gofastclint

So dimples will work just on only certain points of the aircraft.

I didn't notice one there, but I'm going out there on the weekend, I will have a look for you.

That stuff is very needed at The Oaks, some of the guys have been testing some new props and they seem to be working well but the sound is too much.

fish have scales and sharks have rough skin and they have the least resistance in nature, 100 years of aviation may learn a bit for a billion years of evolution.

sounds like a good idea. It would be good to see the faring of your drifted with dimples. but i think they have the be in a correct ratio. like depth, distance apart and size.

It would be simple to cast a plate from a wax model and like they stamp coins stamp a sheet of aluminum once it was built you could let all your mates use it. just need a decent press.

I think the size of the dimples has some effect, I was in a car accident in which a V8 bock punched a 1 inch hole through the the back of my skull. It doesn't help me think any faster, but it does ge heccj ccje.... hmm waht waz i talkn about?

Not sure. one thing I have notice is that on some time trial bikes in the Tour de France is that the head stock features dimples to help the bike have less resistance and another thing, one of my friends had dimples on the bottom of his body board and is seemed to be quicker along the waves.

how does this translate to aircraft? If you dimpled the surface of an aircraft what would happen? Just a thought but if you used a smooth surface for all leading edges and a Dimpled all the trailing surfaces where the plane starts tapering away, would this allow the plane to slip through the air better? Please no comments on price, looks or on being time consuming to do. I want the answers to be about the dynamics.

Went for a Fly on Tuesday at The Oaks and I met an old chap who had completed a 2 seat low wing Sonerai. After sitting in the aircraft I felt the Sonerai bug bite. what a great little plane. It was powered by a simple formula Vee Volkswagen engine with all the basic features. One thing I noticed was the room inside, I'm 6'3" and all the length is in my legs and I had no trouble fitting, plus the seat was comfortable too. Seem like a real candidate for the new aircraft list. but I would rather a Jab 2200 motor instead of the Vee. Anyone flow one of these planes? A little feed back would be welcomed.

Having a look at all the plans, the Sonerai is starting to look like a good option, great performance, great price and so many have been built. some people have built their Sonerai for under 20k.

Hey guys, ever heard the story about the big bull and the little bull standing on top of the hill? I think the little bull needs to become a big bull.

I don't like it all coming down to just weight. I will relate this to motorcycles, in NSW you used to be limited to a 250 on your L plates, this was a totally stupid when you had RGV 250s that were total death traps for 1st time riders. So savage were these bikes that of all the bikes purchased by people on their L plates that in its 1st year 100 of bikes were written off and of those 80% were fatal. Over 10 years later the LAMS (learner approved motorcycle scheme) was introduced, it was based on a power to weight ratio and on how easy it was to ride for learners. So you could ride something like a 660 single that was far more learner friendly. All you need to do is look on the net at the list to see if your bike is approved, if its not you can seek to get it approved, easy! Our RA is so much smaller than the motorcycle industry and people who fly in general know alot more about their machines than say a motorcycle rider knows about bikes. We also have so many officials and engineers working in aviation that it seems silly to base this on anything but case by case. What if a 1 ton aircraft is so easy to fly with great STOL qualities. Well with this weight law we are stuffed. Wouldn't it be great to find a GA registred aircraft, book someone who is qualified to fly it and make the judgemet on weather this plane is suitable to be put on the "RA-OK" List. This is our recreation, lets trade stupid numbers that only LIMIT for practical decisions made by aircraft engineers and RA-AUS officials. RA officials are obviously capable of this and I know they are not lazy as they are here based on passion. So lets get rid of communist/robot to the number ways and make RA as Unique and down to the individual as possible. I think the only people who will complain about the individualism idea don't belong in an aircraft.

Then spare cash on the side for towing with a J120 is out. I wonder what is a good flying related job while there are no students around. I've heard about pipeline inspection, but all those jobs would be filled.

I will need a big hanger for sure, with my dad looking for a kit to build (RV-8 seems like the one), my brother has plans for a micro and I have set the goal to become an instructor. My wife has given the ok for a Jab at the end of 09, woohoo! The jet is going to be made from hot wired foam about 2 foot long with an electric ducted fan, and if it flys I will fill the rest in on solid works and then see if it flys on a sim, then see if i can get people interested. As for the dragon fly, seems like a good investment taking into account how many people hang glide and at $50 per tow, it will pay well if a glider club shows interest and you put in a full days towing.

Sweet little jet, but it has to be a delta wing, as this gives the most room for fuel,

Subaru has a 2.0 turbo diesel for the Euro market, its the only production boxer diesel car engine. Can't wait till this engines start showing up at the wreckers. It would sit nice in an RV-8.

Actual flying is an art, but the factors that contribute to it is a science. stuff all that, flying is bloody great.

It doesn't take much load on an engine to prevent glazing of the bores. Some generators have a built in feature that will only just barely load the motor while no electricity is being drawn to prevent this. general flying would be enough as the prop always loads the engine unless in a dive.

wow, the dragon fly looks tops, whats the fly away price?

Down the track I plan on buying a J120 and instructing students. One of my mates flys hangliders and was wondering about towing him while I have no students. What main factors are there to consider? Does the J120 fly slow enough to tow hangliders? I only plan to tow if certified to do so. Cheers.

When it comes to flying, just don't push your planes limits. Even the air race planes operate within their design limits. Dying isn't fun.

Don't worry about putting a little picture of your drifter up here, its so bloody cool. Give it its own post with a heap of pics to go with it, like when you built it and all that stuff. Like your work

For your own aircraft a rocket booster is a good way of getting out of trouble, one that is positioned right with just enough power to get you high enough to make a 180 turn and make a safe landing. an engineer will be able to show the correct place for it, plus refills are so cheap. If someone asks you what is is say its a decoration. What seems like a laugh now will become normal if it works well and no one has a better idea. http://www.ausrocketry.com.au/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/ My dad used to be big on rockets and the amount of crazy things he made fly were cool for me as a kid, the best was a 5 stage rocket with falling smoke bombs between the stages, from a distance it looked like a blue tower 1 km high.

I was looking at a very large RC Mirage 2000, with its simple stable platform, powered by a Wren gas turbine and it started me dreaming of a home built jet. with a bubble canopy mounted farther back down the fuselage.. it would be simple to follow the basic design on solid works reducing the size till it was just big enough to fit 1 person and the fj44.