Great air race reenactment and new aircraft for Michael Smith

[Downunder]

Looks like Michael Smith has seriously upgraded from the Searay.

 

The moon landing of its time: Great Air Race to Darwin remembered as the 'flight of the century'

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-10/great-air-race-flight-from-uk-to-australia-centenary/11782024

 

It's a Seabear apparently with twin 915's. Must have been far more comfortable than the Searay...

 

http://www.seabearaircraft.com/news/michael-smith-is-testing-l-72/

 

 

[440032]

Michael's new plane is Seabear L65 - a bit different, a one off. It has a 12V coffee maker in the back too.

 

 

[Deceiver]

Michael's new plane is Seabear L65 - a bit different, a one off. It has a 12V coffee maker in the back too.

 

He certainly has his priorities in order!

 

 

[facthunter]

Wonder how the little wires etc around the engine handle a saltwater environment and how do you moor it? Nev

 

 

[Deskpilot]

A bit dyslexic this morning. Read that as a V12 coffee maker. Would make bloody strong coffee I reckon.

 

 

[facthunter]

12 V coffee just gives you a mild jolt.. Works better with horses. Nev

 

 

[440032]

Mooring it...... it has no doors, the entrance is at the back turtle deck - walkway up between the fins.

 

So I guess he has to back it in onto a beach. Reversing props, no problem. A mate backs out off the beach in his Rans S7. Great party trick.

 

 

[Downunder]

[facthunter]

I doubt it has reversing props. .You usually end up in the water with a rope and quickly after the donks are shut down or it goes where the wind takes it. ( someplace where you can't touch the bottom) .  Then you have to start motors again and.. back to second sentence.  Nev

 

 

[Thruster88]

Mooring it...... it has no doors, the entrance is at the back turtle deck 

 

That sounds like fun if you're upside down in the water.?

 

 

[facthunter]

Turtles can handle it. Nev

 

 

[onetrack]

But they breathe through their bum. Ever tried doing that??

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Politicians can talk through theirs. I don’t know about breathe.

 

 

[440032]

Here's what the airmaster prop can do:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[facthunter]

A few Curtis Wright props could do that too but they have complex mechanisms to prevent overspeeding and inadvertent operation. Losing control of a prop's pitch is even worse than engine failure. The natural tendency of a prop is go to fine pitch under the centrifugal forces and they use pitch locks rather than just an electric motor drive to oppose it. In simple  air adjustable props the prop just cannot go so fine the motor would have to overspeed to keep  the plane above stall speed. Nev