xair1159

Wags, Try "hadow Lite now trading as Jabiru SA" http://www.jabiru.co.za/ Let us know how you get on. Nick

It was on the French Jabiru forum, but the company doing the mod is in South Africa, see the attached SB. My French is schoolboy level, but with Mr. Googles help it looks as though they drill out the atomiser which is the bit the needle sits in, not the emulsion tube. I could be wrong though... Same company is also doing a mod to the hydraulic lifters. Nick Shadow_Lite_SL7_Fuel_Distribution_14December.pdf Shadow_Lite_SL7_Fuel_Distribution_14December.pdf Shadow_Lite_SL7_Fuel_Distribution_14December.pdf

Thermostatic oil cooler adaptors are a good idea and a new style one is being tried out over here. The Mocal auto type are too thick and either need a smaller filter or head fins chopped to get them to fit. The other problem is the high temp of the Jab crankcase which has been measured as quite a bit hotter than the oil. With the metal to metal contact this mean the adaptor may respond to crankcase temp rather than the oil temp, so the temp control is poor. The other option is a remote type, but a very neat one from the USA isn't suitable according to the manufacturers. Nick

A lady walked into a London Police Station and the desk Sergeant said "Can I help you?" "Yes" she said, "I'd like to report a case of sexual assault". "Where did it happen?" the Sergeant asked. "In the park just down the road" she replied. "Can you describe what happened?" "Yes, I was walking along the footpath in the park near the trees when a man jumped out of the bushes and dragged me in there, removed my underwear then he dropped his pants to his knees and had his way with me". "Could you give me a description of him?" "Yes, he was wearing white shoes, long white trousers, a white shirt and he had these two big long pads from his feet up to and over his knees, one on each leg". "Sounds to me like he was a cricketer, most probably a batsman", said the Sergeant. "Yes", said the lady, "He was an Aussie Cricketer". "That's very observant", said the Sergeant, "You worked that out from his accent?" "No", she replied. "I worked it out because he wasn't in for very long".

Not a lot different to the latest 2010 model Comco Ikarus C42 with a long prop extension on another well known engine. Nick[ATTACH]12652.vB[/ATTACH]

Looks like on photo went missing! Try again later. Nick

Hopefully some photos follow! The Hawk installation is still a work in progress and the final version will be suitably tidy. The engine was actually removed from the a/c for display at a recent UK show, which is why it is dripping oil in the fuel injection shot.

The D-Motor is flying in an Xair Hawk (H or Hanuman) in the UK, a Standard Xair in France and another airframe in Germany. The UK engine has run about 200hrs on a dyno and 100hrs in the air, all looks fairly promising so far. Power is currently pegged at a genuine 80hp at 2800rpm, not over fast for direct drive and as hours build it is possible that power and rpm may be increased up to 3000+. Side valve may be old fashioned but gives a very compact unit with good torque and no breathing problems at the relatively low rpm. It fits on a standard Jabiru mount with an installed weight including rads, fluids, silencer etc. around 53kg. For comparison my Jab 2200 was a weighed 68kg for the same thing. If I can work out how to post some pics I'll put a few up. Nick

Pud, A thought having viewed the photos of your artistic endevours: I was involved in getting an a/c through UK "Section S" approval and one thing mentioned is paints and coatings. Whatever you use, paint or powder coating etc. it must be brittle and not flexible or cracks in the base material could be masked until it is too late. Nick

Have a look at this site: Vision X Solstice Solo 2x2 10watt LED Off Road Spot Light Also has small strobes suitable for anti-collision lights. Nick

A slight tangent to the original topic, but related. Ref. crankcase pressures and oil breathers - is there a definitive oil breather set up with guaranteed results, or any popular "improvements" to the book system? I have read of various large bore plumbing jobs with bigger spigots welded to the filler neck. What actually works best with the hydraulic engines? Nick

Rick, The copper tube is a fairly snug fit and the paste helps. I have the leads cable tied to the holes in the fins for the head bolt, then both looped down and cable tied to the oil feed pipe. Not had any problems. If I can work out how, I will post a photo. Nick

Do not take this problem lightly and find a cure before flying! There was a recent AD on Zenith 601 aircraft involving aileron flutter which was found to be partly caused by incorrectly set control cable tension. See http://www.lightaircraftassociation.co.uk/engineering/Airworthiness/SAFETY%20ALERT%20-%202009.pdf For the effects of flutter have a look at this Other possible fixes are mass balancing which is awkward to build in or reflexing the aileron to give some aerodynamic pre-load, which is much easier if it works. This type of problem is usually sorted by careful flight testing by pro test pilots, not really a DIY job. Nick

I may be wrong, but I think you will find the original Allegro was all composite and the latest has a metal wing, plus the tail redesign you already noted. Nick

Depending what instrument you use to display the temp. the thermocouple will usually be Type K (Chromal/Alumel) or Type J (Copper/Constantan). Using the wrong type will give false readings, so check your instrument manual. A few of us here have used a neater way of making a probe to fit in the small hole betwen the plugs. Cut off the ring terminal, bare about 1/2" of cable and twist together tightly, then insert into a 1" or so length of 1/8" copper or brass tube which you can get from model shops. A bit of epoxy or heat shrink sleeve on the outside end will hold the cable in the tube. Makes it easy to fit and remove if necessary and a dab of heat transfer paste in the hole could also help accuracy. Typical cruise CHT's with the probe in the hole are 150-155 degC. Nick

Have a look at: Hideaway Hide-a-LED LED Lights They also have a 10W led "landing" light. or: Whelen, Federal Signal, Able 2, Sho Me, 911ep, Axixtech - Strobes N' More There are other similar suppliers about, plus more expensive ones like: Skybright Strobes & Position Lights Nick

Nev, You're right, I should have said incorrect rather than reduced lift, pumping up and effectively valve float seems more likely with thick oil. One engine here is being used as a guinea pig and has been updated with parts supplied by the factory to see if it fixes the problem. These included the 260 cam and either high leakage or another new variation of lifter. It should be flying again this week. As I understand it, the various cam profiles are much the same except for a quicker initial ramp as the hyd tappets have to "hit" fairly sharply for the valve to seal. Nick

Tomo, This problem is showing up on a number of a/c of at least two different types. The usual oil round here would be Aeroshell 15W-50 or W80 as per the book. Nick

Ref . 2200 hyd tappet engines, particularly when used in colder parts of the world. Any comments on the points below? General lack of power, shown up by props that work fine on solid tappet engines being too much load for the hyd. engines, which gives low rpm’s and then wrong EGT’s. The factory is advising finer pitch props are required for the hyd. engines, which is basically admitting to a power reduction. Further loss of power, typically 150-200 rpm in cold weather, which may not occur in your sunny climate. Preheating the oil shows this appears due to the hyd. tappets giving reduced valve lift until oil temp is at least 90degC. Signs of piston/barrel overheating due to lack of cooling oil flow. Are the above just a limited batch problem? There are also known barrel distortion problems caused by the base nuts giving blow-by and high oil consumption, plus stiff engines when hot due to tight piston/barrel clearance. Early – mid hyd engines went through several variations in cam duration and high/low leakage tappets. Are current production engines actually better? They are supposed to have cured some of the above with the 260 cam, a further version of the tappets, reworked base nut installation and increased piston/ barrel clearance. Have they also fitted the 3300 pump or any other mods to improve oil flow? If the current engines are improved and back up to solid tappet power output, any chance the factory will offer an update for the older ones, or is going back to solid tappets the way to go? Intersted to hear any opinions, Nick

Jay, It's the stuff we get here on weekends, closely followed by a glorious day on Monday when you're back at work..........

If it's warm rain we'll swap it for our cold rain........... Nick (in Ireland)

How to balance a spinner Take one bucket of water. Place spinner point down in the water and pour more water inside the spinner, as high as possible and nearly to the level of any cut-outs. Th spinner rim should float exactly level, if not add weight (washers) with BluTak until correct, then epoxy washers in place. I use a laser level on a few bricks alongside the bucket to get the level. The spinner can be persuaded to rotate slowly wit a gentle prod from a finger. Nick

If you want a cheap and very small alternative have a look on Ebay for an MD80 video camera. It's the size of a pack of chewing gum, records for 2 hrs on a micro SD card with remarkably good quality. A load of them being used for in-flight video round here, price locally is about 60 Euro / £50 - so less than $100 to you. Nick

I already use the "old" OziExplorer on a PDA, great bit of software, I will be interested to see the latest version. A couple of questions for anyone using these new cheap Ebay systems: Any problems with signal reception - can they be placed anywhere in the cockpit? Is the 5" screen good enough, or is it best to go the whole 7" (!) Nick

Peter, Have to agree with Jabiru, get the Powermate, it's an excellent investment and far superior to the Kubota lawn mower version which could zap all your electrics if it fails. Nick