Guest Maj Millard Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 Yes I would agree the SB does look a bit cleaner and sexier, and of course they both fly fine, it's just that the CB is a little tighter if you like that. I can guarantee you CK that if you buy a Drifter you will do a lot of flying quickly, and you'll end up being a good pilot pretty quickly also !.....I do understand your dilema, but don't forget were here for a good time, not a long time !.......................................................................................Maj...
country kid Posted November 11, 2011 Author Posted November 11, 2011 yer, well i like to share my experience other wise its like fishing: "the one that got away was THIS BIG" haha so its a confidence thing also, thats the hope maj, living on a farm with plenty of space and spare time i would like to do ALOT!!! of flying, i guess air time gives you experience that makes you a good pilot... ah if only :( i think i might be visiting the bank...
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 CK, you remind me a bit of Tomo. He reckons he can't afford anything either and hasn't bought one yet. He just goes out and flys everybody elses !.............great idea if you can swing it.....you two should get together and have a beer (except I don't think Tomo drinks)...........................................Cheers Maj...
country kid Posted November 11, 2011 Author Posted November 11, 2011 LMAO, what kinda country boy dosent even drink rum? ... yer well as much as i like the idea: i want one!!... id rather die poor with plenty of toys than die rich with nothing more than a house and car
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 Hey I don't even talk to somebody who doesn't have a plane !!!...(except you and Tomo !)..........................................Maj...
country kid Posted November 11, 2011 Author Posted November 11, 2011 haha lol maj classic, clueless and planeless
Tomo Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 CK, you remind me a bit of Tomo. He reckons he can't afford anything either and hasn't bought one yet. He just goes out and flys everybody elses !.............great idea if you can swing it.....you two should get together and have a beer (except I don't think Tomo drinks)...........................................Cheers Maj... Haha, yep that's about it Maj! I'm working on building a shelter/hanger for an aeroplane though... well it's in the thinking stages at least. Otherwise I'd have a few aircraft hangered here all the time! Yeah Maj is right Country kid, if you're ever over here give us a yell and I'll organise for a 'Drifter' excursion! And or whatever else you fancy. That's me in your Lightwing isn't it Maj? In the last photo... it's at our place anyway
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 11, 2011 Posted November 11, 2011 Yes Tomo I believe it is you climbing excitingly into LW 370. Those photos you or your brother took that time are great, and I still use them often. Must have been the great light at Cecil Plains or something that day !. Finding shelter for ones' flying machine is one of the biggest dramas about owning one. Putting shelter up before getting the machine is not really a bad idea Tomo...............................................Cheers Maj...
country kid Posted November 12, 2011 Author Posted November 12, 2011 haha yer, will probly be over there in the coming year for a few months :D will have to get around and see everything and one.... yer, seems logical. no point having a plane and no home for it, but if you build a hangar you gotta put something in it, or else if your dads anything like mine, it will be full of machenery in a week :D
Guernsey Posted November 12, 2011 Posted November 12, 2011 haha yer, will probly be over there in the coming year for a few months :D will have to get around and see everything and one.... yer, seems logical. no point having a plane and no home for it, but if you build a hangar you gotta put something in it, or else if your dads anything like mine, it will be full of machenery in a week :D That's not a bad idea, you put up the shed, Dad puts machinery in it, you charge him rent, that pays for the shed and your Drifter, you kick him out or he builds another shed. Don't give your Dad my address. Alan.
country kid Posted November 12, 2011 Author Posted November 12, 2011 haha thats a great idea, but i dont think it will work.... he has a shot gun, i dont :roflmao:bummer....
Guernsey Posted November 12, 2011 Posted November 12, 2011 Here's a couple of photos of the Drifter I part owned back in the eighties. They are taken at Roland Flat in the Barossa Valley, SA. Thought you might like to see some Drifter history. Alan. PS It's a Maxair Drifter with a Rotax 503 belt driven (no gearbox)
country kid Posted November 12, 2011 Author Posted November 12, 2011 gee mate they look no different now as they did back then, haha they must have being revolutionary
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 12, 2011 Posted November 12, 2011 Great shots there Guernsey, nice little pod and windshield. I feel you would have heard that ballistic chute go off if you'd used it !!.........................................Maj...
Patrick Normoyle Posted November 12, 2011 Posted November 12, 2011 i'll talk to someone who doesn't have a plane but wants one, but talking to someone who dosen't have or want one, well there's something to be said about brick walls. safe flying, if i can get away from work i'll be tearing it up this week. Anyone want to be an Air Traffic Controller, there are several places in Adelaide and across the country.
country kid Posted November 12, 2011 Author Posted November 12, 2011 to be honest patrick i think that would be a fascinating job... haha good to hear the drifter will get a buzz this weekend, my concept plane will be flown haha
Guernsey Posted November 13, 2011 Posted November 13, 2011 Great shots there Guernsey, nice little pod and windshield. I feel you would have heard that ballistic chute go off if you'd used it !!.........................................Maj... That's an interesting thought and in fact the aircraft was the original trainer for the Barossa Birdmen and as a group it was suggested that somebody might like to try it out before it was due to be replaced or serviced, everyone agreed .....nobody took up the suggestion. Typical gutless wonders!!! I couldn't do it as I had a mild attack of flue at the time. Come to think of it I was also not endorsed on Parachutes (that sounds more believable). Alan.
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 13, 2011 Posted November 13, 2011 Reminds me of an event I witness back about '82 at 'The Great Arizona Air Race' north of phoenix Arizona. It was one of the biggest, and one of the first big UL gatherings and shows put on in that part of the world. Myself and a group of Californian flyers took a big motorhome towing a glider trailer with ULs in it, and attended the show driving all the way from Northern california. There was nothing really like it again, and it passed into history as one of the great early UL events. During the busy weekend it was announced that a ballistic chute demo would be performed. There would be an in-air deployment with the chute lowering the aircraft, and pilot, all the way to the ground !!..Ballistic chute systems were a new thing then, and they needed to show that they worked, to sell them. The gentleman who would conduct the demo was one of the first ballistic designers, and a very experienced and respected rigger and skydiver. As a skydiver myself at the time I knew of his reputation well, but I have since fogotten his name unfortunatly. (old age I suppose!) Anyway about 3pm, the UL climbed steadily above the small desert airport as all on the ground awaited eagerly with eyes cast skyward, for the new Ballistic chute demo. The aircraft came across at about 3000 ft, decreased power, and the pilot shut off the engine to eliminate the chance of entanglement with the rear mounted prop. Excitment grew. Suddenly there was an almighty bang, and the chute blasted out above the now almost stopped UL, for a perfect deployment....followed very shortly after, by complete separation of the chute from the aircraft !!!. Now in a fair predicament in a good aircraft with almost zero airspeed, the surprised pilot shoved the nose foward and tugged rapidly on the pull-start rope (remember those) in a vain attempt to restart the engine, so he could get some flying speed in the now rapidly descending aircraft !.. I don't remember if he did managed to start it, but he did make a succesfull return to the strip below, at the applause of all fellow pilots. The fully deployed chute continued to stay inflated and hung in the sky, weighted enough by the steel attach cable which apparantly had failed during the opening shock. It drifted slowly in the light desert winds, and dissappeared over the horizon, into the sugurro cactus studded desert !...great fun !.. To show that it was just an unfortunate miscalculation on the strength of the steel bridal, another one was substituded, and the demo was repeated succesfully next day, with the aircraft and pilot dropping (sort of) gently to the ground after the a successfull deployment. We all rushed out and bought ballistic chutes (mine, a Second Chanz cost US$900 as I recall with steel bridal) after seeing that!. The unfortunate designer and demo pilot who entertained us all that weekend, was killed several years later in an unfortunate skydiving accident.............................................................Maj...
country kid Posted November 13, 2011 Author Posted November 13, 2011 haha gee maj, sounds like a great few days in the desert sorta, nice to know some one is willing to put there neck on the line for their own design, glad engineers can hire people to do that now :D haha 900$ for a ballistic parachute, what do they cost now?
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 13, 2011 Posted November 13, 2011 Yes that was indeed a memorable weekend, also many firsts for many aircraft types, some still around, some never to be seen again. It was atually an UL air race, with something like 120 very early ULs flying a 10 nm course around the desert. I was only learning to fly back then, so got to see the whole thing on the ground from the start/finish line. Can't remember who actually won the race but it didn't matter, it was so spectacular, and exciting !!. Being early ULs with early engines many ended up in the desert after failures, and there was one fatality in a Pterydactyl when a tip rudder cable broke. There were also impacts with the lamp-post high suggoro cactus by planes down on the deck trying to get a speed? advantage !... I also met Bryan Allen the guy who pedaled the Gossimer Albatros across the English channel, he was a factory demo pilot for one of the manufacturers, we still communicate by Email everynow and then. Don't know what chutes cost these days, but I did spend a few extra months ground-bound until I could save that $900 bucks !..That's the $900 'Second Chantz' cannister in the middle of the top wing........................ah the good days !!................................Maj...
country kid Posted November 14, 2011 Author Posted November 14, 2011 haha its amazing the people you meet on the internet, its really great to hear other peoples stories and adventures. gee Millard sounds like you were in the middle of it ay. would be brilliant to compare what was in the sky back then and what flying now, just going off your above photo, there would be a big difference... its easy to see where drifters and thrusters are derived from...
Guest Maj Millard Posted November 14, 2011 Posted November 14, 2011 Well I suppose one of the benifits of becoming mature aged (getting damn old !) is that you can look back on past experiences whilst enjoying current ones. Generally now the aircraft have stronger, better designed and safer structures. We don't get too many in-flight structural failures now like we did back then. Our engines are much more reliable now (well most of them anyway), and a lot of good pilots were killed unnecessarily back then by sudden, and unexpected engine failure when you least needed it. I personally lost a couple of good friends prematurely through that. I also believe our pilot abilities are better in most areas (but not all) due to better training available., but unfortunatly many good flying skills are not taught initially, or pilots never develop the most basic flying skills that all pilots in the 20s and 30s lived by. I talk of the great and handy skill of sideslipping and successfully landing an aircraft after an engine failure into an unimproved field somewhere. Also the ability to perform a successfull go-around when required. These are the very basic flying skills that all pilots needed in the 80's with those suspect engines...or else. One thing I personally really appreciate about the current equipment, is the quality and reliability of our engines now, compared to those we endured with at the start. It is also why I tend to be vocal and very non-appreciative of any that claim to be reliable, ..and aren't...................................................................Maj...
country kid Posted November 14, 2011 Author Posted November 14, 2011 haha to true mate to true, yer interesting you mention that, it may be the dependence in reliability and design that has led to the lose of these vital skills that were needed then but know air craft are considered "reliable" enough. yer, its amazing how far engineering and areospace design has bought us in the last decade.
Quick Posted November 15, 2011 Posted November 15, 2011 Dave, Theres a few drifters around mate. Theres two at bindoon (my Austflight WB503 and another blokes Maxair WB582) and another Austflight (I think) WB503 at Calingiri. Both owned by good mates and fellow drifter nuts. I dont fly mine as much as I used to. Try juggling work away, shooting anf flying :( Not easy. Personally mate, I'd look at buying one that needs a lil work but is airworthy so you can start flying. The cost involved with rebuilding aircraft can be costly and if you do buy a drifter for around 5k, you will probs spend 10k at least rebuilding, engine cost, skins, airframe, etc. That and it will take you along time too mate. My Skydart III has been in my shed for around 7 years and havent done much too it due to having other stuff to fly and alike. Come to bindoon and have a look around as theres a bunch of knowledge and help and I'll take you to calingiri for a look see as those guys have a bunch of really interesting aircraft and I love just going over there and having a catch up with those guys. Also, Id get your licence first too. So that you can keep current and flying too. Also, an advantage of buying in flying condition is that you could get a certified 25 series like my one as it will hold its value better if you ever do sell it. I was told by the previous owner that mine was Wayne Fishers training machine and the other drifter guys at my club did his initial flying training in my plane many moons ago. Btw, I never commendeered the plane, I am paying it off same with my hanger :) Shaun
country kid Posted November 16, 2011 Author Posted November 16, 2011 gee Shaun took you a while to fond this forum, welcome mate, plenty of interesting people and stories around hear that's for sure... yer i figured there would be a few around, just didn't know where. Calingari, didnt think there was much more than a strip there?.... yer i think you might be on the money, but mathamaticaly 5+10=15, which if you pay 15 for one in ok condition then its the same thing.. you have a sky dart also? since when..... yer will have to get up there some time mate, moving in late jan so might come up there some time then. you cant keep current if you have nothing to fly and cant pay out the nose for a/c hire mate? yer, probably right about getting one that's certified but tbh... i dont think i would ever sell it, just would be logical. yer there are a couple of photos of it from way back when, iv got one i nabbed of the internet because it looked familiar. haha no i know you didnt commandeer it mate :roflmao:fair enought............ i know for fact dad wont be helping me out on this one
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