Callahan

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?

Jim, if you ever get down to the Tallahassee area feel free to look me up (2JO). On the coast about 40 miles south of Tallahassee. Bill Catalina Drifter & Tukan.....if Irma doesn't blow them away! Got them tied down INSIDE my enclosed hangar!

Forgot to say "Thank You Peter!" for the link. St. Barths is pronounced "Barts." 'h' is silent.

I used to fly in there all the time on charters from St. Thomas. Beautiful island back in the early 80s! Mostly overrun with tourists & construction now.....but with the devastation! It'll get repaired but it'll take a year, maybe two. French St. Barths nearby, same thing. I remember these islands as gleaming emeralds rising out of a cobalt blue sea. Sad now but great memories from a cargo Beech 18.

"Getting scarce! You are 100% correct Keith! I was lucky enough to find a great '87 Drifter for $7,000 in central Florida. Looking at zbarnstormer's since my purchase in early December of '16.....I have found NONE. So if you find one, grab it & don't be picky! Because someone will be breathing down your neck to buy it.

Well done Doug! Alwats treat it as if it's hot.Here's a couple of brief but good hand propping stories over the past 45 years. Me & a 65 hp Drifter: Took off, got to 300 ft., motor quit, landed okay, got out, went to back, scratched my stupid head thinking "I wonder if this sumbitch will crank?" Remember I had just taken off..... hint, hint, hint......motor cranked.....at full takeoff power. Horizontal stabilizer hit me, knocked me down but I managed to grab its leading edge. You will not believe the power of 65 horses until you're being rapidly drug behind them in a multiple circles. I was helpless. Totally. Coming around on the 4th quick whip around with hand grip weakening, i noticed tall, thick brush alongside the runway, timed it good, let go, it took off, climbed to 6 or 8 feet, crashed into brush & stopped. No damage except a bent pitot. This one is funnier. I have it on video. I was hand propping a 52 hp Rotax, Phantom (tractor configuration). Friend of mine, as stupid as I am, was sitting in the cockpit & supposedly telling me if it was hot or not. I propped & propped & propped & propped till I was about to drop dead. I finally was smart enough to ask "Is it hot?" "No." He wasn't looking at the mag switches as he went back & forth numerous times. Communications had broken down during a difficult start on a hot, miserable day. Make damn sure you're communicating correctly! And ALWAYS TREAT IT AS HOT.

We did that in Mexico on a Piper Aztec using a truck. Worked great. A little off topic but I used to own a Howard DGA with a 600 hp R1340. Only one ever remodeled with that motor. I was cranking up at a crop duster strip one hot day in the southern U.S. Battery decides it ain't gonna' crank. Out pops a big burly old crop duster. Now, this motor sits way up so he had to reach way up.... dangerous!....I told him no, he said yes, reached up there, pulled that Sumbitch through....it cranked on first pull. Scared me just watching what I could see of him from the cockpit!

You can find a lot of replacement stuff online. Example, spark plugs caps advertised at $26+ can be had for $2.41 on Amazon. I bought four. All work just fine! Also LEDs can be used in place of Aviation strobes, also on Amazon. $100 vs $600 plus you get a variety of pulse patterns & LEDs are much brighter. As for legality, I don't know & could care less.

Geoff....no, the pitch of the vibration does not change with engine speed. It's just rough as hell between 4k & 5k. It did occur to me "mid range" trouble....carb jetting!" Nope! Six carbs & cleanings later..... vibration. Plugs....no. leads....no. coils....no. stator.....no. triggers....no. gearbox....no. flywheel.....no. fan.....no. prop.....no. fuel....no. fuel filter.....no. fuel pump.....no. compression.....no. leaks or cracks.....no. internal.....no. I could go on!

Hello Nev! Mechanic took it all the way down, pulled the crank, checked everything there is to check. Vibration is "less" he says but still there. It's on its way here now. I'll put something online when I install it. I'll just have to keep it out of the 4k to 5k range. This is the first time he has not been able to diagnose a problem motor.

M61, I changed gearboxes from C to B. Did not change the vibration. I even changed the muffler, the carbs, added Balance Masters. Nothing helped & still doesn't. I need a C-box because I tow hang gliders & banners with my Trike. In the whirlwind of trying to figure out a Drifter hi-speed vibration solution, I let my C-box go in exchange for labor thinking it was the cause of the vibration. Big mistake! C-boxes are hard to find & very expensive. Currently, the Trike engine is at my overhauler's. He still can't quite nail down the cause of the heavy vibration. Tore it down all the way to crank. Checked all tolerances, bearings, checked the flywheel, fan & shaft. All checks okay. I told him the damn thing is haunted.

I understand now. I happen to be fortunate enough to live in an isolated part of north Florida. We're never bothered by anybody & actually fly as we see fit. For example, I fly a "fat"" Drifter which is one over the legal defination of an ultralight or over 254 pounds, has two seats etc. I took the FAA registration (N numbers) off of it when I bought it & fly it as an ultralight. I did have a serious run-in with our so-called & self-appointed airport manager over the ultralight when he placed a No Trespass notice on me for the airport. I flew anyway, violated the Trespass 8 or 10 times etc. He called the cops four times. They refused to support their own Trespass order, said it was a civil matter. It almost went to court when I put an injunction on him. He dropped it when I agreed to drop the injunction. I had a video of the whole affair on YouTube & will post it here again soon. You won' t believe what you see. The guy was literally crazy! In 20 years here that's the only thing that has happened.

I figured you guys were living wild & free down there? Authority is good as long as it's served with common sense & not abuse. We had a maniac Kolb flyer who showed up, taught himself to fly after mangling what was a great little ultralight. Then decides to get drunk one day, along with various drugs in his system..... crashes onto a beach, hits a woman walking on the beach with his left main spar, cracks four of her ribs, two were multiple fractures, breaks her collar bone AND last but not least....cracks a vertebrae in her neck. He's in jail. Like I said, it's guys like that who bring down heat on us. We did try to warn him everyday. Wouldn't listen. No luck.

Bolero! I'm just a tad late replying to this one but I'll definitely try it out. MS Flight Sim 10....sounds like fun! Anything with a Drifter in it! Thanks! Not often, but sometimes I don't get notified when I get a response.

Microman! If you were here I'd kiss you whether you liked it or not! You are 100% spot on! JBM Industries! If any of you are tired of replacing your cracked carb sockets every two years at exorbitant prices no less, buy from JBM! My last two that I bought from JBM years ago lasted so long I sold the Phantom they were on five years later! They were still good! No cracking! Thanks again Micro! Don't worry, I wouldn't kiss you just thank you profusely! Bill Catalina

Anybody out there remember a guy who sold rubber carb mounts for Bing 54 carbs? I had his web site years ago but lost it when I changed computers. His carb intake rubbers lasted years....far longer than the OEM crap on the market now. Thanks for any help. Bill Catalina "Drifter Flying by William Catalina"....on YouTube

You can tell when a female joins! Guys trip all over their tongues to reply. Godzilla got more replies than I did when I joined! And he ate Tokyo! Deborah....I have a Phd in....unmentionables & I still can't figure this site out so don't feel bad. It's been 30 years now since I first joined! Look, do me a favor. And yourself too (maybe). Go to YouTube and type in "Drifter Flying by William Catalina." I'm trying to get 1,000 hits before the end of its 4 months on air. It's pretty good. Thanks & welcome aboard! It's a great site with some people much smarter than me willing to lend a hand to dummies like me! Callahan

Yes. Like the guy above me said but be prepared to open your wallet very wide. I bought one of the last affordable used ones last December. Paid $7,000. It's been a fantastic bird. But used Drifters are getting very hard to find. You can see my video with it on YouTube. Type in Drifter Flying by William Catalina." I think you'll like it. Approaching 1,000 hits now.

Farri, Thanks for the reply but I bought a new IVOPROP just for the vibration & a Balance Masters (2). Both no help. If you're referring to the heavy vibration in the 503 Trike, it is currently with the Doctor. Will post a Rx ASAP. They high frequency vibe on the Drifter is in my minimally skilled hands. It may be going to the hospital too. Will post all. Thanks again!

Well said Robinsim....Most of these modern day ultralights can take a tremendous amount of abuse. You only have to look at my video on YouTube.... Drifter Flying by William Catalina. If the original poster prefers not to perform spin training then that is his prerogative but I think it could very well save his life one day...and maybe others he has with him. Then again, many have been killed practicing spins. That's why I leave it up to the individual.....not that it's any of my business anyway. I still call all these things ultralights because I began back in the late 70s & fell in love with low & slow flight. I do some wild flying even at 68 but have managed to survive.

You guys got it all wrong! He was trying to load it in the back of that truck & was going a little too fast. I worked with Russkies in Africa. They're not all nuts....just most of 'em. And Vodka does contribute to their flying skills. Wild Bill Callhan

Geoff, You mean those 10 or 12 washer looking things? No, I haven't but the B-box is new. Going for the easy stuff first.....the triggers & stator. I meter tested them externally & they checked to spec but still... Then I tear into the ass end . Gotta' buy a press first. Looks like I'm working my way into my own overhauling. Thanks!

Aussie & all the rest of you helpful guys! Right now you're showing how much more intelligent & mechanically inclined you are than me. I can only dream of so much brain power. I'm being serious - not silly. I may have confused you on the problems too. The high speed or high frequency vibration is on the 503 Drifter while the heavy low frequency vibration is on the 503 Trike I also have. Through a video I made for YouTube for my Ace mechanic, he has now concluded that the Trike's heavy vibes are interior (something way out of balance) like crank fittings. He will fix it & I intend to post the results on here soon. Concerning the high freq. vibration on my Drifter, I have gone through everything external (literally everything) and also bought two new $$$ coils. No help. And two Balance Masters. No help. I have done a top overhaul, did find quite a bit of carbon, cleaned it all. No help. Rings were loose and good. No sign of piston damage. No help. Compression is good at 110 psi both. I continue to plow through it but other than tearing it down to the crank, I can't think of anything else except pull the flywheel & visually check the triggers & stators for any metallic matter, grounding etc. After that, it's Crankville too. Only I have mysterious problems like this that stump not only me but people smarter than me! I sincerely appreciate all of your help. I will post results here as soon as known. I will take your advice & if possible, proceed as directed or as far as my limited brain power will allow. P.S. I'm 68. Callahan.....misery loves company!