TechMan

Hi Bazza, If there is not already a report on this sent in to the RA-Aus office, would you mind sending one in please? This would be very valuable information for the Arplast factory as it highlights a possible construction issue which they may need to look into. Please let me know if I can help in some way and perhaps we can help others using Arplasts to check their props more vigilantly. Regards Chris

Try Ole Hartman from AAK. He can advise on his experience with a Hirth. http://www.aircraftkits.com.au/ Chris

Hi All, There is a source for Austflight Drifter fuel caps in the US. Anyone interested, let me know and I will forward you the contact details. Chris

Whoops, you are correct Ozzie. My mistake. Out of interest, Scott Winton is also listed on the Pioneers board as he also contributed greatly to the movement. Chris TechMan

Who did you get this information from at CASA? Is it in writing? Clem: Have you found anything in the regs regarding this issue? Lee is on inspections and will reply in due course Chris

Ron Wheeler, creator of the Wheeler Scout, founder of ultralight flying in Australia and person responsible for bringing CAO95.10 into existence, was presented with a citation (not the cessna kind :big_grin: ) as being the inaugral person inducted onto the RA-Aus Pioneers board (hanging in the board room here at the office) at a presentation held at Dick Smiths property outside of Canberra last sunday. The presentation was made by John Gardon on behalf of Andrew Hicks for RA-Aus with Middo and myself also being there. It was fantastic weather, (to much delight after Friday and Saturday's effort at Wagga) with a good crowd. The proper report will come out in the magazine. A few pics attached. Chris Dicks toy and visiting aircraft. All in all, a good handful of helicopters (not the small kind like Robbies or Rotorways, but serious stuff), Lancairs, Glasairs, King Air, RV's, Storch SS4, Alpi Pioneers, Cassut Racer, Seawind, Sea Rey, Cessnas and Pipers all flew in for the BBQ.

New Service Bulletins are available for Jabiru propeller and engine owners. http://www.raa.asn.au/documents/airworthiness/index.html Chris

Hi to Corby Starlet owners, If you are heading to Wings over Wagga, make sure you get yourself an entry form from the SAAA website and enter the Best Corby Starlet competition. http://www.saaa.com Would like to see an RA-Aus Corby take the prize :-) See you there Chris

The aircraft is the Twister manufactured by Silence Aircraft. Very well built, de-rigable and able to be taken with you in a trailer. http://www.silence-aircraft.de/ Chris

My 2c this time. Personally, drilling a hole into an engine which allows air to get in, will also allow 'other stuff' to get in. Even though it is only a tiny hole, if it is based at the bottom of the fins as depicted in the SB, surely either a) water can get in or b) the hole is going to be blocked up with dirt that it will have no use at all. Having said that, the SB works well on Jabiru aircraft installations. Having a Jab motor fitted to another type of aircraft will not guarantee the results as described in the SB. A very recent occurrence of this resulted in an aircraft losing oil through the vent holes , followed by smoke out of the engine bay on take off. The position of the breather tube did not make a difference. The picture below shows the modification to the engine that worked for him. This was discussed with Jabiru and they know of this case. Make your own mind up as to what the better 'solution' is. Chris The tube is plugged in to the back of the ram air ducts - filtered of course, and provides just enough pressure to relieve the vacuum. The holes that were drilled previously have been plugged up again.

Hi Ozzie, The limit will soon be raised to 5million I believe. It is still on the lower end of today's requirements, but better than 1. I believe Andrew Hicks (president) will be shedding more light on that subject in the November magazine issue. Chris

RA-Aus will have a site there. Cheers Chris

This picture was sent in today in regard to an Airborne 582 trike. It is the oil injection bottle mounting plate which is held at the top and the bottom. 2 years old with 71.5 hours on it. The suggestion is that the prop is slightly out of balance. It seems to be a one off case at the moment and from the amount of hours that some aircraft have flown, i would tend to agree, though it makes one think what is happening to the rest of the airframe if it is indeed related to propeller harmonics/vibrations. Hence, keep a vigilant eye one your aircraft and all of its parts. Chris

Would like to get some feedback and thoughts from people out there with regard to cheque book building and its consequences. If you give someone an authority to build an aircraft from a kit or from plans and the pre flight finalisation form states that 'you' - the owner of the aircraft have built the aircraft and have signed the paperwork stating that fact, take delivery of the aircraft and find out after 100hrs plus that the build job was less than perfect and that numerous items need to be addressed. You have chosen a cheaper engine, due to cost, which is overheating, modifications have been made which deviate from the plans and generally you are now so unhappy with the aircraft that you don't want to fly it anymore. Do you take the issue up with RA-Aus and try and get justice because of dodgy workmanship and have the 'actual builder' canned? Remember that YOU, the owner, have signed a declaration stating that YOU have built the aircraft. If so, what sort of response would you expect from RA-Aus? Chris

Thats the one, thanks Paul. Chris

Received the following site as spam though it might be interesting for someone (who is serious about aircraft design perhaps) http://www.pca2000.com Not an endorsement, just relaying info. Chris

Hi Ozzie, Possibly incorrect mounting. As you can see in pics 1 and 3, there is a ridge running around on the inside of the mount. The split runs along the bottom of this ridge. The clamp itself could not cause this through rubbing as the edges of the clamp are raised for a start and the split runs around in the middle of the clamp area. Chris

I might add in a few notes for composite aircraft. Basically, do not use any detergents or solvents to wash your aircraft if you can help it. For areas of stains or grease, use a polish to get rid of the marks. Composite aircraft like the CT for example (being built in exactly the same manner as a glider) should be polished by machine every year to keep the paint in top condition. If you do not have a variable speed polishing machine (please don't use an angle grinder with 22000 rpm and a buff on the end!), then polish it by hand. If the aircraft is painted in Gelcoat, you can use a hard wax with round cotton layers stuck together to form a 1 inch wide buff. I usually put two of these on. The aim is to have the cotton fibres dig in to the sanding grooves and remove the old polish which has held on to the dirt and dust over the year and to replace it with fresh polish. Polishing speed around 6000rpm for me. Usually you can wipe over the polished wing with a clean cloth to finish off. For 2 pack polyurethane finishes, which most would be, I use a 2-3 inch thick foam pad (the ones used on cars) and Farecla G3 polish which is a very fine cutting compound. Dab some spots over the wing and dip your hand in a bucket of water and put some water drops over the wing too. This will help the polish to 'thin' out and not clump up as the heat of the polishing will dry out the polish fairly quickly. A trick I use once I have gone over a section of aircraft one way is to use a blade or screwdriver and remove the excess polish from the buff, starting in the middle and moving out to the edge. Then starting at the back and with no pressure other than machine pressure, come back over the polished area. It will remove the dried up 'smear' and reduce the polishing time needed by hand. Polishing speed around 3000rpm for me. I usually finish off by using the polish in the orange bottle (very common though I have forgotten the name) and then changing to a lambswool buff to remove the polish. The only trouble with that process is that the aircraft becomes so slippery that it will fall off tressles very easily. So put a wet chamois between the object and the tressle. One thing I will point out though is that: If you have never used a machine to polish and aircraft and you are going to give it a go: STAY AWAY FROM THE EDGES AND DO NOT STOP WHILE THE BUFF IS ON THE AIRCRAFT! You can very easily overheat the structure causing immediate damage if you stop. Also the machine will very easily pull itself through trailing edges if you catch the edge with the incorrect rotation of the buff. (Polishing machines love everything that is thin and fragile, like ailerons, flaps, elevators, rudders etc. One other piece of advice when using a polishing machine, BEWARE OF THE POWER CORD!! After lending my polisher out for the first time in 10 years of faultless use, it has come back with a cord that is 30cm long (it was 3m long). That'll teach me! This is for informational use only. If you are unsure, do not try this at home. Get someone else to do it who knows what they are doing. Chris

Ian, What do you want to do with your aircraft? Will it be used for training or only private operations? LSA Modifications to be approved by the factory. Modified outside of the factory authority, the aircraft becomes experimental and cannot be used for training. You can tow with the aircraft (once our towing syllabus and ops manual inclusions are approved by CASA of course) Aircraft must be operated to the conditions of the Special Certificate of Airworthiness Factory needs to approve the aircraft as being in a 'factory original' condition if wanting to move back to Special category from Experimental. REG35 engineers cannot authroise modifications on LSA CASA will have registration holder details on file - Avdata 95.55 Modifications to be authorised by a REG35 Operations as per current factory imports. When weight does increase, aircraft available to fly at Max design weight or 750kg whichever is lower. Downside is the 'when' the weight might increase... Doesn't make it any easier, but personally, I would stay with 544kg if I were ordering a new aircraft. Chris

Another tidbit of info that some might not give a second thought to. The following pics are of a Japanese made carburettor mount which was new when put on, though not long after failed. Hours to failure unknown. Aircraft type unknown. From the outside all seems normal though underneath lurks the problem. The number stamped on the top is 267787 Chris

Hi Ross, The aircraft was a Jabiru LSA55/2j built in 1998. In all fairness to the Jab, it is nearing 4000 hrs and around 11000 landings. Not a bad effort in fact. I am unsure whether the axles had been replaced during the times when the undercarriage had to be put back on. Chris

Isn't Queensland an Island? :black_eye: [Flamesuit ON] Chris

The below image was submitted to RA-Aus showing a broken Jabiru axle. Whilst the aircraft in question has had many 'incidents', the area is certainly one to be looked at after a heavy landing (if the legs don't give way first). Yes, it should just be another item that is checked during regular maintenance, but many people wouldn't. Chris TechMan

Hi Ross, By no means should you be putting me on a pedastal as the wealth of all knowledge as there are infinitely more members / pilots out there with more technical knowledge than myself. I will admit that I did not know of this trick either before last year, but it was told to me by Lee Ungermann whilst on our inspections of school aircraft. I will endeavour to post more little 'tidbits' of info which get picked up from time to time as it may just be useful for someone and the net is a great place to store copious amounts of useless and sometimes useful information ;) The best form of information gathering is to talk to other pilots and go to fly-ins. (then post the knowledge here) Cheers Chris

That has to be Noosa. The motorglider was copping a hiding on landing due to the 20kt North easterly that was blowing on the day. If it isn't, it sure has the same layout.... Chris TechMan