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Soleair

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Everything posted by Soleair

  1. Soleair
    I converted to taildraggers on a J3 Cub. For those who aren't familiar with this plane, they are flown from the rear seat (2 seat tandem), & there is a parcel shelf at head level behind the rear seat. The guy who owned the Cub turned up on his bike with his small terrier sitting on the fuel tank. While we did the preflight, the dog hopped up into the plane & lay down on the parcel shelf. I got on fine with my flying instruction, but it was a bit distracting on final when the dog started huffing in my ear. When she got to know me better, she would give the occasional lick by way of reassurance. She loved both the Cub & riding on the motorbike.
  2. Soleair
    Hi Airmaster I moved over here from UK 6 years ago. I had a UK PPL. I am not interested in GA flying, or entering controlled airspace, so I went the RAA certificate route. 5 hours minimum for the basic cert, then time as required for cross country, etc, endorsements. How much your previous experience discounts against Australian requirements will depend a lot on what your instructor thinks of your flying. He may decide a check ride is enough to show your competence, or that you need a bit more time in the air. I hadn't flown power for a few years, & was much rustier than I would have hoped. But still got my RAA certificate & endos for around $2000. The procedure may differ for a CASA PPL. Bruce
  3. Soleair
    I want to build an electric GOAT.
  4. Soleair
    Many thanks to those who replied. I was after info on hangarage, and Adrian & Norm have been in contact. Kyneton looks a very active club, & I hope to be able to join somewhen in the not too distant future. Thanks again for the responses. Bruce
  5. Soleair
    Does anyone here fly out of Kyneton Airfield? If so, I'd like to chat. Thanks Bruce
  6. Soleair
    Frank, I get this sort of prejudice - often pretending to be 'humorous' - very frequently from those who fly larger planes. I can be having an interesting conversation with visiting pilots, until a 'senior' club member drops in that I only fly a microlight. At which point there are patronising smiles and the big boys talk amongst themselves. But I wonder how many of these self regarding masters of aviation have flown anything lighter than a Jabiru (with a training wheel). How they'd get on in a lightly wingloaded taildragger landing in gusty crosswinds. Or whether they'd have the bottle to fly a single seater they'd built themselves. Still, their loss, in my opinion. Bruce
  7. Soleair
    I started learning to fly by jumping off the cliff at Beachy Head (UK south coast) in a Wasp 229B3 hanglider. This was a bit of a 'leap of faith' as a mate & I bought it for a hundred quid, and then just jumped off the cliff. My first power flight was in 1979, after I built a Pterodactyl kit I imported from America. I taught myself to fly this, as at that time there were no schools for microlights, & in any case no licence or airworthiness requirements existed. I finally had lessons, & gained my PPL, in a Super2, when I worked for ARV. Bruce
  8. Soleair
    Yes, you're quite right ave8rr. See my post "ULF-2". Mods, can you please change the title of this thread to ULF-2? I can't :( Ave8rr, do you have any knowledge of the ULF-2? Looks very nice in specs, vids, pix, etc.
  9. Soleair
    Oh yes! My 60hp MZ202 has performed impeccably straight out of the box. It is smooth running, even on tickover at 1500 rpm with its integral centrifugal clutch. It gives myMiniMax ample power, with climb rate around 1000fpm & max cruise of 85mph. In the circuit, it burns 8 lph, & about 12 lph on longer flights. And Leon Massa, who builds the engine, is very helpful over the phone. In my view a better engine than the Rotax 582. It is a genuine 60hp @ 6000rpm from 625cc; it is fan cooled, so no radiator cooling drag; it is 40kg installed. So yes, it would be fair to say I'm an MZ convert! Do you fly behind this engine Wayne? Bruce
  10. Soleair
    Here's my baggage bay, built behind the main bulkhead. I bought the elasticated net on fleabay - they're used on motorbikes.
  11. Soleair
    Good to 'meet' another 'Dactyl' builder/pilot, Methusala. I built mine in 1979, & replaced the Sachs 25hp direct drive with a Robin 50hp with reduction drive & prop of my own. Later added a canard. I loved that plane, & did a lot of flying, including some quite ambitious X country & even a night flight. I did most of my GA flying in the ARV Super2, which was a great little plane. Much higher speeds, but something of the true ultralight feel to it. Did a lot of long distance X country in that, to the extent that flying a Cessna 152 round the patch to keep my licence valid became boring. Now I fly my MiniMax. Max speed is 70 knots, & so far I'm only flying it within 25nm of my home airfield. But I love it, and the difference is just that it's such a fun aeroplane to fly. Very light & responsive, excellent manners, and every flight feels like an adventure! I fly a Jab occasionally, & although I quite enjoy it it doesn't have the same 'concentrated spirit of flying' as the Max (sorry, can't really describe it). So I'm very happy with cruising around my local area at 60 knots - but only in the right plane. Bruce
  12. Soleair
    Sorry - typo on previous post, & the edit function won't allow me to change the title or delete the thread. Aircraft is the German ULF-2, here: ULF 2 - Description
  13. Soleair
    Does anyone have experience of this motor glider? Or know of any being built in Oz? It looks like a fun plane, and there are very few wood & fabric motor glider plans available. I'm getting the urge to build again, & the ULF is on my shortlist. Though I'd probably substitute an MZ201 for the converted Citroen Visa called up in the plans. Bruce
  14. Soleair
    Me neither. Bummer. No rain & perfect flying conditions for weeks, then - this. D'Oh! Bruce
  15. Soleair
    I'm planning to fly into the Rylstone bash in my MiniMax - weather permitting. Be good to meet any Recflyer forum pilots. Bruce
  16. Soleair
    Nice one, Marty! Gliding is the purest form of flight, IMHO. And exciting, too - every landing is a deadstick, with no go around option. It is a bit strange being so close to the tug. I did a summer of gliding in 2010, & got to start on my (UK) Silver C. Absolutely loved it. All my time was in a trusty old ASK 13, which had superb spin behaviour. The downside of gliding is the ratio of time in the air to time faffing about. I needed the best part of a day to get a slot. But I'm sure the skills I learned in the glider greatly improved my power flying.
  17. Soleair
    Looks very well engineered. Dare I ask how much it costs, inc shipping?
  18. Soleair
    Note that the 300kg is maximum takeoff weight. It must include pilot, fuel, & all equipment. There is also a wing loading/stall speed caveat that would preclude the CriCri from the RAA register. I'll dig out the definition & post it later. Or you could find it on the (rather convoluted) RA Aus website. Your design sounds very innovative. Please keep posting on your progress. p.s. Here is the CASA definition you need to satisfy.
  19. Soleair
    I'd love to see some drawings or photos - sounds very interesting. Does your design owe anything to the Lazair concept? I'm sure you're aware that you can have any number or type of engine if your max AUW is <300kg. Bruce
  20. Soleair
    Well I'm blowed! I knew both Don & Mary Ellis personally: my wife & I have even had dinner with them at their home in Sandown. A lovely couple. I flew many hours with Don Ellis, mostly in the ARV Super2, but also in his BA Swallow. A source of great pride to me was when Mary Ellis complemented me on a deadstick landing from 1000' to a spot landing on a very short strip, back in 1981, in my highly modified Pterodactyl. They surely were unsung heroines, those ATA girls. Bruce
  21. Soleair
    Well I've just landed after a very pleasant 40 minutes around Mudgee in my MiniMax. Beautiful cloudless blue sky - high, wide, & handsome. Only a couple of other aircraft sharing the local airspace, lots of fun. When I went into town afterwards to buy fuel, it was absolutely rammed full of peoples - mostly tourists. Made me glad they don't all fly!! Bruce
  22. Soleair
    At least "plane" could logically be an abbreviation of "aeroplane". Anything is better than "airplane" Bruce
  23. Soleair
    So no chance of an apostrophe before the first 's' then . . .
  24. Soleair
    At the risk of appearing pedantic, should the title of the new site not be followed by a question mark?
  25. Soleair
    My MiniMax has a 60 hp 2 stroke engine with 2.55:1 gearbox, so both airframe & engine are not too dissimilar to yours. The prop I made for mine was a 2 blade wooden one, 65" dia and 42" pitch. It gives me a climb rate of around 900fpm and a max level speed of about 85mph at my max gross of 300kg (660 pounds).
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