bilby54

Hmmm, 9 years to get around to a fireside chat on the subject! Now if they could just throw out the Asic cards as well then we might be getting somewhere

Mr Morris tried to perger himself in court through a third party. The other person pulled out when the seriousness of the situation was explained to him so he was thrown in the slammer. Doesn't pay to tell fibs to magistrates. It wasn't just his wife that complained to police about low flying, but also several people in the same street as they thought the aircraft was going to crash. There are numerous stories about this bloke both good and bad but a lot of them are fine examples of poor airmanship and did a lot of harm to the then AUF. I personally won't miss him in the air - but that is only my view

Did he teach you to fly or just take the money and run??

A couple of blokes in a boat. Might have been a tinnie but they might also have had a tinnie or two while in the tinnie:laugh:

I had a chat with someone from Jabiru some time back about this subject - as the saying goes, no names, no pack drill. Was advised that the aircraft fly quite well without at least one door as they were concerned about one coming off in flight and how the aircraft would handle. Seems that there may have been an amount of flight testing and the aircraft flew like any other. I can say that a certain documentary series had an opening sequence with an aerial shot taken from a Jabiru with a door off. Be on the safe side, talk to the manufacturer as they have more info than most of us

If you think about it, an engine problem could happen at anytime which includes taxying. Who is to say that the Cessna pilot did not see or know of the approaching Drifter and considered that there was ample time to line up and take off - why else do we have to tell all and sundry what type of aircraft we are flying if not to help with separation? The big thing is that you made the decision to go around and being the pilot in command, it is your responsibility to make that decision. Tony Hayes summed it up with " Airmanship is not who is right but who is left" Good flying I reckon

There perhaps needs to be some clarification here as a spin will rarely over stress the airframe. The aircraft is essentially stalled in a pretty untidy situation so it has relieved itself of most of the wing overloading and will continue that way until it either recovers or hits the ground. A recovery from a spin is also mostly a non event as the aircraft is moved into its normal flying condition. The problem most usually occurs when the pilot tries to recover from a steep nose down attitude after an "how did that happen?" encounter and the ground is rushing up at an alarming rate. The rate of vertical descent can be alarming compared to the normal cruise speed so the pilot will pull steadily back on the stick after it has gone well past VNE and then the wings come off. Recovery from a deep spiral dive can achieve the same result but by doing it through more legal means. Spin recovery (or incipient spin recovery) in RAA aircraft is quite legal and is practised more than most realise. How do you recover from a stall in a climbing turn? Or as so eloquently worded, a stall with wing drop. The problem for most manufacturers is legal liability and the wording is left open to interpretation, usually by a bloke with half a sheep skin hanging off his bald head and saying things like "as your worship pleases"

Tony was a one of a kind bloke with a unique passion and we will all miss him Fly safely my friend

I'll throw my hat in for one

Saturday morning at Roma was beaut weather for a BFR with a bit of work in the training area and then rejoined the circuit downwind for RWY 36. The appropriate radio calls were made and the Drifter was number two behind a 172 on base. Around the same time, another aircraft gave a 10 mile inbound call from the north but by the time we were mid downwind he called joining downwind. This got my attention pretty quick and I gave a position call to let him know we were in his path…. No response. I also warned the pilot in the front seat that we had a fast aircraft up “our posterior” and that he was either going to hit us or come very close.:ah_oh: The other aircraft passed about 300’ below us on a 45 deg track to turn a very sharp final and touch down while the 172 was still rolling towards the taxiway. This was one of the most p:censored:s poor examples of airmanship and selfishness that I had seen in a long while and nearly ruined our day out! Why do they do it? I calculated that 10 miles in less than a minute puts it at over 600 mph and there wasn’t a sonic boom so his navigating skills weren’t that flash either. I can get his call sign from the avdata recording so I am hoping that part at least, was true. Selfish idiots like that I can do without.

Finally got the Jab back in the air on the weekend after an extensive rebuild of which a lot was not caused by the accident - poor constructional workmanship plain and simple! Flew beautifully first time so the long ground time was worth it. The original switches for both the fuel pump and the strobe were located under the instrument panel and could not be seen from the pilot's normal position. I relocated these to the centre of the panel and stuck large red indicator lamps above them so as there is no ambiguity when they are on. I also fitted a a new fuel flow meter and level transmitter in the fuel tank. Good thing with the meter is that it has a switched output for low fuel level that is now connected to a bright light in front of the PIC. The light is set to come on at 12 litres fuel remaining so the pilot has ample time to get the thing on the ground. There is now no excuse for the PIC to run out of fuel even if the fuel is being pumped overboard or burning at a higher rate or the PIC not bothering to turn his head to look at the fuel contents. A disturbing fault was found with the clamp on the elevator cable not fitted correctly. This came adrift during the landing roll and caused the aircraft to nose over on its back. There is an AD out about it and I would strongly recommend that all Jabs be inspected before next flight. Cheers,

Once again your intimate knowledge of the product has shown me up. I had not considered the leg room available and was just pursuing a personal preference. My sincerest condolences for your mother, I am going through that at the moment as well. Bill

I don't think that I explained myself to well here Terry. What I am asking is the possibility of putting two sticks in the Thruster to give it some better market appeal. I also own a Thruster so know about the two throttles and what I meant with the Drifter is that the throttle is only located on the left hand side - damned hard to reach from the rear seat if only one throttle fitted Cheers

The bloke who runs the airfield here has one so he holds and I just follow!! Same at most airports, there is always someone who is a holder and I always feel safe when with them:laugh: Why bother if it is not at a major jet field??

Hi Tony, I have for a long time appreciated the centre stick configuration on the Drifter as it gives an option of using either hand to operate it. It falls down with only having one throttle location though. Have you considered the possibility of a two stick option in Thrusters as a way of "keeping up with the Jones's" on current modern aircraft options? I am just looking at giving Thrusters a better marketing appeal given the variety of imports available these days. I just know I'm going to upset the purists!! Cheers,

I have an old video called "How Aeroplanes Fly" that was made in England by the Shell company in the 1970's by the look of it. The video is one of the best with actual footage rather than being computer generated but it is fairly knackered and gets worse if you put it on a DVD. Does anyone know where I can get hold of a copy please? I did not if this should have been on another post. Cheers

That is something that I had never really considered and is probably one of the most important bits of information to come from these forums in a long while :thumb_up:

I flew a Jab that had over 5000 hours on it that was in imaculate condition and probably one of the nicest short fuse around. I think that value for money they are good aircraft that are easy to maintain and easily fixed if they suffer an accident. Having said that, I don't like the seating as it is just plain tough on the bum after about 1 - 2 hours and I would prefer a stick on each side. At least they moved the throttle from between your legs (looked like everyone had STD!) and put it in the panel.:big_grin: Tecnams have a lot going for them but they don't repair easily if you bend one or are in a hurry for parts.

Dropped into the Jab factory a litle while ago and they were stripping down a few engines that had problems. The biggest cause of failure seemed to be from using car engine oil instead of aero engine oil. One engine was on its third rebuild and Jab could not convince the owner to use the correct oil. Another engine had well over 1000 hours and apart from lower compressions, it could have run for several hundred more. I have also seen a 912 that failed very early in its life and was due to the same problem, overheating and wrong oil. Don't know if there is a pattern emrging here?

No problems there Bla. I was amazed like you. I think he is pointing to the paddock where he should have crashed:laugh: Looked like a pair of white knuckles in the back!!

About twenty or so years ago, I witnessed a Drifter doing a beat up on a house from a stalled turn and the recovery was below the trees. This happened for at least twenty minutes and I thought then that ultralights were dangerous. Some weeks later, two people died when their Drifter smacked in from a poorly executed loop and i have often wondered if it was the same two idiots. The point here was that I formed an opinion that those things were dangerous and I missed out on about ten years of terrific flying. If the clowns in that video smacked in, what would that do for our public image? Drifters are great aircraft to fly with very with very few vices but when fitted with the big pod, they can take a long time to get out of a spin. It bothers me that someone will see this video and try it in the later model with nasty results. Remember that funerals are for the living. Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but there is reason for the placards saying "No spins"

Who's kidding who about the incipient bit? That was a full on spin and I agree with Turbo, nick his certificate

I make sure that a pax with a camera, especially a video camera, keep their dainty clod hoppers well clear of the rudder pedals. They can accidentally stand on a pedal while taking a shot and if it is in a critical phase of flight then it can quickly detract from the whole experience while you are spiralling into the ground!!

They are probably budget radio's in an expensive box!