Callahan

I was just visiting Amazon in search of their $2.41 NGK plug caps that, by the way, work great. During my search, I found NGK 45 degree plug caps & wondered if any of you have used them? I've had trouble in the past with tight fits of 90 degree caps trying to fight them into position around coil wires & the cowl then onto the plugs themselves.

One odd (to me) thing about these caps is that they do not use the plug's screw-on cap. That is eliminated. You unscrew the cap & actually screw these onto the plugs threads.

I have to warn you though that they are extremely expensive at a whopping $6.75 U.S. Being cheeky of course! Let me know please if any of you have tried these.

My favorite topic. Engine failures! I've had many. Regular aircraft & ultralights.

But here's my slant & two cents worth. How many of you are favorites of using roads (highways) for a landing spot (in lieu of a golf course that is)?

Well, I am. Big Time. They've saved my ass many times. Just remember! Traffic has priority! If it's a choice between the front bumper or the windshield of an innocent human, I would always choose a tree in lieu of anything else. Preferably my cockpit between two trees.

Powerlines are a hazard but can usually be seen in time to go over or under. I once went over one then under another I didn't see until the last moment. Lucky day that was.

I've had a lot of low time & high time pilots tell me they'd never try for a road. They're wrong. Use 'em.

Emu,

I like you. I like all you Aussies whether you like me or not. I guess I have an unconformist attitude but that's who I am.

You put my YouTube link up & I really appreciate it. But some of you guys take this Coroner stuff too seriously & you depend on "experts in the field" for which the most dangerous thing they've ever done in their lives is crank their car for the drive to an office...or a serious bowel movement as stated earlier.

YOU GUYS ARE THE EXPERTS.

Emu,

I liked everything except that last sentence.

"A Coroner (a Coroner? - really?) Can make recommendations aimed at preventing, or minimizing the causes or factors, contributing to the death."

In medical sense you must mean?.... unless all of Australia's Coroners are reincarnated & former multi-thoussand hour pilots with experience in a wide variety of aircraft in their former lives?

As for me, a Coroner or "an expert in the field" would be the last hanging dick I would take advice from. Dead or alive. Reincarnated or no.

I wrote a book about some dangerous ass flying I did. You can read about 35 pages on Amazon for free. I never crashed an airplane. One of the very few to make that claim. 62 pilots were killed in ten years of operations.

Over & Back by Wild Bill Callahan. On Amazon.

"You can get killed taking a crap & straining too hard."

Well, now you know how our system works. I'm sorry that I can't find a copy of the Death Certificate of one of my ancestors right now, but the Death Certificate contains a heck of a lot of information regarding the identity of the deceased; their occupation; marital status; where and when born, and to whom; marriages and issue, as well as cause of death. Apart from cause of death, the information relating to the other things is required to settle the deceased's Estate. For those of us researching our ancestry, it is also a fountain of useful information.As flyers, we are only concerned with identifying the causes of the crash, so we would ignore the other stuff. If, in the future, one wanted to research the causes, then the filed copy of all material presented in the Inquest could be obtained. Based on the information supplied by experts during an Inquest, a Coroner can make recommendations aimed at preventing, or minimising the causes, or factors contributing to a death.

I understand Turbo & you know far more about your own countries rules & regulations than I do. In fact, I know little to nothing about how your system works. But delving into a person's personal life history, which had no bearing on the case, was simply uncalled for...by a Coroner no less. Report the facts. Not the man's irrelevant life history since birth. I'm sure the victim's attorney can discover that himself & provide it to the family if they even request something like that....which I doubt they would even want to know.

If that had happened to me I'm sure that all my wife would want to know is how long it would take to get her 350K life insurance policy cashed out on my dead ass!

I see you've got a winner Callahan; this is not an NTSB report, nor an ATSB report, it's a Coroner's report into the death of a person not the crash of an aircraft. So there's personal information there for the family, and it's rare for a Coroner to do much more than mention that the cause of death was a broken neck, which occurred after a plane fell out of the sky. This was a good one with a lot more detail.

Thank you Downunder, M61 & others for more or less agreeing with me while Turbo took exception to my outlook on the case from my position in the U.S. Looks like we're about 50/50 on the sad situation in opinions. Glad I started the discussion though.

However, I apologize for butting in to you guy's business for which I know very little concerning how things work "down under." Very interesting though!

We too have many, many rules & regulations in the U.S. The good thing about having an overabundance of R & R though is that our FAA can't keep up with them all nor do they really know the rules & regulations themselves. That's how I get away with all the crap I do. Any FAA investigator, all he or she would have to do is watch a couple of my YouTube videos & bust me on multiple charges. The only problem is that I'm 68 years old & simply don't give a.....hoot.

I'm about to release another video titled "Aussie Rescue" whereby I come upon two of your intrepid brethren Aussies paddling their tiny kayak down our 2,000+ mile Mississippi river. I spotted them, landed on floats & brought them needed supplies for which they were very grateful.....but WOW-WEE did they stink to High Heaven having been on the river for two months! You guys are some kind of TOUGH! I have lots of respect for you people!

P.S. You can get killed crossing the street too!

As I read it, the deceased had not flown ANYTHING in the 18 months prior, and that last flight was a BFR.Then he gets in a totally unfamiliar aircraft solo and starts low level manouvers on the first flight....FFS....

The repeated references to his character do nothing to change the facts about his stupid decision making....( but might make the family feel better?)

 

I don't really understand the witch hunt with the gopro. Finding it didn't change much but fed the lawyers and police ego....

 

Bet the bloke regrets sending it in......

Read it all. All that for an Ultralight crash? Sounds like they're trying to convict a man who seemed perfectly legal & sane to me. He messed up the wing, fixed it. End of story.

I knew you Aussies were burdened with excessive rules & regulations but that long winded pile of horseshit by attorneys & bureaucrats who don't know shit from beans about ultralights or aviation but looking to prosecute somebody in general..... was rediculous.

If the guy is guilty of anything it's the fact that he should've given the victim more training with the 912. And why all the delving into the victims personal life history which had nothing whatsoever to do with the crash?

Thank You OME and to all you Aussie Drifter mates! No matter what you fly!

Illegal? What's that? LOL.

Yes, it's mostly illegal here too. I just don't give a......Hoot!

Thanks for posting it OME!

Loved it Bill, gave it a like on YouTube.

It's wild. 16 minutes.

Stay for the two minute loop!

Can't figure out how to copy a link on here. You'll have to type in: "Drifter Flying Part 2"

If you like it, please pass it around. If you don't please leave a nasty comment at bottom. I like those too.

If somebody can tell me how to paste a link, I would really appreciate it!

Frank,

You & Nev & M61should've been writers! All of you do a fine job of it with you Frank getting the top spot for the best great answer.

I can relate this one very bad incident of how much weather an ultralight can take. Unfortunately, it wasn't a Drifter but my 503 powered Trike.....

It was getting late, friend (rider) and I were at a very make-shift, isolated spot surrounded by trees, weather coming in, roll cloud ahead of it. And naturally between us & my home strip.

What to do? No tie downs, no rope (stupid), being the PIC I elected to takeoff into it. My experienced mate/rider was equally as dumb as me & agreed to it.

Got out okay but within one mile we met the gust front! I couldn't yell at my pal to helped me with the control bar because of the noise & I had all I could do to keep us upright! It was totally wild! Actually just about out of control.

Don't know if any of you have ever flown a Trike with a big, hi-lift wing but they are a handful in normal summer thermals with NO wind!

Then here comes the roll cloud! I fully expected the wing to collapse as I shot a glance at the wildly thrashing trees below! Updraft, downdraft, sideways this way & that, power on, power off, groundspeed maybe 5 mph, just enough to see minimal forward movement below. My arms took a battering but I was in great shape back then. Now, at 68, crash!

No rain thank God but it spit us out about 5 miles later. The most terrifying ride of my life & your listening to a 68 year old Beech 18 freight pilot. Believe me, I have seen the elephant but this was terrifying!

We made it of course but you young guys out there.....Do Not Push the Weather! It will kill you. Fly smart! Not stupid! If you need to camp out & wait it out....pitch a tent!

Today I carry spare tools, spare parts, rope, cell phone, first aid kit, pop up tent etc. in my Trike & Drifter. Sand bags are great to fill & bury for a makeshift tiedown where now is available. I carry 8 of them (empty). LOL.

I think we all would! but some of those who tried to find out, arn`t with us anymore!There`s an old saying that goes something like this! " It`s better to be down here wishing you were up there, than being up there wishing you were down here!"

 

I`ve done a lot of "being up there wishing I was down here" but I havn`t yet found what my Drifter is really capable of, what I have found though, is, what I`m capable of, with my Drifter and what weather I`m prepared to fly in!

 

Keep in mind that regardless of what weather the Drifter and pilot are capable of, in this country we are restricted to VMC.

 

Frank.

Gregory!Yes, Merry Christmas to you & family also!

 

So, weather, winds & a Drifter? I started in '79 with terror-dactyl & have loved this type of flying since then. If you saw my first video, Drifter Flying by William Catalina, that should explain it.

 

It's really up to the pilot as to how much crosswind a Drifter can handle. I take every ad

You & Nev have helped me a lot in trying to figure out the vibration on my Trike 503. Can't remember if I told you or not , but I sent that motor off to my overhauler three times. He gave up after tearing it down for the third time. Said its the first motor he's ever had that he couldn't fix. Yep! That's me!

Now, on crosswinds in a Drifter, it can be a handful in gusty winds just like any other a/c. Trees & buildings make it worse.

At our grass strip (2JO) in Florida, we've had five a/c related deaths in 12 years. Two in a chopper. Hit power lines. Ours is what we call a "podunk" airport, meaning rarely used. So 5 in 12 is a lot. Students are not allowed in here.

Gregory!

Yes, Merry Christmas to you & family also!

So, weather, winds & a Drifter? I started in '79 with terror-dactyl & have loved this type of flying since then. If you saw my first video, Drifter Flying by William Catalina, that should explain it.

It's really up to the pilot as to how much crosswind a Drifter can handle. I take every ad

I didn't finish that because our Federal Aviation boys had my ass picked up & thrown in jail! My wife just bailed me out! One of you Aussies snitched! Shame!

Because the attitude is a bit on the flat side, you have to watch out that you don't wheelbarrow the landing. Have done that and it gives the undercarriage legs a bit of a hammering

Thanks for the input callahan ,I would be very interested to know what type of weather the drifter can handle with a capable pilot at the controls ?

Merry Christmas.

I consider myself to be a very average pilot, and I know that you can land with a 22kt crosswind, and have regularly operated out of a private strip with trees on both sides, that is too narrow to do a 'U' turn in a Drifter. I don't consider it a difficult aircraft. With a good stiff headwind, you can take off and land in that 250 ft.

Oh yes M61.....why I'm rich too! I have a 22 year old Trike and an '87 Drifter. Total worth about $15k. Maybe.[ATTACH=full]53198[/ATTACH]"Tall Poppy Syndrome eh?"

 

Yeah....we got that too. In abundance unfortunately.

 

deleted...mod

Thanks for the tip Turbo but I kinda' figured that! :)

Some renegades like me are alive & well there I'm sure. It's all about money over here. Now they want me to register my drone! Sure will, right after I finish registering my ass.

We don't really Callahan; don't worry about FT, she's........different.And thanks for your service.

Aussies love snitching?

Well, you guys tried your best & lost many of your best in Vietnam. So if any of you want to snitch, you go right ahead.

Plus I'm too old to give a crap. If you guys are anything like South Africans you're a fantastic bunch...and I think you are!

Happy New Year from Florida in what was the good ol' USA now the Socialist States of America.

Australians love snitching

Well said Nev!

I'm an old Beech 18 freight pilot, one of the few to have survived years of it. I can say without a doubt that the Drifter is very much a real taildragger as you stated. Subject to even more vagaries of wind & weather than a big taildragger. It's nimble of course but can be a handful at times.

Was landing in some wicked winds two days ago with our field surrounded by trees. It took every bit of my concentration to keep our little friend within the confines of our 250 foot wide runway. As you succintly stated, "treat it as such."

Hair splitting. I wouldn't get too worked up about it. As far as I'm concerned it's a tailwheel aircraft, and I treat it as such. Nev

Well, you guys have it tough down there with all your rules & regs. Not really bragging but I've been flying two illegal "ultralights" for 30 years or however long its been since they changed the B.S. from ultralights to Light Sport Aircraft. (Ca-(ca-ching...cash register).

Friend of mine crashed his illegal ultralight (2-place Kolb) on a Florida beach, hit a woman walking, broke her collar bone, almost cut his foot off with the prop, totaled his a/c.....our FAA, Federal Aviation Admin. didn't even bother to attend the festivities.

I'm 68. Not really an outlaw. Just still in the ultralight frame of mind. Why change? My new video, Drifter Flying Part II will be out on YouTube in a few days. Will post a link soon. Four music videos, a few girls & a wild 2 minute slo-mo loop. Something went POP as I was pulling out. We can't figure out what caused it. I did another one to see if I could figure it out. No luck. Weird.

This way too late but the clutch was designed & built by a good friend of mine named Bever Borne of Reserve, Louisiana USA. I had two of his clutches. One on a 503 Trike which is still going strong at 23 years old. The other on a spare 503 I have about ten years old. No problems!

They needed to slow that sucker down before chute deployment like just before apogee. Lucky it didn't rip apart completely. Thanks for posting. First I'd heard of it.

Deskpilot,

I hear you loud & clear. Being an American & accustomed to what was formerly a great system (take your pick) then relinquishing it to a board, a commission (take your pick) will rapidly turn that great system into a bureaucratic boondoggle of mountainous proportions. What was formerly simple will now be a screwed up nightmare!

That said, it's his site. But we're headed for trouble. This is the best & most helpful site I've ever experienced.

Ian, you have been doing a fantastic job running your site but I understand your need for respite/help/change of scenery etc. I just hope that in taking on others to form a 'board' will not end up in the chaos that RA.Aus has been in recent years.

Here in the U.S. they can ban anything but to get a rebel pilot such as me to honor their stupid ass ban is another story.

For example, I just installed cop car-like LED strobes on my Drifter. Very bright, very viewable at long distances & very inexpensive! $125 vs. a very minimal aviation approved strobe system that you can barely see at 200 feet away at $600+

Are they legal? Hell no.

Do I care? Guess.

Maxair Drifter. 65 hp Rotax. Failed on takeoff at 300 feet, landed okay, got out, walked around back to motor, thought "I wonder if this sumbitch will crank?"

It did. Wide ass open. I had left the throttle wide-ass open after the failure. You would not believe the power of 65 horses until you've been drug in circles behind your ultralight.

Think before you act!

I think the congratulations should go to the tree for growing where it did!

Had a friend takeoff in an old Yamaha powered 15 hp Wizard years ago. Didn't clear a treeline, hit a tree, stuck there, tail sticking out as nice as you please about 50 feet up, pilot climbed out & down.

No injuries! Getting it down was another story!

Will do Red!

Right now south of Tallahassee & about 20 miles from the coast we've got 30 mph gusting to 45. Not bad at all. No rain. Late tonight & tomorrow is when it'll get cranked up. Hangar is on the coast about 1 mile inland.

Just finished elevating the Drifter about 18 inches off the hangar floor. Hangar has never flooded but Irma is a biggie! I retied the wings & tail. If a wall panel blows out, it'll be a chaos of destruction in there. I always plan for "worst case." The roof coming off will wipe it all out.

Took the wings off the Trike. Again, a blow panel would cause the wing to beat the Drifter to shreds. Both in same hangar.

Will keep the site posted tomorrow. We're expecting from 115 to 135 mph. Hangar (supposedly) is good to 140. I hope.

Thanks!

Bill Callahan

Where's the Vodka?