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pylon500

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Everything posted by pylon500

  1. pylon500
    Without actually trolling all the rule changes from the early eighties, I would say that for every Kilo extra (above our original 'ultralight' status) that we ask for, it adds another 'hoop' to the training, certifying, building, operating rules from what we had back then. On the other hand, if we are going to divorce ourselves from ultralights and actually become 'sporting and recreational pilots/builders, where's our aerobatic ratings, rotary wing, multi engine and mini gas turbines?
  2. pylon500
    Very sad indeed. Was flying at Gloucester that weekend, and weather not good at all, had to leave plane and drive home. Guess we'll have to wait to find out what happened as it seems unlikely for a twin jet helicopter with modern GPS and autopilot to succumb to weather...?
  3. pylon500
    Definitely hopes this works out OK, I know the pilot having worked on his first helicopter here in Australia, an Aerospatiale Gazelle. He had a photographic exhibition up here at Taree about two years ago.
  4. pylon500
    Bit hard to quantify 'fun'... Most of the things I call fun, have to be done when no-one is looking Most people that fly (and can land) a Pitts would give it an 11!, but until you are capable of this type of flying ability/experience, most average pilots are concentrating too hard to give a Pitts a high fun factor. From a sales point of view, maybe people could rate an ease of flying, or most relaxing to fly, rating on their plane. Of course then you have to avoid getting into the 'too easy' category, whereupon the aircraft just becomes boring. Not sure how to set up charts, but will try from things I've flown; Aircraft____Fun___Relax/Easy__Boring___Frustrating Lightwing____8_______5_______3_______1 Gazelle______7_______9_______9_______3 Foxbat ______9_______9_______4_______1 J230 _______6_______7_______5_______8 Drifter ______8_______6_______3_______1 GT400/500___7_______8_______6_______2 Piper Cub ____8_______7_______5_______6 Savanah______7_______8_______7______3 I'm not going to comment on all 90 odd types I've flown, just the more common ones. Edit; site wont support multiple spaces...
  5. pylon500
    I'm a bit confused...? The local flying club is going to become the 'regional' local flying club? The airfield used to have a reasonable parachuting community, and there are discussions to start a parachuting community? I wonder if the local council knew it was promoting the airport in the media?
  6. pylon500
    Yep, reading too fast, missed the capitalisation... "THIRD BASE!!!"
  7. pylon500
    ? See #28 and 32....
  8. pylon500
    Do you know something about the spars I don't? The stub sticking out of the fuselage IS the spar. This aircraft follows a lot of the Jim Bede designs having tube spars in the wing panels, which slide over a heavy tube spar carry through in the fuselage. The little Grummans (Yankee Trainer, Cheetah, Tiger, etc) use the same system, mainly because they were derived from the BD-1
  9. pylon500
    Wonder if he gave hand signals? Guess he only turned left...
  10. pylon500
    While I'm still positive that is fuel venting from the tips, the fact that the inboard tip started venting first, was a bit of a head scratcher? Can only assume that, in the act of stalling and dropping that wing, enough fuel fell to the tip to start a syphon action before any real centrifugal force had built up? Could also be that he just had an unbalanced fuel load.
  11. pylon500
    I'm surprised when I find counter discussions on topics that are so blatantly obvious... The aeroplane may not be Rolling around it's axis, but it is YAWING around it's centre of gravity. This is applying a centrifugal force at all four extremities, that gains intensity as you move away from the centre in the four directions. The aircraft probably has wet wing tanks along most of their span, add that to a reasonable amount of dihedral, and it is possible to have fuel sitting in the root area (keeping the engine running), as well as fuel travelling towards the tips and exiting via the vents. The three points they are testing/making here are; 1. largish fuel load in a spin not having a serious affect on yawing momentum, which would delay recovery, 2. With four passengers on board, the aircraft is possibly closer to it's rearward CofG, which would delay recovery, 3. The four occupants are reasonably spread fore and aft which can also add to the yawing moment, as well as giving a tendency for the spin to go flat, which could put the aircraft into a deep stall situation, often very hard to recover from. Looks like the high aspect wings and long tail moment have added to the overall stability of the plane. ps, Yes, it's fuel......
  12. pylon500
    Depending on how you interpret "went on to build", from a historical point of view, it actually happened the other way around. A quote from a Kitfox company release says; The company had its roots in the 1980s, when Dan Denney (the “idea and marketing guy”) teamed up with Dean Wilson (the “designer and airplane guy”) at Light Aero (later called Avid Aircraft), in Boise (later, nearby Caldwell), Idaho. Under circumstances mercifully lost to history, Denney left Light Aero and started his own company, Denney Aerocraft, making what was originally a near-clone of the Avid Flyer, introduced as the “Kitfox.” This can be read at; http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/images/pdf/ultraflight_mag_article.pdf
  13. pylon500
    Might be interesting to point out that the ORIGINAL aircraft was the AVID FLYER.... Yes, for the detail junkies, this is a MkII 'Speedwing'.
  14. pylon500
    The wing looks to have been intact at impact, and not very fast. No good picture of the overall wreckage spread, but I feel it is all fairly localised, adding to the slow impact thought. The wreckage spread could indicate a spinning (stalled) impact, with centrifugal forces spreading the wreckage. Extremities and heavy items would travel the farthest, nose, tail, engines. Interesting clue is the broken off (but attached) fin. Could this be a repeat of the American Airlines Airbus crash, where the pilots overloaded the fin, breaking it off, whereupon the aircraft spun into the ground.....?
  15. pylon500
    Are you thinking of Moses?
  16. pylon500
    For their power output, the 503's are reasonably light, you may find the Kawasaki not a great deal lighter than the 503 when compared to the KFM's, 277's and 337's used originally... Do you have any pictures of your machine?
  17. pylon500
    I've often thought an armrest would be a good idea in the 'Bat. I myself can get away with it by resting my arm on my knee, but I notice skinny, and/or shorter people having to reach for the stick, and usually resort to grabbing the stick around the base on long trips. A stick (each) between your knees feels good, but after instructing in a Gazelle for a while, it's a pain getting in and out, trying to get your leg around the stick (once again as a taller person). The Y stick is a good compromise.
  18. pylon500
    You may find that once you change gears and get some load on the prop, you'll probably need to drop the needles again...
  19. pylon500
    If you have a single EGT probe at the Y junction, it is probably too far away from the port for a correct reading (would read low), so you need to raise the needles (circlip towards the pointy end) If your prop is not absorbing the power, that will also give you a tendency to run hot, is it two or three blade? Do you still have the original 447?, it should have had a 2.21:1 box. It should go onto the 503..
  20. pylon500
    If running a twin carb two stroke, you really need a dual EGT to see what's happening. A two stroke MUST have an EGT, it's as important as an oil pressure gauge on a four stroke. Also check that the carbi's move the same.. If the aircraft feels a bit sensitive than last time, have you lost weight? Are you the same weight with a now heavier engine? I know many sapphires with lead in the nose... Stick extension may work, but it's more likely an underlying warning of something else out of whack.
  21. pylon500
    And this thread drift is fixing the RAAus website how exactly?
  22. pylon500
    What, FT has a partner?
  23. pylon500
    "Oh toss!, my bolour supplement just flew out the window." < very silly walk!!
  24. pylon500
    Just had another attempt at the RAAus site, no luck with Safari (I'm on a Mac), and only a very basic page (no pictures) with Firefox. Had an email from Apple today offering to upgrade my Operating System to the latest OS10.11.1, but will wait till I've spoken to my Mac guru to see if it's a good idea....
  25. pylon500
    Sort of figured that's what you meant.... (no I can't edit it for you) The A-32 is supposed to have the option of a Y stick, which I prefer from experience with the A-22L. The throttle position in the Y stick A-22 is not a problem getting out, more a problem getting in, and then forgetting to check it's position before starting. That said, most students do it at least once, and after the flurry of throttling, steering and breaking, they tend not to do it again. Note to Instructors; always make sure student/Foxbats are aimed towards a clear area! As for deal breaker, I can't see why a yolk version couldn't be arranged to have three throttles, one each side and one in the middle? Solves all problems (although as said, I prefer the feel of the stick over yolk).
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