skippydiesel

"While I was taught to use carb heat when pulling power the instructor commented that on most 912ULS the carb heat did not make much difference. He is not the only experienced Rotax user that I have heard say this." Its a widely held belief that Rotax engines do not get carby ice. For sure they are resistant to icing but to think they never get ice is one big mistake. My advice; If the engine is fitted with a manual carby heat system - use it for every reduction in power (landings,stalls or just going to loitering power). Its a good habit to cultivate and will stand you in good stead should you transition to other engines more prone to carby icing.😈

Coolant heated ie plumbed into the cooling system.😈

"Yes. 912 with carbs on top are. Pretty immune to ice unless they have a ducted carb inlet." I would not go so far as to use the " immune" word - perhaps resistant. My last 912ULS/Zephyr, with individual air filters, under cowl temp, ran a consistent 10C above ambient. In 10+ years of ownership and may 100's of hours, never a suggestion of catby ice. My 912ILS/Sonex has an air box, with direct access to outside air. Under cowl also runs 10C above ambient. However the carby inlets are fitted with Cozycarb coolant heated rings, claimed to prevent carby ice. 😈

Hi BrendAn, I am going down a similar track for my Sonex - flies straight & level, hands/feet off, in Cruise with just me aboard. Stick a good sized adult (75kg+) in the right seat and a load of aileron & rudder trim is required. I had a bungee aileron trlm on my Zephyr, didnt need it for the rudder. Very simple/intuitive & light weight. Worked very well. I have acquired a whole role of bungee/shock cord with which to make the trim system. Will need at least two pulleys and one cam cleat per trim (rudder/aileron). I have been checking out variose marine suppliers for the pulleys & cleats - all available. Yet to work out the location of pullies . I rarely have a passenger, so no rush to do the job- get down to it in the cooler months. I may be able to help you with some shock cord. 😈

Me neither - on the 4/ - would need to get back into the carby heat groove, if ever went back to an engine that needs it😈

Hi Kgwilson, Your mention of "carb heat" revived a memory. While I was trained (in central west NSW) to use carb heat when weather and or engine performance indicated, it wasn't until I did an hour or so, in a C172, in BC, Canada, that I was given the instruction to use carb heat before every reduction of power. I dwelt on the lesson, found it good and started to follow the instruction no matter weather or engine condition. It makes so much sense; High exhaust heat, from the high power setting, should be used rather than trying to deice after throttle reduced and heat reduced. Carburettor icing usually occurs at low power settings (throttle reduction), so best to minimise chance of occurance by using high heat before reducing. Adding carby heat has no down side, other than the need to remove it prior to landing, to facilitate the possible need for a full power go round. Carby icing can catch the pilot unawares, so developing a habit to prevent this just seems to be the right thing to do. 😈

Sorry folk - don't know what went wrong. Was a joke photo that I don't seem to be able to find again😈

Be careful Moneybox. For the most part, Rotax do not endorse "lagging" of the exhaust system. Targeted shielding seems to be more acceptable. I do a bit of both, with the emphasis on hose insulating, rather than exhaust. 😈

Its now over 35 years since I started training, in a C172, for my PPL. If memory serves, my instructor had me practised, Full, Patial, No Flap, touch & goes, go rounds & full stops. I do remember the effort required, when asking for Full Power / Full Flap, to keep the nose down and the seeming age it took, the illusion of no movement, to get up sufficient speed, to start retracting flap. The infrequent days with cross winds were GOLD for practising X wind landings, the earlier side slip training helped a lot. We all probably feel we had the best instructor - Mine (a local "Cocky") was/is truly amazing. He somehow maintained an air of calm indifference to my mishandeling of the aircraft but always seemed to be on the ball if/when things were getting out of hand - THE BEST INSTRUCTOR EVER!!! 😈

".........to penalise those who do not obey," Fortunately there are not very many air cops around, so the the (sub leethal) penalties are most often the criticism of peers and or instructors. I don't much like the word "obey" in this context - follow, would be more appropriate. Obey has conations of unthinking adherence. Pilots must understand the reasons for the rules, not just obey them. Of course, PIC survivors of, at fault, accidents accident may face legal censure. "and to help solve legal issues after accidents" Solve??? do you mean may assist in establishing guilt or not ? 😈

While I wholeheartedly endorse the general thrust of your statement, I would point out that rules & regulations are not in place to prevent the stupid killing themselves, they are, in effect, there for the wise, who understand the reasons for and adhere to, the rules, thus preventing their untimely demise The stupid , the gung hoe (most of us have been there) unnecessarily risk their and the lives of others by ignoring the rules. This is as it has always been and will continue. as long as we remain the creature we are. 😈

There are few real accidental discovery's in research - there has always to be some foundation, the right person, the right time. Flemings discover was, in large part luck, however it was his observation and questioning of what was happening, in the petri dish, which eventually resulted in the discovery of penicillin. It is entirely feasible that another, more conventional researcher, may have binned the dish, as just another contaminated /spoilt experiment. Fleming saw something, that could have been a spoiled experiment, but unsteady his mind went off on a tangent and he questioned what if ??????? I only used Fleming as an example - there have been others, often derided by their peers, for not conforming to doctrine, just as the "knockers" on this Forum refuse to entertain, even the possibility, that there may have been a breakthrough, by a small research group, rather than the hugh government underwritten activities elsewhere. Yes "divergent thinking", or "thinking outside the square" is part of going off on a tangent - not being a slave to doctrine is also a large part of it. As I mentioned earlier there are those who habitually go down this track and those who suddenly have an inspiration, possibly a one off. The French lost to the Germans in WW2, because the Germans didnt follow the rules and went around the Maginot Line, rather than make the expected frontal attack. Tangential thinkers can be disruptive, as noted, they can also be the expression of genius. Only an arrogant fool, is so dismissive, as to not entertain even the possibility of the subject of this thread 😈

For you linear (conservative) thinkers; - Hard graft, building on previous research, pays off, but is often slow, takes a lot of resources and very long time. History is, perhaps not full, of the brilliant tangent/breakthroughs but have occurred by someone thinking outside the square , recognising a condition/pattern/something that others have dismissed. One of the greatest was the development of penicillin, a chance occurrence that could so easily have been binned, just happened to be recognised by a tangential thinker, Alexander Fleming.😈

This is what 99% of politicians do, when asked a question: Key Features of Tangential Thought Process: Missed central point: The speaker’s response fails to directly address the original question. “Drifting” narrative: Answers tend to veer off into loosely related or irrelevant tangents. No return to topic: Unlike circumstantial speech, tangential speech does not circle back to the main point. Listener confusion: The flow of thought may feel disjointed, rambling, or difficult to follow. 😈

Oh! the cup half full personalities. A tangential thinker, either by habbit or accident, can also be the person who sees the problem from a novel perspective, arriving at a solution that no one else has considered.😈

All insightful comments. however I live in hope. This would not be the first research breakthrough by a small lab. Just takes one tangential thinker and or a lot of luck. 😈

Assuming he performed stalls & recovery with his instructor , he clearly forgot the put the nose down part of the lessons His instructor should be expecting some in-depth reviews of the lesson plans😈

I hope its true!😈

Bluetooth adapter installed. Only has up to 4 hs on battery, so have connected to ship power supply. As far as I can tell its operational. Will need to go the next step to do a proper evaluation . Will "load" AvTraffic & try to get some flying in from tomorrow 😈

From the photo's- That cap looks to have many flight hours left in it. The reservoir is is not pressurised, the cap is just to prevent entry of contaminates and to stop the chance of a turbulence/hard landing coolant spill. Almost any cap, of the right dimension/thread pitch, would do the job.😈

Hi Jerry_Atrick, Nothing wrong with Parkes and it's associated attractions. It's a nice vibrant country town. Its not Parkes that is the problem, as such, it's that it has a Security Controlled Airport. Being Security Controlled means that the arriving Event aircraft are parked a considerable distance (out of sight) from the public event. This negatively impacts on the character of the event and I would suggest the interest by both public and visiting pilots. "If the numbers are further down, then I would suggest the venue may change - or maybe worse - If the numbers are further down, then I would suggest the venue may change - or maybe worse - the event will slide into oblivion. . " I will be surprised if 2026 event is well patronised. Yes, this is both a strong signal to the RAA organisers and runs the risk of " the event will slide into oblivion". It would be a tragedy if this annual event stopped, which it surely will, if it continues at the Parkes locations (could this be a hidden RAA agenda?). 😈

I used road rated (to 120kph) small (similar to a wheelbarrow) trailer tyres (& tubes to suit) on my ATEC Zephyr. From memory, they were 6 or 8 ply, road tread and I inflated to 25 psi. Fraction of aircraft tyre price, did the job without any issues.😈

ROTAX 912 SPARK PLUG CAPS It would seem that NKG is no longer supplying spark plug caps NGK Vd05FMH stock number 8425. Alternatives are few. So far have only found the following, available from motorcycle parts suppliers, that appear to meet the Rotax specifications; K&S PN 10-422MH Whites PN WPC 014 😈

Got the Bluetooth headset adapter yesterday pm . Will charge & plug in over the next day or so. If all OK, will apply for the AvTraffic 4 month trial. Will let you know the good & bad (if any)😈