Phil Perry

A documentary the other day about a WW2 crash in Scotland speculated that the Duke of Kent may have been at the controls in similar circumstances.

I have not read the story PM,. . .but you can bet that the royal didn't cop the crap,. . . .that would have been shouldered by a serving officer. . . . .

Them and us mate. . . . . or, .. .If you are an eddificated personage,. . . .THOSE AND WE. . . . .

 

 

Slight query on term - unless this is a heavily modified F2A with an engine change the F2A has rotax 2 stroke with bing carbs - no carb butterfly to stick wide open but a carb slide to potentially stick ...

Hiya Kasper,. . . .as I said, just reporting what I was told,. . .and YES the Bing carb on my plane has a slide as well. . . . . Have not seen the aircraft yet, as reported, so please forgive the text reports I recieved. We have 2 stroke aircraft on that site, some of which are heavily modified in one way or another,. . .all mods having to be approved by BMAA or LAA,. whichever organisation through which the owner has his permit. ( TBH , I was a little quizzical about the "Butterfly" bit also. . . . but not having seen the plane,. . . I can't comment. )

 

The Pilot rang me earlier on this evening,. . . ( They always do in the end,. . .as I was safety officer for 22 years. . .) and asked me if I knew anyone who had a Flash 2 Alpha trike for sale,. . .I said that I did,. . .and he said that he only wanted the trike frame, . . .and didn't want to pay for an engine as well. . . . .I said, well,. . .good luck then ! . My mate Adrian's trike wing was eaten by rodents, who took out a structural part of the wing fabric on both siides of the nose, this would require a complete replacement of the wing covering at an approximate cost of £2,500.00 plus 20% VAT. . . . I don't think he'll bother, BUT I don't think he'd take kindly to someone asking to buy the trike unit AND THE PROP . . . without the 503 engine really,. . .that is just taking the pi$$. . . . .

 

Phil

 

 

My Lightwing Gr 582 [ATTACH=full]35458[/ATTACH]

Lovely looking aeroplane Doug. . . . . shame we never had any in the UK. . . . . . all our "Early" types resemble summat out of the "Those Magnificent Men" movie. . .! ! Apart from, that is,. . .the Tiger Cub Biplane . . .

 

But these were sold as part - kit,. . .Part plansbuilt machines, BEFORE the prototype had even flown. . .! Such was the scene way back when. . .it turned out to be far too short coupled, and had to have the fuselage extended by fourteen inches ( wozzat in dollars ? ) to make it even half stable, and it killed and injured quite a lot of people back in the days before the BMAA ad any sensible standards. . . . we've got an original one, which I have personally flown,. . .or rather, crapped myself in. . . .I'll try and get a photo as it used to be in the Boulton and Paul museum in Wolverhampton, but that closed down last year, and I dunno where thy've put the inmates yet. . . . . Anyway,. . .that looks like a nice flat beach for larrikin landings, from what I can see of it in your picture. . . .

 

Speaking of beach landings,. . . .I just had a memory fart,. . . .Does anyone know the name of a little airstrip about halfway down ninety mile beach, East of Melbourne,. . . where you can land and eat the tucker, then leave some dollars in the honesty box ? ? ? I landed there a looong time ago, enroute to Merimbula, when I got caught in some rather low cloud. . . . . good grass strip. . .just a couple of hundred metres inland from the beach. . . .few lakes / inlets between it and the beach If I remember correctly. . . .wonder if it's still there ? ? ?

 

Phil

 

 

Didn't Charlie try landing a BAe146 downwind once, and ran out of runway?

Yes he did Marty,. . . . . and the poor Squadron Leader who was, in fact THE CAPTAIN of that ircraft got $shitcanned byt the RAF for letting him touch the controls at all. . . . .

 

What an impossible position to put the poor bloke in. . . . "NO YOUR HIGHNESS. . .IT'S MORE THAN MY JOB IS WORTH. . ." or,. . ."OK Your Highness,. . .but for ***** sake be careful, or I'll lose my job,. . .er,. . .Your Highness,. . .we're gong the wrong way. . . .YOUR HIGHNESS. . . .Oh bugger.

 

After they canned that bloke, I lost all respect I might have had for the royal household.

 

Who gives a ***t, they're a flighty lot anyway, my mate wanted to fly, so he went to work for her as she had more toys he could play with, if he played his cards right.Ended up flying her around UK in an Andover some years back and got paid for having fun.

OOOOh. . .that's nice,. . . .and carrying your own personal Purple Airway around with you and grounding everything else wherever you fly. . . . . must be great to be royal. . . . . . !

 

We all got grounded by emergency Notam a couple of years ago when a junior royal flew by queen's flight helicopter to the new war memorial near Lichfield. . . . . . Sheeeesh.

 

 

Thanks for your interesting comments re the use of "easy start" products Gents. . . . .

 

I have been away all week, but got some more info today, as it is a Bank holiday, and there were lot's of people about, including some witnesses, and one of our pilots, ( Rotax engine maintenance qualified ) who inspected the wreckage, which was unfortunately locked up in a hangar today, so I didn't get a pic for you. . . .The pilot was also identified, but he appears to be making himself scarce at the moment. . . dunno why, he's in his sixties ( bloody old twit ) like me. . . . .but there you are,. . .might be busy doing other things, who knows, but he has not replied yet to the airfield manager, a CAA Examiner, who said simply this. " If brains were dynamite, . . .he wouldn't have enough to blow his ******* hat off. ( Asterisks from me, not the mod. ) Possibly a little unfair,. . .as he HAS NOT interviewed the pilot thus far.

 

From what I have gleaned today,. . the scenario is pretty much this.

 

The pilot bought a share in an A22 Foxbat around a year ago, and converted to three axis flying in that machine. He has a quarter share in the Foxbat syndicate.

 

His flexwing engine had not been started for at least that amount of time, and he had decided to have a look at it, with a view to selling it on, having developed a liking for "Gentleman's carriage" type civilised aircraft ( his words ) with doors, a CD player, a Transponder, and a cabin heater.

 

He pulled the trike unit out of his hangar, and chocked the wheels. Following around fifteen minutes of cranking the engine over with the in-cockpit pull rope, he gave that up.

 

He then asked a Non - flying friend to sit in the front seat, with his left foot on the wheelbrake pedal. What sort of safety briefing, or other information he gave to the non - pilot is a bit sketchy, as the guy has clammed up, expecting a CAA court case ( ! ) However, whislt still in mild shock, he recounted a few things to another of my pilot friends, who made him a cuppa, just after the incident occurred. . . but more of that later.

 

The pilot checked that the side throttle lever was set to idle revs, before attempting to hand - prop the unit. (This lever, for you non - trikers, is mounted on the left side of the seat frame, about level with the pilot's hips, this is so that an instructor sitting in the rear seat can reach it easily. This lever normally has a friction device so that it can be set for cruising)

 

The cable from the side throttle and also the cable from the foot throttle, which is located so that it can be operated with the right foot, are routed into a "two - in - one - out" independent "Mixer" tube unit, so that one cable exits the tube and thereby proceeds to the carburettor(s) so that either, or both throttles can control the full rpm range of the engine, In this case, this engine was fitted with a single carburettor.

 

Our local "Sooty" Nige the Mechanic. . .inspected the carburettor and found that the throttle butterfly was jammed fully open, at full rpm setting. . . .(which could explain why it didn't start in the first place. . . .)

 

On being told this, the pilot told Sooty that before he put the aircraft away last year, he had removed the cables, hung them up in the hangar and allowed some WD40 or similar to trickle down the cable sheaths, to, hopefully, make sure that they didn't corrode during mothballing. . .

 

The Side throttle cable had stuck to the inside of the sheath and this had kept the throttle butterfly open.

 

When the magic go fluid was used, the engione went to full throttle straigtht away. . . .and this could explain the whole incident.

 

If the non - pilot WAS actually shown the single ignition switch, which faces downward, inside a small guard cover, is monted on the right side of the seat frame approximately opposite the hand throttle, then he seemed to have no recollection of being informed about this, which was why he decided to leave the cockpit in a hurry.

 

If he had not done so, he could have been seriously injured, as from the damage to the trike sstructure, I am told that it must have been travelling at around forty knots when it hit the steel hangar frame on the other side of the parking area. . . .good job he was not strapped in, in this instance.

 

On a slightly different note,. . .when I was courting, my BSA C-15 250 blew up in my girlfriend's driveway late one night, and her Dad lent me his ancient Commer Diesel Pickup . . .he gave me a can of something and said,. . ."If she stalls, . . .squirt some of this down the intake, or you'll never get it started. . .! ! !

 

Phil

 

 

A weightshift trike unit was was seriously damaged, after it ran away unoccupied and collided with a metal hangar some 50 metres across the rigging area.

 

The pilot had been trying to start the engine from the cockpit for some time without success, and had resorted to hand swinging the propeller.

 

He had squirted a quantity of an "Easy Start" aerosol product into the intake, and following this the engine fired immediately and the trike leapt forward rapidly, the wing was not attached to the trike unit at the time of the incident.

 

A non - pilot friend had been sitting in the front seat of the trike, with his foot pressed on the brake, as requested by the pilot / owner. The mainwheels of the unit were chocked.

 

As the engine started and very quickly ran up to high RPM, the unit ran over the chocks, taking the non pilot with it initially. The non pilot then bailed out of the seat leaving the trike to continue accelerating across the grass rigging area, where it struck a steel framed hangar and came to rest.

 

The owner commented that he had no idea why the engine rpm increased so rapidly, as he thought he had set the throttle to idle.

 

No injuries to pilot or non pilot, nor any other personnel. Airfield Manager is investigating.

 

Aircraft : Mainair Gemini Flash 2 Alpha, Engine : Rotax 503 / 2 stroke .

 

( ** This occurred at my local airfield during the week )

 

Phil

 

 

Nein, nein, Sie mißverstehen mich. Unser Wein ist als Deutsch als Ihre Königliche Familie ... errr ... wahrscheinlich ein schlechtes Beispiel!

Typical, . . .I had a funny feeling the "Royals" would get a mention here ! ! Still think Riesling is a bit sweet for my taste,. . . a crispy Moselle ain't too bad but.

 

Every newspaper but one, had the new sprog on the front page,. . . .The Independent said that the General Election on Thursday next is more important than a new Royal . . .! I wonder if prince George will become a kid playing with jets when he gets a bit older . . .? That family sure do seem to love flying machines.

 

Phil

 

 

Ah Phil - I just love your wit - the ability of some of you Poms to laugh at yourselves is priceless - mind you I guess you don't have much choice..... I particularly enjoy your reference to the flying skips - can't wait to tell all the 701 and Savannah jockeys at the field - the best I had come up with previously was the "ugly duckling". We have a growing band of 701's in particular - they fit them with huge tyres and specialise in landing on mountaintops and in riverbeds. Some of the members of this forum who tut tut at any mention of flying over tiger country would be horrified at the places they go, but thats what they are designed for!

Hiya Micro,. . . . when you live in England,. . . being self deprecationialismic is about all you've got left mate. . . . . . when the very first CH 701 kit was delivered in this Country,. . .my daft mate Tony ( he of the boring video in the L39) said instantly that it looked like a corrugated iron SKIP. . . .and it just went viral over here,. . . . and then followed on to the poor Savannah. . . for some reason, the 601 bulders ( low wing variant ) seem to have escaped this ignomy, eve though it's still a bit of a "Boxy" design. . . .

 

Tony is a two bob millionaire who was left 16 buy-to-rent properties by his Dad, and now tries to outdo everybody as he apperas to have some sort of inferiority complex, hence him paying for TWO flights in the L39, just because four of his mates had one each, and that was no good. . . .nowt to brag about !

 

If you showed him your new lawnmower, with a 350cc engine in it,. . .he would immediately go out and buy one with a Rotax 914 turbo. . . and then show YOU. . . . AND all your friends that his was bigger and better. . . .

 

You've probably met people like him on your travels though life,. . .they are a vexation to the spirit. . . I taught him to fly in my own flexwing ( trike) in 1989, and he then proceeded to go and buy one with one more blade on the prop and a larger 2 stroke engine. . . .!

 

You may notice that the video he sent, which I posted here, was labelled "SORTIE 2". . . . . .!

 

He then went and managed to get through an assistant flying instructor rating course, on the third attempt, . . . and let that run out after teaching nobody to fly. . .but still puts on his business cards "International Flying Instructor" . . .bit sad really. . .he accompanied a friend on a flight to the Czech republic to collect an early Sting demonstrator, and that was the "International" bit apparently. . . . No need for it,. . .plenty of money,. . .outwardly nice bloke,. . but turned up at the curry shop the other night with 24 bottles of Yellowtail which he handed around the room. . .look at me,. . .I've got "Loadsamoneeey" Commonly known as "2 Planes Tone. . ." He's got a Vans RV4 and a half share in a sportcruiser. . . .

 

I fervently hope that if I ever win the national lottery,. . .I won't turn into a worse prat than I am at the present time. . . .

 

Sad . . .?

 

 

I'm self-medicating now. Cottonwood Grove riesling. Life is good.

REISLING ?????????????? isn't that Jermann stuffen ? . . . . Geez Marty mate,. . . I never took you for Sie blutige kleine betrunkene Verräter! Sie sollten wirklich an Australischen Weinen bleiben und zu stoppen vorgibt, ein suave anspruchsvolle betrunken zu Stadt. . .

 

 

Very interesting post.I certainly could think of better things to do with 800 pounds but I guess its all personal choice and if you have the 'play money' for this then why not.

 

Another way to blow some cash would be to do what Andy did in Russia - Check out 37:30 of this youtube video for Andy's flight.

 

Would you trust that the jets are maintained well enough to do this?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkpWpbL8T_A

Actually Adam,. . .the £800.00 price was a special deal organised for a couple of my mad friends, as one's boss in the States used to be a US Navy pilot with one of the operators of the business,. . .their normal price is £1,200.00 for a 20 minute flip. . . . . Still quite cheapo compared to the £2,750.00 for the same time in a 2 seat Spitfire in the South of England. . . . .

 

 

Fair go Marty, Aussie wine is hardly alcohol, it is daily essential vitamins. Though I'm not sure about Yellowtail...

Yellowtail. . . . .trying real hard to read the quarter mil text on the dead bottle libel PM,. . . says summat about 13.5% alkie,.. . . ( How does that compare with our imperial percentages in the UK I wonder ) made in Yenda ( ? ) not familiar with the place moniker. . . and at the bottom is says to "Drink Responsibly". . .so of course, I had to put on me old tuxedo and drink it with a real serious look on my countenance. . .( as you do. . . ) took up the red after my Doctor said it was good for me,. . .he never mentioned any actual quantities though, but I find the more I drink,. . the more quantative easing I get. . . . .

 

 

"The Flying Skip"... I'm tempted to paint that on the nose now. Hmmm... perhaps not.If a clapped out aussie alkie can't take the p1ss out of a clapped out pommie alkie, what's the point of the internet??

Just think back t othe bad old days pre-interweb. . . you send in your hand written fold and stick airmail letter to the post forum, and the ascerbic wit contained therein has gone stale after the three month mail turnaround !. . .yes,. . .the interweb keeps it fresh,. . .AND, BTW,. . .all the Zenair 701s and Savannas in the UK are affectionately known as flying skips,. . . .not just your particular one Marty . . .what about painting ( or stickering ) "Skippy" for your noseart ? ? ? that would get them guessing ? . . .wouldn't know if you were a dumpster or an Aussie. . . . .

 

 

It's a 1975 Cessna 172. They never leap off the ground! Now, if it was a modern RAAus aircraft with a Rotax 912uls such as a Foxbat, Sportstar or similar it really would leap off the ground.

Yep. . . .even on a downwind takeoff ! !

 

 

Who studies these things??

Listen. . .why don't you go back out into the shed and bang a few more clecos into that flying skip you're building ? ? ? ? ? got to be more rewarding than taking the pi$$ out of clapped out pommie alkies. . .?

 

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A mob called "Into the blue" at Biggin Hill are offerering a nice ride in a two seat Spitfire,. . . 20 minutes airborne, for only £2,750.00 ( wozzat in bux . . . ? )

 

Sod the L39. . . . !

 

 

Two bottles of wine ain't gonna help with that Phil...

Studies have shown that large quantities of wine have no discernable effect on a walnut whip. . . . . .

 

 

OMG,. . . . . look at that second photo,. . . . the 'G' forces on teeth must have been horrendous. . . . .look what it did to their topsets . . . Ouch.

 

Actually,. . . the bloke on the left is a doppelganger for my younger Brother Graham "The Bike",. . . . apart from the positive Gee force denture damage that is,. . . only he doesn't wear shorts,. . .usu

 

ally attired in recycled cowskins emblazoned with the Triumph logo . . . .

 

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Phil,At the risk of sounding like a wine slob, did you know that ALDI in Australia entered several of its under $AU10.00 wines in a wine and food competition and this was the result:

http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-food/drink/a-corker-for-aldi-as-its-wines-shine-at-2014-sydney-international-wine-competition-20141126-11u3wc.html

 

Perhaps you should divert past Waitrose and touch down in your local ALDI. You'll probably have to badger the Manager to stock some good wine.

 

OME

OME,. . . .glad you are back safely from your trip for ANZAC Day,. . . . .they had a bit of a "DO" here in Cannock, which I attended, and really enjoyed speaking to some of the oldies there.

 

I'm sorry I have not replied to your PM yet,. . .will do,. . .still messing around with paperwork for Mum's funeral, coroners stuff and allsorts.

 

On the Aldi thing, YES, I'd seen the report in the national papers that they'd won a couple of awards for quality wines, . . .I pass by their Cannock store on the way to the foodbank. . . . . the wine is cheaper there, but you can't choose. . . . . Oh and by the way,. . .we have not got a Waitrose within a thirty NM radius of where I live,. . .nobody around here has the dough to shop with them. . . just for rich people and pollies. . . . .

 

Phil

 

 

I've seen those things racing at Reno, 550MPH 50-100' of the deck at full throttle. very impressive

Yes mate,. . . .but Apparently,. . .they DON'T do those sorts of speeds when they are flying tourist grockles, as the fuel bill would make the flight a non profit jobbie,,. . even with the el-cheapo cost of paraffin / kerosene / Jet A1 in the USA,. . . but I have to agree, they are a lovely machine, and it's a shame we don't appear to have any on the register in the UK,. . . . (AFAIK) . . .could be wrong there. . .usually am,. . .I just LOVE being non-controversial. . . . bit like you really. . . . .

 

And as for them low flying in the States,. . . .can you just Imagine. . . .this being allowed in Australia or the UK,. . . .Pylon Racing. . . .stuff like that. . .?. . . . doubt it. . .America is the only place you are EVER likely to see that sort of thing, as they are still beset by the sentiment that you are responsible for what you do,. . .and the state won't stop you if you want to get dedded at high speeds whilst skimming the ground and having a lot of fun. . . . . .

 

 

 

This B O R I N G vid was sent to me by one of my more B O R I N G Rich kid . . .I won't say, friends, just . . .people I know,. . . . .

 

This little excercise was from his visit to Sun and Fun in Florida last week,. . . .the bloke had a 20 minute flight,. . .though he admitted that they were on the ground taxying and obtaining clearances for around eight of those minutes,. . .for the princely sum of £800.00 . . . . . . . he then went on to say that he was so impressed, that he went and had ANOTHER FLIGHT for the same price.

 

Geee,. . . .it must be great to have money to burn. We met earlier this evening at the local "Flyers Arms" curry night,. . .and the others present made me aware that he had to return to base rapidly, as on the first flight, the pilot pulled way too many of them gee gees,. . . .and it made him violently sick, following a heavy breakafast of Bacon with sauteed potatoes and pancakes, with syrup and ice cream. . . . ( wonder who cleaned up the cockpit. . .? )

 

The company providing the flights apparently, usually provide a three camera video, but the Gopro units inside the cockpit failed and he only got the wingtip cam for all his money. . . . .

 

Incidentally, . . .I'd better mention the aeroplane, it was an Albatross L39, made by a company in the Czech Republic,. . .with a name like Novotny,. . .or summat,. . . . and if you're sad enough to watch the video. the thing cruises in level flight at circa 420 Knots. . . . .

 

I guess this stuff is all relative,. . .but there is another bloke I know who is selling an MW6, 2 seat aircraft for £1,500.00 with a permit to fly. . . . so what would YOU rather have ? ? ? a joyride, or your own aircraft. . .?. . .good question.

 

(" All a matter of degree Perry Minor my boy. . . ." as my old English teacher used to say. . . .)

 

But that was in another life. . .

 

BTW,. . . . I shouldn't criticise the bloke too much,. . .as he bought a crate of YELLOWTAIL red wine and handed us all a bottle, but since there were eight bottles,. . .and only seven of us,. . .I got 2. . . . . . ( got to keep my end up. . . )

 

Phil ( hic )

 

 

Hiya Fresno,

 

I can't tell you much about the Jabiru,. . . . less than 10 Hrs on type ! But when I flew one for the first time, I'd been regularly flying Piper Warrior ( PA28 161 + R200 ) and they are such a lovely old bird, no bad habits, rudder not needed most of the time, ( good footrest though ! ! ) . . . easy peasy to land, . . .that they tend to make you lazy ! ! When you jump into a really light machine, it's all suddenly different of course, Different landing speeds, loads less inertia, and quite often, less control authority to play with at the lower end of the speed range.

 

Listen to the the Guys and Girls from the Wide Brown Land ( ! ) . . . .one of those buggers designed the thing ! Plenty of them here as you've already discovered.

 

Welcome to the forum, please let us know how you progress with the new toy Sir !

 

Phil

 

 

I gather all is OK Now?

Yes thanks Ian. . . . sorry about the midnight email. . .was all at this end of course !

 

Phil

 

 

Thank you all from the Heart of my bottom guys. . . . I've already thanked the wonderful people who started a PM conversation with advice,. . .but couldn't read thos either ! ! !,. . .I'v removed the virus / malware - reformatted the system and reset everything.

 

All OK now.

 

Thankx again people. . .

 

Phil

 

 

. . . .? ? ? BUT IT WAS. . . .TINNIES. . . .

 

 

Hi Ian,. . .I've got a problem viewing the RF sirte, it appears that something may have gone wrong at my end, everything is tiny, and I don't seem to be able to resolve the problem by adjusting screen resolution, all other websites are normal view., . . .? Won't be able to see your response to this unless it's via my email. . .unreadable ! ! ! Can't find any indication of malware or virus intrusion,. . . view was fine last evening. . .weird ?

 

Working on the prob fro this end.

 

Kind regards,

 

Phil P.