Thruster87

Hi Tony, I bought the Converting to Tailwheel A/c [excellent read] and the TST operating Handbook from you not long ago and the handbook doesn't give any rigging procedures nor anything else with respect to the elevators only the ailerons.Is there another manual/handbook which has these procedures in more detail. Cheers

Yes folks ................. there are two types of drivers in the airforce. TYPE 1 Carefully people who drive around all aircraft on the tarmac TYPE 2 Not so careful people who drive into aircraft on the tarmac!!!!

Any specific requirements for rigging the elevators. With stick in the center is the deflection equal up and down from elevators parallel to boom. Cheers

Just got off the phone with Aerofibre and they recommend a 68" 3 blade at 13 deg.pitch on a 503 with a 'C' box. at 3:1 Cheers

Would there be any advantage in going with a 3 blade prop + C box on a 503 over the sweetapple 2 blade and the B box ? Cheers

The Deutz Motor Screensaver is an animation of a 3D engine being assembled and then a transparent version running, Very Good http://www.waygrinding.com/Motor_Download.htm

The problem with methanol or ethanol, is that it resists blending with two stroke lubricants. Thus fuel mixed with oil in a tank do not "blend together." efficiently and effectively. Engines that use oil injection systems are not as prone to this gas and oil separation since the oil is added at the last possible instant, as the fuel enters the engine. Cheers

Fuel Octane rating We recommend using a "premium" type automotive fuel with an octane rating of 91, a minimum of impurities and little or no alcohols (maximum 5%). Some may have noticed that the Rotax documentation specifies an octane rating of 90, based on the RON standards used in Europe. This is the equivalent of an 87 rating under the Canadian AKI standards. A rating of 87 is indeed considered "regular" fuel, but we still recommend a "premium" fuel for two reasons: First, when fuel is premixed with 2-stroke oil, the octane rating is reduced by about 2 points. An 87 octane fuel would therefore become 85 octane. Second, fuel evaporates and loses its octane rating when it lays in your aircraft's fuel tank or in a plastic jug. A "premium", 91 octane fuel will see its octane rating reduced to unusable levels after as little as three weeks. Fuel with a lower octane rating would obviously have an even shorter usable life. Too low an octane rating will create detonation and pre-ignition which can damage the piston crown and even melt a hole through it.

Engine Lubrication 2-stroke oil specifications Rotax recommends using a "super" two-stroke oil which corresponds to ASTM/CEC standards and/or API-TC classification. It is also essential to choose an oil which is designed for an air cooled engine even if you own a liquid cooled engine. 2-stroke oil type For most Canadian users a mineral or semi synthetic oil is recommended. Synthetic oil should only be used by those who operate their engine nearly every day. Even when shut down, air is constantly circulating through a 2-stroke engine; it is never sealed like a 4-stroke engine. Even though it has excellent lubricating properties, a synthetic oil does not effectively protect a stopped 2-stroke engine against corrosion: it tends to attract moisture and will run off the parts rather than leave a protective coating. Mixing If you own an oil-injected engine, you simply need to keep your oil tank topped up frequently. Otherwise, it is necessary to premix your oil and fuel. The ratio is 50 to 1, or 2%. This means you would mix 400mL of oil in 20L of fuel, 500mL for 25L, and so on. Using more oil than recommended would not help your engine in any way: it will accelerate the formation of carbon deposits which will eventually break loose and accelerate wear. Rotary valve lubrication The oil used in the rotary valve lubrication circuit of liquid cooled engines (462, 532, 582, 618) should be the same 2-stroke oil used for primary engine lubrication. To be avoided: Oils whose label do not bear the above mentioned required specifications Oils primarily designed for outboard 2-stroke engines Mixing ratios other than 50:1

Just got a price from Bert Flood 582 $5320.00 C box $1368.00 Twin Rads $695 + GST = $8121.30 + Brolga prop 68" 3 blade $905 Total including del is $9097.80 . Compared to 503 + B box total $5264.60 as I can use the existing prop.

What about the radiator setup? is it better to use the rotax single or twin or go OEM. Oil injected or pre-mix? Anyone have pics ? Cheers

This is what is SOOOOO good about these forums Thank you Tony

I'm now considering putting a 582 on the TST instead of the 503. Which gear box + ratio + prop is the best combination.Mainly used for scenic short duration coastal flying below MTOW. Cheers

We really should not be in such a hurry that you can't spend 30min doing a proper pre-fight check.When doing inspections look at everything that you can and then touch/feel/twist all the other bits [gently] for looseness etc.It takes time to learn the trade so don't rush it and ask/talk to people around the field and on this forum on your specific type[being an LAME for many years I'm still learning] Cheers

Anyone know a OZ outfit that carries 3/32" ss QPL cable in 100ft rolls or less [Aviall orders theirs from the USA and it takes about 12-15 days min 100ft roll] Cheers

Howdy, I used Hayes HD hydraulic disc brakes[cost $225.00 ]but had to change one line as it was only 90cm long [front brake] to 125cm cost $20.00 exchange/fitted/not bled at local bike shop. The 203mm Rotors plus adapters sold on eBay for $90.00 as I made my own 160mm Dia out of 2mm cr mo.Tires are Kings 15.00 x 6.00 2 ply supplied by Steve Vette when he was still in Qld.Looking forward to now putting a NEW 503 on in the next couple of weeks about $5200.00 with B box. Then I'll do the brake testing [seems OK on the jacks]. Cheers

From testing done back in 1967 Abstract : Because of the recent high rejection rates on carbon steel control cables on military aircraft, the Air Force conducted breaking strength and endurance tests on various types of aircraft control cables. Since approximately 90% of the service life of jet aircraft is flown at low temperatures, the primary purpose of the tests was to obtain information on cable fatigue life at low temperature. The tests were conducted on 1/8-inch diameter 7x19 galvanized carbon steel, tin-coated carbon steel, and stainless steel cables at both low temperature (-65 F) and room temperature (+70 F). The tests were conducted in the Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB, Florida. Results indicate that the stainless steel cables are far superior to the galvanized or tin-coated cables for low temperature operation. Therefore, the stainless steel cables should be considered for replacement of the carbon steel control cables on military aircraft, and the appropriate specifications should be updated accordingly. [hope the cabin heater is up to par]

Found this info: In the below statement you wrote that every commercial aircraft flying is equipped with nothing but SS cables and fittings. This statement is only partly true. Yes, the fittings are made from Stainless Steel Type 303SE but most of the cables are Zinc or Zinc & Tin Plated Carbon Steel. My name is Michael Wallace and I am Vice President of Sales for Loos & Co., Inc. and we are the OEM supplier to just about every commercial aircraft manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere. I'm here at home this morning browsing the internet and stumbled across your statement in the Beech Owners chat room. I realize your statement was from way back in May '03 but I thought I might set the record straight for you. Our customer list includes Boeing, Douglass, deHaviland, Cessna, Beech, Piper, Gulfstream, Lockheed, Embraer and many other smaller manufacturers. The only ones that use strictly Stainless Steel cables are Gulfstream and Cessna. The others use 1/8" 7x19 Carbon Steel cables in their primary flight controls. Carbon steel cables provide much greater fatigue life compared to stainless cables. Boeing uses practically no stainless steel cables. They use the Tin over Zinc variety of carbon steel cable in their primary flight control cables. As far as Aircraft Spruce is concerned, as KenV35A writes below, They pass off foreign manufactured cables as being made to the military specification MIL-W-83420. If you look at the fine print in their catalog, they state that their cables are not QPL certifiable. QPL means "Qualified Products List". It is the list of qualified manufacturers to MIL-W-83420 (The latest revision is titled MIL DTL 83420) that the U.S. Military maintains. There are only 5 companies in the whole world that are on the QPL list and they are all U.S. companies. I'll list them here for you: Continental Cable - Hinsdale, NH Loos & Co. - Pomfret, CT Strandcore - Milton, FL Strandflex - Oriskany, NY Wire Rope Corp. - St. Joseph, MO What Aircraft Spruce pawns off as being "just as good as" to the flying public is in no way representative of true Military Specification wire rope. When Spruces' cables are tested to the criteria in the Mil Spec, they fail miserably. Their intentional mis-representation should be stopped but the FAA has bigger fish to fry. They turn a blind eye to the Sport and Home-Built aviation industry. "You get what you pay for," Wallace said, "and non-QPL certified cable is always less expensive. In most cases, it is not lubricated and the performance tests have not been performed. Lubrication greatly extends the wear properties of aircraft cable, and all QPL-certified cable is lubricated." Loos & Co. has tested a number of lots of unlubricated non-QPL cable and found significant reductions in the cable's fatigue life. "These products may pass initial breaking strength tests," he said, "but rarely pass the criteria of retaining 50 to 60 percent of breaking strength beyond 30,000 endurance cycles." As a result, the non-QPL cable can fail in a much shorter lifetime. AC43.13-1B, chpt.7, section 8, lists two types of corrosion-resistant steel for flexible cable use on civil aircraft. Type I, composition B cables, MIL-W-83420 and MIL-C-18375. Goes on to say "is equal in corrosion resistant and superior in non-magnetic and coefficient of thermal expansion properties. Aircraft Spruce lists MIL-W-83420 as stainless. KenV35A

What difference would it make if 7x7 was used instead of 7x19 3/32 ss cable thru two 90 deg bends [rest straight] on controls.Other then the obvious 7x19 is more flexible but the 7x7 wears better.:;)5: Cheers

Wadair had some tube last year when I spoke to them [did send them a email 3 weeks ago to enquire about some spar tube but no reply as yet] Performance metals could only source 12ft lengths . Cheers

New comfort seating [ATTACH]2218[/ATTACH]

My new disc brake setup [ATTACH]2217[/ATTACH]

Like I said this would be for mods etc which would be in finer detail and a description but it properly would work in the gallery section as well Just an idea Cheers

Would anybody be interested in having a section/Thread for posting pictures of your own aircraft [Thrusters in this section].Would be nice to see whats' out there with respect to detail/closeup pictures of allowable mods etc. Cheers

I was just interested in your setup as I've just completed putting a differential hydraulic disc brake system on mine [used Hayes HD push bike brakes and made my own rotors etc out of 2mm 4130] the only thing left is for the trials/testing to begin Cheers