Litespeed

For the cost of a 172 you could get a good used J430 Jabiru and have room for 4, great range, and far far cheaper to run. The service costs would be a fraction, as would the annual. A alternative if you must stick with GA.

Great to hear, I hope the fire foam -which looked unnecessary did not do too much damage. For absolute thrills on a big toy budget A L39 must be a lot of fun

I am lucky at 172 cm and normally 73kg dripping wet, so I get to enjoy the benefits of a healthy weight and size. I admit to trying all means possible to sabotage my weight and it has been fun trying. I agree the BMI is just stupid, I am at the high margins and skinny by most standards My son has just turned 21 and is skinny with wide shoulders, size 15 feet and 6''4 ish and still seems to grow. His career as a jockey- horse or jet is looking in doubt. When he fills out, which he will, many a aircraft is out of the question. I have recommended he seek a diminutive partner for flying and bike riding- say 50 kgs max. Just like in race cars or fast bikes, every kilo counts and needs more power to move. Our little aircraft really benefit from a diet from the pilot for many of us. Every kilo lost is performance gained and it costs nothing, a 10 or 20kg drop in pilot weight is hard to replicate and often very expensive for a airframe. Depending on the aircraft every kilo costs a lot more to save than the last one. I know with a fast bike every extra hp over the stock can cost $300/hp in general- real power not bull. Any bloke or blokette at 120kgs is working everything real hard to keep up with a 75kg rider cruising and might need 15-30 more hp just to match. That costs bucks and dynamically still behind the curve. Losing weight can make huge performance change for the laaaaaarger amongst us, especially in the really light airframes. "Mark Webber is a huge driver at Webber is 183 centimetres (six feet) tall, yet he tips the scales at just 75 kilograms. But he is still nine kilograms heavier than his diminutive four-time world champion Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel and has to carry the extra weight higher in the car.Nov 24, 2013". It cost him O.3 seconds a lap just by been bigger- It might be said had he been a jockey weight he would have won 4 championships. Weight matters. You wouldn't carry a bag of lead around in your aircraft, why carry it on your body if you can get rid of it. I know for some it is not a simple thing- but it is really worth doing- if just for the flying

Alclad is awesome-it is the reason a beautiful polished aircraft can exist. It does not easily corrode and keeps its surface finish protected with a micro layer of Aluminium oxide. It can be polished beautifully and keeps its shine. Don't polish too hard though or you go through the pure metal on top. When I finally build if the design is alloy- it will be skinned with the modern version and polished. Much lower cost than painting, weighs nothing. The ultimate finish, polished au naturale. Naturally it is a hanger job, not left to bird bomber runs acid etching the finish.

The best fun is always in the light stuff- fast response, you can feel the air, everything is alive...............................................unlike driving a bus in the air. It is not all about speed but sheer flying pleasure. Hence my like of the new Belite Pipper. If he can meet that price- it could be game changer. The cost of alloy honeycomb has fallen heaps due to chinese production for building facias, caravans etc. Add in CNC and we have a very strong, light airframe and fast to build. What in the past was out of reach money wise is now in play.The use of honeycomb panels and cnc matched holed gussets can make a extremely strong and lightweight structure, esp when combined with the alloy skin he uses. Bugger paint- polish the beast save money and weight. I know we have to wait but James is doing a great job and uses the best available tech to meet his needs and price point. His previous designs were great but now the shackles of part 105 are cast aside, a real two seater can emerge, and still cheap. Actually can be as cheap as the single seater- low weight costs strength and money. Could it be done for $14k ? If you are resourceful and 2nd hand engine, use James instruments etc. Sure. But I would budget more, around $20K max and have a low hr Jabiru- should be ok weight wise if careful. Add in some arduino powered tablets as a glass screens and you have a wizz bang little fun machine for the playstation generation. Sounds viable to me

I am not so sure about the young and flying. I know a few pimply ones and they are interested, when given the info and opportunities for social and fun. A lot will spend a lot on trips, car mods, jetski's boats etc and motorbikes. A lot is about the social side and doing something out of the norm. They will spend $500 on indoor skydiving or a hell of lot more jumping from a actual aircraft. They will spend $300 plus on a good night out, up to $1000 to travel and party at a festival. They will spend $100- $200 on the gym and supplements a week to look fit and socialise over roids. They will buy a baby harley for $15,000 just to go with mates on a ride- they hardly ever ride. It is often about been in the group- to be part o the tribe. I do not think they are not open to the idea- just do not know and think it is a richs mans sport. Compared to what many spend -it is not, just start on the cheap end. Many pay more for their insurance on a flash car than the cost of flight training. It is all about context. My son who is 21 will next year learn with me in gliders- let the fun begin (he is 6'5" and still growing, so size is a issue) . I hope to attract some other fledglings at the same time. If we had 1:1000 young guys attracted that would be a heap. We should be targeting young women a lot more- they are out there.

Calling the distant Plant No 47.................................. Progress report needed. 3rd rock calling Plant 47..............please respond..... Update on build needed....

Having seen the ME109 at Canberra- it is a very small machine compared to almost anything, and significantly smaller looking than a spitfire.

Do not tell Bex, he will want a much nicer factory and machines. I wish Brumby well- could be the new Cessna of light planes. Certainly a big enough market.

Huh? The usable load at 850lbs is 470lbs with a 2 stroke and 420lbs with a 4 stroke. Two average healthy blokes at 180 lbs leaves at least 60 lbs for fuel for a 4 stroke and 110lbs for a two stroke. That should be sufficient for bladder range. Given the structure is alloy honeycomb and then metalised, it should be plenty strong.

Back to the Belite Skipper. Wow- what a cool use of alloy honeycomb, it must be getting cheap. He has managed to do a alloy aircraft at a amazing price and it looks like it will be strong and light. Add a cheap engine, some belite instruments and a dirt cheap aircraft for two. Any thoughts?

A close friend had one of the earlier V tail models and loved it- as long as you were in the front. The Tail can get up a bit of a slow wag that makes the rears seat a vomit inducing place to be esp in rough weather. He absolutely loved his V tail. It was sold and they got a later traditional tail model. Still a great plane. And yes the Dr killer was apt- the V tail was later destroyed by a Dr.

I reckon they should try a nice gps controlled pulse jet. That should scare the buggers.

Damn, Thats cheaper than the quote on the VW big bore. Jet powered type 3 wagon here we come

It has been quite a while. But my go to man would be George, at Basair, Bankstown. And only George. He was a F111 pilot instructor and then swapped to Blackhawks, when he saw the writing on the wall. Went on to instruct Blackhawks. Just a bit talented and loved teaching others how to fly properly. He was never after the money, but just loved to pass on the passion. What that man can do with a 152..............a true class act. But alas that was 7 odd years ago. I am not sure of his whereabouts now. If you can find him- he is the real deal

Dr Kasper, please we talked about this. I agreed not to wear the suit in public.......remember that. And you agreed what I do in the cockpit is never mentioned. And we both agreed medication levels are not exact.

Ravens are a far better class of pilot than any silly crow. And beautiful when up close. The easy tell from afar is the beard on the neck. Sorry - I will take my Raven fetish elsewhere.

Welcome to the site Glenn. Lots of great stuff in here and heaps of friendly and knowledgeable members. Tell us more about your Morgan- even start your own thread in the Morgan area about your aircraft. Lots of pics really helps- just size them down to suit site needs. tell us anything about it- the more the merrier. More threads on individuals planes help everyone and share the love. Phil

That's a good idea- fix all the design issues and have a much better wing at the same time. You are basically building a new aircraft anyway- so make as you want it with all the updates/mods that are considered to make a vast improvement. Quad city challenger be damned. Bunyip sounds a good name. Just have a local Aborigine do a smoking ceremony before first flight. The Bunyip can be a deadly beast.

Nurse Becomes A Pilot British Pathe film about our first female pilot. No sound. Alas as per usual no mention she was Australian- if you did good, you were a British citizen. If you did nothing much or bad your a colonial, convict or Australian. As a side note- A mate was good flying friends with Nancy Bird Walton and even housed his Bonanza in her hanger. She heard he was having trouble finding a spot and insisted he use her hangar- free. She just loved aviation and was born a natural pilot. My mate said she was a better pilot than anyone he knew even at when 70 plus . . And a Woman of the highest calibre

Later but worthy. Nancy Bird Walton. ?

And then you could drop the snake from the Drifter into someones lap- ala Mad Max with Bruce Spence as the gyro jockey. But seriously Kev, I hope you understand all the little fella was doing was checking your electrics. He saw a bad wire and had to check all of them, he tried using a multimeter, but couldn't read the numbers. Naturally he then had to use his teeth and check for live wires. It is amazing how clever possums are- they hold a near complete monopoly on electrical work. When that little guy grows up and finishes his trade- he will be like his old man working on the power lines. They have been having problems with import labour trying to undercut them- bloody Rats. So donations to the Cat have been increased in a effort to exterminate the competition.

Got to love a Goat. Proper controls and takeoff roll of ...........inches Landing rollout of ........inches. A very cool and relaxed bird. And I bet it doesn't jump on car roofs like the last goat I had, or open doors and climb in your bed. At last a Goat that won't attract neighbours with guns for revenge.

Bex, I can see why you are seeking other ways to make it easier for us, and that is commended. I would have thought though that when given the cost of getting a welded truss and then using gussets and rivets and meeting all the engineering needs- is is getting complex and expensive relatively. Why not do similar to what you had planned earlier- a riveted truss. Look at the absolute best practice and have the gussets on both inside and outside if needed and all precisely bent and drilled to match holed tubed. Customer just quick assembles with cleco's, aligns and rivets.

Strength wise the glass should be stronger than lycra, especially if you user a quality woven glass cloth. It was used simply for ease and ability to stretch a compound curve. I would have done them in formula R - extruded polystyrene foam which sands beautifully smooth and shapes so easy. first coat is peel ply and then glass. When done, finish outside to a smart finish with fairing compound then remove the foam. I do love Binky as a project. Mini - my introduction to car building at age 8 and my oldest brothers stove hot cooper S, with a de-seamed body and full custom interior. Full wood and leather dash full of Smiths gauges, proper sports seats. The de-seaming was a huge job but done beautifully and really changed the look and aero. And all done by a 18 year old. In 1978 this was probably Australia's best mini road car. So naturally at 14 I bought a mini..................