skippydiesel

The only car I know/have expertise of, that uses exhaust heat is the old VW Beetle -they could kill you. To the best of my knowledge, all post WW@2 liquid cooled enclosed vehicles (car & trucks) - use a small heat exchanger/radiator + fan & ducting to circulate the hot air. They all had a regulating temperature/flow valve OFF - Full On. Most, if not all, also had air direction & fresh/cabin circulation controls. Modern cars use the same system, fancied up with such necessary & unasked for gizmos like "climate control"😈

I froze a few times, winter just gone. The unpleasant experience (mainly lower legs & feet) has got me thinking about possible comfort strategies. I did purchase, a bit late in the season, some of those chemical toe/foot warmers - so have yet to try them. The luxury alternative is a cockpit heater. Seems to me there are three options for heating the cockpit; Traditional; well proven heat from exhaust system. This should be a light weight, almost instantaneous (on start up) heat source. Unfortunatly comes with significant complexity (ducting) hole(s) in the firewall, increased noise when hot air vent open and the ever present possibility of CO poisoning. Coolant (Rotax); Seems quite a few Rotax powered light aircraft have automotive style cockpit heat courtesy of a small heat exchanger & fan forced air circulation. Much reduced chance of CO poisoning, no increased noise, smaller firewall penetrations. Down sides are, slower to deliver the warmth & additional weight. Users claim little to no impact on engine coolant temperatures. Oil; Dont know of any aircraft using an oil cooler/heat exchanger in the cockpit. May deliver similar benefits as coolant system. Down sides similar to coolant, probably increased chance of oil system failure. While a Rotax can continue to a safe landing with diminished/nil coolant, it wont get far with no oil. I welcome criticism of the above points and any additional thoughts you may have on the pros/cons of cabin heat. Despite my desire to follow the KISS principals in all things aviation sometimes one must be pragmatic - I have started to plan for the possible future installation of a coolant heating system. I hope to hear from Forum members on; What they have in their aircraft, the advantages/disadvantages.???? If fitted a coolant heating system - does it work, how well, what would they do differently, where did the source the components, etc etc????? I look forward to some great suggestions & 😈

Is it not a truism that insurance policies, of any kind, are worded so that should the incident/policy holder stray from the strict conditions of the policy, a claim may be denied in whole or part? The Forum members can debate this for ever and will never know the actual result (payment in whole, part or denied) until making a claim.😈

Looks like thistles, what of the blackberry etc?😈

You just enjoy arguing😁 Absolutely! but not without some kernel of truth/fact. You missed that I agreed with you. I accept your apology - not for insulting me (which clearly did not happen) but for your failure to take on board my actual comments😈

Landing pad (over hill) may be wider than taxi way? By the look of the tree covered mountains/slopes, looks to be a high rainfall area (tropics/PNG?) - sealed runway to be independent of rain soaked grass? Hard to judge, runway sloped up hill, not just at the beginning/landing direction but the whole way? Very little wind, but sock suggesting tail wind landing, which would indicate significant up slope - possibly a one way trip?😈

Thankfully, none of these issues apply to me. I have no intention of flying much above 10,000ft in my Rotax powered chariot😈

Back to oil pressure/flow at high altitudes; From Rotax Owners Forum; "The oil tank pressure is relative to the atmospheric pressure. The incoming pressure that drives the oil from the crankcase, from blow-by gas pushing into the crankcase by normal ring leakage, will always keep the pressure over the oil in the tank just slightly higher than ambient. There is always some light pressure in the top of the oil tank that requires venting. In regards to very high altitude this causes oil pressure drop relative to standard oil pressures you see at or near sea level. High altitude drones sometimes use a device on the oil vent line to trap some of this venting air to keep oil pressures in a more normal range. These are switched on (I have not seen an automatic one as yet) starting around 20 to 25k MSL. This maintains the pressure over the oil in the tank to flow better and you see it in less drop of oil pressure compared to without such a device. The one i am thinking of maintains about 5 psi in the oil tank over ambient." 😈

Back to oil pressure/flow at high altitudes; From Rotax Owners Forum; "The oil tank pressure is relative to the atmospheric pressure. The incoming pressure that drives the oil from the crankcase, from blow-by gas pushing into the crankcase by normal ring leakage, will always keep the pressure over the oil in the tank just slightly higher than ambient. There is always some light pressure in the top of the oil tank that requires venting. In regards to very high altitude this causes oil pressure drop relative to standard oil pressures you see at or near sea level. High altitude drones sometimes use a device on the oil vent line to trap some of this venting air to keep oil pressures in a more normal range. These are switched on (I have not seen an automatic one as yet) starting around 20 to 25k MSL. This maintains the pressure over the oil in the tank to flow better and you see it in less drop of oil pressure compared to without such a device. The one i am thinking of maintains about 5 psi in the oil tank over ambient." 😈

Are your sure? Part of landing in a cross wind, maintaining runway heading, is to slip your Craft into wind😈

He could show you 100 percent success results If & when this happens I will be delighted to hear from him. Your prerogative - accept premature, overly optimistic, statements for/against or call them out, as I so often have.😈

Hi Mewp, Me thinks, in your evident enthusiasm, you jump the gun somewhat. If you "Just had professional operator do 15ha by drone."; "Effective, efficient and quick with high success" I have no doubt it was "quick" Efficiency & success will not be known until the target plants have had time to reacted to the chemicals. Only then will you know for sure that the all or part of the area has been sufficiently treated ie sufficient chemical landing on the target plants to effect a kill and the number (area) of plants so treated.😈

If you insisted on incorrectly reading opposition into my statement(s), I have nothing more to say other than I have failed to adequately communicate my position on this matter. I stand by the following statement ; In general, aerial application (no matter the type of aircraft) of agricultural bulk materials (sprays/minerals/fertilisers/manure/seed), can not compete, due to much higher cost, with ground application. Of course there will be exceptions, where terrain, soil condition, crop type, urgency (timing) may change the cost benefit - this does not alter my primary observation. 😈

Wow! Have I hit a nerve or something. Talk about out of context supposed quotes, reading far more into what I actually said. (assuming you actually took the time to read, rather than have a "gut reaction") Show me when/where I said anything remotely like ".....writing drones off..." "......drones don't have a place in agriculture..." If you read what I actually said - it was all about aerial application. Thats ALL aerial application systems V ground. Since you have chosen to focus on drones; I have no doubt that the use of drones, in almost all agricultural industries is but in its infancy ie will grow over time. Currently aerial drones are cost effective systems for aerial inspecting (including- photography, mapping, infrared, pest assessments, crop fertilizer response, etc) delivery of light weight packages eg tree seeds - much more than this I don't know of. Right now & for the immediate future aerial drones do not yet have the capacity of full size aircraft, which have their place but are also limited (mainly cost), compared with ground based systems, as I have described. If you include semi autonomous/robotic ground machines, for such activates as cultivation, seeding, spraying and harvest - they already exist & have for a while (the spray rig pictured above uses GPS to guide itself for very accurate tracking & spay application, the operator is effectively a passenger (for much of the time) once the rig has been programed). Robotic dairy's have been around for perhaps 15 years. I could go on - hopefully you understand my position better now😈

T510/BrendAn, You are very quick to "Rubbish" my speculation but offer no actual evidence, to support your dogmatic assertions. NOTE: I did not say aircraft will not be used, only that their use will be "when ground delivery is, for whatever reason, impractical" The reality is quite simple - where high volume and or weight of product is a factor, aircraft can not compete economically with ground delivery UNLESS ground delivery impractical. Factors; Terrain, ground moisture (wet), crop type, urgency/timeliness. Boom: Available with front-mounted booms from 36 to 54 meters, providing a wide spray width. Engine and performance: A 370hp Cummins engine, 4WD hydrostatic transmission, and a top road speed of 50 km/h. Tank and capacity: 9000-liter tank, designed for high-capacity spraying and increased productivity. 😈

Thank you for the refresher Onetrack. In particular the workings of a centrifugal pump, which I have used throughout my life. You are, of course, correct. I still find difficult to imagine that the Rotax oil reticulation system could be compromised, by lower atmospheric pressure, to the extent suggested by Thruster88, such that this was the limiting factor in the climb to 36,000' (see my comment to Blueadventures above) 😈

True! Except that it is likly that the crankcase gases contribute some pressure and could be controlled, via a relief valve to deliver more.😈

So, your theory is that the pump can not suck (create a vacuum) & then pressurise oil into the galleries, without significant atmospheric pressure, thus being the factor that limited its further climb into the heavens - doesn't sound plausible. Seems to me that in a closed system ie , tank - pump - to crankcase - tank, the pump will work, as long a it does not loose prime, with or without atmospheric pressure. In a vacuum & zero gravity, the oil may be lost from the open tank - the pump would loose prime. Further - as long as there is sufficient O2 for combustion to take place, the tank may be subject to a constant pressure from crankcase gas/ blow- by. The degree of pressure would depend on tank venting which , for the purpose of breaking altitude records, could, if needs be, controlled either by an automatic pressure relief valve or a pilot operated valve. May be the aircraft reached space ?😈

Doesn't sound correct; Rotax engines use a pump to take oil from the remote tank, to the engine. Once that oil hits the crankcase, its returned to the remote tank by crankcase pressure ie blow-by from combustion. As long as the engine is rotating crankcase pressure will be created & oil will return to the tank. I assume the high climbing Rotax was still running at the altitude reached. 😈

Speculation: In agriculture, aircraft are only used when ground delivery is, for whatever reason, impractical. There are GPS guided ground units that can carry 7,500 + L. Obviously can operate with a high degree of accuracy, safety (even at night) at a fraction of the acquisition & operating cost of an aircraft. Chopper delivery gas been found useful in some high value broad leave/dense canopy crops, where the downwash aids in chemical penetration. As for forestry - many trees have very small light seeds, This combined with often inaccessible terrain, makes aerial distribution attractive. As a general rule, farmers are extremely cost sensitive ie unlikly to indulge in a costly unproven exercise/technique, where high level of efficacy is uncertain😈

RFguy - If you don't find out what sort of hearing impairment the pilot has , all your efforts may be for "0"😈

Looking for hearing loss information; I understand (?) that hearing loss can manifest as; Low volume - hearing aid that ups volume will be useful Inability to zero in on conversation (too much background noise interference) - aid that increases volume just makes matters worse. If my limited knowledge is correct (?) ; The the volume control on the radio and headset should help - hearing aid may be better removed. No idea what might help. 😈

I have been informed; CASA will be visiting The Oaks, to discuss problems with aircraft transiting "our" ( below/at/just above circuit height) airspace without any radio calls.😈

I fly with a Dynon Skyview. I had an idea that the Dynon digital "slip ball" was at odds with reality. Installed a conventional ball, directly above Dynon display, only to find that it and the Dynon are in agreeance. This suggests to me that "seat of the pant" determination of yaw, can be psychological.😈

IF? this directed at me, it may be appropriate to say so. If "he" is Turbs? - Its not that he is wrong, its more that he is unswearing unasked questions & making unlikly associations, to wit; Tubs referenced to motor vehicle third party insurance (Green Slip in NSW) is that as an RAA aircraft owner/member, third party insurance cover is part of my annual fees. That RAA arrange this service, does not suggest that RAA has any more duty of care, than the insurance broker/companies providing the cover. RAA may have an oversight function regarding instructor standards. If found to have failed in this duty, bear some responsibility for an instructors errors of process/decision making. This may be viewed as a breach of duty of care - court will decide. Further it is possible that an RAA office holder may also be found in breach, if their duties were in whole/part to conduct such oversight, in which they have may have failed. That RAA personnel seem to have (deliberatly?) mislead, the accident investigation, referred to in this Thread, will certainly lead to significant organisation change and may be harsher penalties IF found in breach, not if there is no such finding. Court imposed penalties, if any, will depend on a whole range of factors, including consideraton of funding/staffing levels/ training/ management/culture/etc. Organisational actions (impact on RAA), can only be speculated on - fodder for this Forum Note: I have no problem with "thread drift", the evolving of a topic into other, often very interesting/instructive areas. This does not mean that I accept what seems to be a response to a statement made by me, that has no obvious relevance to that statement ie "a tangential bomb". Show me where I have "attacked the messenger"?😈