farri

Cable Braced Drifter.

Hi Callide,

Good to see someone else is wanting to keep the drifters flying,I`ve had one since they were first certified and a lot of pilots learnt to fly in it,they are a good,safe,fun and relatively cheap aircraft to own.

One of the things to watch out for is rust in the cables,this may not be such a problem out west however it is still something to watch,what may appear to be patches of dust on the wires can in fact be rust,check them carefully,they do snap.

If the rudder and aileron cables are even a bit susspect,replace them,as you can`t inspect them in the middle.

Cheers,

farri.;)

So do I ,727.

Cheers.

727 Engineer.

Hi Chocko,

Unfortunatly since I retired from teaching there has been no one to replace me in the Drifter catigory of 3 axis,as far as I know the closest Drifters are at Dalby.

I know that Bill Grombeck,who is a very expericenced commercial pilot and who got his recreational licence with me was trying to get an instructors rating and use his Drifter, however I don`t know what has happened recently,check with, The Far North Queensland Ultralight Association ,you will find them on the web,they are based at Atherton these days,if you can`t,get back to me.

I should have my Drifter back in the air before long,stay in touch,and I may be able to take you for a fly in it, if you wish.

Cheers,

farri.

Need Help Just Sing out.

Hi Savator,

Welcome and I`m pleased to see yet another pilot interested in this site.

I`ve been flying UL/AC for 22 years,have my own strip,held a CFI rating and my own school for 10 years,now retired from teaching and now overhauling my old Maxair Drifter,it will be back in the air soon,in the meantime I`m flying a zenair 701 and an XAir.

Need any help just sing out.

All the Best.

farri. ;)

Realy Pleased

AVU, Steve,

I`m realy pleased you have your school running and I hope it does very well for you,remember to tell your students that flying is nothing to be affraid of, it`s only the last bit at the bottom that hurts.

All The Best.

farri.

RE Operators Manual.

Vorticity,

The short answer is no,my manual has MTOW. of 420kg, however this figure was later changed,without changes to the AC.

After many years of flying and teaching in a Drifter I`ve found 50 kts,as an aproach speed to be a pretty good all round figure assuming your ASI is correct

however don`t forget to adjust this figure to the conditions at the time and the weight of the AC.

A good yard stick as an approach speed is," Stall speed + 50% +1/3 of the wind speed", this should always keep you out of trouble,don`t forget 50kts is not your best glide speed and therefore will not take you the furthurest,best glide should be about 43 kts. try it and find out.In the event of an engine failure,of which I have had many,alwways use your best glide speed to stay in the air the longest,it gives you more time to think.

The Most important thing to do is to stall the AC with and without power and see what the ASI is reading,it is only the figure being indicated that is important, not the book figure,if you haven`t done this yet it is vital to do so as soon as possible,if you carry a passenger this must be done with your passenger also.

If I have helped you,feel free to contact me on any issue at any time.

Cheers and all the best.

farri.

Drifter Operators Manual.

Hi Vorticity,

I have an "Austflight Aviation PTY LTD" original Drifter Operators Manual for a wire braced AC of that period,I still have that Drifter.

This manual is for A-532/582 however I started off with a 503 and was given this manual by Austflight.I then went on to use a furthur 4, 582 motors on the Drifter.

If you think this manual is of any use to you,get back to me and I`ll do something for you.

Regards.

farri. ;)

Hi Mathew,

Thanks for asking for my opinion,Those are the only 2 RAA schools in FNQ at the moment,I`ve known both CFI at both schools in Innisfail for a long time,I know them well,I recomend you give them both a try and choose the one that best fits your needs.

Feel free to contact me any time,sooner or later I will have my Drifter back in the air.

Cheers.

farri.

Hi Steve,

I do remember and if I remember correctly you wanted to start a flying school,I hope you have and that all is well,please come and see me if you are ever in this part of the country.

Cheers and all the best.

Real Flying.

Hi Milton56,

Ex RAAF,surely you must want to get out of them enclosed flying things,try some real flying now and fly an open cockpit Drifter.

Just kiding about them enclosed flying things.

All the best.

farri.

Zenair 701

Hi Ianp.

I fly a Zenair 701,however I`m not the owner, the aircraft belongs to a Doctor friend of mine and it is based on my property and flown from my strip,he and his son were students of mine when I was running a flying school from here.

What would you like to know? I`ll try and help if I can.

Cheers.

farri. ;)

Hi Blue Drifter,

I`ve Just had a look at your Drifter and I was supprised to see a front wheel,

never seen one before,what do you think of it,does it make the aircraft any better,what happens if you land a bit hard nose down.

Cheers.

farri.

Hi Bob,Welcome,

I gather from your earlier post that Wayne Fisher may have forwarded some info on Drifters available.....possibly an earlier model with front only controls.

 

Rear controls can be added to one of Waynes Fisher Mk1 kit planes however I'm not sure about the earlier Maxair Drifter. I recall seeing a posting somewhere in these Drifter forums from Migrace, which indicated that the Maxair was used for training prior to the Drifter becoming certified.....so it may be possible on that type as well.

 

Wayne is generally regarded as Mr. Drifter in Australia.....what he does'nt know about the type (predominantly airframes and sails), is probably not of great importance. He will explain the pros and cons of your query, including the legalities. He is usually very obliging but always busy, as his business is a one man show.

 

Another icon is Richard Eacott whose expertise is Rotax engines on Drifters. Great gentleman.

 

There are also some very talented contributors who are members of this group.....one that springs to mind is Migrace, as mentioned above. I'm sure he will offer some help if you need some technical info.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Regards

 

JL

You`ve mentioned,Richard Eacott,do you know where he is and if so could you please let know.

I lost touch with Richard after Austflight closed down,I`d love to know where he is.

Cheers

farri

Money Spinner.

Thanks Deskpilot,at least that`s two of us who think so however in my opinion the RAA has simply become another money making system and I`ve got lots to say on that but that`s for future threads.

All The Best.

farri.

Farri on safe, affordable safe ultralight flying.

Jl,

Thanks for the reply,I`ve had more than my fair share of engine failures over the years,I`ve owned 3 Rotax 503 and 4,Rotax 582 engines,I`ve flown 8 different types,from a Wheeler Scout to the Zanair 701 STOL and the X-air 582,that are available to me at the moment,from my strip, however I sincearly believe that with the excelent visability of the Drifter and it`s excelent handling only the skill of the pilot is left to make it the best and safest aircraft to land in the event of an engine failure,I`ve never been scratched nor ever scratched a student.

I don`t have any problem with the more modern aircraft except that I believe they have become out of the financial reach of most of our young pilots ,whom without,the RAA,will just become a rich mans club in the future,I`ve seen it happen up here with the local club.

We need to try and keep safe affordable aircraft going.Those of us who got the sport going were commited to this objective.

Cheers All.

Thanks from farri

Thanks everyone,you have all been of assistance.

Cheers.

To those who answered my ,Looking For Maxair Drifter parts,Thank You.

I`ve known Wayne Fisher since I first started flying,I own Drifter 25-182 which was one of Austflights trainers,that`s why I was looking for Maxair Parts,it`s been waiting a major overhaul from when I stoped teaching,it`s just taken me a while to get going again but I`m now looking foward to flying it again.

With all of these very expensive aircraft around these days I recon they`ve

re-invented the wheel but made it square,What does anyone else think about this.

Cheers everyone.

Jan.

Thank you so much,I`d heard that there was someone out there called ,Darling Downs Aviation, but I hadn`t been able to find them.

Ps.Isn`t this site great,It`s a credit to the administrators.

Cheers,All The Best.

farri.

Hi Everyone,

For those who are interested,Deeral is 45k south of Cairns, Nth,Qld.

My strip position is, Lon.17.13.106.,Lat.145.56.088.

I`d be happy to see anyone any time.

Cheers and keep them in one piece.

farri on Engine Failures.

Hi Everyone,

I always taught everyone that any engine can fail for a lot of reasons and sooner or later it probably will and if it did all that realy mattered at the time was to get back on the ground saftely.

The bottom line is that a single engined aircraft should be flown within gliding distance of a safe place to land at all times,this saved me enough times to have been worth it.

Now I know that a lot of pilots don`t like this as it limits where they can go, but thems the breakes, I`m Affraid,so it`s up to everyone to place their own value on their lives and the cost to others.

Hi,Everyone,I`ve just landed and hope to be of assistance to anyone that I can Help and receive assistance from anyone who can help me.

Cheers and lets keep the Drifters flying.

Can anyone out there tell me if there is anyone making Maxiar Drifters and if so where are they based.