Moneybox

I did it last night. Mrs M is away so I have rare but full control of the remote controls and I failed to take advantage. I was too engrossed in the glossy magazine to be bothered with all the bad news and propaganda found on our TV.

Helical gears produce thrust, it might just be the start of another set of problems.

Anything over a fast idle should have sufficient load from the propeller to take up the slack. Some backlash is need to allow space for lubrication and expansion but any sort of load should prevent the components separating enough to rattle. Most new components will have a certain amount of metal from the machining process and run-in collected in the first filter change but that shouldn't continue to show up.

Yes Sean I agree however it's not that I didn't do it. The may be a little old school but I trust my mercury level more than I trust the modern electronic device although if your gauges are balanced it should do well. Each intake manifold is connected to one end of the tube filled to the required level with mercury. All I have to do is level the mercury so I have it pretty close.

From the Rotax forum; Gentlemen Before everyone assumes in all cases crankcase fretting is strictly a Rotax design issue, please consider there are many influencing factors that ultimately can lead to a certain destructive harmonics being transmitted through the engine, resulting in loss of crankcase stud torque leading ultimately to crankcase fretting! I've seen this issue from time to time in our Diamond Katana Commercial Flight School fleet and in all cases we found it attributable to a series of compounding issues which if not resolved ultimately lead to the fretting issue. Things such as proper carb synchronization, intake induction design influence on mixture settings, worn carb parts such as slide needles, slide bores, float arms, etc., bad engine mounts(worn out, too stiff, too soft, wrong design for isolating first order natural frequency of engine), poor engine mount design(again fails to totally isolate engines first order natural frequency), propeller balance and tracking, mass inertia, blade flex influence etc., gear box maintenance including friction torque settings, gear dog spring pack pressure etc., and gear box gear wear(pitting caused by poor oil quality with inadequate zinc content to prevent gear tooth pitting etc.). As well, and as important is prop loading. Many people are over propping their engines by adding too much pitch, in essence running to high a gear(too much load), for the amount of throttle they are loading the engine too! I've seen a lot of chat on this site about prop loading and can tell you one rule of thumb that works for one aircraft/prop/engine combination may not neccesarily work for another as there are many floating variables here also. Too many people run over square on engine load versus throttle setting like running your car in fourth gear with a boot full of throttle trying to climb a steep hill when they should be in second gear! The Rotax 912 series can run it's entire life wide open throttle at 5500rpm and will love you for it and at this loading has the absolute least natural engine vibration! Lastly, if you are sure you have discovered a safety issue with your engine, you can file a Customer Service Information Report(CSIR) by going to the "Service" button on this web site, then scroll down and click on "File a Customer Service Information Report". Make sure you fill in completely this form with all required information and then submit it. Copy of your submission will be sent to the factory and the other to the applicable Rotax Distributor in your area but only if it is deemed legitimate and not a fart in a mitt! Upon submission you may be further contacted for more information and follow up depending on the issue and circumstances. The BIG advantage is the system is designed to pick up repetitive problems allowing the factory to track trends and act on them! I've used this CSIR reporting system many times and it is the absolute best way to report issues and get action on them! In Canada here where I operate we're pretty lucky to have the Rotax Distributor Rotech, these guys are responsible for all "Certified" Rotax engines in North, Central and South America, most of which are run in high utilization flight schools meaning they see many problems and find solutions to them in most cases years before the non-certified fleet does! They also have a Hugh store of Used serviceable parts including crank cases, gear boxes, cylinder heads etc., for those looking for saving some money, as well they have the best Rotax factory approved engine overhaul shop in the industry. Their web site is www.Rotech.ca , I use these guys all the time to solve weird problems and they always seem to have the answers, many which I've reflected in this writing! Hope this info helps.......

Perhaps it's a simple as propeller balance and the associated vibration. My engine is 2004 so obviously within the suspect engine range however I've submitted an application for the MARAP program. Engines and other items on this program will be monitored to see if the lifespan applied by the manufacturer is accurate. My LAME chose to not rebalance my carburettors and propeller even though he brought the gear with him. He said it was a smooth and quiet as any Rotax so best not stuffed around with. If it's vibration related which it must be then I may have dodged that one.

Yes I mentioned this after the Korean airliner crash. On steep descents our truck arrester beds are filled with pea gravel/bauxite ore and it can be done at a much reduce cost. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/165ofjUU7k/ Many years ago, in the 70's we had an arrester bed at the apex of the hairpin bends on the Mount Cotton hill climb in Queensland. A car could be half buried in Macadamia nut shells without sustaining any damage however I was shouted down stating that it would create problems for rescue teams gaining access to the bogged plane.

I'm not bored but I'm only that busy because any job that I used to do in a day now takes a week.

FlyingVizsla wrote, I read - Kitplanes, EAA's Sport Pilot, RAAus Sport Pilot, Airnews (Aust Women Pilots Assoc) - in Print. Read a number of other publications in digital - Kitplanes, EAA's Sport Pilot & EAA webinars. Like their Engine & Kit Buyer's guides too. I have the last two SP magazines sitting in their plastic cover because I have too many unfinished projects. I've started building the airstrip but haven't got back to it because the grader (Ripper) I bought has no brakes so I picked up some parts for that earlier this week in Perth. I have a half finished gold cone (wet processing plant) waiting for bits and pieces to turn up. I have Mrs M's carport half built and I just brought home an industrial sewing machine yesterday to sew the shade cloth. I just picked up an oil transfer pipe and two windows for out motorhome that I need to get out there and fit. I just ordered a new park brake cable for the iLoad van I was driving in Perth when the park brake started to stick on. I have the plane sitting at Northam Airport waiting for registration so I can get back to flying and to top it off Mrs M has organized a trip to China right in the middle of my annual prospecting trip north. Right now I came in after snapping the two sewing machine needles that came with the machine and I've only done about 20m of sewing. The new needles are the wrong size so that project can go on the back burner for a bit. Mrs M is away in hospital so I might just sit back with a glossy magazine for a bit 😊

I think it's time I found that magazine I picked up from the post office a few days back. Where do you guys find the time...?

Aircraft traffic over a 48hr period. 13 March 2025 The FAA issued a revised helicopter route chart for the Washington DC area, specifically removing the helicopter routes 4 and 6 in the area of DCA and revising route 7 to the west of the airport. You can compare the old chart above with the revised chart below. For the full notice, including text descriptions of the route changes from the FAA. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/safety_alerts/media/VIS_25-02_CN_DCA_Helicopter_Route_Chart_Revisions.pdf

Aren't they in different states?

Probably a good choice, better than hitting the hard ground.

I love the undercarriage deign.

It depends on what you want to read. If you want articles of interest to aviators then perhaps you'd get the most interesting written by aviators and where are you going to find those?

Everybody is invited to put forward stories that they feel may be of interest to others. It's ok to sit back and have a grumble about the magazines content but how many aviators put pen to paper for the rest of us to read? If you have a story that is worthy of publication get it out there and then the rest of us might enjoy flicking through the SP magazine.

The bottom option looks the simplest. If you have two valves left and two valves right it could be quite confusing. A single L to R valve would be much easier to select and you are less likely to lose track of what's full and what's empty.

Bunnings have a range of LIFEPO4 batteries. They have a 200ah at $559 delivered.

I can't advise you on that one. I've just loaded the trailer with over 400kg of batteries going for scrap. I'm always replacing tyres and batteries. Our 110ah Ritar AGM batteries lasted better than 8 years so I can't complain about them.

I have no doubt that sort of temperature would destroy some of this hi-tech stuff. I've bought a spot welder so I can sit at the dining room table in the air-conditioning and upgrade my batteries. CIG welding helmet. AEG 1.5ah battery. AEG 6ah battery and the one on the chair is a new N70Z truck battery to run the spot welder. I just replaced the battery in my $800 Kempi welding helmet too. None of these batteries can handle high ambient temperatures.

I see the biggest risk for me is that these electronic devices fail at high ambient temperatures. A couple of days ago I tried to use my AEG angle grinder. The battery was showing charge but the device wouldn't operate. I removed the battery and brought it into the laundry to charge. The charger indicated that it was overheated so I shoved it into the fridge. Then I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket to see if it was lunchtime. It was blacked out with a banner across the screen saying it will return to normal when it's cooled down. Not a lot of help on a aeronautical device. Use iOS and iPadOS devices where the ambient temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F). Low- or high-temperature conditions might cause your device to change its behavior to regulate its temperature. Using an iOS or iPadOS device in very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life. Our summertime temperatures are rarely within these temperatures and that's without being enclosed in a bubble canopy.

Fear runs our lives and the media support it. I don't watch the news but I can't avoid bad news completely while I browse the internet. In reality the majority of the general public are good honest people. Most of our strict security measures are a waste of time and money because they are driven by fear of a highly unlikely set of events. How many people have actually been stabbed by nail clippers or a table knife in a manner that couldn't have been achieved with a decent ball point pen or an uncapped fountain pen. Perhaps we should ban pencils and pencil sharpeners because that's like reloading a weapon if you managed to break it on the first strike. Consider how much cheaper your flight would be if we relaxed all the preflight security and in reality how much difference would it make? For one thing it would save a awful lot of time. just in case....

I've been waiting a week since the MARAP application went in. Mine is not modified in any way just extending the life of the Rotax to run on condition. Rodney at RAAus said it should be done in a week but we did have a holiday last Monday, perhaps that delayed it. No the holiday was only in WA so that's no excuse.

I'm only new here but I've been reading with interest. I hope it's still an active build.