wanabigaplane

Hmm - interesting. Ozzie - Be aware, LiPos can be dangerous in a crash. Remember just recently one computer manufacturer recalled 4 million laptop computers because some LiPo batteries had spontaneoulsly combusted. You will need soft start, as well as over current switch off, capability in your two speed controllers. Fliers of competition models store / charge their LiPos in pyrex cookware, or in metal safety boxes. LiPos can get hot in operation too, and may have to be cooled. Although you can go up to 20 to 30 C max for short periods, planning on 12 to 15 C max for normal operation is the norm. Also for longevity of the batteries, avoid discharging beyond 2/3 the capacity of the cells. A set of batteries like this is going to require a specialist charging system, and a specialist charge balancer too! The leading edge of technology is very close to the bleeding edge of technology. Jack.

Oh, I get it !! Modellers talk about 100 watts per pound for solid aerobatic performance. For 8-12 Kw, this means your project aircraft is in the order of 55Kg. Hardly newbie stuff. Sure you've got your numbers right ?? Oh, I get it. You want to electrify and radio control your Lazair !! Jack.

We aviators aint alone in this madness I have just received a similar card through my work, after similar security and identity checks, and it has my photo and a holographic pattern on it too! It is required for me to enter dock areas, and to access shipping that we may be working on. I have met fuel tanker drivers and drivers of other hazardous cargos who are tracked by gps, and have to phone in when they stop anywhere, or deviate from their planned route. I met one contractor who installs cyclone fencing underwater around bridge pylons to stop terrorists placing bombs against them. I have heard of security personnel who take part in a 24 hour per day watch on junctions where gas pipelines come out of the ground to cross a creek. Madness. Jack.

If you place you ASIC card in the magnetic lock mechanism when you exit the apron, into the terminal for a leak after your flight, you will be able to get back onto the apron without having to call security!

Bigger electric models Read the latest Australian mag 'RCM News' (No80) - a review of a Hacker A-50 brushless motor and associated parts. This one is 1200-1400 watts. Yes, kilowatt range! This article is a pretty down to earth 'what you get for your money' discussion on size of model, performance, selection of motors and batteries etc. A good website to look at is www.aircraft-world.com Jack. wanabigaplane

I follow roads. Victoria River west of Kathrine from a Sapphire. Jack.

Found it Photo of Flying Flea in Bull Creek Aviation Museum, Perth. Jack.

HiperBipe, Hyperlight? Seen at Boonah a year or two ago-- Jack.

Seen at "Rag and Tube" weekend at Holbrook -Jack

and in the background.... How's this for weight shift ? Labelled VH-BBQ Met Martin Robson who had "flown" in it! I'll learn to upload pictures eventually! Jack. wanabigaplane

The penguins inyour avatar are chicks still in the nest - so they would not have taken to the water yet, either. Jack.

Snowy River Aviators A few SRA members meet every Monday evening around 6pm at The Weston Club. Contact details of the "Canberra Wing" on the website http://www.sra.asn.au We fly from Adaminaby, but there is nothing there yet. Purchase of the field is subject to the accepance of our Design Application which is before council now. We have eight hangars ready to go. My 'plane is hangared at Goulburn, and I have to fly from there. Jack. :)

A few years ago I saw one sitting in the Bull Creek aviation museum in Perth. - Jack.

Trip to Wings Over Warwick Julian with Stan in his Jabiru from Tumut, and I in a Titan Tornado from Goulburn, flew up to Wings Over Warwick this last weekend. Perfect weather on the Friday 14th for the flight up. One stop in Gunnedah. We stayed in a local hotel Friday and Saturday night. Old pub, being refurbished and struggling. $30 each gave us a room each, toast and coffee for breakfast, and a ride to the airfield in the morning. Mostly good flying conditions for the flight back on the Sunday, except for stormy weather for a few hours south of Mudgee. We stopped in Gunnedah and Orange, getting back comfortably in one day – which is as life should be in the ideal world of recreational aviation. The show day was to be on the Sunday, but there was still plenty of activity on the Saturday. A Yak and a Trojan were giving joy flights, with the Yak being busy all day. Gliders were out, drifters and thrusters visited from neighbouring fields. A 2 place gyro, a Trike, a small helicopter, and a number of Jabiru people, some with their ground support, camped overnight. A Stearman turned up, as well as a few privately owned Yakchans, and some were doing joyflights too. On the Sunday, by the 9am we left, there was plenty of activity with quite a bottleneck on the strip at times. What struck us was the friendliness of the community. We could easily have been accommodated in a hangar, and a number of people offered transport into town. There was only complete cooperation between all facets of flying, and we felt a general excitement for the future of recreational aviation in Warwick. There were quite a number of hangars on the field already, and there were places being prepared for many more. NOW READ THIS. RPT in Warwick ceased quite a few years ago, but the council tarred the strip only three years ago. Why? Support for recreational aviation, development of aviation associated industry, and the recognition that Warwick was picking up medium sized industrial developments that wanted out of the rat race. Such businesses would want accessibility for managers and directors by General Aviation, and Warwick council recognised that they would lose business to other regional towns with such facilities. If only The Snowy River Aviators had this sort of support from our local council! Indeed, to drive through, or fly over the Warwick area, you can see all sorts of development going on. Despite the drought, the town is putting on a fresh face, and things are happening. In comparison, our Snowy River Shire is dead! We had a great time, and not only came back with a lot of ideas, but a dream of how things could be at Adaminaby where we are in the process of purchasing the local airfield from the lethargic local council. Many thanks to the people at Warwick who made us so welcome. Jack.

100 mile per hour tape Where do you get 100 mile an hour tape? Is the genuine article the same as the general purpose cloth backed tape you can buy at Bunnings, or is there an aviation specific must have product? Jack. :;)5::;)5:

Sprung Thanks posters. Apparently we can get enough flat spring steel from Better Springs for our four undercarriages pretty cheaply. We will cut it and shape it, and take it back for heat treatment. Better Springs also said aviation home builders have bought the steel there, but usually take it elsewhere for more exacting heat treatment. Our understanding is that while this is one way of getting the exact hardness required, it can also be achieved by repeating the last cycle a few times till the right hardness is reached. Spring manufacturers also treat the spring surface to a few other processes, and we would like to take advantage of this too. Thanks all. Jack. :)

Thanks, Mark. I'll give them a go. If it phones out OK, I'll have to visit personally anyway. Jack. :)

Thanks for your efforts Ross, but... I have already internetted this one as far as it will go. It really comes down to finding a manufacturer of flat leaf springs to the trucking and specialist industries. Such manufacturers seem to have no interest in the internet, except one which was ideal, but is in WA. There are dozens in the Yellow Pages, but few of them do leaf springs, and of them few do them this size. Then there is the bugbear of aviation shyness. I could take a day off and ring everyone, etc, but all this effort would be saved if someone who has already been through all this could enlighten me! Jack. :;)5:

. Mobile phones - navigation Surely, as soon as the plane has landed, the danger, from of the effect a mobile phone can have on navigation, would have passed. eh? :)

. WHERE DO YOU GET IT ? Were do builders get pieces of spring steel suitable for main undercarriages? I would like to know from a builder who has purchased spring steel in the annealed state, cut, bent, and drilled it himself, then taken it back to be treated. Where do you get 100 mile an hour tape? Is the genuine article the same as the general purpose tape you can buy at Bunnings, or is there an aviation specific must have product? Jack.

. 95.10 ?? Micgrace - if the own design aircraft exceeds 300kg you are looking at 95.55/1.5, right? A group of us in Canberra have started out on a project that began with the PIK-26 (google it) and, like the old axe with a new head and new handle, we have our project: Flat sided laminated chipboard female mold for fibreglass fuselage, using vacuum bagging Al spar, PVC foam ribs, Al skin glued on with rivetting at the spar Half VW engine, full case, hummel 45HP design, wasted spark electronic ignition on crank, conventional carbies (so afar) :)

Fly in protest How about a fly-in protest ? What are the normal landing fees? (not published in ERSA) Due to lack of organised security I will have to camp under the wing.

Landing fee not via RAAus <div align="left">I just received a landing fee after landing at Mudgee. The bill came to me directly from Avdata, and not via RAAus. If someone read my registration certificate in the aircraft, they would not have got my name so wrong. They could not have found my address from the name they read. I saw no one at Mudgee, and talked to no one. They could only have identified me through my radio calls. How would they get my name and address if it was not provided by RAAus? :;)5:

Did someone say half VW ?? You gotta see http://www.hummelengines.com - checkout their price list. Their best engine appears to be 45 HP at 3600rpm 84 lb using NiCom cylinders, 94mm bore with crank stroked to 86mm. Now, how far can I go? Eltronic ignition, fuel injection, VW Kombi rear axle redrive? A little birdie told me Jabiru have a staff car testing their half Jabiru. Also downloaded a video of a sawn off Corvair while surfing past the Better Half website. Jack. :;)3:

So that's a Bunyip?! :confused: I guess then it is really just another Winton Cricket clone. The remains at The Oaks was last owned by a young guy named Carl Holmesby (I think), got married, kids, etc,etc, haven't seen him for a couple of years. Arthur. I'm visiting Wanabigaplane while going to the Instructor seminar. :big_grin: