kevinfrost

I can understand why RAA Aus conducts it's disciplinary processes without drums & fanfare on this site where it has no control on the banter. It would only fuel the drama queens and create an even worse reputation for RAA Aus, or perhaps that's the aim of some. Our record is a lot better than GA for the last couple of years and we probably fly more hours per AC than they do. I'm not saying we turn a blind eye to bad aimanship, there are channels we can go through to report affences and our hard working board would respond. And if we're not happy with the performance of the office holders, next election put your hand up. A course in diplomacy could be a start.

I'm with you Winsor

If you want Matterhorn White ring Protec in SA on 84476311 and let them know it is in their fleet colour under Jabiru. Minimum 1 ltr order. Their two pack range are the 604 & 600 series, the 600 being Poly Eurothane.

Quentas, when I was in the crash & fibreglass game I used to use Protec 604 two pack on boats & A/C here in SA. When needed I would have them eye match for me. They were very accurate and the paints cheap and good quality is.

Talking all this horse power from a 2.2 has my amagination going wild with visions of stripped through bolts and barrels flying off hitting people.

I have no idea of the factory test results of the (tractor) tyres. If Horsham is still using them on their A/C that would be a fair test, I would give them a go. Are they legal? You'd be surprised at the number of rec A/C flying with non certified tyres.

Thanks Bruce, we replaced the 4ply with 6ply some time back, because our strip has quite a sharp metal surface the tyres wear quickly and we've had puntures from 3 corner jacks which are nothing compared to caltrop. I was concerned about ballance and vibration with adding gators although we have placed a gator in the front tyre because we were unable to obtain a 6ply for that. Thanks..Frosty.

Before we go fitting tractor tyres to our J120 (4x 4.00) do any of you bloke out there know of a current 6ply or higher tyre distributor.......Thanks, Frosty.

I have viewed this thread on the risk of flying the Jabiru in high temperatures with great interest. I"ve flown the Jabiru from the KFM powered onwards. I"ve flown & seen the early Jabs flown overloaded and in temperatures in excess of 40 degs on many occasions. Those same A/C have amassed around 5 to 6 thousand Hrs in less than ideal conditions ( training ). I know of none that have failed structurally in the air. We are aware that fibre reinforced plastics and the like will reduce in strength with increase in temperature, how much depends on type of resins, fibre, vacuum, pressure, etc. I operated a crash and fibreglass repair business during the advent of the fibreglass gliders. At first it was a life of 2000 Hrs then 3000 then 4000 and so on. Those gliders are still flying after spending many Hrs above 40 deg on the deck. On very hot days we launched taking it easy not to over load pick up a little alt, a short while later it was back to max stength. If you"re flying an A/C that has only been max tested to 4 Gs you could be in deep S---t, 7 or 8 and you'.ve got a better safety margin. Some manufacturers don't like to talk about it. The design will have a lot to do with it, The 160, 170 and 200 series of Jabs with the rib wing design I would think would have less strength than the foam core of the 120, the internal heat of the wing would be considerably less on the foam core design. And the type of paint, that's another story. Imagine what is trying to happen to a wing on the metal A/C we fly in RA,To keep in the weight range the metal is thin and you will see some that look like they've got a bad case of cellulite on very hot days. I wonder what is happening to the laminar flow on take off. You can hear some of them tin canning in the sun. It's no wonder some of the maufactured RA A/c are having to have rivets replaced in some skin areas after a relatively short time in service. I'm not bagging any A/C in particular, I love any A/C I can get my bum in, after calculating the risk that is. If you're not sure or it scares you, keep out of it or at least talk to somebody who has had experience in it. I do not suggest you fly overloaded A/C or take the risks mentioned above. It's good to see we have the extra weight now compared to earlier days, much safer. The heat! well, commonsense.:thumb_up:

Hi Scott, Give us a call when you come to YKDI. You will be made welcome. Regards, Frosty 0407797458

I agree with Adam(RAA not on par with GA training). Except for more emphasis on the correct proceedures and protocols in circuit and some nav areas I think the training is pretty close to one another. Depending on school. What I have noticed through selling a number of A/C is that the proficiency of GA pilots towards flying a cross section of RAA aircaft leaves a lot to be desired. Now I know they say anyone who can drive a car can be tought to fly. If they can't the educators will state it is because of bad instructing. We probably all know someone who shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car and there's some that shouldn't be behind the controls of an A/C. I'm talking about the actual skill of flying, there's alot of bus drivers out there flying by numbers, remove some of those numbers and they become a mess risking their lives and others and in a couple of occasions mine. There are some so called cowboys out there I would rather fly with than some people I know with a couple of thousand Hrs in a one type A/C. I was once asked to do an instructors coarse, I have little patience and would have less with someone spending good money putting thier live and probably someone elses at risk because of the lack of skill. So as an instructor I would do no good for the cause. What I am getting at I guess is that instead of both sides throwing s--t ar each other let's quietly get on with the job of making flyin safer without all wanting to be Jumbo or fighter pilots. Check the accident stats at the moment, nothing to be proud of from either side.

You're quite right. I was only thinking of a/c tracking in the same direction. On two occasions I've had a/c come up from underneath when leaving large flyins and was lucky to spot them before any major drama. The mile to the right has to be the safest way to go but you can't beat a good look out to complement it. Coming from a gliding background that's all we had as the batteries were either flat or the radios weren't working and it used to get quite busy on good thermal days. There were very few accidents.

I,ve always flown about 1 mile right of track. But when it's said and done, if we all abide by this rule the collision risk is much the same as we all flew true track.

A lot of those kids had less than a hundred hours and were used to landing straight into wind in large paddocks. The 14ft fan torque and narrow undercart would have been a handfull for a novice, add a runway with a crosswind with amunition on board and you've got adrenalin. The germans had the same problem with the 109. The mustang with the wider undercarraige solved that problem.

On down wind checks you find you have low oil pressure. Do you stay up till the problem is solved?:confused: Sorry :hittinghead:

In the current edition of Australian Pilot, page 8 there is an article headed (RA-Aus explores the need to get heavier) which quotes Lee Ungermann as to the reasons why. Included in the article are two photos of a Drifter. To the uneducated toward our movement this weight goal must be akin to the Wright Bros stepping from the Wright Flyer and attempting to take of in a Rockwell Commander. A photo of a Technam, Jabiru or the likes would have made it look like a smaller stepping stone. Perhaps they got the desired result. Having flown most of the light stuff I have nothing against the Drifter or the likes, they"re good fun. A different photo would have done the cause better. There is also a good article ASIC Card and The self administration of the SAAA. I find it hard to see CASA letting two large organisations so closely aligned operating as separate entities.

ROM, are you still able to have have the wheel spats fitted with the mower tyres fitted to the 120

Thanks, Brian, Linda, Al & brentc for you ideas. The unit I'm using is a cheap small mp3 unit with about a 4 hr play time. I'm thinking it's output value is probably quite a bit less than the likes of the Apple. Brentcs idea was probably the cheapest way out and Al's the best at around $100. I think I'll borrow a better quallity unit, try it,and go from there. Thanks for your time::thumb_up: Frosty

In another life, myself and a couple of mates picked up a glider which had been hanging up in a shed for around 15 years. We paid $300. for it. It was a cross between a Hutter 14 and a Grunau Baby (semi open cockpit). At the time I was a member of the Adelaide Uni Club which was winch. We used the Reflex launch system with this A/C. You lay out all the cable (nylon rope with steel trace both ends) in this case with a 302 Ford, drive back half the length of rope, on the signal the driver goes as fast as he can. The result! The closest thing to being shot out of a slingshot with no real control for the first second. One minute your looking at a cloud of dust disapearing in the distance followed by a bang and much blueness with the altimetre reading 450 ft. I kid you not, 1000ft in 15 seconds. Quite a few people would come and ask us to demo the launch, especially the old timers and we would oblige until the club said enough was enough. This launch was outlawed becuase of the fatality rate associated with it. Cleve Gandy, an old glider pilotflew this A/C before it was hang up in the shed. In his words. "The most frightening thing he had experiened" and that was behind an old Dodge fargo ute. Would I do it again? No, but when you're young all things are possible, it's how we got this far. If any ex Adelaide uni members have any photos of Charlie Chickenhawk from back in the 80s give me a hoy, I've only got one of it flying. Or if anyone knows of its wherabouts (went to the SE of SA somewhere) let me know please. Frosty.

I tried using my MP3 with the radio fitted to our 120. The result being a just audable signal which was shut down on transmit and stayed off. I queried Microair about it and they say the units require 1 Watt or more output or what ever is required to run the headset. Does anyone know of small pre amps or some other fix for this problem. Frosty

Looks like I should have put "penis" after stop in my last post. Political correctness? A little over the top Guys. Frosty.

Hi Rocko. I would say the auxiliary outboard tank idea would not qualify as a non factory mod. I came up with the idea for ferrying extra fuel back home. I haven't actually hooked up to the A/C fuel system. I thought it would be as simple as fitting a "T" piece between pump & tank with sufficient hose with stopcock just after tank coupling. The fuel could either be pumped down using A/C pump or gravity fed. When the tank is not required, unplug tank, remove same & hang hose as high as posible above fluid level. It's just a thought and I'm not suggesting anyone wiz out and do this without considering the consequence. As we all know, "Thought can be the fuel of fire" and we won't be having any of that. Not inside a Jabiru anyway.

If you want the extra distance with the 120 I've found a 24 ltr rectangular outboard tank fits nicely on top of the fitted tank and you can use the fitted tie downs to hold it all in place.

The 120 has carb heat. Makes little difference to the revs.

Hi Keith, the 120 has duel dash mounted throttles. Apart from a loose induction pipe (causing rough running), flap adjustment and wheel toe in alignment(the jab is a work in progress) we've done 80 hrs since May and very pleased with performance and economy. The only thing I would now like to address is to replace the brake master cylinder with a smaller bore type to improve braking. I flare at 60 and it takes some stopping. Regards. Frosty