Yenn

G'day Scott.

At over 6' youwould have a tight squeeze getting into the Corby, although the bulkhead behind the seat is approved to be moved back 2".

Rodds Bay is 15nm SE of Gladstone 151deg 24' East 24deg04'S.

700m grass strip with an uphill slope on 13 plus a house which upsets some pilots on the right hand side of 13 just after you land. It amazes me how much he house affects some people as I never even notice it.

Ian

G'day Scott and welocme to the forums. i found the site the same way you did a few days ago.

I built and fly a Corby Starlet which is great fun, but not for large people. I am 1750 high and weigh 70kg and fit it well, the cockpit width is a bit tight and it is a struggle doing up the seat belt. Once installed the fun begins and with a Jab 2.2l engine performance is good. I opened it up on Sunday chasing a grumman and had over 120kts and still not fulll power. There are about 18 A1 plans in the set, I could possibly photograph some and email to you for a look.

Ian

I have already given some info on Corby performance, it is good. Aerobatics are illegal for ultralights and I haven't tried any, but GA aircraft do rolls, loops etc with only a few instances of any problems. I believe there was one which developed cracks in the spar, but it did a lot of work before the problem was seen,

I rebuilt a 1600 Jab motor but couldn't stop the oil leaks and during the heat last summer it was a bit lacking in climb performance so I bit the bullet and spent 10000 on a factory rebuilt motor. It now climbs well, cruises at over 100Kts on 10l/hr, so I am very happy.

I stuffed up logging on as Ian B and then saw Ian Baker so thought I would use the name I was called in Singapore.

Graeme. We should be active at Rodds Bay from 9am Sunday, drop in. We do right hand circuits on 13 to keep clear of the neighbours.

Drop in for a cuppa and chat.

Ian Borg

What an interesting lot of flyers you are. I started in 1968 in Cherokee 140's in Mackay then C150 and 172 at Grovedale in Vic, Victa's in Whyalla and Latrobe Valley, with short forays in Chipmunk and Fairchild Argus.

The Argus seemed to use as much oil as fuel and during conversion I was asked where I proposed landing if I had an engine failure. the instructor wasn't impressed when I chose the Warragamba Lion Park.

I did a few flights in the original Kookaburra glider but it was crashed before I could solo.

Lately it has been all ultralight, starting with Lightwing and Skyfox, then Thruster and now a Corby Starlet.

Pick of the bunch is the Corby or the Chipmunk. There are a few others along the way including a 7Tu but that doesn't have an engine and is launched by jumping out of an aeroplane. (parachute)

Home field is Rodds Bay just East of Gladstone where there are 8 other aircraft, all RAA registered.

The current state of the art with fuel injection doesn't inspire confidence in me. They do break down especially in extreme weather conditions and I have trouble just pulling over when my plane engine falters. For the slight saving in fuel there is a too great a risk factor.

I have used X-Plane for nearly 2 years and found it acceptable, then I was given fs. There is not a lot of difference between them in my opinion, they are both more difficult to fly than the real thing. X-Plane does have the ability to create your own plane. I have the Corby Starlet which performs much as the real thing except that I can't control the swing on takeoff, but I have the same problem with fs anyway. I would do better with a better joystick and some rudder pedals.

Concerning Microsoft which we all love to hate, just remember pre Microsoft when we had to use the keyboard for all commands and remember all the commands.

G'day to all aviators.

I fly out of Rodds Bay airstrip just 15nm East of Gladstone in Qld. My plane is a Corby Starlet which I bought half built and finished off. I have just completed 25 hours since changing motors to a 2.2 Jabiru, what treat to fly it is.