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kgwilson

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Everything posted by kgwilson

  1. kgwilson
    So when arriving at an uncontrolled aerodrome how do you determine the wind direction and runway to use if you do not hear any other radio transmissions? Arriving 500 feet above the circuit height allows you to check these plus other things like objects & animals, runway closed cross etc. yesterday I'd been away, flew overhead and noticed 2 large black objects on the runway. They were cows that had escaped from the neighbours farm. There was no other traffic so I buzzed them & they took off.
  2. kgwilson
    The term Overhead join refers to the whole process. Call flying overhead at 500" above circuit height check for wind direction, traffic, obstacles etc, descend to the non active side and then call joining crosswind so you are correct. It is just semantics
  3. kgwilson
    Joining overhead or overhead join/re-join has been a commonly known and documented procedure since I first flew in the mid 1970s
  4. kgwilson
    I know and that is partly responsible for the poor radio use by many pilots both GA & RA.
  5. kgwilson
    When I trained for my PPL back in NZ in the 80s the uncontrolled procedure was the same there as it is now. I learned that the "Non Traffic side" is called the "Dead side" here and joining crosswind was pretty much above the takeoff threshold, where as "midfield crosswind" is the procedure I have adopted here.
  6. kgwilson
    Radios are not mandatory in uncontrolled airspace so calls can not be mandatory either. It is up to the aerodrome operator to determine if radios must be carried and used within their 10 mile radius CTAF and published in ERSA. This is the case at South Grafton.
  7. kgwilson
    At an uncontrolled airfield after the 10 mile call with height, intentions and ETA, you should always join overhead at 1500 for reasons stated in previous posts, unless the circuit direction is known from other traffic already there. Let down on the dead and join midfield crosswind. If there are other aircraft around that have failed to make themselves known, this is the safest place to cross the runway at 1000 as those aircraft will be either landing or taking off 1000 below you. I mentioned in another post that some (many) instructors have poor radio technique and this is passed on to students. No-one has to get a FRTO licence these days. A mistake in my opinion. Every airfield operator should ring CASA & get some copies of "Be Heard, Be Seen, Be Safe". They give them out free. I have given a copy to all aircraft owners and pilots at our airfield and surprisingly a lot of them were not aware of some of the procedures and protocols. They are now.
  8. kgwilson
    The quality of radio transmissions has been discussed here before and there are some who can't even cope with CTAF transmissions let alone talking to ATC. I put a lot of this on to the poor training in radio etiquette by instructors, some of whom are pretty poor themselves. Back in the day you had to be issued with a FRTO (Flight Radio Telephone Operator) licence and know all of the correct pro-words and the phonetic NATO alphabet and be competent in communicating with ATC and getting read backs correct. I can't even understand what some of the foreign student pilots are saying at all and they are supposed to have been tested for their English comprehension and dialogue.
  9. kgwilson
    The exhaust pipes are pretty robust so there probably isn't much demand for replacements. I don't know any jab owners who have had to replace exhaust pipes. I'd ask Jabiru if they could tell me who they bought the pipes off originally as it would be easier to ask the manufacturer to make some than try and do it yourself. As a one off they would be expensive but probably a better fit & quality that you could do DIY.
  10. kgwilson
    There are thousands of 2200 engines around and there is no difference in the exhaust on a J160 or J170. It is only the Gen 4 engines that have a separate flange assembly. The earlier exhausts were sold as a set of 4 pipes or 6 for the 3300 and the muffler was a separate item. It is pretty poor that they no longer supply these.
  11. kgwilson
    I've seen plenty of these and they are rubbish. Probably bought from Ali express. They cost from $5.00 to $15.00 and come with a flimsy pole. They are only good for determining the wind direction and are fully extended at only a few knots. https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-windsock.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.auto_suggest.1.7d25443fzXNxqw
  12. kgwilson
    Paragliders and parachutes do not have engines.
  13. kgwilson
    Unless using a specific product voids the warranty (if there is one) I'd use whatever works. Manufacturers often have commercial agreements with other organistations and get a good deal if they recommend their product. There are usually a number of others that are just as good often less expensive and sometimes better. After all the Rotax is just a glorified Skidoo motor.
  14. kgwilson
    About 18 months my battery died and I needed one quick so went to the local battery shop told them what I had & it was for a Jab 3300 engined aircraft. They sold me a Ritar high discharge battery with 22 amp/hour rating. It was slightly smaller & lighter than the old Motobatt I had but has been great even on cold mornings and after a month or more sitting with no use. Ritar is a Chinese manufacturer that produces all sorts of batteries from small to really huge. It has a design life of 6-8 years and is capable of being fully discharged multiple times. It is a gel lead acid battery. Don't know its CCA rating but it easily turns the 3300 over & the best part is that it only cost $130.00. Have a look at one of these. China is by far the largest battery manufacturer in the world and is leading in battery technology by a long way.
  15. kgwilson
    Harrison Ford is a very competent pilot and started flying in the 1960s. He has multiple type ratings and has been an advocate for sport and private aviation since then. He has owned numerous aircraft and made a number of Aviation films using his own money. He almost died after an engine failure and landed on a golf course in 2017. That was the 3rd forced landing and the Taxiway incident was well publicised. He owned the incident straight away and it was later established that the taxiway was easily mistaken for a runway. He was 74 at the time & is now 82. Have a look at the video he did quite a few years ago called "Wings over the Rockies" as a freebie promotion for the Wings over the Rockies Aviation Museum to encourage young people to get in to aviation. It is one of the best recreational flying docos ever made.
  16. kgwilson
    The difference was Harrison Ford thought the taxiway was the runway.
  17. kgwilson
    My kit including avionics cost 47k in 2011. 3300A engine 18k. I added a few things like Dynon EFIS, EGT, Carb Heat etc & painted it myself. Total cost flying of 70k. My guess would be at least double that now, probably more.
  18. kgwilson
    There were no spare hands to activate the flaps in the last 2 seconds and no spare brain capacity either. Discounting reaction time 2 seconds of flap travel would be about 4 degrees & make no discernable difference at all.
  19. kgwilson
    I reckon the LH wingtip would have been less that 3 feet from the edge of that last roof based on the shadow & sun position.
  20. kgwilson
    Absolutely, the wing tip was only a few feet above the roof of the last building actually at the airport as the aircraft banked to make it on to the taxiway for landing.
  21. kgwilson
    A Cessna (looks like a C172 RG) apparently with engine failure only just makes it to Bankstown Airport this afternoon. Check out the good video of the incident. The 2 occupants waked away unscathed. The undercarriage was not deployed which based on how low it was, I reckon was a very good move. Light plane appears to only just make Sydney runway as it narrowly avoids trees and rooftops - ABC News WWW.ABC.NET.AU Aerial footage shows the aircraft flying right above suburban houses before it lands and skids across a taxiway, tipping onto its wing on the...
  22. kgwilson
    until
    Held annually at South Grafton Aerodrome. See Poster for details. All welcome, No Landing fees. Phone Kevin 0429 344 158 for details.
  23. kgwilson
    Can't remember but it was a spray can also bought from Bunnings. I used it to paint the panel. (probably the cheapest). The white I remember was a bit of left over 2 pack from painting the plane.
  24. kgwilson
    I made mine out of a piece of pine dowel from Bunnings. I painted it matt black and calibrated it from the minimum of 10 litres to 100 litres with an indent mark at 5 litre intervals that runs around the dowel using a lathe. Each line was then painted white with a fine artist brush with the number of litres inscribed above also in white. It took a while to make but I have had it now for 10 years, it is dead accurate & the fuel doesn't wick. I also calibrated the other side (180 deg) of it for my wing tanks
  25. kgwilson
    Watts per kilo is the power to weight ratio. Watt hours to Kg is the energy density so yes that is correct when looking at the amount of energy able to be stored for a given weight in kilograms. If we manage to get to 1 KWh/Kg (at the pack level) then the battery in my EV would only weigh 64 Kg instead of the 400 Kgs it weighs now.
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