Marty_d

Thanks Mike - so no rubber hasn't caused any problems with vibration?

Made the mounting bracket for the oil cooler. It fits on the two spare M10 holes on the gearbox. I thought it could be top mounted but there's too much flex in the vibration isolators, so I'll have to find a way of bracketing the bottom too, probably to the radiator front mount.

Standard Rotax 912uls.

Thanks, I'll follow your website with interest. Can't wait to see the Viper finished!

Hi all, I've never plumbed oil hose in before so wondering what the options are. When I go looking for fittings there's a million different types out there from Aeroquip, AN, straight end with a bead, etc. When it comes to hose there's people using black, blue, stainless steel braid... Is there a specified type of hose and fitting I should be doing for oil line? And size? What should I avoid because it needs special tools? Any advice, as always, appreciated! Thanks, Marty

Probably a vinyl wrap I reckon.

Nice grip! I hadn't thought of putting one on the flap handle.

Well then it's a damn good thing you checked! Said item can be delegated to the passenger, for the starboard side. If the nosewheel is gone you're in trouble.

Why is it retiring??

I think it was a throwaway line by the instructor as one of the items on the checklist was "undercarriage" - obviously for those aircraft that have retracts, the 172 didn't, so he said "just look out the window and make sure the wheels are still there!" (Obviously not suitable for most low wing aircraft!) If I remember right, it was "BUMFHH" - Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture, Fuel, Hatches and Harnesses.

Cruise = snooze!

Even in the C172 part of the pre landing checklist was to look out the window and make sure the wheels were there.

It'd be much less work for the cabin crew too. Might be a problem if you need to get everyone off the plane in an emergency though.

The thing is, urgent face to face meetings just aren't as vital these days, so I'm not sure how the business case for passenger hypersonic stacks up. Companies could invest the cost of one return flight into dedicated high resolution VR meeting rooms and not have to travel at all. As for holiday travellers, yes it's boring to spend 27 hours getting to Europe, but it's a lot more gentle on the body than 6g.

If Ryanair are running it, you'll be able to purchase less G for your seat.

I'm building my 701 with a header tank, but will be plumbing the return line to one of the wing tanks. This should avoid that issue and I believe Savannah specify return to the wing tank rather than to header, is that correct Bob?

Thanks everyone - think I've got it sorted now. Did some more holding in position, and yes it's best with the oil cooler at the front and the radiator parallel with the front exhaust runs but offset from centre to avoid the exhausts. Pics below show - oil cooler is dark, radiator in aluminium colour. That's not exact position but close. I'll have to jiggle it precisely then I can draw up the mounting brackets required. Luckily there's the M10 holes either side of the gearbox for the oil cooler (which only mounts at the top - no provision at bottom for any attachment), and the front and rear holes at the bottom of the engine for the radiator. The rear holes are used for the engine mount, but if I put an aluminium spacer inside the engine mount recess then a longer bolt can also attach the radiator bracket on the outside.

That's not a bad idea Bob - move it back a bit under the exhausts and put the oil cooler up front. Thanks!

Well I would, OK, but imagine the weight of the extra water and hose...

Hey folks, Looking for some advice on the placement of my radiator. It seems like the cowl I've made possibly could have used a bit more room at the front end. The cowl slopes backwards which I guess may be more aerodynamic but doesn't leave much room in front of the engine and especially the exhaust pipes from the front 2 cylinders. It looks like I have 3 choices: 1. Mount the radiator at an angle to the starboard side of centre so the port outlet (upper) is between the oil filter and the exhaust tubing: 2. Mount the radiator at an angle to the port side of centre so the port outlet is outboard of the exhaust tubing: 3. Redesign the entire front of the cowling so it's squarer, protrudes out at the front more to allow the radiator to sit more vertically. I really don't want to do option 3 because (a) I'm sick of fibreglassing and (b) I'm out of carbon fibre, but that depends on clearances, tolerances and allowable angles for radiators. Is there any advice on how far hoses should be from exhaust outlets, how far radiator tanks should be from the cowling, and what angles radiators can be mounted at? Thank you! Cheers, Marty

That looks great Mark. Just sewn to shape and pulled over I reckon. If there's a zip or Velcro it'd be good for taking off and washing after turbulence... or engine failure!

That's brilliant. I'll probably be upholstering mine myself, I often wonder how they get the fabric tight on the foam when it's a concave area, like the seat area above. Maybe it's spray glued or something? Or is it just sewed that way?

Ian, I'd like to say thank you for providing this excellent site. The amount of help I've had with my build from being on here, not to mention the great discussions over on Social Australia - it's just brilliant. As far as improvements, I can't think of any. It works really well, in fact I often wonder why other sites aren't as intuitive as this. Thanks again.

After a couple of false starts I installed the PTT on the dildo, sorry, stick grip. Tried insetting a smaller aluminium disk into the wood but it didn't work too well, so went with fully covering the end. I think it works.

If you're after flat sheet polycarbonate then any local plastic manufacturer should have it.