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JG3

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Everything posted by JG3

  1. Yeh, Marree Man is worth a look, and also the 'art works' at Finis Springs. Have a look at http://www.stolspeed.com/camel-cup There's also an account there of who and how it was done. JG
  2. I'll be over Lake Eyre probably on 5 May. It'll just be a quick look, cause I want to go on to the Head of the Bight before I need to be in Port Lincoln 9 May. When are you guys planning your trip?? I was planning on dropping in at Reagan Aviation later in the month, but if you guys will be away then, maybe I'll change my route plans..... Arkaroola is the place to get fuel, ULP, PULP and Avgas. Great hospitality, $15 accomodation, and really interesting scenery, well worth a fly-in visit in itself. Very aircraft friendly. JohnG
  3. <<Maybe a dedicated page on this Forum? Admin.??>> A listing like that based on personal experience that would be really useful. And while you're at it admin, a separate listing that many of us have wanted for a long time: A listing of airfields that are close enough to country towns where we can camp at the airfield and an easy walk into town for a feed and a beer. It's not always clear from ERSA or AOPA just how far it really is, and many are just too far for comfort, and feel even farther on the way back...... I could supply several good ones to start this list. JohnG
  4. Here's another weather link that tells a lot Australian weather radar loop and lightning tracker JohnG
  5. Yeh, it was the chance of not being able to get back for days that killed it. Big heaps of wet moving from central Qld across our track to get home... They're having an excellent season this year. Thanks for that 'Forecast Rainfall' link, it's a beauty, I've added it to my favorites. JohnG
  6. Thursday morning real early at Kilcoy Airfield, SE Qld, all packed and eager to head for Natfly. One last hopeful look at Elders Weather.... Could make it there OK, and Friday maybe OK, but then looks real soggy, and worse for the track home again for days to come.... So reluctantly cancelled...... Felt bad all day Friday for wimping out...... Then this morning saw 13mm at Dubbo last night, and more to come, and felt sorry for Natfly campers. Visions of hanging around the bar all day like wet shags, and probably tomorrow, and maybe longer - been there, done that, a couple of times...... What a bummer for RAAus....... But what a relief for the countryside! :) JohnG
  7. JG3

    Gathering the Flock

    Yep, sounds like an excellent idea. I've suggested to Reg and photographer BillG that they work together to make that happen........ Should be good. JohnG
  8. That was an impressive photo that Mark posted elsewhere of 7 Savannahs lined up at the Nathalia fly-in. We had a similar number at the Clifton, Qld fly-in, but couldn't get them together for a photo. There are likely to be a lot more than that at Narromine. They'll be scatered all over that large venue, but there could be a good opportunity to all get together on the Sunday morning when everyone is packed up and getting ready to head out. If we could all gather at that time, probably over by the hangars, I think we could easily set a world record for Savannahs in a flock. If a photographer could get access to a hangar roof that would make quite a photo! JonhG
  9. I know a mechanic who put a new set of rings in a 912 at 2400hrs and did a hand lap of the valves. Just recently, now at 5400hrs, he put in the second set of rings and again only hand lapped the valves. He could measure some wear in the bore, but still within specs, no valve guide wear, valves in good condition. The engine is in a gyro doing mustering, so would be running at full power much of that time. Now it's out there again, working full time and shooting for 7000hrs! JohnG
  10. Glide approach for sure!!! Just because it's a heck of a lot more fun!!! Power approaches are about as boring as driving a Kingswood automatic - just steer and more or less throttle. I consider flying by power to be 'driving' an aircraft. The real 'flying' starts when you pull the power and start gliding...... A glide approach requires simultaneously sensing and calculating so many factors that make it an interesting challenge. Balancing aerodynamics, height, speed, momentum, lift, drag, wind, gravity, etc to effect a gide slope that will set you down just where you want. And I do mean always aiming for an exact touchdown point, just as if it's a spot landing competition. Power off at the start of base, and the rest of the way by balancing all those factors. It's really satisfying to get it just right. Takes lots of practice, but that's the fun! Up and around in a short circuit just so I can do another glide approach, over and over again. Deliberately set up high and try to slip right down to the point. Set up low and practice very best glide. Particularly fun if there's lots of wind to figure in, and extra good with a x-wind. Every approach is a bit different so a new challenge. That's why it's so much fun - can do it for hours.... And you can sure get good at it with lots of practice, so it's really satisfying. The closest comparison I can make that's so much fun is down-hill skiing - ride up to the top just to be able to do it again and again. At my home airfield of Kilcoy, Qld there will sometimes be 3-4 of us all following around for multiple glide approaches - maybe a dozen or more in quick succession - a heck of a lot of fun!!! p.s.- Also satisfying to know that you can dependably do it into a paddock if the engine really does quit, no way you're really ready for that without frequent practice..... JohnG
  11. I find it easy to remove Savannah wings - takes about half an hour, including removing the ailerons first. Removing the ailerons protects them from accidental damage and allows the wing to be rested on its trailing edge. I used rivenuts for the join to the turtle deck. There's no need to touch the windscreen at all. I did make a mod during consruction to mount the doors on the fuselage rather than the wing, and this makes it easier. But others with wing-mounted doors have just made the hinge pins easily removable. The fuel hoses and electrical connections only take minutes to disconnect if you plan the connections for ease of access when building. Don't forget to drain fuel tanks first and have a couple of plugs handy to block the fuel lines from any residual fuel mess and prevent dirt or bugs getting into the openings. I've silver soldered a washer on edge to the head of each of the wing root bolts so that I can get a good grip to pull them out, and champered the ends of the threads of the bolts so that they slide in more easily. I have a long pair of needle-nose pliers that help reach into the cavity, and enlarged the opening to get at the rear root bolt. And always give a squirt of WD40. Two men can do it, but three is better - one to support the wingtip, one to support the root, and one to pull the bolts. Tailwinds always, JohnG
  12. That was a last minute decision trip when I saw the weather pattern break just right - got two days of tailwinds! No one else could change their other commitments that quick. Besides, I really prefer to travel alone, then I can change my mind at any instant without having to consult and negotiate (same reason I'm single again at this stage of life...... JohnG
  13. Have a great flight Maj! I didn't go as far as Birdsville, but there was a notice at Thargomindah that there is no avgas at Birdsville until further notice. If you have a jerry can, there's a servo usually with both premium and ULP just across the road. One other tip, take a mossie net as well as a tent. My little tent has some mesh both sides, but was still stifling in that heat. Next time I would just drape a net under the wing so that air circulation would be better. JohnG
  14. JG3

    Boring

    Bored?? Come along for a ride. Last week I flew my Savannah out to the 'Channel Country' in SW Qld, to have a look at the floods moving there. Also ran across another Savannah being ferried from Port Lincoln, SA to Dirranbandi, Qld. Come along for the ride, with some photos at http://www.stolspeed.com/water-everywhere Tailwinds always, JohnG
  15. Last week I flew out to the 'Channel Country' in SW Qld, to have a look at the flood waters moving through that country. Come along for the ride with some photos at http://www.stolspeed.com/water-everywhere Tailwinds always, JohnG
  16. That video is undoubtedly a complete fake...... Have a look at the 500+ comments on this link The clinching evidence has to be that segment of the low level knife edge. The perspective doesn't change at all as the aircraft travels along - to get that view the camera would have to be following along at the same speed as the aircraft. Lots of other clues in there as well, as pointed out by some of the comments from professional computer graphics and video experts. Sure fooled a lot of us tho...... And succeeded in attracting lots of attention for the advertiser - over 1.3 million viewings just on the U-Tube site alone! But what is one to believe in future??? It's really disillusioning............. JohnG
  17. This is really fascinating. Can anyone speculate on how it was done?? R/C Models or whatever?? How did they do that low level knife-edge??
  18. JG3

    Savannah vs 701

    Yeh, these Savannahs are in Aus so not much use to you. If you go with the 750 then the 914 is a must! Take the slats off the 750, keep the weight down, and with the 914 and that longer wing, the 750 should go pretty well. An 0-200 in such a draggy aircraft is going to be very disappointing, both for STOL and cruise.... Please keep us informed of how it works out. JG
  19. JG3

    Savannah vs 701

    Gday, John Gilpin back home again, and enjoying tinkering on aircraft again. Yeh, there's no doubt I'd choose the Savannah. All the mods we have done to Hans' 701 make it just about as good handling and STOL as my Savannah, but not quite..... Still lose performance and headroom due to that cutaway over the cabin that isn't easy to fix..... 701 is the way to go if you want to build from scratch. Savannah much better kit. But if you are planning to buy a built aircraft, I know of a couple of really good Savannahs, and probably a 701 for sale. Get in touch if you're interested. JohnG
  20. <I hope to be flying out of Kilcoy (Qld) once I have done my cross country.> We're working on that Ken. Would be very good to have you at Kilcoy. Hopefully by the time you finish your training.... JohnG
  21. Good to hear you 'Goulburn valley Frequent Flyers' are raring to go. Look forward to meeting up with you somewhere. I don't want to be the only one organizing such trips, I just stirred this up to get it started. If anyone has any good ideas for such fly-away gatherings in the future then this is a good place to spread the word. JG
  22. Actually averaged 80 kts for the whole trip, at 16 litres/hr. JG
  23. Well, didn't get any response on this forum for the Camel Cup...., but 13 aircraft turned up anyhow. It was a good group from all over, so met new friends and learned about new aircraft. Caught a good run of weather and flew some magnificent country. Photos are at http://www.stolspeed.com/camel-cup/ Come along for the ride. Tailwinds always, JG
  24. JG3

    Alaska Trip

    Sorry, forgot to include the link...... http://picasaweb.google.com/bowmanout/AndySMay2008TripToAlaskaAndReturn/photo#s5206179267301381586
  25. For a really different trip have a ride with Andy on his recent flight to Alaska and return in a Rans S7. I'll never complain about our 'tiger country' again, after seeing that 'grizzly country' - still makes my tummy tingle every time I look at it...... Tailwinds always, JG
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