boleropilot

hey JL, got the article today, thanks m8, that's some Drifter !!! really appreciate you going to the effort - I suspect that at some time in the future our Drifters will be tied down at the same airfield, when that happens (if we are staying overnight of course) we will share some liquid refreshment, my shout (i'm into reds meself) cheers m8 and thanks again bp

thanks JL, looking forward to that bp

hey callide, gonna be in the same boat as you soon so please keep us posted on how the 'hunting' goes, every little bit of info on what's around (and how much) is all gold m8 cheers bp

hey guys, thanks for all the comments, wayne m8, you got the fever - just like every one ELSE who's ever been lucky enough to inhabit the front seat of a drifter !!! i had two solo flights yesterday, both an hour each, around Clifton/Nobby/Allora, starting to feel quite comfortable "up there alone" now but still smacking myself in the head occasionally to keep myself focussed, looking out is a big deal (especially after the latest news = cessna vs. ultralight, cessna wins) - my condolences to the family of the u/l pilot happy to post my email address here because i publish it in the mags i write for anyway, [email protected] and snailmail is D TONKS, 620 Woolooman Road, Woolooman, Qld, 4310. agenda is (a) get the licence (b) find a hangar for a Drifter, then © start some serious shopping - currently considering an airframe from Dalby and an engine from Trevor (he's got two for sale, guys) and build at Clifton ? bp ps boonah will be my home base, would have loved to learn to fly here with Greg but was offered a scholarship deal with Trevor at Clifton, too good to refuse - and yeh he is a Brilliant instructor, no argument there

solo success hey guys, thanks for all the input, and congrats Wayne, i know how you feel did some taxi work at clifton with trevor, then we went out to warwick to do the same thing on bitumen, that was a lot more difficult but it made it all come together for me flight back to clifton was a hoot, two cloud layers, one at abt 4 and tother at abt 6k feet, flew between them both, what a thrill - got back to the field at 5k ft, told trevor i'd sighted the field, he said "Oh good - engine failure" and pulled the throttle on me all i can say is, if ya ever have an engine stop onya, hope it's at 5 thousand feet - what a doddle, i just trimmed her nicely and flew around until i got to my downwind/base turn, from there on it was just another glide approach - Wow after that we did a few circuits with some quite nice takeoffs/landings, so trev jumped and away i went - fair takeoff (like a rocket one up - wow), good circuit and a pretty good landing, flared a tiny bit early but just let her float a bit b4 going through with the pullback, just a tiny bounce and Yahoo, i did it !!! after the obligatory celebrations (and a little calm down) trev said to jump in and take 460 for a little fly - took off and flew east for 5 mins, then nth, west, and south brought me back to the field - two touch and goes (all nice landings) and it was all over - impossible to describe the feeling of being up there alone, looking forward to doing more of that in a more relaxed style this weekend as for my solo, what a day, one i will remember for the rest of my life cheers bp ps hey John, more info on your 912 Drifter pls m8 - can you email me some pix?

been talking to a few guys abt wire vs struts, from my perspective i'm getting the idea that most lean towards wire one mentioned the number and position of bracing points, comparing all the wire points to the strut points, the idea was that the wire braced version would give better support in hard landings and rough air makes sense to me, pity the strut braced version looks so much neater bp

thanks 727 gingerbeer next weekend will be the business, got it sorted m8 hey, i remember hearing my first 727 takeoff, from my bed at Wavell Heights in brisvegas, quite a good way to the west of YBBN man but those suckers were NOISY !!!!!!!! but boy oh boy did they climb - compared to those old prop driven machines, they were The Go in them days (so from this, any reader can see how old this old f#rt is) cheers dt

hey thanks DD not having any problems two up, which is why of course i was given the opportunity to go solo was warned about extra swing and aceleration one-up but didn't expect that much, quick throttle-up didn't help cheers m8 bp

g'day guys just thought i'd touch base here and let ya's know i am currently training at Clifton (s e qld, with trevor bange, lone eagle flying school, an offshoot of darling downs sport aft ascn) and am having a ball i drive up (from boonah) on friday afternoons and stay the whole weekend, currently have 12 hours and am not happy about stuffing up my first solo (dint get off the ground) !!!!! basic story is my nerves got the better of me and i whacked the throttle on, first time in the drifter one-up and she took off like a startled gazelle and swung like a demon - needless to say, the takeoff was aborted (at least i did that right) and i managed to bring the little beast to a halt with no injury to the acft - my pride did, unfortunately, suffer a bit apparently it all looked a bit spectacular, roaring off into the sorghum crop on one wheel - twas all a bit of a blur for moi... now looking forward (sort of) to the BIG event, next weekend, with some firm ideas on how to control that swing in a much enlightened drifter (sorry trevor, no offence re. your weight m8) - he is a big boy but....... hoping to buy my own drifter early '08, will keep in touch on this forum - all advice greatly appreciated - flying those lil suckers is without doubt the most fun a bloke can have with his pants on............ cheers boleropilot

dalby drifters g'day, this might help? http://www.drifteraircraft.com/Home/tabid/71/Default.aspx bp

techbuy pedals link sorry, shooda put this in the previous post http://www.techbuy.com.au/product.asp?at=51&prodid=67067 cheers bp

my system pic ? ok, couldn't find anything on how to post a pic so trying photobucket, that's worked on other forums = the only co showing on shopbot for the saitek pedals is Techbuy, expect to pay just over $200 the co selling the packages is www.flightstore.co.uk you will save on vat because as an overseas buyer you are exempt, but then you have to pay postage (and that combo will be a Big package, the pedals are a big item) hope this helps, will keep track of the thread for replies bp

joysticks/pedals g'day ben, i have the saitek x52 and saitek pedals, fab setup but as you say a bit pricey for the pair, although i think from memory there is someone selling the set as a package deal the saitek pedals are brilliant, the toe brakes are a real help when taxiing after the headtracker i would say that pedals are the next big step in realism i'll find out how to post photos on the forum and post a pic of my system and get a link for the pedals too cheers boleropilot aka dave tonks, Australian Flying sim reviewer

g'day guys hey decca, probly shooden mention this but - t'other night i was doin sumthin silly in a fast jet and ended up totally disoriented in cloud, i just concentrated on the AI to get me back 'wings level' and survived the BIG difference is, of course, i didn't have my internal head data telling me i was upside down due to the G forces upsetting my inner ear canals, which of course is what makes non-IFR pilots dis-believe their instruments don't want to be seen as a 'plugger' but the latest edition of Australian Flying mag has Part one of setting up a flightsim system on a computer, twood be a good read for anyone thinking about getting into simming and as far as this forum is concerned, anything you want on simming, just ask, i am happy to tailor it to your needs cheers, bp ps g'day aussie steve, always nice to say Hi to a Pig fan..........;)

fingers crossed, Mr drifterdriver flying training starts first day of spring bp

g'day all, reading all the above posts i was wondering when someone was going to mention paragliding i had well over 100 flights logged b4 my 'encounter with a mountain' and i have to say i miss being up there with the birds every single day speaking of birds, i have shared a thermal with a huge wedge-tailed eagle, one of my most memorable flights - flying a paraglider is like relaxing in a reclining armchair in the air, at five thousand feet you feel like you're superman (until you look up and see the canopy) plan is to do my training then buy a drifter by the end of '07 - have already had a TIF in one and enjoyed every nanosecond - BIG bonus is my home airfield is Boonah, so the scenery is magnificent, just perfect for a drifter sounds funny, but for me, the drifter is a big step up from what i was flying b4 cheers bp

thanks for the welcome david c and yenn my 'association' with ballooning was as crew chief for the balloon that operates out of Ipswich (S E Qld), which basically means i did a lot of the physical work in getting the big beast in the air (not easy) then chasing it in the retrieve vehicle (easy - it's that big coloured thing in the sky) then finding and gaining access to the paddock it's in to help with the retrieve (usually easy) then getting the passengers and balloon all packed up and on the road back to Ipswich (not easy) sounds like a pain but in reality a lot of fun (apart from the pre-dawn starts) interesting thing about balloons is they only travel downwind (doh) so landings can be a bit - how do you say - interesting cheers bp

g'day guys, just put a thread on the flightsim section, i'm a big fan, i write the flightsim articles for Australian Flying magazine my aviation background includes skydiving, paragliding, gliding, hot air balloons and radio control aircraft my dream is to start my ultralight pilot training by the end of '07, then purchase either a drifter or sapphire, my home airstrip will be Boonah (i'm a member of the Flying Tigers club based at Boonah) looking forward to being a part of the forum community cheers boleropilot

hi guys, this is my first post, i'm a member of the Boonah Flying Tigers, hoping to start my training around the end of '07 and get into a drifter (or sapphire) soon after getting my licence i'm a flightsim fanatic, i'm the bloke who writes the flightsim articles for Australian Flying magazine - there're lotsa guys out there with heaps more technical knowledge than me but i write nice an' easy, so the flightsim articles are aimed at the beginner (or somone who's been flying for a little while) looking forward to being a part of the forum, particularly the threads on flightsimming cheers boleropilot