Jiefuster

Complexity = $.

RAA said at the Rockhampton PD presentation that a December audit of the 300 renewals discovered only 30 (10% ) compliant. Eg 100 hourly done after say 3 to 4 years and no annuals performed. Therefore aircraft not maintained in accordance with manufactures instruction. Should answer your question a bit. Cheers

See

This works - building another one.

So how many hours from you RAA to RPL (Not PPL)?

Mayday = LIFE is in grave or imminent danger. Either it is or isn't and respectfully, any forced landing onto terrain that is 'best choice at the time', the outcome is highly likely to be uncertain, and you are at grave risk of smacking your body into in moving bits at considerable speed. Thinking about it takes mental resources which you need to focus on flying, particularly at low level. Make the call. Cancelling is easy. Getting help is not so.

Go to YYWG and take a TIS in a machine with the wing in your hands where you feel the wind moving, and airspeed is a sound not a number on a dial. Try a trike. Just excellent fun and such a buzz.

Jeff:Yes, I do still have the plans, but I'm out of the country at the moment. I'll PM you when I get back.

Hi All:I thought I'd start a thread for ideas for trike trailers. I'm currently having one built and got ideas from several sources. I thought this would be a good place to share your ideas on what makes a good trike trailer.

 

I'll start with some of my ideas.

 

Fisrtly, weight. The lighter the trailer, the less fuel it takes to haul and the less tyre wear.

 

Secondly, I decided to have a full deck on the trailer and in keeping with the first goal, I decided to have an aluminium deck of the sort that they have on tray-back utilities.

 

Third, Wing racks. I chose to have the wing mounted on the trailer rather than the vehicle as it makes the trike transport self contained. If I take the trike on holiday and I want to go to the shops or out to eat, I don't want to be lugging the wing with me. Also, the added cost of racking on the trailer is less than and more asthetic than the racking on the vehicle. Finally, if the wing rack was on the vehicle, I'd probably leave it on even when I'm not trailering the trike and those things are pretty ugly on a vehicle.

 

Fourth, Tilt. I decided to go for a tilting trailer rather than ramps. The tilt doesn't add as much weight as carrying a set of ramps and is quicker and easier for getting the trike on and off the trailer.

 

Fifth, Winch. I decided to have a winch to get the trike on and off the trailer. Having the winch means not having to heave the trike on and off manually. Whenever you're heaving the trike around, there's the possibility of hurting someone or the trike.

 

Sixth, Wheels enclosed withing the deck perimeter. My brother-in-law says that he occasionally drags his trailer mudguards against things and suggested this solution. Also given that my trailer is 6 metres long and has a big turning circle, this is even more likely to happen.

 

Seventh, The trailer extends past the prop in the back. This might save a busted prop if I back into something.

 

Eighth, Stone deflector at the front. This is a simple and useful addition to protect my investment from rocks and stones thrown up by the towing vehicle.

 

Ninth, Open top. I decided not to go for an enclosed trailer for a couple of reasons; weight and ease of access. Also an enclosed trailer would require the wing to be carried much higher than I plan to carry it.

 

Tenth, Construction simplicity. The chassis design of my trailer is a very simple rectangular shape. The decking is just planks cut to length and bolted to the chassis. This helps to keep the cost and weight down.

 

Eleventh, Trike contained within trailer outlines. If I drag the trailer against something, I would prefer that the trailer cop the hit rather than the trike, so the trike sits completely within the boundaries of the trailer.

 

Here's some pics of my trailer chassis and the design model that I drew. I have this as a Solid Edge V19 file if anyone wants a copy, just PM me.

Do you have the plans for your trailer at all?

Jeff

Hi All:I thought I'd start a thread for ideas for trike trailers. I'm currently having one built and got ideas from several sources. I thought this would be a good place to share your ideas on what makes a good trike trailer.

 

I'll start with some of my ideas.

 

Fisrtly, weight. The lighter the trailer, the less fuel it takes to haul and the less tyre wear.

 

Secondly, I decided to have a full deck on the trailer and in keeping with the first goal, I decided to have an aluminium deck of the sort that they have on tray-back utilities.

 

Third, Wing racks. I chose to have the wing mounted on the trailer rather than the vehicle as it makes the trike transport self contained. If I take the trike on holiday and I want to go to the shops or out to eat, I don't want to be lugging the wing with me. Also, the added cost of racking on the trailer is less than and more asthetic than the racking on the vehicle. Finally, if the wing rack was on the vehicle, I'd probably leave it on even when I'm not trailering the trike and those things are pretty ugly on a vehicle.

 

Fourth, Tilt. I decided to go for a tilting trailer rather than ramps. The tilt doesn't add as much weight as carrying a set of ramps and is quicker and easier for getting the trike on and off the trailer.

 

Fifth, Winch. I decided to have a winch to get the trike on and off the trailer. Having the winch means not having to heave the trike on and off manually. Whenever you're heaving the trike around, there's the possibility of hurting someone or the trike.

 

Sixth, Wheels enclosed withing the deck perimeter. My brother-in-law says that he occasionally drags his trailer mudguards against things and suggested this solution. Also given that my trailer is 6 metres long and has a big turning circle, this is even more likely to happen.

 

Seventh, The trailer extends past the prop in the back. This might save a busted prop if I back into something.

 

Eighth, Stone deflector at the front. This is a simple and useful addition to protect my investment from rocks and stones thrown up by the towing vehicle.

 

Ninth, Open top. I decided not to go for an enclosed trailer for a couple of reasons; weight and ease of access. Also an enclosed trailer would require the wing to be carried much higher than I plan to carry it.

 

Tenth, Construction simplicity. The chassis design of my trailer is a very simple rectangular shape. The decking is just planks cut to length and bolted to the chassis. This helps to keep the cost and weight down.

 

Eleventh, Trike contained within trailer outlines. If I drag the trailer against something, I would prefer that the trailer cop the hit rather than the trike, so the trike sits completely within the boundaries of the trailer.

 

Here's some pics of my trailer chassis and the design model that I drew. I have this as a Solid Edge V19 file if anyone wants a copy, just PM me.

Anyone know of hangar space at Wollongong fora WS trike?

A good sized second seat is importnat. Where else would you fit the fuel/tent/spare cothes/tie downs/.......

No import duty payable under AUS FTA on HS code for aircraft kits I understand.

No, but I earned my certificate on Rotax powered aircraft. Air cooled engines are manageable, you just have to be mindful of the airflow to the engine.When warming up, it is advisable to point the nose into the wind, if possible, for maximum airflow over the engine.

 

On take-off, after I clear the trees at VX speed (60kts), I don't stay at VY speed(67kts) for long, I'm accelerating to cruise climb (80kts) soon after, to keep the airflow over my engine. It's all about monitoring your engine and responding accordingly. If the engine temps are getting a bit high, I level out and throttle back for a little while, then resume the climb when the temps are better. This only happened once, on a hottish day, for me, but it cooled quite quickly.

 

My aircraft runs on Avgas. It can take Mogas, but it's not recommended. And as you said, Avgas is more easily available, well it is for me.

No, but I earned my certificate on Rotax powered aircraft. Air cooled engines are manageable, you just have to be mindful of the airflow to the engine.When warming up, it is advisable to point the nose into the wind, if possible, for maximum airflow over the engine.

 

On take-off, after I clear the trees at VX speed (60kts), I don't stay at VY speed(67kts) for long, I'm accelerating to cruise climb (80kts) soon after, to keep the airflow over my engine. It's all about monitoring your engine and responding accordingly. If the engine temps are getting a bit high, I level out and throttle back for a little while, then resume the climb when the temps are better. This only happened once, on a hottish day, for me, but it cooled quite quickly.

 

My aircraft runs on Avgas. It can take Mogas, but it's not recommended. And as you said, Avgas is more easily available, well it is for me.

I have to admit, I had just one, if you can call it an engine problem. I had a burst oil hose about 12 months ago. It was within the service range of the part so that could've happened to any aircraft engine, obviously a fault in that particular hose. Can't blame it on being a Jabiru though.

Maybe because there's a lot of them. They are well designed, economical, don't rust and lots of people have them for a long time and are in no hurry to change. I built (finished building) mine several years ago. It's my eighth powered aircraft. If I were to change to another aeroplane, I'm stumped as to what would do better for my needs. Laurie

Wonder why so many Jabirus change hands so quickly all the time?

I notice on older Skyrangers some have a thermal blanket behind the seats to allow cabin heat to be more effective. Does anyone know if this is available for the Nynja?

Here are a couple more glimpses of your Ninja seats, Mike. (Though taken to show bits of your header-tank/wing-tank arrangement ;-)

[ATTACH=full]53214[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]53215[/ATTACH]

 

And these are the standard old Skyranger seats.

 

[ATTACH=full]53216[/ATTACH]

Here are a couple more glimpses of your Ninja seats, Mike. (Though taken to show bits of your header-tank/wing-tank arrangement ;-)

[ATTACH=full]53214[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]53215[/ATTACH]

 

And these are the standard old Skyranger seats.

 

[ATTACH=full]53216[/ATTACH]

Anyone fitted higher backed seats?

Hi, I agree with much of what has been said. My first instructor in a 912 took me up in bumpy air near the coast, scared the crap out of me and said 'you'll need to get used to it if you are going to x country". X country!!! Man, I'd be pleased to get around a circuit and get down again! Alive. Meanwhile it's Sat morning and what seemed like every plane in the world wanted to land to take off, but I was expected to cope with that. Instructor 2, in a quiet rural strip taught me to fly low, but instruction was accompanied every time by a good dollop of criticism, despite my absolute best efforts. Could do no right. Bumps were expected to be dealt with and I was a sissy to worry about them. Talk about feeling like failure. They still scared the crap out of me after 20 hrs..... Finally I sought recommendations and went to a real professional trike instructor in Victoria. Gave me time to adjust, to understand what was happening, taught me gently that the wing would indeed 'fly itself'. Taught me stabilised approaches and how to deal with in flight emergencies. And flights on a late December arvo as the sun was setting over the Murray. So now, after 60+hours, a fortnight ago I finally 'let go' - not literally but with my whole body. I relaxed, really just let my hands damp the movement. And yes the trike moves much more but no longer can I feel the massive pucker factor when it starts getting a little lumpy. Still sometimes mildly apprehensive, but getting there - and it's just magic when it comes together!! I can feel the wind under my hands, not on a leveraged stick behind fibreglass or tin, and know the layers by the change in temperature, and sometimes the smell. Worth the journey - you bet!!!

Tony is a true gentleman and a good POC. However in considering which aerodrome to use - in the past few week a new NOTAM has been promulgated by the operator which restricts the use of aircraft under 650kg at Goulburn from using the main bitumen runway without providing 1 hours prior notice on WEEKENDS. The rough paddock, known otherwise as the other runway - good for practising rough out landings to test or break your undercarriage - is available of course but these are constraints being placed on RAA registered aircraft at Goulburn so they don't interfere with "real" aircraft during the "busy" weekends when most rec flyers need the runway. Suggest this is NOT a place lightweight aircraft are being welcomed, despite the healthy landing fees!