Kenlsa

Further to the above. The Roko was weighed by CASA certified person. noted that the prop was changed to a lighter version, by 5kg. (that actually makes it worse!) There is no aircraft level indicated either in the hand book or the website, so had to ensure true tyre psi was to pilot notes. semi reclined seats did not have a moment point indicated for weighing. 1lt of unusable fuel in each tank. So, any not mentioned - stations, points or arms were taken as a standard in the industry. Bottom line —24kg over weight BUT there is more….. ALL loading puts the weight out the back! To fix it……We have to put in 25 (fark!) kg in the cowl so it can be flown and only as a single seater. RAoz have been informed. Our club is looking how to get some weight out of the rear and have identified a few kg that can be deleted. Hopefully we will be allowed to do it, as ours is a E24 reg. we think there are 4 in Oz, poor bastards. Ken

Switch on the GPS so the pilot can input the plan into the auto pilot to get to the destination. All the while informing the passenger how great it is to be a LSA pilot. V’s Planing the trip on the kitchen table, marking the map and filling out the flight plan sheet. Then actually flying the plane and navigating as you go, all the while talking your way thru the steps as you keep a good lookout; impressing your passenger with your skills. I know what system I prefer. Ken

I was once flying to another airfield exactly on the gps line, just below 3500 ft that was the upper limit of military air space. I didn’t have clearance above this step. A Piper Archer was descending thru controlled air space directly in front of me on the reciprocal gps track. I saw him for about 5 seconds and I climbed. I guess he was dropping to the next Lower level step behind me. I guess see and avoid worked, BUT, while assigned altitude works, climbing and descending has its issues. My co pilot (many thousands of hours, including military) reminded me to stay to the right of the Gps track to minimise the problem of another aircraft flying the reciprocal track. Head in the cockpit, slavishly following the magenta line can lead to tears. Ken

Good one Glen, Airfield cameras are great for us. Early in my flying, unless I could phone the strip so as to ascertain local conditions, I was hesitant to visit. With more and more cameras installed it will sure help safety. Ken

Lightweight pilots and a small amount of fuel no longer applies. You now have to get the empty weight to 413kg or less and that will put it on the LSA list. Looks like I can do it on my Piper and that will allow 2 pax and 2.5 hrs of fuel…….tho I am waiting for 760 (600 LSA is only if it all falls over) Ken

On my Colt I could cope with 45 if that is all that is on offer just by getting some VGs via the STC from Micro Ken

According to the web cast on Wednesday looks like 760 is reliant on part 103 that has an implementation date of 2 December this year. Mark K asked to get 760 in and worry about stall speed later. This doesn’t seem the way RAoz want it as they think should be done at the same time. RAoz has a working party on it now to take advantage of that date. Is that how you read it Mark? Ken

Bruce, I got a set from Ian at Camit and they were to go under not over. Worked a treat helping to average out the cht’s Ken

Glen, I wasn’t there for the weigh in, only spoke to our maintenance man who conducted it. I only work on our Jabs. I can’t remember if it was a request from RAoz or Casa. it wasn’t done from our end. Ken

We were asked to weigh our ROKO ( earlier model before the name change) this week……turned out to be 31kg over certified weight. wow! ….CG near the back. More wow… No modifications done, standard aircraft. CASA is now going to attend and conduct an official w@b. The club as taken it off line pending this weigh in. murkier and murkier Ken

Mogas at Gawler. Our fleet has been on it for many months now and our valve problems on our Gen 4s has been eliminated. 4 Jabs and a Roko Ken

I replaced one coil with a Rotec unit. Better start (instant) and no drop in idle rpm during ‘mag’ check. So should be slightly better when opening the throttle and maybe fractionally more economical, not that I can tell. Of course no advantage for cruise speed as 2800 rpm means 100 kts no matter what power is produced. Ken

I don’t need any parts at the moment Ken

RF, our entire fleet has been on 98 for a while now and we are in the final stages of installing a bowser. Result, no loss of compression due to stuck rings or valve face deposits. The camera does not lie, you can eat your dinner off the piston crowns. I have been on 98 most of the time and saving $12 an hour, that will be $18-20 in your 230. Ken

Same as the Skyraider. Read that an aborted approach to a carrier deck and if full go around power was applied without care, the resultant torque could get it inverted with zero space to correct. Ken

Had a mate that used to restore vintage cars. First thing to do was remove the motor, empty any oil that may be in there, then place the whole thing into a drum with a mix of fresh water and molasses, generally 10/1 but can go up to 20/1. Leave for up to 6 months if very corroded. Remove —-and all the rust was gone. Nuts screw right off with no stripped parts. done it myself on any iron or steel, even complete exhaust systems that would normally be thrown away. Everything comes up looking new. Took about 2 weeks. trick then is to immediately spray with light oil coz you can see rust forming almost straight away, I kid you not. I even restored a cast iron frypan that was so bad you couldn’t tell the rust from the pan. it sure does smell but is very cheap Ken

Spacesailor , it’s coz I have both types and only want to operate under one system. As my Jab is 19 reg it can only stay in RAoz, but my Colt can switch. spent quite some time on email and phone to Jared and Darren just before Christmas and 760 is the number one push for RAoz in the new year. I am working thru a rebuild of the Colt at the moment delaying the final weight I will pursue as late as I can (413kg if aiming for LSA). So will save about 15-18k if we have 760 by the time my final decision is made. Ken

Running your hands thru the wheat field? All that was missing was some reference to “saving humanity “ and the like. Ken

Tigershark, how is your covering going. Have you selected a system yet? Ken

Further to the above, I did try increasing the length of the plenum at the rear.......VERY bad. It increased the rear head temps by 15deg, Spoke to Ian Bent about it and as it followed the 90degree bend at the rear it increased the drag slowing the air too much, making a stagnant air pocket. Ken

Glen, this is what I did after a heap of testing. I ensured a gentle slope for the air transition instead of a “step” Not shown are the gull wings underneath on the cylinders. Note the rubber grommet— this was required to reduce the standard factory hole size (19mm-3/4in) to slightly increase the amount of air staying in the plenum Overall no lowering of the temps on the front heads but from memory a drop of 15 deg on the rear heads. better temps on climb as well, 85kts@3000rpm to 1500ft, then cruise climb at 250 to 300 fpm @ 2800

The only time you have too much excess power is...er.....never

2 or 4a if you hang onto it you have saved plenty of cash. 4b E24 results in an orphan that will be hard to sell. We are converting or club ROKO to E24 as it is close to 15yrs but only 900 hrs. As a club we can absorb the potential loss coz being made of tin we will crash it (again, first was a heavy landing, big bucks to repair!) but write it off next time.(?) As E24 we can not train in it, only make it available to club members with their full certificate. This seems to be the best way out for us. Ken

RF, I was wondering about the far cooler temps with the G4 may have caused a problem but have not followed it up. With mogas, ensure that there aren’t any 90degree bends in any fuel line, or elbow, where you need a change of direction of the line. Under certain conditions (extreme heat) it MAY lead to a low pressure zone on the inside of the elbow causing a potential bubble at that point. The Jab has gentle bends so is not a problem. This advice is mentioned on STCs for certified planes converting to mogas, for example my Colt. Any 90 deg elbows have to be replace with gentler ones. Ken

RF, latest leak down on the 100 hour engine is 78 and 79 /80 and these are cold readings! leak downs on the avgas went from 50 to 60 hot. So lap the valves and back to high 70’s. Hence our move to Mogas . Detonation......starting to be an urban myth. Maybe before modern fuels but never heard of it with 95/98. It’s a different world to 30 years ago. The factory says it’s good.......so it’s good. As with anything, ensure the fire/heat sleeves are good. I have never talked to anybody who had detonation. Starting to get tired of hearing it quite frankly. Ken