Phil Perry Posted August 29, 2016 Posted August 29, 2016 My old mate Bill the Witch at Otherton ( Well, he's actually an Ex-Warlock, as a Witch, is technically a female title. . .) has just sold one of his fleet of aircraft for £750.00. The new owner flew it out on Sunday last, after securing a permit to fly. What girieved me was that the bloke who bought it is an extremely wealthy man, who already owns four aircraft. . . . I was thinking to myself, that it would have been a darned good starter aircraft for someone with a highly limited budget, such as a young person, student, etc. . .who could have got together a few friends and stuck less than £200 each and bought it as a Fun project.. . . but. . .C'est La vie. . . . The aeroplane was a Whittaker MW6, with a Rotax 532 single ignition 2 stroke engine. I had flown this particular machine many times over the last 20 odd years, under various owners. . . Not fast at all,. . .48 Kt on a good day, but capable of lifting two people in tandem config, with dual controls fitted ( side stick for the rear seat ) and flying around the cabbage patch for around 2 hours ish. . . great fun plane to get yer bum in the air for peanuts. It uses approx 17 litres per hour when flown solo and a teeny bit more if you have a fat barstard in the front. ( the Lighter crewperson has to have the rear seat for balance ) Incidentally, the new owner was instructed by the inspector to place a small patch on one of the wings where an errant bird had pecked through the doped fabric covering . . . otherwise, it got a clean bill of health. Here's a link to the MW club, with a couple of photographs. . . Aircraft | MW Club Aircraft | MW Club Mike Whittaker was one of the Concord design team at Filton, near Bristol when he designed the first marque to fly, ( the MW4 - Pictured first on the website ). .This employed a vehicular propshaft Universal joint forward of the tail structure, so that the entire tail section articulated left / right and up / down. . . . with cable oriented control inputs for yaw and pitch. It was a brilliant little aircraft to fly, and I enjoyed it on many occasions, with the caveat that I required a ground crew to facilitate Philextrication from the pilot seat after landing. . . .( Tight squeeze ) 'Our' Kasper will know a lot more about the history of these aircraft than me, as he was ( Allegedly ) involved in the machinations of the BMAA . . . I wonder if any of you ne'er do wells know of anything cheaper than this to get one's derriere into the air. . . ?
Marty_d Posted August 31, 2016 Posted August 31, 2016 That's pretty cheap. Even my second-hand hang glider, 20-odd years back, cost $2700. (Okay our dollar is only worth about half a pound, but you get the idea). And that needed a long drive and a big hill to get airborne.
Soleair Posted September 1, 2016 Posted September 1, 2016 Even my second-hand hang glider, 20-odd years back, cost $2700 You was robbed! My first hang glider was a Wasp 229B3, and it cost me 120 quid. Though admittedly, that was 40 years ago. . . gulp . . . http://www.shgc.org.uk/modules/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=928&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=059b2fc7805a4fb835d35e8191355ebf Looking at this pic (not me, but same glider) you may say that's all it was worth!!
Marty_d Posted September 1, 2016 Posted September 1, 2016 It only cost £120 because half of it was missing!! Where's the battens, faired king post, altimeter, bag...? I often wish I'd taken more pics but nobody in my group of maniacs was into photography... and these were the days when mobile phones, if you had one, didn't take pictures.
Soleair Posted September 1, 2016 Posted September 1, 2016 Aye, them were t'days. . . How do you get a pound sign on your keyboard? (with apologies to Phil for the thread drift) 1
Marty_d Posted September 1, 2016 Posted September 1, 2016 Aye, them were t'days. . .How do you get a pound sign on your keyboard? (with apologies to Phil for the thread drift) er... I copied it from Phil's post... I'm guessing he's got one of them Pommy keyboards with a pound sign where the $$$ should be...
Phil Perry Posted September 1, 2016 Author Posted September 1, 2016 er... I copied it from Phil's post... I'm guessing he's got one of them Pommy keyboards with a pound sign where the $$$ should be... Actually mate, this keyboard is truly international. . . I not only have one dollar sign but TWO ! On is big, brash, loud and fat,. . .the other one is lean, mean and suntanned . . . I forget which one is the Aussie $ version . . . I surgically removed the 'Euro' symbol as I found it offensive. . . . 2
Marty_d Posted September 1, 2016 Posted September 1, 2016 On is big, brash, loud and fat,. . .the other one is lean, mean and suntanned . . . Nah, the Aussie one is big, loud, fat and suntanned. I surgically removed the 'Euro' symbol as I found it offensive. . . . I can just see it... you know you're in a "Leave" household when the computer is short a key... 1
Phil Perry Posted September 1, 2016 Author Posted September 1, 2016 Here is an interesting presentation of the most frequently used keys when typing in English. . . .( Note* No Euro Key * ) 1
spacesailor Posted September 3, 2016 Posted September 3, 2016 Maybe I should put the humble "HummelBird" in for a prize. Originally cheap to build, with it's half an engine & home made propeller, It's also cheap to run on mogas at four litres an hour. spacesailor 1 1
Phil Perry Posted September 4, 2016 Author Posted September 4, 2016 Maybe I should put the humble "HummelBird" in for a prize.Originally cheap to build, with it's half an engine & home made propeller, It's also cheap to run on mogas at four litres an hour. spacesailor Got a picture for us Poms mate ? ? ? ? ? You've already seen my MW pictures I think . . . the FIRST lighweight thingummy that I flew was the Aussie 'Thruster' TST . . . ( G-MTST ) [ All UK microlights had to have the letter 'M' as the first letter in the registration ] I'd flown my regularly borrowed C-150 into a Microlight rally, and they parked me right next to it. Whilst I was having a gander, the owner sauntered up and said that if I wanted to 'Have a go' . . to help myself. ( ! ) So, being young(er) and less sensible than wot I are now. . . . . he added some fuel and orf I went. Lovely thing to fly, but I shagged up the first landing a bit, trying to 'Wheel' it on. Apparently, they prefer the three point method. . . which worked a treat. He wouldn't fly with me as he was a bit of a fat bugger, ( when I was lean and mean and only 13 stones ) I don't remember what the engine was, might have been either a Rotax 447, or 503. . . Anyway, that was my introduction to ultra-light aircraft. Of course, I traded him a ride in the Cessna, but I didn't let him fly it on his self by his own. . . .( ! ) He commented that it was like flying a cement mixer. . .He was self-taught on the Thruster. . . how times change. . . .( luckily ) Since that time I've flown all sorts of weird ultralights, but would pay money to fly an Aussie 'Lightwing' we had nothing like that here and they look positively Luvly ! > 1
Phil Perry Posted September 4, 2016 Author Posted September 4, 2016 Nah, the Aussie one is big, loud, fat and suntanned.I can just see it... you know you're in a "Leave" household when the computer is short a key... Oh, dear,. . .I missed that comment the first time around Marty. . . oh my ribs hurt. . . . . Just to correct a little grammar there mate,. . . you know you're in a "Remain" household when the head is is short a pair of eyes, a pair of ears, and of course,. . .a brain... There . . .fixed it for you. 52.1 percent of voters in the UK also have obviously no missing 'Keys' either ! Gee you colonials crack me up . . .
Phil Perry Posted September 4, 2016 Author Posted September 4, 2016 Nah, the Aussie one is big, loud, fat and suntanned.I can just see it... you know you're in a "Leave" household when the computer is short a key... [ATTACH=full]45565[/ATTACH] Oh, dear,. . .I missed that comment the first time around Marty. . . oh my ribs hurt. . . . . Just to correct a little grammar there mate,. . . 'You know you're in a "Remain" household when the head is is short a pair of eyes, a pair of ears, oh, and of course. . .a brain. . . ' There . . .fixed it for you. 52.1 percent of voters in the UK also have obviously no missing 'Keys' either ! Gee you colonials crack me up . . .
Spooks Posted September 5, 2016 Posted September 5, 2016 I often see the Minimax come up for about £1k 1
Spooks Posted September 5, 2016 Posted September 5, 2016 er... I copied it from Phil's post... I'm guessing he's got one of them Pommy keyboards with a pound sign where the $$$ should be... You'll get multi-function keys once Northern Hemisphere technology filters down to you Southerners in twenty years time P.S I think alt+156 (156 on the right numpad) should give you the £££££££££££££ 1
Marty_d Posted September 5, 2016 Posted September 5, 2016 You'll get multi-function keys once Northern Hemisphere technology filters down to you Southerners in twenty years time P.S I think alt+156 (156 on the right numpad) should give you the £££££££££££££ Thanks Spooks - it may on a regular keyboard but I'm using a little ultrabook which doesn't have room for a number pad. That's ok... down here in the backwards southern hemisphere we rarely have a need for the £...
Spooks Posted September 5, 2016 Posted September 5, 2016 Apart from when you are exporting all that lovely wine to the UK Talking of which. A friend of mine was playing rugby over in Queensland and asked the barman for a Fosters, the response was "We don't drink that rubbish here, we export it to you idiots" 2
Marty_d Posted September 5, 2016 Posted September 5, 2016 I've never seen Fosters in Australia, only in England. I usually drink home brew anyway - but if I'm at a pub, Boags draught or premium. I believe they drink XXXX up there in QLD - word is they call it that because they can't spell "BEER"... 1 3
spacesailor Posted September 9, 2016 Posted September 9, 2016 Phil, A pic no, A video! OK. Skeets HB is a four cylinder two-stroke McCulloch. They are not HD so hopeful it's passable. And there is one in England. PS "cut & past into "a new tab" spacesailor 1
onetrack Posted September 9, 2016 Posted September 9, 2016 Gee, the climb rate of the HB could only be described as "leisurely" at best, couldn't it? 1
facthunter Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 The tricycle U/C one didn't exactly leap into the air. (Extra weight and drag of the nosewheel?) A 1/2 VW sometimes is not that powerful. They are a sleek plane with the "usual" two stroke type muffler removed. Something to always consider when thinking about a plane to build. A "racing" rotary (wankel) from an outboard motor could be the answer for a clean plane like these. Nev
M61A1 Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 A 1/2 VW sometimes is not that powerful. That is probably the biggest understatement I've seen for a long time....Is there a time when they are powerful, and in relation to what? I've always admired the Hummel Bird, even thought about building one, but I can't see any point, in cutting an already heavy engine into pieces, keeping all the heavy bits, and getting half the power. I reckon they'd be a blast with a 582, or even a 503.
facthunter Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 The 582 would be great but the exhaust system spoils an otherwise clean design. I like the hummelbird. I didn't want to absolutely rule out the possibility of a very powerful 1/2 VW existing. It would be better to build your own design using a couple of good heads . There's plenty of alloy speedway JAP heads about made aftermarket. Powerful 4 stroke twins are a bit lumpy. A lightweight 5 cylinder radial if you have a bit of time to spare.? .Nev
spacesailor Posted September 10, 2016 Posted September 10, 2016 A round engine! yes it's been done, A turbo, yes that's done already. fully moded four cylinder done!. Aeromorph. fast! So damm fast the tail end blew away & killed the pilot. ( some were above 170 mph) two stroke, four cylinder!, McCulloch engined, done again. Rotax, Ask Dave King, used to take his 503 Hummelbird to Narromine many times. Also flown at Temora. Slow to gain height! try to get an Cessna, Piper, or a Jabiru, to even Bunny-hop with just two cylinder's. And finely, Name any other aircraft with such a low fuel consumption! spacesailor
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