Marty_d

I like that. In fact it could be someone who's slow after too many beverages. "Dave! It's your bloody shout, you grognard!"

Hi all, More questions... Firstly, NPT fittings (these are the tapered threads). What sealant do you use? Standard automotive stuff like this - https://www.repco.com.au/en/car-care-panel/adhesives-sealants/fastener-locking/permatex-high-performance-thread-sealant-50ml-px56521/p/A9693218?rgfeed=true&cid=google-shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&region_id=100481&gclid=CjwKCAiAp8iMBhAqEiwAJb94z2XFlj83Zns6qRELRiVW_YIC805DgUNqZA0JUHW_fF0o6sYq8K95cxoC6o4QAvD_BwE ? Secondly - hose clamps. What sort of clamps come standard with Rotax fuel fittings? Guessing whatever they use must be ok. Worm drive, 1 or 2 ear compression ones - what's the usual? Thirdly - fuel taps, for the tank lines down to the header. What sort of taps do you use, and where did you get them? There's a few cast or aluminium cheap ones for motorbikes and ATV's on Ebay, is that the sort of thing or are there better brass ones? Finally - is there a standard 5-way fuel fitting for the bit after the mechanical pump where it goes to the carbs, fuel pressure gauge and return line? (number 9 on the diagram about 5 posts ago). Thanks people! Cheers, Marty

Those gliders look good - couple of them are around $36 - $38K at the moment - but in the description it says "UNSERVICEABLE". What's going on there? Is that a caveat that they have to put in to protect themselves or does it really mean the aircraft cannot be flown? The trailers are the duck's guts too.

Welcome Kurt! Bob and Mark are both fantastic at providing help and advice. (My build is more a CH701/Sav hybrid, but most bits are the same size!) As Bob says, keep the pics coming, we love seeing new planes being built. Cheers, Marty

The Spitfireski! I heard a shocking rumour that the gorgeous elliptical airfoil of the Spit was stolen from Russia.

Bloody lucky they didn't clean up a jumper or two when recovering from that spin.

Extend your mortgages and polish up your platinum credit card. https://aircraft.pickles.com.au/

Fuel... again... firstly I did what I should have done ages ago and checked the plans. 1/4" fuel line is perfectly fine for the 701. So that's a relief, and probably why I bought those 1/4" quick release fittings from Aircraft Spruce in the first place. So - I made up a small L-shaped piece today from 0.032" to take the two quick release fittings in the L/H wing root, put a 3/8" to 1/4" reducer in the line from the tank and hooked them up. I will put a small inspection port under so that by removing a couple of screws I can disconnect the fuel lines just by pushing the release buttons from underneath. The good thing is that these close off both hoses when released, so in theory there shouldn't be any fuel leakage even when there's fuel in the tank and the header (and the lines going to it) are full. On the L/H tank the line going forward to a fitting at the top of the tank is for a breather from the header tank, and also will have the fuel return from the engine T'd into it.

That looks like fun. I think there must be an error in the dates though - said he built it in only 2 years??

Looks like some pretty serious shading on the top of the canopy. Guess the A/C helps too.

Isn't this a Jetski?

Early teenagers fancy anything vaguely female with a pulse. Well who wouldn't?

Plus I think that bike had about 30 gears. Still one of my favourite movies ever though.

I remember one Nicholas Cage movie - "Face/Off" I think it was - where he's taxiing an executive jet and turns it by turning the control yoke.

Although mine's a 701, it's scratch built and I use a lot of Sav parts. My fuse came as part of the wiring harness with a set of Sav instruments (the bloke selling them had a kit but wanted a glass cockpit). So for some reason Savannah has changed the fuse from having one wire coming off that side to three. I think I'll do the same as you and use one for the resistor, if that's how it's meant to be wired.

Never hire a signwriter who remembers what a prick you were in high school!

I made the mistake of watching "Wonder Woman 1984" the other night. Not that Gal Gadot dressing in a very short skirt and very aptly-named breastplate is a bad thing, but even her charms couldn't make up for 2.5 hours of very weak plot and lacklustre action scenes. The film reached its nadir when it came to the aviation bit. So Wonder Woman and her resurrected boyfriend, who was a pilot in World War I - yes, ONE, he died during WWI in the last movie... need to get from Washington DC to Cairo, Egypt. Naturally, instead of booking a couple of first class tickets, they use her access to the Smithsonian, go through the Air & Space museum to an airstrip, where a Panavia Tornado is sitting on the tarmac. I'm going to have to list the following problems in dot point. The boyfriend who just woke up in 1984 after being dead for about 70 years, and who last flew a Sopwith Camel, was able to get in, start and fly a jet. The Tornado, despite having a tandem cockpit, suddenly changed to side-by-side seating as soon as they got in. After successfully taking off (and Wonder Woman turning the plane invisible, to eye as well as radar), they tooled around DC for a bit and flew THROUGH a fireworks display with expressions of wide-eyed wonder. You'd think that someone who (from his perspective) was dodging flak in a Camel a couple of days ago would be a bit leery of flying towards exploding things in the sky. After their scenic flight of the city, they then flew to Cairo. Non stop. Without refuelling. 9,300km in an aircraft with a range of 1,390km. Without toilets, food or drink. And imagine the DVT! My humble opinion - give it a miss. My disbelief was well and truly unsuspended.

Ryanair had the worst habit of cutting costs. They were even considering charging people 2 euro to use the loo.

Now THAT's tricky. I might have to look at getting a couple. Mounted on the side of the tank around halfway. Somehow you'd have to reverse the electrickery setup so that your two warning lights come on when they no longer sense liquid, rather than go off.

I would assume Solarguard would be fairly heavy - houses not generally having to worry about weight.

Hi Mike, Did you remove the upper pushrods from bellcrank to flaperon, or the lower ones from torque tube to bellcrank? I must admit I haven't connected the flaperons yet, but have the torque tube from the Y stick to the bellcrank. Where the lower pushrods connect to the bellcranks they move very freely and easily. The bellcranks are greased where they rotate on the mixer tubes, and on mine there's a metal washer between the bellcrank and the mixer. Savannah torque tube is probably different from the 701, on mine it's just supported either end through holes in metal (seat front where the Y stick connects and the crossmember just forward of the hatch at the back). Despite this it rotates freely. If you haven't pulled the bottom pushrods off, I'd be doing that - that way you can isolate whether the problem is in the torque tube, the bellcranks or the flaperons. AFAIK they're the only places in the system that could bind. Cheers, Marty

I fully agree with that and wish I had!! I drilled out the rivets holding the L/H seat pan the other day in order to mount the battery isolator under the seat. I've left it loose now until I get everything else done.

I'd also be interested in that, at roughly the same point. (Although mine's a 701, the main gear and rudder pedals inc. cylinders are off a Sav, so the system should be the same.)

The answer to this may be completely obvious, but why isn't trim automatic - ie mechanically linked so that when the control surface goes one way, the trim goes the other?

If they do Savannah legs then Zenith CH701 is a straight swap too... good place to put a lighter component too because it's not far away from CG.