drifter_driver

hang gliding fun use of wheelbarrows as takeoff assistance devices chesty landing in home made concoction YouTube - John Sharp

The story didn’t end there, former R & T folks were getting more and more addicted to creature comforts which resulted in aircraft coming out with things like rudder paddles fitted with shoe shine devices, pilot massage chairs, panels with MS flight sims (so that you don’t get bored whilst flying the plastic fantastic) etc. this caused massive relocation of limited available resources in the economy to these activities from other productive use. The other sectors of economy suffered massive losses resulting in a recession, which in turn caused job losses which further caused broken marriages and defaults on mortgages. So once again the story ended in junk yards. After loosing his wife/kids/house/job former drifter driver pondered over the situation and cursed big papa for his predicament. But then he remembered about a spare chainsaw lying in his garage, the sound of its two stroke motor filled him with great excitement and hope…………………………

as they say a picture tells a thousand words......Drifters kick a*** enjoy p.s. the aircraft in the video was VH registered with appropriate endorsements

. hi bp, a little piece of string attached to front mounted antennae(if you have one) or may be sticking it on top wind screen(with tape) will give you wonderfull results. even beats the instrument in accuracy and timing and dont forget to post some pics of your new toy

I did my nav training in a jab using E6B computer which I found really difficult to operate whilst flying the plane. If I have to do it again I probably will buy CR as opposed to E6B. but now i dont have to worry about any of these gadgets-drifter and trike pilots dont need any of this ;) cheers

E6-B versus CR Flight Computer the following site contains usefull info regarding operating and comparing these two http://www.stefanv.com/aviation/flight_computers.html

adding couple more to drifter smile club adding couple more to drifter smile club

aeroprakt a-36 twin another similar and faster twin engine aircraft. aeroprakt A-36 Vulcan twin. cruises 120 kts http://www.aeroprakt.kiev.ua/eng_html/main.html

thats leza lockwood aircam. incredible aircraft capable of taking off with one engine on full load. but very pricey(100+k) a bit out of range for your typical drifter pilots financially speaking. here's the link http://www.aircam.com/

ROM’s posts have truly captured the essence and spirit of ultralight flying in my opinion. Once adequate safety standards of established norms have been reached and maintained law of diminishing returns still apply for further improvements. One can go all the way to high tech GA style systems with added costs and there will still be room for improvements. The nature of the sport also has a limiting effect upon ultimate safety e.g. one can only do so much to improve the safety of the sport of base-jumping. I am in no way trying to minimize the importance of life long learning required in our sport but rather acceptance of inherent risks present.

penrite Hi-Per 2 oil is predominently mineral based oil with some synthetic additives added to it, same as Pennzoil two stroke oil

penrite stopped making the green slime (TS40C) last year but have interduced another 2 stroke oil called Penrite HI-PER 2 Stroke Oil which seems to have similar properties to TS40C. its ash content is 0.11% compared to 0.17% for Activ 2T oil. penrite has written a disclaimer for this oil being specifically not suitable for ultralight engines - supposedly to get them off there back legally speaking.

I would have thought it takes us more like 30 min to get to 3000ft Darren courtesy of thermals-no I am not saying u r a big bloke mate may be you had a really big breakfast and the day was stinking hot on a serious note take off speed is a major safety factor because of two issues 1. control of the aircraft in engine out situation as mentioned above and 2. control of the aircraft to counter any weather related phenomenon (sudden gusts, wind shear,turbulence etc). during take off the nose of the aircraft is high and it is flying close to stall speed to achieve best rate of climb and it the worst attitude to fly in close to ground if hit by strong turbulence. if you have enough speed you just cut through the chop with solid control authority.

comments from dicksmithflyer.com.au the following commentry from dick smith's website makes some depressing read for piloting as a career-but then again if one is determined to do it I dont think any body can stop them. Flying as a career</B> Last Updated: Jul 3rd, 2007 - 12:51:04 Flying as a career? Many young pilots contact me and ask how they should get into aviation. I give as much advice as I can. Normally it is to head to the Northern Territory, work in a hangar for nothing and eventually you will be noticed and be able to get your hours up. However things are changing. I thought it would be responsible to include the following comment, which is from an airline pilot. He makes some very good points, and young pilots thinking of getting into the airlines should at least get as much advice as they can. Qantas to train 3000 pilots over the next 10 years, the problem is who wants to choose aviation as a career anymore? Apart from the early QANTAS cadet courses where they took anybody (just joking) the majority of cadets since the re-instatement of the cadet courses have been reasonably intelligent people who could of chosen a number of career paths. I assume QF will be targeting the same standard of people for its expanded cadet scheme. How to entice those people to choose a flying career will be difficult. In thinking about a career you need to look at the long term prospects. Some of the things to consider are: 1. Fuel, there is no real alternative to oil as a fuel for aircraft, a relatively cheap fuel that has a high calorific value. As oil availability starts to decrease and costs go up flying will reduce. To me, flying will end up like it was in the beginning, only for the rich. Which means less pilots. 2. Technology, there is talk of single pilot for cruise aircraft, and even pilotless aircraft. Concerns for safety and even terrorist actions means taking the control of aircraft out of the hands of pilots. Which may mean less pilots required. 3. Aviation is very susceptible to any major international problem such as terrorism, pandemics etc. Although the trend has been for aviation to recover quicker after any setback, a major pandemic could reduce flying dramatically. 4. Pay and conditions. This is probably the area of most concern. Flying used to be a well paying job, with plenty of time of. For international flying there were long slips in exotic destinations. Today we are working much harder, we are at work more, and usually minimum time in slip ports, 36 hours generally for international layovers. For domestic flying, minimum slip overnights with early morning starts. There has been a dramatic shift in pay, with the airlines trying to drive wages down by various methods. Also the pay of a pilot has stagnated whereas other professions have increased. 5. Health. Being a pilot has to be bad for your health. We subject ourselves to higher levels of radiation, constant jet lag (if international flying), breathing toxic air from the engines. Being exposed to various diseases being re-circulated through the cabin air. De-hydration (with Qantas actually disabling the cockpit humidifiers to save money). You are also subject a much higher level of medical scrutiny, with many medical problems causing you to lose your license and your ability to earn money. Whereas in other professions once you are well its back to work. In aviation, you may get well but an underlying medical problem may prohibit you from flying. 6. Roster. Lack of control over your life. You won't have any control over being home for birthdays, Christmas etc. You won't be able to plan ahead to attend special events. 7. Challenges of the job. Flying used to be a fairly challenging job, going back aircraft such as the 747-300, you actually flew the aircraft, there was much more thinking involved. Today we have glass cockpits, fly by wire aircraft that virtually fly themselves. Just follow the magenta line. International flying has become so boring with the advent of datalink and GPS navigation, a flight across the Pacific involves 14 hours of sitting there (with half of that in the crew rest) and about 10 buttons presses to send messages. We have also seen any personality being taken out of flying, today we have to all fly exactly the same way, we must say exactly the right thing at the right time. If you say "One to go" instead of "1000 to go" that's a black mark against you. Commonsense has been taken out of aviation and been replaced with being pedantic. 8. Limited work opportunity. There aren't many airlines to work for. Just imagine when you finish your training there are just three employers to work for in Australia, that provide reasonable conditions. 9. Work Surveillance and the law. We currently have cockpit voice recorders and soon we will have cockpit video surveillance. All yours actions are being recorded and although we are told it is only for safety use, there is a growing trend to use this information for legal action. Just look at the court case against the two Qantas pilots who allegedly took off without the airport lights on. 10. Constant checking of your ability. A couple of times each year you have to get into the simulator to prove your ability. Fail a few times and once again you're out of a job, or at least you won't be able to promote. Your ability is also open to interpretation depending on who is assessing you. Is flying a good job? At the moment it is, I still enjoy it. But if I was just leaving school with good marks and looking for a career would I choose aviation again. NO, I wouldn't. There are just too many risks to a flying career. The enjoyment is no longer there. The pay is no longer there. I would choose a career that isn't reliant on oil, or isn't affected by a terrorist action overseas. That doesn't affect my health, and doesn't control my life. Where my employer respects me and treats me as an asset not as a liability. Where, if I was sick of working for one employer there were plenty of other employers. Of course this mainly relates to airline flying – I am sure there are still great careers in charter flying, RFDS, aero medical etc in Australia.

Looks like the catchy phrase "license not required" in the 95.10 headings might be the culprit to give the first wrong impression, however reading the fine print few more times have clarified the matter. If regs had "RAAus Certificate Required" as opposed to ‘license not required’ in the heading, would not have caused any confusion.

CAO 95.10 says you dont need a license for 95.10 aircraft but at the same time requires that the person holds a valid pilot certificate any takers for interpretations!! quote:civil aviation order 95.10 3A Licence not required 3A. 1 For the purposes of paragraph 20AB of the Act, a person is authorised to perform a duty essential to the operation of an aircraft to which this section applies without holding a flight crew licence if he or she complies with the conditions set out in subsection 4. 3A.2 In spite of paragraph 3A.1, a person must hold a flight radiotelephone operator licence if he or she makes airborne radio transmissions on aeronautical HF frequencies. 4 General conditions of exemption 4.1 The exemption given by subsection 3 in relation to an aeroplane is subject to the following general conditions: (a) there must be clearly displayed in the aeroplane, in a position visible to the pilot when occupying the control seat, a sign stating that: (i) neither CASA nor the RAA guarantee the airworthiness of the aeroplane; and (ii) the pilot operates the aeroplane at the pilot’s own risk; (b) the aeroplane must not be used in agricultural operations; © the aeroplane must not be used for any purpose other than: (i) the personal carriage of the pilot; or (ii) the aerial inspection of stock, fencing or farm or pastoral equipment that is located on land owned by, or under the control of, the pilot or a member or members of the pilot’s immediate family; (d) the aeroplane must not be operated by a person as pilot in command unless the person: (i) holds a valid pilot certificate; and (ii) subject to the other conditions set out in this section, operates the aeroplane in accordance with the privileges and limitations of that certificate; also got this info from RAAus website Quote: with current RA-Aus registration documents may be flown by an unlicenced, but RA-Aus certificated pilot, in day VMC, generally below 5000 feet amsl – unless considered unsafe to do so, and not over cities or towns. The aircraft must be operated only in Class E and G airspace.

Ross's cheetah taking off at the oaks on 4/5/08 Ross's cheetah taking off at the oaks on 4/5/08

nutter nail cutter just adding to your money saving devices the gadget in the photo will save you from buying nail cutters every few years. the only thing you gotta be carefull is not to advance your feet too far backwards because some people have found out that it is not just a nail cutter but toe cutter and foot blender as well.....

according to couch potato varieties all of RAA brigade of 8000+ are crazzy nutters but we all know that is not the case, is it? ;)

3-axis training at wollongong Dave from Dave's Flying School at the oaks was planning to run a satelite training facity from wollongong airport. Bruce Robbins who is also a forum member (with the same name) will be instructing from there. you might be able to get in touch with him. Dave's rates are quite reasonable as well along with good instruction and really down to earth attitudes.

hi ozzie, how do we go about getting copies of your pdf docs

Good stuff BP, congratulations and good luck with your hunt for the drifter. have a look at wayne's sport model as well if looking for new one, its highly chuckable (maneuverable with crisp handling) if there is such a word. cheers

rotax 503 rpm if you are getting 6800 rpm its reving prety hot and you should'nt have any climbing dificulties but there is a possibility that your tacho might be incorrect. it happened to my 503 few years back and the tacho was showing 7200 rpm and when checked with another tacho it was doing 6250 rpm. for getting the maximum torque and in the interest of longivity of engine life aim for 6400-6500 max. also the one you went for a spin was it similar to your drifter, original maxair drifters and wayne's fisher models climb much better than certified drifters (which can be a real dog on a hot day with two on board) cheers

trike activity at somersby friday 4th april 2008 In photo one Richard is doing a preflight before heading to ballina. photos (2-4) Greg in his 582 Airborne Edge and in last one Len taking off with a student