Rastus

There is no licence required to fly a powered glider that is registered in the VH category. You must be a member of the Gliding Federation of Australia and an affiliated gliding club. You train as a glider pilot, either in a pure glider or a powered glider. When you reach an appropriate skill level, you will be authorised to fly solo. After that, there is a progression from basic solo to initial cross-country, passenger carrying, advanced shows-country, instructor ratings etc. There is a Glider Pilot Certificate available that allows your qualifications to be recognised in other countries.

www.gfa.org.au

www.ddsc.org.au

Not many clubs have powered gliders available. The best way is probably to train up in a pure glider then seek a powered glider rating later.

There are three basic styles of powered glider.

The fixed engine type with the engine in the nose. These look like a little aeroplane with long wings. The prop feathers for gliding flight. These glide From about 25-1 to 35-1 or so, depending on the individual type. These are better at powered cross country flight and are often called touring motor gliders.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_HK36_Super_Dimona

The retractable engine type where the engine is mounted on a pylon and retracts into the fuselage behind the wing. These look just like any other pure glider when the engine is retracted. These can have glide angles up in the 60-1 area. These are best when flown cross country as a glider.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleicher_ASH_25

The sustainer type. These have a small retractable engine that is not powerful enough to take off, but will climb at about 150 fpm in flight. These are meant to get you home at the end of the day when the thermals have stopped.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAK-17

You can also train for authority to perform various levels of maintenance from daily inspection right through to annual inspection and minor to major repairs.

In the early days most gliders were home built, but not so many in the last 50 years or so. There are not many modern designs out there. Certainly, to achieve high performance, the wing skins need to be made from composite materials in a mould to get laminar airflow over as much of the surface as possible.

Garry Morgan is doing some interesting work at the moment. http://www.morganaeroworks.com.au/

Hope I haven't bored you to tears.

Robert

Must be strong enough if that bl**dy field didn't shake it to bits !

Makes me wonder why all the gliders that have been thermalling in a 45 degree bank a few knots above stall speed in a strong wind haven't been falling out of the sky all these years.

Try

Aviation Acrylic Mouldings Pty Ltd in Adelaide. 08 8251 3780 or 0414 251 378

Ian Linke makes a variety of canopies for gliders. He might be able to help.

If he hasn't made an RV canopy before, he might need your old canopy to make a template for the new one.

Robert

Have you considered an Airmaster? Constant speed, full feathering. From UnZud. http://www.airmasterpropellers.com/

High end pitch stop is adjustable, so you shouldn't run out of pitch at hgh speed.

Flown a Europa trigear with one on a 912S. Thing goes like a scalded cat and climbs like a rocket.

Robert

Luxury!

My Dad had to huddle against cliff face.

When I flew my plane up from Orange, I went from Orange to Narromine to Coonamble all open country.From Coonamble to Moree you need to stay west of the Pilliga to avoid tiger country, but still quite ok then on to Goondiwindi and Dalby.

Then comes the cut east to Caboolture or for you Caloundra. There is some interesting country through there but it is quite possible to cover that leg without covering any tiger country as well. Any tiger country through there is easily avoided with very little diversion.

 

Fuel available at Naromine, Moree, Goondiwindi, Dalby and if you need a break on the last leg Watts Bridge also has fuel.

I operate out of Caboolture and McCaffery Field (inside Oakey restricted area), so am super aware of the limits.

Have fun, that trip will be a blast.

Could any one give me some clues on how to go to Caloundra from Dubbo , looks like a nightmare trying to transit west of Brisbane , should I track further north then cut back to the coast , don't want to get mown down by a military jet, any help would be great

Even if they are awake, you can follow that route. Just keep an eye on the base of the restricted airspace and stay under it. The lowest bit is 4500 is so. The Brisbane or Oakey VTC is a must though.

Or what Dazza said, but the other way around!

Robert

I had the same issue with a Cherokee 180 that I used to own.

The fix, as detailed in the Flight Manual, was to raise the flap on the high wing by 1/2 a turn on the rod end until she flew straight. I guess, if you can't raise the flap on the high wing, you could lower the flap on the low wing.

It took a couple of adjustments to get it right, but it is a lot easier than adding a tab.

Worth considering?

Robert

Not sure about the Altimeter, but the 'G' meter I installed in my gliding club's ASK21 seems fine with polarised sunnies. The backlighting is a nice feature.

Robert

There is a translation function on the right hand side of the page down a little ways.

Works for me

Half way down on the right hand side is a translation button.

Hmmmm. Not too sure about the location of the exercise. Whatever happened to making sure all clear below before entering a spin

They certainly can't guarantee there isn't another aeroplane lurking in among those clouds.

Also, that certainly wasn't anything like a standard spin recovery. I realize it was an exercise, but that technique will definitely not unspin quite a few types. I've never flown one, but I understand that a Chipmunk will not stop rotating until the pole is well forward. My gliding club has just bought a new ASK 21 and that will certainly misbehave during the recovery if the classic 'Full opposite rudder - Pause - Stick smoothly forward until the rotation stops' process is not followed. That is according to the US Air Force test pilots who did some serious spin testing after an accident at least. Mind you, the bl#^!y thing won't spin unless you bolt a dirty big lump of lead on the tail! The dear old Blanik would happily keep spinning and sometimes even reverse direction, if you kept the stick back after applying opposite rudder. Shortwing Kookaburras can be spun and recovered with your feet off the rudder pedals. Slow turn, when the wing stars to drop apply full opposite aileron and back stick and she will enter a beautiful spin. Recover by putting in full in-spin aileron and easing the stick forward. No rudder input necessary. But then Kookas are lovably eccentric.

I'd be surprised if the classic recovery wouldn't work in just about anything.

Best to avoid unintentional spinning in the first place, but you should still know how to get your particular beast out of one. Don't find yourself in a skidding turn at low speed, keep the ball (or yaw string) in the middle and the speed at the proper value and she'll be apples.

Sorry, can't help myself. Bloody instructors!

May all your landings be as soft as a butterfly with sore feet.

Robert

What on earth are you doing here with facts - Are you trying to break the internet?

Enola Gay was Paul Tibbets mother. Nothing whatsoever to do with happiness or homosexuality.

What a terrible string of misfortune.

Reminds me of many years ago when a helicopter was used to rescue a glider from a swamp in NT somewhere near Darwin.

The glider was lifted out to a safe location and gently lowered to the ground. All OK so far.

Then the chopper pilot dropped the lifting gear for recovery......... Straight through the wing of the glider.

Then, on the way back to base, the chopper had an engine failure and was ditched onto a mud flat in Darwin Harbor that went under water at high tide.

Both glider and chopper insured by the same company.

I wish I could remember the details properly. Somebody probably has a better recollection than I. I think the Glider was a Ka6 and the chopper a Jet Ranger.

Robert

Darling Downs Aero Club in Toowoomba have a couple of Warriors. DDX and DDK

They offer RAA to GA conversions: http://www.ddac.com.au/flight-training/ra-to-ga-conversion-training.html

Whenever I have been there over the last 30 years or so, they have been very helpful.

The Archer doesn't handle much differently to the Warrior. A little bit heavier, a little bit thirstier and not much faster. But it can carry a better load.

The Archer II that I fly gets about 112 Knots on 32 Litres per hour. From memory, the Warrior is about 110 Kts on 30 Lph. The Warrior is (like the 172) really a 3 seater if you want to go any distance, but the Archer II is a genuine 4 seater with full fuel.

Robert

Some further thoughts.

All aircraft will have a maximum wt specified on the seat for structural reasons.

It may be the ability of the seat and associated mounting structure to support the load (pilot) in a heavy landing or crash. Or it may be the strength of the safety harness assembly to restrain the pilot in the same circumstances.

Referring to the example glider Wt & Bal, you will notice the placarded maximum pilot wts do not exceed 110Kg for this very reason. So, while the centre of gravity may be within the safe range with a very heavy pilot, the structure may not be able to support the weight safely.

Most gliders are designed with a max seat load of 110Kg, but a few are 115Kg and 120Kg.

The Drifter would be similar, I would expect. The designer must have factored in to the design of the structure the maximum loads on the seats. You can build something that will support a tonne on the seat, but the bloody thing would be too heavy to fly within our MTOW limit!

Does the Drifter not have a Type Data Sheet document or similar specifying Weight limits, CG position, 'G' limits, Speed limits etc? I've attached the Type Data Sheet for the Pooch as an example. I would not expect the Drifter's to be so involved 'though.

If it does, then the information will be published in that.

Hopefully I'm not boring everyone to tears!

Robert

EASA-TCDS-A.312_SZD--50--3_Puchacz-01-22032007.pdf

EASA-TCDS-A.312_SZD--50--3_Puchacz-01-22032007.pdf

EASA-TCDS-A.312_SZD--50--3_Puchacz-01-22032007.pdf

I would have thought that, with each aircraft being different, a proper weight and balance should be done to calculate the proper max/min weights for each one.

A tandem two-seat glider will have a Wt & Bal placard in both cockppits detailing the Max/Min wts when flown solo and another showing the Max/Min on either seat when there is a known weight in the other seat.

The example is a Wt & Bal I did a while ago on a Puchacz that belonged to my club at the time. I have a GFA issued Wt & Bal Authority amongst other things.

Have a look at the Placards at the bottom of the page. Any aircraft can have similar loading placards generated by an authorised person.

Robert

Copy of GRI_120212_WT&BAL.pdf

Copy of GRI_120212_WT&BAL.pdf

Copy of GRI_120212_WT&BAL.pdf

Anything with two wings, a round engine and the nose wheel down the back!

The only comment I will make as a Level 2 gliding instructor and CASA tug pilot training delegate of more than 30 years is this:

If an emergency situation develops on tow (such as an upset caused by the glider getting too high and kiting thus overpowering the elevator authority of the tug) and you need to release immediately, the time taken to change hands to get to the cable release may be too long. Upsets happen so fast that the tug can be upside down in seconds. I know of one tug that was involved in an upset at 2000 AGL that recovered below treetop height and another that was at 6000 AGL that lost 3000 ft in the recovery. There have been many over the years worldwide that have not been so lucky.

I will not allow my students to use their left hand on the stick during the tow. 99% of gliders are designed to be flown with the right hand on the primary flight controls and the left hand operates the auxiliary controls like the tow release, airbrakes, flaps (if fitted) and trim.

Robert

VH GOV

Glider with OTHER landing gear

Manufacturer: SCHEMPP-HIRTH FLUGZEUGBAU GMBH

Model: NIMBUS 2

Serial number: 70

Aircraft first registered in Australia: 26 November 1974

Year of manufacture: 1974

The voltage rating is the maximum volts the thing can handle. There can be transient voltage spikes well above the nominal 12V system voltage. A 40V rating gives you a bit more ruggedness.

Happy to help.

If the regulator turns out to be cactus, there was a guy in Ipswich who makes a replacement that was designed by Klaus Grimm a while ago. It may be a suitable replacement. I haven't used one 'though so I don't really know.

Perhaps someone on this forum has used one and may be able to advise if it is any good.

http://www.powermate.com.au/

Good luck

Certainly do not join the wires together! The capacitor is connected across the positive and negative connections to the regulator. If connected together, you will have dead short in the system. As Mark say, make sure the replacement has a voltage rating of at least 25V. Preferably higher.

Element 14 in Sydney have 22000uf 40V.

http://au.element14.com/kemet/als30a223de040/cap-alu-elec-22000uf-40v-screw/dp/1572897

Not cheap, but what is when it involves aeroplanes?

Robert