old man emu

I decided to reactivate my GA PPL since it's easier for me to do that at Camden than it is to get an RAA licence there, so I lined things up with a training organisation there.

What I wanted to do was go through all the basic flight manoeuvres from S&L, through stalls and steep turns to circuit work. But since I wanted to review the actions, I didn't want to have the pressure of actually flying the plane during the revision. So today, I went out to the plane with an instructor and went through all the exercises whilst firmly on the ground.

I found that I was able to stop and discuss everything with the instructor as we sat on the ground. Because we were not flying, I was able to give all my attention to what he was saying, and had time to take in what he said, consider it, then pose the "what ifs". I really got a lot out of the session - probably more than any in flight session I have ever had before.

We simulated every manoeuvre I wanted to do, and even shot some imaginary still air and cross wind circuits. At the end of the session, the instructor indicated that he believed I was OK with all my airwork, but would like to have a session of landings to see how I handled them.

I would strongly recommend anyone to try this method of training. Go out and sit in your trainer and imagine that you are flying the sequences you are being taught. (If you like, you can even make plane noises while you are doing it.) Although you can't log this time, it will be a great help in reinforcing in your mind and body all the actions you need to make during a flight.

Old Man Emu

Yenn,

When we cover wings and tailplanes, we normally fold the covering material in half and then wrap the structure inside the fold so that we have the ends of the cloth towards the aft of the structure. Then we glue the edges to the trailing edges inner and outer ends of the structure. After than we use an iron to shink the fabric and get it to "drum skin" tension. After that, we stitch.

Did you stitch before ironing?

OME

Doug,

The choice between glueing and stitching comes down to two things: your Vne and the appearance of the finished airplane.

If your Vne is less than 90 Kts, then well glued fabric would be OK. However, you would be best to have wide ribs to provide the largest surface area to glue to. I'm talking of ribs about 1" wide. If your ribs are thinner than that, there's not much surface area to get a good attachment. The last thing you'd want is for your fabric to come loose and destroy your aerofoil shape.

Secondly, if you glue your fabric down, you will end up with glue lines showing through the fabric, and the finished appearance won't be much good.

OME

Sometimes I let my imagination run away with my normally practical mind. Pud

OME

Pud,

3D printing is best used for prototyping, and then, as Turbo says, making production moulds. It won't replace good ol' fire and iron for the things we need to fly with.

The RepRap machine can be used to make daughter machines, but the components for it don't have to withstand massive forces, They are mainly made to hold other components in place such as the stepper motors and gears. It is true that the machine can be used to make its replacement parts such as gears. You have to remember that the machine is made using something like ABS plastic, so its components are a bit like those in a kid's toy.

OME

Material is no problem. It can be purchased by the roll and in a wide variety of colours.

One material is ABS plastic and another is stuff called PLA which is polylactose acid, which apparently tastes like corn when it is heated. ABS is used in all sort of things. LEGO blocks are ABS.

OME

Here is a link to a video of teh palne in flight and some background.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/aFFFiB_if18

3D printing is indeed a great way to prototype components. At the moment I'm looking at making a desktop version based on the www.reprap.org designs. It is not a very big step from a CNC router to a 3D printer.

Old Man Emu

A couple of questions:

1. What model Trinidad is it?

2. Where is it.

3. Where are the ariframe and engine logbooks.

4. If you know the answer to Q3, have you examined them, or had an independant, qualified person examine them?

5. What do you mean by it being "in pieces"/

With answers to these questions, you will get a better answer to your question.

OME

I think the perp is lawyered up and hiding out between the florist and the pizza shop.

OME

An owner who says, "I'll just grab my cheque book."

All it needs is the paperwork to be put on the Australian Register, and a periodic. However, I think there is something about the time on the engine. I'm not sure if the engine is "On Condition" We didn't see anything that needed attention, other than the colour scheme, but I thnk it looks OK.

OME

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

QED Hardware starts production of Cylinder Base and Through Bolt Tool

If you would like to add one of these incredibly useful tools to your workshop inventory, contact us at [email protected]

Tool is $50 + GST + P/H. That should be around $65 delivered to your door.

Old Man Emu

Don't be surprised if this one appears in the For Sale ads pretty soon. The owner may have bitten off more than he can chew. Sorry, I haven't any info about a possible price.

OME

Where's the backup altimeter and air speed indicator? What about a compass?

OME

What we are finding is that the bolts used are good AN bolts, but the nuts are NUTS.

I don't like dissing Jabs, but I think they company is being penny wise and pound foolish by trying to save money here. After all, what's using quality hardware going to add to the price of the aircraft? Probaly not more than $10 - $20.

OME

NUTS = Not up to standard

I have sent a PM.

OME

A client recently came in to purchase some new AN4 bolts to secure his propellor. We found that the threads of the bolt were badly damaged, so asked him to show us the nyloc nut used with the bolt. The thread in the nut was just about stripped.

Closer examination of the nut revealed that the cut of the thread was very poor. We contacted Jabiru to find out their source for these bolts and were told that they were obtained from Blackwoods.

So if you are happy to use non-aviation grade nuts on your Jabiru, keep getting them from Jabiru.

What's the price difference between non-aviation and aviation grade nuts? Probably no more than 50 cents per item. What's the price you put on the safety of your aircraft, yourself and your passenger?

Old Man Emu

Who's gunna offer the kid an apprenticeship to become a LAME with L2 priviledges? He's the type of person who should be trained in maintenance so he can earn a living, and then he can be a pilot for the joy of it.

OME

See the daily special for today...I always carry these in the aircraft because you just never know

OME

Andrew,

Please read Post #6 in this thread. I am writing of the stupidity of a Class D airspace, in that I could quite legally operate an RAA reg'd airplane from a site just a little further than 2 Nm from a Tower Controlled Class D Federally owned airport, but I could only cross into that area between 1600 one day and 0800 the next, and that the Class D airspace was a circular area with a radius of 2NM. Further, I could fly right over the top of that airspace at any height between 2000 and 4500' without infringing it.

What you must understand is that the east coast has the population, but aviation facilities here are being diminished both by the expansion of residential development and the consequent NIMBY attitudes of the people who knowingly choose to buy their houses near airports, then whinge and bitch about the noise, danger of aircraft plummeting from the air and all sorts of Greenie agenda. This lack of facilities is killing both GA and recreational aviation quicker than any pilot's death by heart attack.

And for your information, in the past ten years there have been five fatalities within close proximity to Camden Airport. Two were within the area of the Class D and three (2 from one incident) were just outside but involving flights originating at Camden. These were all in GA aircraft, and one was directly as a result of a heart attack (curiously enough in an aerobatic aricraft - but it was only in a transit flight between Camden and Bankstown).

OME

Seeker: I had no intention of attacking you. I just thought others might do so, therefore I was giving you a heads-up.

You are very lucky to apparently have very busy airports over in the West. I was just making a point that even Col seems to agree with. Camden Airport is not a hive of activity during the week. Admittedly it is on the weekends, and Sat & Sun used to be the only days the tower operated, leaving Mon to Fri open to all comers. That's why I made the comment about the guy in the tower having to try to fill his shift by reading or whatever.

Oh, and by the way. Before you start taking potshots at people, read what has been said. This is what I said:

"I work for a GA LAME, who is also an L2 for the sake of any RAA owners who require service. Obviously, I'd like my plane serviced by him" I never said that I wanted to do the servicing.

If you want to have something to bitch about, how's this: An RAA L2 doesn't hold a candle to CASA approved LAME with over 40 years' experience.

OME

What's involved in this Holy Grail of a CTA endorsement anyway?

OME

RA-Aus planes are generally less reliable because of self maintenance-Andrew

The exemptions that exist enforce L2 maintenance on the aircraft (as they should have anyway since they're training a/c) so if you were expecting a CTA endorsement, expect L2/LAME maintenance as a requirement. Professional maintenance is something I strongly believe in for CTA flying, especially in built up areas.

-Andrew

Obviously, I'd like my plane serviced by him (I'm not an AME) If I operated my plane from outside Camden's D Class airspace, I could not cross the line into it for the purpose of getting my plane serviced by a professional. All because someone is up in the tower, reading magazines and snoozing most of his shift. (Good luck to him).

OME

I might be incorrect, but isn't Class D airspace mainly associated with metropolitan airports with a control tower, and the area under control doesn't extend much beyond 2-3NM of the airport?

That's the situation at Camden, NSW. As I've said elsewhere, I can legally operate an RAA reg airplane from a field just outside that control area, but it would be a waste of taxpayer owned facilities located at Camden Airport. Mind you, I can fly into, around and out of Camden as much as I like between 1600 on one day and 0800 the next, seven days a week. Why???

OME

Screw of Bolts?...what type of heads and type of material?

Bolts: AN bolts; NAS 62 {}{}, NAS66 {}{}

Washers, AN970, NAS1149, MS35333

See my earlier post that has my inventory (Post #45)

OME