Guest Maj Millard Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 Tex, I have to dissagree on the Drifter/rotax fuel pumps being unreliable. I ran the standard round pulse pump for many years with out a drama on both my 582 Drifter and other 2-stroke machines. The length of the rubber line from the engine case to the pump is important, and there is a max length that it can be. It must also be leak free of course and in good condition. The original round black Drifter elect pump developed a leak at around 500 hrs from new, so I replaced it with a Facet ticker pump after that. It's still laying around somewhere, and probabily only needs a couple of new O-rings. I only ever used the elect boost pump at take-off and landing, or over tiger country, as opposed to others who run it 100% of the time. My thinking being if the pulse pump ever died, I would need the boost pump to be in good shape then !....I did have a fuel-pressure guage fitted in the Drifter so I could always see that the pulse pump was doing it. The pricol fuel pressure guage is just above, and to the right of the LH rudder pedal in the photo.............................................Cheers Maj...
Guest Maj Millard Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 Frank, There are a couple in Charters Towers who instruct in a Drifter. They are from Townsville and one (Bernie Fisher) is very experienced, and is an ex-rescue helicopter pilot now semi-retired. His mobile is 0406000495. Give him a call he may be interested in helping you out. Get back to me if you can't raise him...I'll find him for you............................................Cheers Ross
farri Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 Ross, Thanks a lot for the info.....Just wanting to know what to tell Paul and others,who may be interested in learning to fly in the Drifter. Rotax diaphragm pump reliablity. My top tank drains into the bottom tank and I draw the fuel from the belly tank...I have an electric pump, in line, 2 feet from the tank....Half way up to the diaphragm pump, I have a primer bulb....For whatever reason, if the battery was to go flat, I can prime the carbies and pull start the engine, while on the ground.... Can`t use the primer bulb in flight, unless sitting in the back seat, though....I use the electric pump on take off.... once I`m at a safe altitude and everything is running correctly, I switch it off. Currently running a Rotax 503 but I`ve had one 503 and four, 582 , grey head engines before this one.... I`ve found that the diaphragm pump does the job sufficiently so I leave the electric pump off....Don`t even switch it on when landing. Are Rotax diaphragm pumps reliable?....Who`s pump are we analising? Frank.
Guest Maj Millard Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 I've never had one let me down Frank, since around 1984......................jesus that seems like decades now !.......................Maj...
Tex Posted January 15, 2012 Author Posted January 15, 2012 Where were those shots taken Tex, who owns the Auster J1B Aiglet in the photo? Hi David, Those shots were taken WNW of Oakey, a friend owns the Auster, we dropped in for a cuppa.
Tex Posted January 15, 2012 Author Posted January 15, 2012 [ATTACH=full]16271[/ATTACH]Tex, I have to dissagree on the Drifter/rotax fuel pumps being unreliable. Cheers Maj... Well unreliable might not be the best word to use... but I do believe they are not very powerful,... or efficient... I just don't trust it in fuel critical situations. Happy enough to run off it only in good areas, straight and level, normal cruise flight etc. But if anything coughs the fuel pump goes on at the same time the nose gets pushed over... It is a long way for that little pneumatic pump to draw fuel, especially with the outlet on the bottom tank. I was considering moving mine lower as it would push fuel better than pull it, I understand. (Nope... think I will stay on the bottom rather than rig a transfer to the top tank.)
David Isaac Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 Tex if you increase length of the pulse line to the Rotax pump it will create real problems, use extreme caution doing that. There is a maximum permissible length, and there is a maximum lift as well, after which a boost pump should be used. The manual for the engine should specify all of these specs.
Tex Posted January 16, 2012 Author Posted January 16, 2012 Yes thanks David I know it is 500mm from pulse port as max.
Tex Posted January 16, 2012 Author Posted January 16, 2012 One thing I don't see is the pump mounted horizontally, which is the Rotax recommended method.
farri Posted March 11, 2012 Posted March 11, 2012 Guys, I didn`t pose for this photo, in fact I didn`t even realise it had been taken, until later!... My mate ( past student of mine ) was flying overhead in his X-Air so I jumped in the Drifter and went up for a bit of fun... I saw that his passenger had a fancy looking camera but thought no more about it..Turned out the guy was a professional photographer from Cairns, took some shots and Emailed them to me...Unfortunately the photo has lost quality by resizing. Still on the Rotax diaphragm pump, are we?... Ok then!...Unless I need additional fuel, I only put fuel in the bottom tank. The electric fuel pump is on the fuselage pan, just behind the top tank and between the tank and the yellow A frame tube.. The diaphragm pump is situated on the engine, where it is supposed to be..Once I`m in the air, I switch the electric pump off and the diaphragm pump has to draw fuel from the bottom tank and through the electric pump.. It does it easily and not even once have I ever had fuel starvation on this or any of the other five engines before it and I`ve had this setup for many years. I reckon you will all have noticed that I choose not wear a helmet, never have... The orange cap that I`m wearing has the word TUI on it. It was given to me by a New Zealand guy who I took for a fly, a few monthe ago... He was so impressed with the flight that he said, " We`ve been flying like a TUI bird " and gave me the cap..I have the cap tied to my seat belt, with a piece of cord, so I can`t loose it. At the time I had no idea what he meant, didn`t like to ask, so I Googled it. A TUI ( Maori word ) is a endemic passerne bird of New Zealand. Now!... You all go out and fly like a TUI bird and have fun, you hear! Frank. 2
Tex Posted March 11, 2012 Author Posted March 11, 2012 Nice photo TUI... farri... the way the light hits your plane it makes look like a real harlequin colour scheme 1
Guernsey Posted March 11, 2012 Posted March 11, 2012 Well Frank that is some photo!!! A climbing Drifter with one wing low, complete engine failure , even the wheels are not turning and would you believe the pilot is not even looking ahead but smiling at a camera. You must be some really cool dude. Alan.
Guest Maj Millard Posted March 11, 2012 Posted March 11, 2012 Great shot Frank, the Drifter looks great, and you look damn good in it !....a great shot of a Drifter and driver in their element !!...If you look close you can even see the heat coming out of the exhaust....nice to see you still out doing it. Live dangerously..die old I say ....................................Maj...
skyfox1 Posted March 11, 2012 Posted March 11, 2012 Hi Frank do you have the eletric pump going through the diaphragm or T off seperately to the carbys cheers Geoff..
farri Posted March 11, 2012 Posted March 11, 2012 Ok guys, the photo of me in the Drifter, is not photo shop, it`s the genuine article. I like to have fun when I fly and I still enjoy it. The X-Air was on my left and I`m smiling because I was about do a turn to the right and that`s when the shot must have been taken... I wasn`t focusing on the guy with the camera.. Well Frank that is some photo!!! A climbing Drifter with one wing low, complete engine failure You must be some really cool dude. Alan. Alan, love your sense of humor but on a serious note your pretty close except that on this ocasion the engine was about to get a burst of throttle, take a look at my left hand, the way I fly, it`s always on the throttle for the power chnges I need to do the maneuvers I do. As for real engine failures, I`ve had enough over the years to have got pretty good at it but I still practise regularly and love nothing better than to to hear, only the sound of the wind,through the wires. Hi Frank do you have the eletric pump going through the diaphragm or T off seperately to the carbyscheers Geoff.. Hi Geof, I set the system up 20 odd years ago! I have the top tank gravity feeding into the bottom tank and a single line feeding out of the bottom tank to the electric pump up to the diaphragm pump and into the carbies. Frank.
farri Posted March 11, 2012 Posted March 11, 2012 Great shot Frank, the Drifter looks great, and you look damn good in it !....a great shot of a Drifter and driver in their element !!...If you look close you can even see the heat coming out of the exhaust....nice to see you still out doing it. Live dangerously..die old I say ....................................Maj... Hey Ross, Thank you, I appreciate it!... I enjoy my flying and I`m certainly going to keep flying the way I enjoy it, for as long as I can! A while back I read a story about an American doctor who was a cancer specialist and on his time off he loved nothing better than to take his Kayak and go Kayaking. He was into the real serious white water stuff, over waterfalls and all that. The interviewer asked him if he was frightened of drowning and loosing his life. His reply was that every day he had to watch someone dying of cancer and nothing frightened him more than the thought of ending up like that so he was going to continue to enjoy his passion for as long as he could. A lot of people think that jumping off a clif with one of those flying suits is insanity, but not long ago, I watched a story on TV, covering that type of flying and one of the world leaders in that field was an Australian doctor. On a later program, I saw that his wife had taken it up also and at the end of the interview, they both jumped off the cliff and flew off together. Don`t know if they`re still doing it, but going on what I heard them say on TV, I reckon they are. Frank. Ps.Wish I was half my age, with the courage to jump off a cliff in a flying suit, but I`m not and I wouldn`t have the courage.The Drifter will have to do.
Justin Hawkins Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 A snapshot of the flight deck from a recent flight.... Here's a link to my blog with more pics and details of the flight: http://www.shutterflightphotography.com/exploring-the-southern-mesa-verde-cliffs/ And while I'm bragging, here's yet another link to a new gallery on my page: http://www.shutterflightphotography.com/reservation/ 1
Tex Posted March 20, 2012 Author Posted March 20, 2012 Hi Justin, What app are you using to record your flight for later display on Google?
Justin Hawkins Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 Hi Justin,What app are you using to record your flight for later display on Google? It's actually a mountain biking ap, which explains the annoying mile markers. It's called Cyclemeter. The best thing it does is post a link on my facebook page when I leave on a flight. If Someone needs to know where I am, they can go to facebook and my track will lead to my current position. This was used to help find me after an engine failure dumped me in the middle of nowhere. Here ya go: http://www.abvio.com/cyclemeter/ It's $2, but worth $50.
JimG Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 I'll try again later to load the pic........any tips out there on the best way to do this..?
Tex Posted March 21, 2012 Author Posted March 21, 2012 I'll try again later to load the pic........any tips out there on the best way to do this..? You can add it as an attachment by using the "Upload a file" button which appears besides the "Post Reply Button" or preferably... add the picture to a gallery here (or elsewhere). Get the image location by opening/viewing your picture in the gallery, then right click, 'copy image location' and then make your your reply post normally and use the add/edit image button (above the post you are making you will see the little picture of the tree) - click the tree and in there you right click and 'paste' the image location of your picture. 'Post reply'.
bacon Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 Hi guys Here is one of my new drifter. Pretty basic compared to some of the nice flash ones on here. Once i finish my cross country im taking a trip down to wayne fisher to get a new set of skins fitted. Plus I need to fit a proper fuel tank to get rid of the dodgy jerry can setup, I've been trying to get one of wayne but he has had to change supplier and is having trouble getting any. Does anyone know someone else that makes them, or has a spare one sitting in the hangar thats for sale?? Cheers Jamie 1
pudestcon Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 Mate, that looks like a ridgie didge flying machine that you are, pretty quickly by the sound of it, going to make your own. Are you going to change the colour scheme with the new skins you are getting? I fondly remember my ab initio training in a Drifter back in the late 90's. A great aircraft in which I did 29.4 hours with my last flight of 1.2 hours solo on 20th September 1998. Oops, thread drift. Sorry bacon I got carried away reminiscing And I can't help you with the fuel tank either!! Pud
bacon Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 Mate, that looks like a ridgie didge flying machine that you are, pretty quickly by the sound of it, going to make your own. Are you going to change the colour scheme with the new skins you are getting?I fondly remember my ab initio training in a Drifter back in the late 90's. A great aircraft in which I did 29.4 hours with my last flight of 1.2 hours solo on 20th September 1998. Oops, thread drift. Sorry bacon I got carried away reminiscing And I can't help you with the fuel tank either!! Pud Hey pud Yeah definetly gunna change the colour scheme its a bit ugly at the moment, finding it hard to decide what colours to go with. To many to choose from!! They are a great aircraft I did 10hrs in a tecnam when I first started my training, then moved to the drifter because of hr rate diffrence and loved it totally different kind of flying, compared to being in a enclosed cab. Great machine to learn in too they can take a hard landing here and there and not worry them, tho I've found with this one being the light maxair compared to the austflight I trained in its nearly impossible to land hard just wants to float on every time its awesome!! Jamie
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now