Traveldoc

Clip will be forthcoming when aircraft is flying again. Soon. Had to replace nose ribs and leading edge after impact with tree at end of a long landing roll. Gust of tailwind, wet grass, too late on the brakes etc etc. The biggest factor was pilot inexperience. All reported to RAA and ATSB as required.

I have 2X original tyres with tubes. About 50% tread remaining. Free

Well it took a while but wheels are upgraded. Aero Classic 8.5-6 mains and Condor front. Waited until I had finished X-C training just in case cruise speed and fuel burn were going to be an issue. Bit of fiddling involved: re-drill front axle hole, new 12mm holes for the valve stems on main wheels. And of course the very primitive main wheel situation of having to reassemble and repack wheel bearings every time you take wheel off. Not to mention disc rotor attachment screws that were seized and had to be drilled out. All good now. About 6-7 psi in mains which is keeping them round even when loaded and not enough to make tube bulge out of original central valve stem hole. Aircraft rolls much easier over rough ground. Have not yet flown because of adverse winds at my high country airstrip (3700'). Also missed Narromine fly-in :-(

Thanks for giving my thread back!

4:49 on a Sunday morning Dr. Zoos! Crikey you're keen. New tyres yet to be fitted. 21 inch mains and Condor front which requires axle hole to be relocated. Phil my airstrip does indeed require some practice. Uphill to the east with tall pine trees at the boundary and nearly always a slight tailwind. Had some rather forgettable landings there last week with instructor on board....flaring too hard to allow for upslope and stalling onto the ground from too high (maybe 1m+)...splat! Later on found mud and grass embedded around brake calipers and looks like main gear spring has spread a bit...fortunately this is repairable. After that we devised a new landing strategy: long glide approach with aim point well in front of threshhold. Power on (2500 to 3000 rpm) at start of flare. Power off as wheels touch. Works a treat.

Hangar: finished. X-C endorsement: done. Savannah 50-hour service: done by LAME at some expense but he fixed the cold starting issue. As it happens the choke toggle is not supposed to stay in the on position by itself. Ferry flight from Bathurst to the farm: completed today.

Went to Narromine last year and met a chap camping under wing of Zenith 701. Thought, must give this a try......And that is the plan only 5 weeks from now....If I can get XC endorsement finished by then. Have already flown to Dubbo twice during training so no huge challenge.

Thanks pal. Hope your build is coming along OK.

Update: 13 months since taking up aviation, about 70 hours in log book. Particularly harsh winter this year with lots strong winds and cloud. Savannah going fine but still hard to start when cold. Fuel enricher toggle no better with friction gland tightened to the max. May have to invent some kind of gate to hold the toggle 'out' for starts. Have done 2 Navex flights so far with instructor, each about 2 hours. Seems that she will fly level at 85 Kt using 5200 rpm and 80 Kt at 5000, burning ~17L/Hr PULP. Have bought larger tyres x3 to fit the original 6"rims but decided to keep the smaller ones on during Nav training, for speed and better fuel burn. After that I'll be using the farm strip which is rougher and large low pressure tyres should help. Hangar 90% complete. Bit more sheeting and backfill to level the floor, sturdy gates to keep out the cows is all. Decorative touches like name placard (Hazelgrove International) and large white letters HIA painted on the roof. Maybe a small (second) windsock mounted on the front gable apex. The big windsock is down other end of airstrip next to the threshold. Looks like I will not be trained up enough to fly to Birdsville races this year as was an early plan but I'm not a risk taker and there'll be plenty of flying to do later.

Peter I already asked Xavier this question. How do you fit the Desser valve stem onto Savannah 6 inch rim? Tight clearance even for the original 6" inner tube which has a 90 degree bend. I am looking at the 22 inch 850-6 tyres but want to make sure I can use $150US worth of inner tubes. S

Perhaps pumping the throttle was the previous owners way making sure it had full unobstructed movement and was in a known position at the beginning of start procedure. In any case I now that it doesn't have to be done. Thanks. SC

Good onya Mike. These numbers/procedures are all pretty much identical to my operators manual. I pump the throttle once before cold start and turn on fuel pump until pressure 4psi. Warm up is very slow in winter down here!

Yeah Mike, the 912 never starts on first kick-over but I am holding the throttle in left hand and starter key in right. Seems that the vibration of starter motor is turning off the "choke" before it has a chance to fire up. Need a 3rd hand or maybe just tighten up the choke toggle gland. No problem with hot starting. No choke needed. I have only done about 10 hours so far in the Sav. A lot to learn. Appreciate the help. S