KRviator

I was about to say you couldn't ask for a better paint job for the helicopter to find you! Shame about the nosegear, might have been able to top up and fly it out if it hadn't found that rabbit hole or whatever it was.

And an A320 was very nearly lost after the Captains sidestick was miswired during recent avionics work - but does that mean we should do away with FBW? 'Course not. We fly single-engine aircraft, sometimes over unforgiving terrain. Everything in aviation (and life) has risk associated with it, but just because there is a risk of something happening, does not mean it is probable, or even likely and so we should not undertake that activity (or install that auto-trim module). You seem to be assuming that there is no way to stop the trim during an inadvertent auto-trim movement, I don't know if that's because you're unfamiliar with the Garmin or Dynon systems, or autotrim in general, but pressing the AP Disconnect button will disengage autotrim, as will, IIRC, trimming opposite the direction the trim is running. As for what's wrong with manual trim? There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but electric trim is much nicer to have under your thumb rather than twisting a knob while I'd prefer to have my hand holding the throttle full forward (in the case of the RV), it is often lighter and able to be interfaced with the autopilot. For smaller aircraft like my old KR2, the little manual lever on the longeron that connected to a bit of wire-in-tube to the trim tab was more than adequate. But as things get bigger, technology takes precedence. Case in point...I'm installing EFI instead of the old RSA-5 system, but a risk assessment shows that I need to ensure continuity of electrons, so that requires a backup alternator. Should I stay with the old 1960's era injection system just because it doesn't require power? Heck no. EFI is well (flight) proven now, enables instant car-like starts - hot or cold, it allows LOP, I can run 98 Mogas, and I'll have the ability to trim fuel to each cylinder individually to balance the EGT's and the system has an option that provides a backup computer and fuel pump should the primary fail. The benefits outweigh the negatives and any risk can be mitigated. Same for autopilot, autotrim, or any other modern gadget in our aircraft.

No one needs auto-trim, unless you're an Airbus driver, but it's nice to have. No one needs an autopilot, or megadollar EFIS, but again, they're very nice to have. I'll have a 3-screen EFIS in the new project instead of a 6-pack and round gauges. I don't need it, but I certainly want it because it'll lower my workload considerably.

Why not have it? Even a grossly out-of-trim RV is easily controllable.

Sounds like the Dynon equivalent of Auto-Trim. After several hundred hours behind and with the Dynon autopilot in the RV, no, I don't need auto-trim, the SkyView system will audibly announce Trim Down or Trim Up if the servo load is too much for too long, but if I had the autotrim module, it'd do it itself. The new toy will be getting the autotrim module though, but only in pitch.

That actually looks half decent, well done! I'm still wary about the sensor drifting over time in a sustained balanced turn, and short of putting it in a centrifuge or similar I don't see any way you can reliably test that at home without taking it up and burning a lot of avgas but I'm watching the development with more than a little interest!

That was Victoria that tried that...

No point visiting The Oaks - it's everyone else blasting through the circuit that's the problem... Go to Bankstown and Camden!

I must be one of those rare blokes that actually gets on well with his inlaws...😆

I don't have a skid ball in the RV, but can't say I've ever noticed any discrepancy between the Dynon and what my backside is feeling.

I agree, but people still get caught out. I would rather tip the odds in my favour where possible. I did an AFR a couple years ago and when the instructor asked "What would you do if you flew into cloud?" I pressed the CWS button on the stick, sat back, crossed my arms and said "That!"...then explained what I'd done and why. The autopilot can do a far better job than I ever could, we're wings level, and now I've got time to think rather than spending precious brainpower on keeping wings level in an unexpected situation. VFR into IMC continues to kill people year-on-year, no matter how much CAsA/FAA/instructors preach "stay on the ground", so anything that helps you survive if you're foolish enough to get caught is a good thing.

I suspect the issue you will find with the accelerometer will be that in a sustained, balanced turn, it will gradually return to a wings-level indication. Some early experimental EFIS had this issue, and now they use a multitude of sensors combined with GPS and airdata inputs to avoid the issue. That being said, there would be nothing wrong with installing a small, cheap, D-10A, D-6 on the Coey's panel and using the serial output from that to drive your LED's. I mean no disrespect to your engineering or tech abilities, but it would be infinitely easier than trying to design and build an attitude source that would have sufficient reliability that I'd trust it in the worse-case scenario. Probably be far easier to code as well.

The 250HP Aztec has a better power to weight ratio at MTOW than does my RV-9, and the RV goes like a scalded cat. 10.4Lbs / HP for the Aztec vs 10.9 for the RV-9. With only 3POB and a short flight, it'd be well below gross. All bets are off in icing conditions though, no matter what you're flying. You can't say the airframe is at fault when it's operated beyond its' limits.

Upper Hunter Council is going to vote on Monday to sell of ~4,000m2 of "roadway" within the airport confines after an adjoining landowner made an unsolicited approach to Council to buy it, to incorporate it into their two existing lots. The price according to an "independent valuation"? A mere $85,000. For 4000m2 of prime airport land. And that's without going to tender or anything as "There's unlikely to be more than one interested party...." Oh, and it also involves closing the road, thus limiting vehicular access to some hangars until Council decide to design, approve and construct a new intersection and internal roadway and godonlyknows what cost to their ratepayers...

There's Dashcam footage of it with the news claiming they hit wires - no way in hell did it hit powerlines causing the crash. Maybe before impact, yes, but not a causal factor. They were already in what looked like a power-off descent, they didn't hit powerlines and then crash.

Nothing is cheap to ship from the US these days. Last year, the OAT sensor shat itself in our weather station. Tried reseating it, no joy, it was dead dead. Tried to find it by part number, without success so had no choice but to order a new one from the weather station mob. $49AUD for the sensor. $72 for the shipping! That was the cheapest option. For a part about the size of your thumbnail that could fit in an envelope a dozen times over. Then last month, the pool temp sensor died - I knew it would eventually as the batteries are non-user-servicable, so went to order a new one of those from the same mob (we like our weather data...) Again, a $112AUD thermometer for our pool, $193 or $197 AUD for shipping. No other choice besides those two. Thieving bastards. Ended up getting it from Amazon - shipped from the same company mind you - with postage working out about a third of the cost.

The forum topic is still there, Instruments, Radios & Electronics - it may be how you or your browser first access the site. If you go to the home page, you'll get the most recent discussions, if you go to the /forums URL, you'll get the full list, with each topic's most recent post listed on the right of the screen.

Nope. Increasing oil temp = decreasing oil pressure. My Landcruiser does the same, indicates high until the oil temp gets to the normal range, then sits dead on the quarter mark on the gauge unless I give it a bootful. A wiring problem would likely manifest itself as either no oil pressure, or high pressure that doesn't change, depending on the sensor used. That being said, you don't say what it is after start nor what it drops down to, nor what pressure sender you have (though if it's been properly rebuilt I'd expect it to have the Jab-issued sender, but that's not a given)... The oil pressure limits are 32-51 PSI under normal operations, with as low as 12 PSI allowed at idle and 76 PSI after start with cold oil, so dropping from 70 PSI to 40 isn't cause for concern.

Wait till you want to fly into Townsville or the Gold Coast or Longreach or Mt Isa and have a gander at the "Conditions of Use" document they have... You must have hull insurance to the value of.....(drumroll, please.....)...$35,000,000 USD. That's right. Not just "third party", but $35M USD hull insurance. Anyone quoted that lately???

What I have found after ignoring every AvData invoice for the last 3 years - since they got my details wrong and refused to correct it, in turn, billing me for operations at a place I've never, been - is that they have no legal authority to raise a debt against you - they are simply the intermediaries between aviators and aerodrome owners. They say as such in their letter, "The airport owner may deny you use of their facilities or commence recovery action.." yadda yadda - but AvData themselves, appear to have no recourse if you simply use their invoices to line your kitty's litter tray. Indeed I've dealt with a Council (Gladstone) directly - who got my details from AvData, mind you - and when I explained why I refused to deal with AvData anymore, but would happily pay you if you send an invoice directly, so that's what they did. I paid it that afternoon and everyone was happy.

FuelWatch for WA... About the only time WA has beat the eastern states at anything - online display of servo prices has been a thing for yonks over there.

Well, you don't have to make a radio call in Class G.....

So they were referred to the DPP - did anything come of that? Anyone from RAAus HQ charged with perjury?

So a bit of a followup on this particular Aztec.... I did a lot of research into it, and was about to pull the pin last year though I was still waiting for some info from a 3rd party on it, but then I was offered a new job that I'd been on the wait-list for for 2 years, so decided not to at the time, and very shortly afterwards it ended up selling to a Bankstown-based group for $80K. Fast forward a year, I'm settled into my new job, and bored-ly browsing Facebook marketplace last night and what pops up? A 1975 Piper Aztec. For $190,000!! You read it right, the new owners have decided it's not for them and are trying to make a $110K profit in 12 months. Well, actually 8 months as it's been listed for 15 weeks. NFI why I hadn't seen it before now, but anyway, I sent a message to the owner... And, after discussing it with him asking "What have you done to justify the increase?" the answer is "Nothing" - BUT they have also been doing the annual inspection themselves, despite not being a LAME or qualified to do so per the CASR's as we discussed above. As I said to him, "I built my RV and even I can't sign off on the annual...." When he asked what price I thought I'd pay, I said "$85, or $100 if it has an annual from a LAME". $85 is the price I'd agreed to pending the info from the PO last year and I think it's fair given "what" it is. Being Experimental, it can't get put online, you can't do Angel Flights with it, AWK and Charter are out. So it has to be a private owner who needs a (big) twin. I wish them well in selling it, but $190K for an Aztec that you can't use for anything except PVT flights? There's far, far cheaper ways to commit aviation. Might as well be jousting sticks...

If you don't get any success here, I'd reach out to Andrew Smith, CFI at the Central Coast Aero Club - he's a top bloke and could probably put you in touch with one of the CCAC members who would be happy to do just that to save some coin.