SGIAN DUBH

The simple answer is : " Yes, He did it right " Maybe I am over-analyzing this from the comfort of a relaxed position on a soft sofa, (which is something Kev didn't have during that flight) so I am convinced "he did it right" In the video @ 1m45 he is at 302ft QNH having descended from 378ft QNH @1m40 to 329ft QNH @ 1m43. A turn around the tree @ 1m46 at 283ft QNH to establish himself on final approach to his impending arrival spot looked (from the comfort of a sofa looked to be extremely close to the branches ) @ 1m48 at 250ft QNH he was fully established on final & committed to what was about to unravel...... 2seconds later @1m50 he was 224ft QNH & possibly sensing " I am nearly there !!! @ 1m51 the impact with the bushels was imminent and at this point with 61mph of groundspeed I think ( from the comfort of a sofa ) I would have converted a bit of speed for a bit of height to clear the bushels ( Note it is an opinion based on hindsight & not what I might have done if in Kev's position at that time, at that exact time I strongly believe I would have done exactly what Kev did. ) The interesting point is throughout the entire final section of the video a 9% descent profile was set up ( which looks to resemble a 948fpm descent rate or 15.8fps )

Kirk, I am fully aware of the Deception & Malpractice that the Rats on the BMAA Sinking Ship can stoop to. I was not at all surprised when in the last BMAA Elections the Deception tactics were put into play again ;-) It has IMHO backfired on them.... just before the Election they co-opted Spencer Harvey ( in a veiled attempt to stop me getting elected by reducing the number of places from 4 to 3 ) so Spencer has to stand in the election this year. Their idea was to ensure that Dave B & Rob G will be re-elected ( by hook or by crook ) & then have Deepak M & Rick fighting for 3rd place, it all went very wrong when Deepak swept the board with the highest amount of votes with Dave B trailing behind by 22 votes & then Rob G coming 32 votes behind DB. I have no doubt that they should have left it at 4 spaces as I believe they thought Deepak would have came 4th or 5th, I know you weren't keen on Rick but I think the BMAA is now sinking faster now he is ousted. Will I ever stand again? I might out of devilment but only because I know it gives Dave B sleepless nights ;-) I am in a bit of a Quandary because I have a part share in a CFM Streak Shadow that is based where 'Grim' flys from & the Majority shareholder in the Streak is about to embark on an epic trip with Deepak soon in an Electric Pipistrel.

Ah Hello Kirk ;-) The "Shoehorned into a position on Council " after it was announced that both Rick Goddin & I were duly elected ;-) Probably the best thing that has happened to me was you getting elected ;-) I had a lucky escape ( dodged a bullet springs to mind ) Anyway this is far removed from the BMAA so let's not reflect on the pettiness of them, the BMAA have no place now in my day to day life, the BHPA have my best interests at heart when it comes to SSDR. Good to hear from you again ;-)

The Speed is GPS related so I think the lag is a millisecond....much the same as 12g was a millisecond....... I must look at the video again to see the cables.... now starting to think Kev was giving a lot more thought to this than just plonking it down wherever it happened.

Kasper, You have the advantage on me because I don't have a clue who you are ;-) As to the reference to : " and like myself you can also talk about the plane that could not fly away after arriving " I am sure you are talking about a certain X-Air? There is a saying " You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs " On that day I made a mess of said omelette....... not bad considering how many other omelettes have came out perfect ;-)

The Sgian Dubh will be having either a Rotax 447 0r Rotax 503 refitted, I am not sure what photos Hugh sent you? if you have them to hand, could you please either send me copies of them via email or copy them onto this site? I am interested to see ;-) With the rotate speed at 38.4mph (33.6kias ) We have calculated the Stall speed as Vso 30.5kias ( it actually will stall at 28.7kias if our calcs were correct as we factored in a 6% buffer in our figures ) Academic anyway as the rotate speed is below the SSDR threshold. My Aerodynamicist team are S#*T HOT on these types of calcs & to be honest between them & Hugh they baffle me ;-) My forte is flying the things & putting these type of aircraft through SSDR. I see getting the Sgian Dubh through SSDR as an achievement, it even ranks higher than me getting an Inflatable RIB with a Flexwing attached through SSDR ( The BMAA & LAA wouldn't accept this under any circumstances prior to SSDR becoming available ). Unfortunately for me, I will in all likelyhood only see the Sgian Dubh FLY from the ground, I exceed the seat limit somewhat ;-) so I have to relinquish the flights to a more svelte pilot within the team ;-)

Hiya Phil, Now this reply is going to fun ;-) So much fun I am going relish this message : Firstly, My name isn't Ian ;-) I have also watched the video around 9 to 100 times & was more concerned by the momentary 12g that was recorded on the G meter at impact than the 57mph impact speed. Yes I do actually KNOW the daft bugger,..... in fact I even KNOW the daft bugger who just called me " Ian " To give you a few clues, I think you once referred to me as the Highest Paid Aviation Lawyer that has ever visited Otherton, you also referred to me as the fastest person you have seen shift a haybale from the side of the Runway at Otherton........ there is a bigger Spectrum to my life ;-) C'mon Phil.......You must know me ;-)

I am sure he could have made a slower approach & had a far lower ROD if he had wanted to, however Kev was hyped up having just seized the engine & from what I read elsewhere he knows himself that he didn't get the best options in his choice, but saying that I would have probably made 80% of the same decisions in the same situation ( I would have stayed away from the tree on the last turn before touchdown & not momentarily aimed at the Manor House ) All very easy to say after the incident though.

There is a saying " Everyone is a Plumber until you turn the water back on " Kev is a pretty good pilot & he isn't daft ( even though he hails from Ferret land ) so I would be convinced he did make rational decisions right up until the impact ;-)

Kasper, G-KEVS was never Kev Armstrong's ( Kev Mallin owned that from new in 2007 & sold it in late 2011 ) Kev Mallin got G-KEVZ as the replacement for G-KEVS Kev Armstrong had G-FFIT as the registration on his Quik between 2007 & 2010 then he went to SSDR machines with G-MGIC on his 1st Ace SSDR & then G-KEVA on his latest one ( which is the crash aircraft ).

The CAA have now released the Aircraft Registration into the Public Domain so I can now discuss the Project as a Definite Go'er http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=CJPK

Deskpilot, The link has now gone live http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=CJPK So now you can see that Hugh's Project is very much alive & CLEARED TO FLY. The Construction number was assigned PJK 001 because of Liability in the Event of an incident, I gave Hugh a surety that by taking on the Sgian Dubh project I would absolve him from all liability. I am really looking forward to seeing G-CJPK take to the air ;-)

A couple of other bits of info on the Sgian Dubh

The Link will work as of Monday 25th April 2016. Here is an excerpt from our Now Pro-Active CAA. RE: Registering the Sgian Dubh G-CJPK SGIAN DUBH S/N PJK001 Inbox x RegAircraft 21 Apr (2 days ago) to me Dear Peter, Thank you for your email and CA1 application form. We would be grateful if you could confirm whether you are using your BHPA insurance cover for this aircraft. Also please could you clarify whether you are the owner of the aircraft following being gifted to you by Mr Lorimer as we are unable to register an aircraft to a keeper as this terminology is not used in the registration of aircraft. We can only register to an owner or charterer by demise. If the aircraft has been gifted to you please could you confirm the date on which this occurred. Please could you also arrange for a signed and dated CA1 to be emailed or posted to us with the payment for £68. Alternatively, the payment can be made by telephone. Thank you for your assistance. Best regards Sue Wood Aircraft Registrar Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Registration CAA House 45-59 Kingsway London WC2B 6TE

Deskpilot........ FWIW Hugh's Sgian Dubh will FLY, It will be flown in the UK as I have the complete backing of the ruling authorities over here in the UK. In fact the UK CAA are now so enthusiastic about the Sgian Dubh being in our care that they actually want us to get it into the air, Hugh was in a different era where the officialdom was of such pragmatism that he was fighting against those who just couldn't understand the genius in Hugh's work ( Everything Hugh built was to BCAR-S standards ) I have such a great repertoire with our now very progressive CAA that I am prepared to take some credit for them accepting the Sgian Dubh, however the full credit belongs to Hugh Lorimer for having designed such an incredible set of Flying machines. Watch this space.

Rotax 618......The Sgian Dubh will be getting Flight Tested very SOON ;-) so I can confirm that any bugs will be worked out & reported on ;-) We will certainly proceed with CAUTION ;-)

Deskpilot, The Sgian Dubh will be getting Air under it's wings very soon ;-) http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detail&dataindex=7&regmark=cjpk&pageindex=1

Deskpilot, I have just put the Sgian Dubh ( Yes the Hugh Lorimer Aircraft ) through the SSDR process in the UK & registered it as G-CJPK http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=CJPK We hope to have G-CJPK in the air very soon, it will be a very moving event for me as I know how much Hugh has put into this Aircraft and it needs to fly so that Hugh can be happy that his dream will fly ( Hugh has a couple of other aircraft called the Quaiche & the Iolaire, these are Project 2 & 3 in my SSDR Portfolio at this time )

I am awaiting the UK CAA to release the Registration into the Public Domain & then I will be happy to make what will probably be the BIGGEST ANNOUNCEMENT in SSDR Aviation in the UK. I have secured the registration G-CJPK ( The PK are my initials ) for this exciting Aircraft that will certainly make everyone in Blighty stand up & pay attention to what can be achieved. The UK CAA are being very Pro-active in SSDR now where any microlight & some VLA that have an empty weight that allows 1x 86kg pilot and sufficient fuel to remain under 300kg if a New application ( or up to 390kg if previously been issued with a Permit to Fly issued by the CAA that was in force prior to 1 January 2003 has really opened up Doors for the UK Microlight fraternity. Microlights like the CFM Shadow's, MW6's, Thruster's, Kolb's & even the Rans S6's can be SSDR cleared as can most Flexwing microlights. The 3 projects I am putting through SSDR are all aircraft designed by an extremely talented Engineer who in all reality was born too early as this is really his dream & I am just revamping his dreams as SSDR is now really taking off in the UK ( excuse the pun ) and I am methodically satisfying the CAA SSDR Criteria's by having submitted such an array of documentation that proves these designs are perfect for SSDR To briefly explain the UK SSDR Category : In the UK the SSDR initiative removes all unnecessary regulation on sub 300kg microlights and opens a door allowing smaller self-launching microlights to be developed at much lower cost. This reduces the retail purchase price, reduces the ongoing cost of ownership, and reduces the pilot licensing bureaucracy. Which aeroplanes may make use of the exemption? Any microlight aeroplane that: is designed to carry one person; has a maximum take-off mass of no more than: 300 kg for a single seat landplane (or 390 kg for a single seat landplane of which 51% was built by an amateur, or non-profit making association of amateurs, for their own purposes and without any commercial objective, in respect of which a Permit to Fly issued by the CAA was in force prior to 1 January 2003); or 315 kg for a single seat landplane equipped with an airframe mounted total recovery parachute system; or 330 kg for a single seat amphibian or floatplane; and [*]has a stall speed or minimum steady flight speed in the landing configuration not exceeding 35 knots calibrated airspeed.

Hi All, I have just taken on 3 Aircraft Projects that were built by a very gifted Aircraft designer from Ayrshire Scotland. The idea is I get the 1st Aircraft & I am putting it through SSDR ( Single Seat DeRegulated ) with the CAA of the UK, once that is achieved I then have the 2nd aircraft to start on. Well the 1st one is now completed & just awaiting Flight Testing. I will keep all Recreational Flying forum members informed as I believe there is already a thread on this site about these projects from times past.