skippydiesel

Just wondered what the consensus of opinion might be:

Recently became interested in a, potentially high performance, LS class aircraft, kit built, Rotax 912 ULS powered but very little additional info by way of description or photos.

Vendor - (extremely honest)  informed me that he did not know where the engine had come from (speculated from a school) or what hours it had run up. He himself had had considerable work done on engine & gearbox and stated it runs well.

This information fairly knocked the fantasy out of me - I apologised for wasting his timer and withdrew my interest.

I appreciate that as a kit built aircraft, there are many things that may not be legally required, regarding its provenance (& component parts), accident history, etc however I am dreaming when I suggest that most owners would have fairly good records ?

51 minutes ago, Geoff_H said:

I am interested.  Not knowing what instruments etc that could be sold of it ends up impossible to be fixed.  

Its a bit different to a Mooney. If you want to discuss further -contact me.

As for instruments - I have removed all but the engine instruments. Depending on the final  price, the nave/flight/comms will bee either part of the deal or sold separately - there is just too much money tied up in these to give them away.

I have been trying, for the last 18 months,  to find a suitable replacement aircraft - so far no luck (some very close but deal fell through at last hurdles). Who would have thought it would be hard to find the right aircraft  or to sell my Zephyr. Anyhow if I havent sold the Zephyr soon (?) will bite the bullet, go into a 6 months intensive rebuild and have myself a wonderful aircraft at the end (that's the fall back plan).

6 minutes ago, turboplanner said:

Neither Gladys or Scomo are the CHO.

There's been no gross incompetency from any of our CHOs; Australia is one of the most successful countries in the world at managing this pandemic

Political "heads" of departments are forever putting pressure on the bureaucrats (including CHO's) to move in one direction or another, supress/highlight information, "toe the party line" .  Most if not all, department heads are political appointees beholden to their political masters. - I dont believe for a moment, that Gladys & her gang are acting any differently.

The buck stops with Gladys & Scomo - I for one would be pleased to see them go - now.

As for "Australia is one of the most successful countries in the world at managing this pandemic" give me a brake -True we have been  very very lucky, our success is mainly due  good luck -  we are an island continent.- not good management This fact alone as allowed the slow often inappropriate and insufficient response, of our collective Governments, to be mitigated.

Our federal government is supposed to be responsible for our national security (in this context health), set national strategy in response to external/internal threats. Provide support & guidance to responding agencies. For goodness sake we didn't even know who was responsible for authorising the entry of infected cruise liner passengers (turns out it was delegated somehow to NSW department of agriculture - who would have believed it, they didn't) - Scomo????

29 minutes ago, Thruster88 said:

Cables would be a responsibility of the airframe manufacturer re maintenance.  

Well that may be "by the book" but i replaced my old cables with custom made jobs a few years back. Of course my Zephyr is a 19/kit, so there is very little by the book but I cant imagine waiting weeks, even months, for a distant manufacturer to send a simple cable that you can have made locally.

22 minutes ago, BirdDog said:

Interesting you say don’t lubricate Skippy, when it’s actually a requirement in the Rotax Maintenance Manual. It states to use engine oil. I personally didn’t use oil. I used a marine based lanolin spray 

 

 

 

Go for it my friend - For the record I said "not a good idea" but its always "do as I say not as I do"  and I also have succumbed to the temptation and I use a very light smear of Molykote 111 - high quality silicon grease. Attracts very little contamination, great adherence & persistence. I would never use engine oil or traditional grease in this area.

1 minute ago, Thruster88 said:

I have read the comprehensive ad for your project, while i am not in the market for a repair project i think you would have sold it if you included realistic price on it re parts value as above. Without a price most people will not bite. Like fishing without any bait. 

Fair comment - Open to negotiation -  what say you to an opening price  of $22,990 ? (see if you or anyone take the "bait")

1 hour ago, turboplanner said:

Skippy, most of us worked out in March last year that when a State of Emergency is declared by a government, the government steps back and an experienced commander takes over; exactly the same as when bushfires cause a SOE.

 

So no point trying to make it a political issue. Gladys was just giving the news as the other Premiers have.

 

Once you uderstand that, then you can look at the different approaches by the States.

 

In Victoria a lockdown is triggered when a complicated equation shows the our medical facilities including a dedicated Covid hospital would reach their capacity, so lockdowns are called early, when a lot of FB and Channel 9 commentators can't see why, but we've beaten down some big waves including a Delta.

 

Sydney people have kept on making headlines from the Bondi Beach display onwards, and this just had to happen. 

 

The CHO was probably trying to get a balance between reasonable compliance and people ignoring a lock down, and, with the benefit of hindsight she blew it. You could see the south west falling and the spread north as the Mayors jumped on the Today show arguing to let people keep working becauise they "had to put food on the table".

 

 

What made you think I was politicising the matter - I am just highlighting gross incompetency, driven by a false precept, which may owe its origins to political ideology but I care not a fig for that.

Even the Romans knew how to handle a pandemic.Our present leaders (I care not what their political allegiance is) have been slow to accept the lessons of history and the council of scientists in the field.

Most of our state leaders have belatedly come to some understanding - swift, decisive/hard action must be taken - Gladys & Scomo were out back of the dunny, having a fag, when that bit of information was being absorbed by everyone else

Why do a hatchet job on Gladys & Scomo?- simple they are the captains of their respective teams/the front person, so they cop the blame when all turns to sh-t. 

From the outset the people who really understood the problem have said we must treat the pandemic as a war (against CV19) - when a country is on a war footing,certain civil liberties are suspended for the duration (few complain). Not us! We allow demonstrations by the antivax brigade to take place. Do I care that they may all get infected? No! I do care that when the protesters go back homes they may infect a lot of innocent people who do not deserve to be so assaulted.

What about vaccination you say?

Well the polies are all clamoring for more vaccinations to be available/administered but I have my doubts:

Scenario 1. Even if the currently susceptible populations (those in lockdown and a surrounding buffer zone) could somehow be mass vaccinated today - it would be at least 2 weeks befor a low level of resistance/immunity would take effect - so that's another two weeks of (poorly implemented NSW) lockdown.

Scenario 2. We all (80%) have the full vaccine (both doses) that is effective from between 70-90% (depending on which one you have) herd immunity the pollies crow - well yes & no. First, the vaccine does not appear to prevent infection & therefore transmission. So what ,if you dont drop off the twig? well we dont know how long the vaccine  it will remain effective, nor what effect being vaccinated will have on the ability of the CV19 to evolve into something else (less/worse dangerouse). Nor do we know what will be the result (on the rest of us) from having an unvaccinated group, presumably riddled with the wog, in our midst.

It seems to me that this hype about the vaccine(s) is a diversion/smoke screen, by the powers that be, to divert our attention from their failures on the quarantine front.

Quarantine remains the most effective way of controlling & even eliminating the diesese and yet we fail time & time again to implement the STRICT TIMELY action that is required (Gladys/Scomo failures).

True, quarantine must be viewed in the context of the economic well being of the country (note I said country not  state) however there will be no economy, to speak of, with a sick population. Significant control of CV must take precedence over the econamy.

It seem to me that the future must include:

• Vaccination for all willing to participate.
• For the unwilling, there must be strictly enforced penalties- certain jobs will not be open to them, travel internationally barred, crossing state borders during a CV out break not possible, participating in social gatherings over a certain number (decided by epidemiologists ) barred, etc etc
• Snap quarantine/lock down of a significant geographic are/population MUST happen within hours of a potential carrier being discovered - can always be relaxed/cancelled if conditions indicate.
• No entry of any person (no matter status) to Australia without full vaccination.
• All persons, without exception,  entering the country to carry a movement reporting/location devise for a short period after entry.

Lets face it we already accept certain restrictions on our free will supposedly for the good of all - have you considered the doubtful practices of seat belts/bike helmets/speed cameras/passports/certain forms of taxation/etc etc???

CV related vaccination and temporary movement restrictions, have a much greater benefit, for all of us , than much/all of the aforementioned.

On 26/06/2021 at 7:12 PM, Thruster88 said:

Skippy you would be aware that cost recovery is never realized in any aviation expenditure. That is why we love it. 

My definition of "cost recovery" is parts only - no labour/time.

I have always known that you will never get your time back on akit and often not the purchae price either but things like Rotax 912ULS engine, avionics all have a good market value, the airframe well its more of a give away.

10 hours ago, BirdDog said:

Update - SOLVED. 

So sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. The problem was staring me in the face and I could not see it. 
  
 

It would appear that the Lame that did the last 100 did not lubricate the throttle components.  I also found the idle mix screws to be way out.  Once I fixed that and lubricated all linkages, the problem is all but gone. The CHT are within 10c of each other. 
 

 

one thing this taught me.  When I do my daily I always check throttle travel and choke engagement, but realised I never checked the chokes had returned to minimum. It’s now on the list. 
 

Problem solved and lesson learned. Win win. 

 

IMG_1377.MOV 36.34 MB · 0 downloads

Great outcome - its a cautionary story for all of us - humans have atendency to focus in on the complex solution, bypassing the simple.

Word of caution -" Lubricating throttle components" - in general, not a good idea can lead to further problems as lubricant becomes contaminated - accelerated wear/sticking/etc.

(could only get voice on your video)

Throttle "return" springs should be replaced from time to time - may be worth checking in to.

3 hours ago, cscotthendry said:

When in doubt, RTFM.

True very true BUT remember this is the minimum standard for continued safe operation - a contentious operator/pilot can always chose to do a little better.

First ; My apologies, to that part of Australia, outside the Greater Sydney Area, impacted by the inept performance of our NSW Government, for their failure to contain the CV19 delta virus.

Lockdown! What lockdown (in NSW)?

Its been a joke from the beginning, when the unvaccinated/masked limo driver transporting high risk flight crews to/from their accommodation to airport caught the wog & passed it on. (This is when a proper lockdown would have had a high chance of success)

Good old Gladys (Scomos best buddy) tried (not very hard) to contain the virus by basically asking people to voluntarily isolate.

Yea Gads - we all knew about Delta and the need for swift decisive action but nooooo Gladys had the Gold Standard to maintain, with Scomo cheering in the background (what a pair!)

When it became obvious that things were getting out of hand what did the 1/2 wit do? lock down (sort of) a few municipalities - as if you can isolate a few council areas from the rest of Sydney.

If there is to be any hope of containing this outbreak, in NSW (from the rest of Australia ) the Sydney Basin must be locked down COMPLETLY no movement with the exception of TRUELY essential service personnel.

Rat bag demos like the one yesterday can not be allowed to happen - we are at WAR with this virus - some civil liberties must be temporarily suspended for the duration.

2 hours ago, planesmaker said:

399 reported deaths to TGA from Covid vaccine, makes one wonder if we are going the right way. 

Maaaate ! - the figure you quote is for deaths associated with recent CV19 vaccination -  actual confirmed deaths resulting in the rare blood clotting,  you can count on one hand - it comes out at about 1 per million doses.

This figurer can be for any age or comorbidity ie if a 95 year old dies after vaccination/blood clotting, this is still counted as a CV19 death.

My point is: If you are in good health, have no factors which might make you susceptible to dying from a CV19 "reaction" (comorbidities, extreme age, supressed immunity, etc etc) your chances of having a bad reaction is minute - probably more dangerous to drive to the clinic.

The biggest problem for 912's carburettor's  is not the inlet manifold length(s) but the difficulty in getting even operation, in both carb's, using cables. It is not unusual to have a sticking cable, the carb opening closing going slightly out of sink - both may cause uneven fuel delivery. What matters most is that both carbs are delivering the expected fuel/air mixture in the 4800- 5800 rpm range

Plug colour, in 912's  is not a reliable indicator of "health" - think about it - this is an engine optimised to run in a fairly narrow RPM range. Taxying and descent power is outside this range. On top of this will be sub optimal engine temperatures at this time. If all else has been adjusted appropriately and engine running as expected, the only time I would worry about plug colour, is when there is an indication of excessive oil consumption - usually black sticky/wet looking deposits.

Your CH temp variation could be an unusual  cowling air flow (in/out of prevailing wind), momentary coolant issue or instrument reliability (yes you have swapped the sensor lines but what about the read out itself?)

49 minutes ago, Mewp said:

I think i read up to 30% use of avgas is ok. Over that and what RFGuy says comes into play.

Personally I would avoid AvGas  and only use it on those rare occasions, when away from home and ULP is unobtainable.

912's are designed to run on ULP - Using AvGas just increase your operating cost unnecessarily initial cost of fuel, followed by increased  oil changes and the build up of lead "scum" in the gear box, requiring (from bad memory) a 600 hr strip, inspection, clean.

3 hours ago, facthunter said:

The 912 doesn't have an even suck from each carb.. Length is uneven and pulsing is wrong. .Nev

?????????

1 hour ago, Russ said:

Query……can you SAFELY run a 912uls on avgas…

Of course! AvGas just needs a different(more intensive/expensive management strategy (as per RFguy above). 

I guess you could argue, lead being pumped into the atmosphere is a safety issue, for those who inhale it - but it wont bring the aircraft down.

I havent checked lately but I think the Rotax recommended oil change interval, when using UPL, is 100hrs - down t 25 hrs when using AvGas. Personally I always do mine at 50 hrs but that's by choice and is oil only, filters etc changed at 100 hrs.

13 hours ago, walrus said:

Skippy, you are showing your age. Victoria didn’t invest in a rail system after about 1950 for one very good reason that made perfect sense at the time: - we had Communist controlled, bloody minded railway and tram unions that made public transport an expensive and unreliable nightmare for the general public. That was why we built freeways instead.

 

‘’The unions were always going on strike on any pretext. Productivity was awful. Any new investment in technology was declared “black” by the unions until more pay was extracted, even then technology was hobbled by outdated work practices so that it never produced a positive return on investment…..

 

‘’So we gave up investing in what was then a shyte  form of transport, operated by communist scum. It was only after Jeff Kennett broke up the unions that investment in public transport again became possible.

 

‘’As an older Melburnian, I can tell you that even Today I will NEVER rely on public transport and as for using it to shift goods in a business setting, the risk is just too great. Give me a truck that I own every time.

I dont doubt your history lesson but would point out:

• Doesn't change the logic of my statement 
• It would seem that most/every "advanced" econamy of the recent past invested in road system's, where the up and coming, such as Japan/ China/ Central Asian invested heavily in rail to their present day advantage. The UK actually down graded/undermined its otherwise excellent rail system (Dr Beeching) in favour of roads.

Communism has/had little if anything to do with the radical/extreme union behavior of the past - look more to the long entrenched history of mistreatment of workers, by the wealthy minority, that created an environment where change had to happen. As is so often the case the change only occurred when force was applied.

An truly egalitarian society does not accept the development/existence of engineered haves/nots, the existence of an incredibly wealthy minority/poverty, advantage/disadvantage, the promotion of faith based lobbies - this is not Communism (which I abhor) it is an understanding that we as a society do ourselves a disservice (in the long term) by marginalising/disenfranchising large sections of our own community.

Turbo - You certainly know your HGV stuff but as an occasional driver of 40 years, all I can tell you is that the view/visibility from a forward control (cab over) beats the heck out of the conventional/long bonnet style.

Further I have an immediate feeling of competence in a forward control that I never feel in a conventional.

As far as suspension goes - very limited experience of either designs on really rough roads - so find the ride comparable.

Spent  6 months helping a mate out with a hot mix semi - mostly in north Sydney. Prim mover a conventional KW - bloody awful in those very tight streets and the way cars would pass & cut in, complexly disappear under the bonnet - no chance of seeing if they were braking - just terrifying.

Yeah! I still feel queasy when a passenger (no control). No proles in 30 years when in the position of  PIC.

Ugly trucks - a nice cab over/forward control (eg Scania) would have looked the futuristic part so much better.

Trains!  Its not so much the trains as the rail system - after 50+ years I still find it hard to believe that Australia has not had the foresight to modernise its rails systems.

A modern rail line (without road X rail crossings) enabling trains to cruise at 200 kph (or more) with automated freight handling at stopping points, would be hard to match for energy and time (door to door)efficiency.

33 minutes ago, Paul davenport said:

Sorry gentle men we seem to have drifted away again. It’s Jabiru we are talking about and my original question was to Jabiru engine powered aircraft. I appreciate your well intended comments, I have had one person reply with direct comparisons of Jabiru’s with and without thermostats (thermostasis brand) and I thank him for his input .

Jabiru specific actual information or real observations only please

Paul - while I have some sympathy for your Jab only responses,  I hope you understand, that the practical application of mechanical know how/physics is universal ie not limited to one aircraft brand or even just aircraft.

Good point IBob and adding to that is the addition of two additional points of potential hose failure plus a small weight penalty, all for cold weather operations that could possibly be accommodate by a temporary cowl flap or a bit of tape over part of the oil cooler.

In a piped/enclosed liquid transfer system, with a fixed delivery (pump), the "flow rate"  will ultimately be controlled by the diameter of the narrowest pipe (this might be the radiator if transmission cooling style). Other factors will be internal surface friction "pinch points" (some valves) etc.

Larger diameter delivery/return pipes to the oil radiator are unlikely to do anything very much unless the original pipes restricted the flow below optimum cooling capacity of the radiator.