Vev

Sadly the CT impacts on Av-fuels will mean our flying will become slightly more expensive and will also cause a knock on effect into higher GST that most won't be able to recover in private use.

Whilst some individuals will continue to argue the science is a nonsense, it is now clear, in my mind, that there are no credible institutions apposed to the mainstream scientific belief that, among other gases, Co2 is harmful to our atmosphere and is one of the key factors in causing global warming. I do not wish to debate this point as this is my belief based on my own research and understanding ... I am happy for you to have your opinion whatever it may be.

I terms of tax .... There are some that will argue that the use of a tax impost is only locally effective and not as globally efficient as applying a commodity trading options in offsets credits ... some will argue that simply applying CO2 caps and penalties is even more locally effective than a CT. Personally I can see the point of all 3 different approaches dependent upon the various political landscapes and levels of capabilities of countries at any one point in time.

As for us in Australia, the political influence has had more to do with which mechanism has been used and the CT has won out for now ... overtime it will evolve into (in my opinion) a more globally effective trading mechanism that will help change global behaviour and target the lower hanging technology fruit to assist in CO2 reduction in a more meaningful and cost effective way.

Unfortunately, Av-fuels carbon taxes is here to stay.... it's a one way street and it's up hill from here on out, unless we find and use an alternative.

Cheers

Vev

I also bought a set of wheel covers for the front and main wheels ... the cover on the front is unaffected by the prop wash and you don't lose quite as much speed as you do without the any spats.

Here's the link to the ones I bought.

http://www.leggott.flyer.co.uk/extras.html#Wheel%20trims

Vev

Hey Mardy,

Just to share my experience with the front spat on my Jab.

I found that the prop wash tended to favour the front wheel to turn left when flying, which turned the rudder to the left as they are interconnected ... you can increase the spring tension on the front wheel mechanism to over power the effect of the prop blast or fit a trim tab to the rudder, which most seem to do.

My approach was to simply fit a very small trim tab on the back of the front spat, as sometimes I remove the spats if I am going in and out of dirt strips ... when you remove the front spat the wheel is unaffected by the prop blast and if you have use a rudder trim tab you end up with a bit of right rudder trim.

Hope this makes sense?

Cheers

Vev

This is very sad news.... I offer my condolences to David's family and friends.

Hi Leonie,

These are excellent ... whilst you say you have a disability it certainly is not with a brush.

Love the Nanchangs!

Cheers

JV

Hey Brian,

I knew that 3300 would be fast in the 160 but that was a quick trip

Good stuff guys.

Cheers

Vev

Locks .. I say let's close this thread.... This is not a proper discussion!

Cheers

Vev

You know what ... I don't care!

There is nothing to be gained, what's the point... leave the guy alone!

Vev

On the mixture variation thing, Jabiru have spent a lot of time and development on that. They seem to have very streamlined branches in the manifold trying to get even flow and distribution. I'm not sure this can be made to work perfectly. Many engines have this problem. The Rotax has it too but the heads run cool so it does not cause a problem apart from a wasting of fuel.The Continental 0-200 has an updraught carb and a X shaped distribution which has almost equal length pipes on the inlets and the carb feeds straight into the middle of the X. I'm sure this works better, but the sump is in the way on the Jab. for something like that to be done. Nev

I am sure you are correct over all with this thinking.... as I am aware that making some small mods (wont bother with detail here and now) to the manifold you can improve things a lot. However I also think the Bing has its problems too, that is, if you tilt the carby a couple of deg to one side when mounting it you can get a better EGT balance and less variation.... the US jab distributor worked this one out. Additionally if you pull the carb heat on you will get an almost even EGT temp across the instruments, however not a good idea to do under power owing to an increased risk of detonation. Lastly, increasing the emulsion air bleed holes in the Bing on the 6 cylinder will also improve EGT balance too. My point is the carby has some poor atomisation characteristics too and fixing the EGT balance is a combination of both.

The other interesting thing is the African Jab guys have developed a fuel injection ... I believe it gives much better EGT balance and 30% more power.

Cheers

Vev

Nev,

An interesting observation was shared with me when I spoke with the South African Jab distributor 2 years ago ... he said that Jab engines flying out of Johannesburg would easily make TBO +, yet engines in Durban were only making 350 hrs and needed a topend refresh. He said the altitude at JHB is approx 5250 ft and the thinner air made the Bing run rich (despite pressure compensation) and therefore cooler, whereas in Durban, at sea level, engines that are run at around 2800rpm ran lean and got very hot, which consequently cooked the top ends. The lesson learnt was to run the Jab engine hard and ensure that the Bing was operating on the pointy end of the needle jet to get the fuel into the engine.

He said the best indicator is EGT and it must remain below 1250 deg F as anything above this means a shorten life on the top end ... Don at Jab in QLD also says "fly them like a fighter" and never baby them. If you operate the engine around 2800 rpm you will cook the top end without you knowing it as your CHT will indicate normal temps but your EGT's will be 1400 deg F and making a mess of the top end.

Personally I fitted EGT's and use this to set my throttle position when in cruise ... so far my top end looks as good as the day I put together and all of my temps are sitting down in the lower quarter of the heat range :-)

Cheers

Vev

What could possibly go wrong with that Willie?

Motz does this engine have less than 500 hours TTIS or more than 200 hours TSO. Did it have the newer style nuts fitted?

Several people here have tried to ask the question in a subtle way .... forgive me for being direct but I can only draw from DS statement that this engine was not compliant with the Manufactures Safety Direction and was still running parts that are known to fail.

The attached Service Bulletin... it says it all ... I hope all Jab owners have read this and make sure they have implemented these Safety Directions

http://www.jabiru.net.au/Service%20Bulletins/Engine%20files/JSB031-1_JSD031-1_Engine_Through_Bolts.pdf

Why not use an "O" ring (of silicone?) in a groove around the base of the barrel where it "plugs in" to the crankcase, allowing the flush mating surfaces under pressure to come together sans silicone, and using the inner part of the crankcase hole and outer barrel as the oil sealing surface? Seems to be a far more elegant way of doing it...

The current engine has 0.5mm longer barrels and therefore doesn't have spacers and relies entirely on the o-ring to seal between the barrel and crankcase.... Essentially Jab have addressed this issue.

Cheers

Vev

In terms of the thru-bolt failure, is there any evidence that the new longer bolts and nuts are failing? In my mind this is the real acid test, everything before this upgrade is past events and falls into the history bucket and already known. There was an AD out to upgrade the bolts and/or nuts which had timed out for mandatory completion on the 14th April 2012... this AD also included crankcase dowels in some prescribed circumstances.

We know Jab have added 0.5mm to lengthen the barrels or have fitted 0.5mm of spacers on earlier barrels to lower the compression to help manage the detonation .... to the best of my knowledge this has not been mandated to owners but has been a standard process during factory rebuilds since 2010 inclusive of new production engines.

On the current production engine they have increased the thru-bolt dia as well as the longer 12 point nuts, along with a higher interference fit on the crankcase dowels ..... this is a significant improvement but it can't be preformed on old engines easily.

In terms of retrospective upgrades today ... is there any evidence of the new longer thru-bolts with 12 point nuts failing????

Cheers

Vev

Thanks Deadstick,

Wasn't the new through bolt AD deadline 14/4/12 and all engines required the upgrade by then?

http://www.jabiru.net.au/Service%20Bulletins/Engine%20files/JSB031-1_JSD031-1_Engine_Through_Bolts.pdf

Cheers

Vev

Hi Motz,

Where is the engine in terms of the through bolt and dowels ... what is its current status?

Helpful to know the facts on the through bolts and nuts to help getting a better understanding of the issue?

Glad all worked out for everyone.

Cheers

Vev

This has some good info on how to survive a forced landing according to the FAA... it's little long but worth your time.

Cheers

Vev

Nev,

The idea of the twin fins was to take the tail out of the prop wash as you have no independent rudder control at take-off .... during take-off there is close to Zero directional correction required (no prop wash pushing on the fin) and is all done through the front wheel... it almost steers straight all on its own! Once you get the rotation speed you pull it back and it weather cocks in a cross wind.

In terms of rudders ... they are more like drags or spoilers vis a vis a Bert Rutan longezi design. The inside rudder sticks out during the turn and the outside rudder practically remains inline with the tail.

The Ercoupe design evolved from a competition to build a safe low cost aircraft ... at one stage they were advertised as the "worlds safest aircraft" and had the lowest fatality rate of any private aircraft owing to its inability to be stalled or put into a spin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCO_Ercoupe

As you know, Fred Wieckes went on to design the Piper Cherokee and Pawnee ... many of the features in these aircraft were first designed in the Coupe back in the late 1930's

Cheers

Vev

Not a huge fan.....What about sideslips? Plus the basic stick and rudder skills that it doesn't require.

Actually you can side slip an Ercoupe ... you simply sick your arm out the window which causes the ac to yaw a little and you get another 500" min of decent.

More seriously, there are later models of the Coupe that came with rudder controls or alternatively there is an STC to allow you to fit controls to early models. I have decided to keep my as it was built 65 years ago.

I must admit, if you only fly an Ercoupe you could develop bad habits in a conventual ac ... personally I fly several ac and get plenty of stick and rudder exposure to keep me honest.

Cheers

Vev

Hi Kaz,

There was 3 of them at Tyabb up until 2 weeks ago ... one has flown the Coupe and has gone to Wagga (now 2 there) or at least will be there very soon.

It has a placard on the panel and clear states it is unspinable ... I've never tried, as I'm unsure how you would stop a spin without rudder control.

Might have to take DJP for fly one day!

Vev

Hey Tomo,

Glad you enjoyed the Coupe (Ercoupe) .... you should have come to Natfly and come for a fly in mine.... may be next year!

My one first flew on the 24 April 1946 and will be 66 years old on Tuesday ... as you said, it's a lot of fun to fly with the top down and the elbow out the window. I have yet to do a 25 knot cross wind landing but I have done a few fairdinkum 15 knt cross winds... more than once I've pushed the floor and the brake looking for a rudder.

I believe it was the first production aircraft (Bell Aircrobra P39 first warbird) to have tricycle landing gear, although Fred Wieckes (the designer) built a few (I think 4) before the WW2. I've got to tell you, it is the sweetest little thing to land and every landing is a greaser.

I'm always amazed at the crowd it attracts and the kind regards people have for the old girl.

Couple of mates in Carbon Cubs and the Coupe to Temora from Tyabb

Cheers

Vev

Nev,

Interesting you mention mineral base oils over synthetics ... In my humble opinion, I also favor minerals over Synthetics PAO (polyalphaolefin) owing to their ability to defuse in fuels, particularly avgas because of the low levels of aromatics in isooctane, which is the main constant in avags. There is a lot to be said about the good things that mineral base stocks provide ... Unfortunately the oil marketing departments have sometimes promoted synthetic above their capabilities.

Cheers

Vev

Hi Dave,

I'm 99% sure Shell supply the lubes (Helix) and fuels (V'Power) for OEM 1st fill for all production Ferrari vehicles.... Agip had done some stuff sometime ago but Shell sponsorship is way too powerful in F1 for AGIP.

Cheers

Vev

I enjoyed the weekend overall, although the crowd and exhibitors were down compared to previous years and I could have done the lot in a day... not sure why things were so quiet ... may be the economic times? However, I wonder if the RAA need to rethink the format and lift the entrainment and professionalism levels and copy the Oshkosh process to get more of the public along? I think there is space to get more flying displays happening, particularly being the home of so many warbirds etc.

I did a number of the forums which were very informative and I appreciated the preparation some people made.

The Ozrunways forums were very well attended ... even to the point that it overwhelmed the capacity of the audio and visual service.... never the less it was great and can only see Ozrunways becoming a constant pax in every ac.

It was nice to see a lot of people from this forums and catch up over a meal, a drink or a chat around a stand.

The run home for me was easy going albeit listening to RV's over head at 10,000 ft doing 175 knts and me doing 70 knts in my old Ercoupe made me a little envious. It was good to listen and join in on the chatter over the numbers and could hear all of the chat radiating out of Temora to all of the borders of NSW.

Would I attend a 4th year in a row ... I guess I will, but would like to see some more entertainment.

Cheers

Vev

Not sure where the Jab 160 ranks but it has about 45" with excellent leg room and very easy to get in and out of ... seat can be a bit hard if one skimps on padding, although some have it inbuilt!

Cheers

Vev