Friday 8 January 2016

RansMail # 150 December 2013 

Please open pdf attachment to read your Ransmail (Double click).

Fritillaries on Hawthorn (Sussex UK)


Clive Innocent (UK) Escapade. Late November, it was clear and blue today with a 12mph breeze gusting to 20, though pretty much down 05 so was fine.

Brian flew into Hadfold 'International' in - Charlie, to meet me then we set off to Sandown IOW for a late lunch. Surprisingly, it was a little lumpy near the coastal areas, but vis was very good. Carla had a full house but kept up with the demand for food and drink. Chris and Kay Bradford were also there with their Escapade. So, 3 taildragger Escapades at one airfield for a change !  We spent over an hour chatting to various fellow pilots, then headed back home.

On the return flight over the Downs I noticed quite a difference in GPS and ASI readings. At 1,700ft I had 78 Kt. on my ASI and the Garmin showing 48 Kt. for a while. Strange only 10 Min's later my approach to land at Hadfold Farm felt smooth and stable followed by a lovely 3 pointer and stopped in under half the strip length. The sock here was showing a gentle breeze of 8 to 10 Kt.. An enjoyable local trip, and a nice lunch. Very pleasant way to spend a Saturday. All I have to do now is wash all the mud off Paddy. I'll do that in the week sometime.


Dare I ask if anyone would be interested in this ? The Icicle Meet 4th & 5th January 2014  - at Long Marston this time, near Stratford-on-Avon. The whole idea is to be under canvas overnight ! Rick Moss tends to do a BBQ at midnight. It's considered to be a good meet, and growing each year - I'm thinking of having a go.
Rotax announces revised Service Bulletin SB-912-064 R1 / SB-914-045 R1 : Periodic checking of the crankshaft journal for 912 & 914 series engines.The procedure for checking the crankshaft journal has been revised slightly; checking the oil level and purging the oil system is no longer required & serial numbers of UL engines is expanded. A limited range of engines required an inspection for cracks developing in the PTO end crankshaft. Periodic inspection will be necessary every 100 hours of operation and/or annually. A new tool simplifies the inspection. Bulletin for UL (Uncertified) engines,  http://legacy.rotax-owner.com/si_tb_info/serviceb/sb-912-064ulr1.pdf  .
Jackrells to Bourne (Cambridgeshire) Monday 25th November & return by Rod Little by Jodel G-BAEE.  The off-piste strip was used to keep off its soft patches. Bourne was where Rod's Dad sadly flew his last mission from, exactly 70 years ago.
I did make it there and back, a bit drizzly on the way but nothing too bad. Ex WWII Bourne airfield still has 2 of its runways useable although they are starting to break up a bit, not surprising after 70 years. There's no trace of the wartime buildings but the occasional souvenir still surfaces like odd live rounds built into the concrete and apparently a Lancaster wheel in one of the ditches. They're a friendly bunch there too so I can recommend it as a destination, there's still an air of history about it.
Take-Off begins.

Landing fees always put you off, especially when only landing away for a coffee, but there are signs that UK airfield operators are beginning to learn it turns away other revenue.
Compton Abbas Events 2014 – Free Landings for all on 1st January; 18th May; 20th & 21st June; 6th July & 20th July.
More good UK news for Light aviation.
Our CAA deregulates 8.33 handheld radios.
Pilots will be free to contact ATC without the need to seek specific type approval to use them. http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&pagetype=65&appid=7&mode=detail&nid=2316
And .... a New National Organisation Approval Supporting Recreational Aviation.
CAP 553, British Civil Airworthiness Requirements (BCAR) Section A Issue 8 introduces a new organisation approval for organisations supporting recreational aviation (A8-26.
CAA Safety Data - General Aviation Reports: November 2013. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/General%20Aviation%20Report%20November%202013.pdf

Peter Greenrod, Bede 4 & Rans S5

I have been trying to use the Bede as transport but I need places to go with 700 mtrs hard surface. The one and only money I am spending on the plane is for a new Herc. prop..... I will do a write up when I have got my Mod back. Peter mentioned seeing a cheap Rans S6 with 503 on e-bay - went for ~£5k.




The Rans S4 Rotax 447 engine which coughed last month is now removed for examination at home.


Ferrous metal  - (piston ring?) came out when the rear underneath plug was removed.
Jabiru Engine know-how - Solid Lifters retro fix.(Jabiru forum)
It’s accepted that the some Hydraulic Lifter engines are a lot happier as Solid Lifters; the early HL engines in particular. The problem is how to do this safely, in a cost effective manner. If the particular engine can do with a tear-down, then it’s best to fit the original Honda style cam followers as part of the exercise. This gives the opportunity to sort out the through bolts at the same time. Minor modifications are required to the crankcase and cylinders to do this and can be done on a shop drill-press.
If the engine is low time and the through bolts show no signs of losing tension, the job can be done by simply replacing the existing lifters and rocker gear with solid versions. Light-weight "modified" Ferrea lifters can be used but are not essential. The downside is that the diameter of the standard lifters is not ideal for the camshaft. This will work, but the camshaft may wear prematurely, but no worse than with the standard HL’s.
There are two basic types of oil-feed to the heads. External flood oil-feed and internal oil-feed to the rocker bushes through the pushrods. The different lubrication paths require different approaches to optimise the valve train longevity. A revised rocker arm design is needed to optimise the geometry.
Note: as the kits merely revert the design to SL and are interchangeable with standard Jabiru parts, standard Jabiru maintenance procedures still apply. The various HL camshafts will all work as SL. If damaged, the original SL camshaft is used.
New, Overhauled and New Cores for CAMit Aero Engines have more comprehensive changes and although the CAE parts are still interchangeable, different maintenance procedures apply in some areas.
So the CAMit conversion kits come in four main variations. Most require lifters, pushrods, rocker arms. Some require springs, retainers and valves as well.
1. 14M1-8: For external flood feed without splitting the case. Chevy lifters. (lowest cost)
2. 14M1-7: For external flood feed. Split the case - Honda style lifters - (fit 7/16 thru bolts preferably)
3. 14M1-25: Internal pushrod feed without splitting the case. Chevy lifters - These require more parts than external FF
4. 14M1-26: Internal pushrod oil feed. Split the case - Honda style lifters – (7/16 thru bolts) This requires the most parts.
This has taken a lot of sorting out to give the best results. It is not intended to be a cure-all for the rest of the engine. In some cases we’ve found it better to overhaul the whole engine to a better standard.
The Cambridge e-Go is flying.
If you spot any problems or would like to see some extra content please drop them a line.
David Robbins Hampshire Microlight Flying Club 
Hmfc report he has been elected to the BMAA Council. It was resounding and well deserved, he is a credit and an inspiration to us all.
USA, N-numbers Register, who owns what ? Access  at  http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Inquiry.aspx    
Chris Tansell, Western Australia (SABC Newsletter Editor)

November Newsletter http://www.sabc.org.au/All/CurrentNews/No137-NovHQ.pdf 
Eddie Postell (USA) As soon as the winds lie low, late November, I'm flying my S4 . Rebuilt the top end of the 503 and installed a new 2 blade IVO prop. Have run 5 hrs on the 503 on the ground. Its ready to fly.
Greg Cox (Southern Flyers - West Sussex).
Has just bought a metallic blue Zenair 601 HD. Built ~1995 G-BUZG. 100 hp 0-200-A.
New Readers welcomed this month
John Blackburn (UK).   I started flying with the Air Training Corps up in the North-East of England, having Varsity, Chipmunk and Shackleton air experience flights, then fortunate to be selected for Gliding Proficiency training at RAF Catterick training on T21b and T31 aircraft to A and B BGA badge standard. After joining the RAF, I flew a little more with RAFGSA, flying the Grunau baby, Ka7, Ka8 and Blanik plus a few others but that was intermittent due to postings.  The main achievements were the Bronze C and being allowed to try for Silver C, but not quite making any element of it.  A family was being generated and free time lost, so gliding was given up for the duration.
At Christmas just a few years ago, my sons presented me with a gift voucher for a trial flight - they had remembered me saying that I wouldn't mind a ride in a microlight.  I deliberated long and hard about presenting the voucher to a school as I didn't really want to get into flying again.  (it's a bit addictive as you know!)  I was frog-marched up to Mainair at Barton (Manchester)to ensure that I did!  The instructor gave me a choice; "That one there, or the other one over there" he said, pointing - I couldn't see a second triangular flex-winged machine anywhere.  That one he said, looks like a Cessna 150, it's called a C42.  Oh, how much do I need to put to the voucher to fly that ?  "Nothing" was the reply, that's a microlight too !  Having initially used gliding as an ambition to eventually fly something fixed wing like a C150, I was secretly pleased as punch and so my flying began again.
I started to get onto the internet and look at all things microlight, eventually purchasing what I now describe as the banger on the forecourt with 12 month's MoT!  This Standard X'Air lived out in the open at Ince Blundell (on sea) and although flyable, it had seen better days.  I had it flown down to the Club and airfield I had joined, Shifnal Shaw Lane, but there was no instructor and if to visit needed travel costs too.  The aircraft sat out in the open for a bit longer while I learned on a C42 at Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green (EGBO). We got hangar space and I started completely re-wiring it & other anti-deterioration measures.  It still doesn't look like a Shiny New Thing, but it's mine and my Inspector is more than happy with the general condition of this well used 14-year old aeroplane. I'm still cautious to select the best weather to fly in and intend to increase my tolerance beyond CAVOK. We have a Rans 6 at Shifnal and a retired work colleague is involved with the Build a Plane project at a school at Telford.  I think this aircraft is perhaps almost complete, but I haven't seen in for many months.
Laurynas Sadauskas Vilnius, Lithuania.
I found out about this newsletter on euroga.org forum. As a fellow microlight pilot currently flying an ATEC Zephyr aircraft I would be very much interested in being added to your mailing list. I'm based at EYVP aerodrome near Vilnius, Lithuania & flying since 2006 and have accumulated 550 flying hours, all on microlights (or ultralights, as we call them here). The co-owned ATEC Zephyr 2000 aircraft has the 100 hp Rotax 912ULS engine.
Dave Ridley.(UK).  I'm based at Deanland, Sussex - we have some very active 3 axis microlight activity going on here.I'm a PPL and a CRI and fly a British aircraft ....a Beagle Pup and do aeros and formation etc. I love all things aviation and try to fly and experience as many varied aircraft (and fly with as many pilots! ) as I can.
UK PPL Medical easement (Jon Cooke, Pilot coaching Scheme Chairman, LAA forum 12th December).


The ORS4 exemption has been published. It allows for UK PPL holders with a valid SEP rating to validate their licence with a NPPL Medical Declaration or LAPL medical. This then limits you to NPPL SSEA privileges. Published as ORS4 No. 995 valid until 30th September 2016.

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/ORS4%20995.pdf


Paul & Bev Hill, from his SkyRanger, a cool flight week ago.

En route to Sandown, Arundel Castle is below us with river Arun in view.


Ron Atkinson sent a Two Minute History lesson (if it stops click to restart)

Old RansMails are now on line courtesy Peter Greenrod. https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4702449/Ransmails.pdf

It's Christmas - 
And - skip past the Ad -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2h3_aH3vo
Mike.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)