If you think that ownership is out of your league – then think again!The sky really is your limit…
DERRING-DO FATHER AND SONS ON AN AFRICAN ADVENTURE
MEET THE MEMBERS DAVE
Halfway through the year. Can you believe that? I don’t seem to have managed to get much done at all, although now we can get back to the Jodel we are at least progressing reasonably well with that. I had initially hoped to have it flying by the end of May, do a couple of hours with a mate, get my licence revalidation and get some decent flying in during what is shaping up to be a pretty good summer. Realistically, that’s now out the window, but if we get back in the air and I sort the licence out by the end of the season I’ll count that as a good result. I do try to be a ‘glass half-full’ sort of guy.
Still, at least a number of sporting events have started to take place, albeit behind closed doors, something that unfortunately wouldn’t work with the LAA Rally. Sadly, we have had to take the decision to cancel the event because the health risks are simply too great. The Rally is a very important part of what we are as an association, so this was not an easy decision, but as somebody who has been heavily involved in the organisation of the Rally for a number of years, I am absolutely sure that this is the right thing to do. Next year will be the Association’s 75th Anniversary and we are already committed to doing all we can to have a bumper Rally to celebrate that and make up for this year’s disappointment.
Anyway, this month we have a feature on getting into aircraft ownership for under £20K, which includes a nice piece on group ownership from Duncan Campbell, who is one of five owners of a lovely old
Luscombe on a farm strip in Sussex.
Most of the sub £20K two-seaters are factory-built orphans, great aircraft for your first foray into ownership with plenty of expertise and owner clubs to fall back on.
If you are thinking about the bargain end of aviation, then I hope it gives you some ideas.
I doubt there are many of us who haven’t dreamt of an African adventure, the heroics of the likes of the Mollisons, Henshaw and Cobham firing the imagery of expansive landscapes and fiery sunsets.
Sling 4 builder, Ron Wheeler, and his two sons Chris and Nick, took time out for their own unique Boys’ Own tale of derring-do, joining a group of Sling owners to make a round trip from South Africa to Zanzibar to experience the ‘dark continent’ in all its glory. Part one starts on page 18.
All this and more – how do we do it for the money!
I hope you enjoy this issue and have been able to have some flying fun since the skies reopened for recreational activity.
Now… I’ve got to get back to it and finish my wooden wonder so I can come out to play too!
Take care. Brian.
Brian Hope
The LAA summer is off to a delayed start this year but I hope you are all getting to enjoy some reasonable flying, even in the current restricted form. There will however, need to be some further lifting of restrictions if we are to make the most of this year and enjoy our pastime. It’s nice to be able to visit old and new airfields but such a pity that catering and atmosphere are two casualties of the pandemic – people were, and still are, vital ingredients to our enjoyment.
Flying training is, of course, the major ingredient that is missing from GA at the moment, however, I’m sure you have noticed that the approach varies wildly across the globe – from complete shutdown of airspace to pretty much business as usual. I hear that there are some products now being offered to prevent infection while we are airborne with someone from a different household, i.e. an instructor, but I wonder whether these will soon be discarded or become, as they say, the new normal?
The damage to commercial air transport seems to be continuing unabated, with recent announcements about severe retrenchment by airlines, and airports which are left trying to serve significantly diminished volumes of passengers and aircraft movements with too many resources.
Something has got to give I suppose, but developments like these will also have impacts on our community unfortunately, these being, for example, the curb on careers and less disposable income to go private flying.
One of the impacts that might seem a little counter intuitive, will be on airspace and its modernisation.
Even though traffic volumes are severely depressed, there remains a pressing need for changes of airspace design and structure that are well past their sell-by-date, having been introduced for 1970s
commercial aircraft and their operation.
In addition, we need to have a cross industry agreement upon the timing and implementation of the future roll out of electronic conspicuity, in whatever format enables both air-to-air and air-toground awareness. In fact, this current upheaval is probably the best time to modernise our airspace, rather than wait until everybody’s too busy to do it properly.
From a GA perspective, there is much to be concerned about and, bizarrely, perhaps even be pleased about. On the one hand, today’s commercial aircraft can perform better than their more aged counterparts, climbing quicker and faster and potentially allowing the base of controlled airspace to rise.
On the other hand they (the airline operators) say they need more space laterally to improve and increase routings, providing more system capacity and reducing delay… and even though we are leaving the EU and EASA, our regulators seem to be chasing down compliance with EU legislation. No, I can’t work that one out either. Nevertheless, it’s a delicate balance, but GA needs to be front and centre in the debates. If you haven’t already done so, please take a look at the Airspace4All.org website to learn more and get engaged.
Still on the subject of airspace, I’m told that within three hours of the return of GA flying in May, the CAA recorded their first post-lockdown airspace infringement and that overall numbers are starting to rise again.
I’ve asked for a breakdown of the infringements by aircraft type, so that we can see whether permit types are involved, however this information wasn’t available in time for me to complete this article and meet the editor’s deadlines. Hopefully I will have something to report next month.
In the meantime, stay safe!
06 NEWS
Thumbs up to 600kg microlights from CAA, Rally cancellation and Air League kit build plans
10 FINANCIAL REPORT
A look at our 2019 financial accounts
13 ROCC COURSE
Taking the Radio Operator’s Certificate of Competence Course at Popham Airfield 2020
14 PROJECT NEWS
KFA Explorer, Van’s RV-6A. Plus New Projects and Cleared to Fly
18 SLING AFRICA
Rod Wheeler relates a Boys’ Own flying adventure in Southern Africa. Part I
24 ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT
LAA engineers produce a primer to encourage electric aircraft activity
29 METAL SEAGULLS LIGHTS
Finding lights that tick all the boxes…
30 REFUELLING
When it comes to refuelling, you should find a system that offers you, the aircraft and the environment the safest solution
32 STRUTS4U
Anne Hughes profiles the activities of the Struts, making good use of social media
34 FLYING ADVENTURE
Pretty villages and spas – Freiburg has it all – and more, as Martin Ferid reports
40 OWN FOR UNDER £20K
Brian Hope looks at the options available which can make it possible to own and fly for less than 20K
46 NEW PANEL
Ruth Kelly installs a new panel using determination and skill…
52 SAFETY SPOT
Engine fires and problems highlighted through deep inspections
58 MEET THE MEMBERS
We chat with Dave Howell, an inveterate aircraft owner/repairer…
62 CEO THOUGHTS
Steve Slater looks to the future, and laments the LAA Rally cancellation…
63 LANDING VOUCHERS
Your free landings, discounts and offers
On 16 June, the CAA issued a statement confirming a move to bring many new light aircraft designs under national regulation. The statement and the accompanying paper, CAP1920, is the CAA’s response to the consultation they held in autumn 2019, in which 1,254 respondents from a total of 1,379 (91%), supported the adoption of regulation for aeroplanes and helicopters up to 600kg to ‘opt out’ of EASA control and come within national oversight. The LAA, which has worked with the BMAA, industry representatives, and the CAA since the start of last year to see this issue progressed, welcomes the move as the next step in the consultative process.
Why microlights?
The consultation asked if these 450-600kg aeroplanes should be defined as ‘microlights’ or as ‘light sport aircraft’, and the LAA Board agreed that an expansion of the microlight definition was more advantageous than LSA in the short term. In the consultation, 78% of respondents expressed a preference towards the microlight definition. As microlights they also very much simplify the pilot licencing requirements for both microlight and SEP/SSEA licenced pilots.
The new rules will mean that manufacturers currently limited to producing microlight aircraft certified to 450kg would, under future national regulation, be able to sell new machines without having to switch over to more onerous EASA regulations, so long as they have no more than two seats, a calibrated stall speed not exceeding 45kt and a maximum mass of no more than 600kg.
The LAA’s vision of the future is that by working together, the CAA, BMAA and LAA could benefit the whole of the sport flying community by offering a new, more practical, economical and more environmentally-friendly fleet of GA aircraft.
The short answer is no, there will be no automatic transition, just as there wasn’t when the 390kg max allowable was moved up to 450kg. If an aircraft has been designed and built to meet the 450kg max weight, it may not be possible to increase the max allowable load without strengthening the structure. However, it may be possible to increase the limit on designs which were operated below their max design load in order to meet the microlight definition. We’ll be reviewing that as part of the implementation process.
To be issued a UK Permit to Fly, any design must be approved to an acceptable design code such as BCAR Section S. The next
stage of our work with the CAA is the implementation process, where the working group will develop options for appropriate design codes. It is also appropriate to look at an overhaul of the present requirements for microlight manufacturers to have CAA approval as manufacturers, which is currently a significant burden which has no equivalent among other European countries. It will be important to ensure commonality with codes and manufacturing approvals used in other countries, allowing the import and export of these aircraft to be simpler. Both the LAA and BMAA share the aim of creating a system to allow members to buy and fly aircraft from abroad, and for UK manufacturers to be able to sell outside the UK, with fewer regulatory obstacles.
Despite our best efforts, much of this is out of our hands and the CAA is, of course, also dealing with stepping more widely out of EASA as part of Brexit. Initially this was going to be a more isolated project, but now it appears we’ll need to wait for the
wider EASA opt-out at the end of December before this can go ahead. We hope though, that with the Associations and the CAA working together, we can get this programme into place in a matter of weeks thereafter.
CAP1920 can be found at: https:// tinyurl.com/CAA-consult
EASA allow fixed-wing microlight hours to validate EASA PPL or LAPL
Thanks in the main to the perseverance of Europe Air Sports, EASA has finally relented and will now allow fixed wing microlight hours to count toward the validation of an EASA PPL or LAPL rating. They cannot however be used for the hour’s flight with an Instructor or to gain a licence or rating.
A reminder that the CAA has published exemptions to allow those whose ratings or medicals expired between 16 March and 31 October to have them extended to 22 November 2020, subject to certain conditions (published as ORS4 nos 1385 and 1378 to cover both EASA and UK licences). For most Class 2 or LAPL medicals (there are additional requirements for those requiring additional checks), the pilot merely has to carry a copy of the relevant exemption with the original medical certificate.
For SEP, TMG, SSEA, and SLMG Ratings, any LAA Coach can authorise the rating extension by signing the licence rating page. To extend the 12-month period of LAPL currency, the Coach can sign the logbook.
There are CAA forms available if the Coach cannot sign the licence or logbook itself. However, by signing, the Coach is certifying that he or she has provided a formal briefing to the pilot covering the requirements listed in the relevant exemptions. The requirements and Powerpoint suggestions for the content of these briefings are available in the Coaching section of the LAA website.
It is with considerable regret that the Rally Working Group has had to take the decision to cancel this year’s LAA Rally. It joins a long list of aviation events that have had to be cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19.
Planning for the event had begun at the beginning of the year and continued despite the constraints of lockdown in the hope that, with the resumption of recreational flying and the prospect of further easing of lockdown restrictions, it might have been possible to hold an event of some sort at the beginning of September at Sywell.
In reaching its decision, the Working Group has had to consider the duty of care to members, the general public attending the event as well as the LAA staff, the many volunteers and the exhibitors, and our ability to ensure a safe and enjoyable event – all of this against a backdrop of uncertainty, evolving government guidelines and the spectre of a second spike in the virus.
Understandably, given the demographics of the membership, many members had expressed reservations as to the wisdom of holding and attending such a gathering. At the same time, there were many who wished to attend an event even if it had to be reduced in scope and format. A canvassing of exhibitors indicated a similar mixed response – how would it be possible to display aircraft or demonstrate electronic software safely?
As reported in the CEO’s chat, Sywell Aerodrome had indicated its willingness to support an event, albeit with reduced capacity in some of its hotel, restaurant and bar facilities. Like many airfields the FISO team had been furloughed and with staff requiring revalidation, there were also concerns of potential limitations on movement capacity.
As the Working Group continued its detailed planning, it became apparent that despite the ability to physically re-plan the event site to meet social distancing, many of the regular elements of the Rally would need to be scaled back or withdrawn. With many of the regular volunteers who set up and manage the Rally expressing reservations about attending, as well as the additional measures and resources needed to meet government requirements, we made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Rally.
Working Group Chairman, Eryl Smith said “The Rally is the highlight of the LAA year, bringing together the sport and recreational flying community and is greatly valued by our members and exhibitors alike. We are disappointed to have had to take the decision to cancel this year’s Rally but are committed to deliver a bigger and better event to mark the LAA’s 75th Anniversary in 2021. Make the 3, 4 and 5 September 2021, a date in your diaries right now.”
With major lessons learned from the 2016 build of a TL Sling 4 as part of the Centennial Wings programme, the Air League is planning a new aircraft building programme for young people, under the working title Project Slingshot.
Supported by the DfT, Project Slingshot aims to initially build an aircraft for cadet and youth flying training and delivery of Air League flying scholarships.
The programme will deliver significant long-term benefits as a STEM learning project through the participation of hundreds of young people in building the aircraft. It will also provide thousands more with the opportunity to learn to fly, as the aircraft is intended to be utilised for military cadet, and other youth
organisations’ ab initio flying, benefitting several thousand young people over its typical 25-year service life. This will all be made possible by drawing upon expertise within the RAF Sport Aircraft charitable organisation, the aviation and aerospace industries and the Light Aircraft Association.
The ambition is to launch a series of projects across the UK, each build project having the scope to involve a number of different groups of young people through the build being distributed in three elements – the fuselage, wings and empennage – to three locations, thus maximising the scale of the project’s impact, as well as reducing the time of each build.
On 3 June, one of the UK’s hang-gliding and microlight innovators, Brian Harrison (pictured), hang-glider pilot, microlight pilot, entrepreneur and jazz musician with the Clyde Valley Stompers, passed away. I first met Brian at Tinto in the mid-70s, where we were among the first hang-glider flyers in Scotland with Lanarkshire Soaring Club.
At the time, we were flying flappy Skyhook and Hawk gliders, but Brian quickly formed Scot Kites, where he produced the American-designed Electra Flyer hang-gliders which were sold as the Club Firefly, and was the first hang-glider which we had seen with battens in the sail.
Not being one to stand still, Brian was soon producing the Soarmaster engine and propeller drive unit, which he attached to one of his hang-gliders, and Jimmy Potts used it for the first microlight flight from Ireland to Scotland.
When the trike concept appeared on the scene, Brian manufactured his own and started operating a microlight flying school out of Cumbernauld Airfield, which was then just an empty grass field.
Not too much longer he was also
marketing the Paul Catto designed Goldwing Canard Microlight, an all-composite, three-axis machine which proved popular, a number of them being sold across the country.
When licensing and Permits for microlights appeared on the scene, Brian became an examiner, and those of us who had by then got into the microlight scene, had to get our licences. We found ourselves sitting in Brian’s house in Glasgow, taking the exams. Ironically, a few years later, Brian had let his licence lapse and the tables were turned. I was now the instructor and
Dear Brian, as a member, former pilot and engineer, I would like to offer up my past PhD research project as a contender for the ‘Future Flight Challenge’, mentioned in the last LA magazine. It is A VTOL fixed-wing project using an upper surface blown wing concept powered by a ducted fan.
I am now retired and not in a position to undertake this myself, but I would very much like to see it become a reality. I am happy to provide the existing research and ideas to another body to take it forward.
JohnRees (johnwrees@outlook.com)
Hello Brian. I have read with interest the articles about the theft of Rotax engines and the possible solutions. As a Chartered Loss Adjuster of some 40-plus years’ experience, I have seen many theft insurance claims, and advised on precautions. Maybe some of the following might be useful.
The average theft from both business
and commercial premises takes less than five minutes, but because airfields are often remote, thieves can work more easily for longer periods of time, so the best answer is to deter them from attacking their intended target in the first place. Perimeter security is the best solution, we need to keep them out in the first place.
Naturally, thieves would rather attack premises without an alarm – out of some 25,000 domestic burglaries I attended, only three were from alarmed houses, and there is a similar low rate from commercial properties, although it is a little higher because of the relative remoteness of trading estates.
Nevertheless, the fitting of an alarm significantly reduces the risk of an attack. Movement detectors are the preferred method, even with a unit looking at the entrance door. They can often be made to ignore small animals like foxes etc, so reducing false alarms. A monitored alarm is the very best solution, but requires mains
examiner – and Brian was my student.
A couple of years before SSDR was approved, Brian had purchased one of his old Goldwing aircraft and had set about restoring it. It needed a Permit and a check flight, both of which I had the pleasure of doing for him.
In 2016 the Vintage Hang-gliding Association organised their vintage gathering in the Lake District and Brian and I went, and we met up with many of the original flyers who immediately recognised him and were delighted to see him.
After we had walked around all of the assembled early hang-gliders, and watched the flying display, we attended a celebration where Brian received an award in recognition of his valued contribution to the world of hang-gliding and microlighting.
And so passes Brian, a valued friend and advisor to so many, one of the pioneers of hang-gliding and microlight aviation, whose contribution to and enthusiasm for our sports should never be forgotten.
So, next time you’re up flying, give him a wave. I’m sure that he’ll be watching.
Dave Whitelawelectricity, an underground phone line, and incurs a monthly cost to monitor.
As already mentioned, an alarm with a ringer is probably OK for most installations, the ‘bell’ being a klaxon horn with an output in excess of the threshold of pain for most thieves. They can be linked to a phone, or a PC to record the events via a camera, but the pictures aren’t wonderful.
Physical barriers are also good – metal or strong wooden doors, possibly lined with sheet steel, provide a good deterrent, and provided a closed shackle padlock is used the doors will be hard to open. A closed shackle padlock is one where the shackle (the moving bit) fits snugly to the body, so it’s not possible to get a crowbar or the like between the shackle and the body to force it open. Chubb or Banhams are the leading makers, available from good locksmiths or a local DIY or hardware store. New they can be £100 or more, but cheaper alternatives are available and are almost as good.
Best wishes, happy flying, Mike Farrer.
Aviation bears a certain degree of risk and the very purpose of insurance is to protect the pilots and their relatives in case of an unfortunate event. Accidents do occur, but fortunately they are not often tragic. The advances in technology, quality control and maintenance regimes over the years means there are now far fewer serious accidents caused by mechanical failures. Here at Air Courtage, we handle thousands of claims each year and human error tends to be the main causal issue of accidents. Some of them are tragic and will not be mentioned here, but some of them can give rise to a smile. What follows is a compilation of our latest rather unusual claims!
Improbable.
One of our clients had his aircraft stolen while it was on his trailer, but the guilty person was quickly identified and arrested. In fact, while towing the stolen trailer and aircraft, he decided to force his way through a police barricade. Unfortunately, the aircraft was damaged by the shock but is now repaired, and back flying.
Small scale.
One of our clients had his aircraft damaged by a model aircraft. Model flying was taking place on the airfield and though the ‘real’ aircraft was parked in the designated parking area, the pilot of the model aircraft unexpectedly decided to taxy his model towards the tail of the insured aircraft, damaging the aircraft’s trailing edge. He later said that he just wanted to see how it looked with the aircraft towing his model.
Not so inanimate.
Sometimes, perhaps to relieve feelings of guilt and responsibility, inanimate objects are blamed for accidents! “The lamp pole collided with my aircraft”. You must also beware the self-motivated hangar door, there are more around than you may think!
Danger - Animals!
Following an engine failure, our client made an excellent emergency landing in his microlight into a field. Unable to recover the aircraft straight away, it was left on site. The following day, when the insured went to remove the aircraft, he noticed further damage which had been caused by inquisitive horses.
Bully.
Similarly, we have recently handled a claim caused by a bull which escaped from its enclosure. It furiously charged and butted several gliders, damaging a number of fuselages and wings.
Falcon Jet!
A trained falcon died near the airport it was ‘working at’, presumably due to the engine start of a regional airliner at an unexpected location and time. The cause of the death was diagnosed as being a heart-attack, and the falcon’s owner claimed the cost of the bird, including loss of use, etc… The tricky part of this loss was that the loss adjuster had to determine whether the heart attack was caused by the air suction generated by the engine start, in which case it is fully covered, or by the aircraft noise, which is a standard exclusion of all aviation policies. At the end of the day, it was impossible to assess, and the third party suffered a loss due to the inappropriate position of the aircraft which had to be indemnified.
Cooling off.
Although not handled by Air Courtage, would you expect a passenger to open the emergency door ‘to get some fresh air’ just before the aircraft takes off? This occurred on an airliner in China and caused a significant delay to the flight.
Caught short.
Finally, and in rhythm with current events, let’s mention this recent claim which, although again not directly handled by Air Courtage, does make you wonder about some people. A gang of two armed robbers stole hundreds of toilet rolls from an airport due to the shortage in supermarkets because of panic buying over the coronavirus pandemic!
Insurance plays its part in these rather oddball scenarios just as it does in the normal run of unfortunate mishaps and your aviation insurance broker is here to assist you for any occurrence which happens. We take this opportunity to invite you to notify as soon as possible of any incident which happens to you, we are happy to assist even if it may not give rise to an actual claim.
If your aircraft is insured through us, you can report an event, or request any clarification on coverage or claim handling by calling: 03306 845 108 or e-mail: laa@air-assurances.com
Enjoy your return to flying and be safe!
For the past six years, rather than wait until the Annual General Meeting in October, we produce an abbreviated form of our annual accounts in Light Aviation magazine. The full Financial Report for the year 2019 will be available shortly on the LAA website, and of course will be an agenda item at the AGM. However, this summary of the accounts, fresh from the auditors and following approval at the 29 May Board meeting, shows our income and expenditure, and some future planning for 2020 and beyond.
Why are these audited accounts only based on the figures to the end of 2019? Of course, the reason is that at the end of each calendar year we need to ensure all payments and deposits are completed before Henson Rees Russell LLP carry out their formal audit of the business. This took place in March, fortuitously just a week before the COVID-19 lockdown.
Their draft financial report was presented to our Directors for agreement and signature at the end of May, allowing this to get to you in time for this issue of LA
As I would expect, our auditors were happy to give a clean bill of health to both our accounts processes and our governance, even taking into account the exceptional circumstances in which we have found ourselves in recent months.
Although outside the timescale of these accounts, we cannot ignore the effects of the coronavirus on the wider environment, and on sport flying in early 2020. The suspension of general aviation for several weeks had a significant short-term effect on LAA revenues, but we elected not to furlough any staff, and our investment in remote, Cloud-based IT systems has meant that the LAA has been able to serve its members via home-working in an almost seamless manner.
The effective cessation of permit check flights and mod completion testing led to a 50% reduction in monthly Engineering incomes against the 2020 budget. Income for the first four months of 2020 was £305,375 versus a budget of £385,465 – a deficit of £80,090. Fortunately, we have the financial reserves to ride this dip and there are already signs, with around 400 permit renewal applications received in the weeks following the resumption of flying, that these revenues are recovering.
We owe a massive thank you to all the LAA HQ team for keeping things moving through the crisis.
£1,308,724 £1,358,226
£1,318,576 £1,276,857 £1,251,782
£1,108,471 £1,091,040 £1,180,833
Last year I headed this section ‘Continuing Development and Growth’. Well, this year we haven’t shown fiscal growth, but we have certainly made some developments. As you’ll have noted from the table above, our overall income has fallen very slightly, but our expenses have increased, leading for the first time in recent years, to an operating loss.
This is part of a planned strategy to increase our spending in the short-term future. In recent years, the LAA has shown a surplus of anything up to £185,000, building reserves of more that £1.3 million and we felt that this was inappropriate for a not-for-profit members’ association. As a result, the Board agreed to a 2019 budget that, unlike previous years, did not require the Association to show a nominal two per cent surplus on turnover.
Rather than keeping money in the bank at low interest rates, instead we invested in member services, training, and the recruitment of new skilled staff. For some time, we have noted a shortfall in design engineering capability with all three design engineers working at full capacity, leading to delays in approval work. In addition, a number of key staff (including our CEO!), are approaching or are beyond their 60th birthdays. We therefore needed to plan a staged succession of skills and resources for the years ahead.
This was achieved by the recruitment of an additional design engineer and two graduate engineers to be able to take over from one or more of our existing staff engineers, as and when they elect to seek retirement in the coming years. Effectively, we are ‘carrying’ these additional staff above our existing planned establishment at a cost of around £80,000 per annum, meaning we will operate at a planned loss in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 financial years, funded by our current ample reserves.
This has therefore meant we have shown a planned deficit of £49,502, which is actually less than our
budgeted deficit of £104,000. The 2019 accounts show an increase in income in some areas such as training, thanks to more members taking advantage of courses at LAA HQ. We hope that when we can resume these, we’ll be able to continue to build on that success.
Even before the horrors of COVID-19 struck, we were already aware that we needed to plan for some challenges ahead. Our income, which had steadily increased year-on-year by about 1.7% since 2015, levelled off in 2019 to £1,308,724, in fact marginally down from £1,312,580 in 2018. The majority of this fall has been in membership revenues, which despite actual member numbers remaining stable, has seen more members being recruited in the ‘Full Member’ category as syndicate aircraft owners, rather than ‘Full Plus Members’ a sole operator of an aircraft.
Engineering incomes are the prime drivers of revenue, and the LAA ended 2019 with more than 2,700 aircraft on active Permits to Fly and, driven by permit renewal fees, Engineering revenues have increased to £637,471 (it was £615,137 in 2018). Made up of permit first issues, new project registrations and modifications fees, our engineering activities represent just under 50% of the revenues received.
Equally, our biggest area of expenditure is salaries and, due to the recent recruitment programme, overall staff costs increased to £643,231, or 47% of our expenditure. Our second largest area of expenditure is, well, …you are reading it! Light Aviation magazine cost the organisation a total of £157,000 to produce last year, an increase from £148,000 in 2018 as we also produced 10,000 copies of LAA Today, a special edition designed to introduce new members to the Association. Both Light Aviation and LAA Today are of course partially subsidised by advertising revenues, which last year totalled £112,000.
Another significant cost is our insurance coverage, which includes covers for Association and staff liabilities, as well Inspectors and Pilot Coaches when they are working on behalf of the LAA. It also includes liability cover of up to £20 million for Member Club and Strut events. As you might expect, this attracts a significant set of premiums – for the last three years we have paid annual premiums each totalling around £86,000.
However, the insurance market has hardened significantly in the past year and many insurers, having lost money in the GA sector, are pulling out. We expect that premiums in the coming year will increase significantly, perhaps as high as £100,000 per annum.
The LAA Rally continues to give great value for members. Last year the combination of record stand space sales, ticketing and event sponsorship generated revenues of £50,463, up from £47,774. Outgoings totalled £36,047, spent on marquees, servicing and support activities. The £14,000 surplus we generated from the 2019 event is held in a separate Rally fund and, may become useful if we elect to run a different, post-COVID event this year, which may have to be run at a budgeted loss.
While planning for a potential merger between the LAA and BMAA absorbed significant amounts of management and volunteer time, little of this is reflected in the Association’s ‘bottom line’. Expenditures associated with the planning, mainly accounting oversight, totalled £1,200.
The Association has, at £1,365,534, more than adequate reserves to protect our members from any short-term challenges. These reserves are held in a number of bank accounts and investment funds, ensuring that we remain below the Government threshold for compensation if a bank were to close. These investments have been affected by the coronavirus-related financial recession, which has led to declining interest returns. However, we regard these investments as long-term, and therefore expect that they will recover as the global economy gets back on its feet.
Within its reserves, the LAA also currently holds circa £230,000 in allocated accounts or ‘reserved funds’ such as an LAA HQ Buildings Fund, the Armstrong Isaacs Fund and Trophies Fund. These were created, in some cases many years ago, for specific purposes and there are restrictions on any future use. The Armstrong Isaacs fund was further boosted last year by a £50,000 legacy contribution from the estate of the late Dr Ian Brewster. Some of this was invested in areas including the
Top Fleet growth. Head of the CAA GA Unit, Rachel Gardner-Poole signs the authorisation for Yak 18A, 50 and 52’s and Nanchangs, to move onto the LAA register.
Above Training for the future. Chief Engineer Francis Donaldson, with LAA’s Graduate Engineers Mike Roberts (left) and Joe Hadley.
development of social media programmes, the creation of training videos – now rolled out on a dedicated LAA YouTube channel – as well as increasing the breadth of member training activities at LAA HQ.
Overall, even before factoring in the effects of COVID-19, we have noted a levelling of the previously rising trend in membership and we are also noting an increased move to syndicate ownership, along with fewer hours being flown each year. All this points to our all being more careful with our flying spending. This is reinforced by the findings of our member survey, which will be published in next month’s issue of Light Aviation. We’ll be developing future initiatives to recognise that.
We are continuing to invest in new developments, including working with the CAA to improve the scope and utility of the LAA aircraft fleet, including the transition of the Russian YAK fleet from CAA to LAA Permit status, and possible future expansion into the oversight of homebuilt helicopters.
We are also seeking approval to enable the use of LAA Permit aircraft for remunerated ab initio training, and in developing a strategy for the national oversight of factory-built sport aircraft up to 600kg (see NEWS, Ed). This has the potential to transform recreational flying in the UK by enabling microlight designs to operate at more realistic loads, and allowing a wider range of more modern, fuel – and environmentally efficient light aircraft to enter the GA market.
We’re also looking at other, more innovative ways to offer a wider service to existing members and to attract new ones. Despite all the challenges, we’ve got an exciting year ahead! ■
Initially resented, it slowly dawned that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) was an excellent method of keeping up to date. As a result, 50 years ago, I started introducing it into other areas of my life. April became the month for the annual driving lesson, a check flight, and for choosing which course to tackle next. And this year, a shiny new Radio Operator’s Certificate of Competence (ROCC) was ticked off my bucket list.
I learned about the ROCC Course from a round-robin LAA email in February. The ideal number of students is four or six (making two or three pairs) so candidates can work together, which makes the practice RT extremely interactive.
As instructed in the pre-course brief, I duly downloaded CAP413 and CAP452 and scanned thorough anything to do with the relevant sections of the Air Ground Communication Service (AGCS). I was completely ignorant of what it meant at the time and, although I was advised NOT to read everything, I was a little intimidated by the amount of material that seemed to be required.
A month later I set off to Popham on a miserable Friday evening in my campervan ‘Ernie’, and the following morning had a date with the famous Spitfire café all-day breakfast, which lived up to its well-earned reputation and certainly set me up for the day ahead.
We six students eyed each other nervously in the café, we were a diverse group from across the country, with little but aviation in common.
Chris Thompson, our instructor/examiner shepherded us into the Popham conference room, and explained that we had our work cut out if we were going to pass both exams, but that even if we were not successful, we would certainly learn a great deal about correct RT procedure.
One big problem was that the main CAA exam is ‘written’ and not ‘multiple choice’, so you don’t stand any chance of guessing one of the usual four possible answers! Not having done a written exam for 50 years, it was more than a little daunting!
Chris has the air of a benevolent RSM with the confidence of a lifetime’s experience and
Above Course attendees have a lot to take in over the two-day ROCC course.
the urgency of a tight timetable. So, no prisoners here, and by lunchtime we were already exhausted from the quality and quantity of the information we had digested. We ate in silence, mulling it all over.
The afternoon consisted of a ‘mock’ written, followed by RT practice in pairs with one person playing controller and one playing different aircraft. It was continually emphasised that an Air Ground Communication Service operator is NOT a controller, and could not actually control anything. Getting the hang of the RT headsets was interesting practice for the coming ‘oral’ – we certainly all failed the no laughing rule.
This is a well-structured course which has obviously stood the test of time. Our only problem was going to be remembering everything in order to achieve the required 75% pass rate for the written exam before being allowed to take the oral practical, a hurdle I had seldom achieved even as a schoolboy. The questions covered the breadth of the syllabus, and having flown for more than 50 years, it was fascinating to experience RT from a ground station’s perspective. When you are in your own aircraft it is your world, you are only really interested in your call sign (and maybe the aircraft in front). It is very easy to rattle off your call sign and ‘inside leg measurement’ at high speed without realising the person receiving your (possibly distorted and low
volume) radio call has to make some sense out of it.
The following morning was exam day – a one-hour written paper, but happily no surprises with the format as we had done the mock the day before. After a full debrief I was relieved to find that I had exceeded the 75% by some margin and would therefore be allowed to take the formal one-to-one practical test.
The Oral started simply, based on a normal day’s flying in a fictitious circuit. The traffic gradually increased, with fire trucks, first solos and inbound emergencies. It was mesmerising. The 20 minutes passed in a flash, and I felt like I must have lost several pounds in weight! I was given a full debrief to find my many minor mistakes (every single one recorded by Chris!) and then learned that I had actually passed. There followed a couple of pages of the inevitable CAA paperwork and I was told to expect my ROCC Certificate from the ‘ivory tower’ in a few weeks. It took a couple of extra strong coffees in the Popham clubroom to calm me down afterwards, as it sunk in just how much I had learned, and felt that I had now achieved.
I am proud (and surprised) to have passed and as soon as lockdown is released in Wales I will be taking Chris’ advice and will sit in on a local airfield’s Saturday fly-ins RT to gain more experience.
I do certainly recommend the course, and now understand why some pilots (incorrectly) use ‘sir’ when talking to any ATC. ■
What a difference a month can make, the New Projects and Cleared to Fly lists are looking much healthier, having bounced back quickly now that flying is back on the menu, for most of the UK at least. There is an interesting variety of types making their first flights, two of which are detailed below.
I recently made a plea for contributions and, thanks to fellow members, my inbox has a healthy working backlog. Thank you.
Occasionally I’m aware that while keen to show progress, some wish to maintain anonymity so as not to risk potential theft, and we can certainly keep all names and places from any text if you wish.
Last month Dudley Pattison provided his second update on the KFA Safari, this month we here from Pete Marsden by way of a progress update on the KFA Explorer, the slightly smaller stabl e mate of the Safari. Progress is being made and I know that Pete is keen to get the airframe to Sywell this year, if we are fortuna te
enough to have any sort of gathering at all – fingers crossed, b ut as yet we do not know…
One of the aspects of the build reports in the Project News inbox that I always enjoy reading, is the human story behind a project. Occasionally, a member will say ‘you don’t want to hear about my aircraft, you’ve already covered one of those!’. But each of our circumstances is different and, intentional or otherwise, it is the human story that often reveals itself in a build report.
Many projects are not finished by the person or team that started it, and so it was with Malcolm Wright’s RV-6A. He took on the project following a bereavement and pledged that he would complete it to the original builder's high standard. Take a look below, I think you will agree that he’s done a terrific job.
To get in touch with Project News , and tell your story, report a milestone or just to send a picture or two, email: projectnews@ laa-archive.org.uk . Please share your story!
Funnily enough, I have found myself with a lot of time on my hands lately and, luckily for me, I had a KFA Explorer kit in my workshop that begged my attention… Much to the disgust of Stefan, the owner of KFA, I am building the first Explorer in the UK as a nosewheel, but that’s an argument for another day.
One of the great things about the Explorer and the Safari is that they may be built with the little wheel at either end. In fact, it would even be an easy job to subsequently change it to the other end, although I think most people will keep it how they built it, but it’s nice to have the option.
The kit arrives well packaged and labelled, giving even me a good chance to work out what is what. There are always bits in any kit you need to source yourself, however, the KFA kits are very complete, plus the instructions are good and have been steadily improved since my example arrived. One real boon has been a builders’ WhatsApp group. It has also been extremely helpful to message or even call the factory when you
get stuck, especially as they are in the same time zone as us. The UK builder group is growing as well, it can only become easier when you have more people to ask.
Being the first Explorer in the country, it has not been supplied as UK spec, and I have had to carry out some jobs that will be better performed by the factory. However, the build is not at all challenging, but I have had to make a handful of sheet metal folds, and the required equipment for this is the sort of equipment that the average builder will not have. So, in the future, this type of process will be carried out at the factory. Stefan has been very responsive to our constant whining… sorry, I mean constructive comments, and is improving the kits and instructions almost daily.
As the first in the country we were allowed to bring Graham Smith’s Safari and my Explorer in with more work done by the factory, so my fuselage is already covered, but I still have to cover the wings. This is something I have never done before and I have been unable to proceed with that particular task during lockdown, as I need to get some help from Graham.
Compared to some aircraft I have built, the access is great – and fitting out the wiring, fuel and brake lines has been a breeze. The access for the firewall and instrument panel is brilliant, no hanging upside down or inserting a small child. With hindsight, I should have plumbed in the brake lines at the pedals before installing the firewall, which will be my next task, and as the aft cowl comes off I will still have much better access than I had, say on my SportCruiser. The engine bay has plenty of space too, and I am finding that easy. The cowling took some fettling but again, nothing beyond the capabilities of mortal man. This is an area where we can, and will, make improvements to the instructions.
Apart from giving me a hard time because I need a training wheel at the front, Graham and Stefan are amused that I, as the ‘fuller-figured’ partner, have chosen to build the smaller of the two aircraft. At first, I thought this might be a problem, but the more I work inside of the Explorer the more comfortable I feel in it.
Right The BRS bay, aft of the standard luggage area, where Pete plans to add a small extra load space. Accessibility to the general structure can also be seen. Photo: Pete Marsden
As old and creaky as I am, I now feel confident that I will have ample space and will be able to hop in and out with ease. The Explorer already has reasonable luggage space, and at some stage I will look at putting a smaller luggage area (15kg including the shelf) where space is provided for a ballistic parachute. Almost all the outer panels are easily removable, so there will be no excuse not to check inside during maintenance.
All in all, I am enjoying the build very much and I look forward to flying it sometime this year.
Once we are given more freedom of movement, please feel free to drop by my workshop near Newbury and take a look. You can find my contact details on the Sprite Aviation website.
I’d had years of fun operating a Bolkow Junior, but for some time I had been harbouring the thought of building my own aeroplane, and favoured aluminium construction, so it would have to be an RV. It was pointed out to me that before I could order any kit, I would need somewhere to build it, so I spent the summer of 2015 building a workshop at home – I knew how important it would be to be able to work on my kit as often as possible and have tea and biscuits on tap!
In a seemingly timely fashion, on completion of my workshop, the very next edition of Light Aviation had an advertisement for a partially built RV-6A for sale, but having a leaning towards a tailwheel version I almost dismissed it. However, I went to have a look and was immediately taken by the level of workmanship and attention to detail that had gone into it. It was started back in 1993 by father and son, Ron and Simon Baxter, who both worked for British Aerospace, and it showed.
Following the loss of his father, Simon sadly had to let it go and, even though I had offered above the asking price, I
had to wait to see if I’d been successful. I was, and as a tribute to Ron I promised myself (and Simon) to finish the build in the same vein as it had originally been started.
Although I am an engineer (having served my apprenticeship at Norton Villiers, the motorcycle manufacturer, and had worked for Dowty Boulton Paul) I signed myself up for the LAA Working in Aluminium course, which I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of building their own metal aircraft.
The build initially started with a steep learning curve, as the RV-6 has no pre-drilled holes, unlike the later models. They are not even marked out, so every hole had to be measured out and remeasured and checked again before committing to drill. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed almost every minute of it. I guess the only pressure I felt was whether I could keep the build quality to the same standard – Simon has since assured me that I have. I also took the opportunity to add any upgrades while finishing it, such as replacement nose leg and fork together with the ‘anti-splat’ bracket.
Above G-VANZ takes to the air in the hands of Pete Whitehead at Sleap.
Photo: Malcolm Wright
Left The encouraging sight that greeted Malcolm at the bottom of the garden and helped to maintain momentum.
Photo: Malcolm Wright
Right The brand new engine that came with the kit being lifted into place.
Photo: Malcolm Wright
Below A very tidy cockpit with traditional day VFR panel. Photo: Malcolm Wright
My workshop became a very pleasant place to spend most evenings and weekend mornings, and hardly failed to raise a smile on my face when I opened the door and saw what was in there.
I decided to keep the panel conventional instrument/ day VFR and did all the electrical wiring myself, together with the dreaded canopy cutting, which I also found enjoyable. I do think that I was able finish it with growing momentum because the workshop was so handy to just pop into, but boy did it feel strange when I moved the airframe to the airfield for painting.
Having spent so much collective time and effort in the construction, I didn't want to spoil it by cutting corners with the finishing, so I had the painting done by Shropshire Aircraft Spraying at Sleap.
I carefully chose what I thought was the right colour scheme for it and was greatly impressed by the effort that Keith at Shropshire went to in copying it, even down to the chequered under surface of the wings, all done without stencils.
Rigging has taken longer than expected, with the journey time proving much longer than just nipping out to my garden. It also meant that I had to ensure that I had the right tools with me for the job to be done. I was relieved to see no leaks from the fuel tanks when filled, and was amazed when the engine, which is a Van’s supplied factory new O-320 with Hartzell CS prop, started on the second blade.
Thanks to my inspector, Peter Claiden, for his full support, and had it not been for COVID-19 it would have taken to the air sooner, but on the evening of 27 May 2020, G-VANZ made a successful first flight in the hands of Pete Whitehead at Sleap.
Built by Phil Hooper
My thanks to Phil Hooper, who sent a couple of pictures of his Minicab. Scratch built and started 20 years ago, he has stuck at it but said that work just kept getting in the way. I’m sure many of us are all too familiar with the impossible balancing act of a growing family, work, and the attention required for a plans-built project. Alpha Bravo was at the ‘finished’ stage last May, and cleared to fly in November, but then we had that awful winter of floods and high winds and just as the weather turned, well, you know the rest… Let’s hope Phil can go ‘Minicabing’ very soon.
Left The first ‘passengers’ to sit in G-MCAB, both grown men now! Photo: Phil Hooper
Right Much farther down the track, the basic airframe nears completion. Photo: Phil Hooper
Below May 2019 and Alpha Bravo has her first engine run in the spring sunshine, Phil couldn’t resist the opportunity for a quick taxi up and down the strip.
If your aircraft has been featured in the New Projects list, please let Project News know of your progress at: projectnews@laa-archive.org.uk
If your aircraft has featured recently in the magazine and has subsequently completed its maiden flight, Project News would like to hear from you at: projectnews@laa-archive.org.uk
n G-CLDI Just Superstol (LAA 397-15465)
15/5/2020
Mr E Marsh, Paludis Ltd., George Hotel, Main Road, Hathersage, Hope Valley, S32 1BB
n G-GTWL Eurofox 912iS (LAA 376-15663)
14/5/2020
Mr Glenn Brown, The Old Mint House, 21 Park Street, Towcester, NN12 6DQ
n Van’s RV-7A (LAA 323-15701) 26/5/2020
Mr A Jenkins, 4 Willow Drive, Handforth, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 3DR
n Evektor Sportstar SW (LAA 315C-15700) 21/2/2020
Mr R Cornwell, The Willows, Water Lane, Somerford Keynes, Cirencester, GL7 6DS
n Sequoia Falco F8L (LAA 100-15699)
4/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-OGZZ Van’s RV-8 (LAA 303-15536) 21/5/2020
Mr Edwin Fern, Point Quay House, Point, Devoran, Truro, TR3 6NL
n G-AVDF Beagle B121 Series 1 (s/n B121-001) 19/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-BVDG VPM M15 (s/n VPM15UK103) 28/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-EDFS Pietenpol Air Camper (PFA 047-13206) 20/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-JAAP Aeroprakt A32 Vixxen (LAA 411-15654) 21/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-JWNI Just Superstol (LAA 397-15478) 18/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-PULR Pitts S-2AE (LAA 009A-14904) 5/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
n G-VANZ Van's RV-6A (PFA 181A-12531) 18/5/2020
Name and address held by LAA Engineering
It had all started back in February 2019, with an email from Tim Hardy, UK importer for The Airplane Factory (TAF), inviting me to join a gaggle of Sling aircraft on an African flying adventure, being arranged by the factory. It looked incongruous enough, but as we were only just two years into the build of our own Sling 4, my first reaction was no, let’s focus on getting our aeroplane finished. However, once the germ of an idea forms in my head about some crazy new project, I am usually pretty good at finding reasons why it would have been absolutely crazy to not jump right in. With a South African-born mother, and several family members living down there, I had a long-held ambition to recreate Cecil Lewis’ missionary flight recounted in his book Gemini to Joburg. Surely doing half the Continent in either direction would be just as exciting.
Having previously arranged some South Africanbased flying trips of my own in the distant pre-GPS and internet era, I had a vague idea of the requirements to get a valid SAA PPL, but Tim was quick to update me on the new rules. It seems the days of an ‘open book Air
Law exam, plus a quick once round the circuit in a Cessna 172’, were no more. A stringent pass/fail computer exam with no chance to retake before the ‘off’ awaited me and fellow UK aviators Lucien d’Sa and Colin Cleaver. The paperwork exchange with our UK CAA, preparation, actual exam and the subsequent flight test and excellent briefing provided by Wayne Jones of Eagle 1 Flight Academy at Rand Airport, is a story in itself. Suffice to say we all passed, and on a lovely sunny Sunday morning we gathered at Tedderfield Airport, home of the Sling factory. We were getting to know our rental Slings for the trip under the watchful gaze of Sean Russell, TAF chief pilot, who had worked tirelessly to prepare them.
It was hugely comforting to know that someone else was managing the enormous task of arranging local accommodation and flight clearances for our merry band – huge thanks to Essie Esterhuysen who took on this thankless task, as he has done for many similar air adventures in South Africa.
Several other reasons swayed my decision to join the
mad adventure. Tim made a convincing argument that getting 30-plus hours of Sling time in my logbook would mean I would be sufficiently acquainted with the Rotax and Garmin systems to undertake the test flying of our own example, G-SLNG, which we hoped to have completed by the end of 2019. He was absolutely right, and we did – I successfully undertook the wonderfully uneventful initial test flight on 30 December.
Another major reason was the chance to fly with my twin sons, Chris and Nick. Somehow, they had both managed to combine studying for numerous science A-levels with many hours in the shed riveting, as well as keeping my co-owner Richard and I on track with the build. The July timing would mean they would have completed the first year of their engineering courses, and as they had both just recently gone solo with their university Air Squadrons, my wife Sandy felt a lot more comfortable that at least there would be some sensible heads on board. She kindly blessed our Boys’ Own bonding session!
Mid-winter (our summer) in South Africa generally
Above Rod with twin sons, Chris, in front, and Nick taking a nap in the rear. Both are learning to fly with their university Air Squadrons.
“We were about to embark on an epic adventure where a forced landing in any one of the wild and exotic terrains we were planning to navigate over would be challenging at best”
provides good flying weather, with no thunderstorms, so on the Tuesday morning we gathered in the TAF offices to meet half our fellow ‘Slingers’ and brief for the first leg.
We had been allocated ZU-TAD, an identical Sling 4 to one that James Pitman and Mike Blyth had flown on one of their global circumnavigations. A standard factory build, with the 914UL engine but with additional long-range wing tanks and a couple of ¼in holes drilled in the floor beside each joystick. What on Earth could they be for?
Lucien and Colin had a bright orange Sling 4, and we were introduced to Natal-born Morne and Amanda, who had arrived in their own Sling 2. Also joining from the UK were Trevor and Lizzie, who were in the middle of building one of the first UK Sling TSi (the new 141hp Rotax 915 TSi powered Sling 4) aircraft in a TAF owned hangar at Tedderfield taking another TAF Sling 2. Tim Hardy and James Pitman teamed up in the factory demonstrator TSi to make us a group of five.
My initial impression was how relaxed everyone else was. We were about to embark on an epic adventure where a forced landing in any one of the wild and exotic terrains we were planning to navigate over would be challenging at best. Then it dawned on me that for pilots and adventurers who had themselves flown round the world several times, covering huge distances across oceans and the harshest of terrain, this trip was really just the equivalent of a weekend run to Le Touquet. But behind the ‘pommie joshing’, there was very careful attention to detail, and the professional guidance of those that have the deepest respect for the many ‘gotchas’ that aviation can throw up.
The 10-day flying safari was planned to route initially due
Below Refuelling Malawi style, from drums at Club Makakola.
north to Club Makokola on the southern edge of Lake Malawi. After two nights we would then head east into Mozambique to stay another couple of nights in Pemba, an old Portuguese trading town on the Indian Ocean. From there our route followed the sandy beaches and coastal savannah north, entering Tanzanian airspace as we crossed the estuary of the Rovuma River, before dipping down under the Dar Es Salaam TMA to transit the 45-odd miles to the spice island itself. It didn’t help that Lucien, who had grown up in Stonetown, mentioned he had never learned to swim. Apparently, there were ‘too many sharks around’…
James had wisely counselled against the original plan to overfly Zimbabwe, and utilise Harare International as an onward refuelling stop, due to the likely paperwork burden and the high cost of fuel. A decision that we understood all too clearly as the trip progressed… However, with a predicted flight time of nearly six hours this would put many of the standard build aircraft right on the limit of their range.
For us in TAD with more than 280 litres on board, even with an average cruise consumption of 24 Lph, we had the possibility of 11 hours’ endurance, or more. Well beyond the limits of my bladder, bottom and sanity, however! Ah, so that’s what the holes were for…
For the others, TAF had installed additional temporary fuel tanks that would prove their worth both on this leg and others to come.
Our first overnight stop was planned for Polokwane International, in the north-east region of South Africa,
where we would meet the rest of the group. This had the customs clearance necessary to allow us to depart even further north into the darker parts of Africa, but could not supply avgas. We would need to drop into Petersburg first, which was just a hop and skip across the N1 highway in order to top off our tanks.
Steeds mounted, it just required us to depart Tedderfield’s 10m wide and 1,000m long tarmac runway. Three of us, plus bags and full fuel, put us at MAUW, and with an OAT pushing 25° and 5,200ft above sea level, this would be a perfect first test. A loose formation departure was planned with James’ instructions to ‘keep up’ ringing in our ears. ZU-TAD accelerated quickly through 40kt and I engaged the ‘after-burner’ (115% turbo boost). We lifted off with little fuss at 55kt, and as the runway disappeared below I gently eased the nose up to maintain 75kt, climbing easily into the midday sky, while turning north to attain our initial transit altitude of 7,500ft at a very respectable 450fpm – and immediately we lost sight of everyone else. So much for the plan!
I felt confident of finding my way thanks to the purple line drawn on our Garmin G3X, but James had been clear: we stick together, which was wise counsel indeed. As we squeezed north between the Class C airspace of O R Tambo Airport (JNB) and Grand Central on the right, and Lanseria CTR on the left, the views of downtown Johannesburg sliding under the right wing were superb.
With some clever radio work on the chat frequency (123.45), and judicious jockeying of our throttles, James managed to re-group our colourful five ship formation as we passed the Hartbeespoort Dam. Gaining confidence in a slighter tighter formation, he settled us into a further climb to clear the Magaliesberg ridge just north of Pretoria. Taking the first leg in the P2 position, Chris felt right at home as he was used to piloting his RAF Grob Tutor from the right-hand seat with left hand for the throttle.
Johannesburg.
Above Excursion on Lake Malawi where fish eagles swoop down to feed on fish thrown from the boat.
With our northerly heading it was slightly disconcerting to realise that the sun was tracking right to left overhead, but soon we could begin to make out the Waterberg mountain range, blue and purple below the light haze layer.
As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, marking the end of day one, we were introduced to the other half of our gang – a group of five Sling 2s and their excited owners who were waiting patiently for us in the Polokwane terminal.
Beers in hand, after a bus ride to the hotel that took only marginally less time than our flight up, the group sat down to discuss the next leg.
The next morning an early bus ride got us back to the airport at sunrise. The cold, clear sky overhead belied
the rapidly disintegrating weather that had been forecast and a hurried consultation ensued. Balancing the risk of encountering poor weather en route against the disappointment of getting stuck in Polokwane for another night, the decision was taken to set off.
Eschewing a ‘big wing’ and knowing that some of the Sling 2s had the smaller 912 engine and would thus be a few knots slower, James grouped us into three formations. We departed within 15 minutes of each other and despite an initial layer of thin scattered stratus cloud we were soon able to climb between the layers to a comfortable FL95 with the somewhat rugged terrain always in sight.
It soon became apparent that having experienced South African pilots 20 minutes up ahead who were
able to relay weather information to the following groups was a real boon. Suvone and her husband Bernard, provided a continuous stream of positive news, alternating between their native Afrikaans and English.
Not having ADS-B in or out, each group radioed GPS distance and track information to the next waypoint, and we were thus able to monitor each other’s progress in virtual mode on our Garmin G3Xs, aided with the occasional call of ‘just passing the dirt road running to the lake’. Our little group of five brought up the rear and settled into a diamond four formation with James and Tim in the TSi buzzing around, ostensibly to keep the flock together and snap some spectacular photos of the scenery and aircraft, but mainly I think to demonstrate just how much faster the TSi was!
Nick managed to hand-fly in close formation with Sling 4 ZU-YAY in left echelon for long periods, and we only switched to the Garmin autopilot when he required sustenance. Having recently watched the series on the Red Arrows, we had already figured out the perspective angle of the Sling 4 left step and the gap required between the bottom of the wing to maintain station – it really works!
The long-range tanks in our Sling 4 were located outboard on each wing and held an additional 60 litres in each. TAF had installed an additional pump and a set of very neat crossover feed valves on the throttle pedestal, and Sean had advised that the pump was able to transfer up to 50 L per hour. This meant that it was important to only operate the transfer for half the time the tank on the same side had been used,
Left En route from Club Makakola to Pemba at FL95, the trusty Garmin G3X being our primary navigation aid.
otherwise unnecessary dumping of fuel would occur via the vent pipe. He also stressed the wing would fare better if it did not have all the weight out at the tips when landing, so I operated a simple system of running one main tank for an hour, then switching to the other tank, and at the same time starting off the feed to replenish the first tank from its outboard tank and starting the stopwatch. It was an odd but very welcome sight to see the fuel gauge going up, confirming that all was working. And even better to later find on landing that the outboard tanks required their full capacity when filling up.
Passing Blantyre to our right, the final approach into Club Makokola required a hurried last minute descent to clear a final ridge of hills, and with the dirt runway running parallel with the sparkling waters of the lake, our little formation slowed and separated downwind.
Nick executed a perfect touch down, despite a slightly blustery crosswind, and we taxied in to join the earlier arrivals. Much chatter and a general buzz of achievement bonded our merry band as we went through our first taste of the African immigration ritual.
Similar in principle to our European Shengen zone, our South African colleagues were able to pass through customs fairly quickly, while us Brits had to endure some additional form filling for visas. Once the requisite number of Malawian Kwacha had changed hands, we were able to gather in the beach front bar for a celebratory Kuche Kuche – never has a cold beer tasted so good. We were thus introduced to a way of life specific to this part of Africa with which we were to become well acquainted, beautifully translated in Swahili as pole pole (pronounced polay polay) – slowly slowly.
The accommodation throughout the trip was varied, alternating between hotel style rooms to thatched rondavels, depending on the location. All were first-class, and being the only group of three we were generally allocated ‘family’ accommodation. This often meant a nice sizeable arrangement of two bedrooms and a living room. Following a briefing session, each night we congregated for dinner grouped around two or three tables, giving everyone a chance to get to know each other and relive that day’s experience.
Lizzie had mentioned that she was a yoga teacher and I jokingly suggested that she should hold an early morning class to help straighten us out. She sportingly agreed, and as the sun rose at 7am, Suvone, James, Trevor and I were put through our paces on the beach front, watched in bemused silence by the Malawian fisherman heading out onto the lake in their mokoros. Within minutes I was discovering parts of my body that, while I knew they existed, had never been in such close proximity to each other.
Later in the day a well-stocked boat took us out to a nearby island on the lake. It is usually rare to hear the
piercing call of the majestic fish eagle, let alone catch a glimpse of one high in a tree overlooking a river. But this island was home to an entire convocation, and we were treated to the sight of them up close, soaring and diving down to catch small fish thrown from the boat.
After two nights, and fully fuelled for the next leg of only 4.5 hours, we departed out across the tip of the lake, the deep blue water shimmering in the early morning sun.
Climbing steadily to clear the hills that rose to 3,000ft on the eastern shore, we soon crossed back into Mozambique. The terrain below morphed into a strange mix of dense forests and great granite outcrops. These small mountains, called inselbergs, are scattered widely across central and northern Mozambique as if a mythical family of giants had tired of a game of boules. They are crowned by rainforests, which are home to species that have evolved in isolation for millennia and, fortunately, remain undisturbed.
Since we had become more adept at maintaining tight formations and precise navigation, thanks to our onboard avionic trickery, the poor controller at Pemba International must have rued the schedule that meant he had to handle our 10 aircraft arriving within minutes of each other, as well as the only scheduled airliner of the day. With all of us happily lined up on long final, he had no option but to waive off the Air Mozambique Embraer 190 until we were all safely down.
It appeared this was just a foretaste of the fun we would have to endure at Pemba Airport. Tackling visas, immigration and landing card forms took our little group of 20 pilots and crew over three hours. ‘Pole pole’ just did not do it justice. We all wondered aloud how they coped with an airliner full of foreign tourists and steeled ourselves for the return leg when we would have to go through the whole process again.
The town and port of Pemba were bustling and busy, with little sign of the troubles that had wracked Mozambique over the last 30 years. We were lucky to be staying in the oasis of calm that was the recently opened luxury Hotel Kirimizi on the beach front. So recent in fact, I had to install the handle for the cistern on my toilet, but this was a small price to pay for the otherwise luxuriant surroundings. James, Morne and Chris took the opportunity to rent motorbikes to explore the town, while we earned ourselves a delicious fish lunch, having walked some distance up the beach. ■
• Next month we spend time in Zanzibar before heading back to SA.
Mike Roberts and Joe Hadley take a look at electric propulsion and what it means within GA…
In recent years, there has been a steady increase in interest in electric power for aircraft, partly driven by the developments in the automotive sector. It’s a fast-developing area and while we have acquired a large knowledge base on operating internal combustion engine aircraft over the years, the knowledge base for electric power is inevitably very much smaller.
In an attempt to answer that, a new LAA Technical Leaflet has been produced. TL 3.28 can be found via our website at https://tinyurl.com/32wj2ra. The purpose of this document is to serve as a starting point for those LAA members considering converting aircraft to electric propulsion, and for anyone considering designing an electric-powered aircraft or propulsion system.
The document isn’t a ‘how to’ on building electric aircraft, but has been written to provoke thought about the various elements that make up electric propulsion systems – what a sensible setup may require and possible pitfalls that might be encountered. It is also a repository of references and information to help members ensure that their proposals are both safe and successful for future electric LAA aircraft.
LAA engineering staff began looking at electric aircraft projects back in 2016, and at one point we even considered building a proof of concept aircraft of our own, using an electric motorcycle power unit mated to a Rans S-6 airframe. However, we found that the weight versus
power, and cost, of the technology available at the time just did not add up. Since then, technologies have continued to develop, and several LAA members are now exploring exciting new projects.
LAA engineers Mike Roberts and Joe Hadley have been closely involved in these projects and are the authors of the Technical Leaflet and the content in this article. LAA Engineering is ideally placed to assist any member who wishes to pursue some form of electrically powered aircraft, so please do come forward with project ideas you have.
There are a growing number of electric aeroplane projects around the world. We’ve chosen six to demonstrate the range of activity:
The electric equipped Earthstar E-Gull is capable of flight times in excess of one hour with a powertrain removed from a commercially available Zero Motorcycles road bike. This system offers a 40kW motor powered by a battery of 11.4kWh capacity. Pilots who have flown the aircraft have said its performance exceeds that of the originally Rotax 447-equipped aircraft.
The Electraflyer-C is a development of a Moni motor glider. The aircraft is fully electric with amateur-developed electrical components. The 13.5kW motor can fly the Electraflyer-C for 90 minutes on a 5.6kWh battery pack, thus an average draw of just 3.73kW per hour. The power system is now offered as a package for homebuilt aircraft conversions using the same 13.5kW motor and its accessories.
The Elektra One is a purpose-built electric aircraft, which has been designed from the onset, with electric propulsion in mind. The all-composite airframe is powered by a 32kW motor though only requires 3kW to sustain flight. The aircraft’s battery has a capacity of 11.4kWh and is aided by the use of 280 solar cells embedded into the composite structure, providing a claimed four-hour endurance. The Elektra One was designed to be able to be charged with hangar roof mounted solar cells, with any residual power going into the grid for low cost operations. The company developing the aircraft is also developing a pilotless variant capable of an endurance of up to seven hours.
The Silent Electro sailplane is an electric self-launching motor glider. The aircraft is designed to be a competitive
left
Top right The Elektra Flyer-C is a development of the Konig-powered Moni motor glider
Above left The Silent Electro 2. Minimal power requirements, perhaps just to take-off and climb in to lift make electric power particularly viable for gliders.
Above right The Electric Cri-Cri has two electric motors, again on a wellproven ‘traditional’ ultralight design.
glider that can achieve a glide ratio of 40:1. The aircraft is unusual in that the power system is mounted in the nose and uses a radio-controlled (RC) glider style folding propeller rather than a retracting engine and propeller system. The batteries have a capacity of 4.3kWh and, due to the aircraft’s very low drag coefficient, it can fly for 50 minutes of sustained flight following a self-launch. The 22kW motor, controller, battery, battery management system (BMS) and instrument unit used for monitoring the electric propulsion system and throttle control, were all custom built for the Silent Electro. The battery consists of 16 off-the-shelf Kokam battery pouch cells assembled into a custom-built container with integrated BMS and cooling fans.
The famous Colomban design was adapted for electric propulsion and used to fly across the English Channel in mid-2015, just hours before the Airbus E-Fan completed its cross Channel flight. The modified Cri-Cri used two 35bhp electric motors, built by Electravia, in place of the original two-stroke engines. The electric Cri Cri used a lithium ion battery of an unknown capacity, although has been documented to give a 30-minute endurance.
On 9 June, the Pipistrel Velis Electro became the first fully electric aeroplane to receive EASA type certification in the world. The factory-built electric aircraft is derived from the original Rotax 912 powered Alpha model and is intended to offer a low-cost flight training aircraft, with an endurance of up to 1.5 hours. Its 345-volt electric system is built around a liquid-cooled, in-house developed battery system, which includes two Pipistrel PB345V124E-L batteries connected in parallel in a redundant two-unit arrangement, with a total nominal capacity of 24.8kWh. The aircraft can be
recharged in 45 minutes using a three-phase supply, and the batteries can also be swapped out using a built-in tray into which the batteries are mounted.
The airframes shown above are all small, lightweight and have low MTOW. Experience shows, therefore, that ultralights, microlights and powered gliders can form the basis of a conversion to successfully create a small, low-cost electric aircraft.
The weight of the battery pack is a large factor in designing an electric propulsion system, with aircraft capable of achieving endurances up to two hours requiring a battery of up to 60% that of the aircraft’s MTOW.
Inevitably, as an aircraft increases in size or weight, the power required for flight increases. This also means that the cost goes up quite considerably if greater endurance is desired. Although aircraft that traditionally use power plants in the region of 100hp have been shown to operate with an electric propulsion system, the costs associated with conversion are far greater than the purchase of the traditional power plant. Therefore beware, the costs may be high for what is essentially an impractical aircraft!
Achieving good performance in an electric aircraft is very much about the correct matching of the combination of motor, battery, reduction gear (if there is one) and propeller. Any one of these components being wrong can have drastic consequences, so components cannot be chosen in isolation. Internal combustion powered-aircraft are more tolerant of being off-optimum than an electricpowered one because they benefit from using a so much more energy-dense fuel.
Naturally any aircraft system is designed with required minimum safety factors. With electric propulsion being relatively new, there seems to have been very little
redundancy incorporated into electric aircraft of a traditional layout. However, this is being more widely discussed in relation to eVTOLs, where a failure might otherwise lead to a total loss of control, rather than merely a controlled glide to a forced landing.
The diagrams (below and opposite, top) show some basic electric propulsion system schematics. It’s worth noting that in the whole system there are only two major moving parts – the rotor within the motor and the potentiometer in the throttle – very simple compared to that of an internal combustion engine, which itself has little built-in redundancy. If a carburettor jet is blocked by a speck of dirt, the result is likely a rough running engine, and in a serious catastrophic failure, such as a conrod failure, the remaining three cylinders certainly don’t provide redundancy!
An electric power system used in a small, single-seat aircraft will likely have a different system schematic than a possible of-the-shelf solution provided by a manufacturer.
Note that these diagrams illustrate the components used and their location in the circuit; they are not intended to be detailed wiring diagrams. These are the core components for any electric propulsion system, from which a more complex system can be produced by adding
various components. The complexity of the system is based on the goal or demands placed on the system. Typical LAA aircraft will likely require a more complex system with possible redundancies built in, fire protection strategies, methods to prevent uncommanded motor operation, and external shutoffs in the event of a crash.
There is a range of motor types that can be used which would be suitable for use on a light aircraft. As with internal combustion engines, there is no one type that fits all.
The motor converts electrical energy into a rotational motion and they have a considerably higher energy conversion efficiency than a combustion engine (90-95% compared to 20-35%). The high efficiency of these motors mitigates some of the penalties of the lower energy density of batteries compared to petroleum-based fuel.
Another factor is that the peak efficiency of a combustion engine occurs over a small range of rpm (the ‘power curve’), whereas with an electric motor the efficiency typically remains almost constant over a wide range of rpm. For more detailed information on motors and the different types available, please take a closer look at TL 3.28.
Batteries are energy storage devices akin to the fuel tank in a combustion engine aircraft. Compared to petroleumbased fuels, for the same volume or weight they store much less energy. Batteries also require lengthy charges between use, and eventually will not hold their original energy capacity.
However, unlike traditional fuel tanks, batteries can be located in unusual and remote locations on the aircraft because, unlike a fuel tank being a single large volume, batteries are made up of component cells. These are then interconnected by means of wires or soldered metallic strips in an arrangement of series and parallel connections, to make up a battery of a desired rating. Naturally, the structure must be able to support the additional weight, and C of G considerations apply, but the latter is at least a constant.
There are also differences in battery type due to their chemical make-up. Indeed, there are ever-more announcements of new types of experimental batteries that are being developed which offer far more cycles or a higher specific capacity than today’s commercially available cells.
Important factors, apart from the energy density, are the allowable discharge rate, the allowable recharge rate, the number of charge/discharge cycles (which determines the operating life), tolerance to periods of disuse, physical robustness and risk of electrical/thermal runaway/fire.
Alternating Current: AC current that regularly changes direction, with a sinusoidal waveform –the kind that comes from power stations to homes.
Amp-hour: (Ah) a measure of how much current a battery can supply for one hour. A 2Ah battery could supply 1 amp for 2 hours or 8 amps for 15mins.
Battery: A storage unit comprising a collection of cells to provide the voltage and capacity required. Battery life: A coverall term to describe a battery’s state of charge, fullness, or time left operating in its current mode, or alternatively to quantify the number of full to empty cycles it will last for before it loses performance and has to be replaced.
Brushed motor: A motor that uses brushes that conduct the current to the motor windings on the revolving rotor via a commutator.
Brushless DC motor: A motor that uses electronic speed control to conduct current to the windings.
C rating: Combined with its Ah capacity is a rating of how quickly energy can be discharged from a battery. 4C rated 2Ah battery can be safely discharged at a rate of 8A.
Cell: A single unit that converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
Current: The rate of flow of electricity through a wire measured in amps (A)
Direct Current: DC current that flows in one direction and is the type of power that comes from a cell.
Electronic Speed Controller: (ESC) electronic circuit that controls and regulates the speed of an electric motor.
Kilowatt-hour: (kWh) a measure of energy capacity or consumption. 1kWh=1000W for one hour.
Power: Current multiplied by voltage, measured in watts (W). 746W = 1 mechanical brake horsepower. Range Anxiety: Fear that an electric vehicle will run out of battery power before the destination is reached.
Voltage: How much energy a circuit has to push current, measured in volts (V)
Due to the constraints of energy density and other factors, at present the only suitable battery type for an electric aircraft is lithium ion.
Again, the Technical Leaflet details the types available and more detailed data on how much charge a cell can hold, and how quickly a battery of a specified rating can be discharged.
Batteries of the scale of typical LAA aircraft will likely require a form of battery management system (BMS). Battery management systems generally perform three basic functions:
■ Battery pack protection from over discharge. Should the voltage of the battery get too low it will become irreparably damaged, thus the BMS will not allow the voltage to drop to the level at which damage occurs.
BMS also protect during charging and prevents over-charging – this is to stop the cells becoming over volted, which greatly reduces the fire risk.
■ State of Charge (SoC) calculation (the amount of energy left in the battery). This is the equivalent of the fuel gauge.
■ Battery ‘health’. Measuring current flow and sometimes temperatures/pressures of the pack allows the user to see if there is a fault within the battery and whether it may be failing.
More detail on this is available in the Technical Leaflet.
Charging the battery is akin to refuelling a fuel tank. It must accomplish the task of refilling its storage energy capacity at an optimum and safe rate, and it must stop at the correct time to avoid overcharging and damaging the battery. This is either controlled by the BMS or the charger.
Compared with filling a fuel tank, charging a lithium ion battery takes much longer, and there are multiple stages to how it must be carried out to ensure that damage is not done to the cells and that the battery as a whole is optimally charged to avoid compromising safety.
The charge current must be controlled, and overtemperature of batteries must be prevented to avoid the risk of fire. Monitoring the current and voltage of the charger and cell is vital and charging must stop once the cells are saturated.
An aircraft that is equipped with a large battery pack poses several very real risks. While lithium batteries do not
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spontaneously ignite, they can catch fire due to some form of short circuit or thermal runaway. These conditions can occur either in the form of a physical damage (e.g. as a result of a crash impact) or electrical overloading.
When a cell fails, the amount of energy released is dependent on the cell’s state of charge. A discharged cell will simply emit smoke with a metallic odour, while a fully charged cell will emit smoke and then burst into flame, with a considerable release of heat. This lasts for the time taken for the battery to be destroyed whereupon, provided it has not set fire to the surrounding material, it will begin to cool down. Importantly, because the battery contains its own oxidant, it does not require oxygen to burn, so the flame cannot be extinguished by conventional extinguishers which operate by depriving the fire of oxygen. It is therefore a very good idea to either contain the battery within a fireproof case or provide suitable fire suppression!
Will we see LAA electric aircraft in the skies in the future? Almost certainly. LAA Engineering is a resource to assist any member that wishes to pursue some form of electrically powered aircraft, so please don’t just see us as just a regulator to scrutinise and apply certification standards to your designs – we are a team of enthusiastic engineers who want to make your dreams fly! ■
■ State of Charge (SoC) calculation (the amount of energy left in the battery). This is the equivalent of the fuel gauge.
■ Battery ‘health’. Measuring current fow and sometimes temperatures/pressures of the pack allows the user to see if there is a fault within the battery and whether it may be failing.
More detail on this is available in the Technical Leafet.
Charging the battery is akin to refuelling a fuel tank. It must accomplish the task of reflling its storage energy capacity at an optimum and safe rate, and it must stop at the correct time to avoid overcharging and damaging the battery. This is either controlled by the BMS or the charger.
Compared with flling a fuel tank, charging a lithium ion battery takes much longer, and there are multiple stages to how it must be carried out to ensure that damage is not done to the cells and that the battery as a whole is optimally charged to avoid compromising safety.
The charge current must be controlled, and overtemperature of batteries must be prevented to avoid the risk of fre. Monitoring the current and voltage of the charger and cell is vital and charging must stop once the cells are saturated.
An aircraft that is equipped with a large battery pack poses several very real risks. While lithium batteries do not
Having built a reputation for excellence in the design and manufacture of light aircraft fuel system components within the amateur-build aircraft sector, Andair has now established a signifcant presence in the commercial aviation market as well.
OUR PARTNERS:
spontaneously ignite, they can catch fre due to some form of short circuit or thermal runaway. These conditions can occur either in the form of a physical damage (e.g. as a result of a crash impact) or electrical overloading.
When a cell fails, the amount of energy released is dependent on the cell’s state of charge. A discharged cell will simply emit smoke with a metallic odour, while a fully charged cell will emit smoke and then burst into fame, with a considerable release of heat. This lasts for the time taken for the battery to be destroyed whereupon, provided it has not set fre to the surrounding material, it will begin to cool down. Importantly, because the battery contains its own oxidant, it does not require oxygen to burn, so the fame cannot be extinguished by conventional extinguishers which operate by depriving the fre of oxygen. It is therefore a very good idea to either contain the battery within a freproof case or provide suitable fre suppression!
Will we see LAA electric aircraft in the skies in the future? Almost certainly. LAA Engineering is a resource to assist any member that wishes to pursue some form of electrically powered aircraft, so please don’t just see us as just a regulator to scrutinise and apply certifcation standards to your designs – we are a team of enthusiastic engineers who want to make your dreams fy! ■
Jonathon Porter finally finds lights that tick all the boxes…
For many years, I flew day VFR without lights. No navigation lights, no strobes – I saw no point in spending money on something that was not a requirement, and something that I considered ‘wasn’t needed’ anyway.
Of course, there were occasions where lights would have been nice to have… especially after that near miss where I wondered, ‘if I had fitted strobes would I have been easier to spot?’ All the same, the need for lights was never at the top of my build requirements…
However, over the years and builds, my position has changed, perhaps because the ‘see and be seen’ mantra has permeated the world of aviation down to the shallow flight pools where I live.
Eventually I fitted nav/strobes, encouraged by the affordability that the burgeoning kitplane marketplace had bestowed on them. To be honest they were little more than flashing fairy lights in the day, not really much more than decorative. A great clunking box in each wing, chunky wiring that took ages to run… not to mention the radio interference and the unending changing of the ‘fairy bulbs’ that blew all too frequently – not unlike the winter easterlies.
Then LEDs came along, and although to start with they were rather ineffective as well, they grew in brightness, reliability, ease of installation and – to my absolute joy –became even more affordable!
Perhaps the best part of LED nav/strobes is that their MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) is measured in tens of thousands of hours – which means that changing a light fitting is incredibly rare – and in all honesty, I have not had to change a LED unit yet.
Over the years, Patricia and I have fitted a range of different brands of light, and some were easier to install than others, but the price started creeping ever upwards. So, it was time to find a solution for our next build.
A respected French company, called Limatech, has been working on a very lightweight, ultra-bright product,
Right The RayLight navigation light/ strobe units with the pure strobe in the centre. Replaceable lenses are useful should ‘hangar rash’ occur.
and it has clearly become extremely popular on the Continent. Its RayLight brand offers all the key points we sought – and they come with a two-year warranty.
We got a set to try and we fell in love with them. To be honest, we have fitted some very expensive lights, as well as some very ‘affordable’ lights – both incandescent and LED – but none have been as easy to install, as bright, as light or as affordable as these little gems. There is no soldering and no termination to make at the wing tips, nor at the fuselage-based generator box. Add to that the 20,000 lumens, no radio interference and synchronised flash, and they make for the ideal solution for many light microlights and light aircraft.
There is a choice of either a pair of nav/strobes or a pair of nav/strobes with a fuselage strobe, and they come in a foam-lined ‘shoebox size’ packaging for protection.
They weigh just 40g per wingtip/strobe module, with the generator topping out at 315-355g. Just two 20awg wires run from the generator to the lights (some clever electronics allows you to select navigation lights or strobes or ‘nav lights and strobes’ with two wires being required to the unit). Three-amp fuses or circuit breakers are more than adequate for the maximum current draw of 1.2amps per circuit – and you fit either one switch to cover navs and strobes, or two to operate them individually.
As part of the launch of the product in the UK, for a limited period Metal Seagulls is including 30m of 20awg Aircraft Hookup wire with every kit sold, plus free shipping within the UK.
Prices start at £460 including VAT for a pair of nav/ strobe units. www.metalseagulls.co.uk call +44(0) 7502 593671 email: info@metalseagulls.co.uk ■
When it comes to refuelling, you should find a system that offers you, the aircraft and the environment the safest solution. Brian Hope and Dave James report
When we base our aircraft at a farm strip we put ourselves in a totally different environment to being at a ‘proper’ airfield, and inevitably there are pros and cons to the arrangement. The pros certainly include, as a general rule, lower cost which, particularly if you are a sole owner, is often the overriding reason for taking that option. Quite often you can pay a lot less for hangarage than you will for outside parking at a licensed airfield. There are, of course, also good social reasons why many of us prefer operating out of strips.
Among the challenges tend to be single runway operation, with that runway not necessarily being aligned in the direction of the prevailing wind and generally being shorter than at the local airfield to boot, plus relying on fellow owners to take care of each other’s aircraft when getting their own out of the hangar.
For many though, it is refuelling their aircraft that can be something of a headache. A 20-litre jerrycan of fuel weighs over 20kg, and once the first flush of youth has long faded into the memory, hoiking that up to shoulder height to fill a fuselage tank, or balancing on an often less than perfect stepladder to fill a high winger’s tank,
Left
becomes something of a high energy and precarious chore, certainly not devoid of risk to yourself and your aircraft.
All manner of solutions are available, some better than others, and I would like to invite members who have come up with their own solutions to this problem to maybe drop me a line with a picture or two in the interests of inspiring fellow members. But I will touch on just one solution here which, it is probably true to say, is an idea that has floated around in the inventive minds of homebuilders for a long time, but is now available commercially.
A month or so ago Dave James got in touch with details of the GasTapper Max 12v transfer pump, manufactured in Phoenix, Arizona in the USA by GenTAP. I’ll let him continue the story below…
“My Lambert Mission M108 is high wing and uses a Rotax engine, which normally sips mogas from the long-range tanks, which hold a total of 110 litres usable. I find refuelling via jerrycans a precarious business, even with an adequately high set of steps. I am always afraid of spilling fuel over the transparencies, or even myself, and this was made worse for me by a troublesome shoulder injury caused by an accident a few years ago.
“All this prompted me to start making up a pump assembly that could be powered from either a jump-start type Li-ion battery, or the aircraft’s LiFePO4 battery through its handy cigar socket outlet. Care is needed here, as many such 12V pumps will cope with diesel but not mogas – and especially that containing ethanol, which will soon be rising from 5% to 10%. The pump must be explosion proof, and any system needs a suitable means of transporting the necessary hoses and other sundry paraphernalia in a manner that will keep it clean and serviceable. Fortunately, I found a commercial product that was just the ticket – a very neat explosion proof pump and associated hardware, all housed in a portable, weatherproof case. It exactly fitted my requirements.
The GasTapper fuel-handling product range actually includes two similar systems, the lower cost standard GasTapper, which delivers 0.6 US gallons a minute (2.27 litres), and the GasTapper Max, which delivers 1.2 US gallons per minute (4.54 litres). Retail prices are $98 and $189 respectively. The 16ft (4.8m) 3/8in (8mm) OD hoses are good quality anti-static, with a changeable inline fuel filter. And a 15ft 12v cable terminates in a cigar-style power plug, handy for your car and perhaps your aircraft
“The unit also comes with a couple of clever plastic hose retainer clips that facilitate clipping to a variety of different containers or tank ports – if you dare”
if you have such a power plug fitted and don’t mind drawing the power from your aircraft battery. In the US the company also sells a 110v to 12v transformer to power the unit, and it wouldn’t be too difficult to come up with such a unit in the UK if you wanted to run off the mains.
The unit also comes with a couple of clever plastic hose retainer clips that facilitate clipping to a variety of different containers or tank ports – if you dare. Importantly it can handle up to 20ft (six metres) lift and is self-priming.
The system packs into a neat, weatherproof 14in x 12in x 5in (356mm x 305mm x 127mm) case and weighs 3.5kg, light enough for me to take in the aircraft if I am stopping off somewhere where I the might need to refuel from cans or, in an emergency, syphon fuel from a car.
The case also contains several specially tailored PTFE hoses and a special funnel to neatly overcome the anti-theft measures built into the filler cap assembly on most vehicles.
Although the delivery rate is low compared to a commercial full-service metered pump, I nevertheless find it very convenient, safe and above all free of splashes or spills. I normally pump from 20 litre jerrycans, so each takes about five minutes, which is fine for me –after all, I do live in North Devon…
Once you have had the unit shipped from the US and had to pay taxes, it isn’t cheap, but I consider it worth it. The company has an online shop, so it is relatively easy to buy the product, plus spare components if you need them. See www.gastapper.com
On a slightly different tack, although I started off using mogas, I have since transferred to using UL91, which I have delivered in 210 litre drums.
I then need to decant the fuel into jerrycans, for which I use a very good rotary hand pump called the Hi-Flo from New Pig, in Glasgow. It comes with the standard two-inch NPT/BSP drum attachment, delivers fuel at 100 litres/ minute, is fitted with an anti-static, 32mm diameter two-metre long outlet hose and comes equipped with a #80 mesh strainer built into the inlet. Price for a single unit is £162 plus VAT.
Experience soon showed that the so-called unbreakable, high-density plastic drum opening tool isn’t. I now have a robust, zinc-plated, cast iron universal drum wrench which is far less likely to do you harm. Also available from New Pig, price £16.50 plus VAT. Just visit www.newpig.co.uk.” ■
Above Friend, Dave Ost, shows the effortless lack of excitement it takes to pump UL91 using a Hi-Flo rotary fuel pump. Note the robust Drumtight drum wrench in his left hand.
Right Dave refuelling his M108. Note that this is a posed shot, it was chucking it down outside. It goes without saying that you should never fill your tanks inside a hangar. Delivery isn’t rapid but it works cleanly and safely.
Iwas interested to read, in the latest issue of the Highlands and Islands Newsletter, that there was a problem regarding the council keeping up-to-date with grass cutting at Dornoch Airport. Apparently, the council were aware that the grass on the runway was a bit long, but the golf course took priority and they would get round to it as soon as they could.
This took me back to a visit to Glenforsa in a Beagle Pup 100 in the 1980s. The landing was fine, but on alighting from the aircraft we were horrified to see how long the grass was and realised that taking off would be more than challenging. Being marooned on Mull wasn’t immediately an issue but several days and numerous phone calls later, the council admitted it was waiting for the grass to reach a certain height as it planned to use it for hay when it was cut. We did persuade them, eventually, that the operation of the island’s only runway took precedence!
Keith Boardman of the Scottish Aero Club writes, “The Scottish Aero Club, incorporating the Strathtay Strut, like most other clubs/Struts has had a lean time over the last few months. It’s a sad sight to see a 100 aircraft of all different flavours quietly languishing in our huge hangar. However, things are looking up.
An early opportunity arose when the NHS in the Outer Hebrides needed a means of collecting COVID-19 test samples from Barra and Benbecula, for transport to Stornoway for processing. A couple of long flights from Perth, co-ordinated by the local Civil Air Patrol, ensured sorties over two weekends were organised to deliver the goods before a more permanent arrangement could be put together.
Meanwhile, essential maintenance in our hangar has been slowly gathering pace in anticipation of eventual
freedom from the lockdown. Over the last week or so I took the opportunity to conduct the annual inspection on my RV-12. We are lucky to have the space for social distancing, and to have inspectors willing to muck in. Luckily for us the operators of Perth Airport allowed based aircraft to undertake maintenance flights under an ‘out-of-hours’ arrangement we all have here, so our Lycoming-engined brethren got in a couple of short local flights.
When flying restrictions were lifted in England, you could hear the groans from fellow pilots in Scotland, who were still under lock and key. However, we now have the green light to get airborne again, although open airfields are currently few and far between. No matter, it’s an excuse to shake off the pilot rust and things are slowly moving towards normality. Like elsewhere, we cannot believe we have lost two months of sunshine, but there’s still time to take advantage of the long daylight hours we have to ‘endure’ up here.”
l Fortunately more restrictions in Scotland were lifted on 4 June and we look forward to hearing more positive news from across the border.
From the West Midlands, Graham Wiley shares the following news, “The Strut had great plans for 2020; in January, Darren Priday gave us a talk about the Handley Page Hampden restoration at the RAF Museum, Cosford. Then in February, Alex (Buzz) Busby-Hicks talked about skydiving at Tilstock. Some of us were busy with the schools’ Build a Plane projects, and I did a presentation about the projects to the Brooklands YES conference in March.
Last year, David Bareford, who gave a talk about hot air ballooning to the Strut, invited me for a flight in his
two-man balloon and, despite some bad weather, I managed a few local flights in my Foxbat. It was all going so well!
Then COVID-19 happened, my final flight before lockdown was on 23 March and all plans and events since have been cancelled. The Strut committee has decided it was impractical to continue, so have cancelled the rest of the 2020 programme and plan to regroup again in 2021.
On a happier note, since restrictions were lifted to allow solo flights, some of us are now getting back into the air. My first flight after lockdown eased was on 16 May and I’ve been making up for lost time since.
Airfields around the country are gradually re-opening so it looks like GA is adjusting, and hopefully we will all be able to get some useful flying in this summer.”
The Kent Strut contacted us with the following plea for help regarding a Dawn to Dusk flight by one of their members.
“Nic Orchard, one of our Strut members, has entered the Dawn to Dusk competition (www.pooleys.com/ dawn-to-dusk) this year and will be searching for Follies.
She is looking for sponsorship in favour of the very worthwhile local charity The Martha Trust (www. marthatrust.org.uk). The Strut’s very popular BBQ
Mplanned as their June meeting at Steve Solley’s strip at Ripple, near Dover, usually supports this charity, but this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it cannot be held, so Nic is using her D2D flight as an alternate fundraiser.
Please support Nic and the Charity by donating if you can, the easiest way to do this is by going to https:// tinyurl.com/nicorchard.”
On 12 June David Millin convened a Zoom meeting for Strut representatives. We had planned to hold our spring meeting before Easter. We will publish a full report of the meeting in the next issue, but it was good to see Strut leaders representing nearly 20 Struts and associated clubs. We were updated on the way the Struts had kept going over the last few months, and many reported AGMs to be well attended, virtually!
Next year will be the LAA’s 75th anniversary, and we are looking forward to celebrating that landmark in style. In the meantime, the 2020 LAA Rally has unfortunately been cancelled, so we will lose our annual opportunity to meet up and extol the virtues of Strut membership. However, that gives us the opportunity to review how best we can improve Strut representation and broaden the scope of what we do at the Rally. I’d certainly be interested to hear from members on what they would like to see.
any of the normal monthly meetings and social events Struts would organise during the summer have been put on hold. When a programme of talks and meetings resumes, we will publish it as before. However, as a number of Struts are
Andover Strut: Spitfire Club, Popham Airfield, SO21 3BD. 1930. Contact: keith.picton@ ntlworld.com
Bristol Strut: Room 4, BAWA Club, Filton. 1930. Contact: chairman@bristolstrut.uk www.bristolstrut.uk
Cornwall Strut: The Clubhouse, Bodmin Airfield. Contact: Pete White pete@aeronca.co.uk 01752 406660
Devon Strut: The Exeter Court Hotel, Kennford, Exeter.1930.
Contact: david.millin@sea-sea.com
East of Scotland Strut: Harrow Hotel, Dalkeith. 2000.
Contact: inrgibson001@btinternet.com 0131 339 2351.
East Midlands Strut: The Plough, Normanton on Soar, LE12 5HB. 13th July – Chilton DW1 Monoplane by David Reid. Zoom at 20.00.
Contact: tonyrazzell2@gmail.com
Gloster Strut: The Flying Shack, Gloucestershire Airport 1930.
Contact: harry.hopkins@talktalk.net
Highlands & Islands: Highland Aviation, Inverness Airport. Contact: b.w.spence@btinternet.com / 01381 620535
Kent Strut: Cobtree Manor Golf Club, Maidstone, Kent. 2000. Contact: Brian Hope bfjjodel@talktalk.net 01795 662508.
LiNSY Trent Valley Strut: Trent Valley Gliding Club, Kirton Lindsey.
continuing to meet ‘virtually’ on their published Strut nights, you are invited to remain in touch with them using the contact details below. We will continue to share Struts4U stories and I am always happy to hear your news and views. Please email me at struts@laa.uk.com
pilotbarry1951@gmail.com
http://linsystrut.wixsite.com/website
North East Strut: Fishburn Airfield. Brunch on the third Sunday of each month. 1130-1330 at Fishburn Aviator Cafe. Contact: alannixon297@btinternet.com
North Western Strut: Veterans Lounge, Barton, Manchester. 1930 for 2000. Contact: cliffmort@btinternet.com 07813 497427
North Wales Strut: Caernarfon Airport, Dinas Dinlle. HEMS Bistro Café 1300. Contact: Gareth Roberts gtrwales@gmail.com, 07876 483414
Oxford Group: The Duke of Marlborough, Woodleys, Woodstock, Oxford, 2000. Contact: LAAOxford@gmail.com www.oxfordlaa.co.uk
Redhill Strut: The Dog and Duck, Outwood, Surrey, RH1 5QU. Third Tuesday of each month at 1930.
Contact david@milstead.me.uk
Shobdon Strut: Hotspur Café, Shobdon Airfield, Hereford HR6 9NR. 1930. Meetings (once lockdown restrictions lifted) Second Thursday of month. Contact: Keith Taylor bushebiggles@sky.com
Southern Strut: The Swiss Cottage, Shoreham-by-Sea. 2000. Normal meetings are on the First Wednesday of the month. Contact: palmersfarm@sky.com
Strathtay Strut: Scottish Aero Club, Perth Airport, Scone. Scone Clubhouse. Contact:
keith.boardman@peopleserve.co.uk
07785 244146
Suffolk Coastal Strut: Crowfield Airfield Clubhouse. 1930. Contact: Martyn Steggalls events@suffolkcoastalstrut.org.uk
07790 925142. Note: Boxted Fly-in has been cancelled.
Sywell Strut: Aviator Hotel, Sywell Aerodrome 2000. Third Wednesday of every month. Vale of York Strut: 1300. Chocks Away Café, Rufforth East Airfield. Contact: Chris Holliday 07860 787801 cwaholliday@gmail.com
www.valeofyorkstrutlaa.wordpress.com 16 July at 1330 via Zoom – webinar on SkyDemon –hints and tip.
Wessex Strut: Henstridge Airfield clubhouse. Contact: neil.wilson@laa.uk.com
West Midlands Strut: Navigator Café, Halfpenny Green Aerodrome 1930. No meetings until 2021. Contact: Graham Wiley westmidlandslaastrut@googlegroups.com or Stuart Darby stuartdarby134@hotmail.com or visit our website wmstrut.co.uk
West of Scotland Strut: Bowfield Country Club, Howwood,PA9 1DZ. 1900. Contact: Neil Geddes barnbethkng@gmail.com 01505 612493
Youth & Education Support (YES): Contact Stewart Luck captainluck@hotmail.com
Note: Thanks to Strut co-ordinators and newsletter editors for info. Contact me: struts@laa.uk.com
Going back in time, when the Beatles were making a start on their careers in Hamburg in northern Germany, Freiburg in the west, was developing a name as a centre for folk music. Young Germans loved the Beatles and the Stones, in fact they loved virtually anything that came out of the UK during the ‘Swinging Sixties’, but they also had a real penchant for the traditional, rural musics from Ireland. Many of the euphonious melodies had been passed down through the generations, with an equal amount reflecting the mood of the times. The singers themselves had an air of being ‘deep and meaningful’, a bit eccentric, sort of enlightened, rather self-centred and special – as only artistically gifted people can be. Not quite ‘luvvies’, but certainly a little odd to someone who was in his late teens on an extended peregrinating European odyssey.
In the centre of the town was the Roter Punkt, a kitsch nightclub frequented by musicians, ‘arty’ people and surprisingly enough, yours truly. My entry was only gained by association, as all the musicians either stayed with or knew ‘die Ute’, who was a friend of my sister and had put me up for a while.
Rather fortuitously, some years previously I’d seen the hugely eccentric Mick Softley playing live at the Marquee Club in London’s Wardour Street and, as he was part of the circle, he gave me lifts and introduced me as someone from his ‘good old days’…
Main Freiburg’s Saturday market in front of the cathedral in Freiburg. In the background is the Kornhaus (granary house). Much of Freiburg was reconstructed after the war.
But back to Freiburg. The city has a population of around 220,000 and sits on the River Dreisam, in the State of Baden-Württemberg, sharing borders with Switzerland and France. It has been referred to as the cherry on Germany’s Black Forest gâteau, as the whole area is known for its pretty villages, spas and lush forests. The Silva Nigra, as it was called by the Romans, or Schwarzwald in the native tongue, was so named after the unusually dark colour of the local pine trees. The world-famous gâteau was the product of confectioner Josef Keller at his Café Agner in 1915, during WWI.
The first cuckoo clocks were created locally in 1737 and the area gained a reputation for their production, although these days the majority are mass-produced. A walk through the forest makes it obvious as to why the Brothers Grimm used it as a setting for many of their fairy tales. The eerie and sinister environs became home to witches, werewolves and other creatures of folklore, which definitely make you peek under the bed after hearing strange sounds in the night. Having been written long before modern-day political correctness, they seem particularly brutal, especially when you consider that the target audience was young children.
Oddly enough the city’s flag is the familiar one of George of Lydda, a Cappadocian from the Nevşehir Province in Central Anatolia, known in the UK as St George. It also has the good fortune of being the
warmest city in Germany, which contributes to the distinctive wines of the Baden wine-growing region.
Founded by the House of Zähringen in 1120 AD, it then passed to the Counts of Freiburg, the Austrian House of Habsburg, Napoleon, Grand Duchy of Baden, Weimar Republic and Gau Baden. Much of the early prosperity came from silver mines located at nearby Mount Schauinsland, and in 1327 Freiburg began production of its own coinage, known as the Rappenpfennig. In 1457 came the opening of the Albert-Ludwig’s-Universität, making it a seat of culture and learning for the arts and sciences.
More recently, in the final stages of WWII on 21 April 1945, the 2nd Regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique marched into the city creating the French-occupied zone, which lasted for seven years.
During the war years, apart from once being mistakenly bombed by their Luftwaffe, Freiburg managed to escape more or less unscathed until November 1944 when the RAF attacked with a vengeance as part of Operation Tigerfish, resulting in 3,000 deaths, 9,600 injuries and the city in ruins. Post-war, the reconstruction was done thoughtfully and sympathetically using the original plans, which is why most of the interior looks much like a picture postcard of medieval charm.
A few of us from the ‘fly-out brigade’ had planned to go to a vintage fly-in a little further into Germany and,
Above Freiburg Minster celebrates it 900th anniversary this year and thankfully survived both world wars as well as countless fracas prior to that.
Above top right Schwabentor was originally built as a gate into the city, with a warning inscribed on it offering protection for those within the city limits.
Above right Freiburg Airfield is the classic German GA field, single hard runway, nice tower, tidy and efficient.
with a slight detour, those with time on their hands were welcomed to join me for a while in Freiburg. I wanted to see how much the city had changed, seek out some old haunts and do a little reminiscing with a glass or two of the locally produced Freiburg Schloßberg Chardonnay.
A dozen or so aircraft were planning to make the trip, with a varying mixture of experience levels, from first-timers to pilots who spend most of the summer months carving a groove across the Channel. The aerial contingent did share one common denominator, insofar as one could politely describe them all as venerable, which is pretty idoneous considering the age of the aircraft they flew.
Our first meeting point was due to be at Verdun, and after an early start the intention was to be there long before anyone else, but as our route passed through the Ardennes before the visibility had sufficiently improved, it necessitated an inevitable diversion. Those having further to come fared far better, as conditions were much improved by the time they passed through, which is just the luck of the draw.
Passing the Rhine, like any of the great rivers, always feels a little special, but in this case, with only around 10 minutes to our destination, it was time to make contact with their ATC. The approach to the airfield itself is quite spectacular with stunning scenery in every direction and at present, a new football stadium is being built with access from the airfield. That would make quite an
impressive weekend away for those who follow the game, with hotels and restaurants on one side and entry to a football match on the other.
The taxi into town is around € 12, and our reasonably priced hotel was perfectly acceptable with breakfast included, but did require a rather pleasant 25-minute walk into the heart of the city. Although, as ever, it is a bit more expensive to eat around the main square, the atmosphere more than makes up for the extra couple of euros.
Every country has its own unique charms and attractions and Germany is no exception, but here you’ll find a mélange of both French and German influences in both architecture and cuisine. Despite the fairly high number of visitors, even students of proxemics would agree that there was still a nice and easy atmosphere as we sat among the carefully constructed Gothic, late Baroque and Renaissance buildings. The street performers added somewhat to the historic aura, as throughout time this would have been the pulsing heart where life was lived throughout the centuries.
The Pietenpol having pressed on earlier in the day,
Below Many of Germany’s old towns were sympathetically rebuilt after the war – it sure beats concrete!
left me with co-conspirators in a Whitman Tailwind and a Jodel 1050 for company, on a balmy summer’s evening that could certainly be described ‘easy living’!
As for the Roter Punkt, I couldn’t find it, which may have been a lucky escape for the others, as I could feel a session of tales of yesteryear and a lament of the years gone by coming on. As a matter of interest for any habitué from those times, I have since found references to it online and it closed down around 35 years ago, so will only live on in the memories of a select few…
Ibis budget Freiburg Sued, 1 star, Bötzinger Str. 76, 79111. Around £50, a walk to the south.
Hampton by Hilton Freiburg, 3 star, Zita-KaiserStrasse 32, 79106. Around £75, including breakfast. A shorter walk in the opposite direction.
Hotel Oberkirch, 4 star, Münsterplatz 22, 79098. Around £140, with breakfast. Situated in the old town.
The Heiliggeist Stuble is a nice spot and offers open-air
seating outside, average price range and average food. The set menu is around € 25 in the evenings. Munsterplatz 15. +49 761 2923579.
Wolfshoehle offers fine dining, probably the best in Freiburg, but it is expensive. The set menu is around € 66 in the evening and € 37 at lunchtime, all very nicely presented. Konviktstr. 8. +49 761 30303. www. wolfshoehle-freiburg.de
Zum Ochsen is a local German restaurant, in a hotel, and should cost about around € 30. Zaehringer Str. 363 +49 761 553860. www.hotel-ochsen.de/
Freiburg Cathedral is an imposing building and was 900 hundred years old this year. It has managed to escape all wars to date, without major damage, which is no small feat. It stands proud in the paved area on the Munsterplatz, where the daily market also takes place. https://www.freiburgermuenster.info
Historisches Kaufhaus, the Historical Merchants' Hall, is a beautiful building that hosts a variety of events and concerts throughout the year. Muensterplatz 24.
https://www.historischeskaufhaus.freiburg.de/
The Freiburg Bächle streams are seen all around the old town, and are a bit like gutters on the edge of the road that are fed by the river. At one time they were the main water supply and later were used for firefighting. Years ago I was told that if you stepped into its waters two things were sure to happen. Firstly that you were sure to return to Freiburg, a prophecy now fulfilled, and more alarmingly, that taking that step all those years ago would ultimately lead to wedlock to a local frauline.
Schwabentor was originally built as a gate into the
city, with a warning inscribed on it offering protection for those within the city limits and none for those about to leave. Oberlinden 25. https://visit.freiburg.de/ . This website will also give you details about Martinstor, which is the older of the two gates and sits at the opposite end of the town.
Martinsgassle has a total of 18 different museums throughout the town including Museum Natur und Mensch (Museum of nature and man).
Augustinermuseum: Museum für Neue Kunst (Museum of contemporary art). Alte Universität (Old University). Kunstverein Freiburg (Art Society, in the former Marienbad swimming pool). Colombischlössle (Archaeological museum). Fasnetmuseum (Carnival Museum).
To make the most of the area you really need the freedom of a car and it also deserves enough time to do it justice. Despite their reputation for ‘Ordnung’ (order) the Germans are quite friendly and love practising their English, which is spoken by just about everyone under 70 years of age.
As we have all been impacted by COVID-19 in varying degrees in these unusual and difficult times, I hope the story below contributes to your glass being half-full, as opposed to ‘half-empty’. Naturally, things are what they are, but the difference between having a positive outlook or not can help make all the difference.
Most things in life have a degree of risk, although it is true that some activities do indeed have more than others. After we visited Freiburg, we went on to the fly-in where, as a passenger, I was involved in a significant collision that took place between two aircraft. Although
both aircraft were written-off, with scaturient fuel everywhere, amazingly there was no fire and we all emerged with just minor cuts and bruises. Rather than dwell on the negatives, I try to focus on the more positive aspects, as it does create real friendships, with help and support arriving from the most unexpected places, and surprisingly maybe not so forthcoming from where one might expect.
I’m still not sure how many guardian angels were in the vicinity at the time or how you would describe the fortuitous outcome. A miracle? Karma? Kismet? Fate? Destiny? Or simply, luck? I’ll let you make up your own mind! With that thought in mind, I thought I’d recount the events of another even more phenomenal survival story, with the hope that when we truly get through this, some good comes out of it all.
Juliane Koepcke
Juliane Koepcke was born in Lima, Peru in 1954 to a biologist father and ornithologist mother, both originally from Germany. When she was 14, her parent’s set-up the Panguana Biological Research Station in the Amazon rainforest. https://panguana.de/
In her time being home-schooled, she learned about jungle survival techniques, eventually moving to Lima to finish her studies, where her mother was also working. Her graduation took place on 23 December 1971 and, along with her mother, she was booked on a flight back to Panguana with Líneas Aéreas Nacionales S.A. Airlines on LANSA Flight 508, the following day.
While the aircraft was at 10,000ft they encountered severe weather conditions, with extreme turbulence. The wing was struck by lightning and on seeing the flash her mother calmly said: “That is the end, it's all over.” With that, the aeroplane broke up and plummeted towards the ground. Within moments, the passengers’ screams had ceased and Juliane found herself outside the aeroplane in freefall, still attached to her seat with her seat-belt on. Remarkably she survived the fall, her only injuries were swelling to her right eye, a slice in her right arm and a broken collarbone.
Using the survival techniques gleaned from her younger days she knew to track downstream and wade through the streams and rivers where it was safer. After four days she spotted vultures on the ground, indicating carrion and came across the remains of some of the other passengers.
With a now maggot-infested wound, she survived the rainforest for a total of 10 days before coming across a hut belonging to Peruvian missionaries, who took her, semi-conscious, to the nearby village for help. The next day she was flown to the hospital in Pucallpa by a local pilot and reunited with her father.
I’m not sure what the odds of survival are after a fall from 10,000ft, added to 10 days alone in a jungle, but I’d say you are more likely to win the lottery and discover the secrets of time travel first. Could it have been a twist of fate and somehow connected with her future specialist subject?
Juliane Koepcke is alive and well today with the
episode widely reported by the newspapers and being made into films. After gaining a doctorate she returned to Peru as a mammalogist and specialised in the study of bats, which could even help give a better understanding of our current predicament.
A little research will tell her story. Oh, and she was sitting in seat 19F and of the 91 passengers, she was the only survivor! ■
Next month: The Dutch Wadden Island of Texel (EHTX).
Martin Ferid is a Class Rating Instructor and Revalidation Examiner and specialises in helping qualified pilots expand their horizons by flying with them in their aircraft both for day trips or a few days at a time.
If you need a bit of confidence building, want to cross the Channel, or would like some help with touring in general, just ask, as he is only too pleased to help. Contact details are below.
A browse through the ‘favourite destinations’ section of his website should provide inspiration for places to visit. The ‘touring’ pages contain a useful amount of information with regards to formalities, radio procedures, flight plans etc., if you want to go it alone. And for a little amusement on days stuck at home, try the ‘bit of fun’ section on the contact page.
Email: lightaircrafttraining@yahoo.com
Tel: 07598 880 178
http://www.lightaircrafttraining.co.uk
Throughout the season, in conjunction with this monthly series, we have been arranging fly-outs to destinations in both the UK and abroad. The idea is to get you guys to dust-off those aircraft and take part in the adventures that you read about, which are literally at your fingertips.
The message is getting through, with more and more pilots succumbing to temptation and taking that first bite out of the apple, although so far this year we have been unable to organise anything.
However, this situation will not last forever, so, picture a weekend away – a nice town, good food, a glass or two and a bunch of like-minded people. If you would like to join us you will be most welcome. It makes no difference whether you are a seasoned tourer or have never crossed the Channel before, there’s enough support and experience around to help allay those fears.
Iwrote a piece for FLYER’s Learn to Fly Guide earlier this year, which I opened with the premise that when we learn to drive, we quite naturally buy a car, if not immediately then pretty soon after. Fact is, it is a logical progression. Why then, when we have invested so much time, commitment and money into learning to fly, does the same logic not apply?
OK, that’s obviously more than a little glib, I’ll admit that. We all have responsibilities to our families that mean we can’t only think of ourselves when it comes to committing what, for most of us, are far from unlimited finances, but the fact is that a good many pilots never seriously consider ownership, because if they did, they would realise that it really isn’t as far-fetched a dream as they might think.
Today we’re going to look at what you can do with
£20K, and before you write that off as unattainable, more importantly that includes what you can do for a damn site less than that. So, unless you’re the kind of person that will only settle for owning the latest fully loaded mean machine outright or forget it, then read on. You might be surprised by what is achievable when it comes to getting more bang for your aviation buck with a bit of effort and a little compromise.
You’ve already taken the first step, you’re either a member of the LAA or somebody has kindly passed on our monthly magazine, so you know we exist and that we are passionate about helping ordinary people like you fly affordably. I say again, that’s not a pipe dream, I certainly consider that I, and many of my friends are living proof that it is possible, as indeed are thousands of LAA members.
So, we have a choice of outright ownership or shared ownership. Clearly sharing an aeroplane is a much more affordable option, both for purchase of – as well as operation of – any aircraft. I asked Duncan Campbell, who has a fifth share in a Luscombe Silvaire, if he would kindly pen a few words about how they operate, and later in the article you can read how that works for them. From the Association’s data, we know that a growing number of members are sharing aircraft, and though the financial implications are a major reason for that, it is certainly not the only advantage. And consider that if you can afford to spend our full £20K budget, a group of three or four people doing the same is into affording examples of pretty well anything on the LAA fleet.
OK, enough of the waffle. Let’s look at some aeroplanes. I have decided to confine our market to two-seaters, which are by far the most popular choice among members and, not surprisingly, by far the most prevalent types on the fleet. Of those, the majority within the £20 bracket are orphan types, factory-built aircraft that no longer have manufacturer backup so have come under the LAA’s wing for continuing airworthiness support. Basically, other than deregulated microlights, all aircraft in the UK must have a responsible entity to oversee an airworthiness regime for them. And many of these orphans are of American extraction.
Personally, I think the Aeronca is one of the best kept secrets in aviation. It comes in two forms, the tandemseated Champ, and the side by side Chief. The Chief entered the US market, in the late 1930s, and the Champ in 1940, long enough after the ubiquitous Piper Cub to benefit from a number of improvements, which make them a little faster and somewhat more refined. They are, however, more affordable than a Cub, most falling into the low teens and rarely exceeding our budget. They follow the classic steel tube fuselage, strutted high skeletal alloy wing, the whole ‘covered in fabric’ format that depicts affordable American mass-produced light aeroplanes of the period. The original company folded in 1951 although the Champ, and variants of it, has enjoyed more than one arising from the ashes over the years.
Realistically, you’ll be lucky to get much of a Cub for £20K. The aeroplane is something of an enigma and I guess it comes down to whether you buy into its historical aspects. It has undoubted charm and was the first success of this breed of machine, going into production as the J-2 in 1930, as the J-3 in 1938 and the L-4 military ‘Grasshopper’ in 1940. It is also the most plentiful, with
20,000-plus being produced. Practically all of its contemporaries outshine it as a basic flying machine, but just as many of us have a thing about old motorbikes and cars, the Cub enjoys an almost messianic following, and that is unfortunately reflected in their prices. You might be lucky though…
After the end of the war, many of the US aircraft factories were hit with a huge slump in sales, and the Vagabond was Piper’s answer to producing an affordable aeroplane for former airmen and new flyers to enjoy civilian flying. They used a number of existing Cub components to produce this basic, side by side machine of which 600 were built over two years, 1948/49, before the type was developed into the Clipper, Pacer, Tri-Pacer etc. The PA-15 had the Lycoming 65hp engine and the -17 the Continental A-65 plus a few refinements, such as dual controls, but most examples now feature these upgrades. Expect to pay mid-teens.
The Taylorcraft is the last of this American genre I’ll mention, and again it is a very ‘Cub like’ machine in terms of general layout, other than it is a side by side. Like the Aeronca Chief, it features yokes rather than sticks, which was generally the European preference of the period, and like the Aeronca it is also more refined than the Cub. Low to mid-teens and up.
All of the above are reasonably available, as there are numbers of them in the UK. Looking at them purely as machines, they are all much of a muchness in terms of ownership (that’s me done at the next Aeronca/Cub/ Taylorcraft fly-in!). They perform in the 65-80kt regime, generally on Continental 65hp engines that use around 16 litres per hour, have relatively sedate climb rates and very reasonable strip performance. They are mechanically simple, like most aircraft of the period, in fact they’re pretty agricultural, as a general rule not having electrical systems and the facility of an electric starter. They don’t even have flaps either, relying on their generous wing
areas to provide good slow flight characteristics. But they are tremendous fun to fly, and in aircraft terms low cost to operate because although some parts might be difficult to obtain, what isn’t easily available can be made from readily sourced materials. There are also active type clubs and/or fellow enthusiastic owners to help and advise you.
Although also an American design, the Luscombe Silvaire was something of a peek into the future when it came onto the scene in 1937. Don Luscombe produced the first seriously successful light aircraft to feature an allaluminium, monocoque airframe, albeit that early examples featured fabric covered wings. Almost 6,000 were built before production ceased in 1949, although as is the way with many old aviation companies, various enthusiastic attempts to restart production have produced a few examples but have ultimately failed.
Again, there is a helpful and friendly UK type club, there are several expert repairers and most parts are available. Power is courtesy of either a 65, 85 or 90hp Continental, the 90s featuring electrical starters. The 65s cruise at nigh on 100mph and the 90s up to 100kt.
The Cessna C120 is pretty much ditto the above, except for the insight in its design. The 120 and its ‘deluxe’ variant, the 140, went into production in 1946 and is considered by many to be a Luscombe copy, other than they featured Cessna’s sprung steel main gear. The follow-on tricycle geared C150 superseded them in 1950, by which time nearly 7,000 had been produced. Only the C120 is an LAA aeroplane, the 140 remains on a CoA. No, I don’t get it either! They feature 85 and 90hp Continental powerplants, and like the Luscombes run from the mid-teens up, with exceptional examples more than busting our £20K budget.
In Europe, wooden, low-wing airframes were far more prevalent than the US response to light aircraft design. Apart from, that is, the British Auster, but that was initially a spin-off from the American Taylorcraft anyway.
Austers
Austers are a magazine article on their own and enjoy a strong following and an active type club. There are numerous models, some available in the sub £20K bracket, but at the risk of alienating myself from the Auster community, I would not recommend the type for a first foray into outright ownership unless it had a Continental engine, and they are few and far between in the UK. The main problem is that the majority of them have Cirrus or DH Gypsy engines, and they are mercilessly expensive to overhaul.
If you are buying into a group, and that group has sound mechanically capable members it’s a different matter, by all means go for it because the Auster is a very charismatic aircraft that holds a place in British hearts akin to the Piper Cub, but for an inexperienced sole owner they can be a financially risky enterprise. There are a few Lycoming engine examples, albeit the O-290 type engine that has been out of production for a while. These are perhaps a safer bet, but mid- to late-teens on up seems to be the sort of money that Austers start at, so for our budget you need to be particularly careful.
Jodels
If you are talking classic post-war European two-seater, then you are talking Jodel. A French type that flew for the first time as a single-seater in 1948 and its direct descendants are still being manufactured today as the DR400/500 Robin. Our budget will buy us a two-seat D11 series machine, pretty much all of which fall into the £10k to £20K bracket. They were built by two main French factories, SAN as the D112 and D117, and Wassmer as the D112 and D120 in the late fifties to early sixties, but there are a fair number of homebuilt examples around as well. The various models have subtle differences but ostensibly all have the same core airframe. The 112s
have 65hp and the rest 90hp Continentals, but some 112s have been upgraded engine-wise. Good load capability, nice handling and good field performance are their merits, but the cons are that they are a bit on the snug side, particularly for taller or long-legged people. There is a very good virtual club for all Jodels and Robins.
The Druine D60 Condor is also a French design although practically all those in the UK were British built by Rollasons as the D62 Condor in Croydon in the 1960s. Predominantly powered by the 100hp Continental O-200, it has a wider cabin that the Jodel and features flaps in all but a few early examples. Performance is similar to the Jodel, although strip performance is not as good. Prices are generally in the £12-16K range.
The Emeraude, like the Condor is somewhat scarcer than many of the types mentioned thus far but they do come up for sale occasionally. Another all wood low winger, they have been factory produced in smallish numbers and as a homebuilt. The type went on to spawn the highly regarded aerobatic Mudry CAP10 aerobatic trainer, which last year was touted at AERO as returning to production. Chunkier than the Jodels, again it is not as sprightly out of a short strip, but they do feature flaps and are generally O-200 powered, although there are a handful with the long out of production Potez engine.
The three wooden types mentioned represent the most numerous of the breed, but to them can be added the Yves Gardan designed, SIPA S90, and its slightly smaller sibling, the Minicab. Both designs date from the late 1940s and enjoyed limited production, the latter also being quite popular as a homebuilt.
Wooden aeroplanes are generally straightforward to repair, aviation approved glue, wood and ply being relatively easy to source, and although some parts for the A65s are becoming rarer, C90 and O-200 engine spares are generally readily available
Sub £20K two-seat homebuilts tend to be either fairly limited in availability, or at the lightweight end of the market. Of the more numerous varieties, the Rans S6 Coyote can be had from about £8K up with a two-stroke Rotax engine, maybe £13K up with a Jabiru and a little more with a Rotax 912. Their construction is a steel tube forward fuselage and aluminium tube rear, empennage and wing structure, all covered in pull-on ‘socks’ of microlight style synthetic sailcloth. The fact that they can also be had with a tricycle undercarriage is also appealing to many. Later models will certainly break our budget, the final models featuring conventional fabric covering, 100hp Rotax 912S motors and much more refined cockpits and instrumentation. Although now out of production, the type remains well-supported by the factory.
It was the Kitfox and the very similar Avid Flyer that started the kit aircraft revolution in the UK, being competitively priced and pretty well ‘an aeroplane in a box’ that only needed putting together. Early models, Mk I and II examples were two stroke Rotax powered and quite skittish for pilots used to the typical club trainer. Later III and especially IV and onwards are much more refined and generally have Rotax 912 four stroke engines, which is reflected in their resale value. Nonetheless, a Mk IV might come within the budget, and earlier marks can sometimes be had from under £10K. Steel tube fuselage and empennage, alloy tube wing and fabric covered. Available as a taildragger or a trike and featuring a foldable wing. The Rotax 912 can also be very frugal if you don’t cane it.
Sneaking in under the £20K threshold is the two seat Jabiru, an all composite two-seater with its own manufacture four stroke engine. They come solely as trikes but in both the microlight and SEP/SSEA variants, although some of the non-microlights are also restricted to 450kg, which limits their load carrying capability somewhat. They’re a nice little aeroplane but you need to treat the engine with a degree of empathy. They perform very well, a friend of mine used to throttle his back and burn about 12 litres an hour at 90kt.
OK, I’m aware that words and space are running away, so I think we’re going to have to have a Part Two to do this subject justice. The above should give you some ideas on what is out there, though of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it does cover most of the more numerous types in the sub £20K price range.
Next month we can take a look at what you should do once you have convinced yourself that you want to own, or part own an aircraft. Don’t start thinking too deeply beyond that at the moment, it is too easy to talk yourself out of it before you have even done any research or properly understand what is involved. I reckon you need to tackle becoming an aircraft owner by adopting an adage my dear old mum used to use: Don’t wonder how you are going to do it, do it and wonder how you did it. That is exactly the attitude I adopted when I bought my first Jodel, and I have never regretted it for a moment.
I’ll leave you with Duncan’s tale about group ownership, the ultimate low-cost solution. If his figures
I suspect that, like many of us, my flying training started in a club on a ‘proper’ airfield. For some years after, armed with PPL and assorted ratings, my pilot buddies and I struck out across the UK and to the furthest reaches of France in rented aircraft. Friendships I made back then endure to this day.
You’ll have sensed a ‘but’ coming, and you’d be right. I was in a rut. Rental costs had increased, landing fees and fuel costs were climbing, and my disposable income seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. I was flying less, and I could see erstwhile club colleagues falling by the wayside and turning to other pursuits. It also rankled that I could often not hire my favourite mount (never let anyone tell you that all PA28s are the same!), and routinely had to clear the cockpit of discarded sweet wrappers, tissues and bits of broken pen. I also had a yearning to have a go at taildragger flying, a legacy of childhood on an RAF base where an aeroplane with a wheel at the front was a rare sighting.
Some months later, taildragger differences training and 10 solo tailwheel hours under my belt, I started looking for a way forward. Running my own aeroplane from my own sun-soaked strip was out of the financial question, so I scoured the ads in the various aviation
wrote to anyone I could think of who might have known of an aeroplane or a pilot or a group desperate enough to want a partner. Then, in June 2009, I was invited to join four pilots and their 1941 Luscombe, G-AGMI, operating on a Permit out of a farm strip in Sussex.
I could cut this tale short right now by saying that this move cut my flying costs immediately, gave access to increased learning opportunities and that (no exaggeration here) this is when I really started to learn how to fly. But this would be to skim over what continues to be a very rich and affordable experience, and I think it deserves a little more detail. I joined when the group was preparing Mike India for her annual permit inspection. I had never seen an aeroplane broken down into so many pieces – I had very little experience of aeroplane care and attention but being a dab hand at chipping insect corpses off PA28 wing leading edges, I got to sit on the grass and clean the prop.
Looking back now, some 11 years on, I realise that there is very little in the way of aeroplane fettling that I have not been involved in, and I am not just talking about routine maintenance. The wings, tail, fin, undercarriage and engine have all been off and delved into for one reason or another. Before this gets too alarming, I should say that our beautiful Luscombe will be 80 on her next birthday. Although I am not yet that far advanced chronologically, I seem to require fairly frequent bodywork, skeletal and plumbing maintenance myself, so I don’t begrudge the time we spend on Mike India.
Once upon a time, this depth of mechanical involvement would have seemed a frightening prospect, but the guidance of our inspector, and the group working parties have made it a cost-saving, gentle and enjoyable learning experience for us all. I even attended an LAA metal working course! I also believe that the deeper understanding of the workings has made me much more aware of the demands my control inputs make on the aeroplane.
We are five very different people, bound by the love of flying, and simple online booking and financial systems take away much of the potential for stress. Booking clashes are unknown. We each pay a standing contribution of £70 a month to cover hangarage, insurance and permit renewal costs. This also leaves a little towards our maintenance fund. When we fly, we
charge ourselves £40 an hour, less the cost of fuel we put in. Roughly £15 of that £40 also goes into our maintenance fund. In the past 11 years, only one small call for extra cash has had to be made. A monthly Excel spreadsheet shows us where we are and who owes what.
That’s the boring bit over – almost. Now the maths. I know that if I were to hire a PA28 for one hour a month locally, it would cost me £160 plus £30 to land back… plus VAT at 20%, giving an outlay of £228. If I were to fly our own aeroplane for just one hour a month, it would cost me £110, and if I flew five hours in that month, the hourly cost to me would be £54, a considerable saving whichever way you look at it!
The benefits of being in a group extend way beyond the obvious one of cost. A group can operate from anywhere, but we choose to base our aeroplane on a farm strip in a hangar with eight other residents. We have the use of a concrete floor, power, lighting, water and a fine array of hoists, jacks and general tools and equipment, plus tea and biscuits, all willingly shared, making maintenance easy.
Our Luscombe can fly on either avgas or mogas. We choose to fly on mogas, but we could, if we wished, join the hangar avgas syndicate.
Choosing a farm strip also necessitates the general honing of skills. With only air-to-air communication, non-radio aircraft about and nearby terrestrial neighbours, observation, consideration and general airmanship of a high order are essential. Our runways, surrounded by natural and man-made features that give every possible permutation of crosswind, curl-over and wind-shear, require good airspeed management skills. We lose the strip in the winter but, on the upside, we are open from dawn to dusk and pay no landing fees.
We try to play to our strengths within the group. The ever-unpopular accountancy role currently falls to Richard. Chris keeps the airframe and logbooks up to date and oversees our Tailored Maintenance Schedule. Andy, being a flying instructor, is our handy onboard go-to resource for biennials and skills brush-up. Tony brings added value through his membership of a Chipmunk syndicate. As for me, the longest standing member of the group, I have the oversight of everything, deal with hangar liaison for the group and, being local, do the lion’s share of ongoing titivating and in-depth cleaning.
The result? A beautiful vintage aircraft devoid of insect carcasses and tissues… and five very happy custodians. ■
When Ruth Kelly set out to install a new panel for Victor Bravo, she had her work cut out, but her skill, determination, plus a little help from her friends, reaped rewards…
My annual inspection checklist has an entry in it about checking the integrity of wiring. Every year I open up covers and peer in, torch in hand. Look OK? Well – yes. Except the instrument panel. Removing the screws around the periphery it was possible to tilt it aft into the cockpit by a few inches. The pitot and static connections always looked OK, but the wiring? An impenetrable jumble. Peering up from underneath – or using a camera at arms-length – gave me no more comfort. Still an impenetrable jumble… and worse still, there appeared to be several wires flapping about with nowhere to go. To this, add the occasional scare in the air when instruments on the Dynon FlightDek would sometimes behave strangely. After much searching and deliberation, I had concluded that my fuel pump and filters were fine, but there was highly likely to be an earth fault somewhere.
There were ergonomic problems too. The FUNKE radio and transponder were mounted on the left side of the panel, within easy reach of my throttle hand. But the frequency knob for the radio was on the right side of the instrument. Twiddling the knob meant covering the display with my hand. The switch for the electric fuel pump, on the other hand, was miles away from my throttle hand. All rather clunky.
The backup altimeter was also a bit flaky. A singleneedle Falcon, it wasn’t very accurate – the pressure
Main A visual of the intended new panel, made using MS Visio, which provides accurate dimensions and can import images of the instruments.
setting scale was out of calibration and had a tendency to reset itself to something random while taxying. Panel space was consumed by a redundant Sigtronics King intercom, while an aileron trim switch and indicator provided more pointless clutter as the aileron trim had been taken out of commission before I bought the aeroplane. I also had a Samsung tablet running SkyDemon—but it was attached to the panel using a rather tatty Otterbox mount, with its power supply cable partially obscuring the battery master switch.
Above all else, to me it looked scrappy; as if someone had thrown a box of old instruments at the panel blank – a chipped and scratched panel blank with wonky switch labels at that. Hangar buddies (Jonathan Harris, please stand up) would occasionally peer in and say, “Looks OK to me. What’s the matter with it?” But, dear reader, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Flying means many things to me, but the aesthetics of the experience comes high on the list. The aeroplane looks lovely from the outside, but I often found myself apologising for the panel. Something had to be done.
Having made the decision to rebuild, I suppose many people would have opted for a modern glass panel. But I confess to a fondness for old-fashioned round dials. Not only do I like the look, but I like having the key air data instruments completely independent of electrical
systems. And although I have become accustomed to the airspeed and altitude tapes on the Dynon, I think analogue instruments are easier and more intuitive to read, at a glance. On the other hand, the Dynon scores by packing a lot of instrumentation into an exceedingly small space. There was also a question of money. I didn’t mind spending a bit, but the fully glass option felt a trifle expensive.
With all this in mind I started drawing, on the computer, using Microsoft Visio. It’s not exactly a professional tool, but it is far easier than any of the baffling CAD systems I have tried – and perfectly capable of the accuracy required. It’s also easy to drop
“I suppose many people would have opted for a modern glass panel. But I confess to a fondness for oldfashioned round dials”
photographs into the drawings, which makes it a great way to visualise what you’re trying to do.
After many iterations I finally arrived at a solution that satisfied my key requirements of simplicity, ergonomics and aesthetics. I would retain the Dynon FlightDek, but it would be flanked by a new 80mm Winter ASI and altimeter. A new (to me) 57mm G-meter and the existing magnetic compass would sit outboard of these.
The existing radio and transponder would migrate to the right-hand side of the panel, where I would be able to operate them without obscuring their displays. All the switches would migrate to the left side, grouped according to function, with those most likely to be operated in flight close to my throttle hand. I also decided to scrap the combined engine start / magneto key switch and replace it with a simple push-button starter and magneto toggle switches (which for some obscure reason I find easier to understand).
The Sigtronics intercom would go – I’m happy to rely on the intercom function built into the radio. The final touch was designing a ‘window’ mount for the Samsung tablet. As well as looking rather cool, it had the benefit of keeping cables out of sight. It was designed to be removable, but was likely to be slightly fiddly, however it unlikely to be unmounted very often anyway. Fortunately I
Above and right Wiring drawings were made for future reference when maintenance or updates are required.
can do route planning on my desktop computer at home, or on my iPhone, and then upload to the cloud from where the information can be downloaded to the tablet, if I don’t want to plan in the cockpit.
Behind the panel I envisaged a considerable amount of simplification and tidying of the wiring. The only real concern was that it was all relatively undocumented, so I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into. But that was part of the point of the project.
A spare panel blank was passed on to me when I bought the aeroplane: an essentially rectangular 600 x 400 mm sheet of 2024-T3 AlClad – albeit curved along the upper edge – with a stiffening flange along the lower edge. The panel in the RV-8 is a structural member, so you can’t substitute one of the cheaper alloys. I had already transferred the outline of this blank to my layout drawing, and the next task was to generate a precise line drawing of all the holes needed for the instruments.
I sent the drawing to Aerojet in Martock, a subsidiary of SFM Technology, along with the blank panel. Many thanks to Nick Long for this recommendation.
For a mere £40 the holes were cut out in accordance with my drawing using a water jet cutter. A few holes
needed to be eased slightly with a file, and there was a slight burring that had to be fettled, but the quality of the work was first rate. For finishing, I handed the panel on to Chris Rutter, who also fitted the tray for the Dynon FlightDek and four anchor nuts (needed for mounting the panel onto the aircraft). He also fabricated the parts for my tablet window mount, having contributed actively to the design.
The new Winter ASI and altimeter came from Navboys.
They were both a bit pricey, but I really wanted the accuracy and reliability of certified air data instruments. I had the ASI colour marked in accordance with the RV-8 TADS, albeit with stall points taken from annual flight test data, and a triangular bug to mark the manoeuvring speed VA of 123kt. My inspector, Ray Harper, let me have a lovely old G meter for a fair price, and a late addition, thanks to Ian Fraser’s series of articles on cockpit audio, was a Flight Data Systems AP-60 audio mixer (sourced
from LAS), to multiplex audio warnings from the Dynon, FLARM and SkyDemon. The other instruments were transplanted from the old panel. Electrical hardware was sourced from a variety of suppliers, including Mouser Electronics (who sell the same toggle switches that Victor Bravo’s builder bought from Stein Air), Rapid Electronics and RS. Screws, nuts and washers all came from LAS.
After a trial fit of the panel into the aircraft, and the hardware into the panel, I stripped it down again and sent it off for painting. A local car body shop acid etched the panel, applied mid-grey colour coats from the same rattle can that was used to paint the old panel (another item inherited when I bought the aircraft) and then laid on a two-pack satin lacquer to add durability. It then travelled a few yards down the road to Vendredi Screen Print, who applied matt white switch labels and placards in accordance with my artwork – also generated in Visio. As an interesting aside, Vendredi (who nowadays will screen print almost anything) has its feet firmly in the aviation
Top left The old panel was removed, and the tangled spaghetti of wiring revealed. Ruth had no wiring diagrams for the original panel assembly.
Top right Rewiring in progress, a neater modular system which will enable far simpler fault finding should it prove necessary
Above Ready and waiting for flight testing, it all seems to work and the panel has satisfied Ruth’s goals.
world, having been created out of the screen printing department of instrument maker Penny & Giles, developer of the first flight data recorder.
A dark January day with a howling wind and water seeping from a leaden sky found me crouched in the cockpit, screwdriver and wire cutters in hand. Panel production and procurement was well in hand and I couldn’t put it off any longer. If I didn’t start into the ‘Great Unknown’, then spring would, well, spring, and the project would likely be postponed until the following winter. Besides, I needed distraction, so I took the old panel out. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But, dear reader, this marked the start of around four weeks of pain, as I teased apart tangled wires, dubious soldered joints and anonymous bullet connectors. Yards of masking tape were consumed in temporary labels, and cable ties held things out of the way. Order and understanding
eventually emerged, and the pile of snipped cable ties and redundant bits and pieces grew.
The weariest aspect of it? Climbing in and out of the cockpit to find some forgotten tool while bundled up against the damp and creeping cold. And dropping things on the cockpit floor, of course. That and wondering if I would ever get it all back together again. Many thanks to all who stopped by to offer encouragement.
In between days at the airfield I gradually developed a set of drawings to capture the general layout of all the services and the detail of the panel wiring, informed by reference to manuals for each of the components of the system and my own interrogation of the wiring. The result is a really useful reference, with a system-level block diagram, a detailed wiring diagram for the panel and a page of pinout drawings for the connectors to the Dynon, radio, transponder, GPS and FLARM.
One of the more intractable problems was simply working out how best to patch into the existing wiring and how to make the connections between the panel and the airframe: I really wanted it to be simple, secure and easy to disconnect. The final solution turned on a mixture of crimped heat-shrink butt splices; crimped ring terminals and barrier strip connectors mounted along the bulkhead behind the panel. The most annoying aspect of the task was the hours spent on electronic equipment suppliers’ websites, trying to work out exactly what to buy – then finding out the hard way that I had bought the wrong thing. I shouldn’t complain really, before the internet it would have been even more difficult.
Panel production converged with drawings and hardware procurement at the beginning of February, but just as all seemed ready for assembly, I was laid low with a nasty cold. Too much time spent in damp hangars, perhaps? After a two-week hiatus I started building. Three 12-way barrier terminal strips were mounted on a strip of alloy, which was then bolted to a structural member on the bulkhead behind the panel, picking up various preexisting holes. Chris Rutter’s help and advice were invaluable here – he’s very cautious about drilling holes in aeroplanes. A new earth stud was fitted, replacing the previous tab strip. And a very nice epoxy-glass box was custom made to replace the very tatty item that protected the ammeter shunt. The GPS and audio mixer were mounted on the bulkhead, together with a five-volt USB power supply for the tablet.
All the supplies to and from the various consumers on the aeroplane were terminated at the barrier strips, with three new harnesses providing connections from these to the switches on the panel. Connections to the GPS, radio and transponder were all made using standard D-sub connectors with crimp pins – thanks to Ian Fraser for the loan of the crimping tool.
Wiring the radio was my biggest concern. The wiring diagram in the installation manual was clear enough but I could see that the screened cables might be tricky to
work with. After a couple of practice runs on cable offcuts, I developed a technique using multiple layers of heatshrink tube to make ‘tails’ from the shielding braid which could just be twisted together and inserted into the crimp pins.
I was astonished and delighted in equal measures when I powered up the radio for the first time and found that it worked, plus everything else powered up as well. Testing the systems with the engine running however, did reveal one amusing problem – the magneto switches were upside down. I realised what I had done almost straight away, when I mounted the switches I put them all the same way up. It looked very tidy, but a magneto is functionally ‘off’ when it’s switched on of course –connecting the P-lead from the mag to ground. Silly me! And with the engine running I did detect some radio interference when testing the magnetos. So, while I partially dismantled the panel to turn the mag switches over, I replaced the earth connection with screened cable (the live side was already screened), which appears to have solved the problem.
The last problem I had to decipher concerned the window mount for the tablet. I knew it would be fiddly to fit when I designed it, but it turned out to be not just fiddly, but impossible. Connecting its power supply was too tricky because of the path of the power cable, and the back of the mount fouled the hinge for the whole instrument panel, making it impossible to open fully. Putting heads together with Chris we worked out a solution, which happily required no more than pruning a few bits of surplus metal. While the panel was off, I took the opportunity to recheck all the new terminal connections and then set to with a bag of cable ties and spiral wrap to make everything secure, neat and tidy.
Ray Harper was kept informed throughout the project, of course, and visited several times as the work went forward to ensure that it was being completed to a suitable standard. One important thing was to weigh all of the items I removed and everything newly installed, then to carry out a weight and balance analysis at the end. The change was so minimal that we concluded that no further action was required. And given that this was essentially a rearrangement of existing equipment, there was no requirement for higher approval – so he was happy to sign it off.
Although I haven’t been able to test fly the aeroplane yet, I’m very happy with the outcome. The new panel looks neat and everything appears (to my eye) to be in the right place. The screen-printed labels and placards look sharp and professional, and I love the new Winter ASI and altimeter. Moreover, when I hold a mirror under the panel with a torch, I can see tidy, maintainable wiring. Such a happy feeling. So, for now at least, my tentative conclusion is – mission accomplished. ■
Hello, and welcome again to Safety Spot. When I penned the June column, I kept on hitting the wrong letters on my keyboard… that’s because I had my fingers tightly crossed, hoping that the government would see fit to allow us all to get our aircraft airborne again. The increased number of corrections to my text was worth it and, as I write this piece for our July mag, we’ve enjoyed both a limited permission in England to go flying, and a period of rather settled weather. I hope that by the time you are reading this, the leaders in the other UK nations will feel able to open their respective airspace for sports flying.
Mind you, as I pen these first words, the weather appears to have stopped playing ball – it’s rather chilly and looks to be threatening rain. I have to say, and I hope that I’m not being prematurely upbeat when I say this, well done to those of you that have flown again after the lockdown for being extra vigilant and staying safe – apart from a few minor upsets, all has been relatively calm on the incident report front.
Thanks to all of you who have responded with your carbon monoxide stories, you will notice that we’ve put up another Airworthiness Alert on the subject. We’ve done this for two reasons, the first, to give access to a recently published CAA In Focus Special (CAP1881); the second being that we want to spin the plate up on this subject. Though we’ve had a
Above Two recent online Airworthiness Alerts give direct access to a couple of recently published CAA Publications which you may not have seen. CAP 413, Radiotelephony Manual, has now been fully updated (though doesn’t become a legal document until August) and, pertinent to the CAA/LAA review into commercially available CO monitors, CAP 1881 gives further advice and guidance on the dangers of this noxious gas. Photo: UK CAA
good number of members letting us know their experiences, very few have come forward to enter the CAA sponsored trial – so if you are interested in playing a part here, please get in touch. We’ll be collating all the responses for the CAA throughout July.
One thing that struck me personally was the number of owners who, after seeing a small increase in the cockpit CO level, investigated and subsequently discovered a developing engine problem. Sussex based Luscombe owner, Peter Dyer, writes:
Dear LAA/Malcolm, as a Licensed Aircraft Engineer of four decades (gas turbines/large fixed wing aircraft), I was unimpressed when I started my PPL (in 2003) with the ‘black dot’ type CO detector used in piston aircraft. Initially, I used a ‘holiday type’ detector for every flight, both when renting aircraft and in my first share (a Piper Cub). I then moved to my own aircraft, a Luscombe 8A, and during the annual flight test, I would take along the Fire Angel from the house, as a backup.
On one occasion, the ‘holiday type’ didn’t detect anything, but the Fire Angel was going nuts, and having a visible readout display, I could see it was time to:
1: open the windows to ventilate!
2: return to the airfield to land.
On removal of the heat shroud I found the exhaust broken at the weld lug attachments.
I then bought another Fire Angel product, CO-9D, in May 2016, which I consider to be a portable device (so no mod application needed). I have attached it to the cockpit sidewall at knee height with elastomer seals (see photo)… not wanting a loose article sculling about while flying but (I hope) close enough to the firewall if any CO comes into the cockpit.
I have been around various pilots during my PPL experience, and all seem to have a CO example to report - headaches and cracked pipes being the main problem. Why would you not get a detector? It could possibly/potentially save your life!
Thanks Peter, for taking the trouble to write, it’s appreciated. Of course, every safety device, perhaps just ‘every device’ brings with it some, often hidden, risk. Peter touched on one – a loose article in the cockpit – but there are others. One big one we worry about is distraction, especially if an alarm went off at a critical moment in flight – the smoke alarms at home have an ear-splitting warning note, quite terrifying when I forget that I’m toasting a sandwich. So, though we have received a lot of positive comments for commercially available smoke alarms, if you have a negative experience, please let us know.
I remember, as a very young man, taxying a PA 38 Tomahawk up between the hangars at what used to be known as Kidlington Airport.
The aircraft had just been released after being assembled – it came to the UK in crates – and I was going to give the aircraft its first shake down. As I passed the manned fire station, situated just before the airfield’s perimeter, I began running through the checks: “Change tanks – fuel pump ON – fuel pressure check”, and smoke and flames started billowing from the engine cowling.
Two things saved the day, me turning everything off quickly and two extinguisher-carrying firemen. The cause was found to be a loose fuel hose fitting which, when the electric fuel pump was switched on, acted as a fuel atomiser. As an aside, I think that this was the first occasion that I realised that every action, even actions designed to enhance overall safety, carries risk. In this example of a near miss, the fire was extinguished so quickly that there was no real damage caused, but the fuel pipe had been undone to carry out a fuel-flow check, a safety check, but the fitter had only retightened the fitting hand tight – he’d been distracted by something and had forgotten to tighten it fully.
We received an email from LAA Inspector, Mark Grogan, seeking advice about what paperwork we would need to clear some repairs – a Pulsar 3 he looks after had just suffered an engine fire. I called the owner, Andy Young, to find out what had happened and explained that he’d just had a lucky escape, rather similar to my experience years back. However, there were no firemen present, so Mark had to act as
Above Quick thinking, an electric screwdriver, a tee shirt and bottle of drinking water saved the day when this Pulsar owner experienced an engine fire trying to start the 912. The picture on top shows a carburettor drip tray, note the blocked drain hole.
Photos:
Mark Grogan/Malcolm McBridepilot in command and fire crew at the same time. He reports that, due to the long winter and then the COVID-19 lockdown, there had been quite a period where the engine hadn’t been run. As soon as he was able, he set about returning the aircraft to service, and during the checks, the engine started normally. Mark ran the engine for a while up to normal operating temperature, checked the systems, then shut it down to have some lunch after his busy morning. In the afternoon, he returned to the aircraft for a second ground run – but this time, the engine just wouldn’t start. While pondering what to do next, he noticed a puff of smoke drifting past the canopy. It didn’t take long to realise that the smoke was coming from the gap between the engine cowling and the fuselage at the firewall – his engine was on fire.
Mark sprang into action, switched everything off, grabbed his small electric screwdriver, quickly removed the eight AN screws holding the top cowling in place, and lifted it clear.
The fire was localised around the right-hand carburettor, but what to do? He removed his tee shirt and stuffed it into the flames, then ran into the hangar, looking for an extinguisher. All he could find was a bottle of drinking water and, fortunately, by giving the tee shirt a good soaking, it was enough to put the fire out.
Even though the fire didn’t take hold, most of the electrical wiring, all the rubber components, and the top and bottom engine cowlings will need to be replaced – an expensive exercise. But, because of his quick thinking, and despite the absence of a fire extinguisher, his Pulsar didn’t end up among the ranks of the half-dozen burned out LAA aircraft that owners have suffered over the last couple of years. Please, please, even if you are operating from a farmer’s field, get yourself a cheap fire extinguisher and put it somewhere it can easily be grabbed in an emergency.
So, what was the cause of the fire? The most common cause of fire in an aircraft engine during start up, apart from loose pipe connections of course, is over-priming.
As a safety device, when the Rotax 9 series engine first became available on factory-built microlights, the CAA’s certifying engineers wanted a fuel drip tray placed under the carburettor float bowls, so any fuel coming out of float bowl vent pipe was routed safely overboard via a thin drain hose. Of course, as a safety device it makes sense, as it stops fuel splashing about in the engine compartment if the float valve should stick open. However, as intimated earlier, nothing comes without a cost.
The cup-like drip trays that Rotax introduced make it very difficult to get the float bowls off to check the floats for buoyancy and the content of the float bowl for contamination and, more importantly, can act as an open-topped fuel reservoir if the narrow-bore overboard drain hose gets blocked. We think that this is what happened in this instance.
Interestingly, as a sort of connected aside, I visited a Rotax-powered LAA machine recently and thought it a good opportunity to get a picture of a drip tray, as Mark’s picture was taken after the fire, so wasn’t that good – the picture I took is featured and, as you can see, the drain hole is blocked. Get checking, folks!
Over the last few editions of Safety Spot, you will have noticed that I’ve emphasised just how important it is to build in deep inspections
Above Many of you would have seen, and admired no doubt, Nils Jameson’s lovely Aeronca 11AC Champ at the last few LAA Rallies –it’s the Champ (Mabel) that GASCo, uses in the ‘spot the problems’ competition. Here is another example demonstrating the importance of inspecting the individual components in a complete assembly on a regular basis, even if it means dismantling the assembly to get a view of the components within. As you can see, the axle’s bearing support flange has cracked and was close to failure. Had this progressed to failure it’s possible, likely really, that this wheel would have jammed and, if this had happened during a landing goodness knows what the end-result might be. Photo:
off’
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throughout an aircraft’s life. Personally, I really like the idea of an owner, along with their LAA Inspector, agreeing a Tailored Maintenance Schedule and, barring really big changes in usage, sticking to it.
Many of our members have picked up on this and, over the last months, we have received quite a few pictures showing some interesting inspection examples where failures, or near failures, have only been spotted because owners have gone the extra mile and dismantled an assembly to have a closer look. Thanks to all of you who send these stories and pictures in, you will know that every report we receive doesn’t automatically lead to hassle later on, so don’t ever think ‘better not let the LAA know about this or that – it’ll only cause trouble’. Always remember that, a point especially pertinent to those of us who share the very great privilege of flight, safety comes through knowledge.
In this issue, I’ve featured just a few of the pictures that owners and LAA Inspectors have shared with us over the last weeks. Some may lead to an inspection requirement, some may not, but every Safety Spot feature about a particular type now forms part of, and is therefore available through, the aircraft’s Type Acceptance Data Sheet (TADS). Not heard of this document yet? Read on.
Up until a few years ago, in a time before easy online communication, technical information about an LAA type was held in a document sent to inspectors we call SPARS. Indeed, legally, the aircraft is still signed-off against the latest edition of SPARS after its Permit renewal inspection.
Now we’re enjoying the age of the internet, HQ engineers are busily transferring the SPARS information into the online TADS document. We’re a little while off before every type has a TADS, but many of our machines are now accompanied through their lives with a TADS. Because it’s online, it’s a ‘live’ document and can easily be kept up to date, as well as acting as a doorway to many other sources of specific type information, including Safety Spot
So, if you haven’t seen TADS yet, and you own an LAA aircraft, take a look in the Engineering section of the LAA’s website, you’ll find all the TADS we’ve published – there’s very likely a TADS for your aircraft type in the Data Library.
One of the very nice things for an aviation enthusiast like me about working at Turweston Airfield, is that it is an unusual day that you don’t bump into a like-minded individual or two. It’s also a rare day that you don’t learn something new, although this is a pleasure that we all enjoy wherever we may base ourselves.
A while ago now, before COVID-19, a friend asked whether I could take their daughter and her boyfriend for a flight. “Of course,” I said (any excuse to get my bum in the air – a problem I’ve had since my 14th birthday). I asked the CFI of the flying school here at Turweston if I could rent one of the PA 28s to carry out the mission, and duly arranged a deal.
The due day arrived, and I showed the couple around the aircraft, it was (is still) a pretty bog standard Warrior, and like most flying club aircraft, mechanically sound but looking a bit tired in the upholstery department. One of the prospective passengers was noticeably nervous, recognising this, I switched on my most proficient patter.
I had been very careful, not knowing this particular aircraft, to have a jolly good look round, and I noticed that the aircraft was equipped with some pretty fancy (in my terms) avionics – though I recognised the radio and the transponder so wasn’t put off by this. Master switch on, engine start, radio… Mmmmm, I don’t seem to be able to turn the radio on. Do I push and hold? Nothing avionics-wise worked – there must be an avionics master switch, but where? By this time of course, my worried passenger was starting to visibly fret. Fortunately, before panic actually set in, I discovered that this aircraft had been re-wired and the avionics master switch wasn’t a switch at all, it was a circuit breaker, cleverly hidden from view (under the right-hand seat passengers knees). Phew, the flight went well, and I learned a big lesson – I should have done my homework.
I’ve just come off the telephone after a chat that also involved master switches with Gloucester flyer, Bill Allen. Among other things, Bill owns a Wilksch WAM 120-powered Long-EZ. In fact, it was at one of those
‘meetings’ alluded to earlier, that Mark Wilksch, the engine’s designer, suggested I gave Bill a call – seemingly, Bill had a tale to tell about fried batteries.
Mark was, at the time of our meeting, wiring up a new alternator on his WAM-powered RV-9 so I asked him ‘why the new alternator?’ “I could write a book about this”, he exclaimed. “But, in short, did you know that automotive alternators don’t all work in the same way?”. I, sort of nodded, though didn’t feel on solid ground (levels of knowledge and all that). He added, “This one, for example, controls its output current using an external regulator, but the last one I bought, which incidentally looked exactly the same as this one, used its own internal regulator and, to make things worse, latches on… in other words, you cannot isolate the output in the case of an emergency.” Crimping another wire terminal, he continued, “Luckily I didn’t fry any of the radios or the battery”. He said thoughtfully, “You need to chat this through with Bill Allen.”
And so, to Bill. “I can tell you this,” Bill exclaimed as we settled into our really pleasant chat over the phone, “it’s Bernoulli not Marconi that you need to understand, if you want to fly an aircraft.” I agreed with his sentiment, rather like the ‘fly the aircraft first’ mantra, though I think that, in modern times, both these clever chaps have quite a bit to do with safe flight.
Anyway, to cut to the chase as they say, Bill described a recent flight where he lost all electrical power. The reason? “You know the way it is sometimes,” he said as he explained that he’d forgotten to switch the master switch off after a flight, leading to a flat battery by the time he next came to fly the aircraft. He continued, “Well, it’s not a good idea to jump-start an aircraft engine that has a completely flat battery, it fries it!”
In fact, it turned out that not only the battery was fried, but because the alternator had latched itself on – a feature that Bill wasn’t then aware of – the alternator windings melted and, as the alternator itself slowly seized during the next flight, the drive rubbers failed and, well you know the rest. Many current automotive alternators work in conjunction with an ECU, which works out the best charging strategy for the vehicle. An off-the-shelf alternator might work well as a replacement, but it is essential that the method it uses to control output power is understood and is compatible with the systems on your aircraft. An alternator type change requires an LAA modification
to ensure that it safe to use. Seemingly, in this case a circuit breaker in the alternator output wire hadn’t protected the system as it should in such circumstances.
Incidentally, there’s a good tale that’s worth a read in the latest CHIRP (Edition 84, May 2020) about just this sort of event and its ramifications. To find a copy, just search CAA – CHIRP; if you don’t know what one of those is, drop us a line and I’ll send you a copy! Oh, and I should say that to prevent him forgetting to turn the master switch off again before going home, Bill has wired in a small LED which illuminates discreetly by the canopy latch – clever.
not much clearance around it. In fact, one of the rivets holding the end fitting in place on the rod has been contacting the wing structure. It was the unusual sound made by this contact that alerted the owner that all was not well. The owner notes that this aircraft is about nine years old now but this potential aileron jam hadn’t been ‘spotted’ in any of the previous annual inspections.
Mogas and Nyloc nuts – an obscure connection
As I reach the end of this month’s Safety Spot I mustn’t go without passing over information from a couple of recent events. The first one, that’s the mogas part of the title, gives a warning about using mogas in hot weather. My tip is that if you don’t actually have to use mogas when the weather’s hot, don’t. Remember that the rules for mogas use in LAA aircraft include a requirement that the fuel in the tank doesn’t exceed 20˚C. We’re just looking into one event which involved an engine failure shortly after take-off. There’s quite a bit more to this story, which I’ll no doubt share in the fullness of time, but for now we’re pretty sure that the engine quit because the aircraft’s fuel system suffered vapour lock problems – and, it was running on mogas, the day was extremely hot and, for complex reasons, there had been an extensive period of ground running at the runway threshold - all of which would encourage vapour-lock to occur.
The second event, which quite literally, has just landed on my desk, also involved the impact of heat. LAA Inspector (and aircraft design engineer), David Simpson, writes:
I’ve just completed the hinge bolt lock-wiring on our Pioneer 300. I found no loose hinges, but two hinge bolts, one on the elevator outboard hinge, and a second on the flap, were not tight. Both took about a half turn to tighten. However, it was due its annual, which I’m now in the middle of preparing for, so it would have been caught then.
Here’s a good one though, the top of the P300’s nose leg is secured by, and pivots upon, two brass bearing bushes running in journals in a lower extension to the engine mount, clamped by 10mm bolts passing through them secured by nyloc nuts (Item 1 in the photo).
The nose leg had excessive side play, so I investigated and found that the 10mm nuts clamping the bushes were loose. This resulted in the bolts moving in the bushes, rather than the bushes moving in the steel journal as the designer intended. I tightened them up, and the play disappeared. However, I found tightening the nuts was too easy and when I took them off, found I could turn them by hand quite easily, in other words, the nyloc feature didn’t work anymore.
Both nuts are within 50mm of the exhaust, and while there’s quite a lot of draught in there, the radiated heat from the exhaust box is effective. Over time, the plastic insert in each nut had softened and retracted to the point where it no longer had any resistance to turning. Exercising the undercarriage gradually worked the nuts loose, so that the bolts moved radially in the bush and created the side play. The hazard here is not so much that the nose leg could collapse, because the bolts cannot come out far enough for that unless the steering is quite well over one way. The
main hazard would be jamming of the steering if the bolt moved out while it was deflected.
The nose leg also had some directional play and on investigation this had a similar cause – the top of the leg has a yoke, which you can see in the bottom centre of the photo. An M6 bolt passes through a bush in the steel cross tube and clamps it to the yoke. Tightening the nut removed the steering play, and again, the M6 nyloc had no resistance, it too being 50mm from the exhaust and having suffered the same fate as the 10mm ones above.
Our aircraft first flew in Nov. 2009 and has done 435 hours. I’ve
ordered Aerotight metallic insert nuts to replace the Nylocs – it could be useful to let people know they’re available from Spalding Fasteners.
Now, at the time of writing, other than approving the substitution on Dave’s machine, the airworthiness review team hasn’t had the time to see whether further fleet action will be needed – watch this space. But if you own a Pioneer 300 or 400, I suggest checking these nuts just to make sure that your nuts remain tight – if they aren’t, drop us a line.
And on that note, it just remains to wish you the very best. I hope that you and those you love are in good shape as always.
Fair Winds. ■
Permit
now be paid online via
Factory-built
Note: if the last Renewal wasn’t administered by the LAA an extra fee of £125 applies
Modification application Prototype
PLEASE NOTE: When you’re submitting documents using an A4-sized envelope, a First Class stamp is insufficient postage.
Owner rebuilder...
This month we meet Dave Howell, metallurgy engineer, part-time tower and fire and rescue operator – and inveterate aircraft owner/repairer…
Welcome Dave, can you tell us something about your career please?
Living in Halesowen, West Midlands from the age of 10, I subsequently attended Hagley RC High School. I was not a natural academic and emerged at 17 with O-Levels in chemistry, physics and biology, which proved something of a challenge for my career’s advisor, but I managed to secure a job as a lab technician at a local GKN iron foundry. Seven years later, thanks to GKN sending me to college on day, then block release, I had an HND in metallurgy and was the works metallurgist. Almost to the day, GKN closed the foundry and made me redundant.
Before leaving I was approached by the then technical director asking me if I would like to be part of a new foundry he was setting up. Deal done I was now a shareholder of Vanguard Foundry, a new business, and 36 years later I made myself redundant determined to do something I enjoyed rather more.
Above Dave working on the first of two Emeraudes he has owned, or partowned, G-AYTR. He rates it as one of his favourite types.
Two years prior to leaving the foundry, I was asked if I would be interested in being a weekend Tower Assistant at Halfpenny Green Airport, best seat in the house and an air ground radio licence later – I said ‘yes’.
Having left the foundry with no master plan, Peter Montgomery, at Pure Aviation based at Croft Farm Defford, contacted me as he had been my Inspector during my rebuild of Thorp T18 G-BSVN, and asked would I be interested in a really crappy job replacing two ‘tin Robin’ wing spars. Another deal was done, and I spent the next 18 months doing all sorts of fantastic jobs… and flying.
While working at Pure Aviation I was trained as RFFS (Rescue and Fire Fighting Services) at Halfpenny Green to cover holiday and short-term absence.
Now, I job share a fire crew position and tower assistant role at Halfpenny Green. Even after all these years I still get quite a buzz as I approach Halfpenny Green (or any airfield or farm strip) by road, so it’s no hardship to spend loads of time there, either as fire crew, tower assistant or fixing something.
My father had an interest in aviation, probably from his time in the RAF during his National Service. As children, my brothers and I built model aircraft, which we subsequently crashed at the weekends. As we all grew up and left home, dad learned to fly gliders at Long Marston. I also tried gliding but most of the time we would be there for 10 hours and ended up with maybe 20 minutes in the log book! It was never going to work.
In what, where and when was your first flight?
I think my first flight was in a Blanik two-seat glider at Long Marston, absolutely stunning, but from a cable launch three minutes later we were back on the ground. I pretty well decided right there and then that I was going to need something with a propeller.
During the second year of my HND course, I made a New Year’s resolution, which was to learn to fly. My trial lesson at Halfpenny Green with Midland Aviation Centre was on 23 January 1981, in PA.28.140 G-ATTF. Forty-five hours later, on 20 November 1981, I had a pilot’s licence.
It’s so long ago I cannot remember how I learned about the PFA. However, five years after getting my licence, and having flown all my friends on a cost-share basis, I was only able to afford one hour per month, which did not seem enough to be safe. Having hung up my headset for 10 years and saved the money I would have spent on flying, I could afford to get my licence back and buy the cheapest
Top The Andreasson BA-4B, an all metal biplane that Dave finally managed to get some racing in, competing in the handicapped air racing series for a season. Photo: Nigel Hitchman
Above left Dave’s first aircraft, Rand KR2 G-BMMD, which he later shared and had to repair following a landing accident.
Above right Cassutt Racer G-CGSU (now G-LEFT), which Dave built from scratch but sold on because there was no chance of racing it. Behind is Thorp T18 G- G-BSVN, which he also bought damaged, and then repaired. Photo: Nigel Hitchman.
aircraft I could find which was Rand KR2, G-BMMD. I purchased the KR2 in October 1996, at which time I joined the PFA, initially attending the Strut meetings in Quinton, a suburb of Birmingham. I was quite busy at the time with work and sadly only lasted one year with the Strut.
Having built a Dutton B+ kit car while at college, the practical engineering bit of me was required when the KR2, which I had sold a half share in, suffered a significant landing accident at the hands of my new partner and needed to be repaired – so that was the first aircraft in my garage. A Fred Series 2 followed, but its expected performance did not warrant the completion of the project. The KR2 was sold and converted into a quarter share of an Emeraude, G-AYTR.
Five years later my share was converted into an Andreasson BA4B, G-YPSY. While enjoying G-YPSY’s company for five years I built a Cassutt Racer, G-CGSU (now G-LEFT), so the Andreasson had to go. I flew the Cassutt for two years but with no chance of any F1 air racing, it too had to go (how wrong was I?).
All was not lost though. While flying the Cassutt a broken Thorpe T18, G-BSVN, was in the garage, which was returned to flying as the Cassutt was sold. The Thorp T18 lasted two years and a Super Emeraude, G-BJVS, turned up at a very reasonable price. During the two years I flew the Emeraude, a good friend, Terry Gardner, and I bought between us a Sonerai 2, G-BMIS. Originally built in Hong Kong by a Cathay Pacific pilot 30 years earlier, it had only 16 hours on the airframe and engine, but the engine was in six boxes and the fuselage had no fabric on it.
Between us that was fixed up, but because it scared
the life out of me during flight testing, it had to go. The next aircraft in the garage was Taylor Titch G-BFID, which had suffered a minor landing accident at Breighton five years earlier. During a random conversation at Wellesbourne Airfield, it turned out that the Titch was a nearly complete airframe, less the engine, and was available for an absolute steal. It just so happened that I had an O-200 engine in my garage, and a deal was done. The Titch flew
“Without the PFA/ LAA it would have been absolutely impossible for me to be able to afford to fly anything, let alone the interesting aircraft that I have had the privilege to own”
Below left Dave bought the Titch airframe and fitted an O-200 that he had, and ended up with a very nice aeroplane, which we featured in the April 2019 issue of LA Photo: Neil Wilson
Below right Dave, right, with pilot Terry Gardner and Cassutt G-BFMF and the spoils of success from the F1 racing in Tunisia and Spain in 2015. He also worked with Trevor Jarvis as pilot in Wuhan in China, in 2018.
Bottom Dave’s current aircraft, a Smith Miniplane G-BTGJ, which he once again bought as damaged and repaired it. Photo: Neil Wilson
in 2017, so the Emeraude had to go. The Titch lasted what now appears to be the standard period of time, two years, but once again a Smith Miniplane G-BTGJ that had a landing accident at Henstridge had found its way into my garage. The Miniplane is still owned by me! But there is also a WAR FW190 in the garage.
Without the PFA/LAA it would have been absolutely impossible for me to be able to afford to fly anything, let alone the interesting aircraft that I have had the privilege to own. I felt quite guilty about not supporting the West Midlands Strut in the early days, but now that it has reformed, based in the Halfpenny Green café, I am able to give the new Strut my support.
How many types and hours do you have?
I have 29 types P1 or PuT, nearly 900 hours and 60 different airfields visited.
Do you have a particular favourite?
The Emeraudes and the Andreasson were really nice to fly. The Sonerai 2 was a bit scary, probably due to the extreme sideslip required to land it.
You finally managed some racing, I believe?
Yes, who would have thought that it was possible to fly in such prestigious races as the King’s Cup and the
Schneider Trophy! I did a season of handicapped air racing in the Andreasson BA4B. I never came first or last, but did get disqualified for low flying at the finish.
I also had the great privilege to be asked to be the spanner man for Terry Gardner’s Cassutt Racer G-BFMF. We took it to Monastir in Tunisia in early June 2015, and then to Lleida in Spain later in the month. We got second in the Silver class in Tunisia and third in the Silver in Spain.
In 2018 we took it to (the now infamous) Wuhan in China, and with Trevor Jarvis in the driving seat got a third in the Silver class.
I regret not having done much long-distance touring, but I did enjoy the challenge of flying to Lundy island for a fly-in.
I was a bit concerned about the landing and take-off distance as the Emeraude was somewhat underpowered, so I went on my own. The approach to this bleak rock out in the Bristol Channel was exciting, but to have six aircraft all approaching at the same time, and a fly-in at one of the Devon strips, with all the aircraft using the Safetycom frequency but not necessarily including the intended strip in the call, was quite character building. The take-off up the hill did not actually happen until going down the other side, but it was OK because there was a cliff immediately after, which gave me another couple of hundred feet.
you have any aviation heroes?
Alex Henshaw for his long distance flying with no autopilot or navigation aids, along with poor quality airfields and little or no weather information. To hold the record of Gravesend to the Cape Town and back for so long is quite extraordinary.
Do you have any ‘I learned flying from that’ moments?
Probably only three significant incidents. The first involved the Emeraude, G-AYTR, which following a group permit renewal maintenance session, the person who changed the oil neglected to tighten (or wire-lock) the sump plug. I test flew the aircraft the next weekend and had completed the timed climb when we lost the oil pressure at 2,500ft over Droitwich.
I knew of a farm strip in the area, we found it very quickly and all was going well until on downwind I noticed the owner mowing the strip! I landed over his head travelling in the same direction and stopped just short of the hedge.
Above After repairing and test flying Sonerai 11 G-BMIS, Dave decided it wasn’t for him and sold it on.
The second was with the Sonerai 2 on an early test flight. Doing a timed climb my hand had moved from the throttle to the mixture knob, and as I closed the throttle the engine coughed and spluttered. I opened and closed the ‘throttle’ several times before I saw my hand was on the mixture, not the throttle.
The third was quite recently in the Miniplane. All power checks were fine, but something didn’t feel quite right. On take-off the tail took longer than normal to lift, and the take-off run significantly longer than normal. With little runway left I committed to fly. Full power I coaxed the little biplane up to 200ft and flew a circuit, landing back on the same runway only a minute later. The cause? …a stuck exhaust valve.
Only three incidents, which isn’t bad for 900 hours of flying.
Any aviation books you recommend?
Obviously, Alex Henshaw’s Flight of the Mew Gull and Sigh for a Merlin
Do you have any non-aviation interests?
Until recently I really have not had much time to spare –but my Kindle is never far away.
How about an aircraft or vehicles wish list?
When I get my Lotto win, which is long overdue, a 90% Mk 26 Spitfire would keep me busy for some time.
What advice would you offer fellow pilots?
Plan well, but don’t overthink the operation, or you’ll never go. ■
We are continuing our cautious steps out of the COVID lockdown. If the transmission rates continue to fall, hopefully by the time you read this we will have seen a broadening of the current government advice to enable, with suitable precautions, flights with passengers other than members of one’s direct household, and also the resumption of dual instruction and pilot currency training.
The Government release from lockdown is currently being reviewed in three-weekly phases. Ahead of the planned ‘phase 3’ advice on 4 July, we’ll have been part of a CAA/DfT COVID working group meeting a few days earlier. These meetings have been instrumental in allowing us to make our case, and to help the CAA and DfT plan for the future.
By Steve Slater
this year and even if they did, we’d have serious worries about their safety. That of course also goes for many of our members and guests who would attend.
As one of the working group pointed out, we need to look at the bigger picture. Just because we can theoretically run a Rally, should we? Would it be right to have a large public event, right on the edge of our national recovery from this horrendous virus. What would happen, heaven forbid, if the Rally were to suddenly become a source of reinfection?
A prompt return to wider passenger carriage and dual instruction is a vital part of GA’s recovery. It will be critical to the survival of some flying schools, which have barely operated since March. It also enable many hundreds of pilots to get back in the air, who have got to make a dual or coached flight to meet group flying or club insurance rules.
It is also vital for many airfields which are dependent on instructional flying income. Private hangarage, visitor landing fees and fuel sales need to be augmented by instructional flying to balance the books and keep our airfields viable and open.
Reluctant decision…
Frank Herzog RIP
It’s a hard decision, and I think one which took a lot of courage from the Rally Working Group to make. We all so much wanted it to happen but I think the decision is the right one. Looking ahead, if things move forward with the COVID recovery we might be able to add extra elements to the LAA AGM in October. As we regroup and reschedule our plans, watch out for more in next month’s magazine.
Main: Roger Syratt, inset Andy Amor
Also we should all make a note in our diaries for 3, 4 and 5 September 2021. This will be a big one. The Rally will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the formation of the LAA’s predecessor, the Ultra-Light Aircraft Association in 1946. It will be both a celebration and a welcome reunion of those who can’t get together this year. I promise, it will be one heck of a party!
TOne of aviation media’s top photographers, Frank Herzog, has died at the age of 71. He worked for many titles, calmly, with great professionalism, and was always willing to go the extra mile – and guaranteed to deliver the photos.
Main The LAA’s Francis Donaldson takes off from Turweston in the restored Pup Inset Panel has been brought back to life
requirements, was dismantled and put into storage.
If the COVID transmission trends continue, we can hope that through the summer we might again see airfield cafes open (another vital and often overlooked GA revenue stream), plus the reopening of hotels and other accommodation around the UK. However, we are not yet seeing larger public gatherings and events being practicable for some time. This is one of the reasons behind our reluctant decision to cancel the 2020 LAA Rally in September.
It is a bitter blow to Eryl Smith and the Rally Working Group, who have been working incredibly hard to develop ways in which the Rally could continue and stay true to our traditions, while at the same time keeping members and other visitors safe. In this we received the wholehearted support of Michael Bletsoe-Brown, Jeff Bell and the team at Sywell Aerodrome, who were fully committed to making an event of some form happen.
he first Beagle Pup prototype, G-AVDF, has flown again for the first time in 51 years. The flight was at Turweston Aerodrome on 19 May 2020, with the LAA’s Francis Donaldson in the pilot’s seat, and followed an intensive five-year restoration. Beagle Aircraft built the Pup at Shoreham in 1967. With Beagle’s test pilot ‘Pee Wee’ Judge at the controls, she flew more than 200 hours of test and promotional flights between 1967-1969.
In 1993, David Collings, Beagle Pup pilot and enthusiast, found her at Brooklands. A sale was negotiated and David bought the aircraft with the intention of restoring her to flight. Sadly problems meant that the project was put on hold until 2015 when, along with Steve Slater, a way to put this unique hand-built aircraft on to the LAA’s Permit to Fly was found.
At the end of 1968 she had been modified and used as an engine test-bed for the Beagle Bulldog. When the Bulldog flew its first flight on 19 May 1969 G-AVDF became surplus to
Ironically, we considered that we could make many of the necessarily revised technicalities of the event work. Flying in and aircraft parking posed some challenges, but not insurmountable ones. We still had strong support from exhibitors, and we could plan for extended social distancing on the site, although enforcing it would undoubtedly have been difficult.
However, some challenges such as the requirement of cleaning and disinfecting of temporary toilets, showers and washing facilities after each use, to meet health guidelines, proved harder to beat. We have also to consider the health of the many volunteers who support the event. Inevitably, age and potential vulnerability to infection mean that many regular volunteers simply cannot attend as planned
In one memorable shoot, he attached a camera to a wingtip of a Grob T120TP, having consulted with the factory test pilot earlier. He then watched as the test pilot flew inverted the length of the runway at about 20ft off the ground, to the surprise of the magazine’s journalist strapped inside. Afterwards, Frank removed the digital camera, checked the image display and announced, deadpan, “Yup, got it.”
At LAA HQ, in line with government advice, the offices remain closed to the public and we are not handling telephone enquiries, but thanks to the efforts of the Engineering team we are handling the expected post-lockdown increase in permit renewal applications within our 48-hour planned turnaround schedule, provided they are properly completed.
Room with a view (and a ride)
A plea from our Engineering team here: Please double check that any FWR-1 ‘blue form’ is properly completed and signed before posting it to us. Typically an error on a form loses us the time it takes to process three or four others, while we try to contact the owner to sort an errant application out!
Looking for a different holiday with an aviation theme when the world returns to normal?
On that score, it was nice to see our efforts on the Permit renewal front recognised by a member writing to FLYER magazine. The resultant mention in ‘despatches’, thanking Adele (and Fiona and Jerry) was a well-deserved accolade for the hard-working team! ■
We took the prototype to ATSO Engineering at Turweston and Alan Turney took over the project.There were no complete
aircraft plans so the main spar brackets had to be ‘reverse engineered’ using optical scanning by Performance Engineered Solutions. When test flights are completed G-AVDF will be returned to her red and white original paint scheme. The aircraft is operated by the Beagle Pup Prototype Club and sponsored by Vega Solutions. We have plans for the finished Pup to meet up with the Sopwith Pup at Old Warden to recreate the ‘Christening Day’ that was held back in 1967 for the press. It was a shame we were unable to publicise the test flights but we were able to share the day with Mark Larroucau, son of John Larroucau, Beagle’s chief designer at Shoreham.
– Anne Hughesgo up yesterday after the shocking accident. Accept my salute. Yours, in grief, Winston Churchill.”
HERO Neville Duke is a icon to many of a certain age, not only for his WWII record as the Allies’ most successful fighter ace in the Med, but also as a high-profile test pilot post-war, when Britain’s aviation industry was at its most productive. A letter from then Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Duke was recently sold at auction for £8,125. It followed Duke’s demo flight at the Farnborough Airshow of 1952, hours after his friend and fellow test pilot John Derry, had been killed in an airshow accident. Churchill’s letter said, “It was characteristic of you to
VILLAIN An unnamed pilot flew a Pilatus PC-12 from Fairoaks to RAF Valley, North Wales, which was closed, allegedly because ‘he wanted to go to the beach’ and he’d seen the airfield in Wikipedia. The incident is being investigated by Welsh police for COVID-19 breaches, as well as the CAA.
restrictions, in the Permit renewal for my Champ. I did the test flight on Monday afternoon, posted the completed form to Turweston on Tuesday morning and received the new Certificate of Validity by email at 5.50pm Wednesday.
Genuinely awesome effort.”
HEROINE Adele Cooney, engineering admin at the LAA, has been nominated by reader Jonathan Taylor. “I have to say how impressed I have been with the LAA, given the current
VILLAIN Giovanni Lucia has been named as the Youtuber who posted a video from flying a drone ‘perilously close’ to the US Blue Angels display team during an airshow. How close? This still, right, taken from the video gives a clue.
Chinese company Ehang, makers of the world’s only passenger-carrying drone, is supplying its aircraft to the LN Garden Hotel in Nansha, Guangzhou. The hotel will become the world’s first Urban Air Mobility (UAM) themed hotel, with rides in Ehang’s 216. Hu Huazhi, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang, said, “Helping to build Guangzhou into a global air mobility pilot city is a milestone for us. Guests of LN Garden Hotel will experience our one-stop intelligent AAV services, including the unique aerial sightseeing, convenient and autonomous air deliveries and high-tech aerial light shows.”
Above Adele Cooney got a well-deserved mention in FLYER
We are delighted to be able to re-introduce the LAA landing vouchers after the break due to lockdown. Naturally, social distancing and other factors, due to the continuing government recommendations mean that airfield operation generally is subject to changes over what was the norm, so please be aware of the advice pertinent when the vouchers are current, it is a constantly changing situation after all.
It is also recommended that you call the airfield prior to departure, even if PPR is not usually called for, as operating times and conditions may have changed. Many airfields are operating with reduced staffing levels, so all services, such as fuel and catering, may not be operational. As usual, the vouchers are only redeemable for light, single-engined aircraft.
Free Landing for August 2020
This month we have free landings for the North Side Grass at Enstone Airfield, in Oxfordshire, and Eshott in Northumberland. A reduced landing of £10 is available at Headcorn, in Kent, but if you wish to take advantage of buying a boxed, boned and frozen Kentish lamb, your landing will be free of charge – a passenger you can take home without breaking the rules.
Like many small businesses, airfields are suffering at the moment and it is very generous of Eshott, Enstone and Headcorn to support LAA members with FREE or reduced landings. Do please consider reciprocating by refuelling and/or buying take-away food and beverages if they are available. Have fun!
Enstone Flying Club (north side grass only) 01608 678204
Situated in the middle of England, Enstone offers great countryside to fly around. This voucher is offered by the Enstone Flying Club, please use north side grass only, not the main hard runway. The club has an area to sit and relax. PPR – get booked in and a landing slot – register when landed. Avgas and Jet A1
Aviation
available. Radio is 129.880 with no straight in approaches please, join overhead. Circuit height 800ft for standard aircraft, and 600ft for microlights. Talk to Oxford or Brize Norton who are both helpful, and avoid overflying local villages. www.enstoneflyingclub.co.uk
Free Landing for August 2020
Eshott Airfield 01670 787881
PPR please and register on landing. Take your own flask and sandwiches as no catering is available. This well-maintained airfield is set among the rural scenery of Northumberland, and is equipped with both hard and grass runways. It is also close to the breath-taking
coastline and National Park. Radio is 122.855. Avgas and Jet A1 on site, visit the website www.eshottairfield.co.uk
Reduced Landing for August 2020
Headcorn 01622 890226
A reduced landing fee of £10 is offered, or a free landing if you buy a whole frozen lamb, boned and boxed for £150. Set in the Garden of England, this is a lovely area to fly in, and a handy stopping off point for the Continent, once that again becomes an option. The café is open all week with tea/coffee and bacon sandwiches etc., and the Air Warfare museum
should also be open most days. Please PPR before leaving your base, non-radio also welcome. Circuit direction is left-hand for both runways. Be aware of possible parachute dropping, and the operation of Spitfire Experience flights - keep a good lookout. Avgas, UL91 and JET A1 are available. Radio is 122.210 www.headcornaerodrome.co.uk
For all display or commercial advertising enquiries please contact Neil Wilson: 07512 773532 neil.wilson@laa.uk.com
You can email your classified advertisement direct to the LAA at the following address: office@laa.uk.com
Deadline for booking and copy:
17 July 2020
If you would like to place an aircraft for sale advert please see details below:
MEMBERS’ ADVERTISEMENTS
Up to 30 words: £6; 31-50 words: £12
Up to 50 words with a coloured photo: £45
NON-MEMBERS’ADVERTISEMENTS
Up to 30 words: £22; 31-50 words: £44
Up to 50 words with a coloured photo: £60 www.laa.uk.com
LAA Engineering advice to buyers:
AIRCRAFT APPROVED? Members and readers should note that the inclusion of all advertisements in the commercial or classified sections of this magazine does not necessarily mean that the product or service is approved by the LAA. In particular, aircraft types, or examples of types advertised, may not, for a variety of reasons, be of a type or standard that is eligible for the issue of a LAA Permit to Fly. You should not assume that an aircraft type not currently on the LAA accepted type list will eventually be accepted.
IMPORTED AIRCRAFT? Due to unfavourable experiences, the purchase and import of completed homebuilt aircraft from abroad is especially discouraged.
TIME TO BUILD? When evaluating kits/designs, it should borne in mind that technical details, performance figures and handling characteristics are often quoted for a factory-produced aircraft flying under ideal conditions. It is wise, therefore, to seek the opinion of existing builders and owners of the type. You should also take your own skill and circumstances into consideration when calculating build times. The manufacturer’s build time should be taken as a guide only.
AMATEUR BUILDING All LAA aircraft builders and potential builders are reminded that in order to qualify for a LAA Permit to Fly, homebuilt aircraft must be genuinely amateur built. For these purposes the CAA provide a definition of amateur built in their publication CAP 659, available from LAA. An extract from CAP 659 reads “The building and operation of the aircraft will be solely for the education and recreation of the amateur builder. This means that he would not be permitted to commission someone else to build his aircraft”. An aircraft built outside the CAA’s definition could result in an expensive garden ornament.
Wide-body, extended footwell. Wing-fold. ANR headsets. New Permit, 975 hours Enclosed trailer. Tel: 07968 225232 or email: 1markhayward@gmail.com
Contact: Jay Lucas
Dire ct Tel: 01933 304789
Mob: 07341 866056
Email: jl@arkle finance.co.uk
We b: w ww.ark le finance.co.uk
Maule Tailwheel assy. SFS-P8A-14. 8in c/w Maule anti-shimmy spring set 06-15150. New condition. £290 ono. Tel: 07850 723085.
Currie Super Wot (as featured in Pilot). £6,000 for complete aircraft and early stages of new build project. Low price because C90 engine needs overhaul. Nickmartinbloom@gmail.com for more details.
Book for sale. The Man who Created the World’s largest Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise. Book for sale at £13 (incl P&P UK). Profits go to Air Ambulance.
Cheque to D.G.Scott, 21 Ellsworth Road, High Wycombe, HP11 2TU.
