eightyknots

I have ordered the tapping drills to modify my fuel tank access panels because i want to modify the fuel system to a manifold like yours and change to the efi hose to reduce the fuel odor. I have also ordered the McFarlane throttle assembly. I have new larger tyres to fit as well so it will mean a day or two in the workshop when I catch up with my real work!!! I need to get a right angle drill attachment and a rivit removing drill like yours one day. I landed today into a 15+ knot southerly and it was a real short landing and a real buzz!! These Savannahs really feel the bumps in the air but are great fun when its smooth!!

Mabel is coming along slowly but surely but most importantly, she is done right. I cannot wait to see her finished and flying and then to see the Mistress being built. If I am over your way again, I'll shout you that good feed.

Cheers, Dean.

Welcome to Dean, the new member Farmpilot.

I’m 76 tomorrow but I’m 8 years younger than fellow club member John Buckley who was doing PFLs at SHEPP this morning in his very nice C182.

 

John also has several Tecnams (on line at different locations), a rebuild of a C182/180 almost finished, another C180 in bits and 2 Thorpe T18s. You could say he is a bit of an enthusiast and you might recognise similarities with brother Ben.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kaz!

There are a lot of lurkers!

Which aircraft did you build, KG?

Great news Steve!

Any updates Karl?

I've done a bit more searching and if you need clarification on the exact specifications of the G97/M7; Peter Harlow - Foxbat Australia would be able to give you the correct information as he was the approved Australian/New Zealand distributor for them.

 

He may even pick up on this thread and let us know what happened to the design.

 

APenNameAndThatA you will know Peter.

It has been 1/2 a year now and still no word from Peter Harlow.

You will often find that a Google search is more effective than a website search. Just type into the Google search menu, "recreational flying: fuel pump Rotax 912", and it will more than likely find the result you're looking for.

Thanks onetrack. I will try this next time that I am looking for specific information.

It is fantastic to see all this progress Bex. Hopefully you are still making good progress health-wise also!

Here is a picture of one of the New Zealand tricycle Savannahs with a rudder extension fitted followed by the yellow Savannah which had it added later. This allows you to see the increase of the rudder's surface area.

And yet:  https://www.icpaviazione.it/?page_id=1710&lang=en

 

Seems the factory doesn't have an issue with a tailwheel.

 

Robert

 

The factory may not have a problem with the tailwheel version but they had to make the aeroplane heavier to achieve it. This is a quote from their website:

The fuselage has been further reinforced to accommodate the main landing gear that was moved in a forward position.

Corresponding with the tail wheel, the rudder has been enlarged to improve the directional control on the ground.

This has the effect of adding 12 kg on to the weight of the tricycle version using official ICP website's figures. The tall rudder adds 0.5 kg so the beefing up of the airframe has added 11.5 kg.

I think the best thing that ICP has introduced with the tailwheel version is the taller rudder now available as an add-on to the kit. I did buy the tall rudder kit and it adds about 420 grams in weight. This does not include the extra paint that will go on it in future. All up, I estimate around 1/2 kg. Reg Brost developed this and the idea was soon after this borrowed by ICP in the same way they liked Stolspeed's (JG3's) vortex generators which are now found on almost all Savannahs sold.

The irony is that the tall rudder kit is sold in considerably greater quantities to tricycle Savannah builders than to tailwheel builders.

All four of my tank “filler necks” have moved outboard also. The outboard tanks have never had fuel in them during flight.

 

[ATTACH]42943[/ATTACH]

 

I am very intrigued as to why the outboard tanks shifted outwards without having the weight of the fuel inside the tanks, this being the factor (I would have thought) that would have caused the shift. ⛽

I used Sikaflex or something similar between the tanks and the lateral supports underneath, to prevent the rear of the tanks from shifting around. I hear some builders add small vertical brackets to the lateral supports, either side of the tank/s, to do the same thing.

 

I have read about the vertical brackets as well ...in addition to the many other suggested improvements for this aircraft, many which are worthwhile. 

I intend to 'locate' the tanks somehow but I am conscious that every additional improvement adds weight to my Savannah. I wonder which option weighs more: sikaflex or small aluminium brackets?

....Danny's plane is the same. I would really like to make different tanks as I think we could make much better ones that use pretty much all the fuel in them and they would be about the same weight but its the time. I really need to get Mabel in the air as soon as I can.

 

I wonder why ICP don't use aluminium tanks like some other kit manufacturers?

Hi Mark, more progress on a big job there...very impressive!

 

How and why were the fuel tanks attacked with a heat gun?

 

I notice that both my (inboard, regularly used) tank fillers have shifted sideways, presumably as the upper tanks have expanded with the weight of fuel in them. Makes sense, but if I had known I could have offset tham during construction...........

 

Hi Bob,

Shifting fuel tanks is a good sign! ...it means you are flying her ?.

I was wondering about which direction the shift is: inboard or onwards? ...also how far? 

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Now that is funny

So is this: You know, when I was a kid, my parents taught me a riddle. It said, "If there are five frogs on a log and one decides to jump off, how many are left?" And the answer is five - because deciding to do something is not doing it."  PHIL BURGESS, former senior Telstra executive.

 

My Sav is very stable and flies true. Can't seem to stall it and love the big baggage compartment. I didn't like centre stick at first but found it great for getting in and out plus space while flying. I had dual yokes in the Foxbat.

 

I also love the long nose and it just looks like an aeroplane. My Foxbat started to corrode after 12 months. It was the most looked after plane in the club so was loved.

 

Hi Steve ZK,

What model Savannah do you fly? ...Classic, ADV, VG, XL or S?

Also, have you flown your aircraft on longer, cross country trips ….or just local?

Here’s my Savannah S panel. The instruments I tend to focus on are the VSI (I find it great for fine tuning my hands off trim flight), and the AoA (Angle of Attack/lift reserve) The AoA gauge sits in my peripheral vision and is absolutely amazing. It takes into account the total aircraft weight in determining how close to the stall speed I am at. (There can be considerable difference in the stalling speed between that of a lightly loaded aircraft, and one that is flying at its MTOW) For a STOL type aircraft, it provides peace of mind when flying very slowly and also talks to me through my headset when close to the stall, all without needing to look at the ASI, therefore allowing me to keep my eyes focussed outside the cockpit on landing and takeoff. 

 

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It reacts instantly to a change in altitude. It's for situations where you need to fly an altitude very accurately, such as a busy city airport with dual runways.

 

Once you get used to it, you can have one eye on the VSI in those situations and make tiny, immediate, adjustments on the stick or yoke.

 

Directly comparing it to the EFIS fitted as to Jabirus, I found them much less responsive, so you could lose or gain more altitude and if you were fussy about maintaining accurate altitude it was easier to fall into a series of under and over stick movements.

 

Is your AOA/LRI a Bendix unit?  I have considered these but at present they are pretty pricey. Or, perhaps your instrument is another brand?

The Bendix instruments came out on top of comparative reviews when I read about them about three years ago. Perhaps there are more cost effective (but still functionally effective) units on the market than the Bendix. I am not aware of any.

Thank you, Hank. Currently undergoing flight then endurance testing, which in NZ is 10hrs for a kit build.

 

No majors so far, aside from mysterious loss of fuel pressure on extended climbs, which had us all scratching our heads until Perry suggested removing the shipping bung in the gauge: with this still in place, the gauge body remains internally pressurised as the aircraft climbs, so the pressure delivered by the fuel pump (which is falling as the atmospheric pressure round the aircraft falls in the climb) appears to steadily fall away. The pilot brought back a pic of the aircraft in a hard climb with a fuel pressure of zero.

 

I should add that this has been mentioned on Rec Flying at least once before.

 

Testing is currently paused while the pilot goes to work, will resume on the weekend: the test phase should be done Saturday, and SVA will then be handed off to another pilot to complete the endurance.

 

In the meantime I have taken just a little pitch off the prop, and am sorting out some noisy air leaks where the wing roots meet the windscreen.

 

Oh...and I have some stuff my better half wants done before I vanish entirely........)

 

Hi Bob, 

I hope you can solve the noisy air leaks where the wing roots meet the windscreen.

I hope the noise is not generated by the modified shape.

Going well there Phil!

And she flies.........[ATTACH]42326[/ATTACH]

 

You have just fulfilled the name of this thread: "Another NEW Savannah S on it's way in NZ".

Your NEW Savannah S is demonstrably on its way in New Zealand.

BTW: I love the blue colour you have chosen for this plane.

Hi Bob,

This is fantastic news: it is great to see that, after the many hours of meticulous work that you have poured into SVA, it is now fully airborne.

May you have many happy hours of flight in your new Savannah!

 

Here you go Hank!

 

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Hi Marty,

For some reason this is not downloading for me :-|

On ‎3‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 6:12 PM, Kyle Communications said:

 

I am 6ft 2 and was 150kg..now 105kg and its still a problem

 

I am one of the fifty flap bracket purchasers! One additional feature is that Mark has factored in an extra flap position.

Those bloody Tasmanians, 390 of them Immigrated to Australia last year, blooody over-running the place, can't even speak our language  ... oops ... wait, different title ..

 

I want it back here.

 

Can you do a hide that subforum option if people want? I think the biggest complainers last time was seeing the Off Topic threads in "What's New" even if they didn't open any of them.

 

I agree.

For about a month, more people were contributing to the "Atheists" thread and the "JuliaR" thread than aviation threads. I hope that we won't have something like this happening again on the Recreational Flying forum.