TechMan

Hi Stan, I notice your location is Cape Town, thats a bit of a hike to go fly in Joburg? :-) My father used to fly out of Magaliesburg many years ago. Welcome to the forums. What are you flying? Chris

There is a list on the GFA's site for some parts that may be of interest to RA-Aus'ers Under Links - Airworthiness http://www.gfa.org.au/airworth/materials.php Chris

The Grand Prix is currently on flying from Gawler SA. For those that are unfamiliar with the concept it is basically: Limited number of entrants - around 10 - 15 pilots Everyone has the same category aircraft Categories are: Standard class - 15m span no flaps 15m Racing Class - 15m span with flaps 18m Class - 18m span with flaps, or no flaps Open class - unlimited span MTOW restriction to allow everyone an even playing field (A heavier glider will glide faster at the same sink rate than a lighter one) Set course, as dictated by the task setter in conjuction with the met briefing Everyone starts at the same time under the start height restriction Fastest one round the course wins the day Do this for 8 days and the one with the most points wins and gets to fly at the world Grand Prix finals against winners of GP events in other countries. Online tracking systems are installed for spectators across the world. Great fun to watch. website is http://www.ozglidinggp.on.net Chris

Thanks Geoff, It gets the info out to at least part of the flying population quite quickly, which hopefully has a word of mouth flow on effect. Doesn't always work of course, but the forum can be a useful tool for that particular purpose. Hope the building is going well. Chris

CASA has released an Airworthiness Bulletin with relation to Fuels. It gives some answers to common questions about fuel types and thier positives and negatives, including ethanol blends. Chris AWB28-003.pdf AWB28-003.pdf AWB28-003.pdf

Hi All, Slightly off topic, apologies, though I am in need of anyone who lives or is currently in Melbourne that is travelling either to Adelaide by car or North of Melbourne, say Shepparton, Tocumwal etc by car and said car has an empty tow hook. I need to get a glider trailer out of Melbourne tomorrow 28/12 lunchtime'ish. Any info, please let me know. (anyone have an ultralight with a tow hook heading to Adelaide/Gawler? The ferry flight would be an articles worth in the mag) ;) Many thanks Chris

Very insightful thinking Ben and spot on. It is fair to assume that our CEO would not write anything without doing some sort of homework on it to make sure that his comments have at least a teenie bit of credibility to them, and in this case, I believe there is documentation in his possession which states exactly what he has written in the mentioned article. I will ask the CEO to prepare a short brief on the subject which I will post here for those interested. Chris

One of Dick Smiths collection....

Hi All, A brief note to say that RA-Aus has received another report of a Rospeller propeller losing a blade in flight. The first being a year ago. I am in contact with the factory about this (again) as this is the second blade we have lost on this particular brand. Preliminary reports indicate that the 4 bolts holding the blade into the hub through tension, have failed. A detailed examination of the part will be carried out and recommendations made, in conjunction with the factory, in order to prevent further failures. If you have access to a different propeller, please use that in the meantime. I will be contacting operators of Rospeller props and asking them to refrain from using the prop until a solution has been worked out. Chris

no worries, was just testing .. :black_eye:

What are you saying Ian? Is your broken too?;) The pics were received by my predecessor, which I just happened to find while 'trawling' through the system and thought it could be useful info. Chris

The enclosed pics are from a Gazelle whose rudder cable attachment arm broke off on the left hand pedal. Airframe time around 800hrs. No further details known. Might be of interest to others to check their pedals. Please let me know if you find something similar. Chris

I might go and have a look at this two seat 95.10..... Chris

Another shedding of a Jabiru propeller has been reported. I had commented on this in the magazine some time back, but would like to reinforce it here again. If you own a propeller manufactured prior to Mid 2006 (I don't know the exact date, but this is a conservative time figure) then please be vigilent on the maintenance of ot. Make sure that the black edging tape is still there and that any stone ship on the face of the blade are fixed as soon as they are noticed. The newer propeller have been manufactured differently and do not allow the fibreglass edging to be exposed to the airflow. This is the case when the black edging tape is worn off. If you have taken your jabiru through rain unavoidably, your propeller will most likely not have any edging left on it. Chris

Thanks Ian

My thoughts are with Marks family and girlfriend also, and of course also with the passenger, hoping that he will make a full recovery. I could not find this post from Tony, though Mark did contact me and an AN was raised for the Drifter on this subject on the 10 April 06. It shows that sharing information openly, like Mark did, can possibly save the life of someone else. I am certain he will be missed, even more than the noise of the drifter going by daily. Chris

The Flinders aircraft is piloted by Prof. Joerg Hacker. He was the temp trace pilot for the 1987 world gliding championships at Benalla, where I was also working (at a somewhat younger age to what I am now:crying: ) with Wally Wallington doing wind measurements via baloon tracking with a theodolite. I was fortunate to do a temp trace flight in Joerg's cramped up Grob 109b at the time. It was just as packed with electronic wizardry as the aircraft above, though the amount of info collected and quality of it in the current aircraft will far have exceeded the data of days gone by. They were some fun days. Chris

or try: http://www.segelflug.de/classifieds/ or http://www.wingsandwheels.com/wantads1.htm This will give you an idea on prices also. The european ones are more expensive though, probably due to the fact that there are more pilots there wanting aircraft. Chris

A short story about bumping into famous people unexpectedly. I happened to bump into Dick Van Grunsven (Designer of the RV aircraft) at Narromine this past weekend as he was taking part in the Narromine Cup in a rented high performance Ventus2 glider. He owns a Ventus2 in the US aswell and seems to enjoy the challenge of silent flight, battling nature to stay aloft. A very nice guy and his LSA RV12 will keep up with the best of them on a Rotax 912. Figures mentioned were 160mph. They are still testing the aircraft. Chris

As long as the other aircraft is fitted with a transponder, and has it turned on. Thats the way I understand it to work. It would be the same setup as installing a FLARM unit (as long as everyone has one and it is turned on), although most GA type aircraft tend to have a transponder fitted. It wont do anything for you if you were to join the circuit at Natfly. Not many Bantam's out there fitted with transponders although you may have a winscreen full of them (no offence to Bantam drivers ;-) ) Chris

Pretty cool if the other aircraft is fitted with a transponder. Chris

Michael, Your flight is commendable though your claim of being an Australian registered aircraft is misleading because it was in fact a NZ registered aircraft that you flew - ZK-GPI! According to the NZ aircraft register, the Sinus was registered with NZ on the 10th Nov. Chris

A report has come in about a Jab 2200 shearing its flywheel bolts. I also know of one or two 3300's that have done the same thing. Not many reports have come in to RA-Aus about flywheel bolt issues, so I am wondering how many out there are simply not reporting the problem, or whether the problem is related to aircraft handling and setup? We know that Jabiru have released a service bulletin regarding the flywheel bolts etc, yet industry 'engineers' have questioned the Jabiru service bulletin indicating the torque values given by Jabiru are still not enough to stop bolts from breaking. This is a contentious issue I know, as some people have problems and most others are fine for the life of the engine etc. RA-Aus' position is that we abide by the manufacturer's recommendations. If you fly an experimental/amateur built aircraft, then we advise to follow the manufacturer's recommendations, though in the end, the owner is 100% responsible for the airworthiness of the aircraft. It is however, in that instance, no use complaining to Jabiru that their engine couldn't handle your 3 foot long prop extension and 6 blade metal prop. :confused: Chris

I believe that Wayne Fisher has some templates for wing skins for the Thruster. Contact wayne http://www.spectrumaviation.com.au Chris

Hi All, Not the correct spot for this I know, but I figure this forum area has the most views. Can anyone identify whether the bits in the picture are found in their aircraft? If so, what are they used for? Thanks Chris