Moneybox

Nicola at RAAus told me "Get your RPC, some people get it the wrong way around". No problem now because I did all the work working on the theory that anybody could work on an unregistered aircraft 😉 The aviation workshop I went to did a full analysis of the work I carried out and signed it off so I'm very appreciative of that although I'm still smarting over the cost of beer 🙃

Yes I had a telephone discussion with Skippy on this. For now I'm not fiddling with the prop. If I do anything I'll adjust the rpm at stall by using the propeller controller and place a stop so that it can't be brought right back to fine pitch. After the plane is in the air I'll have a better idea of what adjustment I need.

Nev, I'm just making a point that well maintained hydraulics can be exceptionally reliable. Ask you son what holds the outrigger legs in place while he has 80T hanging off the jib. There's nothing mechanical just good old hydraulic pressure, enough to lift and level the crane and keep it in place for the duration of the job. At least that's how it used to be, I haven't operated a crane for more than forty years.

Yeah. perhaps that guy in Chicago could use an excuse like that. You must have nightmares Nev when you see those big hydraulic cranes hanging over the city during a long weekend 🤣

That's an interesting article. Who needs an L1?

By who?

I did have one very experienced aviator tell me you can do anything you like to unregistered aircraft however it could influence the possibility of registering it later on.

The Rotax book shows takeoff power at 5800 rpm for a maximum 5 minutes.

Yes we had to record the MAP under various loads.

I think the 5800 rpm was pretty close to the mark. This is from the Rotax manual. Wrong page, the ULS has the same max rpm but higher KW.

My LAME was testing as much as he could without flying the plane. Engine, Propeller, Brakes, Park Brake, Steering and instruments. A few seconds of high stress was not going to blow up anything that was not about to let go in flight. I thought that was FINE of COURSE.

The maximum revs are 5800 rpm when stationary, no different to a fixed prop. The course pitch allows lower engine revs to maintain the same cruise speed at lower engine revs. When tested with maximum pitch at taxi speed maximum revs was about 3800 rpm. Nobody is going to try to take-off at 3800 rpm. I don't see the problem as long as the throttle is backed off before reducing the pitch.

Yes I will need an endorsement for the prop.

Sorry about posting a dirty picture 😇 It's all cleaned up now. Somebody asked once what the yellow lever was for. It's the hydraulic park-brake. Apply foot pressure and raise the yellow lever.

It has a Kaspar KA-1 three blade with hydraulic adjustment.

I'm anxiously waiting to see what directives I get from RAAus on mine. My original trainer said "Go home and get your own plane in the air so that you can do your solo training in that for a lot less cost".

Unfortunately our political system encourages very short term planning. There's no political advantage in long term planning to assist research and development so manufacturing is no longer viable in Australia. There'd be a serious problem if we needed to gear up in a hurry converting our machine shops to munitions factories. We don't train the engineers and we no longer have the factories.

Yeah, that's what he called it 😀 Sorry about the video, I was too busy chatting with another of the crew.

What have we got here Nev?

I watched the guys drag this 1943 Wirraway out of the hanger this morning. He spent quite a bit of time preparing it fly but the big radial engine fired up instantly.

I've just gone through the process of preparing for registration of a 24-**** unregistered aircraft. RAAus have very comprehensive history on the plane even though it's been sitting in a shed/hanger for 12 years. They were very approachable from day-1 which was well before I made the decision to travel from WA to QLD to check it out. I've had nothing but friendly support from them up to this point nearly 12 months on. I have a lifetime of experience in maintenance and manufacture of mechanical things, mostly automotive and qualifications to go along with it but without an L1 I'm not allowed to work on the plane. I have been told unofficially that until registered I can do the work although I'm not sure on that. I can't get an L1 until I have a pilot's license even though I have qualifications in mechanical engineering, auto electrical, transmissions, diesels, air conditioning and more. Anyway to cut a long story short I did all the required upgrades to bring the plane up to scratch but I couldn't sign anything off. I had to tow it to an aero workshop so that they could paw over it for hours confirming that the work was carried out to the required level. My LAME flew for nearly three hours and spent a day and a half. We fitted the wings, tested the instruments with calibrated equipment, performed the engine leak-down test again, ran it up and down the taxiway to check maximum engine revs at various propeller pitch settings, tested the brakes and park brake and more. We removed panels all over the place looking for control connections, corrosion or anything else. He went through the inflight adjustable propeller manual checking for service life etc. He updated the logbook and maintenance manual with all work carried out and replacement parts fitted. Now it's ready to fly but it's chained to the ground waiting for the red tape to be cut..... I'm patiently waiting.... are we there yet?

I'm surprised there are so few serious accidents around airports. There's just too much traffic and even very experienced people make mistakes from time to time. I was leaving Chicago about 25 years ago when the airport closed due to a snow storm. If I remember rightly there were 1000 flights cancelled that day at the Chicago airport. Chicago's airport comprises up to 2,500 takeoffs and landings per day How can they safely separate that many aircraft with consistent results?

Thank you. I've just been back to the plane to cover the pitot. I forgot about it. I just got the ASI put back in before daylight faded. When connected to the calibrated test rig had a consistent difference of about 8 kt between 30 and 145 kts. It was a very simple fix by rotating the needle on its spindle. Now it's within one to two kts so I'm much happier with that. I did the carburettor balance with the mercury filled slack tube manometer. Peter (my LAME) brought his prop balancer and electronic carburettor balancer but didn't touch either. He said there was no way he was going to improve the way it was performing. I've been flicking through Burnie's document and as far as I can tell it's correct. I think the figures are all identical to my new book but it's a shortened version with the title Sportstar instead of Eurostar. Peter verified the weights, measures and performance figures so I'm happy to stick with the ($160 to print) book I have. I'll be sure to make corrections if any errors are found.

I'm just feeling my way here. The guys over the last couple of days couldn't have been more helpful. The plane got a thorough going through and any flaws or discrepancies were delt with swiftly. It cost me a bit in pub meals and cartons of illicit substances but it was well worthwhile. I had no idea how much a carton of booze cost 🤣