Geoff_H
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Everything posted by Geoff_H
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I have had one overdue for 10 years, kept my medical up to date. Did an Aus medical in Houston TX during that period.
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Yes I have just past my medical, well maybe, DAME renewed for 2 months, calcium score so high i need a cardiogram. My cardiologist says I may need yearly medicals. At $300+ cardiologist fee I am reassessing what my flying should look like. Is NVMC worth it to me? I want to do aerobatic flying one day, but if I do eventually get to is probable at the moment. I am trying to assess what I do. I have not flown at night for 18 months.
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Please help me! I do not understand the licencing system for other than GA. Can anyone assist me in a quick description of the "Licence" and its privileges? I have Night VMC and hope to do aerobatics in the not so distant future, how do I get an RAMPC?
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I have never understood the stupidity of the PPL and RPC (if I have the terms correct). Lets take a Corby Starlet, I only have a PPL, if it has VH- painted on it I can fly it, if it has numbers only I cannot ...mmmmm. Do numbers make it hard to fly? If low wing loadings are so difficult to fly (and some are) why not make a single licence and rating for minimum stall speed? Why have a medical for PPL that costs around $300/2 years when an RPC needs only a drivers licence? Why will it take me 5 hours of flying to fly an aircraft similar to a C152, the aircraft I learned to fly on? Before flying one these days I would get a few circuits with an instructor, I have been only flying high landing speed aircraft for the last 10 years.
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Parking, tie-downs and return access into public airports
Geoff_H replied to inas's topic in AUS/NZ General Discussion
Don't do Cessnock, safety is not the best and they expensive. Maitland is nearby and a much better airplane the people friendly. -
I think that a carby temperature gauge should be a highly considered item if you do not have effective carby heat for any aircraft. I calculated that my little 15HP engines need 400Watts of heat to counteract the evapourisation cooling of fuel at full fuel flow. I am trying to work out a way of getting that much heat into the carby throat. Any ideas anyone? But on the changes to the fan cooling I would do a weight and balance check after modifications to see that the CofG has not moved significantly. A movement rearwards will reduce aircraft stability, albeit I would expect only slightly, but its an easier ground check than an in air check.
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Hirth recommend that BlueMax is used in their two strokes, they sell it as does Recpower in the USA. I think it must be infused with gold from the price (LOL). However Hirth will tell you that the oil must me API TC rated. DEFINITELY NOT the cold water cooled stuff which I think has a W in the API rating.
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I am not entirely sure. But as long as you have made 51% of the aircraft yourself and get an approved person to certify what you are allowed to do with the aircraft (eg fly over built up areas etc) then you can register as VH- Experimental class. SAAA can do the certifications. But there are private certifiers, the one I spoke to some time ago wanted a full load test on the aircraft, I am not objecting to that as I would do it even if he did not demand it.
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Very true. And it is not wise unless you take all precautions and testing. My project is in the experimental class. I don't have an RAA license at this stage.
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I saw an article on mixture adjustment in flight on a pressure carb. They kept the EHT low by adjusting the idle mixture using a cable. They claimed that the idle mixture gave enough change to keep the EGT from getting too high. I intend to try this on my project.
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The engines I am using are very small. My calves show that to vaporize the fuel requires 400watts, and by fitting a thermocouple to the carby the heat would come on when the temperature approached freezing and warn the pilot to icing as well as turn on the heat. 25 amps at 12 volts is not easy but maybe possible, hearing that someone has had icing on a two stroke makes me want icing of some sort, maybe engine or exhaust heat, but both seem heavy....room for thought. Anybody done it on a smash engine?
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Has anyone experienced carburetor icing in a small aircraft engine. I am designing a small Cri Cri look alike and am considering putting cab heat to both engines. At present my thought are for wrapping carbs in insulated heating wire (final design very much unknown). But is this necessary, does anyone have carb heat on their small engine, very small aircraft?
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electronic ignition question
Geoff_H replied to Soleair's topic in Instruments, Radios and Electronics
In system's that must be reliable and isolated from any fault that may occur we use two diodes in parallel, their outputs connect together and each diode connects to the battery's. Hence if a system goes down for any reason the other diode instantly takes over. Use a similar reverse system for charging two batteries, but you must set the charging voltage 0.6 volts higher to account for the voltage loss through the diodes. But with the ignition power you must put a monitoring system to monitor each stage to each diode otherwise one might fail and you will never know until the second system fails. These techniques are used in control systems that must work, eg driverless trains etc. Their probability of failure is very low,. Their mean time between failures is in the millions of hours. -
I thought that it was just not a good idea as one does not know what is in the drum for certain. If it has not been stored upside down it is a definite water ingress kit like the GA refuelers use. Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. Water in fuel could bring about the later.
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Electrical power in the poles and wires from the power station to your local transformer that is. I spent 42 years in this industry. We always crimped.
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A properly done crimp joint will have a galvanic connection pressure greater than 30,000 psi. Above the pressure at which oxygen can infiltrate and cause corrosion and high resistance. But it must be done properly, an improperly done joint will cause problems and as most people don't have a crimping tool that ensures that the crimp is compete before letting go then the heat shrink with solder would be better, but I would not use it. All connections of electrical power are crimped and bolted, never soldered owing to long term degradation of solder.
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Sure this is the mechanism of final failure, a soldered joint is ridgid and has little support which increases the stress on the copper that is held at the sharp soldered joint. A crimped joint is allowed to flex with less stress where the copper leaves the shroud. Hence crimpping gives a better life, provided a crimp is done correctly with the proper tool, one should never use pliars or similar. The cable is actually held by the insulation and the copper is galvanically crimped but does not carry the wire load.
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Wires that have been soldered will fatigue and break, maybe the wire was soldered to a lug. Ensure that all wires have crimped fittings. This is a rule for GA aircraft LAMES. Cheers Geoff
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Is this considdered "Pushing the envelope"?
Geoff_H replied to flying dog's topic in AUS/NZ General Discussion
I think that it is more a ground effect machine. besides increased thrust in ground effect it will balance the craft by giving more thrust to a side that should dip down. Notice that one engine is upside down, maybe for gyroscope and air flow torque effect equalisation. What happens when an engine fails? mmmmm -
Hi Ron and welcome to these interesting pages. Rave you read the Wikipedia on BD5 history? They are fast and unforgiving, a bit like the Mooney I owned for some years only giving it up last year as I now am building a fibreglass Cri Cri similar aircraft. The aim for this aircraft is under $10k. I am on track with the price and have the engines, foam and wheels brakes etc. The engines are two Hirth single cylinder engines. But the reason for telling you this is that I have a Cozy IV partially finished that I started and stopped when I bought the Mooney for the outback work I was doing. Being retired I will never have the money to finish it and the wife will not fly anymore so it is not needed. I would like to finish it but only to sell it and I would rather concentrate on the Cri Cri style aircraft with aerobatics etc. I do not know what engines you intend to use in the BD5 but I would suggest a water cooled two stroke engine, the are so much more difficult to seize. I have had a rough running Lycoming from chilling the engine. I think that it is best that you look at water cooling being a very low time pilot, it is more difficult to destroy a water cooled engine as a low time pilot. I can assist with a Hirth engine if you are interested (I must declare an interest as I am a Hirth agent in Australia). Cheers Geoff
