diesel

A friend put a new UL engine into his new plane. Possibly a hundred flight time and engine failure on take off. Ignition break down. Quite some time has gone by and no factory backup or interest. Is he the only one? Chas

Hi Nev, The panel appears to have the micro spacings. Must be able to use airphones surely. I remember the first radios we had to tune every time we tried to talk in the early 150,s. Throttled back and ear on the speaker. Headsets were never used by most people as they thought they would not hear the engine stop. Some knowledgeable person will know. I thought the narco was a modern 70,s unit. Chas

I have had a Narco 11b radio in my cupbord for several years. It came from a parted out frame and should still be fine. Two options. 1 As the cradle I have is the wrong one has anyone got one. 2 If someone wants it its available. I paid a fair bit for it at the time but any offers considered. If someone has a cradle it will fly in my diesel bird. Chas

A slowed up full flap trimmed 172 has a huge trim change when full power is applied. If you dont get onto that trim wheel immediately as part of the cleanup you will be busy. Those old steering wheel things take a lot of pushing and non farming types may not handle it. It would not be the first one to break. The older ones are full of corrosion in the tubes. All ok if you do it right. My old instructor in the 60,s said he could flight test anyone with one landing and overshoot. Chas

WTF? If you have to get out again in a full flap cessna you must get that trim rolled forwards four palm fulls as it acellerates again. Dribble the flap off as it gets going and fly normally. Chas

Thats the advantage of not having a cross runway. You learn to deal with it. Chas

[quote="bexrbetter, post: 593495, member: 8594for your reply Chas, appreciated. Yup, flywheel weight is something people shouldn't muck around with on an auto conversion (petrol can trim a little off), especially diesel. The big fan is not a suitable substitute for a flywheel. I grimace every time I see an auto driveplate only aero engine come to a sudden stop. Not sure what you're saying with the direct drive and not at max torque comments though? I feel very safe flying the diesel. Just solid uncomplicated power. Torsional vibration is the price we have for having compression. Dont idle the diesel slow. 1000 rpm ok but mine best at 1400. Smoother than lycombing. On shutdown kill the air as well as fuel. No air equals no compression. I cruise mine at 3300 which is only mid range. 3000 is good. 3800 equals 2750 propeller. A light propeller and full flywheel mass. Intercooler is essential to control charge temps. No engine mod required. You fly OEM. A small oddessy battery starts it fine. Glow then switch off as you hit the starter. Early direct injection hdi can have mechanical pumps put back on. Engineers in France said the old engine is safe for 10,850 hrs flight. Dont get carried away with hp numbers. Duty cycle is the one. Thats how long can it be expected to last at that power. Its not for everyone but if you know diesel you will be fine. Remember corperates stop thinking at five and are not spending their own money. Do your own thinking. Chas

Actually no so bad. Landrover used the same block and just changed the heads. PSA did as well with minor revamp. A typipical eurodiesel is lighter than a petrol subaru. A diesel subaru goes well but complex and as heavy as an elephant. Lots of people trying with this engine but what they are doing will make tears.

My project was started a number of years ago as I had to build an aircraft around my engine. Its based on a Jodel. All the jodels mixed into one multi scale. It was decided to use aerodynamics instead of brute power. My engine is an old mechanical Peugeot xud. 1.9 litres of turbo diesel swings a prop better than a C 0200 of 3.3 litres on less than half the fuel. Yes it was a big learning curve. Petrol head advise does not work but in the end very simple and reliable. Have a look on youtube under diesel Jodel for some pics about the first three hours. Learned a lot since then too but well worth the effort. Several other diesel micros on the net as well now. Pika Hamilton VW 180hp 172. Serge Pennec Gazaile. Conquest in Brazil Ramphos trike. Years ago Serge put a Peugeot diesel into a Rans. Delvion. Please dont think of direct drive or no full weight flywheel. Dont try to run at max torque either. Chas

Diesel is all that I fly now. Slightly heavier engine vs heaps of bang stuff. Long engine life and NZ$12 vs $85 per 100 miles flown. Automotive diesels do fly in micros. Euro diesels have a small heat exchanger for fuel under the fuel filter. Also fuel pumped around the return keeps things warm. You make problems where there are none. Crappy fuel can be filtered and should be for any engine. Chas

An aircraft in my shed has a diesel filter on the firewall for an 0200. Very servicable. Looks better by far than a Rans I helped after landing in trees. Yes water in the glass tanks and lines even though housed and drained every flight. Chas.

I thought 40 degree flaps disappeared with the big handle years ago. The later electric ladder was terrible. At least you could look out the window to see where they were. Chas

In the gliding world all of our instruction was/volunteered. If the instructor could not fly accurately he could not stay up especially with the older machines. I support earlier rag and tube comments. Even military fighter pilots that shone were accurate and smooth pilots. Bank, balance,speed. None of this rudder first crap. Chas

Not good. The aircraft accelerated ok at the start but approaching the trees it was pitched up. Watch the rapid fall on the asi before the left roll. Why did he let it get that far? Chas

The contraversial BD5. An old design that showed so many people how little they know. Both loved and hated. Always looked sexy. The jet one solved al the torsional problems. Chas

Interesting discussion on early flight training. I am the guilty one who started the recreational pilots licence in NZ 25years ago. Well its great but not how we started. The plan was to get new blood into aviation, and to keep our senior members flying.. LSA has come along now its all check book operators who now longer fly their 180,s etc. Luckily we still have builders. My aircraft a 1588 lb Jodel costs $nz15.00 per hour to fly. Stall 35 mph. Vne 174 mph. Wood is good. Chas

I get upset when I watch pilots on youtube. Instructors, airforce, private. How can anyone they teach learn to fly properly when they fly so badly themselves. I am talking stick and rudder, not procedures. Even on a nice day they cannot leave the plane alone. Push, pull. Roll and back. Push some more etc. I doubt if I could even catch the pole with some of them. I certainly would not fly with them by choice. And getting back on the ground again. Heck thats worse. I fly both with and without engines. The best training was off the wire. I enjoyed giving winch instruction for many years. Heck looking over the post I look like an I specialist. Not the intended thing. Fly your power plane like a glider and you will get much more safe performance. Thats smooth, dont touch if you dont need. That causes drag. Apply a pressure instead of a pull or push. People create there own turbulence. Same on landing. If I see you pumping the pole you will get a belt under your lughole with the fire axe. Smooth flight and keep safe. Chas

Close to home minus 27c was the temp. Central Otago. If it works in Russia and surrounds it must be good if it even starts. Years ago they had big diesel radial engined helicopters. Not sure what exam papers they used. May have just been orders to fly. Chas

Hi Mick. The reason your friend ran out of an injection pump would have been no lube in the jet A. All is well if at least 1 % of oil is added. HDI wont need it. However I would still do it. I add a bit when I remember even with diesel. Made a typo above. BP winter fuel in nz south island should be fine to minus 14c. However I would add some thinners before then. 43 hrs airborne hammering and old Peugeot diesel around the sky without issues. Now to add heaps more. 12 litres per hour. Chas

You will get carb ice just by starting your engine. Make sure it is clear before giving it the jandle. It saves an embarrassing mess just off the paddock. Yes diesel will freeze / wax. Like petrol there are many grades around the globe. In NZ BP tell us its good down to minus 7c in winter grade. Additives can be purchaced to improve. Jet A to minus 40c. A few months ago I flew my diesel at minus 7c with no drama. Well that was ground temp. Chas

I draw and keep a simple straight line map of my aircraft. The lever arms for everthing are marked about the datum. The main ones can be constaint or adjusted as per a heavy pax. Weight x arm equals moment Sorry my tablet wont let me lay it out but very simple. If you work out what you can safely carry you are well on the way. With fuel and luggage being the biggest variable. Know what adds to aft c of g. One old addage that kept a lot of pilots alive was when heavy, if you are climbing dont turn. If you are turning dont climb. Chas

In strong x/wind I tend to use the downwind edge. If you happen to start weather cocking as you slow down you still have all the runway in front of you. My home strip is mown about 30ft wide. The whole field about 40 paces wide. All good stuff. Chas.

The old humour never seems to go away. Just like second hand Aussie weather. Both of us have had our share of crap this seaon. I have done a few hours of Jodeling round NSW. This was from Wedderburn. Got to see Connie a couple of times, Narromine and Temora. Best flight was victor one ar Sydney. Our river valleys and mountains are hard to beat. I did a bit around your Blue mountain /hill. If your man heads out to Perth inverted he wont have to worry too much about hitting his head on a hill. Chas

How many have 7 degrees at the tip? Its simple and it works. Gets rid of most of the nasty tip vortices. Chas