pylon500

Sorry David, and PF, The local Taree Drifter has moved on, owner got tired of all the effort, and sold it for a Jetski. Not exactly sure where it went? Am now doing Tailwheel and Two-Stroke in a LightWing, while they last... Arthur.

Some observations; I don't think production LightWings EVER came out with 503's?, only the prototype. The whole concept that ultralighting was based on (I know, ultralights don't exist anymore) was operation by EXEMPTION, this was easier for CASA than actually writing rules just for us. I think if you talk to Rotax, they would say the 582 is a REPLACEMENT for the 532, and can be set up just like the original, ie pull start, B box, no oil injection. These would be the only REAL modifications when fitting a 582, of course a normal person would keep these newer features, but obviously a 'SAFETY' orientated person wouldn't dare add safety features that weren't being used in the dark ages.... What ever happened to 'SAFE HISTORY of OPERATION' ? I sometimes get the impression that if CASA can destroy ultralighting enough, it will become small enough to lose it's potential voting voice and just do as it's told, ie become a cheaper, affordable, acceptable risk version of GA. It would be interesting to know how many LightWings are in private use as opposed to school use? The calls to allow LightWings into 19 should not be necessary as the aircraft, in it's various forms, and as approved under 95:25, has proven itself worthy. Looks like Lee's My GR912 will have to sit in bits in the back of my hangar for longer till we figure out how far backwards I have to 'un-mod' it to become legal enough to be rebuilt and used for training again Just had another thought, this thread should be in the General forums, or at least the Lightwing forums, so that ANY Lightwing owner can find this, not just those that log in...

Currently using a 582 Lightwing for tailwheel and two stroke work. Had been flying with a Warp Drive prop for the last 'umpteen' years, set up just right for circuit work. But then the rego crap happened, and I had to drag out the old cruise prop it was originally supplied with, so now I stagger around the circuit, vibrating most of the way, (yes, the prop has been balanced as best as possible, it's simply the dynamics of a two blade prop) Rumour has it that approved clones of the 'AllSize' rubbish will be available again soon, but who wants to pay $1500 for a piece of wood, when you can buy a real prop (Warp or even Bolly) for $1000, and adjust it to suit your flying requirement? A simple wooden prop (two blade) shouldn't cost more than about $500.

At the moment there isn't even a path to L1 (pilot maint). And you need to be born an L2 to get there......

Go Howie.... Wish I'd known the new GR was in development (my grape-vine is not working..) The LightWing has always needed the 912'S', just hope the new one doesn't gain too much weight and lose the benefit of the larger engine. A suggestion would be to slope the floor and seat tracks a bit to make the seats go UP as they go FORWARD, to help all the short ar$$e$ see over the dash without being perched on cushions Also, PLEASE Howie, PLEASE, give us the option of running a range of propellors, I know the technical people say that two blade is best, but they never tell you that the laws of physics state that no matter what you do, a two blade will ALWAYS vibrate more than a three blade. We would like the option, even if it's only a Bolly (prefer Warps myself, these are now being certified for LSA in the states) Like the bigger looking doors.... Arthur, LightWing pilot/instructor in; 25-0033 25-0081 25-0158 25-0223 25-0437 and flown; 25-0321 25-0429 25-0692 55-3005.

Well thanks..... I try.

If watched carefully, you can see a ground handler grab the cable which actually pulls it into the blades Lucky he didn't lose an arm or head..

Yes, the CofG range is published in the Pilot notes/Manual. My GR912 states a range of 17.3% to 25%. Even the early LW-1's had data in the manual.

Technically it's not my plane, more a design for a friend, to suit her needs. Likes the view out the front of her GT400, but wants handling, performance and comfort of a Foxbat. Looked into the Aeroprakt A-20 Vista, but didn't want tandem seating. Had a fly of a Vista at Oshkosh last year; OOPS, 90 types (or so)... The RV-4 was back about #80... The debur tool I'm using came from Dick Smith (I think), good tool, but the tight bend tip breaks easily Arthur.

Aghh, LightWings.......

Good idea at any time in flight, and almost imperative when in circuit. Why do circuits further out than you can glide back? The other one to watch though is not rushing back to the strip and finding yourself 200 feet above the centre, and nowhere to go but AWAY from the strip. If you have done a few 'DEAD STICK' landings in you career, at least be familiar with full glide approaches..... It's all I'll teach.

Thread drrift......? Had a chat to the 'project' Rebels' owner, and both are VH (750kg) models. The Rotec Rebel is supposed to be up this way soon, will try to find out name and details..... Did find this..... http://www.airliners.net/photo/Murphy-Rebel/1306842/M/ This is the one I'm thinking of, came through Taree about six months ago.

Had something fly around two nights ago here at Taree, NO lights at all. Lots of wooshing and turbine engine noise, but hard to tell if a Blackhawk (or two), or a C130J? Clear cloudless night with lots of stars, but couldn't pick it up as a silhouette or anything. Sounded like picking up the NDB from the West, broke off left to the North, then large R/H orbit back over the township and depart back to the West.. Waited outside for a second one (military often do things in groups), but nothing else. I'm used to the sound of the old C130E's and H's, but I don't see/hear the J's much up here.

Just thought I'd add these to the list.....

Yeah, unfortunately a bit more than I think is worth. Upon buying my very own (third hand) Lightwing, complete with it's singular approval to run a Bolly prop, and maybe a few other non approved mods, it was suggested to me that for a small fee, I could have the pilot notes, and thus certification and weights, updated to the LSA class for better utilisation. When the aircraft got damaged by a student, and I started the rebuild, it became apparent that their were some vagaries to be dealt with....... I would still like to point out that I feel the Lightwing is still one of the best trainers we've ever had, having only one(questionable) fatality in around thirty years of operation. Many people have had their little inputs to improving the Lightwing along the way, not least of which was usually replacing Howard's 'Piece of Wood', with a decent propellor (Sweetapple, GSC, Brolga, Warp, Bolly?), or other little mods. Now it's hard to know just where the Lightwing sits, and as such we are in fear of losing a great plane for the sake of pretending to be GA certified. YES, but it' mine, and you can't have it. I'm talking about my Murphy Renegade project..... https://plus.google.com/photos/113292981019876413104/albums/5517491041560340721?banner=pwa There is a Murphy Rebel flying around with an R2800 up front, AND, I know where there are 2 Rebels in various states of disrepair, that could be 'moved on' to make room for other projects........ Arthur.

And that's just the ultralights, then add the sailplanes and hang-gliders, (about another 25). Actually, seeing that most of what I fly are ultralights, the 'numbers' are usually in a fairly small range, and most of the time you can 'feel' what the plane wants to do. Some of the slick machines can feel a bit vague until you get to know them. Slowest thing I've flown was probably the Lazair, which actually flies very well and coordinated, and flies at typical hang-glider speeds. The fastest thing I've flown would be an RV-4. Lots of high looking numbers, but very stable with nice positive pushrod controls. Landing is a cases of get it near the ground at idle (about one foot off with one stage flap), and just keep slowing down 'til it lands itself. Helps to use a long runway until you know how to 'nibble' with the drag curve on approach. I usually explore full flaps (where available) once I've got a bit of a feel for a plane. I will usually have a look at the pilot notes as well, if available.

My concerns with the Lightwing (and more so the rebuilding of it), stem from the fact that they grew up in a time when it would appear many of the rules were only being used as a suggestion, rather than a mandate. Don't get me wrong, I think the Lightwings are great machines, despite the variations one can find in them. Many of these variations were indeed improvements, but I'm not sure how many of them made it into the certification packages? We were all quite happy to upgrade the engines, update the airframes (LW-1 to GR582 to GR912) and try various props to suit our assorted roles, but now with the CASA witch hunt going through the RAAus, and Lightwings no longer being built (to my knowledge), it would appear that all Lightwings could be questioned regarding their 'authenticity'? I am about to start finishing my Lightwing. All the structure is done and I finally have room to start covering, but I still need to buy an engine and prop, and would ideally like to put it back online. I just need to be able to interpret the various contradictions in the certification packages to see if I can end up with the plane I want. ps, How 'written off' is that one?

Lightening holes definitely give that 'aeronautical' look.... To be continued?

Yeah, best to get that looked at. A trim tab bent over 90º, is basically stalled and not doing much. Many things to look for; Nose wheel springs? Drooping aileron? Mis-aligned aileron hinge (the ailerons hang off the top skin on a Technam?) Nosewheel spat loose? Rudder cable fraying somewhere? Rudder pedal springs?

Some FTF's are non for profit clubs, with training ability.... Join the club, learn with the club, fly with the club and hopefully donate time and effort to uphold the club, that can supply you a mega-buck aircraft at just an hourly rate...

Just a clarification on pricing when dealing with engine use/cost.. Lightwing example; GR582 replacement engine cost ~$6000, replacement rate -every 300 hours. GR912 replacement engine cost ~$20000, replacement rate -every 2000 hours. Result, by the time you replace the first life 912, you have replaced 6 582's!! That's $36000 worth of engines. This is why bean counters like GR912's, even though the aircraft is now heavier, not balanced as well and a bit different on the ground. Note Some customer values may differ to those stated above

WTH!? Not sure what I missed here, but I thought that all students, pilots, instructors and all other members of the RAAus were covered for any liability (third person and/or property) via our membership fees. Why are they trying to look at FTF's and SFTF's as entities? They are just where you go to find the RAAus members?... Insurance companies will only look at TF's as some form of profit making business, which would become fair game for huge premiums! If this is the case, what the heel do our membership fee cover?

Am I missing the point? I thought I was explaining WHY; The money flyers are pushing for super ships, the schools are listening to the 'market', so the students and new pilots don't know any better! Very few schools have the 'low end' any more, and sight seeing in a Jabiru is almost a contradiction of words... The Foxbat is a bit more acceptable. If you have a Drifter and tell people that you were flying along some deserted beach at 505 feet, they all throw their hands in the air saying your an accident waiting to happen. No one seems to remember back when we only had 300 feet (yes, even I agree a bit dangerous), some may remember when we had 1500 feet, but now, if you don't have a flight plan, all the maps, your human factors test passed and an epirb, some will say you shouldn't even be flying, let alone along that deserted beach, even at 1500 feet. WE'VE LOST THE PLOT, and we let it happen. To be honest though, there are still a few of us stalwarts out there, trying to uphold the original cause. I'm still teaching tail wheel, I'm using a two stroke Lightwing, although I've had to take the nice three blade 'Warp' off, and put the original crappy wooden prop back on. Still, I can manage 500 fpm, which is better than the Gazelle I used with the crap 'Allsize' it had to have. (Climb damn you!!!) Who knows, maybe flying low end ultralights may become trendy again, but it will need more marketing..

Web porn is the similar, but just not quite the real thing....

I may not be right here, but I feel that if you have full British accreditation, and have a G-xxxx registered Trike (as we call them), you should be able to bring it here and fly it (for a few months at least) on your own license. It would pay to contact RAAus first to be sure. I would say contact CASA, but they will just offload you to RAAus or HGFA anyway. Technically your UK License should outrank our Certificate.