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Steve L

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Everything posted by Steve L

  1. Steve L
    We have one here at Gawler Ken, a guy approached me at home (I live alongside the airfield) with a petition which he was sure I would eagerly sign, boy was he wrong. The Gawler Airfield has been here longer than than he’s been living and it’s still here.
  2. Steve L
    It also only got to near 700ft, shouldn’t the landing gear be up by then
  3. Steve L
    I just got back from a bike road trip in Tassie. I used my 1 1/2 man tent ( 2.2kg) and a Zempire Monstermat 100 mm thick mattress (3.1 kg) . . 5.3 kgs isn’t that heavy, even in a aircraft for one’s accommodation. I have never found any mattress as comfortable. Steve
  4. Steve L
    Plus old cars don’t have computers
  5. Steve L
    Yes Nev, have you ever seen an Eaglet throttle linkage, I have replaced near everything and still can’t get it to come back to idle at the same revs each time I land. Had they had a single lever quadrant like the later models I think it would be much better. Incidentally I’m not using Marks linkage on the Tecnam (wist I could)
  6. Steve L
    I unpacked my throttle kit today, I can say that it has exceeded my expectations, the build quality and workmanship is second to none, thank you Mark, I’m now looking forward to fitting it. Steve.
  7. Steve L
    Nev my build stopped 3-4 years ago when I retired, prior to that while working I had oodles of free time. One likes to think you get smarter as you mature but it hasn’t happened in my case . . . I can’t say NO Steve
  8. Steve L
    Hi Mark, could you please add me to your list of guys wanting a throttle set up. cheers Steve
  9. Steve L
    That’s nothing like my eaglet. I’ll take a pic of mine on the weekend
  10. Steve L
    Runaway trim
  11. Steve L
    Spot on Markdun. In my case it was the main loom between the seats had 3 wires almost severed and the main battery cable had about 2mm deep plastic insulation wear. We found the cause was no insulation or conduit fitted around the loom where it came in contact with the sharp edges of the aluminium cross member’s. Those cross members also have 2-3mm deep gouges where the loom lays. The only way to access the the loom through the centre console is by borescope camera. These exposed cables occasionally caused trim changes while flying, once or twice on finals the attitude would change. If it had a full pitch down run away on finals I doubt it could be arrested. I still have the pictures and correspondence from Tecnam. I know it can’t happen but I would be interested to inspect the downed plane. Steve PS. I was referring to Markdun,
  12. Steve L
    Yes we found the electric trim kept running away, I had my wife with me, fortunately we were on the ground. I am not suggesting It was in this case but mechanical - electrical failures do happen, I hate electric trim.
  13. Steve L
    Condolences to Dave’s family and anyone who knew him that have lost a mate and experienced instructor. Looking at the crash scene I find it hard to accept it was a stall, looks more like the P92 nosed into the ground, maybe a control issue. I’ll make it very clear I am not speculating, we need to let the authorities do their job and advise the outcome. The reason I say this is because ferrying a P 92 from Caloundra to Adelaide a while ago heading west at 6500 above Dalby I handed control to my low hour co pilot. Within minutes the Eaglet went into a full nose down attitude which took us both by surprise. I screamed at him it get his hand off the control yolk believing he was resting his hand on the trim buttons which he denied. Months later it was evident (actually proven) he was not manipulating the controls at all. steve
  14. Steve L
    Unfortunately Mark being retired usually doesn’t give one more free time. I have been retired for near 5 years. My kit is still the same as it was back then. . . sad. Enjoy your retirement
  15. Steve L
    I would look at the Eaglet with its adjustable seats, one has to be a contortionist to get your head in though. Even better If a central single control yoke was available. steve
  16. Steve L
    Im not to familiar with the plugs you mention, that’s if your referring to the mushroom head rubber plugs that are inserted by means of an air pressured gun. I think they were banned years ago. The ones I use are aprox 60mm long pieces of flexible cord 3-4mm thick. Many can be used to fill the one hole and they are permanent repairs.
  17. Steve L
    I’m sure it will be fine Skip.
  18. Steve L
    Spot on Bruce, after that incident I wonder if he’s still test flying. Also sad for the owner of the Sonex who lives in the UK and built the plane here. A similar incident happened to Maj ( may he Rest In Peace ) as he wasn’t so lucky. steve
  19. Steve L
    Those plugs seemed to work in the day. Now we use a waxed cord and cover it in vulcanising glue before inserting in the tyre, 99% of the time removing the wheel ( trucks and cars ) is not necessary. Once out near Pooncarie I put about 6 cords in the one puncture, just kept inserting them till the air leak stopped, got me back to Adelaide.
  20. Steve L
    We’re you also in PNG Nev, I was in Bougainville late 67 - 69 used to travel to Pt Moresby once a month for trade school
  21. Steve L
    We do all our maintenance and repairs, even fit our own tyres and cover all punctures The only time they go into the workshop for is computer hiccups. Fortunately we don’t get many but we’re working on phasing out the computer trucks.
  22. Steve L
    I apply torque seal on both surfaces (filter and base mount) being careful to line the marks up. Then apart from a visual check, leave the filter alone, no sense disturbing things. As most know, a filter tensioned by hand needs a tool to remove. I apologise Mark for hijacking the thread it wasn’t intentional, steve
  23. Steve L
    Hi, I noticed in the picture the oil filter had a hose clamp with a lock wire attached. I recently heard Rotax didn’t recommend using hose clamps or similar around the filters due to cracking under the screw worm. I guess this is feasible. steve
  24. Steve L
    The sad thing is the newer the model the more complicated and electronic nightmare they are, that applies to all vehicles. We still run and only ever have run Mack trucks (now Volvo) To maintain reliability I have been purchasing 1987 - 1990 models which some call vintage, then fully rebuilding them. We’re on the 3rd one now and after they come out the workshop it’s hard to think they’re not new. what we have gained. . . . No computer to shut it down when a wire comes off a sensor (usually in heavy traffic) The driver does all the driving and makes all the decisions, even pushes the clutch pedal. Doesn’t need batteries or power to start. Uses less fuel than comparable HP computer models Seat belts NOT required Steve
  25. Steve L
    I have electric elevator trim on the Tecnam and got caught off guard at about 6500ft near Dalby when the trim went full nose down, not nice with a full flying tail plane. Momentarily took me back to aeros in the Bulldog. Recovered safely in under 1500. So naturally I now hate elec control of any flying surface. The sad thing is I am still building a Bushbaby Explorer and already have fitted the Ray Allen trim motor in the elevator, I am now going to de cover the elevator and convert the trim to manual. The fault with the Tecnam was chaffed cables in the tunnel between the seats, it shorted and popped the circuit breaker once the trim motor run to the end. Another problem which could affect many Tecnams is the throttle mechanism behind the panel, my god who the hell designed that. steve
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