ianwells

Hi louis If you want to go further afield check out the beaches of north Queensland, lots of long hard packed sand, many with no access other than aircraft or boat! Try to see the movies Charlie and Boots, and On a Wing and a Prayer. Weve discovered the self inflating matresses, 3,5cm thick, (Black Wolf) are surprisingly comfortable, light and pack up very small. Note:- The drifter was assembled on the beach for photograpic purposes only. Cheers Ian

Leathebrook Heathrow (Whitsundays)

Hi Mike 20 deg 32.8 S, 148 deg 39.1 E. about 7nm SE of Proserpine (Whitsundat coast) airport. 09/27 240m grass strip and 17/35 600m grass strip undulating at the northern end perfect for Savannahs and Drifters!!!!

Hi Doug were having a bit of a flyin at heathrow this sunday. weather forcast is good so hope to see you there if you are home from work. Ian

Hi all, we will be holding an informal fly in BBQ lunch at Heathrow on Sunday 30 oct, all local aviators welcome. see you all there. Ian

I've just knocked over the 25 hrs test flying in the new Savannah so all set for trip down to Old Station next weekend. The tent and thermals are all packed just in case it is as cold as monto last year. At least we wont freeze on the way home like we did in the Drifter. Looking forward to a great weekend. Ian

Hi Mark You seem to be cracking along now that you can do a bit each day, before you know it you'll be finished!!! I've just completed the 25 hr test flight period in Cab Sav. The only problems in that time have been three broken exhaust springs, I did have a vibration from the front wheel after take off as it continues to rotate for some time. This was fixed easily with a few balencing weights from a bike shop. So now I'm set for the first trip away to Old Station next weekend. The better half will have a more comfotable flight than the trip to Monto last year in the back seat of the driffter, The cabin heat really does work!!!! Keep up the good work and I'll cxatch you in the air soon. Regards ian

Hi Ross The owner didnt go for a fly, I think he was working on his strips. We went for a look at them both from the ground and in the air. The one next to his house is no good, power lines, trees, hills, etc but the second one is on top of a hill which may be ok, if a bit short. I did a couple of passes in Cab Sav but he had a tractor parked in the way and there are a couple of trees that need pruning before I can get low enough to check it out properly. Ian

Hi Ross Here are some pics of you and the Bantam, Cheers Ian

HI Gundy All sounds very familiar! I flew my just finished XL last week. WHAT A BUZZ that first flight is in an aircraft that you built, Still on that high now. Notched up 11.4 hours so far, my only problem was 3 exhaust springs breaking and one of the engine cowling fasteners coming open (now fixed). I now have to finish the 25 hours in time for the Old Station fly in at the end of the month. How about a few photos of this smicky paint job? Look forward to hearing your views re "S" verses "XL" Regards Ian Wells

After spending so much effort to build it there is no way I'd let someone else test fly it! A good idea to get lots of flying in to get current first though.

Hi Mark I did the first flight on friday afternoon, then a couple of hours on sat after work and flew into the airshow very early sunday morning. So far all is going well, over 5 hours and 25+ landings, nearly got the landings sused now. Very easy to fly but much faster than the drifter!!!! very happy with the whole thing at the moment:cheezy grin:

Not to say that ALL of the paint ended up on the plane, a fair bit ended up on the walls, floor, me and anything else laying about in the hangar!!!!

Hi mark I used a full 4 litres of the super etch in which just about everthing was painted with 1 coat, about 3 litres of the primer, one coat on most things, 3 litres of the orange ( 2 litres paint + 1 litre hardner ), 2 coats were needed and 2 litres of the cream and about 0,5 litres of Black. Also used lots of elbow grease!!! I'll try for a photo again soon regards Ian

Hi Mark Ive been a bit busy recently so no posts. The Sav in nearly ready to fly! I've had a pre flight inspection done, the engine started like a dream and i was doing some Fast taxiing today. Just a few odd jobs and will be flying. Things seem to have change on this site so i cant put photographs on again, I'll try again later!!!!!!

here is the oficial version from our queensland representative Ian, Thanks for e-mailing me. I will send out an all-stations e-mail but it has been decided not to go ahead with MONTO this year because of everything that has happened (floods, cyclones etc) but we intend to run it next year and make it an annual event after that. Kind Regards, Steve Runciman A prety lame excuse for doing nothing I think, but there is a flyin at old station on May 28 and 29 which is just south of Rocky, see other thread. Regards Ian Wells

hi Mark took the Cab Sav for a roll today all on its own three wheels, then put it in the shipping container as we are off to Perth for ten days, just in case there is another cyclone whilst we are away, I will be putting the engine in and wings on when we get back. Cant upload pictures again so will try later regards Ian

Hi Ross can I book you in for a pre flight on the savannah on the 29 th of april so I can take it for the air show???????[ATTACH]13267.vB[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]13261.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]13260.vB[/ATTACH] Finally remembered how to put photos on Ian

sounds great. I will hopefully have the savannah ready by then, any news of a repeat of the Monto Nor-raa fly in this year???

Hi mark I've used wattyl super etch primer, followed by epinamel pr 250 primer then polythane AU 625 2 pack topcoat. This is the system that Maj Millard recomended, he works on the seaplanes at shute harbour and its the system they use, some of them have been flying for 70 years aparently and still going strong. As I want to put floats on eventually and live very close to the sea corrosion protection is important. I'll try again for some photos. Ian

Hi mark good to see you back on the job. I've been a bit delayed with the cyclones up here but now making headway again. Started painting the top coats of paint today, preparing for painting was very time consuming as in all the little jobs that i hadn't decided how to do them, they now had to be done. You think a part is finished then you find you've left bits off for this or that now is the time to put them on. A quick tip for the stabilizer and elevator tips. I am putting BOTH sides of mine on with rivnuts so the can be easily removed, this way the sav will fit inside a shipping container ready for the next cyclone!!!!! I'm still having problems uploading photos so will try to put some on later. regards Ian