Marty_d

I used galv steel. The plans called for 0.018" (around .5 mm) but I think I went slightly thicker, just what was available at the time.

I've bitten the bullet and spent the money - on order are 3x Carlisle Turf Glide tyres & tubes, and a 70" Bolly 3 blade prop.

50 years old, bugger-all hair, big ears and still a baby... actually you may not be far off the mark Planey!

" The standard undercarriage is of tricycle configuration, though a conventional undercarriage is an option. " I think taildragger was "conventional" up until about 1950....

I bought black steel Allen drive dome head bolts, then sprayed the heads with a coat of clear paint to prevent rust. They turned out really well, nice gloss finish but unobtrusive against the carbon fibre pattern dash.

Tulip or not tulip - that is the question. Last night I cut out bits from the underside of my cowl to ensure the muffler has enough clearance. This is the first time both the muffler and cowl have been on the plane at the same time! So as you can see there's a fair chunk out of the starboard side where the exhaust pipe runs and a smaller hole for the other end of the muffler at the port side. I reckon the guy who made this cowl mould must have had a smaller muffler which fit inside the central channel. Obviously I need to run a thin strip of fibreglass or carbon around the edges after they're sanded. At that point, I was thinking about putting a formed lip around the holes, and at the rear opening, to encourage the venturi effect and suck the hot air out of the engine bay. What do you think - are they needed? Or just leave it open as is? Cheers, Marty

All the ones I recently put in were M4.

I decided not to go with the E-prop. They sound fantastic but are an extra $1000 and I just worry a little about how narrow they are, in terms of longevity and strength. I wanted to go with the Meglin but 4 month turnaround after you pay full price, and with what's going on with Russia I didn't want to risk it. So I'm back to Bolly and either their 66" or 70". Bolly say the 70" is better for STOL and the 66" for cruise - she'll never be a cruiser so I would prefer the 70".

Wagga Bike Tyres sell the Carlisles for $155, so Skyshop are charging a bit much. I've put a level on the wing mounting points and I could raise the nose another 20mm to get the aircraft perfectly level, plus if the Carlisles are 16" compared to my current 13" I'll gain another 1.5" (38mm) there. That makes it 58mm + my original 1040mm so 1098mm, which would make a 70" prop tip 209mm from the ground. That's still not ideal but the 701 plans state 1100mm and a lot of them would swing a 70" prop, so might just have to do it. Plus I have a spare nose fork which will fit the bigger tyre - bought it from Zenith as I couldn't get the right thickness aluminium in Aus at the time, then bought the undercarriage off a written-off Sav anyway. The Zenith fork is a lot wider than the Sav one and has a bit of extra length so I can lower the axle a bit.

That's very pretty. I like the British racing green fuse with silver wings & HT, spectacular scheme.

I would have thought that companies such as Wagga Bike Tyres would be in a bit of trouble advertising Carlisle Turf Glide in their LSA section, if there was anything but a miniscule chance of failing. Most companies are extremely risk averse when it comes to aviation, as I found out when trying to get someone to test my control cables.

I look at the wheel spats on that thing and wonder.... why?

Thanks Mike. I might pull a carby off and take it into Enzed. That way I'll get the right thread.

Can you get the banjo stuff aftermarket? I did contact Bert Flood about the fuel setup but they said it would be prohibitively expensive to get Rotax stuff. Even the compensator tube which is basically a bit of bent aluminium pipe is around $1,000. (I made one myself out of a piece of hard fuel line, with a ridge formed at each end to hold the short rubber hose each end).

Hi, I'm a bit confused about the fuel fitting to the carbs. 912/914 parts list shows part 941853 which is a double ended male thread, however in the Rotax Heavy Maintenance Manual it shows a banjo bolt going straight in and the original part crossed out. Anyone know what the inside thread size is? Is the banjo bolt system necessary or can it just be a barb to thread type fitting? Thanks, Marty

Hi, I have to confess my ignorance here, I have no idea what the numbers on tyres mean. I want to get a set of bigger tyres that fit the rims I have. I don't really want to spend a fortune doing it (I've seen 21" tyres advertised for almost $600 each). So below is a photo of my nosewheel - it has the numbers 15 x 6.00 - 6 on it. What does that mean? It's not 15 inches diameter, it's around 13 (unless I haven't pumped it up enough). If I want to get bigger tyres, eg 21", where's the best place to get them? Some forums in the Zenith site discuss bigger tyres for $30 each - golf cart? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, Marty

Always safer with a Trojan.

Wouldn't want that canopy coming unlatched in flight.

Ok, just checked the plans and they state the prop centre is 1100mm off the ground, mine is 1040, so I've lost 60mm somewhere. Possibly the best option would be to make a bigger nosewheel fork and mount the axle lower, that would then give the option to change to a bigger tyre later too. Talking to a couple of people who have big tyres, they only lose 1-2 knots in cruise and have much better landing experience (plus an added measure of safety). So that's probably on the cards. Yep done that. That actually encouraged me to look seriously at the Meglin. Trouble is, the Ukraine factory want the whole price up front and then it's a 4 month turnaround before you get the prop. That made me a bit nervous when Russia is knocking on their doorstep - I really hope there's no invasion, but there is a risk that manufacturing could be disrupted and there's no guarantees. So going with the Bolly, they advise 70" 3 blade for STOL or 66" 3 blade for better cruise. My initial reaction is 70", but there's another 2 inches less clearance so down to 150mm instead of 200. That's true, but there's bugger all movement in the nose suspension (rubber "puck" system) so if anything the maingear is what would settle when fully loaded, which would actually give slightly more clearance. I might go over to the Zenith site and see what all the 701 users say about ground clearance. Thank, good to know.

Hi all, I need some advice. Starting to look at props for the 701. At the moment looking at 3 blade 66" Bolly. However I just measured from ground to centre of the prop hub, when the plane is on its undercarriage, and it's only 1040mm (41"). If there's a 66" prop on it (and if the 66" is total prop arc diameter) then there's only 8" (200mm) from the tip of the prop to the ground. Is that enough? Or do I need to extend the nosegear (not ideal) or put bigger tyres on (possible)? As always all thoughts appreciated. Cheers, Marty

It is for Mando - he wears a jet pack occasionally!

It's a Star Wars thing Mark.

Yes, I wasn't saying I wasn't going to do it, I was saying it reminds me that I have to do it.

Thanks for the reminder guys... I'm not finished cutting into my cowl!

What I've learned about fibreglassing is: Lay, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, repeat. Laid some carbon fibre over the filled bits, and because it's "rough side out" (ie not coming out of an internal mould), used microballoons to fill over. Still, it's come up pretty well. I reckon one more fairly thin mix over the whole thing and a final sand with 240 grit and it should be good to go. Now - DZUS. Anyone got any experience of fitting them? Hints, tips, tricks? Is the wire bit riveted straight to the inside fibreglass or do you use an aluminium doubler? Etc. The second picture is of a mould I'm making for a couple of blisters to go on the real cowl - the throttles are binding so need a bit of space above them. I'm hoping to use the same mould for both blisters, I think the curvature of the cowl is similar enough on both sides. Third picture is of my project for son Harry - a Mandalorian helmet. We made it from cardboard pieces, then papier-mache, then I've been adding filler every time I do some fibreglassing on the cowl. Will coat it with about 5 layers of thin fibreglass cloth, fill and sand again, then paint.