biggles

My main use for NVFR was, as others have said, departing early or landing late. I remember one morning taking off from Birdsville and watching the sun come up - spectacular.

Ian ,

I also departed Birdsville around sunrise on the way back from Karumba last year . Flew in to find that the airport was closed for runway resealing for the following 2-3 days ( did'nt check Notams !! ) . Spoke to the work Supervisor in the pub that night , and he agreed to let us get out before work commenced , but said early The day was clear and like you said , the sunrise was spectacular .Good bloke though , he seemed to take pity on a couple of oldies , and told us to take one of his vehicles and have a look at the place . He was a pilot also , and realised the problems associated with getting somewhere and not having transport .

Bob

Hey thanks FT!Something to consider indeed I guess...

 

I like this too - http://www.aircraftonline.com.au/product.php?id=924

Bob

There's an easier way to make them under read, place the scales on a carpeted floor rather than the solid tiled bathroom floor.Being only 70 kg I weigh myself in the bathroom however, I weigh my wife on the carpet in the bedroom. Naturally she is naked to get complete accuracy so I can........................

Alan.

Bob

My J 230D has a Microair radio which has given me grief since I bought the plane second hand in sept 2010. It works beautifully when receiving but on occasions I've had people in other aircraft tell me my transmissions are barely readable and somewhat garbled (only when at cruise throttle setting). When I press the PPT button the noise in the headset is quite loud. I've tried all sorts of solutions for only small improvements. I've adjusted the side tone and mike volume, checked for faulty earths and added half a dozen ferrite coils in strategic locations. I have read on google that the noise canceling qualities of the Microair are not as good as some others. My next move is to prove whether it's the radio or the engine or wiring by swapping the radio with a proven radio. Has anyone got any thoughts.Billwoodmason.

Bill ,

You can waste a lot of time following well intended advice from others . The fault may or may not be in the radio. Try sending it back to Microair . I had a fault with mine recently and had the radio back in just over a week , and thats from Victoria .You can discuss to fault, and repair cost with the Technician , and then decide whether to go ahead or not .

Bob

Bob,See you and Sals there.

-Linda

In the J160 S !!

Bob

Great place to stay but booked out way in advance for events like this.Teresa used to fly helicopters so hopefully some-one will offer her a ride.

We book from year to year and this is our third . Usually get there a few days early and stay on a few more days after its finished . Strange she has never mentioned that . Guess she is just too busy these days being a mother and running a B&B . Nice girl Teresa !

Bob

So back to topic, who is going to Temora and what sort of aircraft are you going in?I know of a certain Morgan Sierra 6 cyl from SA who will be going but I had better leave that to the owner to fill you in.

Alan.

Bob

BobThe motor was in poor condition when i bought it using around 200mls/hr (stuck rings in Pistons). It had a top end rebuild at 580 hrs.

 

I then suffered a no.2 exhaust valve head separation from the valve stem at around 650 hrs. This was mainly due to finding out afterwards that it was running too hot and too lean on a few cylinders. My factory temp gauge on no.6 always showed good temps. I then carried out a full rebuilt including new fine finned heads, Nickasil coated standard barrels (experiment), stainless valves, Full Egt and Cht monitoring of engine fitted etc etc and by around 750 hrs found excessive blowby . This was due to the valve guides being worn/oversize and the nickasil coating coming off the barrells (experiment didn't work). So at 750 hrs i again fully stripped the motor, New Pistons, New Barrels, new K liner inserts fitted to the heads, Ceramic coating etc. I sorted out heating issues and carby issues and now all temps are excellent. CHT's around 110 - 120 C down the hole in the head between the plugs. EGT's around 680 - 700 F at cruise and 620 - 650 F full power. I have now done 1008 hrs total time on airframe with 258 hrs on the latest rebuild and all signs are looking good. No oil usage between service intervals and 72 - 76 / 80 at the 1000hr service done 2 weeks ago.

 

Cheers

 

Andrew

Thanks for that comprehensive reply . You certainly have done some work to it , and good to hear that all appears to be well now . Do you monitor all the cylinders or just the back two ?. My temps on 3 & 4 rarely go above 230 oF which is similar to yours. I have heard about people using that centre hole for temp monitoring and it sounds like a better way than under the spark plug , which is a bit of a pain when checking the plugs and re-torqueing . What do you use to keep the T/C wire in place ? . I spent a month in Bundy last year and had the through bolt nuts replaced . Always intended to check out 'aeroplane beach' but never seemed to get around to it . Will be back this year and will try again . Would'nt like to be there right now though !

Bob

Thanks for the offer Andrew. A little busy this time of the year though.Hi Bob, if you have the yellows I would be chucking them. Mine went when I had just completed a u turn on the black stuff. They looked fine when I did the DI. Bye. Ian.

Thanks for that , but my nosewheel compression rubbers are red , so no problems , however anybody that has a yellow one , would be well advised to replace it asap . It is a fairly straight forward job , but you will need a strong vice to hold the forks and a long strong iron bar to use as a lever to compress the rubbers . It is really a two man job , so you are not too sure leave it to the experts .

Bob

IanSorry to hear you had to find out about the bushes the hard way.

I bought my Jabiru SP6 back in September 2009. I am fortunate enough to live in Bundaberg so i have always had one of the Jabiru guys carry out my 100 hourly services.

 

It was first registered in 2001 and had 560 hours on it when i bought it. During the 700 hr service back in 2010 they recommended we change front susspension bushes as well as doing the Main leg bolt upgrade, replace the rubbers and the seat belt mount position change. I do recall him saying something at that time about the Yellow bushes weren't as good as the red bushes that the now use. This was all done and i guess this has saved me from experiencing what you have just gone through.

 

The plane is going well with over 1000 hrs now and i will continue to have the 100hr services done at Jabiru just for the added piece of mind that if they are aware of any issues they will address it on my aircraft straight away.

 

Cheers

 

Andrew

 

(JabSP6)

Has the engine done 1000 hrs also ?

Bob

I fully understand that but that's not my point. Why should I have access to the register to find out if someone else's aircraft is registered. To me that's an invasion of privacy.

I think "Kaz" has answered most of your concerns in a comprehensive, easy to understand manner , however I would just like to say ,with regard to ......" Why should I have access to the register to find out if someone else's aircraft is registered. To me that's an invasion of privacy."...... essentially the the Commonwealth Privacy Act seeks to limit information "...... about an individual whose identity is apparent or can be ascertained from the information contained therein .......". In the case of our colleague in Cannonvale , alleged to have had two passengers on board , there appears to be nothing contained in the Register that would allow his identity to become known , hence it would appear not to be in contravention of any of the provisions contained in the Commonwealth or State Privacy laws . Personally I don't object to my aircraft details being published , there is nothing there to associate the entry to me , not that it would concern me . I do see another benefit however , the Register enables people to identify the aircraft , and also to independently verify , its make/model , date first registered etc., prior to purchase for example . Many consider ( cynically I might add ) that the only people that should be concerned about details such as this being published , are those with something to conceal .

" There is only one person that needs to know if an aircraft is registered and that is the pilot and he can find all the information he needs when doing his daily walk around " - Mmmm , Certainly the pilot should ensure that the a/c is registered ,and yes he should be able to see the Rego. sticker , provided it is located where it can be seen during the 'walk around' . I have seen some located in strange places and certainly not visible from the outside. Personally , I have never seen a hirer take time to read the Registration label , I find that they are usually more concerned about other airworthyness/safety issues . I can also say that during my training , I assumed ( maybe naively ), that because I was learning with a registered training school , those administrative/ legal issues would have been taken care of . What you say should occur , but in actual fact I doubt it does . However I would hate to think that some recalcitrant owner/operator/instructor , knowing full well that his a/c was not registered , played on the naivety of some young pilot , or glossed over the issue - " cheques in the mail " sort of thing .

"If the owner chooses not to register his aircraft that is his call " - Certainly 'his call' , but whether its a good one or not is another matter , particularly if an accident occurs involving personal injury or property damage, things will get a little messy .

Bob

I fully understand that but that's not my point. Why should I have access to the register to find out if someone else's aircraft is registered. To me that's an invasion of privacy.

Oops sorry 'rage 83', I read it as "need to register" rather than " need the register "

Bob

".................... Well thats my thoughts. If someone can give me a valid reason why we need the register in the first place I will gladly retract...................."

Gidday rage 83 ,

 

Essentially we register our aircraft because its the law , which is the same reason we register our boats , cars , caravans etc.

 

This is the applicable section of the Commonwealth Civil Aviation Act 1988 ..................

 

20AA Flying unregistered aircraft etc.

 

Flying an unregistered aircraft

 

(1) A person must not fly an aircraft within Australian territory if:

 

(a) the aircraft is not registered under the regulations; and

 

(b) the aircraft is, under this Act or those regulations, required to be registered under those regulations.

 

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

 

Bob

Interesting to note that of the 'cancelled registrations ', some 95% of non renewals have been since the year 2000 , with a significant increase around the time of the GFC . Does'nt this seem inordinately high ?. One does wonder how many of are still operating out of private/farm strips etc.

Bob

Table 2a. Registration cancellations since 1986 — year cancelled

At 31 January 2011 a total of 1090 aircraft registrations have been cancelled in the RA-Aus database.The following table apportions the number according to the year when cancellation occurred. A listing of these aircraft is available. There is also a listing of these aircraft according to the date of initial registration.

Year – aircraftYear – aircraftYear – aircraft

1986-99 – 53 2003 – 52 2007 – 99

2000 – 27 2004 – 73 2008 – 164

2001 – 40 2005 – 94 2009 – 180

2002 – 54 2006 – 115 2010 – 139

Hi subject to weather etc we hope to fly to warnambool for the weekend can anyone give us any info on hangarage and car hire thanksashley

Forget Warrnambool , go to Bacchus Marsh instead and see Brian & Linda . Nice people . Jab people .

Just trying to be helpful !

Bob

I'm another fence sitter also . Whatever you do will get no complaints from me .

Bob

Sorry about the way that came out , but try this -

Bob

http://www.auf.asn.au/admin/registration_cancelled_date_registered_sequence.html

RAAus register is very out of date...

I think this shows that the register is not too far out of date !

Bob

31 January 2011 RA-Aus aircraft register cancellations in date of expiry sequence

Registration

numberManufacturerModelFirst

registeredReg

typeRegistration

expired

19-4329 Icp Srl Bingo 20/10/2005 X 20/10/2008

So we have the situation where the RAA pilots are saying "well if the GA boys set a low standard, why should we aim for anything higher?"

Bob

FT for your attention the report on the Cessna which crashed on approach at Moorabbin in 2010 is out.That is no RAA.

Just doing circuits, huess what the cause was?

Summary

At about 1545 Eastern Standard Time on 7 August 2010, while returning to Moorabbin Airport, Victoria after conducting aerial photography work, the pilot of a Cessna Aircraft Company 152 aircraft, registered VH-KKW, experienced a total loss of power that resulted in an emergency landing approximately 200 m short of the airport. The aircraft was significantly damaged. The pilot and single passenger sustained minor injuries.

The investigation found that the pilot, when preparing for the flight, had misread the aircraft's initial fuel state and had subsequently uplifted a lesser quantity of fuel than required for the flight. Although the fuel remaining was greater than the manufacturer's stated unusable quantity, the investigation determined that the accident was the result of fuel starvation. The aircraft was prone to asymmetric fuel delivery allowing one tank to deplete quicker than the other. That action may have led to the aircraft unporting fuel from the low quantity tank during manoeuvring, which allowed air to be drawn into the engine. The investigation identified inconsistencies in the application of the operator's procedures for recording aircraft fuel states.

RAAus register shows a Savannah Bingo 19-4330 . Can't find an entry for 19-4329 !

Bob

Most people are used to modern devices working 100%. Look how many idiots drive into the ocean because the GPS tells them too. It certainly looks like the RAA pilot failed to calculate the fuel quantity and the RAA plane failed to highlight the low fuel. Was that due to poor training and maintenance procedures? Either way it reinforces the idea that the RAA is dodgy.Imagine the anguish that passenger when through!

"Look how many idiots drive into the ocean because the GPS tells them too." - ????

"It certainly looks like the RAA pilot failed to calculate the fuel quantity " - Yes even G.A. pilots have been guilty of doing this

"...... the RAA plane failed to highlight the low fuel." -the J170 and it's systems have been certified by the aviation authorities. The a/c would have indicated the fuel level in both tanks , the same as a G.A. aircraft , however did the pilot look at both indications , have sufficient knowledge of the systems , and do an independent test ?

" Was that due to poor training and maintenance procedures? " - Some training facilities may tend to gloss over these issues , if the guages were indicating properly , then obviously not a maintenance issue either.

" Either way it reinforces the idea that the RAA is dodgy " - It does nothing of the sort .

Bob

It's well known to most aviators that good fuel management includes such things as , knowing your aircraft fuel tank/s capacity , establishing fuel already in the tanks , proposed flight time , reserve required , fuel burn at cruise/climb . As has aleady been stated here , the a/c in question , a Jabiru J170 , has long tanks (around 1300mm from memory), around 60mm high due to the low wing profile . Consequently the indication of fuel level in each wing can be significantly affected by the a/c not sitting on level ground . The error can be increased depending on the degree of 'out of level' . To minimise the error and establish the accurate quantity, it is important to ensure the a/c is on level ground ,check both indications and use a dip stick calibrated for that particular a/c . When fuelling en-route I always estimate what the tanks should contain , then dip them before as well as after refuelling. This confirms my fuel burn from time in the air, and the total remaining in the tank from the fuel flow indicator - if installed . As also indicated on this thread , issues such as unbalanced flight can have a significant affect on fuel flow . Like Andy it is not unusual for me to arrive , after a long leg , with one tank completely drained ,which may or may not be indicated in the sight glass . In summary use all resources available to you . As the pilot -in - command , responsibility for the fuel management is yours and yours alone !

Bob

Does anybody know if this strip is ok to use, grass is mowed, things look neat and tidy, but the entrance gates are well and truly padlocked.Strip is just north of cardwell, near to coast area.

Bob

Jake

Nice neat circuit and gentle touchdown !

Well done Bob