boleropilot

hey Bill - the T shirt I'm wearing has a big row of animals across the top - horses, dogs, cats, even some pigs and goats in there - the text across the top says "There's room for all God's Creatures" down the bottom it says "Right next to the Mashed Potatoes" and let me tell you, I really know when I bump into a vegan when I wear this one to town....... PC? Not as long as my arze points to the ground.......... BP

amazing how so many people say the old Maxair 503s were the best ever...

hey Bill - go you good thing.....

nope

just upside down, or so close to it it wasn't funny - reckon I flew the left wingtip into a big strong thermal, it just flicked the Drifter into a roll so quickly I was way over before I knew it - in hindsight I should have clicked as soon as I saw the leaves, but it all happened so quickly I really didn't get a chance - I recovered fairly quickly and didn't lose much altitude, I was at about 2,000 at the time, I would not want that to happen to me on short final... speaking of thermals, did anybody see my latest article in Sport Pilot magazine? The pictures of a graphical representation of a glider in a thermal is quite interesting....

no mate didn't bend one that time but have certainly done so in my earlier hours of Drifter driving - got two brand new ones on for the big refurb, only waiting for the recon prop and the throttle cables now......btw, Kiwi was the "which one" culprit and speaking of Kiwi, Grummo told me that Kiwi is the only Flying Tigers member who has joined the Mile High Club....in a Drifter!!!! When I said I was impressed, he said "you shouldn't be - he was flying solo at the time".... BP

There is a flying school not far from me that has two wire braced 582s on line - I recall someone there telling me that strut braced versions were not as popular at flying schools due to the fact that the kingpost supports the wings at four points on each wing, top and bottom and at both the front and back of each wing. The strut braced models are obviously very well supported but in the event of extreme positive G manoeuvres, the wing is only held in place from underneath. Having said that, both varieties are extremely robust machines and I have never heard of any kind of mechanical failure in that area. As for the horsepower (gotta love that term) the 80hp is obviously going to give you a brilliant climb rate - I love the idea, especially the factor of the reduced level of 'strain' on the motor during takeoff and climb. Apparently the BMW flat twin motorcycle engines are getting popular in Europe due to increasingly restrictive pollution regulations - there are a lot of 582 powered trikes over there... Anyway please keep us posted here in Oz about progress. Boleropilot

in case you missed it, it's about a 1/5 scale Drifter - plans and laser kit available from Wolf Models BP

I fly a Drifter - if the ambient temperature is not in the range of 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, I don't take off.....I think I'm the ultimate Fair Weather Pilot - but I'm not young and I do like my comforts.....a Lot.... There I was, flying along thinking "gee it's a bit hot today" - then something ahead caught my eye - what the hell is that - oh it's just a leaf - wait, there's another - and another - and then "why am I looking up and seeing the ground?" BP

G'day Ted and welcome - don't put yaself down by telling us you're a lousy pilot mate - at one stage during training I wrote in my logbook "wasting my time, real thoughts of not being able to succeed" - and now? I landed my Drifter a while ago and the landing was not good - I pulled up at the club hangar, walked in and said "anybody see my landing?" A voice from somewhere in the hangar called out "which one".... Mate, some days you're the windscreen, some days you're the bug.... Boleropilot

I had knits once when I was in school - everybody look real kool with their GI Joe haircuts....

if you want to see a graph that makes sense, look no further than the Pastafarian bible - within the pages of that magnificent book there is a graph that compares the reduction in pirates (the proper ones, with an eye patch and a parrot on their shoulder) with the increase in planet temperatures - the results are plain to see. All we need to fix this mess is to start building replicas of the Black Pearl, fit them out with proper pirates, and send them off onto the stormy seas.... as far as this planet is concerned, imho it's a shame (as per the movie) that homo sapiens arose to superiority instead of the apes - they would have looked after the planet. My final piece of wisdom for you all is that IF we manage to stop the incredible degradation we have caused and the planet manages to survive as a place for 'some' animals to live, I will be very surprised. What we are doing is too little too late - we could do a lot more but we must have growth, so we'll stumble along, the rich will get richer and build impregnable castles within walls and manage their own food, while outside those walls it will look a lot like the Mad Max movie - only worse... there endeth the rant...I'm so glad I didn't breed, and I'm even gladder that I won't be around to see what humans end up doing to this planet (and the remnant poor people) BP

I'm sorry bexy, didn't realise I was being stoopid....

interesting story re. weapons - an old copper once told me that you could get into a lot of trouble shooting someone who has just broken into your house, even if he is walking towards you holding the hammer he just used to smash into your house - it's called 'unproportional response' or something like that. Apparently you're supposed to drop your weapon, find a nearby hammer, and defend yourself, family and home that way...makes sense to me....NOT anyway, the old copper told me that what one should do is to (a) shoot the miscreant, then (b) put a shot into the ceiling. All the neighbours will hear the two shots, and when the police arrive, point out the bullet hole in the ceiling and tell them that you did fire a warning shot into the ceiling but the bad guy continued to approach you with the hammer - works for me.... BP

Noice!!!

hey Tornado, the sellers of my battery told me it had all kinds of stuff (that's the technical term I recall) that monitored input and output and some other stuff too...so I'm happy! my lead acid battery weighs just over 5 kg - the Lithium Ion battery weighs just under 1 kg...same performance figures - the LI battery even has a little press button on the top for state of charge...unbelievable BP

hey Bruce, good idea - my planned 2018 trip to Cooktown was postponed because of the slower than expected Drifter refurb process - maybe 2019? I'll join ya as you pass through Boonah! BP

I don't see any confusion here. People lead different lives and have different attitudes, values and responsibilities. If I could fly every day I would, but many factors get in the way of that wish. When I finally get my Drifter home to my little airfield at Woolooman, my wife of 47 years will be retired and here to see me slip the surly bonds for that last half hour of light. That won't happen every day because Huey won't let me have that much fun. When we jump on a big bird (Boeing 777, 20th December 2018, retirement trip for my long suffering wife, in magnificent Premium Economy seats to NZ, for 4 weeks) I will have to think about a specific subject while we're away - batteries! 5 cars, 2 mowers, and a Drifter!!! BP

hey Bluey, I'm considering the Black Max brakes due to the rather short length of my home runway (have you seen the approach videos on YouTube yet?)did you ever get to the point where if you were braking very hard that the tail would come off the ground? and what sort of stopping distance would you be looking at for a lightly loaded WB582? cheers BP

I've bought a temperature gauge that has a nice little probe on the end of a 2 metre lead - I'm going to set the probe into the foam up against the battery so I can keep an eye on it during flight (Lithium Ion battery). Justin.....to be sure, to be sure. Any charging will be done with the battery removed from the aircraft. BP

my wife loves her iPad - and her iPhone - I thought she'd appreciate the iRon I bought her for Valentines Day.....but No.... btw, my burns are healing quickly and the Doctor says I can start looking for a place to stay next week..... BP

in the past I used to keep the (lead acid) battery topped up on my Drifter by hooking it up to a small solar panel - worked a treat...now that I have a Lithium Ion battery I'll be using the same solar panel but taking the battery out of the aircraft for top up between flights. Not sure I need to put a trickle charge into the Lithium Ion, better RTFM I think... BP

g'day Wayne - don't know mate - you been flying the wings off that lil' red/yellow beasty? BP

g'day Bruce, thanks for the input - I have always flown on/off grass and the first time I used bitumen (during training) I instantly hated the stuff. Having said that, the pedal pressure on the subject aircraft was incredibly hard, both on bitumen (taxying) and grass (take-offs and landing). I just don't get it - I might ask them to jack the tailwheel up off the ground and check for stiffness in rudder and tailwheel - it may be that as it stiffened up over time they didn't notice it due to incremental increases... btw, if you're ever anywhere near Boonah, you will get the chance to fly a Drifter - that's a promise. Be warned though - Drifters are addictive... BP