IBob

I bet Mum was really pleased that going on holiday didn't interfere with her cooking.......though if the TV fell in the sink it probably would have......(

Area 51, a couple of things to take into account regarding the standard doors: 1. They are bat-wing in operation. 2. They are not a rigid frame with the polycarbonate attached. They are upper and lower windows, with their joining point shaped and anchored together in such a way as to produce a slightly bubble shape, with a light frame around the whole. I am not confidant that the upper section or the upper polycarbonate could be removed without greatly weakening and probably deforming the remaining door. But I may be wrong......

The Savannah S POH says it may be flown with one or both doors off. That side-slip should be avoided if only one door off. And that drag will be increased, particularly at high A of A.

That's a really enjoyable interview......)

Marty, I'd settle for once......)

I wonder if the problem could be inadequate strength/bracing in the float? We once had a f/glass canadian canoe. Heading for home in failing weather after a week on a big lake, I accepted a tow from a power boat. While there was little in the canoe (just me), when the canoe got onto the wave from the boat, the bottom went flat then dinged in sharply. And while it didn't break or tear, as I recall there were stress marks where this may have happened before.

Nice looking job, Marty! Another option is to have the the LE sitting in a sling, webbing or I used a strip of carpet, attached at a centre high point of the frame then passing down and under the LE, with the other end attached at a raised point over where your casters are. So the wing is sitting in a pair of slings, which conform to the shape of the LE, and are not resting on anything hard or solid. I copied mine from a pic I saw somewhere, passed it to another builder who has beefed it up and added wheels, it has now passed to a third builder...........)

Depends what you are viewing on Flying Dog: On my laptop/PC it's a blue Following button at the top RH corner of the thread. Click on that and you can unfollow the thread.

Danny, you may want to check the current output of that USB port: I have seen an aircraft equipped with them initially, but subsequently replaced with good quality conventional USB charging ports. I can only assume either that the output was inadequate for whatever they were driving (tablet?), or that they were electrically noisy.

BTW, there was early first person footage of parachuting into trees. Probably deliberately, as it would have have taken some effort back then to mount the camera gear. This was round canopy stuff, and shortly after entering the trees it looked like the jumper fell very sharply. I think what can happen is that if the jumper/payload/aircraft momentarily snags in parts of the tree, the canopy above continues descending or deflating. Then when the j/p/a unsnags and falls it is now no longer supported by the canopy, so can fall at a much higher rate........

Well, that's a relief........was trying to figure how to get them to take the net down in time............)

Suggest you avoid smoking in the dunny, though???

It's interesting to note that ICP have come out with an 18L receiver tank. The standard kit tank has been 6L. This sits under the baggage area, and while it was probably introduced to increase fuel capacity, it would also move the C of G back by almost the same amount as my 10Kg of ballast.

The 701 has a different rear stab/tail setup than the Savannah, so I can't speak for the former, Nev. I can say that with the later Savannah S, you run out of elevator authority on landing sooner than with the earlier VG. And on takeoff you can get the nosewheel off earlier/slower with the VG than the S. What seems to be going on is that the C of G, while well within limits, is also well forward, and particularly when lightly loaded. I tend to fly light, I added 10Kg ballast to the baggage area a while ago, and it is a quite different and much easier aircraft to land that way. I've been thinking since of moving the battery back instead, but am nowhere near getting round to it yet....