Soleair

No - I haven't changed any of the instrument wiring - it is just as it was last time I ran the engine 4 months ago.

I ran the engine again today, as a final break-in before I prepare to trailer my plane to the airfield. Well, it was meant to be a break-in, but I had a major problem with both EGT & CHT gauges. These are both dual instruments, with two needles on each for #1 & #2 cylinders. The only deflection I saw on any of the needles was one side of the CHT. This rose very quickly to an indicated 550F. The other side didn't move. I closed the throttle to run at idle, and the needle slowly dropped to 375, where it stayed, so then I stopped the engine. I took out a spark plug from each cylinder, both were very dark brown, so over rich if anything. I have a non-contact infra red thermometer, and I pointed this down the plug holes into the combustion chamber. Readings were 187 on #1 cyl, 168 on #2. I tried changing the under-sparkplug probes round, & the same side of the gauge showed the same reading. I changed the connections over at the back of the gauge, and this time the (false) high reading showed on the other side, with the other side showing no movement. The EGT gauge showed no movement on either needle. I removed & replaced the connections to the back of the EGT gauge, checked for broken wires - nothing found. The weird thing is I last ran the engine in November last year, when all the gauges worked. I have not changed any of the gauge wiring since, although I have done a permanent wiring of the engine/cockpit wiring harness instead of the temporary job I had in November as a test run. But I don't see that engine wiring should affect the instruments. So - can anybody cast any light on this problem? I don't even know how these instruments work. I assume they measure a resistance at the sensor which varies with temperature change. But what actually causes the needle to move? Or are they bi-metallic probes that generate a tiny voltage, which moves the needle? Can the probes and instruments be checked in any way, without substituting on a different installation? Any help gratefully received. Cheers Bruce

I wrote off a motorbike through looking at what I wanted to avoid. Some clown pulled a U turn from a static line of cars I was passing. He stopped when he saw me, leaving a gap just big enough for me to fit through. But I hit his car because I was looking at it instead of concentrating on the gap. Bruce

This video appeared on homebuilt aircraft a few days ago. It is an in-cockpit recording of an ultracub whose engine starts missing, then fails. Followed by a hard landing. Lots of scope for discussion on what the poor pilot did & didn't do correctly. The plane was on it's first extended flight, 4 hours TT. Engine is half VW. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0drAzJNY28 Bruce

And the Mosquito has a great engine, too

I enjoyed it too. But I wonder how he operates the rudder pedals - must take a lot of modification to make them hand activated. Bruce

I did my PPL training in the 80's in the ubiquitous Cessna 150/152. My instructor was a frustrated aerobatic pilot, and since the only aerobatic manoeuvre for which the 152 was cleared was spinning, he took great delight in teaching recovery from fully developed spins. One element of the UK PPL at that time was 'instrument only recovery from unusual attitude' (maybe still is ?) This entailed wearing a hat with a ludicrously long peak, curved down at the sides, such that you couldn't see out of the window - just the instrument panel. The instructor/examiner then put the aeroplane into an unusual attitude, & you had to identify it & take appropriate corrective action. Naturally my instructor chose to put me in a fully developed spin, which was quite exciting. Maybe a bit like a simulator must be, only with more permanent consequences for mistakes. . . Bruce

I'm building and importing. I use OzForex, and AFAIK there are no charges at either end. Certainly not this end - they quote a rate when you do a deal & that is all & only what you pay. (Except for extortionate shipping costs, & downright preposterous 'handling' charges at Sydney airport, but that's a thread hijack. . .) Bruce

D'accord. There's even maybe a bit of esprit de Pou in this!

Good luck trying to operate the Yahoo group format. . . Bruce

Is there not a case for CASA to release the information on statistics of failures, on which they based their action, under the Freedom of Information Act? Or don't we have one in Australia?

well I'm building a 95.10 . . . Bruce

Yenn, please try the simple experiment I suggested in post #26. It will take only a few seconds to convince yourself. I was an unbeliever like you, until I tried this. Honest. Bruce

That is not what I said.

Surely the first directive in flying - at any time, but especially in airfield airspace - is OBSERVE OBSERVE OBSERVE. As in, look out of the window. To rely too heavily on a radio, which is subject to (possibly undetected) failure, is a bit like relying on GPS when flying VFR. Should GPS be mandated in preference to teaching and practising basic map reading skills? Relying on radio to be aware of what is going on outside is in my view more unsafe than being an observant non radio pilot. Exclusive reliance can lead to laziness on the basics. And yes, I realise radio signals carry further than the Mk 1 eyeball. But collisions & dangerous airmisses don't happen at radio range, they occur at visual distance. Like Kasper, I too have been to fly-ins at both Sandown (my one-time home airfield) & Popham. Very busy, lots of low time microlight pilots, often without radio, but good circuit procedures and practice meant everyone flew home again. Bruce

That will be a really fun machine. Bruce

Oooops...... Bruce

Greetings Jacques Nice field - cosy house, too Has anyone considered using an MZ202 instead of the Rotax 582? It's lighter & fan air cooled - and it's built in Canada! Bruce

G'day & welcome, SFW. That's a classic ultralight you're rebuilding. Which engine are you using? Bruce

Lucky my MZ202 engine has a centrifugal clutch then, that doesn't engage until the engine reaches 1900rpm. Though it does make hand prop starts a tad tricky. . .

Quite so, Yenn - it is the banking that gets you round the corner, not the turning of the handlebars. But if you weld the handlebars in the straight ahead position your turns will be much larger radius, and I wouldn't suggest you try it on a public road. . . Try this experiment to verify countersteering. While riding straight ahead & upright, hold your left hand flat & vertical on the aft face of the handlebar. Now push it gently forward, & see which way the bike starts to turn. Since your hand was flat, you could only have steered to the right, and yet - which way did the bike start to turn? Bruce

I had my first flight in a Jabiru yesterday evening. Took off at 19:15 and landed an hour later. It was a calm evening flying over beautiful bush. A super little aeroplane - I thoroughly enjoyed it, though it's a shame the controls are Teleflex cable rather than pushrod & torque tube. Also that CASA (at least at senior personnel level) have such a downer on the engine, but I don't want to start that argument again - 'nuff said. . . I loved the little Jab. Bruce

Well done! It looks a beautiful job. Satisfaction!! Bruce

Any word on the eagle?

I suggest you consider Compact Radial Engine's MZ202 here: http://www.compactradialengines.com/mz202.html It is a very well built engine, which produces 25% more horsepower than the 503 at a weight saving in excess of 22lb. They are standard fit on the Mosquito light helicopter, so are reliable & well proven. Give Leon Massa a call at CRE. You should pay less for the MZ202 than the Rotax 582. The 202 is fan air cooled like the 503, which means considerably less cooling drag due to reduced frontal area otherwise needed to accommodate the 583 radiator(s). Bruce