Steve L

Hi Mark, could you please add me to your list of guys wanting a throttle set up. cheers Steve

That’s nothing like my eaglet. I’ll take a pic of mine on the weekend

Runaway trim

Spot on Markdun. In my case it was the main loom between the seats had 3 wires almost severed and the main battery cable had about 2mm deep plastic insulation wear. We found the cause was no insulation or conduit fitted around the loom where it came in contact with the sharp edges of the aluminium cross member’s. Those cross members also have 2-3mm deep gouges where the loom lays. The only way to access the the loom through the centre console is by borescope camera. These exposed cables occasionally caused trim changes while flying, once or twice on finals the attitude would change. If it had a full pitch down run away on finals I doubt it could be arrested. I still have the pictures and correspondence from Tecnam. I know it can’t happen but I would be interested to inspect the downed plane. Steve PS. I was referring to Markdun,

Yes we found the electric trim kept running away, I had my wife with me, fortunately we were on the ground. I am not suggesting It was in this case but mechanical - electrical failures do happen, I hate electric trim.

Condolences to Dave’s family and anyone who knew him that have lost a mate and experienced instructor. Looking at the crash scene I find it hard to accept it was a stall, looks more like the P92 nosed into the ground, maybe a control issue. I’ll make it very clear I am not speculating, we need to let the authorities do their job and advise the outcome. The reason I say this is because ferrying a P 92 from Caloundra to Adelaide a while ago heading west at 6500 above Dalby I handed control to my low hour co pilot. Within minutes the Eaglet went into a full nose down attitude which took us both by surprise. I screamed at him it get his hand off the control yolk believing he was resting his hand on the trim buttons which he denied. Months later it was evident (actually proven) he was not manipulating the controls at all. steve

Unfortunately Mark being retired usually doesn’t give one more free time. I have been retired for near 5 years. My kit is still the same as it was back then. . . sad. Enjoy your retirement

I would look at the Eaglet with its adjustable seats, one has to be a contortionist to get your head in though. Even better If a central single control yoke was available. steve

Im not to familiar with the plugs you mention, that’s if your referring to the mushroom head rubber plugs that are inserted by means of an air pressured gun. I think they were banned years ago. The ones I use are aprox 60mm long pieces of flexible cord 3-4mm thick. Many can be used to fill the one hole and they are permanent repairs.

I’m sure it will be fine Skip.

Spot on Bruce, after that incident I wonder if he’s still test flying. Also sad for the owner of the Sonex who lives in the UK and built the plane here. A similar incident happened to Maj ( may he Rest In Peace ) as he wasn’t so lucky. steve

Those plugs seemed to work in the day. Now we use a waxed cord and cover it in vulcanising glue before inserting in the tyre, 99% of the time removing the wheel ( trucks and cars ) is not necessary. Once out near Pooncarie I put about 6 cords in the one puncture, just kept inserting them till the air leak stopped, got me back to Adelaide.

We’re you also in PNG Nev, I was in Bougainville late 67 - 69 used to travel to Pt Moresby once a month for trade school

We do all our maintenance and repairs, even fit our own tyres and cover all punctures The only time they go into the workshop for is computer hiccups. Fortunately we don’t get many but we’re working on phasing out the computer trucks.

I apply torque seal on both surfaces (filter and base mount) being careful to line the marks up. Then apart from a visual check, leave the filter alone, no sense disturbing things. As most know, a filter tensioned by hand needs a tool to remove. I apologise Mark for hijacking the thread it wasn’t intentional, steve

Hi, I noticed in the picture the oil filter had a hose clamp with a lock wire attached. I recently heard Rotax didn’t recommend using hose clamps or similar around the filters due to cracking under the screw worm. I guess this is feasible. steve

The sad thing is the newer the model the more complicated and electronic nightmare they are, that applies to all vehicles. We still run and only ever have run Mack trucks (now Volvo) To maintain reliability I have been purchasing 1987 - 1990 models which some call vintage, then fully rebuilding them. We’re on the 3rd one now and after they come out the workshop it’s hard to think they’re not new. what we have gained. . . . No computer to shut it down when a wire comes off a sensor (usually in heavy traffic) The driver does all the driving and makes all the decisions, even pushes the clutch pedal. Doesn’t need batteries or power to start. Uses less fuel than comparable HP computer models Seat belts NOT required Steve

I have electric elevator trim on the Tecnam and got caught off guard at about 6500ft near Dalby when the trim went full nose down, not nice with a full flying tail plane. Momentarily took me back to aeros in the Bulldog. Recovered safely in under 1500. So naturally I now hate elec control of any flying surface. The sad thing is I am still building a Bushbaby Explorer and already have fitted the Ray Allen trim motor in the elevator, I am now going to de cover the elevator and convert the trim to manual. The fault with the Tecnam was chaffed cables in the tunnel between the seats, it shorted and popped the circuit breaker once the trim motor run to the end. Another problem which could affect many Tecnams is the throttle mechanism behind the panel, my god who the hell designed that. steve

Ross, that’s it Asses Ears. Steve’s number 0427 337405, a SMS maybe needed as reception was poor back then . . . been 3-4 years since I dropped in so I don’t know how covid played out for him. Need to visit again so I might suggest it to a small flying group I’m with. John. Kellermeister Sable has the edge on tawny, has a hint of choccy, goes down too easy.

Skippy, I mostly agree with you but one can’t put electric brakes on hire trailers. We have electric brakes on our race trailer which grosses over 4T but they aren’t foolproof either. It’s common to see them overheated due to riding on long downhills (not by us on our trailer but by customers) this doesn’t happen with override as one you have to push the foot pedal. Another disadvantage with electric is that pesky magnet setup shakes to bits with high usage or/and rough terrain and it’s not easy to detect with a visual inspection. Overheating can cause magnet failure also, but hey electric is the easiest system to fit breakaway to. Nev, we used the heaviest spring in the override coupler to help avoid customers who didn’t throw the the reverse catch. We had to make the trailers as people proof as possible, we seem to be drifting off topic like we do at times, 😋

True Nev

Thanks for posting Frank, your definitely in gods country steve

Grampians YGMP has accomodation but the guy Steve Price prefers PN. Very scenic flying in that neck of the woods. anyway they all have accomodation if you take a tent and a bottle of scotch🤪

I would have thought to land on the grass as the belly gets pretty hot sliding down the bitumen. Although I’m not familiar with Essendon

Main Roads WA wouldn’t accept my current class 2 medical and told me to get an independent assessment on WA’s own form. After a few heated phone calls and emails I ended up telling them where they can shove their state and never entered WA again. If that’s not bureaucracy I don’t know what is. . . . . I’m retired now 😃