boleropilot

hey guys, take a peek at the thread I just started at the Drifter forums... BP

G'day All, I have just been lent a set of plans for a 1/5 scale 72 inch wingspan Drifter - wire braced but I guess you could build it with struts. The plans are marked Copyright so I am in the process of locating the owner so I can get these copied and circulated to any RCers out there who might be interested. Doesn't look like an easy build but the opportunity for me to fly a copy of my aircraft is too much for me to ignore. I'll keep ya's posted on (a) the Copyright stuff, and (b) the build. If I can get permission to reproduce the plans we might get a few of these big beasties flying....plans state 40 size 2 stroke but I'll probably go electric. cheers BP

during my training (Drifter) I was taught to focus on the chosen landing point and during the flare, look up along the runway towards where you are intending to go that would not have helped this poor young bloke, he was in a world of trouble from the point of the first bounce - that was the time to decide to go to full throttle but it all went wrong so quickly (as it always does) there's a hell of a lot of damage to that aircraft, he was lucky to limp away - hope his instructor gets him back on the horse asap my first solo (attempt) ended up with me ground looping the Drifter at full throttle off the runway an into a crop - a lot of reasons why that happened added up to the incident one of the first things that was said to me was "you're not the first, and you won't be the last" - I soloed the next weekend and it was textbook apart from a small bounce on landing...... BP

seems to me the best idea is that If you see a storm coming, jump in, put your belts on nice and tight, then hang on.....maybe even start the motor (optional) and if the altimeter goes past 14,000, take a deep breath and hang on even harder..... could work - couldn't it ?

seems to me that there are a lot of Pastafarians out there who may (or may not) have come out of the closet....

yeah Kasper the Drifter is a gem all right - with skydiving, army aviation flying (through the trees, not around them) plus paragliding in my resume, the Drifter is the perfect aircraft for me occasionally I hanker for a little bipe or something really sexy like a Rotec powered Spacewalker, but I am so content where I am the thought doesn't hang around long now all I have to do is get off my butt and get the little baby back in the air - not long now...and my airfield at home is nearly ready too hey, what're your thoughts on this: sorry about the 'music', it was added by the young fella who used his drone to take the videos - the approach from the South is a bit easier.....

when you find them, take them out for a fly in an open cockpit, PIC remote control for the seatbelts, oops we're upside down - hello? hello???

can't believe nobody on this thread has mentioned Drifters - anybody wanting to get into flying cheaply (circa $15k) can buy a Drifter, most often with Rotax 582 (65HP) power magic little aircraft, solid as a rock, lovely lines/proportions, brilliant reputation and a delight to fly - high drag low inertia but an easy to fly taildragger with the big tailwheel I have heard of a version with flaperons but I don't see the point - Drifters sideslip like a demon and they drop like a rock in the process - kick it straight, hard on the brakes, and you're stopped in very short order and there is three (that I know of) flying schools in S E Qld that have them on line to train in - having said all of that they are starting to get a bit rare, hardly ever see one for sale these days...

I bought a 1968 Renault 10 - four wheel disc brakes, rack and pinion steering - all the bulbs are original and they all work.....

nah not really m8, I feel I have been touched by His noodly appendages and since then my appetite for pasta meals has increased considerably I even went out and bought a pasta making machine - haven't tried the colander on the head in public trick yet I suspect that when I do I will hear other devotees shouting encouragement, e.g. aarrgghhh me hearties !!!!! my wench tells me that I will no doubt hear other shouts as well, e.g. ya fkn idjet !!!!!

I'm hoping to come back as one of our corgis - cuddle, eat, sleep, chase something, wrestle, eat, drink, hurt foot, go to puppy doctor. mummy/daddy pay $250 to fix foot, poo, wee, sleep on daddy/mummy bed, repeat.....

see, I told you pirates are smart - if only they hadn't shuffled off those mortal coils there'd be no global warming now... of course the tiny little negative to that is when one looks over ones shoulder whilst enjoying a leisurely sail on Sydney Harbour, one notices one is being overtaken by the Black Pearl and seeing red750 is also such a smarty pants, maybe he can elucidate on the reason they had a parrot on their shoulder....hmm???

ah Marty - how lovely to hear from another devotee... avast ye scurvy dog, and may the stripper factory be working at maximum output when ye get to Heaven aarrgghhh BP

I'm not afraid of dying because I am a Pastafarian - and in Pastafarian Heaven, there is a stripper factory and a beer volcano... and in the good old U S of A, this religion is seen by some very knowledgeable persons as having as much credence as any other religion it even has it's own legalised headdress - a colander - which can legally be worn during official guvment picture taking of individuals, e.g. passport and drivers licence this religion is based on fact - since the reduction in the number of pirates (real pirates, peg-legged blokes with one eye and a parrot on their shoulder) there has been an increase in global warming = Fact !!!!! in the Pastafarian Bible they show a graph with these two lines, one going up and one going down - it is irrefutable !!! therefore, if we want to reduce global warming, we need to get more pirates - Pastafarians reckon that even talking like a pirate might help, so we do so at every opportunity aarrgghhh me hearties !!!!!!!!! and now I'm off to check the back yard for Easter Eggs !!! Wish me luck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

as the pilot of a high drag low inertia aircraft (Drifter WB582) I can attest to the reaction from the aircraft when pulling the throttle - without my instructor in the back, when I did so at the end of downwind I thought I'd hit a brick wall... no big deal, I was taught that it was going to happen so I was ready for it when it did - every time I fly I thank my lucky stars I was taught by a Drifter Legend as for the pilot at the centre of this discussion, all I can say is what I always do - condolences to his family and all who knew him - for him, it's clear skies and tailwinds forever RIP m8 BP

from my experience with my 'field in SE Qld: you can see my scary field on YouTube, video of both approaches filmed by drone - comments please - it's only 200m but for the Drifter it will be OK I have not seeded, just evened out the strip - the area at the southern end of the field still doesn't have grass on it because of the pure clay that keeps washing down from a slope - I will have to fix that I am going to have to fence it off from the cattle - when it is soft from big rain they leave bloody deep hoof prints all through it, making it rough as hell - dealing with their droppings is also a problem I have a heavy rack (SHS frame with concrete mesh) that evens out the strip and breaks up the crap and turns it into good fertiliser, but that's more trouble than it's worth. if you want to fly, you first clear out the cattle, then rack the field = 1 hour probably...and if they have been there recently, you are going to need a little cleaning of the aircraft before you put it in the hangar - they are great mowers but too much of a pain for me the rack is also very good for picking up rocks as well, but you have to have a smaller mesh section and some raised barriers at the back to keep them in when it comes time to getting every last rock off the field, offer cold hard cash to the local kids and do an emu bob for rocks thrown off the field (or into a trailer) - works for me ! my (natural) grass here is a mix of green panic and couch - in the patches where it is nicely established it looks brilliant hope the above helps, cheers BP

hey Pete, I've spoken to Tech at RAAus and they are the ones that told me I would need to cough up $550 for a certificate for my (25-0455) Drifter if I wanted to fit a Bolly 3 blade...apparently the reason for that is that RAAus spent $25k on the "process" and it is obviously regarded as a 'user pays' system. Bolly told me they were happy to sell me the prop but if I didn't purchase a MARAP certificate for my aircraft it could be grounded by any CASA or RAAus official. for some reason I can't get my head around the cost of $25k for an approval process for a different propellor for a 25 registered aircraft - what, did they have to fly first class around the world on a fact finding mission????? BP

thanks m8 !!!!!!!!!! BP

No m8 mine is 0455 - my aircraft is the one Anthony (Ant's Airplanes) used to model the Drifter for FSX (Flight Simulator Ten) - if you look at the website screenshots, the bearded pilot in the red helmet is me! Over the past decade or so I've written over a hundred flightsim articles for Oz GA magazines - might talk to Dave Briffa about doing a flightsim session in the hangar one evening... Anthony also produced Boonah and Roadvale airfields (freeware) for FSX and the on-screen result is fabulous - it's even got moving skippys on the airfield - visual aspects of surrounding mountains etc. is superb. BP

Well done Dan - if you're game, there's an empty back seat in my Drifter for ya (still being refurbished at the other end of the 'field at Boonah) Hey Wayne - you back in the air yet ????? BP

G'day All, as mentioned elsewhere hereabouts I am changing my old grey head 582 to a nice (almost) new blue head 582/99. Problem is that there is some little differences with the wiring... With the grey head, there is only one THIN yellow/black wire coming from the motor - on the blue head, there are two. Everything else is virtually identical, including the two THICK yellow/black wires coming from each motor. Please Explain?

prop has been sent to Kingaroy and checked - blades are good, will refurb nicely. hub has cracks, so must be replaced. quote is approx. $600 inc. delivery to BrisVegas in assembled condition (to avoid losing balance after another disassemble/assemble) - I'm happy BP

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments made here about the importance of this incident in relation to the development of the flight crew - good old CRM... You are going to have the best possible crew member sitting alongside you and there is no doubt in my mind that this has strengthened that relationship, both in the air and on the ground Many (dare I say it - ok, female, there, I did it...) crew members would have walked away from aviation after such a scare and you would not have blamed them one bit As Ducky says in all his posts - Clear Skies and Tail Winds to you pair - oh yeah, and a moving propellor would be nice...... BP

thanks Gareth, much appreciated BP

not sure if I posted this elsewhere but I have sent my Brolga prop to Aerofibre at Kingaroy - they have inspected the blades (very good condition = surprise) and the hub (numerous hairline cracks = bugger), so new hub on way complete refurb quoted at approx. $600 and I am happy with that - apparently they lose their balance when dismantled/mantled (did I just invent a new word?) so the owner will deliver the prop to Brisbane on his next visit (only a short drive for me) the fuel tank is still a bit of a mess but I am now looking for a fuel resistant sealant between the fibreglass and the alloy sender mount - anybody got any ideas? sorting out the (slightly) different wiring betwixt the old grey-head motor and the new blue-head motor is still an issue, I may have to do that myself but I would prefer not to... BP