nig71

Thanks for that, had a chat to him this afternoon, he doesn't really make them anymore but is going to make some for himself shortly, he will make some up for me at the same time. He reckons they are 42L per side, will have to watch weight.

I'm interested in long range tip tanks for my rv7 project after seeing some 25L per side ones in an rv6. I live pretty remote and envisage missions like flying out a thousand km for clearing sales and back again. Saving me finding fuel in the wheat belt. The ones I can find are from hotel whiskey aviation. About $2k aud plus freight. I'm told there may be someone making them in Australia. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Adding to the list for south coast western Australia ive just purchased an rv7 quick build kit second hand out of NSW. Should be coming over in a couple of weeks. It'll be a tail dragger with an 0320 in it. I want to put a dynon skyview in with auto pilot. Silver and black paint job. May have a go at airbrushing some flames on the cowl. Slider canopy. Would like a constant speed but will probably go for a catto fixed pitch for simplicity and weight. Lots of conversations to be had. A friend of mine will be doing the lions share of the build, he has made several before. Reckons he might be able too do it in 12 months as long as the year doesn't turn into a full blown drought as far as finances go. Will be based on a farm NW of Esperance.

Got any links to this harness?

Chatting to a professional pilot the other day and he says the task of the pilot is to get the aircraft to the keys as quick as possible and the engine is cooking if you do a runup on the pad. He also said magnetos fail when hot not when cold so do a mag drop after landing in preparation for the next flight. He claims he's never runup his Lycoming (in a cessna 206) and it's a 100 hours from overhaul and doesn't use a drop of oil. Also chatting to the new owner of vixxen and he says he has to wait a long time to get oil temp to 50C for takeoff. He's busy masking off the oil cooler to decrease time required. Is this all necessary? Is it required for the engine life? I imagine in the first 3 minutes that most of metal expansion has occurred in the engine easily accomplished by taxiing straight for takeoff. Major drawback I can see is a fuel issue may not have time to surface until you are at a critical phase of the flight. Ps just got my license a week ago. I see a lot of pilots do shortcuts or change procedures (seemingly vast majority) and I figure as an impressionable inexperienced pilot I should be asking a few questions. Regards Michael.

I knew it would climb better but I had no performance figures to access. A bit more elbow room and not having him reach over and assist on the stick was great. I never knew how much was me and how much was him.

First solo yesterday, had my pre solo exam done a few weeks ago and I’ve been flying one or two days a week weather permitting 2 flights per day. Been working on a good round out and hold off plus my rudder control has been a bit atrocious on the ground. My instructor is always going right rudder. So 26 hours or so of work and I’m nearly in the middle of the runway:). My previous flight was a bit ominous with a bounce and a go around from the bounce (instructors decision) and yesterday we did a normal circuit with a couple of EFATO drills with the last of those probably being my best landing to date (for some reason I almost prefer a flapless or an odd approach. Maybe I don’t have to be as accurate on the approach as a stabilised approach, just watch airspeed and fly the attitude. So second flight of the day we did three pretty normal landings . The day was reasonably cool and it climbed fairly well and for once I seemed to be predisposed to gaining height in the circuit. After three laps good he called a full stop and I reckon I knew what was coming. As I was backtracking a sightseeing flight came out so for once I had traffic to deal with on the runway. This particular pilot is known for taking off from whatever the direction and not doing run ups so I was planning what to do if we came into conflict. I was expecting him to turn onto the runway we were backtracking on ready to go. All went well made exit calls, dropped off my instructor after shutdown. Went back through checklist for start, ran up on pad and went back to runway 22. Had a pray on the way. Lined up checked flap, trim and went for a takeoff. All pretty normal. Although takeoff and climb performance were better I had almost expected them to change my plans a bit. I was thinking to just make sure I extended the legs of the circuit as I thought we would get to altitude quicker and I thought in finals that it wouldn’t descend as easily but flew the numbers pretty well, touched down with a small bounce and taxied back made radio calls and shutdown checks. It was all pretty normal. Not elation as I think I’m pretty level in emotions. Just a normal flight that I’d prepared for and executed without much of a hitch.

Haven’t got one yet but looking at options on a vixxen . Uhf option costs $4250; not bad for $600 unit. I’ve seen one in a photo in a Kelpie and it’s just a GME unit I might use in my ute. It is of course missing the mic and is wired into the intercom.

Is the best way to get UHF in an aircraft to install a dedicated unit in the dash? Is there a way to use a handheld walkytalky through headsets. All I want it line of site communications. Is there a harness available? Seperate key for activation? Or do you use the key on the walkytalky ?

Distance isn’t a huge issue, I’m half an hour away , it is getting free of managing people at work is big. Juggling weather is another issue as good weather for farming is good weather for flying....

So why not 2 hours a day 2 days apart and I assume even a week apart?

Been training since 2013 with many breaks around busy seasons of farm life it’s not adding up to many hours in the air. It doesn’t take long to get back on circuits (half an hour in training area) I just don’t get a long run of weeks without getting busy back on the farm. One obstacle getting overcome on the farm is self sufficient labour but it’s a work in progress. I haven’t soloed yet but feel like it should be in the next 5 hours or so. Last year I started to do 2 flights a day once a week to try and push things along. I guess I’m asking a piece of string question but what do I need to do to get my recreational pilots certificate? Can I do 3 flights a day or will that wear me out? Would 2 weeks at 5 days a week likely push it over? Is accelerating the learning this much actually a help?

All makes interesting reading thanks everyone. How significant is it that it appears the highest compression ratio of commonly used ra engines appears to be Rotax 912? Lowest seems to be O-320. Should this be significant in the choice of octane?

Most Rotax are can run 95, question I guess is; is there any value that is returned to the purchaser by running a higher octane fuel? Do people that get their Cessna stc rated to run mogas have a poorer fuel economy per litre because there is net less energy in mogas?

price difference to me between 95 and 98 is 9c, is it worthwhile? Does the extra octane mean you have more net energy and therefore use less of it? In the real world we probably just get an engine that produces more power and gets off the ground fractionally quicker and climbs better? More thinking about cruising consumption. All things equal is it worth it? It’s hard to notice a 5% difference in figures if going from 95 to Avgas at 100 but anybody have any comparison fuel burn figures to substantiate?

How about these Rotax? http://badasspowersports.com/badass-shop/complete-engines/

http://www.transtainer.com.au/portfolio/aviation-ibc-stainless-steel-general-duty-pump/ found this and can get it in 2000L for a reasonable price , well more reasonable than other quotes.

Good information; I have used air pressure before to transfer diesel. I think for simplicity I will use a rotary vane pump. Or simpler still I could use gravity as I have a forklift on farm; keep the tank on a stand for small engine use and fork it to the aircraft to refuel it. Are valves that hold pressure in and freely flow in readily available?

Can get a stainless shuttle for $3k but not sure if it makes it legal. Ive been quoted $13k for a 2000L which is a bit xxy . It was an extra $4k to make a tank comply for unleaded. Can make it all a bit cheaper by using rotary vane pumps and mechanical gauges. I might get a bloke to source one from a minesite auction.

What are the requirements for storing bulk 95ron fuel for RA-AUS? Having issues with poor fuel storage on farm at the moment just for regular unleaded and with the future thought of purchasing an aircraft that runs on 95ron I want to upgrade my storage and the quality of fuel for small motors. Currently going through ~2000L unleaded and possibly adding ~1600L for an aircraft and going all 95ron. Getting a a quote today for some storage that is mine spec self bunded with a 240v electric pump on it. Is is there a spec that RA-AUS requires? Sorry if this is in the wrong section but it sorta seems to fit.

Superstol vs highlander. Been looking at superstol for a while now. Been and visited a couple . I originally wanted something fast but I realise it won't get used as much and I would have to build a strip or keep it at one fifty km away. I reckon stol aircraft would get used every second day on the farm just to check stock or go up to the other farm (only 10km away but it's not about economics) My land is fairly flat and open so I was pondering why I wanted a superstol when a highlander would do most of what a superstol would apart from flying at high angles of attack. I can't foresee flying into many areas with inclined clearings like Americans do visiting their favorite lake surrounded by tall timber. I was talking to a savannah owner this morning and he doesn't have the front slats. He says that vortex generators have given him as much decrease inn stall speed. The other point is the highlander is lighter and can get off quicker. There is no sense landing somewhere you can't get out of. The highlander is cheaper to buy and faster. It may prove better value to sink money into an engine such as this BADASS SHOP – BadAss PowerSports . When I look at Valdez the superstols don't employ the smackdown landing anyway. Just claim the superstol can land only fifty feet shorter than the highlander. Is there value in superstol? Or is it just street credibility in reality. Interested in your take on it.

. First of all, I would like to thank that very nice FAA man who took my student pilot's license and told me I wouldn't need it any more. I guess that means that you're giving me my full-fledged pilot's license. You should watch that fellow though, after I told him all of this he seemed quite nervous and his hand was shaking. Anyway, here is what happened. The weather had been kind of bad since last week, when I soloed. But on the day in question I was not about to let low ceilings and visibility, and a slight freezing drizzle, deter me from another exciting experience at the controls of an airplane. I was pretty proud of my accomplishment, and I had invited my neighbor to go with me since I planned to fly to a town about two hundred miles away where I knew of an excellent restaurant that served absolutely wonderful charcoaled steaks and the greatest martinis. On the way to the airport my neighbor was a little concerned about the weather but I assured him once again about the steaks and martinis that we would soon be enjoying and he seemed much happier. When we arrived at the airport the freezing drizzle had stopped, as I already knew from my ground school meteorology it would. There were only a few snow flakes. I checked the weather and I was assured that it was solid IFR. I was delighted. But when I talked to the local operator I found out that my regular airplane, a Piper J-4 Cub, was down for repairs. You could imagine my disappointment. Just then a friendly, intelligent line boy suggested that I take another airplane, which I immediately saw was very sleek and looked much easier to fly. I think that he called it a Aztec C, also made by Piper. It didn't have a tail wheel, but I didn't say anything because I was in a hurry. Oh yes, it had a spare engine for some reason. We climbed in and I began looking for an ignition switch. Now, I don't want to get anyone in trouble, but it shouldn't be necessary to get the airplane manual just to find out how to start an airplane. That's ridiculous. I never saw so many dials and needles and knobs, handles and switches. As we both know, confidentially, they have simplified this in the J-4 Cub. I forgot to mention that I did file a flight plan, and those people were so nice. When I told them I was flying an Aztec they said it was all right to go direct via Victor-435, a local superhighway, all the way. These fellows deserve a lot credit. They told me a lot of other things too, but everybody has problems with red tape. The take-off was one of my best and I carefully left the pattern just the way the book style says it should be done. The tower operator told me to contact Department Control Radar but that seemed kind of silly since I knew where I was going. There must have been some kind of emergency because, all of a sudden, a lot of airline pilots began yelling at the same time and made such a racket that I just turned off the radio. You'd think that those professionals would be better trained. Anyway, I climbed up into a few little flat clouds, cumulus type, at three hundred feet, but Highway 435 was right under me and, since I knew it was straight east to the town where we were going to have drinks and dinner, I just went on up into the solid overcast. After all, it was snowing so hard by now that it was a waste of time to watch the ground. This was a bad thing to do, I realized. My neighbor undoubtedly wanted to see the scenery, especially the mountains all around us, but everybody has to be disappointed sometime and we pilots have to make the best of it, now don't we? It was pretty smooth flying and, except for the ice that seemed to be forming here and there, especially on the windshield, there wasn't much to see. I will say that I handled the controls quite easily for a pilot with only six hours. My computer and pencils fell out of my shirt pocket once in a while but these phenomenon sometimes occur I am told. I don't expect you to believe this, but my pocket watch was standing straight up on its chain. That was pretty funny and I asked my neighbor to look but he just kept staring ahead with sort of a glassy look in his eyes and I figured that he was afraid of height like all non-pilots are. By the way, something was wrong with the altimeter, it kept winding and unwinding all the time. Finally, I decided we had flown about long enough to be where we were going, since I had worked it out on the computer. I am a whiz at that computer, but something must have gone wrong with it since when I came down to look for the airport there wasn't anything there except mountains. These weather people sure had been wrong, too. It was real marginal conditions with a ceiling of about one hundred feet. You just can't trust anybody in this business except yourself, right? Why, there were even thunderstorms going on with occasional bolt of lightning. I decided that my neighbor should see how beautiful it was and the way it seemed to turn that fog all yellow, but I guess he was asleep, having gotten over his fear of height, and I didn't want to wake him up. Anyway, just then an emergency occurred because the engine quit. It really didn't worry me since I had just read the manual and I knew right where the other ignition switch was. I just fired up the other engine and we kept right on going. This business of having two engines is really a safety factor. If one quits the other is right there ready to go. Maybe all airplanes should have two engines. You might look into this. As pilot in command, I take my responsibilities very seriously. It was apparent that I would have to go down lower and keep a sharp eye in such bad weather. I was glad my neighbor was asleep because it was pretty dark under the clouds and if it hadn't been for the lightning flashes it would have been hard to navigate. Also, it was hard to read road signs through the ice on the windshield. Several cars ran off the road when we passed and you can sure see what they mean about flying being a lot safer than driving. To make a long story short, I finally spotted an airport that I knew right away was pretty close to town and, since we were already late for cocktails and dinner, I decided to land there. It was an Air Force Base so I knew it had plenty of runway and I could already see a lot of colored lights flashing in the control tower so I knew that we were welcome. Somebody had told me that you could always talk to these military people on the international emergency frequency so I tried it but you wouldn't believe the language that I heard. These people ought to be straightened out by somebody and I would like to complain, as a taxpayer. Evidently they were expecting somebody to come in and land because they kept talking about some damn stupid son-of-a-***** up in that fog. I wanted to be helpful so I landed on the ramp to be out of the way in case that other fellow needed the runway. A lot of people came running out waving at us. It was pretty evident that they had never seen an Aztec C before. One fellow, some General with a pretty nasty temper, was real mad about something. I tried to explain to him in a reasonable manner that I didn't think the tower operator should be swearing at that guy up there, but his face was so red that I think he must have a drinking problem. Well, that's about all. I caught a bus back home because the weather really got bad, but my neighbor stayed at the hospital there. He can't make a statement yet because he's still not awake. Poor fellow, he must have the flu, or something. Let me know if you need anything else, and please send my new license airmail, special delivery. Very truly yours, LP

All the talk of wax point in diesel, would it not be simple to add a thermostat controlled heater. It's kinda the same solution as carby icing . Would you just have to heat the injector pump plus line prior to filter? Diesels really interest me as I live on a farm and want to get a plane to act as a farm ute. Fuel significantly cheaper without road exice. Has there been any progress on the Gemini diesel. Seems news dried up two years ago.

Some valid points. Sanding and painting are a bit of a drag; I think I would enjoy working with the aircraft systems the most. It is a great design though. Potentially 200mph on 130hp.

I think most of the fibreglass work has been done; engine, instruments and paint required