Marty_d

Did you miss "check wings exist and are firmly attached" on the preflight?

I don't rely on AI, in fact I despise AI. That was an illustration of how AI is completely untrustworthy. I don't know about you, but I find the Rotax manuals incredibly hard to navigate especially as they're usually in PDF with no direct navigation links. Therefore I don't think it's unreasonable to Google "Rotax 912uls check oil level hot or cold" in the hope that there's a link somewhere to a reputable source. Unfortunately all the user groups - Rotax-owners, Vans air force etc - have opposing points of view on the issue.

Haha - I decided to Google whether it was better to check oil level when warm or cold, because I'm sure I read somewhere that it's better to check warm. What this did do was confirm my belief of never trusting AI - check out the highlighted bit:

Will do. I think I was nervous about rotating the prop when the engine is warm (even though the key was out of the ignition and the kill switch off).

Hmmmm not sure if I fully burped. It was still very warm when I checked the level so the prop would only have stopped 5 minutes prior.

First engine run with cowling on. Completed the glitch list fixes and blanked off half the oil cooler. Ran for around 15 minutes (didn't have my phone with me but Hobbs meter went from 0.5 - 0.8). Kept it around 2300 until oil temp hit 50 degrees, then up to 4000 for mag tests. At that point I found the ropes I'd tied the main gear to a fence post weren't as securely knotted as the should have been - luckily she was pointing uphill! CHT gauges showed 120 and 105. Oil got to 90 over the run but no higher. Oil pressure stayed around 4 and fuel pressure 3 with pump off. After the run the cowl was warm in spots, mainly near the front exhaust headers. Not too bad though. Checked oil level when warm and added around 300ml. Quite happy overall.

Thanks! That's the same article OT linked to.

Wouldn't felt let gas through? Part of the purpose is to stop carbon monoxide.

Thanks, that's the kind of shape I want, but in lighter silicone.

Hi OT, Yes - saw that one. That's a backup plan, it'd be good to do the out of silicone though (less messy!)

Hi all, After some advice. My CH701 has rods from the rudder pedals through the firewall to the noseleg for steering. These rods go through vertical slots as they need to move up and down as the noseleg suspension moves. I bought a piece of silicone sheet online, but at 2mm it's too thick to deform enough to make into a boot that can move around in the middle while fixed (sandwiched between aluminium collar and firewall and riveted) at the edges. Has anyone found a solution to this? I'm thinking something preformed, like the Dektite flexible fittings you can get for roof piercings. But lighter and smaller of course. The slots are 20mm wide X 100 tall. Thanks, Marty

Everyone lived, that's a pretty good outcome

Their Sopwith Pup kit is 130k - without engine or, as far as I can tell, fabric.

Beautiful landing.

Who was it kept saying the Australian Defence Force should invest in fleets of Jabiru drones? Looks like they listened... Autonomous aircraft boost logistics reach WWW.DEFENCE.GOV.AU Air Force is developing autonomous aircraft to strengthen logistics across northern Australia.