skeptic36

Soooooo where are these photos you speak of

My pax one stopped working last flight, pulled the foam off, and right there in front of me was a broken wire,right up close to the mike. Wish all my wiring problems were that easy.

This one looks like a lot of fun http://www.flysynthesis.com.au/catalina.asp About 60k I believe, but probably a bit more now the dollar has got a bit more sensible. I also heard that fly synthesis has gone to the wall, anybody else hear that? Regards Bill

A SHORT LOVE STORY A man and a woman who had never met before, but who were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train. Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly, he in the upper berth and she in the lower. At 1 : 00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying,............'Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold' 'I have a better idea,' she replied 'Just for tonight......let's pretend that we're married' 'Wow!..........................That's a great idea!' he exclaimed.. 'Good,' she replied................'Get your own flippin blanket.' After a moment of silence, ...........................he farted. The End

Just click on Kaz3g, a box comes up then click on Start a conversation.

Clansman, Take your knee dock down to your local Upholsterer/motor trimmer/canvas goods person and get them to unpick the leg strap , rotate it 90degrees and sew it back on. Regards Bill

Cameras cause a lot of accidents

Trikes n bikes here

The 2 stroke oil debate has been done here : http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/2-stroke-oil-for-rotax-what-one.3143/ I switched to castrol active 2t when the green slime ran dry and have had no problems Regards Bill

Hi all, Looking East North East from South East Victoria at 5:43 this evening I saw a bright light travelling parallel to the horizon south to north, it eventually split in two the went out. I guess it was a meteor, but three things i have not seen before, it was brighter than any I have seen before, it split in two before fading out and it travelled parallel to the horizon, they are usually going in a curve. Anyone else see it or have some other explanation? Regards Bill

Ahhhhh. A flying story, a refreshing change from politics:augie:

No, do plenty of checks where people are likely to be entering the country and encourage people's vigilance and reporting of suspicious activity every where. Don't throw money at an ineffective strategy thats only achievement is to cause inconvenience and burden the taxpayer. All that is is a win to the terrorists

If the ASIC card was 90% effective I would support it, but really you don't have to be Einstein to dream up 100's of ways aviators could cause pandemonium without ever going near an ASIC inspector

Haven't been yet, and I signed it the first day, unless you count the message from the petition website.

Surely you have noticed the apple laptops featured prominently in movies, or the can of coke sitting up in the window of the coaches box at the footy. This was clearly a case of clever product placement by the guys at Bunduberg.

If it was an emergency he should have declared it so everyone can get out of his way. Today at Latrobe Valley there was a twin engined something or other doing right hand circuits while the rest of the world were doing left, now wouldn't you think if he had progressed through his flying career far enough to get his bum in the left hand seat of a twin he would be able to figure that one out.....

Hi Bluey, The six grand you mention is the stronger mast mod for the SST, so you don't need that for the Arrow? If that's what your talking about, do you know why? Regards Bill

This video is evolution trikes advertising material, but at the 20 second mark it shows the wingtip vortices very clearly

This is tough to see. It just shows the dangers of attending these events. Amazing photo below shows great detail at the moment of impact.. The pilot at low level had no control over his aircraft. It narrowly misses a crowd gathered for the air show and slams into four buildings. One can only imagine the horror of the occupants inside those buildings. No one was killed, but it probably scared the crap out of them.

More on his "warm start" problem: As most of you know, my awesome new Revo was built with Rotax’s latest and greatest: the 912iS fuel-injection engine. It’s an incredible power plant. Purrs like a kitten, and my fuel economy is off the charts. Regardless, there have been some kinks to work out. Of course, this is not unexpected, and the folks at Evolution have been entirely dedicated in their commitment to assist. Regardless, there is a party with whom I am rather unhappy. It’s the North American Rotax distributor, Kodiak. Let’s first take the warm-start problem. This was real-time described in my big-trip blog: http://www.trikepilot.com/members/profile/3231/blog-view/blog_831.html To summarize, the problem began about mid-way through my cross-continental trip. If I stopped for fuel, I could not startup (and resume flying) for at least an hour. If I started first thing in the morning, let it warm slightly, then had reason to momentarily shut down before actual takeoff, I found myself needlessly stuck on the ground for at least an added hour. When I got home, I found my flying here likewise compromised. Stop for a bathroom break. Stop to exchange passengers. Whatever! No go again for at least an hour. It was extremely frustrating. A plethora of theories were successively proposed, investigated, and dropped. Lacking their own 912iS expertise, folks at Evolution (in particular, Larry’s dad Phil) worked hard to pump information and guidance from Kodiak, which was somewhat painstakingly passed through to me. By such means, I was directed to try a series of expedients. Diagnostics. Changing components. Putting in new wiring and novel components. Nothing worked. Making it all the more frustrating, it took a lot of time even to determine if an expedient had worked, because – to tell – the engine had to first be well-warmed, then allowed to cool a bit, though not entirely (turns out calling it a “warm-start” problem is not perfectly descriptive: it always started well if fully warm, and always started well if fully cold; it was the in-between state that was a problem). This went on for a considerable time. I grew increasingly aggravated with each continued failure. Somewhat early on, it was divulged Evolution had used an alternate external wiring plan, for the engine, which it is my understanding had been recommended (and evidently was created) by folks at Kodiak. I am also given to understand the same recommendation was made to (and evidently accepted by) several other North American aircraft manufacturers. Here’s the thing. The standard Rotax 912iS external wiring plan calls for two momentary start switches, which must be simultaneously held during engine start. So near as I can gather, folks at Kodiak evidently guessed American pilots would find that objectionable, and so came up with a plan that uses an external relay in an alternate circuit design, in effort to eliminate need for the secondary momentary switch. When I was given this understanding, the objective sounded sensible, and much of my work (as directed by folks at Kodiak and translated through Phil at Evolution) centered around seeking to make that alternate plan function as needed. The essence of the fault (at least beyond the base level), we duly determined, was that the system was shutting off the fuel pumps after, maybe, 1/3rd a second of engine cranking. When the engine was fully cold or fully warm, this was not an issue -- because, in fact, the engine starts just fine within that short period. Where it’s partially warm, by contrast, a little more cranking time is needed. Since it’s fuel injection, it fully depends on the pumps (or at least one them). No pumping, no injection. Thus, if pumps shut-off before start, you get no start. We fought it, and fought it, and fought it – with ever-increasing frustration on my part. At several junctures I was at my hangar, tools in-hand, while in three-way conference between myself, Phil at Evolution, and someone named Nino with Kodiak in the Bahamas. Eventually, I found myself on the verge of screaming. Finally, during a particular telephone conversation, Phil suggested I look at Rotax’s schematic for the standard 912iS external wiring. You should understand, I am not a schematic genius. However, I do have a bit of background experience (I spent several years as an appliance technician), so looking at a schematic (at least one that’s not extraordinarily complex and/or is reasonably presented) is something I am comfortable with. It’s a skill I’m sure I possess in greater degree than folks at Evolution. Anyway, I examined the standard Rotax-recommended schematic, and compared to the alternate plan that evidently was produced and recommended by folks at Kodiak. With no more than 30 minutes analysis, it was thoroughly, totally and absolutely apparent there was no way (may I say “No way in hell?”) the alternate plan could achieve the engine inputs Rotax intended. Indeed, I could not believe how thoroughly (yes, I will say it) STUPID is that alternate plan. I do not know who precisely created it. I do not know of a certainty it was someone at Kodiak. I am, regardless, extremely certain the person that did it could not possibly have been operating, when doing so, with appropriate intelligence, care or due regard for consequences. There are at least four problems with the alternate plan: 1. Engine cranking begins with what are supposed to be emergency-mode engine inputs, as opposed to proper cranking-mode inputs. 2. Within a brief moment after cranking begins, engine inputs switch (via that added relay) to half (and only half) of what is supposed to be engine-start mode. Because in this “half” mode the negative-side engine input is missing, it provides a direct and precise explanation for the exact symptom (pumps shutting off) we were for so long fighting. 3. Engine inputs remain in this half-engine-start mode for the entire duration of the engine-run cycle. In other words, inputs do not appropriately switch to intended engine-run mode. One visible consequence of this (I did not realize it was not an intended feature in the interface until studying the official schematic) is the dashboard pump lights remained constantly illuminated during flight. 4. If both engine generators happened to fail, Rotax’s official schematic has provision for manually switching to emergency-mode battery-powering of the fuel pumps (or, again, at least one of them). The alternate plan has no provision for such manual switching. It might, or might not, achieve needed switching automatically, depending on circumstances. The actual schematics are simple enough (they really are quite simple) I was able to deduce all of this in the space of about 30 minutes. Again, this is in the absence of me being any kind of schematic genius. I instantly felt very appalled (alright, beyond appalled) a supposedly responsible organization and its personnel had evidently foisted such an irresponsible and incompetent product-- as this alternate wiring plan -- upon the flying public. At any rate, upon realizing this, solution was obvious. It was to rip out all components and wiring as uniquely associated with that (my favorite word for it) “jackass” alternate plan, and replace with wiring and componentry appropriately matching Rotax specs. It did not take much of a genius to figure that, did it? Now, do you want to hear the real surprise? No, it’s not a surprise at all. Of course, and obviously, once wired according to genuine Rotax specs, the pumps ceased to shut-off after 1/3rd a second of cranking. Indeed, they continue pumping – for as long as it takes – to start. Hence, my warm-start problem was totally and thoroughly solved, instantly. Well, almost instantly. It killed a long day of rather hard work to do the entire re-configuration, from jackass-alternate plan to Rotax-specified. I also no longer have bright-green fuel-pump-indicator lights constantly (and annoyingly) illuminated during the entire time I fly. And, I am fully confident that, in the extremely unlikely event both engine generators fail, I can easily (and correctly) switch to battery-pump-run backup mode. Ahhh. Doing it right. It’s not bad thing. In defense of the great Evolution folk, they were relying on Rotax’s duly-appointed North American representative. There is no fault on Evolution’s part. Larry and Phil were terrific. I wish what I just described had been my only problem. Beginning shortly before I left Zephyrhills, one of the Rotax “Lane” lights began to occasionally go into a flashing mode. This is the equivalent of an engine warning light on a car. Since the 912iS has dual/redundant ECUs (referred to as “Lanes”), there are two separate lights, one for each Lane. Anyway, it got worse and worse. By the time I completed my cross-continental trip, Lane A was flashing continuously. The word from Kodiak (again, relayed to me via Evolution) was that it should not be a cause for any real concern. Most 912iSs were doing it, and it was thought to be some kink that needed to be worked out in the monitoring system. I guess that kind of assurance is good enough to get you on your way for your big delivery trip home, but it’s not a matter you exactly want to drop. You expect the matter to be fully investigated, results to be disclosed, and a solution provided. To that end, even before leaving Zephyrhills (that was early February) I employed tools as provided by the Evolution team to extract diagnostic log data from my 912iS system, and emailed it to Nino at Kodiak, anticipating he would analyze the data to deduce specifically what was behind my flashing Lane A. Nothing happened. There was still no report upon completing my big trip, and, in the weeks following, I repeatedly, over and over again, asked for the analysis. Just as many times, I was awarded with zero response. Eventually I was asked to provide another set of logs. Phil, from Evolution, overnighted me the log-extraction dongle. I invested the time and effort to again extract, and again email. Again, no response. Again repeatedly I asked, and again (just as many times) there was nothing. A third time I was asked to re-provide logs, and a third time I did so. Again, no response. No analysis. No evidence Nino – or anyone else at Kodiak – had even looked at them. I finally got irate. Just earlier this week, good ol’ Larry passed on, to Kodiak, a sense of my impatience. Finally, a bit of analysis was done. It does not give us a real and full answer yet, but at least it’s something. Does it sound as though I’m pretty disgusted with folks at Kodiak? Yeah. It’s the understatement of the year. One other problem (this one surfaced before I even saw my new Revo) is the 912iS hesitates on sudden application of throttle. Larry observed this in early testing, informed me, and sought solution via Kodiak. What he passed on to me is that a solution is expected via a firmware update, scheduled for July. In all, I am truly delighted with my Revo. Larry's new Rival wing design is positively sweet. I want to repeat, one-up, I am able to get 85 mph at 2.5 gph. Handling is crisp, precise, light and immediate. The wing is also relatively short, and fits in my hagar more easily. I love it.

I think what may be confusing people about the P.M thing, is that if the member they want to message has their privacy set so that only some members can see their profile, then there is no option to P.M them.......... Regards Bill

Sorry Phil, it is the design of the wing and the draggyness of the trike (causing it to fly at high angle of attack) which is producing the vortices. I say again : http://www.trikepilot.com/magazine/read/wake-turbulence_609.html Regards Bill

http://www.trikepilot.com/magazine/read/wake-turbulence_609.html

I reckon I'd be getting said dealer to drain the fuel system and refill it at his cost. Regards Bill

I don't think members of an organization like RAAus needs are much different from one end of the country to the other, area representation was necessary back in the day when communication wasn't as simple as it is today. Rather than area representation, I think category representation would be better, i.e rag 'n tube, plastic fantastic, trikes, pilots wives ................. Regards Bill P.S Should have said pilots spouses