JG3

I don't know about 20 grams, but we always balance props by spraying clear lacquer paint on the back side of the lighter blades, particularly toward the tips. This is with the prop mounted on a low friction spindle. Small ball bearings with no oil or seals work well. Or a solid spindle set on absolutely level, smooth, steel rails. Have to wait for the lacquer to dry after each application of course. Keep at it until the prop stops at random orientations after a gentle push. Must be in a draft-free room, very sensitive. Works really well, and sure makes a difference to smooth running. JG

A friend of mine took the Aircraft Maintenance course at Caloundra, and is now doing his on-job experience to qualify as a LAME. He finds there's lots of work readily available if you're willing to go away from the coast - Mt Isa, etc. There's a real shortage of LAMES now, and most of them aging and near the end of their careers, so the shortage will be critical before long. He's 50 now and really enjoying his new developing career. JG

If you can get out to Kilcoy airfield next Sunday you can get a fly in a Savannah for no cost. I'll probably be out there mid-week as well. Ring me at 0429 943 508 to get in touch. JG

When I'm out bush where there's no premium unleaded for my 912S, I carry some 100LL and blend it 1:4 with regular unleaded. Research that did indicated that a small amount of lead is very effective at boosting RON, and 100LL has Lots of Lead (isn't that what the LL stands for??). It's a much better octane booster than that costly (and largely ineffective) stuff you can buy in little bottles...... JG

I flew 'Willy Coastal' south to north in a RA aircraft without transponder last May. In touch with the tower all the way and he gave clearance, but instructed to hold for about 10 minutes while departing military traffic cleared. Radio procedure was very 'clipped' and brisk and difficult for me to catch, so lots of "..say again.." from me. The operator was impatient, being used to pilots practiced in such procedures - seemed to me that he enjoyed deliberately embarassing an amateur..... To do it again I would announce right up front as follows, "....I'm and amateur and a bushy, and not practiced with your procedures. Please be patient with me and speak slowly and clearly, and then I'll do exactly as you instruct...." Or I'd go the inland route. So busy and tense trying to get the procedures right that no time to enjoy the very ordinary coastal scenery anyhow..... Just my experience....... JG

See my first flight of 2010 at StolSpeed Aerodynamics - Performance Enhancement for Light Aircraft Wishing everyone lots of memorable flying adventures in the coming year! Cheers, JG

This is a story about animals in light aircraft that I heard long ago: The fella went flying with his favorite dog, unrestrained in the back seat, as he had done many times before. Little did he realize that his cat had crawled into the aircraft and hid under the seat..... At altitude the cat panicked and started scrambling around the cockpit, ripping it's claws into everything, including him..... So he slowed the aircraft and opened the door. The cat leaped out the door, just as the dog went for the cat, so both disappeared out the door.... That's the last he saw of his pets, until a couple of days later the cat came home, hungry and limping..... So the story goes..... JG

That's not my dog. The photo was sent to me by a customer in the USA. Looks like he and that dog are real good buddies..... JG

How bout his dog..... Ear muffs, harness, goggles.

Here is my real-life experience with both types of gear - StolSpeed Aerodynamics - Performance Enhancement for Light Aircraft JG

Yeh I really like the Kool. Light, smooth, strong, tough stainless steel leading edge. JG

Yep, exactly right - there'll be no difference in cruise speed. See 'Prop Comparisons' at StolSpeed Aerodynamics - Performance Enhancement for Light Aircraft . I've just completed another series of prop testing comparisons, this time between Bolly 68", Bolly 66", Kiev, Kool, and Aon. Just writing it up now, but once again all gave the same cruise speeds, +/- 1 kt, when tested at the same manifold pressure. Manifold pressure gives a good indication of actual engine power output. You'd think there would be more difference than that, but I did many of the tests over and over just to confirm.... Only difference in all these last results was a slightly reduced climb rate for the 66" Bolly, but identical cruise speed. These were tested on a Savannah. The 68" Bolly is actually 68" Bolly blades in a Warp Drive hub. The 66" Bolly is the same blades in a Bolly hub. (Why Bolly labels them such is a mystery....) I have had a Warp Drive, and cruise speed was the same as the Bolly, but the much lighter Bolly blades in the Warp Drive hub are much smoother running. The Warp Drive hub is very good, and it's a good combination with the Bolly blades. Just specify to Bolly that you intend to mount them in a Warp Drive hub so they can make a small adjustment to the very base of the blade to allow them to seat properly. JG

Speaking of tricks up the sleeve, just what would be the best technique to descend through cloud, if caught up there??? I'm not tempted to go over the top, and have no IFR experience, but would like to have a plan of action just in case...... My Savannah is very stable in a full slip. Slow to 45 kts, full right rudder, and watch the ASI to hold that speed, and compass to hold a constant heading. Gives a descent rate 1000fpm, and can be released instantly when clear. Seems that it should work....... Would it???? JG

October issue RAAus magazine lists an incident when a Savannah hit a fence on take-off. The only comment that got in the magazine is that "..slats had been removed and replaced by VGs..." Not quite true. That aircraft was built without slats in the first place, and had 165 hrs of very successful STOL Ops by the original owner. There's lots more to that story, as verified by the pilot, at StolSpeed Aerodynamics - Performance Enhancement for Light Aircraft . That incident is the one marked Incident #1 in the analysis. There's also analysis of another couple of incidents, and some real life cautions and tips about STOL Ops in these aircraft. Also very detailed and careful flight test comparisons of a Savannah with slats, the original wing with VGs instead of slats, and the factory 'VG' wing. Very interesting real life results! JG

Quote: "...Gyros, the flying machines of the future, and probably always will be....."

Twin cylinder 4-stroke, so one pulse per rev. Of course it's a bit rough at slow speed. Smooths out at speed tho, eh. Real good engine. Not quite the peak power of a 582, but better torque curve at cruise revs. JG

Just got back from the South Grafton Fly-In and scenic tour, what an excellent weekend! South Grafton AeroClub is always very friendly and welcoming, and during the Jacaranda Festival their annual Fly-In is extra good. They’ve had a heck of time this year, with the entire airfield under water in the floods in May, then tried to organize a Fly-In a couple of months later and got rained out again....... So we really wanted to show our support this time. We started out from Kilcoy at 6:30 on a perfect Saturday morning for flying. That was Hans and Kenny 701, Geno 701, Dags Savannah, JohnG Savannah, Gordon and Allison Sonex, and Roger from Caboolture Savannah. The air so steady and smooth at that early hour, and the morning light just brilliant on the scenery. Jalapeno Savannah from Toogoolawah was also on his way. First stop Boonah to try to stir up some of those fliers. Rob and his partner in the Lightwing were already primed to go. The rest of them there all had excuses...... Over the range at the Border Loop, where the train goes through the mountain and then does a 360º loop through two more tunnels as it descends into the next valley. When I went over, a passenger train was just leaving the loop and headed south, with it’s passengers no doubt enjoying the scenery but nothing as spectacular as we saw it. They’ve had real good rain in those parts, so brilliant green everywhere. Follow the highway to Grafton, and then the whole city is a purple haze of Jacaranda blossoms! Lots of airplane and flying talk. We gave lots of free advice to help Richard to understand that useless instruction manual for the Savannah that he’s building at the field. He’s done a really good job despite that manual.... The bar in the clubhouse was soon busy, with a large friendly circle of stools swapping stories. Then a fine big smorgasbord meal, some more general B/S, and early to bed, some in our cozy tents under the wings and some in the club bunkhouse. As I’ve said before, South Grafton is a very welcoming field for a stopover at any time. Next morning we had planned to fly early via Mt Warning, and the Scenic Rim, but dark low cloud and showers to the north were ominous. Over breakfast the locals suggested we instead go coastal, with a stop at McIntyre Field (Palmer Island). That sounded like a great idea so off we went, down along that magnificent Clarence River, along with Grafton locals Peter Eurofox, Trevor Kitfox and Col Boorabee. Eleven aircraft arrived at McIntyre Field, so Bob McIntyre was delighted, and Annette was hard pressed to find enough coffee cups and biscuits. We learned that they have a popular fly-in barbeque every Australia Day, so we’ll really try to be there next time, sub-tropical ‘wet’ season weather permitting..... On to the coast, where the weather was brilliant again. Magnificent flight along the beach, past Evans Head, Ballina and Byron Bay. Inland again at Ocean shores, headed for the Numinbah Valley, but low cloud filled the pass, so back to Murwillumbah to land and re-plan..... Locals advised the landmarks to watch for in order to go through behind the Coolangatta control zone. That was a clear run, with a grand view of all the development along the Gold Coast. Then around Mt Tamborine and home to Kilcoy. On the ground everyone was still buzzing with the pleasure and excitement from the trip. A pleasant adventure that will be a treasured memory for the rest of our lives. Lots of grand scenery, some weather challenges successfully managed that become a good learning experience, and an excellent and growing social circle of like-minded flyers. I’m forever encouraging aircraft owners to get out of their home patch and use their aircraft more. This weekend was a really good example. We can only go on long trips to the outback once in awhile, but can go on short adventures like this on any weekend. The RAAus social circle is growing all the time, and these aircraft, especially home-builds, attract such interesting, diverse, and independent-minded characters. There’s always somewhere to go and swap aircraft news and views, and learn more about their projects. It’s really a heck of a lot of fun when you get away from your home field and see some new country and meet some new flyers. We look forward to seeing you around, and hearing your stories. Contact Dags at [email protected] to get on the email list of upcoming events. The next weekend adventure for us will be Mt Perry, near Bundaberg, 21-22 November. It’s a country race meeting, where they open the middle of the race course for aircraft landings, and provide camping facilities and catering. Sounds like a lot of outdoor fun! JG

Don't forget, South Grafton is on this coming weekend. Long range weather looking good. Lots of us planning to go, should be a good gathering. See ya there! JG

South Grafton airfield has finally dried out, and the annual Fly-In coinciding with the Jacaranda Festival is on again, 31 Oct - 1 Nov. South Grafton has always been home to a very welcoming group of flyers, and we've had some good times there. Not only at the annual fly-in, but also any time, with ready offers to help cart fuel from the nearby servo, and a bed in their bunkhouse for overnight. They've had a heck of a bad time there this year. Flying north up the coast in May, I had planned to stopover, but found the whole airfield, including hangars, under water...... Then later they tried to do a fly-in only to get washed out again.... But it's finally dried out now, so let's all make a real effort to go there and show our support. All those Jacaranda trees are in bloom, so the city is a haze of Jacaranda blue. Plenty of other festival activities all around the city. South Grafton shows a lot of history, with lots of early workers' cottages, and a couple of little old working class pubs with real character. The aero club will be doing a bar-b-que and breakfast, and reckon they'll find enough food for all of us. Let's test them on that, and turn out in huge numbers! JG

Well said Simonflyer. By all means lighten some GA rules to make it easier for those aircraft within that system, but please don't load down RAAus with all the compexity that would come with them. The golden rule of flying ultralights - keep it light, keep it simple. That's why we now have such light and simple rules. JG

Nope, no audio in. Just about the only short-coming..... Also no way to rig a remote start/stop....

That Zenith method of doming the c/s heads works really well. The taper of the c/s fits tight even if the hole is a bit oversize, and the head pulls down really tight. Especially for a Savannah kit where the punched holes are actually 9/64" rather than #30, to make it easier to align I suppose..... JG

We get all our Avex rivets from Specialty Fastners, Fyshwick, ACT, Ph- 02 6280 7794. Excellent mail order service, good prices. Part number for the 1/8" countersunk head is 01604-100412. JG

Just to get some facts straight here...... That aircraft at Inglewood was a Drifter, not a Thruster. It's VH registered, and rated for aerobatics. It was specially built for such aerobatics use, under the GA 'Experimental' rules, with all the necessary inspections and requirements. The pilot has a PPL with all necessary aerobatics endorsements. He always carries all the necessary paperwork for any CASA ramp check. All ultralight pilots that I know, realize that this is a special aircraft flown by a properly qualified and highly experienced pilot, and don't imagine for a minute that they can do similar in their ordinary ultralights. JG

I had a short-tailed S7 for a hundred hours, and it was great! A mini Super Cub but even better short-field performance. Many old hands prefer the short-tail version because it was lighter. Mine had the 100hp, but I feel that 80 would have been fine for anything but extreme show-off. I've flown in a Savannah, two-up with an 80, and it felt not much less than my 100, certainly not inadequate. For bush travel I'd probably choose the 80 next time, to be able to run on regular unleaded, which is often all you can get out there. For an analysis of why I ultimately chose to keep the Savannah rather than the S7, have a look at StolSpeed Aerodynamics - Performance Enhancement for Light Aircraft To get in touch with the guys who really know the S7 go to the Yahoo forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RansS7Courier/ JG