skippydiesel

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Shure there are a few who do not believe the future of land transport is electric and that one day all of our energy needs will be met by electricity. I am not one of them. However your enthusiasm (lets call it that) may work, to some extent, for the city/urban dweller but is yet to be economically viable beyond the burbs. Its a bit like the free public transport that has been implemented by some States - does sweet FA for the outer city/country dwellers & businesses. I think you are a little ahead of your time - One day there will be long life, light weight, fast charge batterie's and charging stations all over Au. Land vehicles will have a 1000 + km range and recharge in minutes. Small electric aircraft will have the range to safely fly between our major cities. Every house/community will have a battery, charged by the sun/wind, that will make them independent of the grid. This is all tomorrow my friend - what of today?😈

Speculation: The era of the home builder, slaving away, often for a decade or more, at his/her aircraft project, is diminishing with the post war baby boomers dropping off the twig. The younger generation (s) want their entertainment now - not in 10 years. For a kit supplier to be economically viable into the future, it will need to be a plug and play affair. Vans & some others have gone some way towards this concept, with their matched hole construction (meccano) offerings. I belie even the Vans approach will ultimately fail, in favour of plastic fantastic's where the "builder" basically connects/installs premade factory modules, that he/she have selected from the factory menu. These plastics,will in general be fare more economical to fly, likly less polluting in both fuel and noise emissions and conform more closely to the designers intended performance & safety standards 😈 .

Maaate: Tax dollars belong to US not the Government - small point that needs to be emphasised. The Gov does not suffer when revenue is forgone. We may, down the track but what needs doing now, is some tangiable response to an emergency situaton, no matter how short that response may be. As for your soap box lecture on EV's /fossil fuels- I see you list quite a range of aircraft under your name - which one is an EV ? My point is simple - until EV's are a true alternative to all our vehicles (not just commuters and the occasional city dweller adventuring down the highway) we will continue to need fossil fuels for land, sea and air vehicles. I am a supporter of EV's and recognise that one day they will be ubiquities in both town & country but not for the immediate future.😈

Your point?? The price of diesel contributes to every aspect of our lives, even to your ambulance rush to the hospital and the carriage of your remains. Petrol on the other hand only influences the cost of personal travel, mowing the lawn, the time you spend in the air, etc ie not far off discretionary A temporary removal of the diesel tax components, would do something tangible to address the fuel shortage and the cost of living rise. Not a hard concept to grasp.😈

True!! At least in part; One , significant benefit, if you are building in Australia - As the builder, you decide a whole host of matters associated with the aircraft. The purchaser, of the completed second hand aircraft, gets to live with these decisions. The purchaser of a completed kit is not much diffrent to the purchaser of a factory built aircraft ie you can not change very much. As for purchase cost - much will depend on quality of build, engine, prop and avionics choices, maintenance record, flight hours, (for Rotax) calendar age, etc and of course the reputation of the aircraft. A good one will cost you a lot more than half the build cost, possibly for a very popular one, more than the build cost. Build cost is usually materials only - the hours & years of building rarely get recognised in the sale.

Hi Danny-Galaga, Use your headset volume control, rather than the intercom/radio, to moderate incoming volume. I set my radio to a high volume & then adjust for personal preference on my headset😈

Paul Bennet is one highly trained/experienced pilot. This Just shows how unreliable humans can be. Non of us can afford to be complacent or point the finger at the misfortunes of others. If you are religious an apt saying; "There go I but for the grace of god." 😈

I don't know much about the high wing but do know that it faced competition from other similar aircraft (RV, etc?) and I doubt, broke new ground/ offed anything extra to define it. Sonex had moved quite quickly support the Rotax engine option, only recently comming out with a Rotax compatible ring mount - perhaps e too little to late. My Rotax 912ULS varient has wing tanks to give it extra legs - Sonex were appalled at the inovaton. 😈

Yes! Unfortunatly there will be future problems with support, both advice & material, for Sonex ownersl. I feel for those who have purchased kits, that now may never be finished. The Sonex range are great little aircraft however I think their stubborn refusal to move with the times, in particular their very late "recognition & support" of Rotax engines, has not done them any favours. This coupled with limited fuel capacity/range (if you stick to the plans) has left them well behind aircraft with similar cruise performance. In much of Australia we don't have the luxury of a potential fueling location every 100 nautical miles or so.😈

Looks to be a nice day (19C & light winds), if a bit cool, at Parkes. Similar weather tomorrow (Sunday). Camera 28/03/26, 08:00 shows modest attendance. May improve during the morning 😈

FlyBoy1960 All good information. As far as I know Rotax use RON, in all its recommendations. Australia uses RON to describe its vehicle petrol types. So there should be no confusion when deciding what fuel to use, when in Au. 😈

Parkes Weather 27-29/03/26 Looks promising for Saturday & Sunday. Early arrivals Friday may have some interesting weather challenges. The seminar schedule looks interesting & packed into a single day event I note the following: "UNICOM or other ATS services WILL NOT be provided at Parkes (YPKS)..............." "Parkes is a security-controlled aerodrome. Visiting pilots must either hold a current ASIC ............" I hope that those that attend have a great time and will get back to the Forum with all the highlights.😈

As I mentioned, Rotax allow for a the 80hp to be operated on 90 RON, however further reading indicates, to me, that using such low RON fuel brings with it "knock" risks, that need to be understood & managed. Using higher RON fuel, reduces the risk. I am not familiar with the 80 hp, however am aware that, in the 100hp, using 98 RON would seem to near eliminate the risk of "knock" . Check out the Operators Manual Page 5-8 5.1.1) Power setting Sorry cant seem to copy the attached graph. You might also like to look up Rotax Service Bulletin (SB) SB-912-079 R1 (same graph appears in this publication) Additional thought; I understand that higher RON fuels allow for better altitude performance. What this might mean for a Rotax 912 being operated below 10,000ft is not entirely clear to me. LAME's, L2's, well meaning friend, Forum advisors (me) - Always listen to their advise BUT they are human, just like the rest of us. They can be reluctant to give up cherished beliefs (myths) and make errors. Can be unduly attached to the maintenance/operating doctrine of one engine type (LYCon?) that is then applied to another (Rotax?) without real understanding of the differences. As PIC/maintainer its your responsibility to decide how to look after (fuel type) your aircraft. Treat all advise with scepticism - apply your own experince /logic and if all else fails, follow the Rotax advise, as writen in various Manuals & SB,s 😈

Only if running on 30%+ AvGas or real old 912's without overload/clutch (I understand the slip clutch has been a standard fit for many years).. My last 912ULS was still testing okay at 950 hrs - never had a Gbox inspection😈

Not according to Rotax maintenance schedule, with the following exceptions (taken from latest Line Maintenance Manual) Only for the following: "Checking the propeller gearbox without overload clutch. (3 only for engine type 912 UL/ULS/ULSFR (2 if overload clutch part no. 996886, without lead drain holes, is installed and use of leaded fuel more than 30% of operation." 😈

Moneybox "I’m running the 80hp Rotax on 91 for a considerable saving." FYI: https://www.flyrotax.com/p/service/technical-documentation Chapter 5 is probably your best data Rotax 912UL (80hp/lower compression ratio, than the 912ULS/100hp ) can use as low as 90 RON, however it seems to me that Rotax are advising (in the above Operators Manual) using 98 RON & allow 95 RON with extra caution by the pilot. AvGas can also be used however above 30% (from unreliable memory) the service interval is halved (50hrs rather than 100hrs) and the gearbox inspection goes down from 1000hrs to 600 hrs, due to lead fouling. 😈

DC3's on the ground? 😈

Is who you know, not how you perform, that wins all too many Gove contracts (remember the contract economic advisor scandals). We have government, at all levels, addicted to high cost contractors, to the determent of the public service/tax payer😈

My apologise for getting the Tax/Litre wrong. There will still be a GST windfall - somewher in the region of an extra 25-125C/L . The price of diesel may continue to rise, however I strongly doubt the amount of diesel used, will drop significantly - its an integral part of our society & econamy. 😈

Random Thoughts; If, aircraft not in hanger & expecting high wind - tie down securely at all 4 points, tail, wings & prop/nose wheel. In general stakes/anchors should be 45 degree's (or more) out from aircraft tie down point. Ties should all be firm - once they work loose the potential for further loss of security is greatly increased. Lock controls surfaces against movement. Elevator & ailerons can usually be secured using cabin/pilot safety harness around stick/yoke. Rudder may need a purpose built restraint. Wheel chocks are a good addition but must be secured to wheel so that any movement does not dislodge chock/render less efective. Very effective, light weight, chocks can be made from large aluminium angle. Each wheel front & rear, secured with shock cord/similar. 😈

Moneybox, "The iPad lasted all of 10 minutes dying as I passed over the dry Lake Austin just south of town. " Have you installed a ventilated iPad docking station ? Is your iPad fully charged before you take off ?- this will reduce the inflight charging temperature. Can you shield your iPad from direct sunlight? 😈

I guess we are all concerned about the price/availabity of fuel. What it has suddenly risen to and what it might go to. For most on this Forum its the price of ULP and Avgas. To get to/from the airfield & then fly the aircraft and what of refueling during a trip away? A major influence in fuel pricing, that has always intrigued me, is the cost of diesel. Diesel underpins EVERY aspect of our lives (including petrol cost), yet its price rarely seems to be of significant concern to the general public. Our Government taxes diesel at about 43%/Litre (not an insignificant amount). Therefore this tax is effectively influencing every aspect of our lives, yet there is no suggestion, from the Gov of reducing/suspending this during the current fuel emergency. The consumption of petrol can be significantly reduced, without too much impact/pain on the wellbeing of the public and econamy. The consumption of diesel can not be significantly reduced, without severe societal/economic ramifications. The Gov stand to have diesel tax revenue windfall,with the rise in the cost of diesel. So far the Gov has toyed with the idea of; a national reduction in speed limits, as a way of conserving fuel - predominantly petrol ie little impact on diesel consumption/cost. asking (directing?) people to work from home - another petrol reduction initiative. car pooling - reduction in petrol consumption. reducing some services (eg weekly rubbish collection) - at last a potential reduction of diesel consumption I suggest all Forum meters contact their Federal (&State) local members to express their concern about the price of diesel. FYI - How the price of diesel is arrived at in Australia; ttps://www.aip.com.au/sites/default/files/download-files/2020-06/Facts%20about%20Diesel%20Prices%20and%20the%20Australian%20Fuel%20Market_1.pdf 😈