Riley

Yeah, me too. Either from David or relayed from Pud. Access information please. tks Riley

G'day David Apologies for delay in response - just back from 4 days in the bush attempting to lay tracks and hang doors on my new hangar. Got on the phone last night to my old winger in Ontario for the contact details of his son who is (was) the pilot/lame connection in Campbell River only to learn that son & wife are presently back in Ont on vacation and is seeking a new position there in the east. So, forewarning or not, it was doomed to be a no-ball even before it got called as such. Sorry to not have been able to arrange anything in that direction but I do hope that you get some float time in anyway. cheers Riley

A flip in British Columbia? Damn David. With a bit of forewarning and weather permitting, I reckon I could have tee'd you up with enough right-hand-seat bum time out Campbell River on Vancouver Island to really upset your wife. Guess that's kinda like the 'Free Beer Tomorrow" sign in the pub?? If you do get the chance, a low level flight up in the inland passage of the west coast is something you'll never forget. Did a good bit of it in a Luscombe on floats back in 1965 prior to decamping for NZ & OZ. Give us more notice next time and we'll try to rattle some chains. I too say, enjoy it you lucky bast..d. Cheers Riley

Guess it would have made bigger news if jumpers 5 & 6 had suffered any sort of a Janet-Jackson-type 'wardrobe malfunction' on the way down after bouncing off the landing gear on their departure.

Maj, you silly moo, I know you know that rag & tube hardly features in the ultralight mag anymore. Maybe if someone put out a carbon fibre Lazair that sells for just over $75K then at least the name of the 'raison d'etre' (hi drag - low inertia that started us off) would get some coverage. I'd be willing to bet that (apart from we old f**ts), without being shown a picture, the majority of present day RAA certificate holders wouldn't know what a Lazair was. I despair of the speed that traditional ultralights are being forgotten/bypassed by both regulating authorities and the media (or maybe I'm just too old & crusty to keep up with change?) Somebody tell me I'm wrong.

Sonerai & CX 4 You can get first hand info re the two homebuilts from Kevin Wintergreen in Perth. He's plans-built one of each (along with a couple of RVs and a Hummelbird) recently. Matter of fact, have just been advised that the CX4 is for sale. Call him (mob nr 042 722 5600) and I'm sure he'd willingly answer any of your queries. cheers

Fascinating! Thanks.

Bad dog! Get back in your kennel!

Kiwiland - Thanks for the encouraging response. I'll eagerly await your advice and if positive, I guess we'll just have to give N. America a miss and come over to the next Warbirds (the wife has actually said that I need to get to Wanaka before I die - I'm wondering if she knows something I don't??) Either way, let me know if your cobber has any possibilities. Ozzie - Fortunately neither. I sold my T-300 a month or so back (part of the wife's input when I acquired the Lightwing) and the little Skydart is in fine fettle and needing nothing apart from more air time but I'll give Cohen & Hoysted a call just on the off chance they might have something that suits. Muchas gracias for the heading. Cheers Riley

Yeah Ozzie, I sure have but I'm dictated by the dimensions of the original mating fittings to stay with the 2" X 1 1/2" OD measurements and I haven't yet been able to find a supplier who imports 4130 of that size. Will continue to thrash the bushes and hopefully something will run out or someone will recall having a bit of either the alloy or CrMo in the back of the shed. Thanks for your suggestion. Cheers Riley

Thanks for that Boof. I gave Tuggaranong a call but they didn't have nor could they steer me in an appropriate direction. Guess I may have to use this as an excuse (reason) to the wife for attending an airshow in the USA next year. cheers Riley

A basic hangar is essentially a means of securing your machine against the elements/unwanted visitors and, as previous posters have pointed out, can be reasonably cheaply achieved. Consequently, make the following your primary considerations: what do I actually need/want and what will the authorities (airport mgmt, flying club, local council etc) allow/require? A 6m X 12m basic steel shed having sliding door access across one end and with 2nd-hand carpet on a compacted earth floor can be quite an economical and effective hangar if you are prepared to be a bit unorthodox and park your two-seater on a suitable pneumatic-tyred dolly and house it sideways in the shed. From that lowest cost starting point (viz no 12m 'clear span' trusses required) you can go as far towards the other end of the spectrum (full living quarters, airconditioned workshop etc) as your imagination, your wife and your bank manager will allow. Happy hunting. Cheers Riley

Does anyone have, or know of a possible source of supply for a length of 6061 T-6 (or near equivalent mat specs) RECTANGULAR TUBE of following dimensions; L- 1200MM, OD - 2" x 1 1/2", WT - 1/8". No longer available fm either Performance Metals here or Aircraft Spruce there. Hopefully someone may have a piece left over from a project that they'd be willing to sell (or I'd swap my spare dentures). Help!! Cheers Riley

Automotive 4 stroke conversions to aviation Robinsm Not so for Suzuki conversions having died. Make a big jug of coffee, cut a pail of sandwiches and set yourself down to googling aero conversions of the three & four cyl Suzuki, Barina and/or Geo Metro engines (naturally aspirated, or injected, or turbo-ed). There are at least two web pages devoted to afficianados of the use of this engine in many variations of kit & home built rec aircraft in N. America & Europe. Only a few in the air here in Oz that I'm aware of tho. At present I'm preparing a 3 cyl 900 cc Suzi w/ Rotax 'E' G/box & liquid cooling system to ultimately replace a Rotax 2 stroke in a rag & tube. Cheers. Riley

Frigid Flightstars Greetings Flightstar Thoroughly enjoyed your videos of the frozen North. As a displaced Canuck, they took me back some fifty years to Sudbury/North Bay area when we were doing the same in a J3 and an Aeronca Champ (and it doesn't look in your movies like it's warmed up any!). Pity you didn't get any stick time in a recreational machine whilst here in Oz. Best you make a return visit (next time to the western side of the country) and we'll ensure that you don't miss out. Rebuilt and flew a little Flightstar myself for a couple of years here in Perth and we still have Flightstar 11 at the airfield. Thanks again for the videos and you are welcome to my share of that cold weather. Cheers Riley

The hangar is still on the market but the T300 sold about four weeks back. However, it will stay in the hangar at Bindoon till the new owner finishes off his RAA training in it then he'll move it out to his station near Paynes Find for fence/windmill checking & hunting stock out of creek beds. Flying conditions at Bindoon have been superb over the past month so best you get your instructor to include it as a way point on one of your X country training runs. Second Sunday of every month is Club day but coffee pot is always on. cheers

Tony's Tips To Tidy Thruster Touchdowns Pud If you draw a blank with Pacific Flyer or it gets too pricey, the TOSG magazine archive has all of Mr Hayes' notes, musings, instructions etc on the whys and wherefores of 3 pointing & wheeling. My page copies are available for loan should you want to peruse. You'll have to leave your spleen or one of you eyeballs as security against their return though. cheers

Steve Theres an International Visitor's tent adjacent to the main contol tower thats manned (Ladied?) every day by volunteers of a couple of dozen countries where you can meet up with other folk from your home bailiwick. There is also a large notice board there segregated into nationalities where anybody can post a message for lost friends or 'meet ups'. Last year on the final day of Oshkosh, the Int'l Visitors staff laid on a free BBQ/beer session for anyone who had visited their facility during the week. Free bus transport back to the camping area afterwards with a bellyfull of beef & brew was hospitality that was hard to beat. Over all, if you don't leave Oshkosh totally exhausted, then you haven't done it right! Have fun.

G'day All Many thanks to those who responded to my query re wing removal. Also spoke to Nick @ ALA & he confirmed that it was a no-brainer. Happy to say that we went down today and 2 1/2 hours later, had the wings off and the fuse tied down on the trailer. Got home well after dark with the cargo safe & sound. Will go back after the weekend with a stack of foam mattresses and collect the wings. Back in the air by mid-May?? Again, tks to all. Cheers Riley

Greetings All Have need to move a newly acquired but slightly tatty Lightwing about 350 km. On the acceptance inspection, a throttle cable parted which precluded any flight testing however, chafed fuels lines, coolant hoses BBQ-ing on exhaust stacks, various items wired in place (and others not wired at all) point to the fact that I'm probably better off trailering it to my hangar where it can be sorted properly rather than to 'clean things up' in the country and perhaps still end up in a paddock on the way home because we missed something. So..... trailering seems the most snag-free manner of ferrying. Can anyone give a scientific-wild-ast-guesstimate as to how big a job and how long it should take a couple of reasonably experienced spanner-bangers to pull the wings off a L/wing 912ul (or if, in fact, we should be even considering it)? Any and all info would be greatly appreciated asap as the move has to happen this week or get put on ice for about a month. Tks in anticipation. Riley

Re-phrase your caption to 'It can be done' and your team will most likely prove you correct over that weekend. Hats off to yourself, all those individuals and firms mentioned in the last para and to any and all participants who get involved in the project during Natfly. I look forward to eventually hearing/reading of your communal success. A most admirable undertaking - well done Neil.

I'm with you Maj. There's a big difference between just scratching an itchy backside and/or clawing it all apart. Methinks RAA have many other areas in far greater need of scratching with our resources than this one. Given their questionable history in recording the details of my machines, I'd reckon they should first clean up their existing kitchen before launching into yet another aspect of record-keeping.

Aircraft spruce Australian Representation Try Rod Tyson at XXXXXXX in Redcliffe. From A/Spruce 2009 catalogue their contact details are: Tel 3040 0502. Fax 3886 1917. email <<[email protected]>>, Website <<www.XXXXXXX.com.au>>, Address U9, 16-22 Bremner Rd, Rothwell, 4022, Qld. Enjoy your Piet build - actually perved a couple of corvair-engined ones at last Oshkosh. Cheers

Hey Tony Making the statement that "spring is just around the corner" in Ontario in January is like the sign behind the bar in the pub advertising "Free Beer Tomorrow". You might be able to convince a few of Rec Flying's Antipodean members that ice & snow disappears shortly after New Year's but there are some of us who have survived Canadian winters and subsequently jumped ship for warmer climes and who KNOW that your statement was uttered whilst you were on bended knee saying a beseeching bedside prayer to the warm gods! You could go a couple of hundred miles further north and fly off skiis (but would it be worth it?) Welcome aboard

Re: Bindoon Airstrip - 10 km thru town on GT Nthn Hwy towards N. Norcia & turn right into Dewars Pool Rd at top of big hill. Strip is abt 3 km along on LH side. Superlite Aircraft Club has monthly flying day on 2nd Sunday ea month and is best time to meet members and maybe cadge some RH, or front, or rear seat time (dependant on who's flying what) but feel free to wander in any weekend and introduce yourself. Cheers