hihosland

Pilot Stops at Oshkosh on Around the World Flight Thierry Barbier and his Bestoff Sky Rangers have been to 83 countries-so far. June 7, 2012 - French pilot Thierry Barbier has visited a lot of countries in the past dozen years - 83 to be exact - as he flies around the world in Rotax 912-powered Bestoff Sky Ranger kit airplanes. Barbier stopped in Oshkosh this week to get familiar with the airport before flying to Canada - his 84th country - since he's planning to return next month for his first AirVenture Oshkosh. Barbier has flown extensively throughout Africa, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, and he's been in the U.S. since mid-May. Apart from the flying, which is his passion, Barbier's aim is to meet people all over the world, experience local cultures, and take lots of photos and videos. Following AirVenture, he'll head north again with plans to fly to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, over to Russia, and down to Korea and Japan. "It's so beautiful, the Earth from the sky, you can't imagine," he said. "I love to take photos and videos of the Earth to show it is beautiful and that we have to protect it. We also must protect the richness and traditions of cultures around the world." As he flies around the world to different countries, Barbier says he's in no hurry. "I take the time to meet the people, to do the things nicely. And take lots of photos and video," he said. He has posted many of those photos and videos online - many taken from remote-controlled cameras bungied to the wings - and has numerous published works in French publications. Barbier flies in five-month spurts, then returns home. "I must return home to Paris to make money so I can fly," he said. The two-seat, side-by-side airplane is the latest model of the French-designed Bestoff Sky Ranger called the Nynja. Specs of the metal construction, fabric-covered wing airplane would allow for LSA certification, but it's officially a European ultralight. It took 300 hours to build from the kit, and was provided by the Bestoff (without engine or instruments). He's using mostly autofuel on the flight. Among his other sponsors are Beringer wheels and brakes, Super B lithium batteries, Yacco Oil, and Verspieren Insurance. Plus his copilots are sponsors. For this leg, that's Claude Cordelle. Barbier will meet his son in Quebec, and father and son will attend AirVenture together. He is looking forward to his first AirVenture experience, where he will display his Sky Ranger Nynja. When told of the variety and number of airplanes that will be on the ground, he was amazed. "I can't wait to see that," Barbier said. Through his travels Barbier has gained an acute appreciation for the different cultures throughout the world. "I feel more a citizen of the world now," he said. "I'm realizing my culture, but being a citizen of the world is something more important." __._,_.___

There is a reason that Skyranger is one of the most popular training aircraft in Europe and I believe the most popular in the UK. Capable, versatile, strong, very benign to fly, and one of the fastest and easiest kits to assemble.

I have 700 hours on the first Skyranger assembled in Australia and cannot speak highly enough of the aircraft or of Greg the Australian agent. There are, I believe, over 1500 Skyrangers flying, many used in flying schools in Europe where a kit built aircraft that has passed and continues to pass the appropriate inspections can be used for training. If any kit is faster and easier from the box to the sky than the Skyranger I have yet to hear of it. I have recieved prompt response for requests for spare parts and/or technical assistance from Phillipe, the designer in France, from the UK agent, from the very active internet user group and from Greg. I had the pleasure of giving a new Skyranger its first flight and of flying off its first 25 hours in order that the owner builder could start receiving instruction in his aircraft. It flew straight and true from first turn of the key. If one follows the very clear construction manual a Skyranger flys true. A bonus is that the instruction manual was written by the UK agents; highly experienced english speaking aircraft builders. Leadville the highest licensed airfield in the USA has seen me arrive in a Skyranger that still had some climb left when crossing the Rockies at 14,000ft. Even when you strip away my owner/bias the Skyranger aircraft and its suppport team are second to none. Davidh

Is an external antenna available thus allowing the unit to be mounted out of the sunlight where unfortunetely it may also be out of view of the satelites?

When I had my Aerochute I had a pistol grip for my camera. Shots taken with arm extended using the camera like a hand gun worked very well in the aerochute. For the 3 axis aeroplane I want a camera 1....that has a remote control ( or cable release ) that works when operated from behind the camera 2....that will, when woken up, have the lens set at infinity. The later is hard to find in cameras consting less than the $2000 + needed for a higher end DSLR. My Olympus E510 will do so but has suffered some trauma and needs replacing. An aperture priority setting facility allows you to set a wide aperture thus allowing the camera to select a fast shutter speed to lessen effects of vibration. Wide aperture lessens the depth of field however if there is something less than 50metres away then you have more to worry about than mking pictures. Davidh

you can do your own test with a 0.2mm round bodied needle ( I've forgotten the gage equivalent ). Pierce the fabric with the needle and then pull along the surface of the fabric with a spring balance, if it does not tear with a 1kg pull parrallel to each direction of the threads then it is OK. That is the UK pass/fail test for the weigh of Dacron that covers the Skyranger, and is the basis of the Betsometer test device. The Americans use some other system. best of wishes David Hill

Welcome Greg, you are not based at Spruce Creek by any chance? i have some friends there and remember with great fondness the hospitality extended to an Aussie aviator by USA pilots/owners. seasonal greetings to you and yours David

tuned to 126.7 heard 134.7 (local awis ) 124.0 (Mlb Central) standby 121.5

I have been flying a new microair installation and when the unit "wakes up" in response to receiving a signal on the selected primary frequency it also receives transmissions on other frequencies. this with the "monitor" function switched off and the extra recieved signals are not on the standby frequency. Any thoughts Davidh

Is it just me that looks at the new logo and sees a prop balanced on a plug hole? Is the subliminal message that aviation is going down the gurgler? Davidh

You does wonder correctly

Valley Engineering in Kansas make a swing wing machine that they call the Backyard flyer an interesting and fun machine davidh

You can find a list of New Zealand members on this site by going home>your community>members>advanced search cheers Davidh

have a look at INSTALLATION for an ecconomical option davidh

See post today under "Skyranger owners and builders ..." for story of Skyranger at high altitude. cheers Davidh

A couple of months ago I flew into Leadville Colorado in a Skyranger known to its builders as "Gizmo" the aircraft performed falwlessly to 13,000 feet. . Leadville has the houour of being the highest registered airfield in the United States. What follows is a tale of the first time that Gizmo went to LEadville. This was written by a good friend of the owner/builders, Rod Raleigh, in march of 06. At this point David the owner was still a student pilot. David says " Rod spent quite a bit of time testing and training Dad, myself and the plane, since his first flight of "Gizmo" in Nov. 05. He posted this letter to the Skyranger group, a few days after. There pics on the group site, called "Gizmo" goes to Leadville." A I've been a silent observer on this list for about 8 months now - I figure it's time to weigh in with my story. A little over 1 year ago, a dear friend of mine told me that he and his dad were going to build an airplane. Actually, it was his dad's idea; since he was approaching the octogenarian milestone of his life, Elton deemed it necessary to try something "out-of-the ordinary". Both men had some recent flight training, but neither had soloed, so they asked me if I would help them with the "pilot perspective" of the project. I readily agreed and thus began my introduction to the SkyRanger. During my first visit to their workshop (April 2005), father and son proudly displayed what looked like 1000 pieces of assorted aluminum tubing and a pile of cloth that reminded me of my grandmother's sewing room. I found myself concerned that I was expected to eventually take this collection of parts aloft and return with a report on how it flew - perhaps I had been a bit too eager to volunteer as test pilot. My worries soon vanished when I realized that this pile of "airplane parts" would take years to assemble into any such craft that might take flight, and by then I would be "unavailable"; or so I thought. Three weeks later, Dave called me and said, "Hey, why don't you come down to the 'hangar' and sit in the plane. We want to make sure the seat is set right and the control stick falls in a comfortable position for you." I was flattered by the concern, but I couldn't imagine why they would waste time to mock up a cockpit for control position. (Dave works a full time job and only builds airplanes during evenings and weekends.) I obliged and made a date to visit. At this visit, I saw a very complete fuselage & empennage sitting on its gear with seats, floorboard, pedals and control stick mounted. "Holy crap - these guys are AP's in disguise with a Boeing assembly line as backup! They might really pull this gig off - now what do I do?" Over the next several months, I visited the "hangar" a few more times. Not so much as to help build the airplane, but to help build my confidence. I bounced in the seat, I twisted the framework, I thumped the fabric, I rocked the wings, I wiggled the ailerons, I ran the motor, I did what I could to find fault in this airplane, yet it escaped my search. Instead, I became more impressed with the SkyRanger's ruggedness and its airplane qualities - "Did you see the size of those flaps? I know some 'real' planes that would like to have a set of those!" I had grown fond of "Gizmo" and now found myself eager to fly the little bugger. On November 7th, 2005, "Gizmo" took to the air. After a few adjustments to trim and rigging, I was flying hands off and enjoying the incredible view! In less than 8 months, a non-pilot, first-time-AC-builder, while-working-a-day-job, father-son team, built a SkyRanger. A rock solid aircraft that flew like any "real" airplane should fly. Since November, we have been occupied with the usual (and not so usual) flight-testing and proverbial "tweaking". It was the events of the past few weeks that moved me to write these accolades of the SkyRanger. Please note: I did not pick this airplane, it picked me; I therefore have no actions to justify. "Gizmo" is powered by a Rotax 912 (100hp) turning an IVO Medium 3 blade ground adjustable prop. It has a BRS emergency chute, the 20 gallon fuel tank, clear coat on all the fabric (top & bottom), full electrical with mode C transponder, ICOM panel mount transceiver, strobes, position and landing lights - it weighs in a tad heavy. I bring about 215 lbs to the equation - okay, I weigh in a tad heavy too. Our home field is 6,200 MSL. March 17, 2006 - After doing a few maximum performance take offs, I decided to explore "Gizmo's" service ceiling. OAT was 50 degrees F on the surface. While climbing through 7,000 MSL, the airspeed indicated 65 mph and 800 ft/min on theVSI. At 11,000MSL the VSI was registering 500 ft/min. By 15,000 MSL the climb rate had dwindled to 200 ft/min. The VSI was still indicating a positive 100 ft/min when I had to turn around at 17,700 MSL; I was fast approaching the boundaries of heaven, and you need God's permission to enter in. I took pictures of the altimeter - I didn't think anyone would believe me; after all, I was solo. The climb to 15,000ft. (from 7,000ft) took me just under 18 minutes - that works out to an average of 450 ft/min. For all practical purposes, 15,000 ft MSL will clear most everything we have in Colorado with safe margin. (Side note: I've tried the same stunt in my 230 HP "Spam-can" - I got bored hanging on the prop at 16,500 MSL and never went higher.) March 25, 2006 - Clear Colorado sky, wind calm, a great day for some dual cross-country. Elton and I load up the SkyRanger with 11 gallons of fuel, 445 lbs of organic material and head out! Pikes Peak is due west of our field, rising to 14,300 ft. We veer a few degrees north and level off at 10,500. Our destination, 83 miles distant, is Lake County Airport; just outside of Leadville Colorado. Immediately east of Leadville is a mountain ridge that reaches up to about 12,000 ft. Elton eases "Gizmo" up to 13,000ft. MSL to "avoid leaving tracks in the snow". We drop down into the valley and set up right traffic for RWY16. Lake County Airport holds the grand honor of being the highest airport in North America. At 9,927 ft.MSL, Lake County is not for the faint of heart. In the thin mountain air, the stick is full aft as the SkyRanger settles nicely onto the runway. The ramp is vacant except for a covered 182 and a gleaming RV-4. We meet the pilot of the RV in the pilot lounge. "What is that you're fly'n? A Kit Fox? An Avid?..A what? It's made where?" "You know, gettin' in here is the easy part, it's the leavin' that bites ya. You might have trouble gettin' out in that little plane this afternoon." (Does that smirk come with the RV kit or is it a special order item?) If you ask, the nice folks at the FBO will present you with a "Certificate of Pilotage" just for visiting via an airborne vehicle. Elton handled his certificate at if it might break. He carefully stowed it away flat, so as not to mar it with a crease or wrinkle. The courtesy car was out of service so we headed back out to the ramp - tummies a grumbling. Headwinds had hampered our westerly travel so we opted to add some 100LL before heading back. We back taxied on RWY16 to take advantage of its full length. If we couldn't fly out of ground effect, I wanted enough runway to land again and exercise plan "B". After run up, we deployed flaps and fire walled the throttle. Unbeknownst to us, a gallery of skeptics had gathered outside the FBO to watch our departure. No doubt they were eager to see us wallow down the runway, struggling for altitude. We waved as we passed the FBO - with 1/3 of the runway behind us, we were at 50ft AGL and climbing. ASOS announced density altitude at 10,900 yet we were climbing at 300 ft/min with 2 fat boys and ? fuel on board! By the end of the runway we were 200 ft AGL and still climbing. I had Elton lower the nose just so we could watch for traffic. I'm sure our grins were visible from the ground. For the rest of the trip home I sat in disbelief. I just couldn't believe how "Gizmo" launched off that high runway at near gross. Those of you that are flying SkyRangers know the outstanding performance these aircraft offer - my story only confirms what you already knew. Those of you that are straddling the fence, I urge you to fly a SkyRanger. My first impression of the SkyRanger was that it was a mediocre ultra light made for the flat lands; it had no real business in the high country. After riding "Gizmo" through the gauntlet, I have the utmost confidence in the capabilities and performance of the SkyRanger. I'd take it anywhere. I'll race an RV to 300 ft AGL any day of the week! There are new challenging fields on my wish list to visit - places that I never would have considered before I met "Gizmo". If you happen to be in the Rocky Mountain region, give Dave & Elton a call (719-661-3615), they'll set you up with an incredible ride in a SkyRanger. Rod Raleigh SkyRanger convert

The Magdenberg water bridge is impressive however this one was designed almost 400 years earlier File:Anjodi on the Pont Canal de la Cesse.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and is one of several on the Canal du Midi. ineterestingly the locks on the canal were built to a design by Leonardo da Vinci

Greetings Jimbo I have 600 hours in my Skyranger much of that at 60kts and below, and many paddock landings An excellent aircraft for that role and also a practical longer distance cruiser with heaps of room, fabulous visibility. For property work you could consider building it as a tail dragger which would improve its already great paddock abilities. PM me with any questions cheers Davidh

on the 18th I did essentially the same journey from Denver Centenial airfield to Leadville in a Rotax 100 powered Skyranger. Aircraft performed perfectly at 13,000 ft and the EGT never varied during the climb from 6000ft, obviously those compensating Bing carbies work OK. Quite a change from puttering around a few hundred feet above sea level at Yarram. All that i can say about Colorado is that if you get a chance GO THERE, the scenery is absolutly mind blowing. best of wishes Davidh

There is considerable areas of surface corrosion on the leading edges of my Skyranger [ATTACH]11774.vB[/ATTACH]tailplanes and vertical fin. Images below show ( within the limits of me and my basic camera) the bubbling and gritty texture palpable under the fabric and the appearance of the alloy tubes after removal of the fabric. Aircraft has almost 700 hrs in 7 years mostly operating off a gravel runway in close proximity to the sea. I am guessing that fine stones and grit pinging on the leading edges while producing no visible damage to the fabric has damaged the anti corrosion surface of the tubular structure. Any and all advice greatly appreciated. DavidH

I don't know the X-air. I do own the first Skyranger built in Australia have almost 600 hours in it and absolutely love it. I spent a lot of time and effort selecting the 'right' aircraft for my needs/desires and selected the Foxbat. Then I looked at the price and went looking for a less expensive Foxbat. I selected the Skyranger and have never looked back nor in any way regretted the decision. With the Skyranger I comfortably, and economically do 98% of what I would have done had I gone with the Foxbat and the price differential has paid for a whole lot of fuel and oil. Price is not the only consideration, the chosen aircraft needs to meet your needs and very importantly you need to have faith in the quality of the service back up provided by the local agents and the manufacturer. My thoughts, biased but informed by many happy hours of Skyranger experience Davidh

it was not an ash cloud event the following link describes what happened to this german registered citation CEN10RA135 Although one must note that the reporters do not discount the possible involvement of a Jabiru cheers Davidh

go to post nbr 1

Considering the who what why of local regional news media I don't thing that the implied criticism by putting the word press in quotes is fair. The writer has tried to be informed by seeking advice from a local CFI, the Hughes Group at Ballina and the RAA president. Just imagine what a slathering of RAA pilots and aircraft could have been produced by a scanning of this thread. davidh