Jim188

Frank, not sure about the book writing and I am sure there are just as many other guys around with great stories. But Oh boy, all that stuff you talked about, it still was sitting around in the back of my mind, which I thought I had forgotten about. Yep, those gear boxes and cranks, had everyone, me included, flying around just waiting for the bang. I also welded up an early 503 exhaust several times, I tried beefing up the exhaust mounting plates each time thinking it can't crack now. It was not until I also redesign the mount to take the vibration that we stopped the cracking. My mounting was not so pretty compared to the later offering from Austflight, but it did the job. Boy you remember everything Frank, those spark plug caps, yet another reason to make you feel the engine was about to stop when it started to miss from this, never stop our engine, but a lead did come off once. I learnt very fast to very gently damaging the thread on new spark plugs so when these caps were screwed up tight they would bind into damage thread area and never came loose. What about those small rectangular impulse fuel pumps sitting right up against the side of the 503 block, one day this pump just started to cause grief to the owner of this early drifter. We thought it must be from wear, so it was replaced with new. All was happy until a mild hot day out in the mulga and the motor stopped. Once back on the ground the fuel bowl was found full and the engine fired into life like a happy little beaver. Some more ground running, but nothing, so back into the air again and then after a while it stopped and back on the ground to find the bowl full. Back up in the air again, but this time as the motor start to died, the drifter was put into a climb so the prop stopped against the engine compression so not windmill gliding back down, this time little fuel was in the bowl. So off came the fuel pump to be remounted away from the engine block so it had less heat and possible vaporization, this seemed to work. But it would have been better to also add an electric fuel pump, but at the time with this Drifter did not have any electrical or charging system, so this was not an option until a crude electrical rectifier came available from Austflight some time later that could also run some radios. This early drifter had a pull start on the motor and you had a choke leveler on the carburetor. The choke and pull start had not found their way up to the pilot's seat at this stage Cheers Jim188

Hi Frank, The motor was a Rotax 503, single carby and single ignition. In those early days, everyone was really experimenting and leaning what these snowmobile motors were going to be like. One thing I do remember even out in the bush, Bert and Jim's service and support was up there, even thought it was a big leaning curve for everyone involved. As some bigger hours where starting to be put on the odd drifter mustering, they started to find issues like exhaust spring wearing and then the ends breaking off and spring going through the prop. The odd gear box and crank shaft turned out at times not to be up to the job, the owner of the Drifter I did my first solo in, often was just waiting for their next plug to fowl and cause another engine failure. This had more to do with the 2 stroke oil that was being recommend at time. Yet five years later, when I got my Drifter, everyone was using different 2 stroke oil and those other smaller bugs had been sorted out, like safety wiring a few things on, little better spark plug caps, better understanding about 2 stroke oils, jetting and needles . Everyone had a lot more hours on drifters out mustering, but also clocking up many hours doing training, so the known reliability was growing better for every hour flown. My 503 single carby and single ignition motor had me in the air for a 100 plus hours a year and never cause me any problems, expect for the odd time when it was more human induced than anything else. Getting back to 25-313, I should let people know RevSmith turned out to be an old flying mate from many years ago, so the story of the owners or where Drifter 25-313 has ended up is still to be told. Cheers Jim188

Thanks Frank for doing the Facebook thing. You know Frank, I just had a look in my AUF log book to find it's been just over 30 years since my first solo flight in an Austflight Drifter. It was owned by Steve and Toby Robinson who trailed it around the stations and mulga ridges of Western Queensland displaying the drifter as the perfect mustering aircraft, it was, but the motor was not at the time. Must go work to do, but again thank you. Cheers Jim188

Revsmith, What a surprise you have given me to read your few words and the memories that came flooding back from so many years ago. Was I right to think we have found a past 313 Drifter owner, how else could you have heard this tale, unless it was from the history log of this great little aircraft. It was such an embarrassing thing you talk about, only a select few ever heard the story, but the lesson I got from this stood me in great stead, even to this day, in and outside the world of aviation. So who are you Revsmith in real life?, I guess some here may already know this or are you just a gun slinger from another world. Cheers Jim188

Hi Frank, I really don't know much about face book, except it seems people either love it or hate it. But if you could put the word out that would be appreciated. Cheers Jim188

Thanks Frank, I did a bit of a search a little time back and found an RA-AUS spreadsheet file on-line that was a few years old with 25- aircraft registrations. If I remember correctly 25-313 had been non registered for year or so at that time. So I am thinking it maybe sitting in someones farm shed, just wanting to fly again like me. I have not contact RA-Aus, as I was not sure how they felt about handing out past or current aircraft owners details, after I heard RA-Aus has strong feelings about not giving Av-Data any aircraft or ownership details. .But thank you Frank for your time, as you have enthused me to contact RA-Aus in this new year. Happy New Year with many hours aloft Jim188

Hi All, Great to see people still love the Drifter, many years ago I learnt to fly in an AustFlight Drifter. Then I brought my own Drifter and had some great flying in it until my wife said, it's about time we got something so I don't feel little a dog in the back of a Ute on longer flights. I then moved into the GA world for a time and then gave away flying for many years until now. I sold my drifter to someone unknown, it's rego was 25-313. I am just wondering and hoping it's still flying and giving someone hours of fun like it had for me as the second owner. Cheer to All. Drifter Pilots are some of the best around.