CrayonBox

Phil, The mast is the tube from the base up to where the wing attaches, below the wing. I have my gopro mounted on it under the wing. My wing isnt a strutless so i do have a kingpost above the wing. Errr, nice day for a solo.... But i am 300kms away and it is afterall Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas to all my new 2012 friends. Now go to my new thread and tell us what you got!

The day has arrived and presents have been delivered and opened. (thanks Santa). I got a new airborne arrow wing... Then I woke up. But really, i won't be getting much for the next 20years after buying my trike a few months back - apparently! We'll be opening our gifts later. So what did you get...? Maybe post a photo so we can see. Title fixed - Mod

Yes - very exclusive you know ;)

Hi Mark, Yes there is 320m so not to hard really for ultralight and microlight. Just powerlines at the northern end.

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Exactly! Don't forget there should be U91 or U95 or U98 as well.

Maryborough is a good airport for training. There are two runways (grass 12/30 and bitumen 17/35), and the winds are kinder than on the coast. I even suggested the idea to my instructor, but he said by the time we get there (in a microlight doing 55kts), and fit in with other traffic also training in the circuit, and other arrivals/departures, a lot of circuit time will be consumed. I don't fancy paying my instructor 40-50 minutes of extra flying time (and fuel) to transit back and forth to Maryborough. For tourism, accessing Fraser Island is much quicker and easier from Hervey Bay - whether it be by ultralight Microlight or GA. Especially the Northern end. The only thing Hervey Bay has got going for it's economy is - tourism.

Phil, Thank you for your advice. I don't feel cheated, just privileged to be able to receive some windy flying before my solo, will make calm air seem too easy. However, being on the coast, calm air is hard to come by in summer. I'll to learn this at some stage very soon anyway. We have been discussing the different feel the aircraft will have when the backseat pilot gets out. And even though I think I understand, I know I won't really until that moment comes. (hadn't thought about the bowel movement possibility - I better be prepared - it's my aircraft ) The only thing preventing the solo, and again today confirmed it, was the wind was too much for when I am by myself with my minimal experience. I coped ok today with the wind, but not brilliantly. Even greased a couple in. ESE 10kts. (straight down the runway). I also learned that we should stay well clear of helicopters and their wake turbulence. Never enter the dirty air they leave behind - can be worse than a jet.... I'll be able to savour the training flights forever as I have been filming them from the mast with my new GoPro. I'll be posting my solo video when it happens... I will be away until Thursday also. So no flying until then, when the wind forecast looks good for launch! ESE 5kts.

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE COMPLETING THE POLL... Hervey Bay is the gateway to Fraser Island, located about 300kms North of Brisbane. A few years ago construction of a North-South cross strip commenced, but completion was voted against by council and work halted. All that is required to complete it is fencing alterations and some grassing of the strip itself. If this airstrip was completed, and allocation of leasable land for hangers was made available to make the airport more recreation aviator friendly... Would you use it? May I also add that the prevailing winds are SE, but summer our seabreeze generates total northerly crosswind on runway 11/29.

Great news, i can appreciate the accomplishment. Well done and happy flying.

This morning it wasn't raining so guess what. Yup, more circuits... But, today it was easterly 8kts on runway 11, and i had full control of the radio. Considering the gusty wind, i did very well with most of my unassisted landings a couple had a little help from the funny guy in the back seat. It was after we got back to our hanger, i found out that today would have been solo day, but the wind was too much for my first solo. So anytime now, i can taste it.... Tomorrow we aim to fly again but the wind looks to be similar. I had my new gopro hero3 black mounted above us on the mast too, and the oicture quality is awesome! I'll be posting the solo flight - sooooon! Thanks for reading.

Its raining........... :-(

Today - the end of the world....21/12/2012. I flew twice just in case 5am (1hr), early bird caught the worm - 10 unassisted landings. All nice and tidy. We also did many simulated engine out practice landings and scenarios. I had to get the a/c on the runway in one piece in any of the given situations. And I did. (instructor had full control of the throttle so he could cut it any time). Later, upon arrival at our hanger... the instructor had another student waiting and asked if I would like to go again in about an hour - when the runway was warmer (thermally bitumen) and the wind speed was higher. Alrighty - off to get fuel etc etc. 830am(0.5hr), lift off, return to the airport. The air was bumpy now. But all good. It was actually a little fun to fly in. There was always something to do. Join circuit at mid crosswind, downwind, base and finals - all the time correcting for the thermal climbs/sinks and the bumpy air. In we go, yep sure was a little different than earlier - but most of the time I coped ok. A little (lot) more thermal practice and I'll get confident with it. Completed 5 circuits. So - not far now - tomorrow is another day! I can still solo before Christmas..... Thanks for all your support guys (and girls).

Phil, That is a fantastic story. I found it a little emotional. Thank you so much for the encouragement and the well-wishes. I would also like to wish everyone on the site a Very Merry (not drunk) Christmas and a fantastic holiday break. You guys are great! May the wind and the weather be in your favour. Read on and I will fill you in on today's enthralling episode.

The past week the weather has not been favorable for practicing my landings due to 15-25kts crosswinds. And as much as we need rain - we are still waiting. Everything is burnt that lovely brown colour. So, yesterday and this morning I got the opportunity to have 2 half hour flights. Yesterday because we thought we would give the engine a test after I carried out some carburettor work - works awesome now. Then we did some light turbulence practice with turns and figure 8's at 400ft in the training area, and an emergency practice landing (without actually landing). The difference in thermal activity over the ground cloud shadows and the sun lit ground was amazing! Today, I knew my instructor had another student up for a flight, I had no intention of flying today. But, when I awoke at 6am, the skies were calling, the winds were calm (0!), there was no wind. So I went to the field, did my preflight, and waited for the return of the instructor. Their return came soon after, at 645am. My instructor was keen, and the winds were still calm to low (but starting to build I could feel). During pre-takeoff checks, we again checked the AWIS - N 10kts! What?! The winds went from 0-10kts in less than 1/2hr! So we went anyway, got some more turbulence practice and completed 2x circuits (low level passes) in the crosswind on runway 11 at the airport. Today I flew in a tee-shirt and jeans, without gloves - it was nice. Tomorrow and for the next few days, winds are supposed to be calm and Easterly. Fingers crossed - this could be my week!

I want one! Of course - who wouldn't :-)

I was out that way today, and asked at the scene where the power lines were and what had happened to cause the crash. I was told the same thing, except there was no intention of landing at the time. The runway was much further down the road. This was a low pass with a wing wave, resulting in heavy powerline contact shearing off a wing resulting in an immediate left turn and into the paddock across the road from the Flame Lily site. The gusty wind may also have had something to do with it. Powerline arching and spilling fuel would have started the fire. That's how it all currently appears to be now anyway. The power lines were the standard 7-10m height, so a very low pass.

Burrum Rd Airfield... https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Burrum Heads Road, Burrum River, Queensland, Australia&hl=en&ll=-25.258902,152.581494&spn=0.013235,0.022724&sll=-25.258863,152.580678&sspn=0.013235,0.022724&oq=burrum&t=h&hnear=Burrum Heads Rd, Burrum River Queensland 4659, Australia&z=16 Pacific Haven... https://maps.google.com/?ll=-25.239805,152.544265&spn=0.026474,0.045447&t=h&z=15

I have been watching the news this morning about this. It is very windy/gusty here this today - N 14/19kts in Hervey Bay at 1030am. Maybe a spin/stall due to gusts turning base or final? I hope that we can all learn something from these unfortunate accidents.

Ok all fixed. Yes it was my fault for two reasons... 1. Don't fix it if it aint broken. 2. I didn't take the care and time to clean the slider diaphragm sealing surfaces. I really felt the need for maintenance because I wanted to check the health of the diaphragms, and after all, it is time for the 5 year mandatory rubber replacement. So, the verdict seems to be that there was a hardened sealing material (grease?) on the surfaces where the diaphragms (both carbs) seal onto the slider and the compressing ring above it. Removing the old diaphragms broke the seals. What I did... Today i removed the sliders, everything had been assembled correctly. So i decided to investigate the sliders in more detail at home. After dismantling the sliders, seeing the dirty surfaces, decided to clean and polish them. Which i did. I reassembled carefully after applying a very thin coat of grease to ensure a good seal. After reassembly and resyncing the carbs, i took the trike out into a clear area for a good run up test. The dual rear brakes couldn't stop it sliding across the grass at a successful 5600+ rpm! After a few more tests and holding 4000 revs, watching the temps etc, all is now fantastic. Ready to fly again... Now where did i put that instructor.......

I have made a blue for sure... I am not as good as I thought I was (5 year rubber replacement). I have replaced the diaphragms in both carburetors and repaired a throttle mount (thread worn and unreliable). Everything was just dandy last week before the dismantle. I notice when I first ran it up, the idle was too low, and full power now only offers 4800rpm, which I believe should be more like 5500rpm. I can only think that the diaphragms are in the wrong way - even though I am sure I aligned the notches. I just watched the Rotax videos - no ideas there either. Looks like the diaphragms can only go one way. I am wondering if I might have switched the sliders between carbs. There are holes at the bottom which connect the chamber to the airflow (vacuum) in the carb throat. I am sure these go towards the throttle butterfly end of the carb don't they? Any other ideas?

Hi All, I am in the process of completing a 5 year rubber replacement, and one thing the previous owner of my a/c told me was that the throttle elbow mount on the carburetor top cover was partly stripped thread. They had used locktite to give the fixture some permanency. We are now wondering what the best way to repair this might be? Anyone??

Another morning of circuits, landings, and seemingly slow progress. I don't think I am made for landings.... Or I am too tired. Hopefully someday soon the whole thing will click together, but no pressure hey. This morning we had NE on runway 11, 7kts. So I guess I am getting some crosswind lessons. And there was also light turbulence around the circuit, all part of the training, and good experience for solo... I imagine.

As the hours continue to build, I seem to be moving nowhere slowly. But little things are clicking into place. My problem today, and what seems to be the last landing hurdle, but an important one, is lack of fast responses to control final approach just before hold off. I am a little slow to modify the ascent and descent rate at this crucial stage of landing, and apparently I need to teach my cerebellum to do the work. Now that i am aware this is my current big issue, i can consciously work on it. I must be close because going around and around in circuits is getting monotonous. I think it's this monotony that motivates one to pull their finger out and and get the job done.