My new Vampire arrives!!!! Adelaide to Syd.

[Ultralights]

Departed Adelaide at approx 11 am, with a Sadler Vampire in tow, rego 25-0078, serial number 008..

 

after a 2 day journey, with an overnight stop in Hay NSW, it finally arrived in the hangar at Hoxton park at approx 2 pm, where it was de-trailered, and inspected for damage, happily to report, No damage whatsoever only to discover the corpses of thousands of insects who sacrificed themselves to the Vampire.. or was it feeding? hmmm...

 

anyway, here are some pics..

 

 

Final touches being done to secure the trailer. old owner very sad in the background... but he has a new Sting to comfort him..

 

 

all looks good from here!

 

 

Finally ready to roll... only 1350Km to go!

 

 

are we being followed??

 

 

cost cutting in the train manufacturing business???

 

 

place name, hmmm well would you??

 

 

Yay! the Hay Plains, 300Km of this!

 

 

wow! 100km later.......... booooooring.

 

 

Overnight stop, Hay.. 7hrs later..

 

 

approaching Wagga, that funny looking car is still following us!

 

 

Finally arrived! time to stretch the legs, and wings!

 

 

Back on solid ground! hmm whats that in the background?? is it another twin boom pusher aircraft?

 

 

My vampire, getting to know the other housemates!

 

 

and finally home..... unfortunatly she doesnt have a name as yet! any suggestions...

 

its also interesting to note, the hangar is now almost entirely occupied by RAAus rego aircraft, only the 2 other twin boom pusher aircraft remain with VH rego permanently.

 

my baby's new housemates are 4 Jabirus, 1 Allegro, and 2 Optimas. with the occasional Bonanza and Cessna RG Cutlass...

 

cant leave without a plug for our very cheap to run and strong as an ox tow vehicle, the good old falcon Ute, unbelievable pulling power the sticker says, and i must agree, ;) total fuel cost was about $120 each way, (its an EGas model) :clap:she easily pulled the trailer and the tray full of gear at 105Kmh average! even over the ranges from Wagga to Goulburn! for the 14 hr trip without breaking a sweat, even at 35 and 40 deg. with the air con on,

 

might have to borrow my fathers ute more often!

 

 

[Admin]

WOW, what a nice looking plane there Rob - you've done well

 

 

[hiperlight]

Now that's a fine looking example of one of the true recreational aircraft, Rob...great design...well built...fabulous flying machine.

 

I have access to one, but my bones are too big to fit in the pod...bugger!!!

 

Next time I'm at Hoxton Park I'll have a stickybeak.

 

A great choice, Rob.

 

Bruce

 

 

[Geoff]

Yes looks great Rob ;);)

 

 

[slartibartfast]

Congrats Rob. That is a beautiful plane.

 

A name for a blood-red vampire? How about Nosferatu?

 

Thanks for the pics.

 

Ross

 

 

[Guest David C]

What a beautiful aircraft .... I bet the Sydney Jab Flying School people are jealous too , with such a great machine in the hangar . I will certainly have a quick trip up from The Oaks and have a look and a yarn . Well done , you must be very proud .

 

Dave

 

 

[Guest AusDarren]

So how come you didn't fly it home??

 

perplexed..

 

AusDarren

 

 

[Ultralights]

to answer a few questions, The trailer, was factory built by the same guys that built the vampire, the only tie downs that secured the aircraft were the winch on the nose gear, and 2 ropes on each undercarriage leg, well the trailing link part of the suspension, to allow the aircraft to move around on its own suspension over the bumpy bits. the rope around the prop hub was loose, and the prop protected with aluminium plate to prevent the rope from chafing the blades, it was only there to stop the engine from windmilling. and wasnt doing anything to tie the aircraft down, the only other fixed point was the fittings made in the wing spar for the attachment of the wing supports at the rear and that was it, the boom supports were not tied to the booms as per the aircraft manual and allowed the booms to move around if need be, all that happened there was the foam polished the alloy where it moved around in it..

 

another thing i did was cover all joint on the flight controls, engine openings, and canopy with aluminium adhesive tape, its a thin but strong tape that will help limit small movements, and it tears easily so i could see if any part was moving excessively and as evident from the tape condition on arrival, only the forward edge of the canopy cracked the tape, apart from that, nothing else moved.

 

as for the trailer, yep, it is a tilt trailer, makes it very easy to roll her on and off.

 

as for not flying her home? well, i had to get the trailer and other spares back somehow! and also its a new to me aircraft, that i have never flown before and was unfamiliar with how the engine would handle or the aircraft itself..

 

hope these help..

 

first flight is due on Friday weather permitting..

 

 

[Admin]

Hi Rob

 

Here is another picture of a Vampire - I took it at Narromine last year.

 

 

 

[BigPete]

Geez - ya gotta luv RED. Mate it looks fast, hot, sexy, and desirable. Good luck with the new mistress Rob.

 

How about "Miss Vamp" for a name or "Little Red"?

 

cheers

 

 

[Admin]

What about:

 

Yara-ma-yha-who- More beast than man, this vampire dwelt in fig trees and would jump down on people who passed by or slept under the tree. The creature would drain the blood from the person, though not usually enough to kill. Sometimes it ate the person whole, then regurgitated them out later. The more often a person was attacked, the more like the creature they became, until eventually they were made fully into a yara-ma-yha-who. (Aboriginies, Australia)*

 

 

[Ultralights]

as for a name, i like Nosferatu, but a female friend of mine suggested.....

 

"The Interview"

 

i quite like it!

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Rob,

 

Great report and pics. Congrats on your new machine! It looks great :) Now all you have to do is fly it into The Oaks and show it off to us there. Isn't Hay Plains dreadful? Used to do that trip 3 times a week :;)2: Enjoy your new friend!