boleropilot

G'day alla youse Drifter Aficionados...got a question about Drifter tailwheels. Did some BFR work yesterday on a SB582 with a small solid rubber tailwheel and found the rudder pedal pressures so heavy I had to stop for a break after an hour - admittedly it was cold and I was wearing sketchers without socks (yeah, I know) and my ankles are about 2/10 from a paraglider mishap back in 2001, but - fair dinkum.....my Drifter (0455 - the same one used for Ant's Airplanes flight simulation development) has the big pneumatic tyre and is a delight on the ground, nice light pedal pressure, turns on a dollar (inflation)...

 

I am aware that there are some (g'day Kiwi) who prefer the small solid rubber wheels because it gives a more traditional taildragger look/performance. I don't get it. I've been told the small wheel version flies off easier because of the higher angle of attack of the wing, but that doesn't work for me because (a) I don't take off that way - I was taught to get the tailwheel up, build up speed, ease the stick back to get a few feet off, then rotate, and (b) if I had a tailwheel running along the ground at the back of my aircraft for a 'fly it off' takeoff I would want a softer one, for the reasons of a better ride and less mechanical vibration through the frame of the aircraft.

 

I even heard about a red Drifter bought from a rural property recently that had a tail SKID - holy cow and W T F - I am aware that the buyer replaced the skid with a pneumatic (same one as mine - he had a couple in his spares locker) asap. Anyway, I'm not sure the heaviness on the one I flew yesterday was just the tailwheel - I flew that aircraft 2 years ago for my previous BFR and I don't recall it being a problem then - maybe my ankles reduced their fitness from 6/10 to 2/10 over that two years? Socks would have helped a bit later in the flight but in reality I had problems from the moment we started to taxi...

 

I'm all ears......

 

BP

 

 

G'day Joe, and welcome to the forum - if you are looking for something "smaller and better" why not get a Drifter - just about the most Fun you can have with your pants on....

 

BP

 

apologies to the sheilas on this thread, from the old non PC BP

 

 

This plane incident, or your avatar?

ah Bex, don't be unkind now - K1W1 has amended his ways - he's a daddy now, so it's better we don't make comments about the edge of cliffs and Velcro gloves...actually I heard that he and Bree are looking forward to another little lamb on the way - ah no - I just made a fo par, dint I ?

 

Bugger !

 

 

my lovely wife (47 years this year) made me put a sticker on the dash of my Drifter - it reads SHOWOFFS DIE - it works....

 

BP

 

 

hey birdseye, I remember what my instructor told me about pulling the throttle to idle at the end of downwind - on my first solo...

 

first surprise was the acceleration on takeoff without an instructor in the back seat - Wow, big difference and you had to be on the ball with those pedals

 

then I pulled the throttle at the end of downwind and I saw straight away why he said "get that stick forward FAST" - it felt like it hit a brick wall !!!

 

how interesting is that - to have an aircraft that behaves so differently for the student on his first solo - makes you really think about the "high drag low inertia" aspect of the WB Drifter

 

people say if you can fly a Drifter you can fly anything - not so sure about that but for sure it is a real classic little beasty - mine will be back in the air - soon......

 

BP

 

 

yeah they do stand out don't they - is that a name for the colour - VVV yellow? I'll be doing a TIF in the Gympie A22 on Tuesday 1st May - looking forward to it...

 

 

oops - 22s only at Rec Avn Coy Gympie atm

 

BP

 

 

aha !

 

when do you get your A22?

 

what colour ?

 

gonna bring it over to Boonah to say G'day when you are looking for reasons to fly ?

 

BP

 

 

a late reply but better late than never - did you ever get around to having a flight in a 32? they have one on line at the Recreational Flying Coy in Gympie (they are a Foxbat dealer) so easy for you to arrange

 

my information on the 32 compared to the 22 is that the 32 is a lot slipperier than the 22, they apparently have worked very hard on the aero for the new model

 

cannot name my source (can't remember, that is) but he told me that the 32 had to be managed quite carefully from the end of the downwind leg if you are aiming for the piano keys

 

I'll be doing my BFR at Gympie in a couple of weeks, might splash out on an hour in the A32 (one of my favourite aircraft) just for the fun of it - if I do I'll post again here

 

ya's reckon it'll glide any different to my wire braced Drifter ?????

 

cheers

 

BP

 

 

got a bit of red wool on the windscreen, but you need a pusher prop for that to work properly - on the subject of instruments, I am a tiny bit concerned about my new Lithium Ion battery - so I bought one of these:

 

Ringder 12v Car Pt-6 Digital Thermometer LED Embedd Temperature Meter Senso O1g4 | eBay

 

really nice unit, probe cable is two metres long and I can just wire it up to an ignition source and place the sensor in the foam holding the battery in place. Could be used anywhere on the aircraft where you would like temperature information.

 

cheers

 

BP

 

 

something to consider:

 

1968 Cessna 150 | Aircraft Listing | Plane Sales Australia

 

or

 

1985 Cessna 152 | Aircraft Listing | Plane Sales Australia

 

and that's from 5 minutes searching....

 

BP

 

 

sorry, in case you aren't aware, the RAAus licence does not allow flight through controlled airspace - you need a real (GA) licence for that.....

 

 

flying over solar farms is a bit like flying through the blades of a wind turbine - another two fun things on my bucket list to do while I still have an aircraft....

 

if I can't have DARWIN AWARD WINNER engraved on my tombstone there's sum fing wong

 

BP

 

 

Sounds like a good trip you have planned, If you are around the mackay area, I'll show you around if you are keen

hey PP, make sure you take advantage of offers like this from Hongie, they are truly Gold - some areas in NE Queensland (around Mackay, for instance) have a 'fascinating' mix of airspace, weather and terrain 'problems' - airspace won't be a problem for you and that is a very good thing. We have an old saying here in Oz - "mountains hide in clouds" - I suppose that's the same the world over really...One concept you might consider is doing what many visitors to Oz do - they buy a 'vehicle', use it in Oz at their leisure, then sell it when it's time to go home. Undoubtedly there are a number of negatives with the concept. I used to work for a business that sold off-road motorcycles to tourists and then agreed to buy them back at a set price as long as the vehicle was within the set of parameters agreed upon. Some of these (well fitted out) bikes had word of mouth bookings to go to a new rider a week after they got back.

 

With the guvment of this country hell bent on destroying aviation in this country you might even find a real nice little 150 for sale here - of course, getting it sold to recoup your outlay may be 'problematic' - there are other options too - you could leave it in the safe hands of a flying school on lease until it was sold, or you could use word of mouth at home to make it 'available' for hire in Oz. One thing leads to another and the next thing you know you are the go to man for pilots wanting to fly in Oz - because you know how to do it! As in, talk to me, for a fee I will arrange all the paperwork, flights to/from Oz, nice little 150 waiting for you, all done and dusted and you make a few bucks doing it.

 

Now the guys on this forum will tell you why none of the above can happen, but you never know - it might just work out for you. Cheers, and make sure you let me know when you are landing at Boonah YBOA.

 

Boleropilot

 

 

At least we don't have cyclones.

we could send you one....we're Queenslanders, we can do anything - especially if we are dressed in maroon......BP

 

 

we need more pirates.....and less migrants - wait a minute - what if we only allowed pirates to migrate to Australia - let's face it, I'm a fkn genius.....

 

BP

 

 

no worries toady, twill be my pleasure

 

BP

 

 

I can't copy the plans because Wolf Models now own the copyright, as per the post earlier on - I'll keep everyone posted on progress of my build anyway

 

cheers

 

BP

 

 

good idea - will look into it

 

thanks

 

BP

 

 

might have an option for laser cut carbon fibre bits for the 1/5 Drifter - waiting for quote

 

 

hey thanks for the info guys, much appreciated - I've emailed Wolf to ask the price of laser-cutting a kit for me, they mention on their website that they do that for plans they have in stock

 

if it turns out they want a minimum order for that, just wondering if anyone else would be willing to put their hand up - I'd buy two anyway but if we can get the number up it's bound to be cheaper

 

btw I love the fact that I'll be able to cover the 1/5 Drifter with the same colours as 0455...looks like a G46 brushless motor will do the job, and I just happen to have a spare

 

cheers

 

BP

 

hay winsor, tell us more about the Aeroflyte situation...

 

 

forgot to mention - the plans are not dated....

 

 

Where did the owner get them from?

Actually I have no idea, it wasn't mentioned and I didn't ask - I'm assuming he bought them many moons ago, I'll ask him - they look quite old and the person who drew them states he used a full size Drifter for measurementsthey were drawn by a K. Freeman and the Copyright is owned by Samarai Investments, address is (was) 90 Salerno Street, Isle of Capri, Qld, 4217.

 

Samarai Investments is no longer a registered company, and the last time the Isle of Capri property was sold was 2014. I will send a letter to the address asking if they have any contact details.

 

I've looked at K. Freeman on White Pages and there is a hundred of 'em, I don't fancy going through that lot

 

I've made it clear I intend to do the right thing by the Copyright owner, I would love to get copies of these plans to others but until the Copyright thing is resolved that can't happen

 

As far as I can figure out Copyright stays the possession of the owner for 50 years or so, and if the owner cannot be found nothing can be done until the time frame is up

 

If the owner is deceased I believe ownership passes to a family member, even if it is not mentioned in the Will - if that person cannot be found, again, nothing....

 

Anybody know the absolute facts about Copyright in Oz ???

 

BP

 

 

wow 100 inch would be a monster but I guess with todays technology you could organise an increase in the plans by 25% or so...

 

as far as the plans are concerned, I don't want to do anything until I get some kind of decision on the Copyright situation

 

once that is resolved you would need to talk to the owner of the set of plans I have borrowed for my build

 

cheers

 

BP

 

 

I've actually got two of the HK Drifters, the second one bought because I needed parts...dumb thumb syndrome...they fly really well, nice little model

 

the plans I have are for 72 inch span so in the old money, 6 foot wingspan...that will make it about twice the size of the HK version

 

first thing to buy will be the 1 inch aluminium tube for the 'fuse', followed by balsa and ply...

 

as always the really difficult part will be making/sourcing a suitable canopy - twill not be easy

 

BP