Bubbleboy

Not going. Too many disappointments in a row. Although in saying that I received my program in the magazine and if what they are spruiking actually comes to fruition, it should be a pearler. Until its proven, im not wasting anymore money going. Scotty

Hi Pete...yes I agree. While the fuselage was upside down and I had the jig attached to build the gear my wife said it looked like a cubby house! Scotty

30th March 2014 and she is standing on her own 3 feet for the first time! Scotty

Hi Don...now you have me doubting myself! I thought plain copper on Gal cable and plated on stainless cable? Let me study my manual again... Scotty

The end of this undercarriage is so close to the end I can smell it! Made and fitted the spreader bars today. What blows me away more than anything, and I have no idea how I did it but this axle and legs have remained straight and level right to the end! More luck than good management I believe! Just a couple of fittings to cut and make the cables and all done. Will shape the legs once its on its feet! Scotty

Very interesting..thank you! I dont have any of that style so hopefully ok! Scotty

Im thinking it was planned and diverted and is on the ground in a hangar in some isolated place being converted in to the next missile. Its weird there is no rubble floating anywhere. If this is the case, imagine how much explosives could be loaded on to this thing before it is flown in to some major city somewhere in the world. Scotty

Thank you to everyone! Kaz...I am using 1/8 gal cable and copper Nicopress swages. I hadnt heard of what you have mentioned so thank you for that. These cables support the Jenny style wooden undercarriage gear. Scotty

Im at the stage of making and installing the cables for the undercarriage legs. They have turnbuckles so the cable tension can be adjusted. I havent used turnbuckles before and have been reading up on what I need to be doing. All I can find is that there should be no more than 3 threads exposed at each end once adjusted. To those who have done this before, how do I set these up at the start? Do I unscrew each end all the way out and some how work out how I get to the "no more than 3 thread exposed at each end"?...or maybe you screw the ends in so far before starting? Can someone chime in here and educate me on this please? Scotty

I think this is the aircraft that was at Natfly a few years ago in Temora. Just stunning! If you look hard enough you can see some of my drool on it! Hope he gets it back together. Scotty

There is a hell of a lot of work in this wooden undercarriage! Nearly finished the metal fittings and had an attempt at TIG welding the front rudder pedals. Im not happy with the way they turned out so am going to remake them. Need more filler rod and less heat on the thin tube. Although they would be fine they look like a dogs breakfast.

If you do a search on here for a member called Bushcaddy from memory. He has a beautiful EA81 installation I have seen at Natfly. He reports fantastic reliability with what he has done. As mentioned they can be a bit heavy. I have flown a Pietenpol with an EA81 and it flys beautifully. I have an EA81 sitting in my garage here I bought for a plane build one day. I nearly ditched the Corvair I am putting in my Pietenpol but decided to stick with it. Scotty

Tonight I attended a business chamber meeting where the guest speaker was the CEO of Qantas Link. The question was raised about the future of aviation here in Australia and although he tried to portray an optimistic tone, it was clear to take away from it that maybe the "blood bath" that he was referring to was somewhat driven by consumer demand. Apparently all the domestic airlines are reporting massive losses. When I ask around and hear what some Pilots are being paid its not hard to see why they are leaving in droves. Consumers want cheap airfares! I believe there comes a time when you cross the line trying to run a safe business yet cater for the consumer demands. We were fortunate to be allowed to go through the maintenance hanger and there was a Q-400 having its 2 yearly inspection. The airframe was stripped to bare bones with a team of engineers and painters crawling all over it. I was impressed with the detail they went to. This type of service comes at a cost. I will certainly think twice before baulking at the cost of an airfare in future. I have paid a fortune in flight training and have gone through to ATPL level but there is no way I could support a family on what some of these Pilots are being paid for the responsibility they have. Scotty

Not the cable Mark, the sharp ends on the thimble. Scotty

Message sent to you Phil.

Hi Phil...yes there is a supplier here in NSW. Im building a Pietenpol Air Camper www.scottyspietenpol.com and found this chap. He restores Tiger Moths and has a few Stampe projects on the go. He is located next door to Luskintyre Airfield which is slightly inland of Newcastle. I was they a few weeks before Xmas and bought the planks for my wing spars. He didnt have a whole lot left at that stage but was organising for more to be sent over I believe. What he has is a mountain of Douglas Fir if my memory serves me right. I may be wrong on that variety but it is slightly heavier but stronger than Spruce. The Spruce planks I got were 1 inch thick. He is a great guy and really keen to help fellow builders. You could buy the planks or if you supply him a list of sizes you need, I believe he has a mate who is a cabinet maker and he gets him to strip it down to what you want. This can take a bit of time as he needs to get the planks over to him etc. Would be quicker if you could strip it down when it gets to you. What I found when I ordered my first lot of cap strip from Aircraft Spruce in the USA, once it gets over around 72 inches long the freight cost blows out hugely. So depending on what length you need it may be cheaper to get it from the USA or from my supplier. Anyway let me know if you need his contact number. Scotty

Yes they are made of Spruce. Has a straight through axle held with bungees. Its a copy of the Jenny gear. Scotty

Hi Maj...you would know more about this than me but I thought the zinc plated ones were for stainless cables and the plain copper for galvanised cable? I could be wrong? Scotty

Thanks Mark....I am being told that I was supposed to have cut the sharp tabs off the end of the thimble before swaging it. Scotty

Been a productive weekend! The Spruce legs are on! Had my first try at Swaging a Nicopress cable loop. I think I am happy with it and it passed the go / no go gauge test! Scotty

When you have dry dreams and wet farts....

New blades on the bandsaw and thicknesser and the Spruce gear legs are ripped! Scotty

Its a modern Aero engine from memory but I believe Andrew wants to replace it with one of the Rotary engines they are building in NZ.

Its at Caboolture Lyle.

Congratulations to Andrew Carter on his first flight of the Fokker Triplane!