what I mean) - kinda think they would be the bees knees on a Drifter cheers BP

hey Mr Oldberry, I just put a post on that thread.... BP

this thread has gone a little quiet...I love slipping the surly bonds with any victim game enough to strap into the back seat, there's been quite a few funny how 16 year old kids can't get enough of it, yet big boofy blokes run away squealing "you won't get me in that thing - it doesn't even have doors!!!" I always respond "have you ever seen how thick the skin is on aircraft doors?" and then hold up two fingers about 1mm apart... 0455 will be played with in the hangar again this afternoon, hope to be airborne again before the end of May, still waiting for grass to grow on the Scary Woolooman Airport - will post some pix! planning a Drifter Fly-in at Woolooman in 2017, an overnighter with the biggest firepit - in the world (spoken like that bloke from Top Gear) cheers big ears BP

no need for me to say "have fun m8" - it's a given... cheers BP

G'day again Ben, you are in for a real treat with your first flight in a Drifter - first thing you will notice is the 'exposed' position of the front seat - it's a little confronting for some, a bit like a flying motorcycle actually. You get used to it fairly quickly, looking straight down to the left or right can be a little disconcerting at first. I have a background in skydiving/low level military flying/paragliding/gliding so for me it wasn't a problem. The instructor will of course brief you on loose items in the cockpit, basically everything needs to be screwed down or tethered (forget about maps!). Everyone has a different reaction to Drifter take-off techniques when training - my problem (initially) was not being either fast enough or assertive enough on the rudder pedals to keep the lil' devil straight. Watch the rudder pedals during your first take-off and you are likely to see a fair degree of movement! The Drifter is the ultimate stick and rudder aircraft, the light weight combined with large flying surfaces (huge ailerons) make the Drifter quite sensitive, albeit an absolute delight to fly low and slow. I mentioned to an Emirates A380 pilot recently that I fly a Drifter and his response was "hey I've heard so much about those little buggers, reckon I should have a go at that" (he's an Aussie). I imagine all Drifter instructors teach the glide approach from the end of the downwind leg, you will find that you don't need fancy stuff like flaps for the approach - it's a simple matter of getting your turn onto base at exactly the right place to allow your glide to put you at your chosen touchdown point - too high and you can sideslip to wash off height (Drifters are brilliant sideslippers), too low and you will need to trickle on a little power. Being a 'high drag, low inertia' aircraft you will probably think the final approach is a bit steep - that's how the lil' puppies fly. Final point - you are spot on about the Drifter fraternity, you will be even more impressed the more you move in those circles. Biased I most certainly am, and I have done but one flight in a trike, and that was a TIF - old habits are hard to break and I found the reverse controls a real drama (push the bar to the right to turn left) and the delay in response quite uncomfortable (as in, push the bar, wait two seconds, around we go). Not sure if all trikes behave that way but I wasn't all that happy about the way the aircraft handled. My instructor said to me (after 45 minutes flying) that if he passed out I could probably get the trike on the ground, but it wouldn't be pretty!!! M8 I will be waiting to hear about your TIF in the Drifter - 'twill be something you will never forget, almost as good as your first solo...take lots of pix! Cheers, BP PS I will post some pix of the Woolooman Scary Place...for the FSX Drifter, look at the website: Ant's Airplanes (that's moi in the red helmet in 0455)

Oh yeah Mr Newberry, I forgot to mention the 'waiting list' - young Trev taught me to fly (why he got grey hair sooner than he expected) so there is a little priority for me there...btw an engineer friend (not aircraft but very experienced) did all the measurements for me on the motor and I am happy to report that all were well within specs. I have had some people say to me "crikey, you're game, those motors spend hours on full throttle climbing out in the circuit and then a lot of time at idle from the end of the downwind leg", and I get that, but my motor is (almost) as good as new, definitely so in relation to the measurements. Hopefully 0455 will be airborne soon, but not until I'm current again with a BFR (more grey hair for Trev...) BP

sorry, my post is a little ambiguous re. the 500 hour motors - Trevor Bange is the man...

G'day Ben - I am in the process of changing over motors from an out of hours grey head to a 500 hour (from new) blue head, sourced from Trevor Bange at Clifton. Trevor is one of the true legends of Drifter flying/training - the guys at Gympie have an excellent reputation too...he runs brand new motors for 500 hours in his two WBs then sells them on for a "very good price". $20k is a lot of moolah considering the $8k you would need to spend to make the aircraft legal for training, but you will get a hell of a lot of aeroplane for your money - they are becoming rare too. Having said that, the end result will be an aircraft that can earn some bucks in the training arena. Speaking of training, I was under the impression that schools prefer wire braced aircraft over strutters - something to do with the bracing of the wing being more 'comprehensive' with the wires supporting the wing from both top and bottom - having said that, I don't see any reason for not using a strutter for training, they are different to fly though - amazing how the removal of all those wires makes a Drifter so slippery... My aircraft (25-0455) is currently housed at Boonah but I'm hoping to bring her home one day soon - waiting for the grass to grow on my new little 'scary' airfield at Woolooman (look up 620 Woolooman Road on Google Earth). The airfield is not showing up yet until the satellites take some new pix, but the strip runs north/south and is situated south of the house - I suppose I should take some pix and post them here considering I am planning a Drifter weekend (with the world's biggest firepit) in 2017. Any time you're around Boonah give me a ring (pm me for number) and I'll introduce you to the guys at the Flying Tigers club, there's some Drifter connections there that go back a long way. Cheers, Boleropilot (Dave) aka Cropduster Dave PS forgot to mention you can "fly" the Drifter on Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) - let me know if you're interested...

these comments are spot on - my wife says to me "if pilots with thousands of hours on many aircraft crash, what chance do you have with 200 hours on your Drifter?" hard comments to reply to, all I can say is that I take my flying seriously and act as professionally as possible - can't do any more than that we all know there is a risk, but the rewards are too magnificent to prevent us from continually committing aviation I know this for a fact because my very bad limp and continual pain constantly remind me of how brilliant it was to fly paragliders BP

like agree funny winner informative friendly helpful optimistic creative don't see an emoticon that indicates "dislike" bottom line = very sad, my condolences to all associated with these two Aviators