Moneybox

Yeah, Mrs M has been on at me to get the Polaris microlite down from hanging in the shed but where do you park them all? I desperately need a hangar. This one is 19-**** that allows me to work with it. The Sportstar is a 24 and very difficult to work with. I can't fit the AP I want, I can't fit the instruments I want and the parts are a rip-off. I wanted to change the throttle cable from the ratchet/locking type to a friction type. I did the right thing and asked Evektor, no problem it can be changed so they supplied the part numbers of the two little grommets and the cable. I ordered it through the Australian dealer in SA and accepted the ridiculous price of $1480. Well that was until I received the cable, they supplied a locally sourced McFarlane cable that I could buy from Aircraft Spruce for less than half the price. I felt like going back to Evektor with a complaint but I might need the dealer one day for something important. I returned the cable for credit. This plane has the same type of throttle cable but it seems to work much better than the difficult to operate throttle control in the Sportstar. I've only left the ground and landed it three times but I had no trouble at all with the throttle.

I had a 4.5hr flight home yesterday in the Zenith Zodiac 601hd. Now I know what you're trying to fix with the rudder trim, I had to keep constant pressure on the RH side of the stick. I left Murray Field Airport heading NW to Northam. I had cloud at 3000' over the scarp so just enough clearance to stay in clear air over some very rugged country with lots of hills, valleys and water reservoirs. It was a bit choppy but not bad considering the 30kmh gusts from the SE. I filled the 100L tanks in Northam for the rest of the trip almost directly north from there. The first hour is over farming before nothing, no roads, tracks or rail lines. I deviated from my course a little to keep a long string of dry lakes in sight. They could be soft and muddy but surely a better landing than dense low shrubs. Just on 10nm from Paynes Find the iPad blacked out. I'd had it on charge from the cigarette lighter socket but the MGL instrument was flashing Low Power Supply. I landed in Paynes Find and found the little Temp and Voltage indicator that he had plugged into the cigarette lighter. It showed 11.4v, just like last trip. The MGL instrument was showing the tanks still near full so I wanted to dip them, and almost impossible task with the Rotax running and no park brake. I took the chance and shut it down, there was plenty of fuel in fact the instrument reading was spot-on so I never added anything from the 20L I had strapped into the RH seatbelt. Fortunately the engine fired up instantly so I headed for home just using the compass reading and visual markers from my previous trip. I landed with 11.3v and tied it down. This morning I checked the Stator voltage was good but those two wires just pulled right out of the multiplug where it connects to the rectifier. I've soldered them into the spade terminals now but I haven't run it yet to see if it's charging. I've got the battery charger running on the little Yamaha generator. I have to go back out there and top up the fuel to see how much it consumed but seems like not much.

Every industry used to have their apprentices and trainees, in most cases they start out sweeping floors, emptying bins, defending themselves from tricksters and usually poorly supervised. If the video is anything to go by these kids may have been thrown in at the deep end but with good supervision, training and procedures. Don't forget we're comparing this build to the average homebuilt where the workflow is often non-existent, guidance often poor and skill levels of somebody with great expectations and limited experience.

I'd feel quite confident after seeing the quality control an supervision. Nothing would be hidden, every difficulty along the way would have a solution worked out by a group of experienced aviators. It's great to see this sort of initiative. Programs such as this should have full government support in a wide range of industries.

I do have OzRunways in the iPhone and YCUE as a waypoint in my GPS but my magnetic compass is only good in smooth flight.

That's ok when the going is smooth but a few corrugations start the compass behaving badly. That can be ok too for a bit if I have a site in the distance but on the way up here I had haze and bright sunshine making finding a long distance target difficult.

I've got a box of various RAM mounts but they are all very heavy. My iPad is giving me battery trouble so I might end up with a new one and a fan mount to suit. First I'll see if I can find a suitable location to mount it. I've been tossing up between the SuperEco AP that works alone and fits into the spare 3" hole in the dash, and the iLevel AP that needs the iPad. I don't trust the iPad but if I buy new with the cooling system it might be ok. The big difference is that the iLevel AP comes with ADSB-IN so the government rebate will pay for most of it.

Ok, I take a look at that. I'm low-wing so direct sunlight is likely to hit anything and everything. I guess I can plug an adapter into the cigarette lighter socket then cover it with the iPad mount.

I've been sitting behind my panel considering how I'd mount an iPad. Mine is sitting on the seat beside me or propped against the back of the propeller control to keep it out of the sun. This is my panel. One supplier came back with images of a redesigned panel but that's not an option. What I need more than anything is navigation, for that I've pretty much settled on the SuperEco AP. It'll fit into that spare blank hole and give me air speed as well. I don't trust my airspeed indicator, I think it's faulty even though it was tested this time last year. If I go with the Trigg-31 ADSB-Out it'll slip into the existing Bendix King cradle. I'd still like to have an iPad to give me ADSB-In and OzRunways, it may have to be an iPad Mini. This morning the big boys were in. I had to do my runup and checks quickly and just made my radio call as the Dash-8 was firing up both massive propellers. I had to pass behind it to get to the line up spot but didn't notice and propwash. I back tracked the kilometer or so at 40kts and got out of there before the Dash-8 had turned around. I'd like these guys to see me in the air and I like to see them.

First attempt was a go-around. I couldn't get it to sink in time and I didn't want to plonk it down near the big hole. Second time I used the width of the airstrip and quartered it into the wind for a smooth landing. I'm coming in quite steep, none of this 3° stuff. If anything was to fail with that wind I'd end up back in the bush. I I did see somewhere it mentioned up to 20kt cross wind.

This situation was set in motion many years ago when the government in power at the time removed training subsides. There was a time when you received the first two years of a apprentice's wages virtually paid for. We trained who we needed without a big drain on the budget.

Yeah that doesn't work. 20kt crosswind on runway 34 this morning. How windy is considered too windy to fly?

Maybe but we don't have to worry about runoff after rain. Best it doesn't run anywhere and cause erosion. This is not my airstrip, it's one of the three at Coodardy Station. These old airstrips have been in service for generations and are meant to be maintained by the Shire of Cue. They will get there eventually but some of the best staff we've had in recent times have moved on or retired. I'll just do enough maintenance for my own purposes. I did some repairs to the sock but it was too dangerous for me to get it up there. I'm waiting for the station owner to get a cherry picker in. At the moment the wind reports on Windy.com are reliable enough. I can drop my plane in in about 100m so a bit of damage 400m down a big wide runway is not a problem as long as I know it's there.

This morning I had to make my way around a big hole in the airstrip. I went there this afternoon with the intention of using the Bobcat to drop a bucket of soil into it. I didn't have a key for the Bobcat but I put a bucket of sand in by hand. At least I can see it now.

Left at 7:00 for Coodardy. The iPad was fully charged last night and on about 60% this morning. After landing a realised I didn't bring a chair. Then I grabbed the iPad and settled down on the ground with the ants and my iPad, it was dead flat. No book to read and an hour to spend filling the 1000L IBC's. Fortunately I watched where I was going on the way out because the old iPhone 6 is not too smart on OzRunways.

I spoke to Skippy today and so far he's quite happy. Yes Ducati have dodgy rectifiers however if what I read is correct there are problems with the solder joints that can be rectified if you wish to dig the resin out of the back side. My guess is the Chinese are better with a soldering iron than the Italians. They'll either have a 10 year old kid or a robot doing the job.

Sorry guys, visitors arrived and stayed all evening so time got away. Description report New high quality products. Easy install and durable use. Great quality and great Fitment. Correct Connector No cutting or splicing. Give a sharper and more sophisiticated look for your car Applicable: for APRILIA 8112200, 8138004, 8212120, AP8112331 for BENELLI 51721400 for CAGIVA 037038500, 061546750, 080546458, 42901, 4851000, 54040011A, 800054017 for DEUTZ 04191201, 04191231EC for DUCATI 061046750, 061946750, 343520 for GILERA 316788 for LOMBARDINI 7362.018, 7362.022, 7362.027, 7362.040, 7362.056, 7362.66 Colour:silver Material:Metal Package Contents: 1x Rectifier Only the above package content, other products are not included. Note: Light reflection and different displays may cause the color of the item in the picture a little different from the real thing. The measurement allowed error is +/- 1-3cm. Will it do the job? I don't know but it's stated to be suitable for several Ducati models. I'm not into bikes so I don't know one model from the next and I wouldn't have done this if the Rotax rectifier was a good product, it's obviously not. This is not a critical part so considering the price and ease of installation I think it's worth the test. I need to set up a method of monitoring battery voltage. A simple digital volt meter will do and I'd like to see something indicating the Master is switched on. The only indication I have at the moment is the sound of the Hobs meter ticking over. I know there are a lot of previously tested rectifiers but all needed wiring modifications and all come at a price so close to the original part I may as well buy the original. Lets just see how it pans out.

Now you can call me a tight-arse if you like but the Italian part is certainly not reliable. Lets see what the Chinese can do. It should mount on the same screws and directly plug into the harness.

I tried to stay away from tiger country, saw a few water buffalo and rhino but no tigers out here. The old iPhone looking through the canopy into the haze didn't do too well. I appreciated the modern facilities at Paynes Find although the door was locked.

I started out with a full tank, dripping out the lip. Did a few circuits that included two touch&go's and two landings in 0.7hrs. Then I flew 1.9hrs including runnup. Next leg was 1.5hrs including stuffing around with the battery and I added 20L of 98. I've just added 40L to fill up. That's 4.1hrs on the clock for 60L of fuel travelling on 5000 to 5200rpm and the first 1.9hrs at 4500' and 1.5hrs 6500'. Approximately 275nm travelled. It looks slow but I spent quite a while on runup before circuits, trying to sort the battery and runup before leaving on the first leg.

Ok guys, your attempt to assist has been helpful although you caused me way too much stress for a Sunday morning. I followed the instructions, resistance in the stator was fine at 0.1 ohms and the wiring and terminals look good. The battery charged up nicely, I forgot to give it a load test before installing it but I'm not concerned about the condition of the battery. All went well until I couldn't get any AC voltage from the alternator. I even tried willing it to work because I really don't want to start digging into the back of the Rotax. Eventually I worked out I had to press a Select switch on the multimeter to change from DC to AC and my blood pressure dropped about the same as the voltage came up. I got 19v at a high idle and 22v at 3000rpm so now I'm happy. 🙃 Now I just need to buy a regulator/rectifier and a capacitor. It looks like the Rotax rectifier is going to come in at something over $300 plus the capacitor and is known to be unreliable. Then I have to option of fitting one of a Japanese machine, most likely made in China but likely to last a lifetime for $50. What a tough decision?

Great article Skippy. That capacitor looks like a must-fit item because the rectifier certainly has a short life expectancy. Blueadventures suggested I might keep a spare rectifier so I'll order one right away and after a few checks most likely fit the new one anyway. If I'm to keep a spare it can be a used one if it still operates. If I had a 19 rego I'd be fitting one of the aftermarket options, preferably something not made in Europe.

I can carry out a load test once charged however that is not going to fix the alternator/charging problem. I have no doubt the battery may have lost some of its ability to supply a full discharge however it did fully charge after it was flattened. After I'd left the master on and found the battery flat it was fully charged. I left it at the door of Northam Air Services with a note requesting to have it charged. I picked it up a month or so later and it cranked the engine as if fully charged, not the sign of a stuffed battery.

There's no way of telling if the generator/alternator ever worked since I got the plane. It hasn't been used enough to tell and the generator light operates as if it's charging.

Yes I understand the battery may now be damaged however this is not a battery fault. I have no generator charge. I bought the battery new so about a year old but until completely flattened over several days it remained fully charged. It recharged fully after that so I'm hopeful the battery is ok. It may even improve with constant use.