onetrack

.....except that one bright new contributor asked why some aviators chose to use Muslin for aviation, instead of the regular Polyester, Polyfiber, Dacron, Ceconite, Stitz, or Superflite. "It's because Muslin is so light and sheer, the Arabs picked it as an ideal covering for wings", said bull. "No-one in the Western world thought to use Muslin previously, and it took Al-hammad el Tur-bin, a resourceful, dedicated and thoughtful ultralight designer from Mosul, to be the first successful user of Muslin for aircraft wing coverings. Plus, it kept the flies away from......

....agreed that bull was absolutely stumped when it came to aviation acronyms with capitals in them, because his shift key on his keyboard hadn't worked for over 20 years, and it was only thanks to a considerate examiner who let his aviation acronyms slip through the exam in lower case, that bull managed to acquire his rpc - which was written all in lower case, too, so bull could understand what he'd actually acquired. However, the day came when someone saw............

With critical assembly, it's easy enough to tighten to specs using loctite, then mark the fastener with a paint-type marker, to verify tightening and locking.

He's only flying because of the illegal substances he's consumed, I reckon.

....the pool deck - where he immediately went sprawling, as a result of excessive amounts of oil. "Well, I'll be xxxxxx!" he cried as he picked himself up off the deck, to the raucous cheers and hoots of.........

I saw on another forum where Silent Hektik were no longer shipping parts to the U.K. Perhaps as a result of Brexit making it too hard. On that basis, I would expect they wouldn't be interested in shipping to Australia. Shipping from Japan to Germany, and then back to Australia, makes no sense anyway, it's better to find a local supplier.

Every small delta-wing design seems to end up with control deficiencies at some point in flight, and I don't believe you could design them right out, to match the control level of the standard aircraft layout, that has been the most popular layout, for over 100 years. If there's no answer from the email address supplied, then perhaps a call to Verhees Engineering listed phone number may be more productive.

The PA-31-350 Chieftain is a stretched version of the PA-31 Navajo, and shares a similar level of control layout and familiarity to the Navajo. Fuel starvation due to improper fuel tank selection or fuel tank management features highly in many Piper crashes, and both the Navajo and Chieftain also feature large in fuel starvation crashes, caused by this same problem. To put it succinctly, 90% of crashes are pilot error, and 90% of fuel starvation crashes are also pilot error. Both these aircraft feature 4 tanks - inner and outer, a set in each wing. Fuel tank selector valves are accessed by reaching down with your right hand, so unless you're right on the ball, and carrying and following a written checklist, it would be easy to become distracted, and forget to do correct fuel tank selection, as this pilot did. Note the ATSB comment .... "On average, the ATSB received around 21 reports of fuel exhaustion or starvation occurrences each year. Research conducted by the ATSB indicates that fuel mismanagement was three times more likely to involve fuel starvation than exhaustion, and was more likely to occur in private and charter operations." https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/2021-09/VH-OFF.pdf

Geoff, why don't you just email Bart Verhees and ask him those questions directly? Surely, if the gent is a reasonable person, he'd be happy to provide the answers to those basic questions. His email is in the last paragraph of the article below. https://www.kitplanes.com/verhees-d2/

They'd never be able to find enough testers. Just stepping into a DOT centre and waiting for 2 hrs to get served is indicative of the massive load just in processing driving licences and vehicle registrations. In W.A., it's been proven that testing of elderly drivers wasn't useful, nor effective. The setup now is your doctor has to advise the DOT if your driving skills are seriously affected by health issues. Most people drive to their limits. The really old people choose their driving times to avoid heavy traffic, and only drive short distances to places they know.

I like that Perth was on "Hotel" time. What time is it? ... "Hotel time!" I must say, I've never heard of those Wartime, time zone codenames previously. You learn something new every day.

Another motorbike parts supplier (based in Sydney) that may prove useful, is Vectriq. They're an independent supplier with a current listing of over 500 motorcycle parts. They list 14 starter motors on their site, but I didn't see one for the Suzuki VX800. However, if asked, they could possibly source them. https://www.vectriqparts.com.au/

The German Silent Hektik parts supplier appears to have arranged a Japanese supplier to provide an aftermarket alternative to the OEM starter. No price mentioned, you apparently have to send in an order to get a quote. The forum discussion goes on with Silent Hektik mentioning a "net" (no VAT) price of 197 Euros in 2013. Then the discussion deteriorates into an argument about whether the price quoted should be "net", as few European users have the ability to acquire parts VAT-free. The bottom line is, that I find that purchasing parts from Europe is an expensive exercise, even if the parts are made in a cheaper manufacturing nation, such as Taiwan. If they sell European-manufactured parts, there's no price advantage whatsoever. http://www.silent-hektik.de/UL_912_Anlasser.htm Silent Hektik also produce a modified (and reportedly improved) voltage regulator for the Rotax. Their site contains a lot of useful electrical information. http://www.silent-hektik.de/UL_R_912.htm

Danny, did you find this forum thread? The Suzuki VX800 starter is identical to the Rotax, apart from the terminal end housing. Google Translate will give you the English translation. https://www.ulforum.de/ultraleicht/forum/2_technik-und-flugzeuge/2466_anlasser-rotax-912-uls/seite-1.html

This must be the only time inflation is welcomed, and deflation is viewed with horror.

.....trumped up. However, there came the day when he was mistaken by OT for a Barista, instead of a Baarister - and he was ordered to fetch a coffee for bull, who was obviously seriously deprived of good drinks and food, as a result of his hospital stay. Sir Baanard Turbine decided he'd go along with the obvious joke, and got up to try and operate the La Marzocco coffee machine. But he was dazzled by all the levers and chrome and buttons, and soon realised he was out of his depth, and all his legal training was useless as a substitute for proper and thorough Barista training. Accordingly, he sat down again, without getting the coffee. By this stage, both OT and bull were becoming irate, as it appeared to them, this Barista was nothing but a..........

Turb Aero are talking about engine replacement for O-320's and O-360's - so they're talking GA, not RA. Engine designs have to be continually refined and often redesigned, when serious reliability flaws show up after several hundred hours of extensive testing. So it's not just the actual certification cost, it's the continued engineering expenditure and testing costs that keep eating into the available funds. There are dozens and dozens of "new design aircraft engine" companies who have spent years, and sometimes decades, trying to commercialise their "new design engine", and very few have made it to market - but the vast majority of them have run out of development money - or struck insurmountable engineering/efficiency hurdles. Even Clessie Cummins took 18 years to gain a market, and to start making a profit from his diesel engines - and he was backed all the way by a banker (William G. Irwin), who poured $2.5M into Cummins over nearly a couple of decades - between 1918 and 1937 - the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars today. The NZ Duke axial engine has been in development since 1993, and in 2023, Duke Engines are still seeking "international partners" to continue the development of their engine to the stage of a viable and alternative aircraft engine. https://generalaviationnews.com/2012/09/09/the-cost-of-certification/

Engine oil coolers have to be capable of withstanding a lot more pressure than a radiator. They need to be able to withstand at least 150psi, whereas a radiator only needs to be able to withstand about 30psi. The maximum test pressure on radiators is 20psi. Oil coolers also have much smaller inlet and outlet piping, as the flow rates are lower than radiators. Plus oil coolers aren't as efficient at heat transfer as radiators, thanks to thicker materials.

Rocket boosters are a pretty hefty addition, and not as simple in design as is often thought. Plus, they burn through the propellant at a staggering rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Siddeley_605

I wish TurbAero the best of luck, but the track record of major new developments in aviation is littered with the expenditure of billions, for no real gain, and with many promising ideas never actually reaching "commercial viability". Then there's the major drawback of needing about 3 to 5 years of actual use under all operating conditions, to ensure that reliability meets expectations. In this case, reaching certification is going to present as the biggest stumbling block, and tens of millions more is probably going to be needed, to reach certification.

RFguy - The ravine scenario in several pieces, is the most likely scenario. I'm surprised no-one has done an aeromagnetic search, I would've thought there'd be enough metal in the wreckage - especially the engine - to put up a blip on a screen. Then again, I'm also surprised that the dedicated treasure hunters haven't tracked it down for the reported $600K on board. If a bloke can find a cunningly hidden $3M treasure chest in the Wyoming mountains, then MDX would make for a pretty simple find, for the dedicated treasure hunter. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/07/forrest-fenn-treasure-finder-identity-jonathan-jack-stuef

.....if you want assistance in getting those nasty PP spines out, I've got a good pair of genuine Toyota pliers from 1964 here. They're sort of like a family heirloom, so if you borrow them, make sure you look after them, and give them back to me, in an undamaged condition". The CASA FOI's decided they had to have another meeting to decide on this offer, and one of the FOI's immediately suggested there could be safety issues involved in using uncertified pliers, particularly as there was obviously no log book with them - and anyone could have used them for any illegal purpose (including repairing fences - God Forbid), prior to the CASA FOI's receiving them. As a result, after further considerable discussion, and with regard to the legal and safety issues raised, it was decided that the offer must be refused - as who knows where the use of foreign pliers of unknown quality and history, would lead to? It was then decided that a reply to the offer had to be in writing, with copies to all personnel who could have even been remotely considering using a pair of unregistered and uncertified pliers - and a warning would be attached to the reply, stating that under Act, covered by Section 113A, (b), and paragraph 4, it would be a contravention of.........

Unfortunately, "accurate and adjustable thrust control", and "booster rockets", don't seem to rate as compatible systems.

There's a BRP available for the C172 and C182 - but not for the Caravan. https://brsaerospace.com/cessna-faqs/

Does that addition make the Jodel really jump off from a standing start, at your takeoff point?