pylon500

Uhm?, the implication of my comment, is to say the above mentioned Brumby is the first production Ultralight, just not the first Ultralight overall, to be fitted with the -233.Sorry if I confused...

Not usually, and sometimes they get some little 'wakeup' calls in flight, ie EFTO's, LOTS of stall training , and the odd comment on how well they are starting to park their car

I often find I get a pretty good first assessment of a student by the way they park their car, the first time they arrive.....

Actually, if you look closely, you will notice the Airbus is registered HB-JIY. That is a Swiss rego, not the New Zealand (ZK-) rego, which does not need to be displayed on aircraft staying in NZ. For more Ultralight registrable biplanes, have a look at this thread; <http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/aircraft-design-aerodynamics-new-technology/1913-best-ultralight-biplane.html>

There is a connection here, that 233 now in the Jab, was used by the Goards to make up the mounts and cowls for the Brumby (so I'm told...) It's an impressive looking Jab, and gets along pretty well, unfortunately it still only handles like a Jab.

Tailgating, or being sucked along by drag, is not going to be a very effective way of saving fuel. However, if you can reduce the amount of power used to generate the lift (which induces drag) by flying in a continual updraft created by an aircraft in front of you, then you can save some fuel. Like I said "Geese, Swans, Ducks etc have been doing it for centuries........" Arthur.

Well actually the first 'Production' aircraft with an 0-233, there's been a 200 series Jab taildragger flying around up here for about 6 months. Arthur.

Geese, Swans, Ducks etc have been doing it for centuries........

Interesting.... I've found that most Lightwings prefer to be flown at their rearmost CofG, (I can hear all the experts getting ready..) which is still only at 22% on some of the earlier models. The LSA models can run to 25% and will three point better, but then you have to really be ready with the rudder because of the main gear dynamics. Rearward CofG's will help to reduce induced trim drag when cruising but can lead to pitch sensitivity in short coupled aircraft. Fortunately the strong pitching moment of the flatbottom section on the lightwing is countered by the reasonable amount of Decalage between the wing and tail. OK, so 'Please explain...? Arthur.

Might have to move there, looks cheaper than Taree... They changed from the annual blanket fee of $500 per year for private owners, to buying blocks of 'movements' Work out to around $9.50 per full stop, for 100 flights, then you have to buy another lot....

So, how's the prop going?

Presence and piloting are two different things.

It was a publicity stunt and he wasn't actually flying (probably can't).

With some of those trips, I guess I shouldn't complain about having to taxi for a kilometre because the council keeps closing the grass strip at my back door every time it rains... Just wish it didn't wear tires so much.

Interesting flyover....

Sorry, but don't have time to watch three hours and fifty odd minutes of youtube to glimpse an aeroplane. How about giving us a clue when to look....?

There is both a Gliding Club, and an Aero Club based at RAAF Richmond. That said, they are primarily for the serving members on the base and surrounding military bases, and their dependents. They do allow a small percentage of civilian members, but there's usually a waiting list. I was secretary of the Gliding Club for a year or so while based there. This was pretty much before the time of ultralights, or I may have tried to start up a club there myself...

I'd be surprised if it came back and there WASN'T oil underneath! Didn't know you played with beavers? I spent 17 years at Bankstown repairing and rebuilding them.... -AAM, -AQA, -AQU, -AAX, -IDO, -IMF, -NOO, -SWB, -SYS, and a few others no longer in the rego list... Typical day at work (circa 2004) And some others that wander in. Arthur.

Did you mean; Beaver, or Beaver? Why are we talking about beavers? Hey Metalman2, I probably met you when we picked it up. Must admit, it looked flashy when we got it. Unfortunately the performance didn't match the looks, and once we had struggled back to Taree I went over the whole plane and must have removed about 55kg of excess junk. I moved the seats back to their original position to suit six foot pilots, put a decent antennae on it, then did a weight and balance and removed 3kg of tail ballast. With the prop re-pitched and the wheel spats and caravan roof vent (!?) removed, it now flies straight, cruises at 70kts @ 5500rpm, and will actually glide and flare when landing. Still, with the shark teeth on front, we are thinking of calling it 'Angry Bird'.

As an avid fan of the LightWing, I'm surprised I missed this post! I had to battle my way to solo in the Lightwing, taking 13 hours, which considering I had over 100 hours in gliders, plus flying hang gliders and having flown models for years, seemed a long time. But this was the start of a long career of learning to fly a 'mans' aeroplane. After 25 years and some 2000 hours, I'm not learning many new tricks now, but I'm having plenty of fun watching students make all the mistakes that I made (yes, I am trying to help them) and finally seeing them 'click' on how to handle the beast. I started on serial #005, 25-0081, (last seen with over 4000 hours on it) as an original LW-1. No doors, round tube struts, the Austrian hand grenade (R532) with pull start and no trim. Those were the days. Half the time, by the time you got it started, you were so buggered, you just sat there telling everyone you were waiting for it to warm up (you were really catching your breath). It had the original slab sided 'Box' body, narrow U/C and dodgy brakes, real fun in a crosswind. As time went on, various students (and a couple of instructors) managed to 'bend' -81, but she would come back with all the latest improvements, DOORS!, wider U/C, the 'fastback' with matching full cowl, better seats, fibreglass tanks that didn't leak (as much) as the original sealed wing tanks, a real dash and eventually trim, a radio and brakes that worked (most of the time). The next lightwing I flew was Bill Starks 25-0321 at Charters Towers. A few years later I got checked out on one of the GR532FP's (float plane), 25-0429 at Prosserpine, with an hours worth of water landings at Airley Beach. By then I was an instructor, and my club, 'The Sydney Ultralight Flying Club' bought a second Lightwing 25-0158, #024 (I think) another GR532 which flew until an instructor ran out of fuel and crashed it, so off it went to Howie to be rebuilt, but by now many in the club were getting wary of the two strokes and opted to have it upgraded to a GR912. Then things started to get interesting, when -158 came back with the 912 fitted, there was another change that I had trouble (and still do) understanding? The wheels had been moved forward by nearly six inches to make up for the heavier engine !? I questioned this, but was told 'everyone else gets used to it', although I was never happy with the ground handling or the lack of 'float' on landing. Strangely enough, a school operating next door to us leased a GR912 25-0692, which I've done a few hours in, and it turned out to be fairly easy to land either wheeled or three point. Later on, a group of us at the now 'Sydney Recreational Flying Club' got together and bought an earlier LW-1, 25-0033, #002? This was (and still is) a genuine original LW-1, box body, tube struts and a pull start 532! Now with a bit of experience, this was a lot of fun to fly, would glide well and almost out land our new Foxbat! Time moves on, as did I, and retired (?) to Taree, where I set up a satellite school for the club flying a Gazelle, but what I really wanted was another Lightwing. Eventually after looking at some very neglected lightwings (in my price range) I managed to by a fourth hand GR912, 24-0437, #083, that looked really good, with a nice interior and a healthy 912 that was bout to run out of hours. This was a good aeroplane until a heavy landing showed up a badly repaired manufacturing fault, when an axle snapped off, almost writing the plane off.. During the repairs, a student that was impressed by my Lightwing, decided he wanted one and bought a GR582, 25-0223, #030, and put it on line with me while I repair mine. As for the original post regarding why not more of them, or more successful than they appear? I think this comes down to outside perception. In the early days there were Thrusters and Drifters. When people looked at these collections of open framed, tubes, wires and sailcloth, they half expected to see a two stroke bolted to it somewhere. When they spotted a fully fabric covered, fully cowled engine and nicely painted aeroplane, they were surprised to see a two stroke in it. To that end, many don't remember, but the first Jabiru had a Rotax 532 in it, which was a real performer, but it blew up and was never done again. Market pressure wanted four strokes, but the only viable one back then was the VW, which brought about the GA-55. It all looked good on paper, but never really performed and left many disheartened. Australian Lightwing tried going sideways and created the Pocket Rocket series with a mix of two strokes and VW's, but these gave the impression of being 'built down to a price', and were now competing with VW Skyfoxe's (which in all honesty were no real improvement) but looked flashier, and were eventually power with the new Rotax 912. Howie could see where the market was going and the GR912 came into being, but the new Jabiru's were starting to take up the limelight. But through all this, I guess it may have been a failing of all the instructors out there flying Lightwings, not pushing the great flying qualities of the Lightwing compared to (well really) any of the aircraft being used as trainers over the last twenty years. I'll get some flame for this but; All the trainers we've had just don't have the complete package that the Lightwing offers. The Thruster had nice handling, but the glide of a brick, plus being exposed and noisy. The Drifter actually flew better than the Thruster, had a (barely) better glide and at least the instructor could hide from the elements behind the student, provided he flew straight. The Skyfox had nice handling qualities, but was quite cramped for the average Australian student and instructor, and could easily self destruct on landing if you didn't do it perfectly. Oddly enough, when you get to the Gazelle, you find (again) an aircraft with easy handling and as a trike, even easier to land. So much so, that I've started to come across pilots taught to fly in a Gazelle that when viewed from the outside, appear to fly quite well until you climb in with them and find that they can be fairly rough pilots with not a lot of 'precision' in their flying, why?, well it turns out the plane is so easy to fly and land, that not a lot of effort is required. The Lightwing can demonstrate all the aspects of flight that can to be taught and yet is very forgiving of most abuse, and if you really do screw up, they prove very strong on impact (I don't think anyone has been killed crashing a GR Lightwing?) I know there are more trainers available now, but many of them still don't have the 'package' that the Lightwing gives to a student. It would be nicer with a tiny bit more room in the cockpit, and maybe an improvement in the finish but not bad for something made more than twenty years ago. And now for some pictures to look at and reminisce..... The Lightwing I started in, in it's second colour scheme. Sydney club's second GR532. The GR532FP at Prosserpine. (Yes, the wheels are down!) Sydney Club's second Lightwing now a GR912. Comparison between GR912 and GR582, note gear legs. An original LW-1 I had shares in. My GR912 while with previous owner. (Yes, THAT one) The GR582 I use for two stroke and tailwheel conversions. Ahh, Lightwings.......

I was not aware of any restriction to the use of retractable undercarriage on ultralights, there are actually a few out there. It is an endorsement, along with variable pitch and amphibian, (floatplane with retracts). I've looked at the ASSO plans before, your right, not for beginners... Arthur.

I have training available in a GR582 LightWing, or a 503WB Drifter, here at Taree. Search 'Taree Wing' https://sites.google.com/site/tareewing/

G'Day Doug, I find it best to have independent brakes and steerable tail wheel, handles cross winds and smooth runways. Without a lot of running around and/or scrounging, I just ordered a set of wheels, tires and brakes from AircraftSpruce. These were the cheapest, AZUSA 8 INCH ALUMINUM WHEELS AND BRAKE KIT from Aircraft Spruce , they are a larger diameter (which rolls well on rough ground) bit a narrow profile, so don't cause much drag. It is a complete 2 wheel kit. Arthur.

As he says, who is willing to be nominated on our proxy forms? Do we just put in our state rep? Arthur.

You may get away with trying to repair the glass tank, the hard bit is removing ALL traces of the two stroke oil to get the resin to stick. Try repeated flushing with neat petrol, probably half a litre a time followed by a couple of flushes with acetone or MEK if you can find it. A.