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I may have this very wrong - Once airborne, unless subject to turbulence/wind shear/ gust, the aircraft does not "know" or care from which direction the wind is coming from. The aircraft will perform just the same with a 20 knot tailwind, as a 20 knot headwind. The ground speed will differ but the air speed remains the same.

After several iterations and failures the 3D printed 9XX valve compressor gizmo works great 👍

"Pilot Error" is an expression that has NOT been used by investigators for quite a while. It actually gets you nowhere. There's ALWAYs some reason, why? Investigation is justified as being a way of improving safety Not just apportioning blame. A convenient answer as there's always a pilot at the scene of the crash. Yes Pilots are human and to err is human. . We must reduce the Frequency of these so called human error crashes. HOW is the hard part. Zero accidents is not possible but to not try to reduce them is dereliction of responsibility.. No one goes flying expecting to end up dead. That's obvious. We also think it only happens to others. Safety has to be an ethic. IF you're not sure check it again. Look again. don't show off. Don't be distracted. Fly to the conditions and your and the Planes Limits.. I'd hate to injure anyone or have a student prang because of something he wasn't taught in a situation I've supervised or been a party to. Set a good example to others. Everyone has a part in it. Nev

Today has been a day of discovery and success while cleaning piston crowns on the 914. After reading MSDS sheets on various you-beaut metal cleaning products off I went to the magic shed cupboard. Pistons from the scrap 912 80hp were used to test some science. One was thrown in a bucket of Selleys sugar soap (oven cleaner), the other in a bucket of nanoic acid (herbicide). After 15 minutes the sugar soap had softened the varnish which could be wiped off with a rag. After 30 minutes more varnish came off with a tooth brush; and after an hour most all varnish was vanquished, and the metal was just beginning to dull a bit. After two hours the piston was stripped fairly clean and the metal had not dulled that much in total. The second piston is still sitting in the nanoic acid at the end of the day without much change at all. Then it was time to clean piston crowns. First a plastic scraper was tried and was all but useless at scraping off carbon. Then a piece of ebony was used, and was all but useless. Then a brass brush was tried which left scratch marks. Then a piece of 1.75mm aluminium sheet was tried. It worked great and left no scratch marks! Then a piece of broken piston skirt was tried and it worked even better, and left no scratch marks because it was the same hardness and material as the piston crown... After nearly 50years I just discovered this today; amazing... With all the wonder of discovery the piston crowns on the 914 all got cleaned as well as they could in the afternoon by first scraping the carbon off with the bit of skirt followed by a 15 minute soak of sugar soap and a flush out with carbi clean and Rostoff, followed by roll over until no more gunk flowed out of the ring lands, then a finishing off of engine oil. The carbon on the top of the bores came off easy after a scrape with the piece of skirt and some light wiping with grey scotch brite soaked in sugar soap. Ready for reassembly...

Gary was an active 737 Capt. QANTAS pilots can fly Shorthaul (domestic) to any age as long as they hold a Class 1 medical. Longhaul must stop flying at Age 65 or, like in Gary’s case, transfer to Shortaul to continue flying.

Contrary to the argument for pre- planning, what I enjoy most is getting up to 3000 feet then thinking” where will I go today?” Then flying for up to two hours (total out and back) in any direction. I know all the territory and can’t get lost and I have an iPad and a phone with OzRunways and other good stuff. Probably a dozen airfields I can choose to land on if I wish within that range. A couple need Notam checking, most don’t. It’s not like a trip which needs planning, just the freedom of flying.

Hi Everyone, For the information of all recreational flyers in Australia, Rapture Aviation of Adelaide has been appointed as the sole distributor in Australia for the full range of Zonsen Aero engines. For those that are not familiar with Zonsen Aero, they have a range of engines starting at a 12hp two stroke engine for powered parachutes and the like, through to their most powerful engine which is a 145hp fuel-injected turbocharged four stroke engine. Their 80+hp range consists of the following models: 80hp CA300 (Equivalent to the Rotax 912UL) 100hp CA500 (Equivalent to the Rotax 912ULS) 110hp CA510 (between the 912ULS and the 914) 110hp CA510i - a fuel injected version of the CA510 115hp CA520T (Equivalent to the Rotax 914UL) 115hp CA520Ti - a fuel injected version of the CA520T 145hp CA550T - a carbureted turbocharged engine 145hp CA550Ti - a fuel injected version of the CA550T (Equivalent to the Rotax 915iS) Rapture Aviation has a website at https://raptureaviation.com/ and a Facebook page at Facebook where more information can be found about the engines. Rapture Aviation is also developing the Rapture Bug single seat high performance kit aircraft. It is a modern design with its roots in the Lightning Bug kit aircraft that was produced in the early 1990's. Using updated materials and fabrication techniques, the Rapture Bug is intended to offer the same or better performance than the original Lightning Bug but offer a lot more cockpit space for taller/larger pilots, a faster Vne, and much simplified construction to get it flying sooner. At present, the new all-carbon fuselage is completed, and the new 2-piece all-carbon wings are under construction, with a target completion date for the wings of the end of the year. We hope to have the all-new, all-carbon Bug flying mid next year fitted with the 145hp Zonsen CA550Ti. This engine will offer a cruise power of around 130hp at 10,000' thanks to its turbocharging. This power setting should offer a cruise TAS of around 220ktas. Pulling the power back to a more economical power setting is projected to offer an economical cruise of 180ktas burning around 20 litres per hour. For those not familiar with the Bug, here is a photo of an original Bug, as well as one of our new fuselage taken early in its construction.

Happens to all tyres - cars as well. If the wheel locks (ABS inoperative) (not a no-go item) on the top of a film of water, then the friction heats the water to boiling and melts the rubber. Tyre not spinning so a localised melt. Why pilots never aim for a 'greaser' on a wet runway. You want to get the tyres through the film of water onto the bitumen. Heavier the rain the more positive the touchdown.

Question: Has flying become too accessible? This may seem a ridiculous proposition but, with the increasing wealth of a section of population has it? We know that snow sports have become easier with snow boarding. Motor cycles are now popular as symbols of "freedom". Many enjoy the thrill of jetskis and even snapping pics of oneself leaning at impossible angles over the void on cliff tops is a "thing". Flying also has a certain cachet. We who have taken the hard road to flying qualification realise too well the invisible gap between safety and disaster and treat such with great respect. Some may be schooled to believe that everything is possible with our innate gifts of managing hazards. I am too often reminded of this situation when listening to work safety cynics. This is my attempt to make sense of the needless disasters we are confronted with all too frequently on these pages. I am not attempting to assign any directed blame, merely posing a question. Don

The published stall speeds are very unrealistic for an aircraft with 800kg MTOW and only 110 sq feet of wing. Could it lead pilots to fly at unsafe airspeed during manoeuvring?

..and not only the aircraft insurance, but personal insurance as well. Mike is probably surprised to see TNV transmitting Adsb 🙂, but this is my personal Skyecho which I bring whenever flying in an non-Adsb aircraft.

Yep..go to Jaycar and get a tube or syringe of thermal heat paste..its white..thats all I use...works fine and does exactly what the very expensive rotax stuff does

Aircraft 1 Pics below. Test pilot Ben checking detail throughout the aircraft before scheduling a test flight day. I thought it was the test flight day. Makes a whole lot of sense to spend a day thoroughly checking every aspect of the build before venturing into the air. We were lucky to get Ben as test pilot. He spends most of his time flying executive jets around the world. Aircraft 2 It’s the first time for a year that I’ve been able to get stuck full time into the build. It’s a bit like your first day on a new job starting back in. I got off to a rocky start putting fuel tank holes in the wrong spot a few months back. If you don’t do any building you can’t make a mistake. But….slowly got back into it and it’s been very satisfying laying down paint that’s not orange peel. Used to be and the paint shop sold me a HPLV spray gun. What a difference. I apply the paint in 1/4 to 1/3rd runs that isn’t too thick. That way if it’s slightly under or over the paint blends in and it’s near enough to perfect. Put the header tank in with triple and quadruple checks before drilling holes. The manual actually tells you to triple check. Don’t know what I was thinking when I drilled those fuel tank holes wrong. Probably over confident. Fixed that problem now! I’m back to the rhythm I had a year ago. Enthusiastic and putting in 8-11 hour days not including time spent each day on YouTube’s and sitting watching tv while thumbing through Rans parts, text and figure manuals. Nic and I are off to Parafield this weekend for an SAAA course in maintenance. Compulsory if you want to do your own annual etc. 8 participants and apart form the boring regulation stuff it should be fun with fellow builders. I then fly back to Melbourne and immediately board flight up to Taipei for 5 days. ‘Then back into build process only interrupted by hay baling. Nic will work with me on avionics. Expect to have avionics done and Titan engine all plumbed in by years end then maybe January finish up the skylight, windshield, doors and engine cowling. We should be flying Nic’s really soon.

Errol is a very industrious person, so I think he'll make a good fist of it. From his unique perspective his team can iron out the QA issues of the kit. The plane itself is a good plane. Regarding my build, I had a lot of trouble with it, but I'm easily disappointed and offput. If it was a much cheaper project (I've made a couple of arcade machines for instance) that wasn't working out, it probably would have ended out the front for hard rubbish collection. But because it's an expensive undertaking, I had to persist. Every other builder, of this or any other plane has just knuckled down and got on with it. Anyway, mine will be inspected next week. Might be one of the last South African versions to be completed.

I think there's enough stupid people in England that you don't have to go looking for reds under the bed.

Did my solo Sunday morning, just managed to sneak it in before a change in the weather saw the winds pick up. Did 3 circuits with my instructor in variable winds that made runway choice a bit challenging but the direction settled down giving me enough time before the wind speeds picked up. Full credit to my instructor and I have fallen in love with flying Cubs. The challenge of learning to fly in tail draggers has been an awesome experience

That Saturday I took two young boys flying in my Gazelle, from West Sale. I saw the Cougar parked across the ramp in the grass. We had a fantastic time. Both boys said to me when coming in to land "This is the best day of my life!", too funny! They had a ball. I did the obligatory positive and negative G turn and gentle wingover, at 1500Ft, as much as you can do in a Gazelle. The one lad at the start, was a bit cautious, so asked if I could just fly around. I said absolutely, I will do exactly what you want me to do....But he soon was enjoying it and went for the gentle "G" demo...I got the "toy houses and cars" comment too! A week or two before I was up solo at 2000Ft, doing power on stalls and unbalanced stall....even a Gazelle will drop a wing! Can't get my head around that, literally a half hour after I departed, having put the Gazelle away, three young men went out in that Cougar and died!?? Makes me sick. The pilot had around 600Hrs? But what upset experience? This looked like a steep angle impact. It looks like a stall spin scenario? With 600 Hrs experience I like to think an engine failure should have resulted in a landing in a paddock, even a hard landing. But also could have been stalled in a forced landing. Terrible, terrible event...what price for experience?? My Air Force training, and experience are invaluable as they keep me safe. I've seen too many horror incidents. I am not a daring pilot, If there's a play.....I play it safe.... Aviation can be extremely brutal.....but I guess so are the teen hooning car crash tragedies? But again....is upset training and accelerated or "G" stalls; severely neglected these days? I think so. I walked out once I locked the hangar, and had a look at the Cougar. Must have as I said, just missed these guys....would I have maybe said something, chatted about the conditions (it was getting hot and was getting turbulent below 1500 Ft as was forecast. Would that have changed things? Probably not. Can't say I liked the Cougar proportions much..... it has a lot of keel area ahead of the wing, the engine being very far forward. The tailfin is small, just eyeballing it, I thought directional stability can't be great? Short span but broad chord wing. The winglets are large and may help with directional stability?

Thanks mate, greatly appreciated and I am sure the users of the site will support you

My sincere apologies Ian. I didn’t intend to break any rules. Please let me address it as you have suggested. Please PM me to discuss if I haven’t addressed it in what you consider to be a fair manner. I’d like you on-side, not off-side!

@Rapture you snuck this one through and ignored the site rules although the site rules say absolutely NO advertising/promotion of your own products in this site without prior approval. This is because of the high costs of running this resource for everyone so I get a bit upset if I am paying a lot of money out of my pocket each month whilst others make money for themselves from it. I think the decent thing to do is to make a donation towards the costs, don't you?

There are several good videos that have been put out by the South African distributor that explain the product range and provide some more details about the engines.

The Carnival used a HondaV6, so did the MG ZT and Rover; all suffered the same issues of engine failure. At the time Kia had a national recall on 12.5 thousand replacement engines; MG/Rover national recall on inlet manifold assembly replacement due to coolant containment issues leading to engine failure. Many leading OEM auto brands manufacture in china. Many leading OEM electronics brands manufacture in china. Many components used in both industries are manufactured in china. Cirrus Aircraft, owned and manufactured by china... Boeing, Airbus, manufacture in china. Rotax, BMW, Can-am, manufacture in china. Mitsubishi, manufacture in china. Daimler Benz, manufacture in china. Ford, manufacture in china. Toyota, manufacture in china. Chrysler Stellantis, manufacture in china. PSA Citroen, manufacture in china. Harley Davidson, manufacture in china. Textron Cessna, joint venture manufacture in china. Let's give it a chance to prove itself and see if they are as good as the Rotax units being manufacture in the Rotax factory across the road from ZonZen's facility 😃👍

Would have been an interesting half hour or so for the crew and fire crews. Engine debris was contained in the cowling except for the bits that 'escaped' out the big round hole at the back. Those escapees at upwards of 1,000 degrees C was what started the grass fire on the runway edge. Why Sydney Airports Corporation safety department allowed the dry grass there to grow to knee length during our bushfire season will be a question for the ATSB. As far as the evacuation decision - there was no subsequent aircraft damage, no engine fire as confirmed by the crew and fire department when they stopped at the upwind end of the runway for a visual check, so a taxi back to the gate was deemed to be the safest course of action. If the engine was on fire then the decision would in all probability been a different one. Last time I had an engine that decided to morph into a different shape, my wingman reported that he heard the tinkle of turbine blades on his windscreen through his helmet shortly before he went IMC in the extinguisher cloud. He mentioned that also was interesting for a little bit. They can escape with some force and glee to be free .... As for the journalists story - he is a respected investigative journalist that has covered wars, famine etc around the world. The notion that "his blood ran cold" has likely been misquoted and probably written by someone who normally covers flower shows.

FullRiver HC20 battery is a good cheap alternative to the odyssey. Have one in the RV and it cranks the 5.9 litre lycoming no problem.

Now this is clever👍

An interesting feature of MAC's is the number of MAC's where a student has been under instruction. Having a CFI on board is no guarantee of increased safety, and an AOPA report states that having a CFI on board and instructing, actually increases the risk of an aircraft crash. In nearly every case, the CFI's attention is on the student, the controls and the instruments, and he/she's not looking out for other aircraft - and often, the student isn't either, as he's focussed on learning new skills. The AOPA report states that MACs (in the U.S.) accounted for 16 percent of dual and 20 percent of solo fatal instructional accidents. I find it interesting that the last two MAC's here have both involved mature, high-hour pilots with with outstanding levels of experience.

I used to fly in all sorts of weather and sometimes to deadlines. I don't do this any more & should never have done it. I was just lucky. Now I fly when conditions are good. After all I fly for fun. Building my own aircraft was an achievement I thought I'd never get to. You have to make things happen. I have lots a personal minimums like my reserve is an hours fuel. I always do a personal IMSAFE before deciding to fly. Sometimes the day looks fantastic but for some reason I don't don't feel enthusiastic enough so I do something else. Flying means you have to be on top of your game at all times. I got Shingles in August & haven't flown since. It is nearly gone but not quite so I don't pass IMSAFE though most of the rest of my life is back to pretty much normal. I've seen people come unstuck because they thought they were better than they actually were. I detest show offs. When I have a passenger I fly conservatively. I have never had a passenger who did not want to fly with me again but I have flown with others who wanted to impress me & I have never flown with them again. I have always liked the statement attributed to Captain Alfred Gilmer Lamplugh, C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S, M.I.Ae.S., M.C.A.I., F.R.G.S. a WW1 pilot & Principle Surveyor for The British Aviation Insurance Co., Ltd back in the 1920s “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.”

True, but the track and heights of this VH registered aircraft don't indicate aerobatics, but the common killer; sighteeing and/or getting photos of homesteads. The aircraft is flown low - 500 feet agl is a good height for a standard camera lense.....and also the minimum legal flight level, and most people about to take photos are not focused on a suitable height for a stall. The pilot starts out with a shallow enough turn but the person with the camera is shouting "CLOSER!" "CLOSER!!!" "Stay there!, I've just about got it!" and the pilot gets tighter and tighter until the aircraft lets go. I'm not saying this is what's happened here and with ATSB investigating, their decision will be based on a lot more actual evidence, but I don't see any evidence here of beat ups straight over the houses or aerobatic displays, just multiple turns above the properties which I've done lots of times. It's normal to rev the engine or give some other pre-arranged signal, because people on the land are prone to saying afterwards that they didn't see you, and "Oh yeah a plane went over the house about that time." If you want to avoid a similar accident to this, don't do the circling bit, come straight in towards the property, offset so the person with the camera can get a good shot, climb out. That was you have a clean, stable 500 - 600' camera pass and your turns are similar to circuit turns. Passenger needs a shot from another angle? From your shallow turn at higher altitude drop down to camera height and fly another straight line towards the new view requested. Another way to avoid this is what I do - hire an Instructor and do a 15 minute brief before the flight: the Instructor is in the LH Seat, he/she is PIC at all times and responsible for height, other traffic etc. I point to where I want to shoot once we descend to photo level, and it's optional for the PIC to abort. We then just fly on and come come round in a cloverleaf for a second attempt. In a pre-planned 1 hour flight I get roughly 40 good shots, a few fuzzy ones, and about three go rounds resulting in good shots. We haven't spoken over the photo area and when we land the Instructor is happy and I'm happy.

On the contrary, and I have this directly from the former CEO of Insitu, the largest drone manufacturer in the world, their biggest problem was the reliability of the powerplants in their drones. They have a $1m+ drone powered by a $50k engine. They needed the drones to be in the air continuously over the battlefields and any engine failure in ostensibly a cheap engine results in a loss of a very expensive drone and the loss of capability until another could get on station. Rotax pulled out of at least one drone market (the Bayraktar TB2 from Turkey, a big seller after the Ukraine conflict) to be replaced by someone. So someone with a Rotax type engine is now filling that space. Hours will be built rapidly and reliability will be put to the test for whatever engine this Rotax replacement might be…

When I think of instructors, I picture a 40-something person or older imparting knowledge and wisdom. That has been my experience. Someone with a couple of hundred hours in their early twenties may be able to teach the basic skills, but they do not have wisdom. I think there should be a reassessment of minimum standards (age and hours) for instructors.

There is a relevant detail in the spec sheets, 90lts in a fibreglass header tank, in front of the instrument panel... Having a few hours in Garry's blue prototype Cougar, there is a noticeable CofG shift as fuel is burnt off, the subject plane also had wing tanks, behind the wing spar. Now throw an extra body in the back seat, and life can get interesting if you're not on top of the fuel system.😳 On a side note, interesting to see a '100LL Avgas only' sticker on the fuel cap, but I guess if it had a home made turbo system on a 912ULS, it may be the case...🤔

It is a funding and resourcing issue. The ATSB don’t have the funds to investigate any accidents involving sport aviation aircraft. Unless a minister gets involved and demands they investigate. The solution is to lobby for the ATSB to be better funded and resourced. As pilots are generally Australian taxpayers, regardless of the aircraft registration, fatal and serious accidents should be investigated. it is not an official policy or written document AFAIK, but a budgetary decision.

Hard to believe that an 800kg aircraft of this size could stall at 27kts... looks like this was questioned 14 years ago too...

A bit long-winded but what an achievement.

Hopefully now corrected thanks Ian. Please PM me if there is anything else I need to do.

This is an interesting development. If anything, hopefully this will result in a price drop by Rotax....competition was never a bad thing for consumers. There is a bloke in Canada using one of these in a Zenith 701 I think. A clip of this has been posted I earlier? He seems pretty happy with it. My experience with Chinese engineering is as follows: I bought a CFMoto 150cc commuter bike as it was far better specced than the Honda CB125. It was INSANELY cheap, so I thought I would give it a go. It was so cheap, I thought minor a loss if it packs in. 8 years later and 35 000Kms later, it still looks almost brand new and the only problem was the battery was not powerful enough. after replacing two batteries, I replaced the battery, after a bit of butchery of the battery holder, with a slightly larger battery, and it has been going like a train ever since. Then the wife's KIA Rio, was getting well past it's sell by date. After test driving them them to be just as well built and the same to drive as SUV's that cost around $8000 more...I took a punt, and bought her a Haval H2 LUX. 60 000 Km's later and 6 years down the road, it still does look brand new and it's the most comfortable car we've ever owned. Any long trip and we take the Haval. CFMoto has become one of the leading motorcycle manufacturers in the world, being virtually unknown when I bought mu little commute scoot. Needless to say, Haval and MG have grown considerably, in the Australian market. Royal Enfield is another example. Built in India and yes, originally a crude re-make of a 1950's Royal Enfield 500 Bullet, in the late 1990's, they are now a world premier motorcycle manufacturer, offering a range of very engaging motorcycles that are well built and at VERY AFFORDABLE PRICES....(low prices for good stuff...being a killer marketing strategy!). I expect the ZONSEN will do the same. I don't quite get this certification thing. Yes, a certification I guess, tells you you can expect a high level of quality and performance, but certified engines also fail. Most homebuilt aircraft are listed as experimental. I have every confidence this ZONSEN engine will prove itself and the greatly reduced cost will always be very attractive.

There's a lot of room between a flying car and my bum and it will probably stay that way. Nev

Which is why this list can help. Except when it goes off the rails of course 😄

Yet here I am with my iPad connected to my SkyEcho on wifi and using my iPhone hotspot for internet via bluetooth simultaneously.

You just can't please some people....land wheels up, and you're in trouble, land wheels down and you are in trouble....🙃

In Class G there are no mandatory calls other than to avoid a collision. I always make a 10 mile inbound or a 10 mile overflying call but if you are not on the right frequency you are talking to nobody and nobody will respond.

Thanks for that Roscoe, It's about two years since I flew at Camden & only remembered the inbound height. The observation regarding the proximity of the two airfields and the potential for traffic inbound to Camden to conflict with The Oaks activity remains. The "not below 2500ft" is insufficient - it should be not below 3000ft. Reason - aircraft inbound to The Oaks are often at 2500 ft, giving a 600ft circuit safety margin, to overfly prior to descending to enter the pattern. Added to the above is the not so infrequent Camden bound aircraft at or below Oaks circuit height. There is no excuse for this as it's perfectly easy for most small aircraft to descent to 1800 ft by Mt Hunter

Both need to have ADSB-out to be seen but if even one conflicting aircraft had ADSB-in then your odds go up significantly. If you are thinking of a panel mount transponder then also seriously consider something wih audio alerts (may require audio panel or new VHF radio with builtin audio) Eyes out with ADSB-in audio alerts is your best option.

Fellow aviators and distraught friends and relatives. I think of them. When you fly you don't expect this to happen. Fly carefully folks.. Nev

What about wife that discovers what you spent on flying.

Within an hour of Kyneton at 110 knots, I can fly to Bendigo, Echuca, Tocumwal, Shepparton, Benalla, Millawa, Ballarat, Ararat, Riddel, Penfield, Melton, Lethbridge, Colac, Maryborough, Stawell, Kerang, Pyramid Hill. Probably a few others I can't think of. My favourites would be Ararat (coffee), Maryborough (always quiet), Tocumwal (coffee), Millawa (lunch), Melton (burger). Used to be Bendigo, Echuca and Shepparton but they brought in landing fees. Wherever you are going, you can check Notams and permission in the air if it is an hour away.

Frank and Thruster’s posts struck a chord with me, and could possibly be summarised as: Things that I think will kill me Midair collision Structural failure Engine failure Things that will actually kill me Unintentional stall Flight into cloud Low flight/hooning

Good because that is a correct term. Types of sport aircraft and activities | Civil Aviation Safety Authority That requires adequate training in stall/spin avoidance, as well as stall recovery. I see quite a few flight schools which teach to pass the test rather than teach to the required standard. I encounter many flight instructors who do not know how to recover from a stall in a turn or a climbing stall. We should discuss further after the ATSB report. My guess is that, if a stall, that the pilot had never had any training in that scenario, just the common practice stalls.