RECREATIONAL AVIATION AUSTRALIA / APRIL 2018 VOL 80 [4]
THE FAETA GETS MORE
NG
SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE
RRP $8.80 inc GST
SNEAKY STALL PART 3
POSITIVES & NEGATIVES ABOUT YOUR BATTERY
FLYING IS FOR BIRDS
Garmin D2 Bravo Titanium Watch
Garmin G5 Electronic Flight Instrument for CertiďŹ cated Aircraft
Smart and sophisticated this watch has a premium titanium band, wrist heart rate and much more. A premium aviation GPS smartwatch it combines contemporary design and sophisticated connectivity to bring pilots and aviation enthusiasts an elite timepiece.
Boasting a bright, 3.5 inch sunlight-readable liquid crystal display (LCD), the G5 is approved as a primary source for aircraft attitude or turn coordination information and secondary source for altitude, airspeed and vertical speed in a single instrument.
Icom IC-A15 Air Band Transceiver
The IC-A15 air band transceiver is compact, lightweight and has a high capacity Lithium-Ion battery pack, so it can be used all day and great audio output to cut through environmental noise. It’s built extremely rugged... and rain-resistant too... enough for the rigours of the aviation market.
Lightspeed Tango Wireless ANR Headset The first premium wireless aviation headset, Tango blends outstanding noise cancelation, renowned Lightspeed comfort, and wireless convenience. Tango creates an entirely new level of flying enjoyment and untethered freedom.
Visit our website to see our full and comprehesive supplies of aviation products
Suppliers of all leading manufacturers
40 52
REGULARS 7 8 10 66
Chairman’s report Calendar of events Letters to the Editor Happy Landings
READER STORIES 25 45
COLUMNISTS
The new 321 Faeta NG Photo: Alan Betteridge
ON THE COVER
14 The 321 Faeta NG “ATEC’s new Faeta NG should be right at home here.”
27 Learn to fly KEN NI C H O L A S 46 Pilot talk T HE O P S T E A M 48 Editor’s choice B RI A N B I G G 50 Tech talk DA RREN B A RNF IEL D, T EC H M A N AG ER 57 Home builder DAV E ED M U ND S
30 Wild, windy and wonderful A L A N B E T T ERID G E
EXTRAS 7 28 58 65 65
Professional development seminars underway RAAus healthy and growing A Cub goes to Europe Games restrictions Farewell membership cards
FEATURE STORIES
14 Faeta joins the new generation B RI A N B I G G 18 First solo from the right seat DAV ID P E Y RE 20 An LSA by any other name D O U G S MI T H
20
Sport Pilot Magazine is an official publication of Recreational Aviation Australia Ltd and is published twelve times a year by Stampils Publishing. EDITOR Brian Bigg editor@sportpilot.net.au All enquiries 1300 838 416 ADVERTISING SALES editor@sportpilot.net.au MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS Non-member annual subscription rates - postage included are available by contacting Recreational Aviation Australia Ltd, Po Box 1265, Fyshwick A.C.T 2609. (02) 6280 4700 or admin@raa.asn.au.
3 / SPORT PILOT
Flying is for the birds DAV E TO NKS Getting down to brass T’s R AY A L L EN
FLY-INS
NEWS 12 12 13 13 13
Getting up the energy to fly A L A N B E T T ERID G E The sneaky stall Part 3 RO B KNI G H T
Digital directions New Product Trike control lock KE V M AC N A L LY Aviation Classifieds Quiz Where is CAGIT?
30
HEAD OFFICE ONE MAGAZINE TWO FORMATS
RAAus members get Sport Pilot free of charge online at www.raa.asn.au. But if you are not a member or would prefer a hardcopy magazine, here is how you subscribe. Email RAAus headquarters at admin@raa.asn.au. Prices include GST.
PO Box 1265 Fyshwick ACT 2609 Australia Unit 3, 1 Pirie Street Fyshwick ACT 2609 International: +61 (2) 6280 4700 National: (02) 6280 4700 Fax: +61 (2) 6280 4775 Email: admin@raa.asn.au www.raa.asn.au
NATIONAL SAFETY, RISK AND COMPLIANCE MANAGER Philip Fox safety@raa.asn.au 0418 445 652
ENQUIRIES
CATEGORY
6 MONTHS (6 ISSUES)
12 MONTHS (12 ISSUES)
24 MONTHS (24 ISSUES)
Member (flying)
$49
$69
$129
Member (non-flying)
$49
$69
$129
Maxine Milera admin@raa.asn.au
General Enquires: admin@raa.asn.au Aircraft and Maintenance Enquires: tech@raa.asn.au Pilot and Membership Enquires: members@raa.asn.au ACN 070 931 645
Non-member (Magazine Sub only)
$53
$100
$179
CEO
DIRECTORS
NATIONAL FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGER
Michael Linke ceo@raa.asn.au
NATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGER
AVIATIO RECREATIONAL
N AUSTRALIA
ETA THE FA TS MORE GE
/ APRIL 2018 VOL
80 [4]
SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE
NG
Jill Bailey ops@raa.asn.au 0400 280 087
Tony King 0400 226 275 Tony.King@raa.asn.au
ASSISTANT OPERATIONS MANAGER
Alan Middleton 0407 356 948 alan.middleton@raa.asn.au
Neil Schaefer ops@raa.asn.au 0428 282 870
iPad
RECREATIONAL
AVIATION AUSTRAL
IA / APRIL 2018 VOL 80
THE FAETA GETS MORE
NATIONAL TECHNICAL MANAGER
[4]
NG
SUBSCR TODAY IBE AN SAVE D
Darren Barnfield techmgr@raa.asn.au 0417 942 977
ASSISTANT TECHNICAL MANAGER
Jared Smith jared.smith@raa.asn.au 0418 125 393
RRP $8.80 inc GST
3 SNEAKY STALL PART
FLYING IS FOR BIRDS
BATTERY TIVES ABOUT YOUR POSITIVES & NEGA
SNEAKY STALL PART 3
DON’T RISK MISSING OUT ON SPORT PILOT EACH MONTH
POSITIVES & NEGAT IVES ABOUT
YOUR BATTERY
FLYING IS FOR BIRDS
RRP $8.80 inc GST
Michael Monck (Chairman) 0419 244 794 Michael.Monck@raa.asn.au
Trevor Bange 0429 378 370 Trevor.Bange@raa.asn.au Eugene Reid 0428 824 700 Eugine.Reid@raa.asn.au Rod Birrell (03) 9744 1305 Rod.Birrell@raa.asn.au Luke Bayly 0421 463 967 Luke.bayly@raa.asn.au
FIND YOUR NEAREST FLIGHT SCHOOL OR CLUB www.raa.asn.au/schools
I want to subscribe or renew my subscription Call: (02) 6280 4700 Web: www.raa.asn.au I want to change the address of my subscription Call: (02) 6280 4700 Australia Post didn’t deliver my magazine this month Call: (02) 6280 4700
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I want to provide a story or picture for the magazine Email: editor@sportpilot.net.au Call: 1300 838 416 I want the editor to know about my event Email: editor@sportpilot.net.au I want to find out about advertising prices Email: editor@sportpilot.net.au
All content in this magazine belongs to Stampils Publishing and is protected by Australian and international copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not do anything which interferes with or breaches those laws or the intellectual property rights in the content. All rights not expressly granted under these terms of use are reserved by Stampils Publishing. Unless expressly stated otherwise, you are not permitted to copy, or republish anything you find in the magazine without the copyright or trademark owners’ permission. The magazine title, as well as the associated logo of Recreational Aviation Australia Ltd, are the property of RAAus. However, Stampils Publishing, Daniella Banco of Spank Design and Karin Middleton, of Cachekat, reserve the right to be acknowledged as the magazine’s designers. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content of this magazine, no warrant is given or implied. The content is provided to you on condition that you undertake all responsibility for assessing the accuracy of the content and rely on it at your own risk. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of people named in this magazine. Recreational Aviation Australia Ltd and Stampils Publishing reserve the right to decline any article, letter or comment deemed unacceptable for whatever reason. No endorsement or responsibility is implied or accepted for any product advertised in this magazine. Advertisers and buyers are each responsible for ensuring products advertised and/or purchased via this magazine meet all appropriate Australian certification and registration requirements, especially those pertaining to CASA and RAAus. NOTE: All aircraft featured in the magazine are registered and legally permitted to fly. However, photographs of them may be altered without notice for editorial purposes. The Editor’s Choice column is designed to draw attention to potential safety issues through exaggeration and humour and is not meant to be historically accurate. 4 / SPORT PILOT
5 / SPORT PILOT
6 / SPORT PILOT
CH AIRMAN ’ S REPORT
The world is changing BY MIC HAEL MONC K
A
S I write this I am pondering the thoughts of directors aired at a board meeting on the weekend just gone. Many topics were discussed, ranging from the history of RAAus, the current standing of our organisation and where we are going. It’s been said to me that if we keep talking about the good old days then chances are our best days are behind us. I believe this statement to be true, but we do need to consider where we have come from and what has happened in the years gone by, in order to understand how we can successfully move into the future. For many years we had been in a position which allowed us to grow as an organisation and gain access to new rights and privileges. We went from short hops across paddocks in some fairly rudimentary aircraft, to being able to access machines which can comfortably fly across the entire country. And somewhere along the way we got a little lost. While we were busy entering into new markets, we forgot to meet some of our existing obligations. We took our eye off the ball and the regulator started to take a closer look at us. In 2011 there was a series of adverse findings against us in CASA audits, which resulted in a significant safety alert being issued in late 2012. On top of this, we had a number of members facing off against the old system of disciplinary panels. We seemed to be at war with ourselves and others. It wasn’t working. Today, I am in the privileged position of being able to say we have corrected this lack of attention to detail. We have been working hard to steady the ship and have all but finished a three year period of stabilisation. While some detractors would point out we have not gained anything new in recent times, I would argue we have made progress. We had aircraft groundings, the inability to renew registrations and a host of other problems related to both flying operations and airworthiness activities. In contrast, we are now looking at a modest surplus in this financial year, compared to the almost half a million dollar losses of years gone by. Our people can go flying whenever they want to and we no longer have members facing potential expulsion from RAAus, which was the default reaction some years ago. What’s more, in the past year or so, we have added about 750 members to our ranks. We managed this significant change of direction in just the past three years. We have moved from a path of almost self-destruction to one of positivity and solid growth, backed by hard evidence. The next three years will build on this as we begin planning for a robust future. With the organisation now stabilised, we can start to solidify our performance. During this time we will strengthen our position, both in the market as well as in financial terms. We will make some modest changes to the RAAus product offering and start to expand the way we offer value to members. At the moment we are pretty much doing the sorts of jobs we have always done. We have always handed out pilot and maintenance quali-
fications and we have always set the standards in each of these areas. Sure, we have represented pilots and maintainers and lobbied for their rights along the way. But, in essence, that’s all we have ever really done. For a while we got distracted and had to fight to get back to where we were and today we are able to keep doing what we do. The question is – is it enough to just keep doing what we have always done? During the next three years we will set ourselves up to strategically invest in the future of RAAus. It will be a period of solidification, where we constantly improve our current operations and the way we deliver on our promises. More importantly though, it is setting us up to go into a phase where we add even more value for members and ultimately provide more security for the organisation. We will start to consider how we invest in aviation in the country. This might consist of asset acquisitions to protect ourselves against closing airports and other aviation related facilities. It might consist of investing in future pilots and maintainers. We could even invest in people who are well placed to influence aviation policy in Australia. The truth is we don’t know what all this looks like yet, we are only starting the conversation. We also need to continue with our collective industry efforts in forums such as the Australian Aviation Associations Forum, which has a solid reputation, and make sure events such as AirVenture Australia keep bringing the industry together. Over the past 50 years or so, aviation has gone from being well regarded in this country to something of a sideshow. Many airports have been abandoned and ended up in the hands of local councils which don’t know what to do with them, which has created access problems. In the past we had favourable tax treatment for investment in aviation assets, including aircraft, but this no longer exists and now we have an ageing aircraft problem. For the most part we have had transport ministers more interested in roads and railways than aviation, so we are like the poor relation of other modes of transport. RAAus is well placed to play a role in changing all of these things. We are the largest group of private aviators in the country and the fastest growing. We have a relatively young fleet of aircraft which is attractive to new entrants in the sector. And we have the respect of many stakeholders across different parts of our industry. I believe we owe it to aviation and the next generation of aviators to make sure we are here for the long haul and working collectively to protect the interests of aviation in general. It is incumbent on us to work with the broader industry to further the cause and make sure we get noticed for the right reasons. For the jobs we create and the contribution we make to society. Right now we are a stable organisation and we need to solidify that. Then we can do even more work on building some security for aviation. Stability. Solidity. Security. It’s in our best interests
“We have added about 750 members to our ranks”
ARE MANY WAYS TO DIGITAL DIRECTIONS THERE INTERACT WITH RAAUS: Website: www.raa.asn.au Member portal: www.members.raa.asn.au/login RAAus shop: www.shop.raa.asn.au Lodge an occurrence: www.oms.raa.asn.au/lodge Back issues of Sport Pilot: www.raa.asn.au/ sport-pilot-magazine
Subscribe to printed Sport Pilot: www.raa.asn.au/sport-pilot-magazine-application Sport Pilot online: www.raa.asn.au/sport-pilotmagazine ENewsletter: www.raa.asn.au/become-amember/member-benefits/e-news
7 / SPORT PILOT
CA LEN D AR OF EVEN TS
A. 13-15 APRIL
DENILIQUIN AERO CLUB FLY-IN Opening of the first stage of the recognition of WW2 No7 Flying School Deniliquin. Weekend will include a mini airshow, OzRunways presentation and hangar dinner. A highlight will be a presentation by Sky High Opera- CoOpera of ‘The Barber of Seville’ in a WW2 hangar. Stay for the famous Deni Aero Club Sunday breakfast. For more information, www.deniliquinaeroclub.com
D. 21-22 APRIL
TAVAS GREAT WAR FLYING DISPLAY This will be The Australian Vintage Aviation Society’s third (and possibly final) event to commemorate all pilots of all wars over the past 100 years. The display is expected to attract tens of thousands of people, be the largest event of its type in Queensland and involve the only collection of flying pre-WWI and WWI type aircraft. The display will also feature aircraft from WW2, Korea and Vietnam and aircraft currently in service with the ADF. The 21st will also be the centenary of the shooting down of the Red Baron – so expect an appearance by the famous Fokker. For more information, www.tavas.com.au.
B. 14 APRIL
PARKES AERO SPECTACULAR Displays by the Roulettes, HARS multi engine aircraft and Paul Bennet aerobatics. Great aviation spectacle at Parkes Regional Airport. For more information, www.123tix. com.au/events/1131/parkes-aerospectacular-air-show.
C. 21-22 APRIL
COFFS HARBOUR AIRSHOW Postponed from last year. Lots of flying activity in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. For more information, facebook.com/CoffsCoast-Airshow.
E. 29 APRIL
WINGS, WHEELS AND WINE This great community event will be bigger and better than ever before! Bring the whole family along as the Mudgee Aero Club hosts a great day full of kid’s entertainment, market stalls, food and wine tasting, a car show and an action packed program of aerial displays. For more information, www. wingswheelsandwine. com.au.
8 / SPORT PILOT
CA LEN D AR OF EVEN TS
G. 5-6 MAY
WINGS OVER ILLAWARRA Solo and formation aerobatic displays, classic warbirds and amazing vintage aircraft. The Australian Defence Force will display loud, fast fighter jets and huge heavy transport aircraft. Also walk among the fully-restored Super Constellation and record-breaking Qantas 747, along with restored WW2 fighters. A new feature this year will be world class freestyle motocross displays throughout the day and a carnival with rides for young and old, all included in the entry ticket price. For more information, www.wingsoverillawarra.com.au.
F
H
E I A G J B
I. 8 SEPTEMBER
HASTINGS DISTRICT FLYING CLUB 60TH ANNIVERSARY
H. 18-20 MAY
Hastings District Flying Club, Port Macquarie, is reaching out to all ex members to provide contact details so they can be informed of the many planned activities of the anniversary celebration. The main event will be a reunion dinner on September 8. For more information, president@hdfc.com.au, Rod Davison 0419 632 477 or www.hdfc.com.au.
BAROSSA BIRDMEN FLY-IN At Truro Flats Airpark in South Australia. Limited accommodation, Avgas and Mogas available on request. Saturday night dinner. Pilots should be aware of restrictions regarding overflying neighbouring properties and hazards, See ERSA. For more information, Jeff Mackereth 0418 809 840, Roy Phillips 0408 802 667 or royp1948@gmail.com.
J. 6-7 OCTOBER
TUMUT VALLEY FLY-IN We have moved from the last weekend in August. Feature event planned and dinner Saturday night. For more information, Rod Blundell 0419 135 249 or secretary@ tumutaeroclub.org.au.
F. 3 MAY
GATTON AIRPARK BREAKFAST FLY-IN Hot breakfast from 0730. Everyone welcome. Come and check out the latest developments at the airpark or simply catch up with friends. Bring your mum! For more information, airfield details in ERSA or phone 0419 368 696.
9 / SPORT PILOT
D
C
L E T T ERS TO TH E ED ITOR
MISSING PISTON The AUF used to have a perpetual trophy like the CAGIT, called ‘Pis’ton Broke’. Would anyone know its whereabouts? According to the June 2003 edition of Australian Ultralights magazine it was at a private strip at Moonta in South Australia. Minimum distance to claim was 130nm. Wonder where it is currently? C’mon guys and gals, let’s find it! ROGER HALL
FOCUS ON TRAINING It was with sadness that I heard about the untimely fatal accident in Emerald the other day. My sympathy and best wishes go out to the family. It is especially poignant that the accident happened during training and I feel for the flying school. I do not know the people involved, except to say that I am a fellow pilot in this great fraternity of aviators. I am now a one hundred hour pilot. During my training, I naturally reflected on the 10 or so fatalities which were happening in the 10,000 RAAus membership at the time. One person in every thousand dying each year! That seemed to be much too high a figure and I contributed a letter to Sport Pilot then about my concern about those who claim flying is safer than driving. It has been encouraging to see the focus on safety by the board in recent times, and it seems that the rather irresponsible behaviour which led to some fatalities has been curtailed (flying below 500ft, unregulated aerobatics, etc.). However, the unfortunate accident in Emerald, along with the two recent flying boat accidents, one on the Hawksbury and one on the Swan River, and other accidents where the aircraft fell short of the runway, make me wonder about the need for a training focus on inside wing stalls and power-on approaches. It seems to me the long shallow stabilised power-on approaches, which most students use to land, are necessary for early practice. But it seems many often do not get past that stage towards learning to dead stick their approaches as a matter of course. If the engine is going to die, a likely time for this is when the power comes off and the engine idles. This is not so much a problem in the schools where aircraft receive constant attention and maintenance. But the average private LSA receives much less attention to maintenance. There are large trees at the start of my home airstrip and I always want to know when turning for home that I can clear them without the help of the engine. The other side of the coin is the tight turn onto final when the pilot hasn’t quite timed the base leg for distance and speed. If they are too close and try to force the aircraft around the corner with a high bank angle and too much rudder, the inside wing can stall. The aircraft will slide downwards, leaving little or no opportunity to recover before hitting terrain. If you can’t make it
around comfortably within the parameters, then go around. Everybody who learns to fly is impatient about getting their wings. They want to do the required training and no more. However, I would like to see an emphasis on these two areas of training in the hope of lowering the fatality tally still further. DAVE ENGLISH FROM THE OPS DEPT / We share your concerns. Despite a robust training syllabus, which includes glide approaches, stalls, incipient spin awareness and competency in recovery, these accidents continue to be over-represented in our statistics. Operations continues to focus heavily in these areas with CFIs, instructors, trainers and examiners to extend awareness and consistency of training delivery. This year’s Professional Development program will continue the focus in this area and we continue to investigate further options to increase awareness of loss of control incidents for RAAus pilots. Check the Pilot Talk article in this edition discussing management of aircraft during and recovering from stalls and at slow speed.
FAIR DINKUM I’m wondering how many people read Sport Pilot just to see if they can find things to whinge about. Fair dinkum, there are some woozers out there. MAX BELL FROM THE EDITOR /That’s really the point of the Letters columns. It’s healthy. And we shouldn’t give it out if we can’t take it.
BALL END SURPRISE I would just like to comment on the article ‘Ball end fittings and penny washers’ (Sport Pilot January 2018). After reading the article, I became quite concerned regarding the ramifications, or end result, of what could happen if one or more of these end ball fittings should go pair shape in flight. So I decided to take a very good look at my aircraft. Surprise, surprise. Not one penny washer on any ball end fitting. That has now been rectified. Every ball end fitting now has a penny washer on it. The AN washers were 10 cents each, a small price to pay. After all, the name of the game is safety in the air, and everywhere else for that matter. I would encourage every aircraft owner to do as I have done. Many thanks to the National Tech Manager, Darren Barnfield for his article and thank you Editor for printing it. BOB SIMMONS FROM THE TECH MANAGER / It’s always nice to receive any type of feedback and I’m glad the article was able to provide guidance. The Tech Dept will publish more of the ‘Did you know?’ type articles. With the L1 practical 10 / SPORT PILOT
course being rolled out in the later part of this year, it will provide the participants with handson practical knowledge to help keep their aircraft compliant and safe.
GOOD OLD DAYS In Sport Pilot October 2017 I wrote about time estimation for arrival, as part of inbound calls to an airport. It seems I have copped a couple of brickbats with replies to that letter. Discussion is good and I appreciate those replies. I have since made my calls more accurate to the minute. But not being a smart phone person, I still rely on my wrist watch for the call. I prefer to keep my eyes peeled out the windscreen when arriving and a glance at my wrist is the quick way to maintain that. We learn from other people via discussion and, as I said in my letter, it had never been taught to me. I worked it out for myself. On another subject, bouquets to Barry Wrenford for his impressions on Airventure Australia at Narromine late last year. He is absolutely spot on in every respect. I had planned to go, but received an e-news, advising me that pilots flying in would have to pay an entry fee. Then, in the next e-news, I learned that RAAus was tipping $30,000 to fund the event. RAAus is not a promoter of air shows largely aimed at the public. We are an organisation of like-minded people who build, buy and own small aircraft. We need to get back to our core values. Bring the fly-in back to a location where we can all experience ‘how it should be’, as Barry suggests. In 1990 and 1991, I attended the Easter AUF fly-in at Holbrook and started flying. The place just buzzed for two days straight and I’m sure I wasn’t the only person to be inspired to fly. Bring the Easter fly-in (not air show) back to Holbrook. We don’t need it every year. Hold it every second year. That way, the people who organise it won’t suffer burn out. The town is full of motels, hotels and a caravan park. The airfield has huge open areas for camping, parking, displays and won’t have anything near like the costs at other places. Holbrook is still an airfield, not an airport. It probably won’t be as popular for the people from Queensland because it’s just that bit further. That said, there used to be a crowd of people from Queensland who turned up every year. Billy Knight and Richard Feint were the only names I can recall. They would all take off on the Sunday morning and fly down to Mangalore to see the SAAA event. Sunday arvo back at Holbrook, they would prepare for an early departure on Monday. First thing, they’d be off in their two stroke powered planes and navigate back home using their BP road maps - real pilots! Leave the air shows to the promoters. Holbrook may not be the perfect place for some, but we need to find somewhere more casual, where we can mingle and network again. There are
L E T T ERS TO TH E ED ITOR
plenty of people out there who remember our good fly-ins at Narromine. We didn’t ask the general public to come. They just turned up. DAVE KING FROM THE CEO / Watch this space Dave. We are pretty excited about this year’s AirVenture, which will be The Great Aussie Fly-in, as we focus on member-to-member engagement.
UH OH Lucky me. I just read Geoff Woods article ‘Hangar talking’ (Sport Pilot February 2018 – In the article Geoff revealed the average age of RAAus pilots having accidents is around 60 with 1,760 hours logged). My log book says I have 1,763 hours. How long before it is safe again for me to fly? HENRY SCHNEEBELI
THANKS MIKE I was interested in the letter from Mike Swan re ADS-B (Sport Pilot February 2018). I congratulate him on, not only thinking of this issue, but in bringing it forward for debate. I have been involved in the use of ADS-B in Australia since its inception. I was involved with the initial testing by allowing my Jabiru to represent the recreational community on the introduction of the technology. I have found many advantages in using ADS-B. Every time Angela or myself take-off in the Flinders Ranges, our track is shown on the airspace screens. Even our local flights around our property show up and are recorded. One of our neighbours can access the screens with a special programme and tell us exactly our take-off time and our route. Sometimes we hear ATC telling other aircraft where we are and our height etc., which, of course, is a great safety feature. I was a little concerned over the response from RAAus Ops, where they state ‘There is currently no requirement for VFR aircraft to fit ADS-B equipment and RAAus remains committed to this.’ I would have thought that we should encourage members, like Mike Swan, to bring their thoughts forward for consideration even if, in this case, it is impractical. I am aware of some members not wanting ATC to know where they are and what they are up to, but the safety advantages of ATC having
real time information on you is obvious, especially if you are stranded in the outback. Thank you Mike Swan. DAVID P. EYRE
paper map…to stop the glare on my AvPlan EFB. GORDON MARSHALL
WHO IS AVSOFT?
I have just received the February 2018 Sport Pilot edition which I believe is the best yet very full and informative. Keep up the good work and quality. However, I have an issue I wish to raise on the EFB article by the Ops Team. I am a passionate believer in using this technology. I use Avplan and have OzRunways as a backup. But I was confused with the use in the article of the word ‘Avsoft’. All the people I know using Avplan had never heard of Avsoft. Am I using an unapproved EFB program? I investigated the issue and technically, found that Avsoft is the company and Avplan is a program of the company. This is a classic case of causing confusion within our industry and the one thing we do not need is this or any type of confusion. I would appreciate a explanation to that article, to make it obvious that under CASR 175 I believe the approved program is call Avplan. The company may have any number of other programs within the company. JOHN REYMOND FROM THE CEO / The reference made was based on the information from the CASA website regarding approved Data Providers Service available at this link.https://www.casa. gov.au/standard-page/data-service-providers RAAus did not deliberately provide misleading information and apologises if this is the impression given.
I am writing to you regards an article in Pilot Talk ‘With great power comes great responsibility’, by the Ops ytteam (Sport Pilot February 2018). The article refers to three companies whose applications are CASA approved— OzRunways, Jeppesen and Avsoft. A Google search for Avsoft resulted in difficulty finding any EFB apps. AvPlan is actually what the Ops team was alluding to. It’s a very well-known and trusted EFB used in several countries including Australia. We all know RAAus has a deep affiliation with OzRunways and is biased towards them, but I find this type of (deliberately?) misleading information goes beyond what would be called a healthy relationship with an affiliated company. I realise the article initially states ‘company’ and then goes on to list the three ‘providers’. Indeed Avsoft is the company and therefor the ‘provider’, however later in the article it refers to the ‘Avsoft EFB app’. I might remind RAAus there is, to the best of my knowledge, no Avsoft app but instead there is the popular AvPlan app. Misleading and biased articles are not what RAAus should be about. On a lighter note, I got the message the Ops team was promoting and took their advice. For my navigation exercise this morning I used a
ANOTHER AVSOFT QUESTION
WRITE IN: EDITOR@SPORTPILOT.NET.AU The state of the organisation is reflected in the Letters to the Editor columns. The more letters – the healthier the organisation. So don’t just sit there – get involved. Your contributions are always welcome, even if no one else agrees with your opinion. The Editor makes every effort to run all letters, even if the queue gets long at certain times of the year. (By the way – the Editor reserves the right to edit Letters to the Editor to shorten them to fit the space available, to improve the clarity of the letter or to prevent libel. The opinions and views expressed in the Letters to the Editor are those of the individual writer and neither RAAus or Sport Pilot magazine endorses or supports the views expressed within them).
11 / SPORT PILOT
IN TH E N EW S
T
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS UNDERWAY
HE RAAUS professional development seminar series for all Instructors, maintainers and safety personnel are underway. The seminar series will run until June. The programs are structured to include important
information on flight training practices, school management, maintenance and airworthiness, along with introducing staged integrated Safety Management Systems for flight school operations. Part of each seminar includes a forum,
intended to be an opportunity for members to ask questions directly to RAAus staff and Board members, along with a chance to enjoy some food in a relaxed environment. Full details can be found on these pages or at https://members.raa.asn.au/e-learning.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR SERIES DATES AND LOCATIONS 5-APR Gawler PDP
4-MAY Wagga PDP
15-JUN Serpentine PDP
6-APR Gawler PDP
16-MAY Calboolture PDP
16-JUN Serpentine PDP
7-APR Aldinger PDP
17-MAY Calboolture PDP
27-JUN Townsville PDP
8-APR Aldinger PDP
19-MAY Tamworth PDP
28-JUN Townsville PDP
3-MAY Wagga PDP
14-JUN Bindoon PDP
30-JUN Rockhampton PDP
Log into the member's portal for full details and to register
RAAUS HEALTHY AND GROWING RAAUS has announced a surprise surplus ahead of forecast. In an email to members in the middle of March, the CEO announced the organisation had a surplus, before non-cash items, for the first six months of 2017-2018 of $121,000. The forecast for the same period indicated a surplus of $8,000. After taking into account non-cash items, such as depreciation, the accrual based financial surplus for the first half of the year is approximately $71,000. CEO, Michael Linke announced, ”our cash reserves remain in a healthy position with more than $741,000 in the bank at the end of December 2017. We expect these reserves to reduce in the coming six months and we forecast an end of year cash on hand balance of around $650,000 with an expectation that we return a small cash surplus at the end of the financial year.” “Overall membership grew 5% in the
last financial year and we recorded a further 3% growth in the first half of this year, giving us an 8% growth year-on-year. Our aircraft fleet has remained stable recording a growth of 1% year on year. “Our result has been driven at both ends of the spectrum, savings and improved revenues. The Board and office team have worked hard in reducing costs and putting
in place cost cutting measures, without reducing services to members. “We have grown our income through increased membership and the setting of realistic membership fees. “In the coming months, watch out for our statistical snap shot, where we will share key results with members on a range of important metrics.
HEADLINE RESULTS
INDICATOR ITEM
MEASURE
Profit and Loss
Cash income against planned budget
+6.39% (+$85k)
Profit and Loss
Cash expenditure against planned budget
-2.12% (-$28k)
Profit and Loss
Cash income against last year
+13.37% (+$167k)
Profit and Loss
Cash expenditure against last year
-9.02% (-$128k)
Cash
Cash on hand December 2017
$741,000
Assets
Total assets on hand December 2017
$2.094m
12 / SPORT PILOT
IN TH E N EW S
A CUB GOES TO EUROPE A LEGEND Cub has flown in Europe for the first time. American Legend Aircraft Company says the Cub AL3 was purchased by a resident of Germany, shipped overseas via container and will remain N-registered for leisure flights in the European Union. The Cub AL3 replicates the world renown Piper J3 Cub, but with what the company calls ‘capabilities far outpacing their noble origins’.
According to Legend, the owner of the new Cub, Jeffrey Huntoon of Trier, Germany, is a very experienced pilot. His previous experience importing three other aircraft from the U.S., and his fluency in the German language, helped him navigate the lengthy process of flying an N-registered aircraft in Europe. He anticipates his area of operation will be Germany with occasional excursions to/over Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Switzerland and England. For more information, www.legend.aero.
GAMES RESTRICTIONS THE 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held on the Gold Coast and greater Brisbane area in April. Pilots intending to operate in the region must be aware of airspace restrictions which will be in force from 2-18 April. The key changes relate to airspace within 90nm of the Gold Coast to ensure an appropriate level of security. This will include increased activity by the Australian Defence Force and Queensland Police Air Wing, in ad-
dition to potential remotely piloted aircraft, model aircraft and drone activity. Pilots planning to fly in or around the area can find out more in AIP SUPP H183 17 including Temporary Restricted Areas (TRA) and Air Defence Identification Zones (ADIZ). Maps and plain English information is also available by reading 17-0067-BRO-Commonwealth Games airspace. Check this link for more AIP SUPP H145 17. https://tinyurl.com/yclaux77’ 13 / SPORT PILOT
FAREWELL MEMBERSHIP CARDS Members renewing their membership will soon begin receiving their permanent membership cards. The permanent card will only be valid if you are a financial member of RAAus, and your membership card will be used in conjunction with your digital membership package, which will be launched later this year. Yearly replaceable cards will no longer be issued. Members can log in at any time to the member portal to check their membership type, status, endorsements and BFR renewal date.
Faeta
JOINS THE NEW GENERATION WORD S BY BRIAN BIGG PIC T URES AL AN BE T TERIDGE & BRIAN BIGG
The Faeta at Clifton
AIRC RAFT FEATU RE
A
TEC aircraft founder Petr Volejnik came to Australia in December last year to celebrate the arrival here of one of his companies newest flagship aircraft, a 321 Faeta NG (New Generation). Like most Europeans, Petr and his partner, Klara Kudrnová, who is also the company‘s head of international sales, thought they might like to see something of Australia during their visit. They had planned to spend what they thought would be a few lazy days driving from Sydney to Cairns and had hired a cheap campervan in which to do the trip. They were very disappointed to learn that the distance involved was about the same as driving from London to Moscow and that their crappy old campervan would probably not make it past the Gold Coast in the time they had allowed. This country is pretty big and it‘s not until a European gets here that they realise just how big it is. It always amuses me, when coming back to Australia in the jumbo, when the captain announces, “we have just passed over the Australian coastline“ to watch the Europeans get up and put their coats on, expecting to get off the plane sometime soon. I never have the heart to tell them there are another five or six hours to go. As well as the vast distances, Petr and Klara were also hugely put off by our perfectly true tales about giant deadly snakes, tiny deadly jellyfish, huge deadly sharks and fierce deadly spiders. Why do we do that to tourists? It scared the hell out of them. They eventually did set off in their campervan with trepidation and actually made it to the Bowen, not so far from their destination, by the time they had to return to Sydney to fly home. It‘s a big country. It really is. And that‘s why ATEC’s new Faeta NG should be right at home here. The NG barrels along at 134kts (high cruise power setting), sucking fuel from a 100 litre capacity. That‘s an effective range of more than 1,500kms, a handy thing to have when traversing this great big brown land the way you should do it - in a recreational aircraft, not in a crappy old campervan.
A LONG HISTORY
ATEC was one of the original Czech ultralight aircraft companies. The factory started producing composite parts for other people in 1992. Four years later it launched its own model, the Zephyr, one of the earliest of the new style‚ ‘plastic‘ ultralights. The model was a hit in Europe where ATEC won a number of design awards and sold more than 200 aircraft. Nine were sold in Australia (one in New Zealand, now back in Australia and about to be made airworthy again), and mine was the last of those. As regular readers of this magazine will no doubt know, I love it to bits. Don‘t get me started. But ATEC didn‘t sit still after launching the Zephyr. Because of its history as a composite parts maker, it was able to develop everything in-house, meaning as the design improved, the changes were immediately added to the next model coming off the line. So very few aircraft were ever exactly the same, the company continually examining and modifying almost everything about the aircraft. My version, for example, is noticibly different from the aircraft which arrived in Australia just a year or two earlier. That design work and modification continued until ATEC felt the aircraft was different enough from the original, that it needed a new designation, and so the the 321 Faeta was born. It still sells the Zephyr, and the Faeta contained all the same modern carbon composites, but the new model had more than 100 changes on the original. It also retained the classic T-tail, which made the aircraft stand out in any crowd of ultralights. The Faeta sold in good numbers (although only one in Australia), encouraging the factory to continue developing and updating its design and adding features. In 2016, when the model had again evolved so much, the factory allocated it a new designation, and so we arrive at the 321 Faeta NG.
“The NG has finally lost the T tail”
BIG CHANGES
As with a lot of products these days, each NG is customised and produced according to the requirements of the customer, so again, no two aircraft are ever alike. For example, electric versions of the flaps, aelerons and trim control are all possible, and autopilot if you have the dough. 15 / SPORT PILOT
15 / SPORT PILOT
A IRCR A F T F E A T U R E
r Volejnik Atec aircraft founder Pet utor with Australasian distrib ng) ndi (sta kill Bur ter Dex partner,
The NG is also the result of Petr‘s continuing obsession with trying to reach the lowest possible weight, but keep the strongest possible structure, keeping a focus on long material life and improving safety. Among the many changes from the original, the NG has finally lost the T tail. According to Petr, it gives the aircraft a more sporty and elegant look, improves airflow and flight comfort. The basic structural material of the airframe is the same as the Faeta, a highly rated rigid carbon composite. It also retains the same wing length but with a very noticeable decrease in thickness. That gives the NG a cruise speed of 134kts, a full 33% higher than the original Zephyr. The wings are fitted with highly effective slotted flaps, which gives the plane a very low stall speed of 27kts (one up with half full tanks). At a MTOW of 600kgs that rises to 34kts. It means the effective speed envelope for this aircraft is about 100kts, a rare achievement among ultralights. The aspect ratio of the rudder has also been changed to improve controllability. One of the things I love about my Zephyr is having full rudder authority all the way down to the ground. On a smooth day I can choose which main wheel to put down first. The Faeta does the same. Aluminium fuel tanks are built into the first third of each wing half-span and each has a capacity of 50 litres. You will need a toilet break long before you need to put more petrol in. The NG is also approved to run 10% ethanol fuel, but it must be at least 95RON. The 100HP Rotax 912 engine drives a 2-blade Fiti EcoCompetition propeller, a proven performer.
COCKPIT
The cockpit is wide enough so you don‘t get to know your passenger too intimately. Getting in is always an interesting experience. I am fitting front steps on mine this year, the same as come standard on the Faeta NG, so I don‘t have to clamber onto the wing in my old age. But once on the wing, the advantage of getting in from the front becomes obvious. You don‘t have to stand on the seats and it keeps the upholstery clean. The canopy is clear, but you can opt for one with tinted green perspex which contains a UV filter. As with the Zephyr and the earlier version of the Faeta, It opens upward and then backward. For pilots worried about a front opening canopy, there are three detectors installed in the cockpit frame which will prevent the engine starting if the canopy is not locked. The seats are adjustable forward and backwards. If that‘s not enough for your more height challenged pilot, adjustable rudder pedals are also an option. Because this aircraft is European, cabin heating is also available. As with the earlier models you can also opt for a ballistic parachute system, but that system is as dear as rat poison and I don‘t think anyone in Australian Zephyrs or Faetas has gone for one so far.
SPECIFICATIONS
WING SPAN 9.6m FUSELAGE LENGTH 6.2m HEIGHT 2.0m WING AREA 10.1 m2 EMPTY WEIGHT from 290kgs MAX. TAKE-OFF WEIGHT 600kgs PAYLOAD circa 300kgs CRUISE up to 134kts TAS VNE (NEVER EXCEED) 143kts for LSA STALL FULL FLAP as low as 27kts / 34kts at 600kg MTOW RATE OF CLIMB 1200+ fpm FUEL CONSUMPTION 86kts/8lph, 134kts/16lph 912 iS or 18lph 912ULS FUEL 2 X 50L 100 litres
16 / SPORT PILOT
SO WHAT IS IT LIKE TO FLY?
I was always going to be a tough audience, because of my love of my Zephyr. Australasian distributor partner for ATEC, the ever popular Dexter Burkill (he is also one of the administrators of the CAGIT Hunter‘s Facebook page), knew this already. I buy my parts from him (see Editor’s Choice this edition). Dexter is demonstrating the new NG at airshows and fly-ins around the country. Turns out I didn’t have to be worried. In the air, the differences between the two aircraft are minimal. Yes, the NG is faster, but Dexter has the NG propeller set up for proper cruise, so you’d expect that. In a recent trip to Evans Head, he reported an
tr Dexter Burkill and Pe under the hood
Zephyr (foreground) Faeta NG (background)
The front is still the same but the wing and tail are new
average TAS of 125kts, burning 16 litres an hour. The different wing shape makes the difference when it comes to top speed. All the rest is the same. Dexter reports that the non-T-tail of the NG has not even changed control feel in cruise all that much, despite what the factory says. It even has the same nose low attitude as the Zephyr, which always surprises pilots the first time they fly it. Like most ultralights these days, the NG gets off the ground in a cricket pitch or two, even with two on board, and the control feel is almost identical to the Zephyr. Temperatures and pressures stay green even on a sultry aussie summer morning all the way up high. In the air, the NG is light
- you barely need to move the joystick to make it change direction. Turns are easy to co-ordinate and have the same solid feel as the earlier models. The stall is difficult to get to. The NG is very slippery and takes ages to slow down. There is an obvious shudder when things get down to around 35kts but stall recovery is a no brainer. Speed control is vital in ATEC aircraft. If you normally plonk down your Warrior or C172 at any old speed, you are going to get a proper education in one of these. Carry a couple of extra knots over the fence and you’ll get to know the fence at the other end. In my plane, usually I have to turn the power to idle mid-downwind if I am to have any chance at all of getting the wheels onto the 17 / SPORT PILOT
ground in the right place. The NG is no different. You need to have discipline. It’s a lovely aeroplane, with a long and proven history, an impressive range. At AUD$145,000 because of the Euro (Dexter‘s fully optioned version was AUD$175,000), it may limit the number of people who can buy one outright, but Dexter reports having received inquiries from people looking to share ownership. That makes a lot of sense. It’s a perfect cruising machine if, for example, you are looking to spend a few days travelling from Sydney to Cairns. Much better than a crappy old campervan. A much smaller chance of running into one Australia’s millions of snakes, spiders and sharks too.
F EATU RE STORY
THE FIRST SOLO FROM THE RIGHT SEAT BY DAVID P. E Y RE
C
OPIES of recent Sport Pilot magazines have included various comments about the student first solo. In the early days of ultralight flying in Australia, we were not permitted to fly with more than one pilot on board. Austflight Aviation produced the Drifter which had two seats and we surreptitiously flew to farm airstrips to carry out dual training. Our Managing Director, Hank de Jong, was arrested and gaoled when a snooping CASA inspector caught us out. Instructors in other schools were forced to run beside their aircraft as they did strip runs, with a hapless student struggling to get control over the bucking and swooping craft. It was quite a sight to see these shenanigans with the instructor shouting furiously. The event often ended in a cloud of dust and profanities. Those days ended with the formation of the Australian Ultralight Federation, when people like the late George Markey, and others, persuaded CASA to get realistic and permit two seat operations. Gradually the standards of flying improved, especially when properly instituted schools were put in place. The Syllabus of Flight Training sets out the required standards and the Flight Instructor Reference Manual (FIRM) offers guidance on how to achieve these standards. But here is some further guidance to instructors on how the solo consolidation segment can be carried out. Some considerations for the instructor. • Is the student competent and confident in all the sequences? Too often checks of training records and logbooks, show that the pilot in training has been rushed through the sequences and not been given the thorough indoctrination required to reach normal RAAus standards. It should be remembered the flight instructor is responsible for setting standards which will apply for the rest of the student’s flying career. Also remember the instructor is not just training the student to fly solo. In particular, it has been found that rushing the student through Operation and Effect of Controls, can lead to the student never understand-
Wladec Smolilo achieved his first solo flight in the Moree Aero Club Jabiru J170C on March 28, 2016.
“Is the student psychologically prepared?”
ing this basic lesson and its effects on the aircraft. • Is the student psychologically prepared for first solo? Careful consideration must be given to assess the capability of the student to handle all situations which can arise during this first flight on his own. • Is the weather okay? No strong crosswind. No likelihood of a sudden change in conditions, such as an approaching front. • Is the traffic situation okay? No likelihood of a sudden increase in traffic, which could put too much demand on the student. 18 / SPORT PILOT
• Is last light a problem? It could be a problem if the student, for whatever reason, is forced to extend the circuit or make several go arounds. • Has the aircraft enough fuel remaining with an adequate safety margin? • Is the radio working properly? • Has the student been briefed? This simple briefing is usually conducted as the student has completed a full stop landing and is preparing for another circuit. Some instructors prefer to give the student advanced heads-up that the first solo is to be undertaken during the current session. This can be a problem if the student starts to fret and worry
F EATU RE STORY
16 year old Patrick Montgomery flew his first solo flight on April, 19 2017 in a light crosswind.
Craig Estens completed his first solo flight in September 2015.
about it. Also, the student’s flying this day might not be up to the standard, so the instructor might deem it wise for the first solo not to take place. One of the better approaches is for the instructor to just get out of the aircraft and not let the student have time to worry. The instructor should quickly brief the student and check his headset and seat belt are safely stowed. Finally, just prior to briefing the student an ‘all stations’ call, or ATC if appropriate, should be made to announce that a first solo circuit is to take place. This alerts other pilots and allows them to make decisions which won’t put the student under any additional stress. The shortened briefing should include: “just do as you have been doing – don’t try to change anything just because I am not with you.” “Only make one full stop circuit-No touch and go.” “After landing, carefully taxi back to where I am standing.” “See Ya.” It is usually not wise to make statements such as, “you will find the aircraft will float a little longer”. Statements like these may only heighten the student’s anxiety. • It is normal to conduct three or four safe full stop landings before making the decision to send the student off on their own. • The instructor will normally not allow the student to argue against being sent solo. There may
be occasions where a student is showing signs of excessive distress and the instructor is well advised to take these into account. • Likewise, the instructor must not be tempted to send the student solo at the student’s request. • Sometimes the student is well and truly ready for solo, but the instructor is reluctant to accept the responsibility. It is hard to believe, but some instructors have even been known to stay on board and declare later that the student was flying solo because the instructor was not touching the controls! Unfortunately, the only redress for this is for the student to report it to RAAus Operations and go elsewhere for training. • It is normal to not follow the first solo with another solo without a further check flight. Indeed, because the student is somewhat on a high, it is usual for some celebration to take place, perhaps a photograph or two and to prepare a ‘First Solo Certificate’ and inscribe the student’s logbook.
SOLO CONSOLIDATION
It is essential the student consolidates their first solo by carrying out periods of solo circuits. Each of these must be preceded by a further check flight with the instructor. It is the time when the student is subjected to a variety of weather conditions, to gain confidence 19 / SPORT PILOT
and competency in being able to handle these. It is absolutely essential to expose the student to these conditions before moving on to more advanced elements. Sometimes a student can have difficulty achieving solo standard again. The instructor must not be tempted to authorise further solo until the student is again up to standard. The consolidation procedure could be: • At least three full stop circuits. If satisfactory – instruct the student to carry-out three solo full stop circuits. Ensure the student knows the solo circuits can be terminated at any time he or she feels uncomfortable or the conditions deteriorate; • Next session, three more check circuits and check touch and go procedure is okay; • Instruct the student to make several more solo circuits; • Next sessions, check circuits are followed by further solo; • The final session can be authorised without check flights provided the student’s standard is okay and the flying conditions are satisfactory.
ONE FINAL NOTE
As the next element is revision of stalls and introduction to forced landings, it is useful to have the student practice some glide approaches during the check flights and while flying solo.
F EATU RE STORY
An LSA by any other name BY D OUG SMITH (DOUG WORKS A S AN ENGINEERING C ONSULTANT TO JABIRU)
L
ET’S start with what you must already know if you are reading this. A Light Sport Aircraft is a light, low powered aeroplane, with one or two seats, a maximum of 600kgs all up weight, usually designed using standards produced by ASTM International, to be operated within one of the Light Sport Aircraft categories. LSA categories were introduced in Australia in 2006 to create a new type of aircraft which could be built simply, safely, cheaply and with minimal supervision from the local airworthiness
authority. The category allows manufacturers great freedom to quickly develop and market designs and, in turn, allows prospective owners to buy and fly a modern, factory or kit-built aircraft for a fraction of the price of traditional certified aircraft. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. These advantages come with costs in several areas, and that’s what that bland little decal in the cockpit which says “Does not conform to standard category airworthiness requirements” is trying to tell you. 20 / SPORT PILOT
For an example of one of these costs, let’s start with a simple question: is an LSA as strong as an equivalent aircraft designed to, for example, the European Very Light Aircraft design standard (CS-VLA)? Obviously, it depends somewhat on the philosophy of the manufacturer and on what materials are used – but, in general, the answer is no, it’s not. The Jabiru J160-C, made of composite construction and designed to CS-VLA, had the majority of its structural testing carried out at 54˚C, using an ultimate positive load factor of about
F EATU RE STORY
7.6. In theory, when designing using the ASTM standard the load factor could be as low as 6, with the testing carried out at room temperature (The answer to this question is a little different if the structure is made of metal, but CS-VLA has much more detailed durability and flutter requirements which would still normally make a metal CS-VLA aircraft somewhat stronger than its ASTM equivalent). But 6g is still pretty strong, right? Why go higher? And why 54˚C? I’ve flown a Jabiru in 44˚C and can say categorically you would not do
it by choice. So why test at 54? Because if you leave a white thing out in the midday sun near the equator, that white thing will heat up to about 54˚C. A black thing by the way, would get close to 85˚C. It would be a problem if the black thing was the only thing holding you up in the air and happened to be made from a material which softened at, say 60 - 70˚C like many resins do. And so, the J160-C was tested to 7.6g at 54˚C, the aircraft is only allowed to be painted white and so the structural margin of safety for that aircraft is inherently much greater. You’d mostly never 21 / SPORT PILOT
know it to look at them (though the empty weight can be a hint), but that safety margin would be there, ready to save your skin should you really need it. Ok, so a CS-VLA aircraft is a little stronger, what else? I recently had occasion to work on a great little aircraft designed to the ASTM standard and sold in Australia as a factory complete model. It happened to be equipped with an in-flight adjustable propeller, which is a pretty cool feature to have on a little plane. Unfortunately, the mechanic and I were left scratching
F EA TU RE S T OR Y
our heads because there didn’t seem to be a maintenance manual available for the propeller. It had a grease nipple on the hub, but that only raised more questions: how often to grease? How much? What type? Part of the deal with CS-VLA and similar aircraft is that the airworthiness authority will make sure all aircraft have all the manuals they need for safe operation before going on sale – manuals ideally written in the local language. Pfft, paperwork, manuals, I hear you scoff. That’s Somebody Else’s Problem. I’ll beg to differ. Moving on, let’s talk fuel taps. They’re a simple thing doing a simple job, right? True enough, but CS-VLA devotes something like 400 words to fuel selectors, compared to fewer than 20 in ASTM F2245. A CS-VLA fuel selector must be in a certain position in the cabin, it must be a certain colour, be a certain strength, it must function in a certain way and, among other things, it must be impossible to assemble incorrectly; the ASTM selector reference says, ‘There must be a fuel shutoff valve accessible to the pilot while wearing a seat belt or harness.’ And that’s it. We all know that the devil is in the details and the fact is that most devilish details have been considered and allowed for (in detail) in a standard like CS-VLA. From the performance data published in the flight manual, to the colour and shape of the throttle knob, through to the stability and spin recovery characteristics, most everything is considered in more detail by CS-VLA. So where does this leave us? Are LSA aircraft
22 / SPORT PILOT
By staying in the plane, once you’ve read the warning decal, you’ve accepted that risk all fragile, underdesigned, underdocumented lawyer-bait? Heck no, they’re great. Getting back to that warning decal. An aircraft built and flown to ‘Standard Category’ airworthiness requirements (say a Cessna 172) was designed using a standard containing perhaps 100,000 words and it only went on sale when the regulator was satisfied all the requirements of that standard had been met. It has usually only been worked on by highly qualified maintenance engineers, it was built in a particular factory using aircraft grade materials, under a very complete quality system which was overseen by an active and competent airworthiness authority. Any modifications or repairs were designed by a qualified engineer. In short, if you get into one, you can reasonably expect to get out again at your chosen destination in one happy, humanshaped piece. An aircraft built to Primary category (The Primary category, like LSA, is not a ‘Standard Airworthiness category’), such as the Jabiru J160C, was designed to a standard containing about 30,000 words and, again, it only went on sale when the regulator was satisfied all the requirements of that standard had been met. It might have been worked on by highly qualified maintenance engineers or by its relatively untrained owner. It was built in a particular factory and might contain selected commercial grade mate-
rials, as well as aircraft grade. It was built under a quality system basically the same as the one used on the Cessna, overseen by an active and competent airworthiness authority. Again, mods or repairs must be designed by a qualified engineer. The complexity of the design process and the means of operating the aircraft have been reduced somewhat to match the inherent simplicity of the aircraft, but overall this is still a category containing solid aircraft. The ASTM airframe standard contains perhaps 15,000 words and the aircraft went on sale when the manufacturer, not the regulator, was satisfied the design met requirements. Like the Primary category aircraft, an LSA aircraft might have been worked on by highly qualified maintenance engineers or by the same relatively untrained owner. A factory-built LSA must have been built in a particular factory. It can use commercial grade materials or, if the manufacturer wishes, aircraft grade. It was most likely built under a quality system meeting another ASTM standard and probably had minimal, if any, oversight by an airworthiness authority. Modifications or repairs are designed and approved by the manufacturer. You can see the hierarchy here and start to get an idea of what you’re getting into when you buy or fly an LSA. In many ways it is a halfway house between ‘Experimental’ amateur-built air-
23 / SPORT PILOT
craft and the traditional factory-built models: The category was consciously designed as a tradeoff where operators accept an increased level of risk in return for increased freedom. For anyone conscious of the potential litigation impacts of their actions (which means most of us in these days) this is something to understand and to explain to anyone who flies in your LSA: By staying in the plane once you’ve read the warning decal, you’ve accepted that risk – if you don’t accept it or if you don’t understand it – you’re supposed to get straight back out again. Of course, the whole question is more complicated than that, because many aircraft in the LSA categories were originally designed to the CS-VLA standard or similar (including the various Jabiru LSA models, some Tecnams etc), may have been made under various degrees of supervision from an airworthiness authority and may be generally equivalent to a Primary category model in pretty much every way; a J160-D for example is identical in nearly every way to a J160C and every Jabiru LSA model uses parts which meet CS-VLA (the fuel tap discussed above for example, is used in every model). Unfortunately, the old truism that ‘all are not created equal’ is particularly apt when considering LSA aircraft. But that’s getting a little far afield from my brief to answer the question ‘What is LSA?’ and can be left for another day.
KIT BUILD OR FACTORY ASSEMBLED TO YOUR PERSONAL WANTS AND NEEDS Breaking boundaries and taking you places! Sling Aircraft for Light Sport or General Aviation. Pure performance, Absolute quality. License required: the 2 seater Sling 2 - RPC (Recreational Pilot certificate) or RPL or PPL. The 4 seater Sling 4 - RPL (Recreational Pilot License) or PPL.
1300 659 228 or Errol 0415 072 498 | sales@aero.gap
www.gap.aero or visit The Airplane Factory (Pty) Ltd website at www.airplanefactory.co.za
Aeroprakt A32 Vixxen www.foxbat.com.au
Search for Aeroprakt A32
Cruise 115+ knots Stall 27 knots Carry 210+ kgs after full fuel Average under 20 litres an hour Believe it!
R EAD ER STORY
Flying is for the birds BY DAVE TONKS
I
F you’re anything like me, your aviation interests are wide reaching. Basically, if it flies you want to know a bit more about it. My aviation interests have been fairly extensive, with varying degrees of involvement in skydiving, gliding, paragliding, hot air ballooning and radio control aircraft. I have an extensive library on all manner of aviation-related information, from military helicopters being shot down over Mogadishu to books on aviation accidents and space flight. I recently achieved my lifelong dream of getting my own aircraft and am immensely enjoying piloting my Drifter around south east Queensland. With just over 200 Drifter hours under my belt, I am now at the point where I am starting to relax a little more, beginning to hone my skills and enjoy the experience of being in command of my own aircraft. You might argue about the ‘aircraft’ descriptor, but when you’ve been involved in skydiving and paragliding, a Drifter is a big step up. I need to stay focussed on the old adage about the two bags a student is given when they start flying, one marked Experience and the other marked Luck – every time you fly, you take a handful (or two) out of the Luck bag and put it in the Experience bag. The idea is to fill up the bag marked Experience before the other bag runs out. And I also need to remember the big hurter in paragliding – Intermediate Syndrome. It is a real nasty beast and one factor in paragliding which needs to be treated with an enormous amount of respect. It’s truly disturbing how many pilots get hurt after they reach that milestone. One aviation interest I have always been intrigued by is birds – they are truly fascinating creatures. Some of them can fly, walk on land, and swim under water – name me one other creature which can do all of that! They range in size from tiny Fairy Wrens to huge pelicans, and even though you won’t see Fairy Wrens when you fly, the chance is you will see pelicans. More to the point, you will (of course) be hoping you do not come across pelicans when flying, because of all bird strikes, they would be the worst (just ask the F-111 crews). You might consider an interest in birds is not of any benefit to aviators, but that is not the case. Say, for instance, you are standing at an airfield and wondering what the wind conditions are above the field. You look up and notice a flock of Ibis, birds which use thermals to gain height and thus travel long distances (as do pelicans). Hang-glider, glider and paraglider pilots use exactly the same techniques, only they have to rely on electronic equipment, such as variometers, to help them achieve their goals. I have witnessed a huge wedge-tailed eagle in a tree, seemingly just having a breather. Then, without any recognition of any change in the sur-
What thermals look like on GPS Visualizer http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/
roundings, it took off, made one huge wingbeat, and started turning in a thermal – one minute later it was disappearing out of sight upwards. That magnificent animal must have sensed the thermal approaching and simply stepped off its perch to fly away, gaining height rapidly as the thermal took it skyward. Back to our Ibis – you notice that the wind on the ground is almost nil, but the Ibis are turning smoothly in broad circles, gaining height, but going around in an elongated lap which takes them to the south of the field. Simply watching the way these birds are travelling in the air (the same air you will be using in a few minutes) will give you an accurate indication of what the wind conditions are above the field. For a start, thermals can be smooth or rough- if the birds are all turning beautifully in a huge circle with very few wingbeats, then the conditions are smooth. If they are turning tight, being bounced all over the sky and using numerous wingbeats to stay within the thermal, expect the conditions to be a bit rough when you get up there, the thermals small and punchy. A thermal is a column of rising air which moves downwind with the wind - it will be obvious the flock will be circling to stay within the thermal and moving downwind with the thermal as it moves across the ground. This naturally gives you an indication of the speed of the wind at different heights. The birds in the thermal will move downwind at the same speed as the wind. If the birds are moving downwind quite slowly at 500ft, but seem to be travelling away from the field faster as they gain height, you can expect a rise in windspeed as you gain height after takeoff. 25 / SPORT PILOT
So, as you can see, there is a lot to be learnt from our feathery friends. I am one of the few mortals who can say they have shared a thermal with a wedge-tailed eagle and I can assure you it is a memory that will not be forgotten. If you would like to take advantage of the lift on offer from thermals, consider this– if your left wing rises sharply, it may have just nicked a nice big thermal. Immediately turning left might just get you around fast enough to fly into the thermal – although ‘coring’ it will be difficult without a variometer. Listening to the beeping of a vario will tell you how to modify your turn to stay within the thermal. I guess if you’re pretty sharp, you could always just go by the VSI? If the beep (or VSI indicator) reduces, then you are obviously losing the highest area of lift within the thermal (at the centre) so you will need to tighten your turn. Sounds simple, but it sure ain’t. Birds are truly magnificent creatures. We share the sky with them, so we should give them the respect they deserve. Set up a birdbath in your garden, plant some native plants to attract nectar-eating birds and put out a little seed for the others. Make sure your bird-attracting area is not a happy hunting ground for cats or a feeding site for local rodents. Get a good book on bird identification and start matching bird calls to the birds that you see up close. Watch them as they fly too, because that will help you identify what it is that just passed by. It won’t be long before you realise that Woodswallows shuffle their wings after landing, male Sparrows are messy eaters (they all have a bib) and that Noisy Friarbirds make the most fantastic and comical sounds you will ever hear.
SO YOU’VE HAD A CLOSE CALL? Why not share your story so that others can learn from it too? If we publish it, we’ll give you $500. Email us at fsa@casa.gov.au Articles should be between 450 and 1000 words. If preferred, your identity will be kept confidential. If you have video footage, feel free to submit this with your close call.
Please do not submit articles regarding events that are the subject of a current official investigation. Submissions may be edited for clarity, length and reader focus.
LEAR N ING TO FL Y
Getting it down pat
Photo for illustration purposes only
BY KEN NIC HOL A S
L
A
S David and I were flying along during another training session, he gestured to something off to the left. When I turned in that direction, he sneakily reached across and pulled the power back to idle. “You’ve just lost your engine. “Where are you going to land? “You don’t have long to decide and who are you going to tell? “Oh, and don’t forget to fly the plane!” There is no doubt these words will ring a few bells with both new and more experienced pilots. They certainly rang a few bells for me and not bells of memory either. Bells of alarm rang out the first time I had them uttered to me. While we may have discussed it in the briefing, it wasn’t just the words but the fact my current altitude was only 3,500ft. In reality, it was probably about 2,700ft AGLand 50 percent of what was below me was tiger country. So the most compelling question was where was I going to land? David’s next words were “Aviate, Navigate and Communicate, the cardinal rules.” Then he kept telling me, “Get on that trim, 68kts, best glide, it’s placarded on the instrument panel. What next?” “Come on, you don’t have long.” We worked through his list of checks - no not a physical list, this is one I needed to have in my head. Best glide was set, engine had stopped. Why? Check for fire - no fire. Try a restart - no go - so fuel pump on and change tanks, checking all switches were on and circuit breakers in. Attempt another restart - still no go. I was losing altitude and trying to find some-
where to land while all of this was going on. Navigation, a side of this multi-faceted puzzle, but with a time limit on it and not a lot of that left either. I told myself, “Don’t panic”, but which way was the wind blowing? Damn, I’d forgotten look for any hints. David told me, “over there, look, a fire. Which way is the smoke going?” Great I had the wind. Now to find a paddock and sort out an approach that wasn’t going to leave me short. “Who are you going to call?” and it wasn’t going to be the ghost busters or the RACV. “OK, radio if you have time.” In my case it was Melbourne centre, which I’d already had set on take-off, so I flip flopped to the area frequency. “What are you going to say after you’ve called Mayday Mayday Mayday?” (All the time still trying to focus on flying the plane on a glide approach to my chosen paddock). David told me I would tell them my aircraft ID, followed by my situation, e.g. engine failure, my altitude and location. Hang on a minute. I’d just been flying around on a general scenic flight. Where the hell was I? I had to give them a reasonable location where to find us. What else do I need to tell them? Yes, two POB and landing in a paddock. Oh and squawk 7700 the emergency transponder numbers. Then David called it off. To quote an old adage, “The big fan up the front is only there to keep the pilot cool because when it stops he sweats like hell.” Back at 3,500ft (I didn’t get to land it all the way), I wiped the sweat from my brow as David and I discussed the sequence of events. 27 / SPORT PILOT
It showed me just how prepared I would have to be at all times and to have the patter down pat. When I first started flying lessons, I’d turn up at the airfield and David and I would step out the front onto the apron. We’d take a quick look at the sock and to the south west (where our weather predominantly comes from) and, on most occasions, we’d say yep we’re good to go. There were those days when we decided a cup of coffee and a chat about the latest gadgets or aviation apps we’d found for the iPad or phones were more appropriate. As the training went on, though, these discussions became more serious when it came to aviation weather - where to find it, how to decipher it - that was a challenge in itself. It’s when it became time to start putting a lot more into perspective, of what was going on when I went out. Putting it all together so it all meant something. This is where I began to gain a lot more respect for what it means to be a pilot, the amount of information I have to take in every time I open those hangar doors. Before I shout, “clear prop” and kick my flying machine in the guts, blasting off into the wild blue yonder. I came to realise it all starts days before. I found myself studying weather patterns more than I had in the past and I had already considered myself a bit of a weather geek. I was learning to be prepared for change and learning to be confident that I could make those changes on the run. Decisions I could make quickly and confidently because I knew I had the information I needed. And was ready for anything.
N EW PROD U CT
2 4
5
It can be removed very quickly
28 / SPORT PILOT
N EW PROD U CT
3
6
THE ULTIMATE TRIKE CONTROL LOCK
O
BY KE V MAC NALLY
VER the years, I have come across different versions of control locks for trikes. Most have been bungee cords with a toggle ball, the sort you can buy by the dozen for securing a tarpaulin or similar. If you are not too fussy, one of them may prove to be adequate. Otherwise, there is only one which can easily be fitted or removed with gloves on. It can be tied loosely (inside the hangar) or tightly, where the control bar will not move at all (for outside). In either case, it can be removed very quickly, if and when required. First buy one of the bungee cords with a toggle ball attached. Now remove the bungee and discard it – you only need the ball. Next, you will need to buy a metre of 5mm bungee cord, of the type which can stretch to more than 100% of its original length. You may find the bungee type securing your wing battens will satisfy this requirement. Then put the two ends of the bungee together and tie the knot about 100mm from the ends. Lastly, insert the bungee through the toggle ball. If you have difficulty with this, try using a piece of string or a small cable-tie to pull it through like a needle threader. To install, follow this procedure – practice without gloves first. Fig. 1: This is what the finished product should look like. Fig. 2: Start as shown, by feeding the toggle ball around the compression strut and over the top of the base bar. Fig. 3: Hook the free end of the bungee around the ball… Fig. 4: ... and go back around, the way you came. Fig. 5: Then, hook it over the ball. Your wing is now secure, but may still be moved from side to side. Fig. 6: To release, simply grasp the tails and pull upwards. To secure the wing tightly: Stretch the bungee when installing then for Fig. 4 read ‘... go back around, the way you came twice’, before hooking over the ball. Note: If the bungee cord is not stretchy enough, you will only be able to go round once, but this will still secure your wing and enable you to remove the control lock easily, when required. I will be bringing some of these single-tie control locks along to future WM/Rotax Maintenance courses, so if any Trike pilot booked onto a course would like one, please let me know and I will make sure I bring enough with me. They will be $3.00 each.
29 / SPORT PILOT
FLY -IN S
Wild, windy
30 / S P O R T P I L O T
FLY -IN S
& wonderful RID GE ST OR Y & PIC S BY AL AN BE T TE
Very clean Eurofox is ofte n seen at aviation events around Queensland
31 / S P O R T P I L O T
Gusty crosswinds kep t pilots on their toes
S 150 Eagle Aircraft X-T touchdown makes a perfect
John Redwood (L) and Brian Cavanagh pictured wit ha syndicate owned Tecnam Sierra which they flew up from Cessnock in NSW
32 / S P O R T P I L O T
Six-year-old Lucas Betteridge knows exactly what he wants to do when he grows up
FLY -IN S
Wire braced Drifter is a regular at the Clifton event
Chloe Mapes from Wa rwick looked right at home in the cockpit of Lyle Passfield ’s much modified Jodel
T
HE’RE a stoic mob at the Lone Eagle Flying School. Nothing fazes them – not even crosswinds which would have a bird doubting if it could land – or even take-off. No such problems, however, for the pilots attending the 2018 Clifton Fly-in. It has to be said that attendance was down on previous years, caused in no small part by the adverse weather on the coast which made the trip across the Great Dividing Range a tad difficult - that is, if you could even get airborne in the first place. The Clifton Fly-in has become one of Queensland’s iconic aviation events and is eagerly looked anticipated by all those who have attended in previous years.
This event can trace its beginnings to 1982 when it was decided to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the first glider flight by one of the club members in his 1932 Zoegling primary glider. The fly-in continued on an ad-hoc basis until 1992, when it became a regular feature on the nation’s aviation calendar. The original glider is still hangared at the airfield and is, on occasion, brought out for all to admire. If you ever get the chance to see it, you will no doubt be struck at the advances aviation has made in the ensuing years. Henry Schneebeli flew up to the fly-in from Moree on the Friday in his Pipistrel, much to the misgivings of his wife. 33 / S P O R T P I L O T
“My wife doesn’t really like to fly and I never force her to come with me,” Henry said. Henry has owned his aircraft since 2008 and says it has been very reliable. “I can cruise in still air at around 120kts although, if it gets a bit rough, I always reduce that to around 75 -80kts just to be on the safe side,” he said. Henry only had a leave pass for the Friday so he reluctantly had to return to Moree the same day. “It’s not too bad,” he said. “It takes less than two hours to complete the trip. So to coming up and returning the same day is no problem.” Saturday didn’t see much improvement in the weather, with passing showers, squalls and the ever present wind, which was blowing at
FLY -IN S
Looks speedy even on the ground. A Sonex taxies to the aircraft display area
34 / S P O R T P I L O T
FLY -IN S
35 35 // SSPPOORRTT PPIILLOOTT
Sport aircraft sales SELL YOUR SPORT
FOR SALE
CALL 03 9531 1018
m. 0466 649 868 e: sportaircraftsales@gmail.com
HURR Y! 1 LISTI st 20 AIR C NGS A RE FR RAFT EE!**
AIRCRAFT WITH US! Our flexible options:
We know that you’re passionate about your aircraft! And so are we.
Australian Lightwing GR 912
Your opportunity to buy an Aussie icon Airframe / Engine TT Condition In/Out
2523.9 / 311.7 V.Good in/out
$28,000
Jabiru 160
Stunning Rotax-powered Jabiru Airframe / Engine TT Condition In/Out
1600 / 1600 Excellent in/out
$47,000
So, when it’s time to move it on (and get the best price in the fastest time) we offer you 3 easy options. And as we don’t sell other aircraft types, Sport Aircraft buyers always come directly to us.
Thruster Microlight
1. ONLINE LISTING $49.00 (OFFER: 1st 20 FREE!)
Airframe / Engine TT Condition In/Out
Unlimited time online listing with multiple photos (until sold!) You handle your sale and the enquiries come straight to you!
$8,500
2. ONLINE + PRINT ADS $149.00 (OFFER: 1st 20 FREE!)
Sling 2
Let us take all the heavy lifting from you. All enquiries come through us directly, so we screen the buyers and ensure they are keen to buy your aircraft. And you get print advertising in multiple publications FREE for the first month!. Ask us for more!
Airframe / Engine TT Condition In/Out
3. ONLINE, PRINT ADS & FULL BROKERAGE SERVICE Let us list your aircraft and continue advertising in a selection of Aircraft Magazines and Aviation Websites for you UNTIL IT’S SOLD* ! We advertise, field enquiries, negotiate and broker the best deal, based on our instructions from you.
Proven design for beginners & experts 150 / 150 V.Good in/out
Superb flying aircraft & genuine value 160 / 160 Excellent in/out
$115,000
Gyrocopter - Single Seat
ASRA Registered. Subaru EA81 Motor
You pay no commission until your aircraft is sold. No hidden advertising costs!.
Airframe / Engine TT Condition In/Out
112.3 / 112.3 Excellent in/out
We also buy aircraft. Ask us for more information, or for a valuation.
$18,000
*Full brokerage based on an agreed valuation. Max 12 months free advertising. Not included in this Free Listings Offer. ** Offer available until 20 listings are booked.
Contact Nicholas Christie for a confidential, no obligation discussion.
Visit www.sportaircraftsales.com.au for more!
FLY -IN S Tecnam P92 makes a copybook approach in the gusty crosswinds
“You can’t help but to notice the changes taking place” around 10 – 15kt with gusts up to about 20kts. About 12 aircraft made it into Clifton on the Saturday and all enjoyed what has become one of the best dinners of any aviation event I have ever attended – and the breakfast on the Sunday makes the trip worthwhile even if no aircraft turn up! Among the early arrivals were friends John Redwood and Brian Cavanagh who made the journey from Cessnock in NSW in a syndicateowned Tecnam Sierra. John, who has been a syndicate member for about five years and Brian, who joined about a year ago, were very happy both with the Tecnam and their syndicate. “There are currently five members and it is
proving to be an ideal way of enjoying aircraft ownership without having to pay for the whole thing yourself,” John said. “We find each member has certain talents and is able to put those talents to good use. For instance, we have one member who has a financial background and he is able to keep track of all of the bookwork and financial details for the group. “Each person has a helper, so if for any reason the primary person responsible is not available, the helper can step in and do the job. “It just works so well for us,” he said. The weather on Sunday, the main day of the fly-in, turned out far better that the previous two days, with no showers. But the wind was relent-
37 / S P O R T P I L O T
less and the coastal weather decidedly dodgy. One aircraft that was getting a lot of attention was the new Atec Faeta 321 NG. 23-2321 is currently the only one of its type in Australia but importers Dexter Burkill and Sean Griffin are hoping that figure will grow as the aircraft becomes more widely known. Dexter had flown the Faeta up from his base in Denman, NSW, taking just three hours for the journey. See a story on the Faeta elsewhere in this edition. Of course, no Clifton fly-in would be complete without a visit from the intrepid aviator, master of modification and all round good guy, Lyle Passfield in his much modified Jodel D9. When I caught up with him, young Chloe
Replica Spitfire which is based at Clifton was a real crowd pleaser
Neat and tidy glass cockpit of the Faeta 321
Lyle Passfield heads home to Quirindi in his beloved Jodel D9
Now available in Australia in kit build or factory build
Affordable | Simplistic | Rugged | Quality LSA | Fun
Contact: info@gap.aero, t 1300 659 228 / c +61 400 639 388 Join us at the "Oz-Kosh" Aviation airshow in Naromine, 19-21 Oct 2017
38 / S P O R T P I L O T
FLY -IN S
Sting TL 2000 arriving at Clifton
Henry Schneebeli flew up from Moree in his Pipistrel
39 / S P O R T P I L O T
Unusual paint schem e of this RV6 drew quite a bit of attention
Mapes, the daughter of one of his friends, was in the cockpit checking out the Jodel. “Best looking pilot who has ever been there,” Lyle quipped. I noted that the young lasses’ parents didn’t disagree with Lyle’s appraisal. Due to the weather, Lyle didn’t get to use the specially designed tent his wife had made. Instead he headed into the hangar to bunk down on one of the mattresses the flying school had thoughtfully provided for overnighting aviators. Visiting Clifton each year you can’t help but to notice the changes taking place. This year was no different. The main hangar (where the dinner and breakfast is held) is now sporting a new concrete floor and the roof has been fully insulated to help keep the Queensland sun at bay. When I was there they were installing solar roof top vents to make the interior of the hangar even more inviting. Airfield owner Trevor Bange said the fly-in was all about people getting together and enjoying what they do best – fly. “We have never charged fees and never will,” Trevor said. “The only cost is the Saturday evening meal and Sunday breakfast. “It’s not about money, it’s about sharing our love of aviation and hopefully getting more people involved,” he said. And when you have been doing an event for as long as the Clifton fly-in, you must be doing something right.
F EATU RE STORY
Getting up the energy to fly BY AL AN BE T TERIDGE
B
ATTERIES are wonderful devices. Little reservoirs of energy which sit quietly waiting to supply the electrical needs to start the engine and power up the avionics of your precious aeronautical machine. There is nothing more disconcerting for waiting passengers than to have their trusted pilot turn the key, only to have the prop rotate half a revolution and the battery give up the ghost. At best they will consider it an inconvenience as they wait until the pilot sorts out the problem. At worst they will consider the aircraft to be forever unairworthy and not to be trusted with their lives. But just what can the pilot do? In some aircraft it is possible to hand-start the engine by turning the prop and indeed, in years past, this was the only method available to the intrepid aviator. The method requires instruction, practice and large doses of caution if a disaster is to be avoided. Many a pilot has had the aircraft get away from them, then wreak havoc on the surrounding area or even worse - been seriously injured or killed when the engine starts. In most RAAus registered aircraft hand-starting is simply not possible,
nor is it recommended you even attempt to do so. Jabiru Aircraft’s production manager, Jamie Cook, said prop starting his company’s aircraft was definitely not advised. “There are a number of reasons for this other than the obvious safety issues. “Firstly, Jabiru engines use a CDI based ignition system, as do most LSA engine manufacturers these days, and not the older type of magneto ignition systems found on most Lycoming or Continental engines, ” Jamie said. “For CDI systems to be self-powering, the engine needs to be turning over at around 300rpm to energise the power coil. This would be nearly impossible to achieve by hand. “Secondly, modern LSA engines have very high compression ratios and the force needed to overcome that compression is considerable. Most pilots would find it difficult,” he said. As with Jabiru, Rotax advises against hand starting any of its 912 series engines, mostly for the same reasons. The Rotax website states that their engines require around 250rpm before the ignition system becomes self-powering. So hand-starting has been ruled out. What can a poor pilot do? Jump starting is another option, but again most industry sources urge
40 / SPORT PILOT
F EATU RE STORY
“The average life of an aircraft battery can vary widely”
pilots to consider other options before resorting to it. Jump starting an aircraft can be fraught with peril. There is the risk of accidently shorting the battery which could result in an electrical surge which can fry the avionics or, worse still, start a catastrophic fire. The only safe way is to either replace the battery with a fully charged one or recharge the existing battery. The first question to ask yourself is: “Why has the battery gone flat?” If the answer is obvious, like someone (not you – obviously) has left the master switch on or the aircraft has not flown for some time, it may be possible just to recharge it and off you go. But if the aircraft has been flying regularly and other possibilities have been ruled out, consideration must be given to the fact that the battery has simply reached its use-by date and needs to be replaced or that you have problems with the aircraft charging system, which in turn caused the battery failure. Don’t be tempted to just recharge it, start the aircraft and fly off into the sunrise. If the battery has died, it will not hold a charge and you will be left with a dead battery again next time you want to fly.
Hand starting your aircraft can be dangerous
If the charging system has failed and the battery once again goes flat in-flight, you could be left without any avionics as well. If the charging system is suspect, have it tested, any faults rectified and the battery recharged before your next flight. If you are going to recharge the battery, first remove it from the
aircraft. It is better to disconnect the earth lead first. In most cases this will be the negative (-) lead. By doing this you will remove the risk of shorting the battery should the spanner you are using, accidently make contact with the airframe when undoing the positive (+) terminal. When reinstalling the battery, reverse the procedure and refit the positive terminal first. Proper maintenance is essential if the battery is to achieve maximum life and performance. You should check it regularly to ensure it is still secure in the battery box and the terminals are tight and have not started to corrode. Clean and secure terminals will allow the maximum voltage to be ob-
4411 // SSPPOORRTT PPIILLOOTT
F EATU RE STORY
tained and the charging system supply sufficient current to enable recharging. Loose terminals, or corrosion in the terminal assembly clamp-up and failing battery terminal posts, result in low and intermittent battery power, sparking and overheating. Should the battery terminal overheat, melt and either partially or completely detach from the battery, it can result in total electrical power loss in flight.
TOP CAPACITY
A capacity test is regarded as the most important test for any battery. This test provides an indication of its condition. It should be conducted by someone who knows what they are doing and has the equipment to do it. It is recommended a capacity test be done every six months or 400 hours (+/- 50). The test will only be correct if the battery is in a fully charged state at the beginning. It cannot be conducted if the battery is nearly or completely discharged. The average life of an aircraft battery can vary depending on conditions and how often the aircraft is used. Even the weather can play a role. A battery fitted to an aircraft which is always hangered in a warm environment will almost always outlive one fitted to an aircraft left out in the cold in the southern parts of Australia at the height of winter. Most manufacturers recommend battery replacement every 3.5 to five years. Anyone who has owned a car for a number of years will tell you batteries don’t always give any notice they are about to fail – you just get in one day and they don’t start, such is the nature of the beast. With that in mind it is probably best to replace your aircraft battery at the recommend time intervals. It is a relatively small cost to pay for the peace of mind knowing when you turn the key the engine will start.
Neat battery installation is a must
Loose connections or corrorsion can lead to excessive heat and melting terminals
Sophisticated test equipment used to test battery capacity
42 / SPORT PILOT
F EATU RE STORY
Loose terminals can lead to excessive heat - with disastrous results - Photo courtesy Ben Wilhelmi
Purpose made aircraft battery boxes make life a little easier
Prop star ting a Jabiru aircraft is definitely not advised
When things go wrong - Lithium Ion batteries in B787s had a habit of catching fire
43 / SPORT PILOT
INSURANCE AND SAFETY PARTNERSHIP FOR RAAUS MEMBERS PSB Insurance Brokers is pleased to provide a tailored insurance program exclusive to RAAus members, underwritten by QBE Insurance and Agile Aviation Underwriting Services. The partnership has safety at it’s core with Australian Red Bull pilot and RAAus member, Matt Hall delivering a number of safety initiatives. For a range of Aviation insurance solutions, including Aircraft Hull, Top Up Liability visit psbgroup.com.au for instant cover* or call (08) 8271 9677 | (03) 8841 3303.
• ONLINE INSURANCE QUOTING AND DELIVERY
• DISCOUNT OPTIONS INCLUDING NO CLAIM BONUS AND HIGHER EXCESS
• INSTALMENT PAYMENTS AVAILABLE
• CASH BACK TO RAAUS FOR POLICIES PURCHASED ONLINE
PSB Insurance Brokers, together supporting RAAus and its members. *Subject to acceptable underwriting criteria - AFS241402
agile aviation
UNDERWRITING SERVICES
ASIA PACIFIC LIGHT FLYING iEFIS Series
Comprehensive flight, engine and navigation instrument for Experimental and LSA aircraft • • • • • •
Vega Series
XTreme Mini EFIS
Accessories • • • • •
The XTreme
Compact, multifunction EFIS • Standard 3 1/8” aircraft enclosure • Multiple display screens (model dependent)
The Stratomaster Vega Range • • • •
12 versions Large backlit colour graphic display Standard 2 1/4” aircraft enclosure Multiple display screens (model dependent)
7”, 8.5” and 10.4” display Sunlight readable Touch screen Customisable interface Autopilot Integrate Radios and Transponder
Probes and Senders Wiring Harnesses Tubing and Fittings GPS and VHF antennas and fittings. DYKEM® Cross-Check™
Want to know more?
(02)623 83665 or 0419 423 286 Paul@lightflying.com.au
www.lightflying.com.au
R EAD ER STORY
Getting down to brass T’s
I
’M not a L2 but L1. I’m good at rebuilding engines and practical. I work and learn with my eyes, not from exams. I’m a mechanic and have done all the work on my earthmoving machinery all my life. I also designed drilling rigs, a hydrostatic road grader with a loader bucket on the front to pick up my final trimmings. Also, in 1984 l designed and built a 53ft steel ketch cutter yacht in Esperance WA and sailed it to Queensland. The yacht is called ‘Little Lady’. Recently I installed a Rotax 914 turbo engine in my J430 -230. There were a few things in the fuel system and vents in the Jabiru fuselage I had to modify. The Jabiru engine doesn’t have a lot of fuel coming back to the header tank, but the Rotax 912, and especially the 914 turbo, have a lot of fuel returning from the engine compensator back to the header tank. This puts a bit of pres-
BY R AY ALLEN
I had two engine outs on my test flight
45 / SPORT PILOT
sure in the header tank which prevents the gravity feed from the wing tanks. I had two engine outs on my test flight because the header tank only holds 7 litres, about half an hour of flight time. The way l fixed the problem was to fibreglass a brass T into the top of the header tank and put another vent on top of the fuselage, similar to the Jabiru wing tank vents. Then I put a brass T on the two wing tank vents pipe and another pipe into the new header tank T. Another T went onto the other side of the header tank, a pipe up to the new fuselage vent and another T below the top of the wing tank vent pipe to be sure no fuel is pushed outside. The fuel return line from the engine compensator goes into a 1/8” orifice and onto a T on the intake side of the pumps. The other side of the T is on the bottom of the header tank. Problem solved. l hope this helps.
PI LOT TA L K
Do pilots need to stall? BY THE OP S TE AM
OPS RECENTLY HEARD SCUTTLEBUTT ABOUT STALLS WHICH HAS MADE US SCRATCH OUR HEADS. THE THEORY GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS, “YOU SHOULD NEVER NEED TO STALL THE AIRCRAFT, SO YOU DON’T NEED TO BE TAUGHT TO RECOGNISE THE STALL OR RECOVER FROM IT”.
A
So no, pilots are usually not the victims of nasty wind gusts which hang around airports looking to catch them out. The aircraft has stalled.
LET’S LAND THIS BABY
What is happening to the position of the controls at this point in the landing? The controls should have been moved steadily backwards to maintain the attitude and to fly along the runway for as long as possible. The controls will end up almost in the pilots’ stomach (if it’s equipped with a joystick) or a long way back (if centre control). If the pilot has practiced stalls before, the controls will be at what is known as the ‘stall/ stick position’. This article is not intended to discuss the stall/stick position theory of stall recognition, but there are any number of good articles online and textbooks about it.
PILOT flying for fun (not including aerobatics) will never need to stall the aircraft? Really? Sure, for most of our flights, we fly straight and level, conducting turns for a short period of time, maybe climbing to specific heights for more straight and level, then descending and landing. So no stalls required, right? But there are times when pilots will apply the same processes and techniques as those used for stall entry and recovery. What about the process of landing? After the round out, pilots apply hold-off. Hold-off refers to the principle that the longer the pilot can keep the aircraft flying by holding off the runway, the lower the airspeed and the better the landing (if the aircraft is aligned properly along the runway with rudder). The actions of the pilot during the hold-off are just like the entry to a stall. The pilot holds an attitude, continues to apply back pressure to the controls and ideally at the exact moment the aircraft descends to the ground, it stops flying. During the hold-off, the aircraft sinks towards the ground with a sustained rate of descent.
WIND GUSTS
If the aircraft is rounded out too high and a holdoff is applied, when the aircraft stalls (because that is effectively what happens) one wing may drop (or the other appear to rise, because it is still flying), the aircraft rapidly sinks and the pilot will claim a wind gust got them. But did the other wing go up because of a wind gust? Generally, one of the wings stalls first due to a range of factors including slipstream effect, configuration of the wings, washout, bugs on the leading edge and more. Read Rob Knight’s excellent series ‘The Sneaky Stall’ in these pages for more detail about that. So let’s just accept for the moment one wing will usually stall first. It means the other wing is still flying, still producing lift. So, of course it will seem the unstalled wing rises. Or from our perspective in the cockpit, it will appear a wind gust made the wing rise. Actually, the wing hasn’t been affected by a gust - it is still trying to fly, while the other wing has effectively given up.
STALL/STICK POSITION
BOUNCY BOUNCY
If the aircraft bounces during landing it is generally either because the pilot tried to make the aircraft land before it was ready, or approached at too high a speed. The aircraft is in a really dangerous position during a bounce. It’s usually too high above the ground for a manageable landing or is close to or has stopped flying. The pilot is often still trying to work out what happened! So, what usually happens? The pilot applies power and conducts a go-around. The sudden application of power, with possibly no rudder input from the pilot to correct the yaw, and because the pilot is really nervous, the controls are not released from the landing position and the aircraft is still effectively stalled. The something weird seems to happen and the aircraft is suddenly facing the wrong way, or has veered off to the side, and nothing the pilot has done, or tries to do, seems to fix the problem. Stupid wind gust! What should have happened is when the pilot recognised the aircraft was moving to a dangerous state, they should smoothly apply power, correct yaw with rudder (moving the hand and the foot together) and maintain a manageable attitude (don’t pitch towards the heavens yet). The pilot must also overcome the pitch forces imposed by the trim set for landing (aft), flap setting and application of power. The pilot must also correct for the yaw induced by the power applica46 / SPORT PILOT
tion with rudder. Once the aircraft starts to accelerate (still fairly close to the hard stuff), the pilot should calmly pitch the nose to the climb attitude and fly away to try again. This sounds like a stall recovery to me.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Try this the next time you go flying. At a safe height, and in the usual landing configuration for your aircraft, enter a stall and recover. If you haven’t stalled your aircraft for a while, take an instructor with you. Without distracting yourself from flying the aircraft, note where the controls are at the point of stall (stall/stick position). Then apply the stall recovery process, noting what movements you make with the controls, the amount of rudder required to maintain your heading when full power is applied, the pitch up effect of the trim (usually close to the aft position) and the pitch up effect of the flaps (if fitted). Note the rate of descent before and during the recovery. How much does the aircraft pitch up? How far does the aircraft yaw to the left (If your engine rotates clockwise from the cockpit)? Then note these same pitch, yaw and control inputs while landing (again, take an instructor so you are not dangerously distracted). Is it the same?
RATE OF DESCENT
All pilots are aware of the generally described symptoms of a stall. These include less responsive controls, reducing airspeed, low power settings and high nose attitude (although, of course, the aircraft can stall with high power settings and low nose attitude). Perhaps instructors should describe these symptoms to students with the phrase “for the purposes of our stall demonstration” since the power settings, nose attitude and reducing airspeed aren’t always required to stall. One symptom often overlooked is a high rate of descent leading up to and during the stall. Approaching any stall, deliberately or by accident, the aircraft will enter a high rate of descent. If the aircraft is fitted with a VSI, it may indicate between 500 – 1,000 feet per minute or much higher rate. At 4,000ft AGL this is not such an issue, but at 10ft above a runway, it’s a big problem. Hard landings, bounces and Loss of Control are the
direct result of pilots not noticing this critical stall symptom. Again, safely at altitude take your aircraft (and an instructor if needed) and hold the aircraft close to the stall. It may not drop a wing or break, but the VSI will be giving you a great indication the aircraft is not flying normally.
MY AIRCRAFT WON’T STALL
Pilots have been heard to state “my aircraft won’t stall” or “brand X aircraft doesn’t stall”. Nonsense. All aircraft will stall. They will simply display differing symptoms at the time of stall. Some aircraft will not stall with the traditional nose break (or pitching down), or may not drop a wing, but it will stall. As noted previously, the increased rate of descent is generally quite high when close to or in the stall but is not noticed by pilots at height, because there is nothing to reference it to. However, when near the ground, the increased rate of descent is significant. Practicing the stall entry and recovery at a safe height is where the pilot learns to effectively manage this potentially unsafe state.
MORE PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
So take an instructor with you in your aircraft (again, if required) and, at height, fly at slow speed (like the approach speed). Practice turns, go-arounds and become very familiar with how the aircraft handles at these reduced speeds. Then, when close to the ground, you will be con-
fident managing the aircraft safely if things don’t go right. Then return to the airport and set up for a landing in the same configuration. At the point of touchdown, conduct a go-around. What does the aircraft do? You will find it acts exactly as it does at the point of stall recovery. Flying at a safe height at slow speeds is where the pilot learns to manage the aircraft at landing speeds. Awareness of the increased control inputs, larger rudder inputs and how much the aircraft yaws with power applications at slow speed ensures the pilot will manage an aircraft safely, just really slowly.
GO-AROUNDS
If it all goes wrong at the point of landing, what do you do? Apply power, maintain the attitude, apply rudder to correct the yaw and, once stabilised, fly away. Doesn’t this go-around procedure sound just like a stall recovery? The aircraft will be set up in the landing configuration, flaps, idle power or low power, reducing airspeed with an increasing rate of descent…..what does that remind you of? The entry to a stall perhaps? An effectively managed go-around will ensure no wing drop, no gust of wind and no loss of control will occur. When did you last practice a goaround at the point of touchdown?
LOC ACCIDENTS
Is this lack of awareness of slow speed management and stall recognition and recovery why 47 / SPORT PILOT
there are so many Loss of Control accidents? The RAAus Occurrence Management System has revealed this is a major factor in many accidents. Recent examples include a number of accidents where aircraft ended up in trees, fences or other obstacles, badly damaged or written off after a Runway – Loss of Control event. Our OMS data reveals over 50% of our accidents relate to a Loss of Control event. Over 50%! This means pilots are not controlling the aircraft in the slow speed phase of flight and close to the ground. Data from the U.S, U.K and our New Zealand cousins, in addition to that from the ATSB, indicates a staggering number of Loss of Control accidents - and not just in the recreational end of town.
SO WHY PRACTICE STALLS?
If you aren’t convinced by now, take an instructor with you and fly your aircraft at a safe height at slow speed. See for yourself why you must practice stalls to stay safe. If you are a student and don’t feel confident entering a stall and recovering, or completing a go-around having touched down, ask your instructor for more lessons and practice. It will make you a more confident pilot. If you are an instructor and don’t have the confidence to allow your students to experience a nose break and wing drop, seek a more experienced instructor and get the confidence yourself so you can deliver this training thoroughly and properly.
E D I T O R’ S CHO I CE
The cost of a loose nut BY BRIAN BIGG
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME HAS BEEN DISASTER AND DAMAGE ON A SCALE NOT UNLIKE WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK IN 1977.
O
N a hot and muggy night in July that year, lightning struck electricity generators and caused a blackout which affected most of New York. Riots, arson, vandalism and looting took place across the city. And it all happened because a maintenance worker at the main electricity plant didn’t tighten one locking nut properly, which caused the circuit breakers to fail just when they were needed. That loose nut cost New York $300 million. Chaos. Really, what happened to me was even bigger than a loose nut, even if that one did bring down a city. What happened to me was more like what happened to the NASA Genesis probe in 2004. They’d sent the probe into space three years earlier to gather space dust for analysis, but when the craft came back to earth, it crashed on reentry and all the samples were ruined. NASA found that someone had installed its two accelerometers backwards, so Genesis never knew it was entering the atmosphere. That little oops moment cost NASA $300 million as well. Some of you might think that I’m ranking my own mechanical issues a little high up the world disaster scale. If I’m pushed I might concede it falls just below the explosion of the Soviet N1 rocket in the 1960s. On the second ever test flight of the giant rocket, which was supposed to get Soviet astronauts to the moon before the Americans got there, a bolt came loose and was sucked into the fuel pump. The result was a spectacular fiery explosion, so expensive it bankrupted the Soviet moon program and was so embarrassing, the Russians didn’t even admit it happened until after the Soviet Union was dead and buried. So yes, if you please, my issues have been on that scale, that expensive and that embarrassing. Regular readers of this magazine might remember I’ve had occasional issues with the brakes on my Zephyr (groan, not that again I hear you mutter). Bear with me. I should add, the phrase ‘occasional issues’ I use here is obviously the euphemism a real estate agent might employ when trying to sell a house situated between a busy meatworks and a Comanchero bikie clubhouse.
There have been times over the years when I’ve taken off with reasonable brakes, then found myself cursing and pumping the handle furiously on landing, hoping the runway was long enough to allow me to coast to a stop in time. On one occasion, when I estimated I really didn’t have enough room to stop before the trees at the other end, I opened the Zephyr’s front opening canopy which acted like a sail and pulled me up quite promptly. The downside of that successful stop was that I had to walk up and down the runway for an hour collecting all my maps and other bits of paper which had shot out of the cockpit at the first sign of a breeze. Over the years, I have come to distrust my brakes. To the point I cancelled a lot of trips because I wasn’t confident I would have brake pressure when it came time to come home. And I developed the habit of never flying over anything I couldn’t land on without brakes, just in case. It cramped my style, I can tell you. But as well as whinge about it extensively in these pages, I’ve also tried to do everything I could to solve it. I’ve consulted with experts of all sorts. I have come to know more than any human being alive, how a Zephyr brake system is supposed to work. I’ve taken the wheels off many times, taken the brake assembly apart, cleaned it and reinstalled it. When that didn’t work, I replaced almost every part of the system. First off, I bought local cheap bits to save money, but that didn’t make a difference so I went down the very, very expensive route of getting factory replacements from the Czech Republic. I bought a new brake handle ($366, ouch) in case air was getting in at the top. I bought new brake bleed screws ($50, again ouch) in case air was getting in from the bottom. I bought two sets of brake pads (a mouth-watering $236) and two new brake discs ($310). I also bought a new brake pad screw (an astonishing $36) in case of…well I was desperate at this point and determined to replace every single thing. So, you can see why I started comparing my engineering issues with other big disasters, can’t you? But nothing worked. The brakes would operate well for a while, then …not. My extremely patient friend and Zephyr brake expert, Sean Griffin (his brakes always work perfectly, dammit), tried several times to get oil to
al It turned out a loose nut was the re h pain uc m so d an st co h uc m so r fo on as re
48 / SPORT PILOT
Z Brake Pad THE CORRECT WAY UP
TOP
Z Piston Bucket washer Z surface contacts
the piston surface
Z Brake Pad Z Piston TOP
THE WRONG WAY
Z Bucket washer gets forced inside the piston (all (allowing brake fluid to leak)
stay in my system, but without success. Earlier this year, he told me he thought the problem might stem from the only bit of the system I hadn’t replaced (obviously), the plastic brake washer buckets which push oil against the brake pistons inside the calliper. These were the cheapest bits of the entire system, only $9 and they only had to come from Adelaide. But could a measly cheap piece of plastic really be the cause of years of problems? So on Valentine’s Day, rather than spend the day being nice to our partners, we took the wheels off my aeroplane and repaired to Sean’s workshop where we dismantled the callipers, cleaned the gunk out of them and installed all the new bits I had purchased. I then reassembled the brakes on one wheel and was doing the same on the second wheel
when Sean looked over and noticed something about the brake piston. “Is that piston supposed to go in that way, or up the other way?” he asked. “By the marks on the old brake pads we took out, I reckon they should go in upside down”. “I always put them in this way up,” I replied. We looked at each other. And Genesis crashed to earth. The brake piston is shaped like a round bucket. I had always installed it into the calliper with the rim of the bucket at the bottom. God knows why. But it meant every time I pressed the brake handle, forcing oil to push the washer against the piston, the washer would not be pressing against a solid surface but a hollow one (the inside of the bucket, not the solid bottom). The pressure must distort the washer, allowing oil to creep around the edge and away. Oh my God. Oh..my..God. We reinstalled the pistons the other way and, just like that, I had perfect brakes…all the time. For the first time in years I had brakes that still worked a week later...and another week. A month or so later, I still have them. It’s been such a relief, I find myself driving out to the airport, when I have a few moments spare, just to press the brake handle and chortle with glee. It was a revelation. Somewhere in past years, I had installed it the wrong way round for some reason and had just repeated the mistake over and over every time I pulled the system apart. Just like the New York city blackout, the Genesis crash and the Soviet N1 rocket, it turned out a loose nut, in this case my own noggin, was the real reason for so much cost and so much pain. So I’m going flying. Nothing can stop me now. Wait, yes, there is! FROM THE TECH MANAGER A timely reminder about the importance of ensuring all maintenance is completed carefully. This story only relates to Brian’s brakes, but the same principle applies to any maintenance you conduct on your aircraft. The consequences could be higher than not having brakes when you need them! If you don’t know, research the maintenance or ask a trained maintainer to make sure it is done right the first time.
49 / SPORT PILOT
TE CH TA L K
Under pressure BY DARREN BARNFIELD R A AU S T EC HNICAL M AN AG E R
H
AVING to replace an engine because of cylinder failure can be expensive. But there is another way. Regular inspections can highlight faulty cylinders, allowing them to be repaired or replaced before the damage spreads and the entire engine affected. The place to start is section 12.6 of the Technical Manual version four under Piston Engine Airworthiness Requirements. They are the minimum required by RAAus to prove an adequate and reasonable inspection has been carried out, in order to track the performance of an engine. The cylinder compression test determines if the valves, piston rings and pistons are adequately sealing the combustion chamber. If pressure leakage is excessive, the cylinder cannot develop its full power. The purpose of testing cylinder compression is to determine whether the cylinder needs to be replaced. It is essential compression tests be made periodically. Low compression, for the most part, can be traced to leaky valves. Conditions which affect engine compression are: 1. Incorrect valve clearances; 2. Worn, scuffed or damaged pistons; 3. Excessive wear of piston rings and cylinder walls; 4. Burned or warped valves; 5. Carbon particles between the face and the seat of the valve or valves; 6. Early or late valve timing. It’s best to perform a compression test as soon as possible after the engine is shut down so the rings, cylinder walls and other parts, are still freshly lubricated. It is not necessary to operate the engine before engine rebuilds or on individually replaced cylinders. In these cases, before making the test, spray a small quantity of lubricating oil into the cylinder and turn the engine over manually several times to seal the piston and rings in the cylinder barrel (Of course, be sure the ignition switch is in the OFF position so there is no accidental firing of the engine). Remove the cowling and the most accessible spark plug from each cylinder. When removing the spark plugs, tag them so you know which goes with which cylinder. Close examination of the plugs can help diagnose problems within the cylinder. Review the maintenance records of the engine being tested. Records of previous compression checks will allow you to work out progressive wear conditions and in establishing maintenance actions.
DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE TESTER
A differential pressure tester checks the compression of engines by measuring leakage through the cylinders. The design of the tester is such that it will allow you to detect tiny valve leakage, making possible the replacement of cylinders where valve burning is starting. The operation of the compression tester is based on the principle that, for any given airflow through a fixed orifice, a constant pressure drop across the orifice results. As the airflow changes, pressure will vary accordingly in the same direction. If air is supplied under pressure to the cylinder with both intake and exhaust valves closed, the amount of air which leaks by the valves or piston rings indicates their condition. The perfect cylinder would have no leakage. The differential pressure tester requires the application of air pressure to the cylinder being tested with the piston at top-centre compression stroke (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: Differential compression tester diagram
Guidelines for performing a differential compression test are: 1. Perform the test as soon as possible after engine shutdown to provide uniform lubrication of cylinder walls and rings; 2. Remove the most accessible spark plug from the cylinder, or cylinders, and install a spark plug adapter in the spark plug insert; 3. Connect the compression tester assembly to a 100 - 150psi compressed air supply (Fig. 2). With the shutoff valve on the compression tester closed, adjust the regulator of the regulated pressure gauge compression tester to obtain 80psi; 4. Open the shutoff valve and attach the air hose quick-connect fitting to the spark plug adapter. The shutoff valve, when open, automatically maintains a pressure in the cylinder of 15-20psi when both the intake and exhaust valves are closed; 5. By hand, turn the engine over in the direction of rotation until the piston in the cylinder being tested comes up on the compression stroke against the 15psi. Continue turning the propeller slowly in the direction of rotation until the piston reaches top dead centre. Top dead centre can be detected by a decrease in force required to move the propeller. If the engine is rotated past top dead centre, the 15-20psi tends to move the propeller in the direction of rotation. If this occurs, back the propeller up at least one blade prior to turning the propeller again in the direction of rotation. This backing up is necessary to eliminate the effect of backlash in the valve-operating mechanism and to keep the piston rings seated on the lower ring lands; 6. Close the shutoff valve in the compression tester and re-check the regulated pressure to see that it is 80psi with air flowing into the cylinder. If the regulated pressure is more or less than 80psi, re-adjust the regulator in the test unit to obtain 80psi. When closing the shutoff valve, make sure the propeller path is clear of all objects. There is sufficient air pressure in the combustion chamber to rotate the propeller if the piston is not on top dead centre; 7. With regulated pressure adjusted to 80psi, if the cylinder pressure reading indicated on the cylinder pressure gauge is below the minimum specified for the engine being tested, move the propeller in the direction of rotation to seat the piston rings in the grooves. Check all
50 / SPORT PILOT
the cylinders and record the readFig. 2: ings. Compression tester If low compression is obtained on any cylinder, turn the engine through with the starter, or re-start, and run the engine to take-off power and re-check the cylinder, or cylinders, with the low compression. If the low compression is still not corrected, remove the rocker box cover and check the valve clearance to determine if the problem is caused by inadequate valve clearance. If the low compression is not caused by inadequate valve clearance, place a fibre drift on the rocker arm immediately over the valve stem and tap the drift several times with a hammer to dislodge any foreign material which may be lodged between the valve and valve seat. After staking the valve like this, rotate the engine with the starter and re-check the compression. Do not make a compression check after staking a valve until the crankshaft has been rotated, either with the starter or by hand, to re-seat the valve in normal manner. The higher seating velocity obtained when staking the valve will indicate valve seating, even though valve seats are slightly egged or eccentric. This procedure should only be performed if approved by the manufacturer. Cylinders having compression below the minimum specified should be further checked to determine whether leakage is past the exhaust valve, intake valve or piston. Excessive leakage can be detected (during the compression check): 1. At the exhaust valve by listening for air leakage at the exhaust outlet; 2. At the intake valve by escaping air at the air intake; and 3. Past the piston rings by escaping air at the engine breather outlets. Next to valve blow-by, the most frequent cause of low compression is leakage past the piston. This may occur because of lack of oil. To check this, apply engine oil into the cylinder and around the piston. Then, re-check the compression. If this procedure raises compression to or above the minimum required, continue the cylinder in service. If the cylinder pressure readings still do not meet the minimum requirement, replace the cylinder. When it is necessary to replace a cylinder as a result of low compression, record the cylinder number and the compression value of the newly installed cylinder on the compression check sheet.
CYLINDER REPLACEMENT
Reciprocating engine cylinders are designed to operate for a specified time before normal wear requires their overhaul. If the engine is operated as recommended and proficient maintenance is performed, the cylinders normally last until the engine has reached its TBO. It is known from experience that materials fail and engines are abused through incorrect operation; this has a serious effect on cylinder life. Another reason for premature cylinder change is poor maintenance. Therefore, exert special care to ensure all the correct maintenance procedures are adhered to when
working on the engine. Some of the reasons for cylinder replacement are: 1. Low compression; 2. High oil consumption in one or more cylinders; 3. Excessive valve guide clearance; 4. Loose intake pipe flanges; 5. Loose or defective spark plug inserts; 6. External damage, such as cracks. The cylinder is always replaced as a complete assembly, which includes piston, rings, valves and valve springs. Order the cylinder assembly under the part number specified in the engine parts catalogue. Parts, such as valve springs, rocker arms and rocker box covers, can be replaced individually. Normally, all the cylinders in an engine are similar, all are standard size or all a certain oversize, and all are steel bore or chrome-plated. The size of the cylinder is indicated by a colour code around the barrel between the attaching flange and the lower barrel cooling fin. In some instances, air-cooled engines are equipped with chrome-plated cylinders. Chrome-plated cylinders are usually identified by a paint band around the barrel between the attaching flange and the lower barrel cooling fin. This colour band is usually international orange. When installing a chrome-plated cylinder, do not use chrome-plated piston rings. The matched assembly includes the correct piston rings. However, if a piston ring is broken during cylinder installation, check the cylinder marking to determine what ring, chrome-plated or otherwise, is correct for replacement. Similar precautions must be taken to be sure the correct size rings are installed. Correct procedures and care are important when replacing cylinders. Careless work, or the use of incorrect tools, can damage the replacement cylinder or its parts. Incorrect procedures in installing rocker-box covers may result in troublesome oil leaks. Improper torque on cylinder hold down nuts or cap-screws can easily result in a cylinder malfunction and subsequent engine failure.
51 / SPORT PILOT
FEATU RE
THE
SNEAKY STALL PART 3
T
HE first two parts of this trilogy (Sport Pilot February and March 2018) confronted what a stall is, how/why it occurs and factors which may modify the aeroplane’s Indicated Air Speed when the stall occurs. In this part, I want to talk about aeroplane reaction to the stall and the returning of the aeroplane to a normal flight condition. In this part, the term stick is synonymous with yoke. You will have noticed I used the phrase ‘returning the aeroplane to normal flight’. This is important because the word ‘recovery’ has insidious undertones. We are not ill, we are not in imminent danger (if the stall is intentional), the aeroplane is not going to become uncontrollable, so there is nothing to recover from and there is absolutely no point or benefit from becoming stressed about it. Instead we are merely going
BY ROB KNIGHT
to return to normal, effective flight in a cool, planned and receptive manner. While not intending to negate the seriousness of the stalling exercise, it does need to be treated with some degree of nonchalance. It is no more dangerous than carrying out a turn or a glide. Stalls in themselves don’t hurt; it’s only some of the factors after the stall has occurred which will bring a rising crescendo of disaster, such as an unexpected arrival at ground level. Stalls carried out at a safe height will always mean there’s room for error in the return to normal flight that might take a bit more height loss to effect. So doing stalls at the legally required heights will always allow for a safety factor and no-one should get stressed. If a pilot is filled with trepidation at the thought of stalling, it will adversely affect their ability to make a considered and rational response to the
Fig. 1 52 / SPORT PILOT
aeroplane’s needs. Instead, the pilot will grip the stick too tightly to feel any subtle signals from the controls and their mind will be frozen, waiting for the first sign of the stall, so they can jam the stick forward and get the hell out of here. So, what’s really necessary to return a stalled aeroplane to normal flight post stall? Let’s deal with a wings level stall. The aeroplane has begun to buffet as the airflow breaks away over the upper surface, or the aircraft begins to sink (mush). The simple answer is to gently take the stick forward just enough to unstall. This is not a savage jab to the firewall in panic mode - just a gentle easing forward of the stick. If an aeroplane stalled at 16° angle of attack, reducing the angle of attack to just 13° or 14° will unstall it, just a couple of degrees. This also stops the frightening negative G loading when the stick is slammed forward to zero° angle of attack.
FEATU RE
Let’s see what is happening to the aeroplane immediately post stall. Accepting that the lift diminishes dramatically, it is easy to understand the aeroplane will begin to sink and this action can change everything because it will further increase the angle of attack. But provided the Centre of Gravity is not behind its aft limit, the angle of attack cannot naturally remain high as the Centre of Pressure moves rearwards along the chord line at the stall and this will cause the nose to pitch down automatically. If the pilot now pushes the stick forward too aggressively, the combination of the elevator-caused pitch change and the Centre of Pressure movement will have sunnies and loose change floating around the cockpit like confetti. As the aeroplane sinks, its flight path must change, and so the angle of attack will naturally increase further if the nose attitude is maintained. However, this is when the pilot is easing forward on the stick to unstall, so the nose is pitching down and no adverse reaction should be anticipated. Notice in Fig. 1, the change in attitude in the two middle images. There is a substantial change in the aeroplane’s attitude, but only a small change in the angle of attack. It is vitally important pilots are aware that this concentration on the stick, controlling pitch and thus angle of attack, is not the only application of piloting skills necessary. We have not mentioned the maintenance of yaw control and the need to use minimum aileron. These are a given at all times. But it is these givens which can be the undoing of this simple exercise. As depicted in Fig. 1, a simple stall and return to normal flight, when the wings are level and there is no uncorrected yaw, is a walk in the park. Such a sweet stall occurs when both wings stall at the same time. There is no asymmetric lift, to roll the aeroplane, and no disproportionate change to the drag experienced by each wing, to yaw the nose sideways and down, as happens when one wing stalls before the other.
TRIGGERS So, what can cause one wing to stall before the other? Ignoring damage and airframe ice, there are several things. Not in any specific order, a list of common triggers would contain: 1. Weight distribution between the wings (one wing heavier than the other); 2. Different angles of attack on each wing (using aileron at the point of stall); 3. Propeller torque (when power is applied at the point of stall);
4. Yaw at the point of stall. So, what happens when one wing stalls first? Why is the aeroplane no longer so inoffensive in its response to the stall, even if it is on one wing only? It is a simple answer. It is because the forces to which the aeroplane is reacting are so substantial. Let’s try and put some relevant figures on it and see what is happening. If an aeroplane weighs 1,000kgs and is in level flight, let’s assume that it is generating 500kgs per wing. The pilot stalls it wings level with no yaw. At the stall, the aeroplane loses around 80% of its lift, so each wing loses 8/10ths of the lift it was providing when flying level and unstalled. Losing 80% of the original lift means each wing is just producing 100kgs, which is obviously greatly insufficient to balance the aeroplane’s weight. However, the lift loss will be even across the wings, so there is no roll tendency generated. Consequently, the aeroplane will sink, wings level, because it no longer generates enough lift to maintain level flight. But lift loss is not the only consequence of an aerodynamic stall: there is also a savage and extensive increase in aerodynamic drag, perhaps rising to 400% of the drag on the unstalled wing. In other words, if the drag on a wing at its critical angle is 160kgs, increasing the angle of attack further and stalling the wing will potentially increase the drag value to 640kgs. So, visualise this scenario; at the stall the streamline flow breaks away and is lost on just one wing. This loss in streamline flow causes the lift on that wing to drop by 400kgs and the drag 53 / SPORT PILOT
on that same wing to increase to 640kgs. The aircraft will roll because we have a lift imbalance (500kgs on one wing and just 100kgs on the other), and yaw really savagely (160kgs on one wing and potentially 640kgs on the other). Fig. 2 depicts an aeroplane experiencing a stalled starboard wing with an unstalled port wing. The roll force, generated by the imbalance in lift, is rolling the aeroplane to the right while the drag difference caused by one wing being post-stall and the other pre-stall is hauling the nose around – also to the right. This is the condition known as an incipient spin and, in old aeroplane designs, will become autorotation – i.e. a spin. In modern aeroplane designs, the development of spin from autorotation only occurs if the pilot holds pro-spin control – usually full rudder deflection in the direction they wish to spin and simultaneous full back stick. Without these control inputs, the aeroplane normally falls out into a spiral dive which is not a stalled condition and all controls function in their normal sense. However, this would not be pleasant at low altitude. But it is still not an issue if the pilot simply stops the yaw with the rudder and takes the stick forward enough to reduce the angle of attack to below the critical angle. How hard is that?
YOU’RE STUFFED But why did one wing stall before the other? If that can be prevented, the aeroplane response is far less complex and much more easily controlled. So how could each of these triggers lead to
FEATU RE
It is no more dangerous than carrying out a turn or a glide Fig. 3
Fig. 4
one wing stalling first? Primarily the answer lies in the aileron position. Triggers 1, 2, and 3 all require aileron input to keep the wings level. If one wing is heavy (trigger 1), aileron will be required to hold that heavy wing up. To hold the wing up, the aileron must be down to increase the camber and the angle of attack, both combining to provide the additional lift. It therefore stands to reason that, if the down aileron increases the angle of attack, then the other wing, with the up aileron, will have a reduced angle of attack. Thus,
the disparity in aileron induced differences in the angles of attack is greater than exists on just one wing. Trigger 2, caused by using aileron at high angles of attack, is something which specific dual training covers when doing advanced stalling exercises. Having spent his/her entire training to date being told to keep the wings level with aileron, a habit is now well formed and can be hard to break. It really doesn’t matter if the wings aren’t level at the point of unstalling to return to
54 / SPORT PILOT
level flight. Priority numero uno is to unstall first, and then we can return to wings level, once unstalled almost at our convenience. Trigger 3, the effect of propeller torque, is the general reason many aeroplanes drop a wing at the stall when power is maintained. Often this is exacerbated by having the flaps lowered as well. In turning the propeller against the drag of the air against its blades, we get a reaction, a rotating force, acting in the opposing direction. In other words, turning the propeller clockwise (when viewed from the cockpit) causes the aeroplane to want to rotate anti-clockwise. To counter this, the pilot holds right aileron (stick a little to the right) which increases the angle of attack on the left wing. This wing will always have a higher angle of attack while this is being done so it will stall first. Trigger 4, yaw occurring at high angles of attack, can precipitate a stall. In yawing, the airspeed of each wing differs; the outer wing accelerates and the inner decelerates. Such an
FEATU RE
airspeed differential will cause roll and, from this point, the pilot is stuffed. The action of rolling has the angle of attack increased on the down-going wing which deepens the stall while the upgoing wing has a reduced angle of attack and is further from the stall. If the pilot does nothing, the act of rolling may cause the angle of attack on the down-going wing to exceed the stalling angle. This is a result of the roll changing the direction of motion of each wing and thus it’s relative airflow (Figs. 3,4,5 and 6). If the pilot applies aileron to stop the roll, they only aggravate the situation. The down-going wing motion will have caused the stall anyway and adding aileron will only make it much worse.
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
The further increase in angle of attack on the already stalled aerofoil will further reduce lift on the stalled wing and greatly increase the drag. This is likely to accelerate the autorotation rate. So, what should the pilot do in such a circumstance? That has a really simple answer – leave the ailerons alone and follow the procedure to return to normal flight – using enough rudder to stop further yaw, ease the stick forward just enough to unstall the wings, while adding full power to minimise the height loss. How much simpler can it be?
IT TAKES PRACTICE As you can see, a pilot must be able to make those three independent motions close together and this doesn’t happen so easily if he or she has a fear of the exercise. The pilot’s mind must be able to see the yaw to correct it, their hand must be on the stick to feel the pressures change to make just the right amount of angle of attack reduction (adequate but not excessive), and still
remember to apply power. Once a pilot can do this they have mastered the technique of returning to normal flight after a stall. It’s not hard. It just takes some thought, some practice and some careful attention to what is happening.
OLD PILOTS DO IT To summarise the technique of returning to normal flight, I would mention the following points that have assisted my students over the years: • Hold the stick so you can feel pressure in the stick; • Select a reference point on the horizon before reducing power to instigate the stall; • Be prepared to apply rudder to hold the nose on that point as the power is reduced; • Continue to hold the nose on the point as the airspeed decays; • Be prepared to ease the stick forward to unstall (a mighty shove just won’t cut it); • Be prepared to stop further yaw at, and after, 55 / SPORT PILOT
the stall has occurred (Don’t bring the nose back to the point if it has yawed away because this can precipitate a stall by itself); • Be fully prepared to ignore a wing sag or more substantial wing drop at the stall. Your wings being level is not a priority – restoring normal flight is. You can level your wings after you have satisfactorily returned to normal flight. Having a wing down is not dangerous, spinning is at low level is; • Always complete the return-to-level-flight process with the aeroplane established in a climb. Then it will become a habit to return to level flight with the aeroplane in a terrain clearing configuration; • Practice doing more stalls where you return to normal flight at the first sign of a buffet or onset, than you do after the stall has occurred. You almost need an automatic reaction to push forward on the stick and on the rudder to stop the yaw any time you feel a stall might be imminent. It’s funny, but most old pilots have that habit.
MTOW 600Kg Empty Weight 300-305Kg Cruise 90 Kts Stall 26Kts Take Off/Land 45m Photo shows some options
Eastern Australia: Reg Mob 0418 157 044
New Zealand Agent Philip: 64 21 747 494
www.airparkgoolwa.com.au When you are up here you need to know what is happening at a glance.
Glance EFIS
New Glance EFIS 207 Wide 7" Screen Flight instruments Air navigation instruments Engine monitoring Proudly brought to you by Ph: 0412 702 680 E: info@sapphireavionics.com.au W: www.sapphireavionics.com.au
HO M E B U IL D ER
As easy as Pi T H E B E S T B I T S ABOU T BU ILDIN G YOU R OWN BY DAVE EDMUND S
T
HE Raspberry Pi is a small computer system with a heap of processing power, designed to do just about anything. It runs on the Linux operating system. It is quite a bit smaller than a smartphone and costs about $60. You also need to buy bits and pieces such as a power supply. It does not have a keyboard or screen, but for many of the sorts of things you might use it for, it doesn’t need either. About 12.5 million have been sold over the past five years, and it may be a partial answer to our transponder problem. In order to fly into controlled airspace, you must have a transponder, among other requirements. This is a technology which is evolving. In this article I will only discuss the technology, not any other requirements. Traditionally, you would file a flight plan and fly to a reporting point at the boundary of controlled airspace. In a VFR aircraft, you would likely have your transponder code set to 1200. At the reporting point you radio on the inbound frequency, identify your aircraft callsign, position and altitude then request an airways clearance to continue. The air traffic controller would associate the radar blip and the code transmitted by your aircraft, at that reporting point and altitude, with your inbound call and provide the clearance. From then on, he or she can track your aircraft as the position is updated every sweep of the radar antenna. The Mode A transponder only returns the four-digit octal code you have set on your transponder. The controller only knows your bearing and distance from the radar. Another aircraft at the same position, but a different altitude, will return the same information. So, Mode C was developed. In Mode C operation your transponder returns a pressure altitude, as well as the transponder code, so the controller can now separate two aircraft in the same position, but different altitudes. The transponders only provide information when triggered by radar. If the controller still has trouble separating aircraft, he or she may ask you to change your transponder code or ‘squawk’ the code. This system is still used for low altitude flights but is really obsolete. The radar presents a single point of failure and only has a range of around 60 miles. Aircraft cannot ‘see’ other aircraft. Like other old systems such as NDBs, ILS and VORs, it is expensive to operate and quite limited. So, the world is moving to a more modern, cheaper and more capable system, largely under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules. The Mode S transponder broadcasts a unique 24-bit identity code when interrogated by radar. The 24-bit code allows the unique identification of 17 million aircraft worldwide and, unlike Mode A and Mode C, is associated with a particular aircraft, but is backward compatible with Mode A and Mode C. The ADS-B extension requires the transponder to continuously broadcast information independent of radar. It requires a GPS unit to provide position information and is capable of providing a host of additional information, such as a waypoint. Aircraft equipped with ADS-B-in, can receive information from aircraft within radio range and display that information. In the U.S an additional channel was added which can receive additional information from an ADS-B ground station, such as weather radar. This was added as an incentive for general aviation aircraft to spend the money on a system which was of little additional benefit to them. Since 2013 all aircraft in Australia flying above 29,000ft have been required to carry ADS-B equipment. With few exceptions, since 2017 all IFR aircraft have been required to be fitted with ADS-B equipment. There are enough ground stations to ensure the whole continent is covered above 30,000ft, but at 5,000ft the coverage is spotty, probably not as good as
3G/4G coverage, which begs a question for our sort of operations. The coverage maps are on the Airservices web site. There are currently discussions in Australia about the more widespread introduction of this technology, and how to reduce costs. Currently it would cost around $5,000 for a Mode S transponder and ADS-B out extension, not including fitting, not including ADS-B-in and not including a display for ADS-B-in data. This is all certified (TSO) equipment. So, would it come to $9,000 all up? In a previous article, I discussed the use of certified and non-certified equipment and will return to that issue in future. If you want to fly into controlled airspace, possibly mixing with jets, it is extremely unlikely Airservices would ever be happy with anything less than certified equipment, even though many of us already fly into regional airports, mixing it with the jets, with no transponder. Our commitment to ICAO standards is a significant constraint, but unavoidable. These
to increase It is quite possible for RA Aus pilots $150 their traf fic awarenes s for around standards are designed to cope with high traffic situations, so are perhaps overkill for Coober Pedy. For most RAAus pilots, a transponder is an answer to a problem we don’t have. It is possible Airservices and CASA might not agree and this is where, finally, the Raspberry Pi comes in to provide something of a compromise solution. There are a number of companies which manufacture receivers operating on the Mode S frequencies, which connect to a Raspberry Pi. The Pi can parse the raw data from the receiver and provide it to a tablet such as an iPad for display. Check out the Stratux open source project. The cost for an addition to your tablet based on a Raspberry Pi is around $150 for a roll-your-own version. For $300 you can purchase the Flightbox, based on the Stratux project, which will, in the very near future, connect to OzRunways and display traffic information like other OzRunways traffic derived using the 3G/4G network. These systems do not broadcast. While it is technically possible for a tablet connected to additional equipment to provide all of the functionality of a Mode S transponder with ADSBout for perhaps a few hundred dollars, this is not going to happen because of the requirement under ICAO rules for certified equipment. There is nothing to stop RAAus, Airservices and CASA from encouraging technologies which increase traffic awareness. The use of information provided over 3G/4G and ADSB to pilots using a tablet would help this endeavour. There is no technical reason why vendors of tablet navigation software could not consolidate the aircraft-position data obtained over the 3G/4G network. Combined with ADSB data and, given that most RAAus pilots now use tablet navigation software, we could have greatly enhanced traffic awareness at very little cost. This does not require legislation, does not cut across ICAO rules, but does require leadership. While it is quite possible for RAAus pilots to increase their traffic awareness for around $150, there is a huge anomaly. These changes rely entirely on accurate position information provided by GPS. This critical information is used to allow closer separation of large jets than is possible with the old radar systems. And yet, we are not allowed to rely on the same, albeit non-certified, technology for non-critical en-route navigation. This is simply mad.
57 / SPORT PILOT
A VI A TION CLASSIFIED S
5032 MORGAN CHEETAH
286 Airframe Hours, 286 Engine Hours, P-1. PARADISE P-1 PRICE $85000 CONTACT JOHN DARBY 0402 210 913
5237 SEAMAX AMPHIBIAN
5154 TEENIE TWO 326.2 Airframe Hours, 55 hours Engine Hours, Cheetah Morgan Cheetah, Camit 2200 engine, 55 hours on the motor, 350 airframe, no accidents, 115 KTS cruise, PRICE $28000 CONTACT JOHN TERENCE MURPHY 0409 308 232
5039 RANS COYOTE II S6ES
270 Airframe Hours, 270 Engine Hours, S-6ES Coyote II. Registered till June 2017. Rotax 582 UL engine 260hrs. New BRS recovery chute installed December 2015. Large roomy cockpit with sliding seats. Folding wings for easy storage/trailering. All VFR instruments. Search Youtube for “Tuflux RANS Coyote”. PRICE $22000 CONTACT GORDON JAMES BAILEY 0409 348 293
5057 RV-3
286 Airframe Hours, 626 Engine Hours, RV-3A. RV performance with Lycoming reliability. Lycoming O-320-A2B 150HP,150-160kt TAS cruise @32lph. New prop, instruments & paint. A/C can be registered VH if aerobatics required, and can be delivered anywhere in Australia for cost. PRICE $55000 CONTACT PETER GILBERT 0428 719 639
61 Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, Teenie Two. Teenie Two, 1835 VW engine Dual Ignition. 61 hrs air frame - 70 hrs engine 100 knts approx 10-11 lt hr. New cases and internal parts fitted Removable wings VG’s fitted 12v batt. Dual brakes Always hangered. PRICE $12000 CONTACT GARRY KELLY (07) 3408 4895
32 Airframe Hours, 32 Engine Hours, M22 Compare this Seamax with any other amphib LSA. 100kt IAS in cruise, 18L/hour 95 octane mogas, Reverse thrust and water rudder for water handling, 279kg useful load, Salt water friendly composite /stainless steel , no alum frame like searey. PRICE $145000 CONTACT TERRY O’BRIEN 0400 747 401
5268 JABIRU J250 2004
5202 FLIGHT DESIGN MC. 2010 MODEL. 751 TT. PRICE REDUCED. GARMIN 430W GPS 345 Airframe Hours, 345 Engine Hours, J250, Jabiru J250 2004. Solid Lifter eng. VGs, Elect Flap, Trig Mode S Txp, Area 500 GPS, Microair VHF, Area 500 GPS, All 10 Ply Tyres, Gt Touring A/C PRICE $55000 CONTACT IAN WILLIAM BERRY 0427 997 441 743 Airframe Hours, 743 Engine Hours, MC. FLIGHT DESIGN MC.** NEW PRICE** 2010 MODEL. 751 TT. MAF OWNED SINCE NEW. VH-REGISTERED. ( OPTION TO LSA) 100 HP ROTAX. GARMIN. G430W GPS/NAV/ COM. 2ND COM. EFIS x 2. MODE S TRANSPONDER. ICOM. ELT. FDR. NIGHT VFR. COMFORT PACK. SIDE BY SIDE SEATS. PRICE $85000 CONTACT DAVID O’CONNOR 0407 522 346
5208 ROTEC RALLY
5080 JABIRU J120
5285 J230
360 Airframe Hours, 6 Engine Hours, J230c. 2007 J230 New zero timed solid lifter fine fin engine with o hrs total and full Jabiru warranty. Airframe 350 hours. EMS with egt - cht on all cylinders, gps 296, icom 210, Garmin intercom, Transponder c, new 10 ply tyres. Always keep in hangar and PRICE $65000 CONTACT JAMES GEALE 0418 449 856
5297 RV6 VH-MJH FOR SALE 1191 Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, Rally. Rotec Rally/Pather, slight damage to one wing strut via transport. A strong built, easy to fly aircraft, cruises at 75 kts, 50Ltr long range tank. PRICE $2700 CONTACT CHARLES DARMANIN (02) 6496 7254
450 Airframe Hours, 114 since Zero timed Engine Hours, J120. Engine 114 since Zero Timed.Many new parts used. Crankshaft magnetic particle checked Aircraft could go back into commercial work with check. 1/2 share in Steel Hangar near Bega/ Merimbula available cheap PRICE $32000 CONTACT NEVILLE JOLLANDS (02) 6494 4125
5140 PARADISE P-1
5231 ACROLITE 1B
94hrs Airframe Hours, 94hrs Engine Hours, Acrolite 1B. Single seater bi-plane. 2200 Jabiru solid lifter. Disk brakes, Matco tail-wheel, new tyres & battery. Always hangared, covers. Timber spars. 85kt cruise, 50litre alloy tank. Ailerons upper and lower. Reluctant sale. PRICE $21500 CONTACT DENNIS WALKER 0427 555 727 58 / SPORT PILOT
290 Airframe Hours, 290 TIS Engine Hours, RV6. TT AF/ENG/Prop 290 Hrs LYC. 0 360 180 HP. Metal FP prop. Nil accident. Best SAAA ‚ All Metal Aircraft‚ in 2006, CRZ 160 KTAS on 30 ltrs. CoA, Day/Night VFR with NO flight over built up area restrictions. $100K. PRICE $95000 CONTACT MIKE HORNEMAN 0417 931 872 EMAIL RV6MJH@BIGPOND.NET.AU
5309 SHARE IN AEROPRAKT A32 VIXXEN AT CABOOLTURE QLD
A VI A TION CLASSIFIED S
300 Airframe Hours, 300 Engine Hours, A32 Vixxen. A share is available in The Davewood Syndicate Vixxen based at Caboolture. Long running syndicate dedicated to providing a low hour high (currently 150) standard machine at reasonable rates of $85 per hour wet and $100 per month fixed. PRICE $10000 CONTACT IAN MCDONELL (07) 3886 5828
5373 SPACEWALKER SW1
5318 WAIEX FOR SALE
unk Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, Spacewalker SWI. Single seat SW1 Spacewalker. Restoration job. All structure complete, condition 6/10. Outer wing panels OK, Centre section requires rebuild. Engine mount for A65. Located Sydney. PRICE $5000 CONTACT NEALE DUNSTAN 0424 944 697
260 Airframe Hours, 5 since rebuild Engine Hours, Waiex. Kit built plane. Recent winner Avalon Air Show. Best in show, light recreational aircraft PRICE $41500 CONTACT KEITH JEFFS 0438 508 576
PRICE $30000 CONTACT GREG OLDFIELD 0424 195 317
5428 CESSNA SKYCATCHER 162
5386 QUICKSILVER GT400
98 Airframe Hours, 98 Engine Hours, 162, CESSNA SKYCATCHER 162 2011 TT 98 hrs. Australian delivery. One owner. Dual screens PFD and EGT, all options. Currently registered GA but can be registered RA. 10/10 $90,000 plus GST PRICE $99000 CONTACT ALAN KIRWAN 0439 805 540 EMAIL ALANK454@HOTMAIL.COM
5431 ASAP BEAVER FOR SALE
5326 JABIRU J230C (24-5013) 317 Airframe Hours, 99.6 Engine Hours, GT400. Quicksilver GT400, single seat, very good condition, always hangared, pleasure to fly. PRICE $6800 CONTACT MARK BARTLEMAN 0407 344 466
5397 BUCCANEER2 ULTRALIGHT FOR SALE 575.6 Airframe Hours, 575.6 Engine Hours, J230C. Factory built 2007. Excellent condition. All AD’s up-to-date. Glass cockpit: Dynon D100 EFIS, AvMap EKP IV, GPS, Sentient AirNav GPS touch screen. Lots of extras. Hangered at Warwick (Qld). $70,000 or nearest offer. PRICE $70000 CONTACT GWENITH TYBURCZY 0438 663 371
5334 JABIRU J200 19-5073
342 Airframe Hours, 342 Engine Hours, 1996. Updated electric actuators and Tundra wheels and tyres. Brand new icon A210. Needs some work on the tail-wheel for water landings. Condition report included. Registered until September 2018 PRICE $29000 CONTACT EVAN 0409 660 716 EMAIL BLUEPEACE24@YAHOO.COM.AU
5415 HANGAR FOR SALE - HUNTER VALLEY 664 Airframe Hours, 260 Engine Hours, J200. Build 2003, Owner purchased 2010, Airframe TTIS 644 Hrs, nil accidents, repainted at Factory 2013, GA analogue instruments, vacuum pump, A/H, D/G, Electric T&B, voltmeter, keyed ignition, Microair radio, dual headsets and 2 x GPS’s, 140 lit fuel PRICE $50000 CONTACT JEFF NOTT 0418 843 954
5348 JABIRU 120C - 24-5453 - PRICED TO SELL
nil Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, nil. Near New, fully-enclosed steel hangar at Scone Airport. 12m x 12m concrete floor. Full width 3.6m high doors on rollers. Bitumen-sealed apron and taxiway to 1400m bitumen runway. FREEHOLD (Torrens) Land Title - no annual lease payments. PRICE $0 CONTACT GEOFFREY PINFOLD 0429 810 008
5425 MICROLIGHT 1050 Airframe Hours, 180hrs Engine Hours, 120C, Priced to Sell, 2200 engine, full rebuild 180 hrs ago L.2 maintained, oil and filter changes every 25hrs, A/D and service buletins , Std VFR intruments, Garman GPS wheel spats, always hangared, $31,990 (no GST) PRICE $31990 CONTACT MARK GRIFFEN 0427 887 311
348 Airframe Hours, 348 Engine Hours, XT. Airborne XT912 CRUZE WING, 2006 59 / SPORT PILOT
103 Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, Beaver Rotax 447 103 hours total. 0 Hours since Flood update. Unregistered. Can be viewed in Glen Iris by appointment. PRICE $4000 CONTACT CHRISTOPHER LARGE 0438 882 492
5442 SEAPLANE SUMMER FUN - LOW HOURS CATALINA LSA 24-8662
35 Airframe Hours, 35 Engine Hours, Catalina NG. The Fly Synthesis Catalina NG seaplane is an economic & safe entry to the wonderful world of seaplane flying. It’s probably the easiest seaplane to fly and store, with its folding wings. With 5 hr. water training and balance of factory warranty. PRICE $78800 CONTACT GREG DOYLE 0400 114 747
5447 JABIRU J170-D
350 Airframe Hours, 350 Engine Hours, J170-D. JABIRU J170-D FACTORY BUILT IN 2013. ALWAYS HANGARED, NO ACCIDENTS, 348 HOURS ON BOTH ENGINE AND AIR FRAME, MICRO AIR TRANSPONDER & RADIO, LEATHER SEATS, MAP POCKETS, STROBE LIGHT, 2 BLADE JABIRU CARBON FIBRE PROPELLER, REPLACED 38 HRS AGO PRICE $65000 CONTACT MARGARET 0401 365 989
A VI A TION CLASSIFIED S
5448 SAVANNAH XL VG
avionics UL-200 VOX ( voice activated) headsets x 2. New-Used once. Purchased for open cockpit but not suitable without face helmet. Bargain at $850 for both. PRICE $2000 CONTACT IAN HOLMES 0409 156 931
5461 JABIRU 430
5458 HANGARS HOLBROOK AIRFIELD 130.0 Airframe Hours, 130.0 Engine Hours, SAVANNAH XL VG, SAVANNAH XL VG For Sale -8326 First reg. 18/12/13. PRICE $70000 CONTACT KEVIN 0477 222 344
5451 JABIRU LSA 55/3J
il Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, nil, Hangars at Holbrook Airpark. Freehold Title blocks (18m X 18m) or new Hangar and blocks available. Serviced by sealed taxiways. Blocks only available from $25,000. PRICE $25000 CONTACT JOHN FERGUSON 0413 990 400
823 Airframe Hours, 10 Engine Hours, J430, 4 seat Jabiru J430, 823 hours airframe, 10 hrs on new engine, Jabiru 6 Cylinder Gen 4, excellent condition, always hangared. Glass cockpit, 2 x MGL Voyager EFIS, back up batteries, fuel flow monitor. Full engine monitoring, spare prop, covers PRICE $100000 ANDREW STRAUME 0457 857 578
5462 MICROLIGHT
5459 RANS S-14 AIRAILE FOR SALE 2149 Airframe Hours, 445 Engine Hours, LSA 55/3j, Jabiru LSA 55/3j Easy and fun to fly. Good condition L2 maintained, solid, factory built aircraft. Cruises at 95-100kts, 12-13L/hr fuel burn, 65L tank. MTOW 430kg, EW 248.3kg. Always Hangered (YBCM), full aircraft covers provided. PRICE $28500 CONTACT ANTHONY ELMS 0403 777 852
5454 WANTED - WIZARD 3 HANG GLIDER WING FOR TRIKE, ANY CONDITION
367 Airframe Hours, 367 Engine Hours, S-14 Airaile, For Sale 2003 80hp single seat Rans S-14 in VGC with 367 hours on Engine and Frame. Call Craig 0427967193 PRICE $20000 CONTACT MICHAEL PATRICK COSGROVE 0414 517 856
20 Airframe Hours, 20 Engine Hours, Classic, Microlight for sale. New engine, just run in 20 hours old. Upgraded wing from original wizard wing to Streak 1. Many extras. Includes travel fuel panieres, helmets, radio. Log books available. Excellent condition. PRICE $17000 CONTACT MARTIN BRAATZ 0417 896 342
5460 2014 3K NOSE WHEEL GLIDER TOW EUROFOX 24-8415
5468 TECNAM BRAVO AND FAMILY HOME FOR SALE
nil Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, nil, Wanted - Wizard 3 hang glider wing for trike, any condition. CONTACT GLENN STALLARD 0434 558 038
5457 BALLISTIC RECOVERY SYSTEM, HEADSETS
nil Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, nil, Ballistic recovery system suit aircraft up to 476kg $2000. Micro
HorsHam aviation services ABN: 65 007 339 451
Now Importing the eurofox AircrAft: • • • •
Quality Factory Built Quick folding wing design Glider Tow certified to 750Kg Short take-off & landing
78.4 Airframe Hours, 78.4 Engine Hours, Eurofox 3K, 78.4 A/F Hrs. 100Hp Rotax ULS Engine & new DUC Prop. Dynon SkyView 10” EFIS with full Engine Monitoring and Synthetic Vision, second GPS (Garmin Aera 500) in panel and Garmin VHF COM. Always hangared and presents like new. PRICE $110000 CONTACT TONY BRAND (03) 5381 1727
1199.8 Airframe Hours, 1199 Engine Hours, Bravo, TREE change that includes an awesome aircraft as well! Tecnam Bravo with low hours and five bedroom family home, three bathrooms. Large undercover entertainment area with huge workshop. PRICE OFFERS OVER $495000 CONTACT WAYNE DILLON 0438 551 198
To subscribe email RAAus admin@raa.asn.au
And Dynon Avionics Products:
• Now with Autopilot capability • Solid state sensors • Checklists • Audible alarm capability PH: 03 5381 1727 Email: info@horshamaviation.com.au
SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW
and get a 10% discount voucher in the RAAus shop
60 / SPORT PILOT
Graemeswam@gmail.com
0413 374 680
A VI A TION CLASSIFIED S
5474 FULLY RESTORED LUSCOMBE 8A
Great aircraft PRICE $25000 CONTACT NATHAN FERGUSON 0429 889 985
5481 THATCHER CX-4
4077 Airframe Hours, 1503.9 HTR Engine Hours, Silvaire 8A. Fully restored Luscombe 8A FOR SALE with maintenance release (MR). Always hangared, condition 9/10. All metal, imported from USA Dec. 2013. MTOW: 571kgs. TT 4077. Eng: A-65-8. TSO: 361.7. HTR: 1503.9. Prop: McCauley. TBO: 1934.5. PRICE $35000 CONTACT GLENN DARLINGTON 0404 864 033
5477 FAETA 321 GLIDER TOW, NOSE WHEEL. 24-8279
flight control “sticks”, Extra intake and exhaust mufflers, Garmin12 GPS, Radio, Intercom and headsets, Flight suits, helmets, Vinyl cover, All maintenance up to date, Very tidy aircraft. PRICE $10850 CONTACT ERNEST LEONARD THRUSH 0400 658 891
5488 RANS S-6ES
31 Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, CX-4, Thatcher CX-4, 2180 Hummel factory built engine, great to fly open cockpit, transport trailer INCL PRICE $24000 CONTACT KEVIN WINTERGREENE 0427 225 600
5482 SKYFOX GAZELLE
27 Airframe Hours, 68 Engine Hours, RANS S-6ES New - just finished/test-flown. Airframe 27 hours, Rotax 912/80hp 68 h. New Warp-Drive 3-bla. Pull-on skins, big tyre option, brakes both sides. Icom A200 rad./ Sig. intercom. ASI/Alt/Vsi etc. 85/90 kt cruise. PRICE $52500 CONTACT JOHN LINDNER 0448 497 989
5490 PIPISTREL 380 Airframe Hours, 380 Engine Hours, Faeta 321, Fabulous factory built LSA glider tow up to 750kg, panel is a Six pack plus EFIS, transponder. Economical tourer at 115 knots. L2 maintained. PRICE $85000 CONTACT KENNETH IAN FLOWER 0457 811 627 EMAIL KEN.FLOWER747@GMAIL.COM
5478 QUICKSILVER GT500
1404 Airframe Hours, 1404 Engine Hours, Gazelle, SKYFOX GAZELLE for sale , Great aircraft with nothing to spend New tyres, perspex roof replaced, New 2 blade Bolly Prop, G/box Overhauled 2017. All books included.. Folding Wings for easy storage. Hangared in Finniss SA. PRICE $30000 CONTACT BRIAN STOTT 0410 401 139
5483 JABIRU J230-D
400 Airframe Hours, 400 Engine Hours, GT 500, This fun and cheap to run aircraft is only 400 hrs TTIS, full instruments, radio, runs great with spare new exhaust. Priced for quick sale PRICE $14450 CONTACT KENNETH IAN FLOWER 0457 811 627
5479 KITFOX PROJECT FOR SALE
112.2 Airframe Hours, 112.2 Engine Hours, Sinus Always hangared and covered Fully passed certified condition report available on contact with seller, Minor accident damage repaired by manufacturer to new standard in 2003, a pleasure to fly $75000.00 Located in Goulburn NSW PRICE $75000 CONTACT BRUCE ETHERIDGE 0434 815 430
5491 AIRCRAFT FOR SALE 94 Airframe Hours, 94 Engine Hours, J230-D, JABIRU J230-D PRICE $69000 CONTACT ARMANDO PAPALLO VIA WEBSITE
5486 PIONEER 300 KITE 140 Airframe Hours, 140 Engine Hours, Vm1, Esqual Vm1 PRICE $65000 CONTACT WALTER HUDSON VIA WEBSITE
553 Airframe Hours, 553 Engine Hours, Supersport, Taildragger Kitfox for sale. Aircraft was blown over in a wind storm damaging wings. Wings have had aileron mod fitted and have not been covered. All covering materials supplied. PRICE $15000 CONTACT GRAHAM HORTON 0407 267 647
5480 CHEETAH XLS
890 Airframe Hours, 890 Engine Hours, 300 Kite, A Pioneer 300 Kite available for sale. The aircraft is in excellent condition with only 890 hours since new. It has dual Eclipse IFIS system; 110L fuel capacity (3 tanks); Garmin Transponder & Radio; AV MAP EXP V 7” GPS. New DUC prop; factory built. PRICE $95000 CONTACT DAVID MACKAY VIA WEBSITE
5487 AEROCHUTE DUAL
150 Airframe Hours, 150 Engine Hours, Cheetah xls,
166.1 Airframe Hours, 166.1 Engine Hours, Dual. Aerochute and trailer,Raywil
61 / SPORT PILOT
5493 XT 912 MICROLIGHT TRIKE
474 Airframe Hours, 474 Engine Hours, XT912 Tundra, For sale 2009 Airborne XT912 Tundra with Arrow K wing with only 71 hrs on wing. Excellent condition. Includes 2 Flycom Helmets, Training bars, bar mits, wing & trike covers & trike trolley. PRICE $30000 CONTACT PAUL CESNIK 0418 114 443
So you don’t think you
need an Insurance Broker?
Aviation Insurance can be complex! Don’t just wing it… Talk to our team
07 4052 1000 broker@billowen.com.au
|
www.billowen.com.au
AVIATION INSURANCE
EXPERIENCED AVIATION INSURANCE SPECIALISTS Stewart & Gladys Smith would like to assist with your Fixed Wing, Helicopter, Hangarkeepers and Public Liability needs. We have recently been joined by Grant Gerni who not only knows aviation but also excellently handles all other types of business and personal insurances. Our team is friendly & helpful to deal with and we normally obtain for you multiple competitive quotes from all suitable insurers. We service clients in all parts of Australia! WE’RE ON YOUR SIDE
Cerni Kalser Insurance Pty Ltd t/a Insure Planes
Phone: 03 9816 3264 Email: aviation@insureplanes.com.au Web: www.insureplanes.com.au Stewart Smith 0433 278 700 Gladys Smith 0425 759 322 Grant Cerni 0427 779 649
AVIATION FINANCE
Australian Commercial Credit Pty Ltd in affiliation with Phillips Basile Equipment Finance Pty Ltd may be able to assist with funds from prime lenders. Good bank fixed rates, normally over 5 years with security over only the plane. Ring Stewart Smith for an obligation free initial discussion. WE’RE ON YOUR SIDE
A VI A TION CLASSIFIED S
5494 J6C KARATOO
5497 HANGAR ON FREEHOLD, APRON, BUILDING & LAND
CONTACT FRANKIE BAILEY 0468 713 545
5505 T-LITE MICROLIGHT
149 Airframe Hours, 149 Engine Hours, J6C, Home built Karatoo, side-by-side 2 seater, 149 hours total air frame, Subaru EA81 engine. Always hangered. Not currently registered. Must be sold - Dad’s no longer able to fly it. All reasonable offers considered, located at Forbes NSW. PRICE $23000 CONTACT DAVID DENT 0413 243 243
nil Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, nil, Freehold title, land area15.625m2, apron 3600m2, hangar 1694m2, clubhouse with kitchen, enclosed BBQ area, offices, store rooms, bar, caravan park with 3 phase power PRICE $-1 CONTACT GRIETJE BRUINSMA-WANSINK 0408 244 035
5501 AIRCRAFT 23-8806
5495 ZENITH CH601XLB AIRCRAFT
65 Airframe Hours, 65 Engine Hours, T-Lite, april 2015 model, 65 hours, parachute mount and parachute container included, spare batten tips, special service tool for tightening pulley belt, instruments-vario, PPT, radio (vertex), airspeed indicator, front disk brakes, up to date log books, maintainence manuals, pilot operating handbook, parts catologue, 168 core wing blue/red stripe under, polini 190 engine, RA-AUS rego 8609 PRICE $14000 STEPHEN WILSON 0401 861 129
5506 SAPHIRE
410 Airframe Hours, 410 Engine Hours, CH601XLB, Zenith CH601XLB aircraft. Honda Viking HF110 engine with Warp Drive 3 blade ground adjustable prop. Dynon Skyview avionics including mode S transponder. Garmin GT200 radio and backup flight instruments. Great for touring. Easy and cheap to maintain. PRICE $59000 CONTACT RAYMOND HAROLD WHITE 0408 690 523
5496 ENGINE FOR SALE
nil Airframe Hours, nil Engine Hours, nil, ROTAX 912ULS S/N 5647791, New at April 2007. Fully serviceable. 650 hours since new. TBO 2,000. PRICE $9900 CONTACT BRIAN SHADLER 0423 830 739
350 Airframe Hours, 350 Engine Hours, J230D, For Sale Jabiru J-230D PRICE $97000 CONTACT BILL HAYNES 0429 054 205
5502 2014 WEDGETAIL AIRCRAFT COUGAR (FORMALLY MORGAN AEROWORKS)
755 Airframe Hours, 30 Engine Hours, Saphire, Number 5 Build.First Reg 1985.KFM powered.Still full flying order and condition.Low hours air frame and current engine.Delight to Fly.Sale is age related.Three spare KFM motors and components included.Along with a complete Engine tool dismantle and rebuild Manufacturers kit. PRICE $7000 CONTACT H MACAULAY VIA WEBSITE
5508 FOKKER DR1
62 Airframe Hours, 62hrs Engine Hours, Cougar, This aircraft is one of very few kit built aircraft of it’s class antwhere in Australia. It is equipped with everything that you could imagine: Honda Viking Engine 110Hp (Uses between 18-20LPH of 98 Fuel) 110L Fuel Capacity with 8 hrs Endurance PRICE $105000
15 Airframe Hours, 22 Engine Hours, DR1, Fokker 75% scale, DR1 Three Axis PRICE $10250 CONTACT BARRY RODGERS 0428 662 528
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ADVERTISING ONLINE AND IN THE MAGAZINE To advertise online and in Sport Pilot magazine Visit: www.aviationclassifieds.com.au/
| Call: (02) 6280 4700
|
Email: sales@aviationclassifieds.com.au
Advertising rates start at $33 (incl GST) per month for online advertising. You can include up to 5 photos and 1000 words of text online. Advertising rates include an ad in Sport Pilot Magazine, which is limited to one photo and 50 words. Advertisers are responsible for cancelling their ad. No refunds will be issued for ads where the advertiser sells a product and fails to cancel their ad. RAAus offers advertisers the opportunity to auto-renew ads, it is an advertisers responsibility to turn off this feature. The deadline for ads to appear in Sport Pilot is the 15th of the month prior to the cover date of the issue. The Aviation Classifieds section in Sport Pilot is subsidised by RAAus and its members and is for non-commercial sales only. As such, even though your ad is guaranteed to be online, inclusion in the magazine will be at the discretion of the Editor. Before purchasing any aircraft/engines/equipment which appears in the Aviation Classifieds, make sure the technical details and registration information is correct for that type and model of aircraft/engine/equipment. RAAus and Stampils P/L take NO responsibility for the technical accuracy of the details and information attached to each ad online and in Sport Pilot magazine and may not be able to transfer the aircraft purchase. RAAus also reserves the right to edit or delete advertisements deemed inappropriate or misleading. RAAus and Stampils P/L reserve the right to withdraw from publication, without refund, any ad deemed unsuitable, including low quality or faulty images. Neither RAAus nor Stampils P/L accepts responsibility for advertising errors or omissions. Advertisers are also responsible for assessing both the integrity of potential buyers and the risks which attend online transactions. The long standing principle of caveat emptor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveat_emptor) applies. Since phishing scammers may contact advertisers using the RAAus website, you are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with the ACCC’s guidelines for recognising and guarding against online scammers (https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-protection/protecting-yourself-from-scams).
63 / SPORT PILOT
IF YOU HAVE A PRODUCT OR SERVICE AND NEED TO TELL EVERY AUSTRALIAN PILOT ABOUT IT SPORT PILOT MAGAZINE IS THE ONLY PLACE TO DO IT. For a limited time, s for l deal Sport Pilot has speciat miss out. n’ new advertisers. Do et.au editor@sportpilot.n
Gympie Queensland 07 5483 5112 recreationalflyingco.com
SAFETY Robust construction and four point safety harness STRENGTH Built like a light G.A. aircraft, slid & all metal Large cockpit width with adjustable seating SIZE
BRUMBY AIRCRAFT AUSTRALIA 112 AIRPORT ROAD, COWRA AIRPORT NSW 2794 TEL: +61 2 6341 1635 | FAX: +61 2 6341 1636 EMAIL: info@brumbyaircraft.com.au WEB: www.brumbyaircraft.com.au
QU IZ
A QUESTION OR TWO
In a conventional light aeroplane, flying in equilibrium, the centre of pressure is….. a. At the same position as the centre of gravity. b. Forward of the centre of gravity. c. Behind the centre of gravity. d. The centre of gravity cannot be determined because there is no weight on the wheels.
4
An aircraft’s static vent has been blocked by a mud wasp. Which of the following options would most likely to occur during subsequent flight? a. An ASI error which increases with increasing altitude. b. The VSI will cease to indicate climb or descent. c. The altimeter will not indicate changing
altitude. d. All of the above.
5
An aeroplane is spinning. What is happening to the wings? a. Outer wing stalled, inner wing less stalled. b. Inner wing stalled, outer wing less stalled. c. Both wings are equally stalled. d. Neither wing is stalled.
ANSWERS
2
aeroplane floats in ground 3 An effect after the flare when landing. This is likely caused by which of the following? a. Reduced ‘P’ factor with throttle closed. b. Reduced form drag. c. Reduced induced drag. d. Mechanical lift off a hot runway surface.
1. D 2. C 3. C 4. D 5. B
pilot retracts the flaps after 1 Atake-off. What is actually happening to the wings? a. A decrease in stall speed. b. An increase in anhedral. c. An increase in induced drag. d. A decrease in camber.
ADVERTISERS INDEX
WHERE IS
CAGIT?
CAGIT STILL PARKED IN PINGELLY WHO knew that Pingelly would prove to be such an obstacle for enterprising Hunters of the Come And Get It Trophy. Since January, Tony Messenger has been waiting for someone to put his place in the cross hairs and actually come and get it. But no. Despite several rumours to the effect, no one has yet claimed the most coveted, and transient, prize in recreational aviation. If you, or your crew, are contemplating a high-speed heist of recreational aviation’s most coveted prize, it’s best to keep up-to-date with its latest location by checking the CAGIT hunter’s Facebook page, administered by Dexter Burkill, Peter Zweck and David Carroll. Facebook.com/cagithunters. For a full list of rules about how you can grab CAGIT for yourself, check out the RAAus website.
65 / SPORT PILOT
AeroKits 56 Asia Pacific Light Flying 44 Atec Aircraft Sales 54 Australian Aircraft Kits 62 Australian Lightwing 36 Bert Flood Imports 6 Bill Owen 62 Bolly Props 67 Brumby Aircraft 64 Bushcat 38 CASA 26 Coominya Flight Training 62 D-Motor Australia 67 Foxbat Australia 24 Goolwa Air Park 56 Horsham Aviation 26,60 Insure Planes 62,67 Jabiru Aircraft 68 Leading Edge Aviation 67 Lowe Flight 67 Mendelssohn Pilot Supplies 2 MKY Tours Oshcosh 64 PSB 44 Recreational Flying Co Gympie 64 Sapphire Avionics 56 SEQFTA 67 Sling 24 South West Aircraft Maintenance 60 Sport Aircraft Sales 36 Sport Aviation Tocumwal 64 Starfox Aircraft 49 Tecnam 5
HA P P Y L A ND IN G S
Feeling light headed BY HARRY LINTON (AGED 15)
I
T felt strange not having someone else in the plane as it took off. The whole time I was in the air, I couldn’t stop talking to myself. I was aware few people knew that some of us students from Jindabyne Central School were learning to fly. But no matter how few there were of us, it made me want to do it more. Before I had decided to learn to fly, I had no idea Alpine Aviation even existed and I hadn’t even noticed the planes flying around Jindabyne on weekends. But then I started to learn and the year went quickly. I have now been involved with Alpine Aviation and the Jindabyne Aero Club for a year, yet on January 1, I felt like I had just started to learn how to fly. What seemed like all of a sudden, I was in the plane, on my own, lining
up on the runway for take-off - talking aloud to myself to keep the nerves at bay. Then it started and the adrenaline kicked in. I was louder and clearer on the radio then I had ever been. One thousand feet above the ground and I was even more nervous than I had ever been. I started to talk louder to myself, half yelling the downwind checks to myself, as if I was trying to yell them to the people on the ground. On the final leg, I didn’t stop talking as the runway grew in front of me. Then I pulled back on the stick, tickled the ground, bounced back up in the air, came back down, stopped and turned around. I realised it was all over but the adrenaline didn’t really let up for ages. I was still a little light headed when I left the airfield. I had gone solo.
Harry Linton after his flight
SEND IN YOUR STORIES Got an aviation moment you’d love to share? Your kids or maybe your club get-together? You’ve probably noticed Moree’s Fred Nolan likes to tell everyone how well his students are doing. Your school can do the same with your students. Simply send in a photo as a jpeg attachment and a short explanation to editor@sportpilot.net.au
66 / SPORT PILOT
XCitor Paratrike Flying for fun? Want to defy gravity safely?
Get XCited! Type Certified German Engineered
AVIATION INSURANCE EXPERIENCED AVIATION INSURANCE SPECIALISTS
Stewart Smith, Gladys Smith, and Grant Cerni would like to assist with your Fixed Wing, Helicopter, Hangarkeepers, and Public Liability needs. Grant can also quote you on all other types of business & personal insurance. Our team is friendly & helpful to deal with, and we obtain for you multiple competitive quotes from all suitable insurers. We service clients in all parts of Australia! WE’RE ON YOUR SIDE
Cerni Kalser Insurance Pty Ltd t/a Insure Planes
Phone: 03 9816 3264 Email: aviation@insureplanes.com.au Web: www.insureplanes.com.au Stewart Smith 0433 278 700 Gladys Smith 0425 759 322 Grant Cerni 0427 779 649
AVIATION FINANCE
Australian Commercial Credit Pty Ltd in affiliation with Phillips Basile Equipment Finance Pty Ltd may be able to assist with funds from prime lenders. Good bank fixed rates, normally over 5 years with security over only the plane. Ring Stewart Smith for an obligation free initial discussion. WE’RE ON YOUR SIDE
67 / SPORT PILOT