Old Koreelah

56 minutes ago, RFguy said:

... I will retrofit the Jabiru with some sort of broad mesh as to catch whatever could clog down stream. ideally, meshes need to be progressively finer as to prevent a single orifice blockage soemwhere down stream.
 

I thought they were standard in Jabs. I fitted a pair of finger filters (like those in T88’s post) taken from a Jab kit.

14 minutes ago, turboplanner said:

...Then there are the things like you mentioned which drop in when the cap's off...

These days I’m religious about using Mr. Funnel.

During one cold night trip in the 70s I was gobbling a chocolate bar as I refuelled the bike. A piece fell into the open tank. Weeks later the bluddy bike stopped on the Putty Road. A blob of sultana had clogged the fuel tap outlet.

37 minutes ago, RFguy said:

fortunately, wasn't a summer's sunday afternoon.

good reason for warning horns ?

I fitted one that I found on a US boating site; very small, light plastic, with a piercing noise. Wired direct from battery with its own local fuse, so it’s still available during an electrical failure.

My wife ridiculed the angry mosquito sound it made as I flew over our place above 500’ but at least she heard it.

28 minutes ago, facthunter said:

With cold mornings occurring you must be careful of airframe icing too. Remember each 1,000 ft is 2 degrees C  lower temp as you climb. Ice is not just weight. It reshapes your aerofoils  so the stall speed you had is meaningless... Nev

Another aspect of cold morning air I noticed yesterday: it’s denser and your plane climbs like a homesick angel, perhaps giving you a heightened level of confidence. Later in the day it might be considerably warmer and thinner, with less lift at the same speed.

A very useful discussion, fellas.

One skillset needed in EFATOs is slow speed flight; keeping control at V1.4, which in my case is 58kt. 

My next lesson is to practise keeping control and doing safe turns (at altitude) with the nose high and engine turning below 2000rpm.

41 minutes ago, turboplanner said:

... now allow six seconds for "shock value" the this can't be happening/flicking a few switches etc.

Valid comments, Turbs. A couple of seconds of “startle” time is built into this simulation, but every takeoff should include the Murphy factor. (Who was it that said we should not be surprised when the engine stops, but surprised when it doesn’t.)

Those two turns were pretty leisurely; I could do better.
As shown on the tracks, I like to drift to the left, just in case. A failure below 300’ means I should make it back onto the runway line and get down on the long gravel strip ahead. After that point I can turn onto the cross strip, but that “window” is pretty small. 
Beyond that window means coming down in a cultivation to the left of the strip.

41 minutes ago, turboplanner said:

by telling the Instructor to pick a random time, randomly deciding the engine just cut, even getting someone to set a stop-watch alarm...

Good points; I was lucky to have an instructor who surprised me with about 20 simulated power failures.
That was years ago and the lesson is wearing off.

On 10/05/2021 at 4:29 PM, Old Koreelah said:

We could use our OzRunway tracks to check how accurately we fly circuits, etc. 

In the near future I plan to practice EFATO turn backs while at altitude directly over our airport, so that the OzRunways track are laid over the actual strips. Confined with careful recording of the gauges, this could show if my turns could have made it to the cross runway, etc.

This morning I finally got to do this over 1000’ above our circuit.

Was surprised to lose no more than 200’ during the two simulations and easily lined up the cross strip. OzRunway tracks seem to show I could have comfortably made it.

Not advocating anyone ignore good advice, but the paddocks directly ahead are pretty rough and usually full of big black cattle.

2 hours ago, onetrack said:

Turbo, surely you jest? Discharging a firearm inside a cramped cockpit would produce enough concussive forces and fumes, to just about disable a pilot - let alone the potential damage to aircraft control systems with a random bullet!...

 

I knew a bloke who told of shooting wolves from a cub. Only issue was when he shot a hole in a strut.

43 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

Roosters CROW at the break of dawn & I'd like to wring the neck of the one 2 doors up the road at that time every day.

Ditto re the bluddy Cacatua galerita. They’re clever enough to land in the tree next door, just out of range, then start their atrocious screeching, before flying away to join their mates in destroying another farmer’s crop.

There’s a message in there somewhere.

I’ve recently switched to 98 MoGas. Despite best intentions to fly regularly, it doesn’t seem to work out that way; MoGas gets stale. I have noticed she’s getting harder to start and I guess it could be more than the cooler weather.

That isn’t the only challenge; a mate once found lots of varnish in his float bowl after leaving it full of MoGas for months. Maybe just a crook batch, but another reason to run it dry.
 

I haven’t adapted my fuel management habits to the new fuel. Looks like I should turn off fuel as soon as I touch down, allowing the carb to run dry, in case the weather stops me from flying for weeks.
Then, as Turbs says, I can add a fresh batch of fuel to help make starting easier.
 

5 hours ago, RFguy said:

...as usual Leith very helpful...

That’s always been my experience as well.

5 hours ago, RFguy said:

...a couple of SN after my engine, push rod lengths were changed from 207.00 to 206.00, because some clearance problems were being found.   Mine are 207.00

Interesting. I wonder if mine (SN 3178) is affected?

6 hours ago, turboplanner said:

I get an instant start with a couple of litres fresh 98 in the tank even up to 3/4 full with a fuel injected engine. 

 

 

That’s been the common advice, but it should only hold true if you run the carb dry on shut-down (how would the fresh fuel get into an already-full float bowl?)

I only run my carb dry if planning not to fly for weeks or months.

On 14/05/2021 at 8:31 PM, Blueadventures said:

Plus they are very noisey and that is not favourable for flying quietly over close by houses...

I agree, Bluey. Decades ago the American off-road motorcycle sport, under public pressure, ran a campaign to reduce 2 stroke exhaust noise (less sound=more ground). 
Sport aircraft face similar pressures in many closer-settled areas. My jab engine is so quiet that people usually don’t notice when I fly over their place. Who could complain about electric planes?

6 hours ago, NT5224 said:

... Gotta admire the courage of those mad bastards who fly fire fighting missions just above the flames!

Too plurry right, Alan! 
A water bomber pilot reported that heavy turbulence caused chaffing from his harness.

Awesome, Laurie! My womenfolk were excited to see where their nectar of life comes from: Brown Brothers.

2 minutes ago, Possum1 said:

Hmm... Holy thread drift, Batman!

This would be a drop in the bucket compared with the operating costs of many of these aircraft to fly to this breakfast and return home.

 

Gatton Air Park is located on the outskirts of Gatton. There is a Coles, an Aldi and a Super IGA a 5 minute drive or less from this airfield. There is no reason that someone couldn't have done a run into town before the food ran out altogether.

 

Last month at the Murgon Fly-in Breakfast, at the cooking end, we ran low on food twice and the club secretary made two trips to the Super IGA in town for more food. At the serving end, we never stopped serving and the punters never noticed.

Well done those clubs! Others like ours are far from town and supplies.

Our catering person always advertises for RSVPs so she has some idea of how many people are expected, but few pilots ever actually let her know. 
Another aspect is the hours the cook must keep. We sometimes get an influx of aircraft long after the gas has been turned off, just when the cook is finally sitting down for his own meal.

...and another thing: we’re all getting old and with age even I am developing some patience and understanding. Aero club catering crews are often quite advanced in years, with some tapering off of efficiency.

I’m starting to notice this when phoning people; the “not here, leave a message” recordings of young, busy people I know are brief and to the point, while some who are even more ancient than me, take minutes to tell you they aren’t available.

I understand people’s disappointment with going hungry, but spare a thought for the volunteer catering crew; if they overcater, lots of food is wasted.

Perhaps sending a text the day before could make their job a little easier.

Another aspect: every plane should have some tucker on board in case of emergency and this scenario would be a good opportunity to use it and replace it before it goes out of date.

3 hours ago, F10 said:

I heard Huey pilots in Vietnam would rotate all the engine instruments in the panel, so the needles all pointed straight up....you could see a problem with one quick glance.

That has been discussed before in reference to rally cars- where the driver has even more reason to keep his eyes outside...

I know of a Kiwi home-built Jodel which flew to Oz via Norfolk and Lord Howe, landing at Pt Macquarie. After a touring around this country for a few weeks he flew home again across the ditch. Trusted his VW engine.

3 hours ago, F10 said:

... Will a heat gun soften it a bit? Will probably have to be quite careful with that...

All good advice, F10. It might be easy enough to bend a 2mm Lexan sheet into place, but over time it may develop tiny stress cracks that affect visibility. It’s also softer than Perspex so will scratch more easily.

 If you really need to heat-form it, the compound forming temperature is 130C IIRC- but not something to rush into. Polycarbonate absorbs water and needs to be carefully dried out before heating. I discovered this the hard way.

Try cooking overnight at 60C. 

I noticed a couple of suggestions in Bill Whitney’s submission which have relevance for little aeroplanes:

2. Developasingleaxisautopilot(awingleveller)forlightandultralightaircraftso that if they get caught in cloud they don’t lose it.

4. EncouragethefitmentofGPSequipmenttoALLaircraft.

59 minutes ago, F10 said:

Castor oil....so, the sight of Richtoffens circus diving out of the sun wasn’t the only reason underwear needed to be washed....however, let me add, all respect to these very brave pilots of the Great War, it was brutal..

When we were kids our old bus-driver neighbour told of watching the Red Baron from the trenches.

It wasn’t much like the legend. Being a nobleman, Von Richthofen had a team of pilots whose job was to herd any hapless allied flyer into his gunsights.

There are a few lessons for RAA pilots there, but we don’t need a formal “badge” system to tell us if we improving. Every flight could be set up as a challenge to test our planning.

We could use our OzRunway tracks to check how accurately we fly circuits, etc. 

In the near future I plan to practice EFATO turn backs while at altitude directly over our airport, so that the OzRunways track are laid over the actual strips. Confined with careful recording of the gauges, this could show if my turns could have made it to the cross runway, etc.