Guernsey Posted December 30, 2011 Posted December 30, 2011 Sitting in the front seat as I write this post, waiting for engine to warm up lol. Viva le Drifter!!!! Pre take off checks,....engine...instruments...controls...fuel on...connected to Forum. Alan the stirrer.
Guest Maj Millard Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Nice engine Tex, Those alum L brackets that attach the radiators to the head are prone to cracking at the base, so keep a good eye on them down the road. When they do crack get back to me and I'll tell you what I did instead. Also don't forget to put a spanner on the head bolts occasionally, (13 ml) as they tend to back off a bit in service. The rubber mounts on and around the radiators will also crack or break with time. The overflow bottle is a must as they will spit a bit of coolant out occasionally, especially if your throwing it around a bit. This eliminates it hitting the prop, and also makes checking the coolant level easier on preflights, as you just visually check the overflow bottle level without the need to remove the radiator cap which disturbs the radiator pressure set up. Find a good quality small oil or coolant bottle with a clear level line in the side for easy checking. I tended to keep that bottle about 3/4 full, you can mark a level line on the side. Also like your recent photos with sissy on board...................................Cheers Maj...
turboplanner Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 For those 'newbies' to Drifters, the first 'Drifter' was called the Hummer, and was powered by a single cylinder upside-down 277 Rotax. It had no pod fitted, and an upright V-tail and much norrower landing gear arrangement.The Drifter style as we know today by Phil Lockwood (Maxair) was introduced in 1984 and the rest is history !. Both attached photos are from 'Glider Rider Magazine in the US which was originally a hang-glider magazine, but then morphized into the leading UL magazine at the time. One shows the original Hummer, and the other the first full-page ad introducing the first Drifter model in 83/84, which also had no pod originally ..The Austflight Australian built and developed Drifter (Boonah Drifter) is of course a copy of the US model........................................Maj... [ATTACH=full]15607[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]15608[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]15609[/ATTACH] Nearly flew head on into a Hummer Major. I was flying downwind to land in a Cherokee in Las Vegas when what looked like a guy sitting in a kitchen chair on a piece of 2" pipe was coming straight at me.We both rolled slightly to the right and it was over. He was flying out of a paddock right next to the runway. Very casual over there.
Guest Maj Millard Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 Turbo, Gee what year would that have been ?........... Tex, How do you like the 3 blade Bolly on the 582 ?......most Drifters I flew either had the 4 blade Brolgas or 3 blade Warp-drive, I'm sure there'd be plenty of push there !....can you give us a report ?................I have used the Rec site headsets in the Lightwing now for a few years, and they are doing real good for the initial purchase price, very effective and very comfortable..............keep the great Drifter shots coming guys....it make the post-Drifter flyers like me and Tomo froth at the mouth !!!..................................................Maj...
Guest Maj Millard Posted December 31, 2011 Posted December 31, 2011 I was freezing my axxx of in London back then Turbo, Nevada sounds much nicer !.....managed to escape London 18 months later for California !!..................Maj...
Tex Posted January 1, 2012 Author Posted January 1, 2012 Tex, How do you like the 3 blade Bolly on the 582 ?......most Drifters I flew either had the 4 blade Brolgas or 3 blade Warp-drive, I'm sure there'd be plenty of push there !....can you give us a report ? Hey Maj, I have a Rotax coolant bottle I bought with the engine and just need to make up a bracket for it... anyone provide some pictures or ideas of their set up?? The Bolly Blades appear very well made and IMHO look great in shape and form (by my untrained eye), with the lighter hub it makes a very efficient package. They are ground adjustable and go together very easily with sufficient instructions (and tech details) to assemble it no time and fit to the engine. We used a laser light to pitch it up on the ground and make adjustments... which is what takes the real time, torque up the bolts check and loosen, adjust, torque up etc. Using max RPM on the ground we snuck up on a coarser setting than the Brolgas standard 17deg pitch. Set at about 6500 on the ground we torqued up the blade grip bolts (11n) and the hub plate bolts (13n) and took it for a run. It now pulls about 6600RPM on take off at 50kts and will drop back to about 6500 at 40kts climb out. Straight and level it winds up a little more to maybe 6700. So I still need to make it a touch coarser than where it is to get the set up I want, would like to take another 100RPM off those numbers. You can tell the efficiency gain you get with the three blades straight away just in the noise, much pleasanter sound than the screaming banshee 4 blade. Of course the truth is in the pushing and it definitely drives off the mark with more authority. With the Brolga I used to just steadily but quickly wind on the power right through to full throttle but the Bolly getts the aircraft rolling earlier I think, so I tend to be a bit slower on the power input to diminish (or control) the slightly increased torque effect. At climb out around 50-55kts 6600 you are looking at about 800fpm+ on the VSI and can drag it into the air at 1000 with no real problem. Power on (5000RPM) stalls the prop will want to cavitate at about the same time the nose wants to drop. In cruise it is maintaining 5700-5800 for 65kts but I want that RPM a touch lower in the 5600-5700 range... Haven't done any long range flying yet to check fuel efficiency. In the ground effect and glides it seems to wind mill a little less and with the reduced drag of three blades it seems to float on a bit longer. They are a good buy and good price worth the change out of the Brolga even if you just had the urge I reckon. But new stuff is always good:bounce:
Guest Maj Millard Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 I would agree Tex new stuff is sometimes good. Yes the 4 blade Brolga was a bit of a 'screaming fan' more than an efficient prop, but it did do the job, was Aussie, and was the best choice at the time I suppose. I did over 600 hrs on one with no major dramas. Some one told me recently that the main Brolga designer died recently of a carbon-fiber related disease ?..has anyone got more info on this ?.... My experience with the Bolly props goes back a few years, and started when I ferried the Sport 2000 that was recently sold on Ebay, from ballina to the north around 2006. I was actually very impressed with the efficiency of just a 2 blader on a pretty large heavy aircraft, so I figure the actual blade profile is spot on. Unfortunatly I had to U/S the prop after 9 hrs of operation, due to cracks appearing along the LEs from the tips in. After calling the factory I sent the blades back, and they did replace them, without much explanation about the cracking, other than to say that the blades should have had a LE protection strip on them, which they did not when I picked the aircraft up from the factory !?... More recently I assembled and fitted a new 3 blader to a kitfox running a 582. The quality of the whole prop seems to have improved significently, and of course the company has changed hands since my experience with the 2 blader on the Lightwing. From what I have heard the new owners are commited to their product, and are doing everything to produce a high-quality product, which is great for the local scene. We cannot have too many people turning out good quality props. However, as comprehensive and well produced as the Bolly prop manual was, it did not contain specific pitch recommendations for fitment to specific engines or aircraft, or even suggested starting points. A call to the factory for recommended pitch settings for a 582 was not that helpfull either. Obviously I've set and pitched lots of props in my time, so we proceeded to do so, finally getting the results we needed for that particular aircraft. It did take 4-5 resets and testflights to get it right however, and time and effort could have been saved with better set-up instructions in the factory manual, or at least a suggested starting point. Remember many people buying and assembling these props are novices, and need all the info and help they can get to do a safe, and compenent job. Additionally the prop appears to be very pitch/AOA sensitive, requiring very small changes to achieve the right results. This adds additional effort and time in getting all 3 blades exactly the same. I have set up and repitched many other makes of ground-adjustable props in the past, including the powerfin that I use on the Lightwing. Most in my experiences were generally easier to set pitch on, than the bolly. Anyway Tex you seem to be involved with some repitching at the moment, so I'd be interested in hearing about your experience also. On the Kitfox we also fitted the Bolly supplied fiberglass backing-plate, and spinner, from scratch, without too much drama, and it's not a bad product. As an unlimited and experienced L2 I am extremly fussy with props, prop spinners, and spinner backing plates, even more so in fact than with engines themselves. Those components are some of the most highly stressed components on the whole aircraft (except the pilot !), and any failure can have rapid and serious consiquences..Also remember that the nylocs nut used to maintain torque and clamping pressures on prop blade installation may become unreliable after about 2-3 tightenings. I personally don't like reusing nylock nuts on props after three uses, and often I'll replace them after two uses....A nyloc nut on a prop that has multiple repeated uses from repitching the blades (as often found) is simply asking for trouble.....................................................Maj...
Tex Posted January 1, 2012 Author Posted January 1, 2012 Additionally the prop appears to be very pitch/AOA sensitive, requiring very small changes to achieve the right results. This adds additional effort and time in getting all 3 blades exactly the same. ....................................................Maj... I certainly had some expert assistance with the set up, a Lame/CFI and user of these props. We just shot a small laser mounted on a palm sized piece of board from the tip and inboard about 100mm to some cardboard mounted on the wall with a small dot marked on it (maybe 7m away) to get them all the same. Not as easy as some systems but effective and the result is well with in tolerances. I have to check the torque the prop bolts and loosen those nylocks to do it. Would you consider that one of the 'uses' used up on that maintenance? These ones also have the 'duratuff' leading edges.
Guest Maj Millard Posted January 1, 2012 Posted January 1, 2012 Well possibly Tex, I just like to limit my usage on nylocs to 2-3 loosning/tightening sequences on props. Call me pedantic, but I've never had a drama in many years of ground-adjustable prop usage.. I mean technically speaking, the general rule of thumb is as long as you can't rotate the nyloc by hand it's okay. However these split type prop-hubs rely very much on the correct hub-crush onto the blade-base to both retain the blade, and kept it in the correct pitch..You just can't take chances with overused nylock nuts IMOP.............................................................Maj...
Tex Posted January 10, 2012 Author Posted January 10, 2012 OO YEH! Nice Justin! I might just have to go for a big fly out west to to enjoy some similar country. Read your blog... hardly boring ... can you tell us a bit more about your experience and capabilities with the flaps if you don't mind...? Cheers, Tex 1
Blue Drifter Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Sabre ( Daughter) and I went flying out towards Gundagai on the weekend. Over the Hume highway. 4
Tomo Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Rob's Drifter, "Cloud 9" that he let me fly on the weekend! One of Recreationalflying Company's Drifter's that are online. 3
ParkesFlyer Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 Sabre ( Daughter) and I went flying out towards Gundagai on the weekend.[ATTACH=full]16228[/ATTACH] Over the Hume highway. [ATTACH=full]16229[/ATTACH] Hey BD, great pictures, love the air-to-air shot with the Hume. Did you stop off anywhere? How many hours did you rack up? PF.
Tex Posted January 10, 2012 Author Posted January 10, 2012 Good pics all... we should have all Drifters in the world pictured on here one day
Tex Posted January 12, 2012 Author Posted January 12, 2012 I was thinking nice one... landing there, though surely there was somewhere better around. Then I read your blog. Great write up there Justin. Must check my fuel tank soon. You know a lot of people over hear replace those fuel filters with automotive paper ones. I still use the one you have but regularly check and replace it. If you are not aware the fuel system on the Drifter has many faults... and the poor old Rotax fuel pump isn't the most efficient. Make sure you run the AUX pump whenever you may need a little extra confidence in fuel getting in... i.e. not directly over a flat landable paddock
pudestcon Posted January 14, 2012 Posted January 14, 2012 Great stuff Tex. Makes me want to take off right now for a fly, but my aircraft is 3 hours away. Anybody who has the convenience of their aircraft in a hangar just 'out the back', walking distance from the house is indeed a lucky puppy. Pud
Tex Posted January 14, 2012 Author Posted January 14, 2012 That is why I like pictures Sorry to HIJACK the Drifter thread, it is still a tail dragger... 1
David Isaac Posted January 14, 2012 Posted January 14, 2012 Where were those shots taken Tex, who owns the Auster J1B Aiglet in the photo?
farri Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 Good stuff guys!..... Excellent in fact! Remember, Don the 85 year old guy I took flying, a couple of months ago, for his first flight? This morning he was back for another flight and he had his son Paul with him.... This time it was Pauls first flight in a Drifter. I asked him what his first impression was, "Great", he said....He wants to come back and it looks like we could have another Drifter pilot,in the future. Frank. Ps, Come-on guys! Who`s going to come to the Cairns area and instruct in the Drifter? Pps, Is there anyone in the Townsville area, instructing in the Drifter? 1
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