LA Sept 2023 issue

THE MAGAZINE OF THE LIGHT AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Aviation LIGHT

September 2023 £4.25

RV-4 WITH A ROTAX

A German engineer’s remarkable project to produce a 600kg ultralight Van’s Aircraft RV-4 powered by a Rotax 915iS… EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH

THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST FLY-IN

Light Aircraft Association WWW.LAA.UK.COM

PROJECT NEWS

BOB LEE’S FRENCH AIRFORCE CUB RESTORATION

Ed’s Desk

A wonderful array of Permit aircraft at Popham at the Grass Roots fly-in.

Chairman ERYL SMITH CEO SIMON TILLING Chief Technical Officer JON VINER CEng MEng MRAeS Chief Inspector LUCY WOOTTON MEng(Hons) DIS DipHE MRAeS

President ROGER HOPKINSON MBE Vice President BRIAN DAVIES Engineering email engineering@laa.uk.com Email office@laa.uk.com Office Manager Penny Sharpe Head Office Turweston Aerodrome, Nr Brackley, Northants NN13 5YD Telephone for engineering and commercial 01280 846786

LIGHT AVIATION MAGAZINE Editor ED HICKS Email ed.hicks@laa.uk.com

Design and Print SEAGER PUBLISHING Production Editor LIZI BROWN Art Editor LISA DAVIES Opinions expressed by the authors and correspondents are not necessarily those of the Editor or the LAA. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission.

Daydream believing

A

s this is the last page I write, and as this issue was going to press right after the Grass Roots Fly-in weekend, I’m sneaking in a few thoughts from what felt like a thoroughly enjoyable event.

Yes, the weather put a bit of a dampener on things on Friday morning, but that appears to have been a common tale for many events this summer… Plenty of visitors persevered by road, and it eventually dried up – and a few arrivals even managed to fly in. Saturday was a much better day, and although breezy, at least it was straight down the runway at Popham. The breeze did help dry things up and the day saw enough arrivals to fully pack the main show parking, as well as fill two solid lines out the front in overflow. While it took an hour or so for some low cloud to break up on Sunday morning, the light winds and welcome sunshine combined to make a great final day.

In fact, for me it felt much busier on what is normally a bit of a ‘wind-down’ day.

Thanks to everyone who came and said hello. I chatted to lots of members, some who’ve just finished projects, some who are just about to start, and some who are still dreaming. No matter what stage you’re at, it’s what the LAA is all about. Making dreams fly.

Catch up with our full Grass Roots event report in the October issue!

While we’re talking of events, I hope you enjoy the coverage of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. I saw loads of LAA members at the show and they were all having the time of their lives! It’s fair to say it’s something you’ve got to do at least once in your lifetime. If you’ve never been, hopefully our report will encourage you to start planning for 2024!

Finally, while it might not be an LAA project, I thought readers would enjoy learning about Robert Haag’s impressive project to create a Rotax 915iS powered RV-4, and bring it in a weight that makes it fully compliant with the German 600kg microlight rules. I first learned of this amazing project at AERO Friedrichshafen back in April.

Robert’s RV-4/600R shows what can be done in terms of matching older designs that use ‘legacy’ engines – yes, the Lycoming is still very current – but in terms of state of the art, there’s no question that Rotax is blazing a trail here. And as Rotax tells us, if the 140hp Rotax 915iS fits, then a 160hp 916iS will swap straight in.

I’d love to explore the idea of a 915iSpowered RV-3… but that classic cheekcowling look would have to remain. Oh, to daydream…

ed.hicks@laa.uk.com

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 3

For all display advertising enquiries contact Neil Wilson 07512 773532

neil.wilson@laa.uk.com

www.LAA.uk.com ANDAIR FUEL SYSTEM COMPONENTS COMBINE MODULAR DESIGN, SUPERB QUALITY AND THE FLEXIBILITY TO SUIT ANY AIRCRAFT BUILD PROJECT.

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 significant presence in the commercial aviation market as well.

www.andair.co.uk

Contents September 2023

FEATURES 13 AIRSPACE AWARENESS

Two challenges to the airspace we use, highlighted by LAA members and the General Aviation Awareness Council

14 PROJECT NEWS

Piper L18C Super Cub, Bristell NG5 Speed Wing, New Projects and Cleared to Fly

20 TECHNICAL

Engineer and designer, Robert Haag, on his remarkable project to produce a 600kg ultralight Van’s Aircraft RV-4, powered by a Rotax 915iS…

28 SHOW REPORT: OSHKOSH

The biggest and boldest aviation show, there’s nothing in the world that’s like EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh. See all the highlights in our feature… it’s nearly as good as having been there…

38 COACHING CORNER

PCS Head of Training David Cockburn looks at waypoint selection in part two of his discussion on navigation

20

Rotax 915iS-powered RV-4

40 ENGINEERING MATTERS

Andair fuel pump update, know your tailwheel lock type, potential airframe corrosion, and CAA guidance on glider tug maintenance

49 MEET THE MEMBERS

We chat with Sharon Nicholson, who went from not knowing any female pilots to becoming Chairwoman of the British Women Pilots’ Association…

14

49 REGULARS 03 EDITORIAL 06 NEWS 09 LETTERS 10 STRAIGHT AND LEVEL 46 STRUTS4U 54 LANDING VOUCHERS 58 WHERE TO GO

28 September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 5

LA News

News

STOP PRESS!

LAA Grass Roots Rally

Around 250 visiting aircraft attended the LAA Grass Roots Fly-in at Popham Airfield over the three days of the event.

While Friday morning was affected by rain, the afternoon dried up and there were a few fly-in arrivals, plus plenty of visitors who came by road. Saturday and Sunday were drier and brighter, with a brilliant array of fly-in arrivals.

Most Meritorious Arrival was Hermann Schiele, flying his Van’s Aircraft RV-8 D-EIGT, who flew in from Germany, straight off the back of a 10-week, 165-hour flying trip to Oshkosh.

The Best Plans-built award winner was Pietenpol Aircamper G-PLJR, built

Above Most Meritorious Arrival was Hermann Schiele, left, pictured with LAA Chairman Eryl Smith.

by Pat Taylor; the Best Kit-built aircraft was a Van’s RV-14, G-STRV, built by Steve Hicks, while Nigel Huxtable’s magnificent restoration of Auster J4 G-AIJM was the recipient of the Concours d’Elegance Trophy for best in show.

• There were a number of packed Speakers’ Corner sessions with the CAA, the LAA CEO Simon Tilling and

British Women Pilots’ Association announces 2023 aviation scholarships The British Women Pilots’ Association (BWPA) chose the Grass Roots Fly-in to announce its 2023 aviation scholarships, including one in partnership with the LAA. The awards will help scholarship winners in various ways, including gaining their first qualifications, building upon existing qualifications, or working towards a first paid flying job.

The BWPA is funding eight scholarships: Four BWPA Flying Start Scholarships, each worth £2,000, for new pilots to gain their first qualifications; and four BWPA Flying High Scholarships for licenced pilots who wish to gain further qualifications.

One additional scholarship will be funded by the LAA, and three additional scholarships will be funded by SkyDemon.

The BWPA offers scholarships every year to support women in the UK of all 6 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

ages and backgrounds to achieve their flying dreams, underlying one of its key aims – of promoting women’s training and employment within the sector.

BWPA Chairwoman Sharon Nicholson says, “Our scholarships are about more than just financial support, they can also change lives. Our winners tell us time and again that our belief in them made a lasting impact.

Investing in their future leads to positive change, not only in their individual journeys but also in the broader landscape of aviation."

The scholarships will open for applications in early September, and applicants must be BWPA members. The scholarships are open to women of any age and background, and are for any type of flying. www.bwpa.co.uk • You can read more about Sharon and the BWPA on p49: Meet the Members.

Andy Wood

Updates available on the LAA website at www.laa.uk.com - check it out every day!

LAA Chief Inspector Lucy Wootton, among others.

• Many fly-in visitors who stayed over on Saturday night enjoyed the evening sunshine at a Popham Airfield BBQ held at the club house.

• Thirty-three exhibitors supported the event, including some for whom it was their first time at the show.

LAA CEO Simon Tilling said, “An event like this wouldn’t be possible without the support of our headline vendor sponsors, LAS Aerospace, Garmin Aviation and Cambrai Covers, plus the fantastic help of all our fly-in volunteer set-up team, LAA Strut members, and Mike and his Popham Airfield team, so a big thank-you to all of them.”

A full report will be featured in the October issue of Light Aviation.

Flying with active carbon monoxide monitors

Carrying an active carbon monoxide detector in the cockpit can provide an early alert to the risk of carbon monoxide being present. The CAA is interested in GA pilot’s views and is currently running a survey. It has also published a new infographic highlighting the advantages of active CO detectors. tinyurl.com/CAAactiveCOsurvey

LA News

Have you visted the all-new LAA website?

Running out of fuel…

Following a number of recent accidents that appear to have been caused by aircraft running out of fuel, a CAA SkyWise alert has been issued to remind pilots that they are legally obliged to ensure there is sufficient fuel on board for their intended flight, plus reserve (see Article 69 of the ANO). The Skyway Code and Safety Sense 5: Flight Under VFR, contains helpful guidance on fuel planning.

Pilots of Part 21 aircraft are required to carry a 30-minute reserve for VFR flight. Pilots of non-Part 21 aircraft are encouraged to do the same. Pilots should physically check aircraft fuel levels by using a dipstick or via ‘tabs’ inside the tank.

For aircraft with multiple fuel tanks that require manual selection, pilots are reminded to set reminders to switch tanks and make use of fuel alarms using electronic devices.

Become a GA Ambassador!

If you love flying, then the Department for Transport is looking for new Ambassadors to help promote General Aviation in 2024/25. The two-year opportunity sees a selection of volunteers chosen as leading figures in the industry, representing the best of the aviation sector, reaching out to young people, and underrepresented or marginalised groups, to engage them and showcase what the aviation industry has to offer and why it’s an exciting place to work. Applications must be submitted by midday on September 8 2023. tinyurl.com/2024gaambassador

Free Go Gliding event

LAA AGM – Old Warden Airfield We had hoped to hold the LAA AGM at Turweston Airfield on Sunday 15 October. However, as we are now unable to secure the meeting space we had hoped, the event will now take place on the same date at Old Warden Airfield. The AGM begins at 1200, and we hope to offer a discounted landing fee and museum entry for those members who would like to attend in person. More information will be provided on email and in the October issue of Light Aviation.

On Tuesday 12 September, Cambridge Gliding Club (CGC) will be holding three British Gliding Association (BGA) Go Gliding programme events.

Organised by the BGA together with Women Gliding and partner gliding clubs, Go Gliding is part of a nationwide project to inspire young people, especially women and other under-represented groups, to consider aviation and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) careers. Working with schools, youth groups, and STEM organisations, Go Gliding is using how to become a glider pilot as the inspirational trigger.

Each session at CGC will provide gliding-based STEM activities, talks by role models, some with gliding backgrounds who are currently employed in aviation, a brief introduction to gliding using the CGC Mintel simulator and an explanatory tour of the gliders, aircraft and launch facilities owned by the club.

The CGC events on 12 September are 0930-1230, 1300-1600 (fully booked) and 1900-2100. The three-hour duration daytime events are designed for pupils with a minimum age of 13-14, with the STEM activities aimed at Key Stage 3 and 4 attendees.

The CGC events are open to schools, youth groups, cadets, and individuals.

As numbers are limited to 30 per event, each participant must register individually in advance, at tinyurl.com/bgagogliding September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 7

Obituary

Obituary

David Frederick Ogilvy, OBE, FRAeS 1929 – 2023

David Ogilvy passed away on 14 July 2023, in Bristol, at the age of 94, after a lifetime of being involved in aviation.

At school David joined the ATC, during which time a flight as a passenger in a Tiger Moth left him ‘hopelessly lost to a determination to join the RAF as a pilot…’. His ambition was more than fulfilled.

On leaving school shortly after WWII ended, David argued his way into flying training with the RAF, which led to a posting with a Mosquito photo-reconnaissance squadron, with trips to Libya, Malta and covert flights deep into Russian territory. While in the RAF, he trained to become a civilian instructor and, because of concerns over a significant loss of interesting pre-war civilian light aeroplanes, he co-founded the Vintage Aeroplane Club in 1951.

David made his first entry into the world of air racing in 1950, with a borrowed Miles Falcon.

David left the RAF in 1952, taking up an offer of the job of CFI and manager of the Elstree School of Flying. This expanded to management of the air school’s organisation of training at Elstree, Derby, Wolverhampton and Denham. One of David’s first pupils was George Done, who, many years later, in 2000, succeeded David as Chairman of AOPA. George remembers David as ‘an enthusiastic instructor partial to interspersing flight training lessons on Magisters with short random bouts of aerobatics’. David met his future wife, Audrey, when she turned up one day at Elstree and, already a qualified pilot, asked to be trained as an instructor. After a flight test David ‘found that she flew very well and could start training straight away’. Audrey went on to become an instructor, and also air raced, competing against David in several races!

David continued his air racing with the well-known Comper Swift G-ABUS, Black Magic, for several years.

In 1966 David was offered, and readily accepted, the post of General Manager of the Shuttleworth Collection. In his 14 years there he expanded both public access to the collection, as well as the collection itself, including acquisition of a Hawker Hind from Afghanistan. He organised the flying displays, during which he provided detailed and lively commentary. During his time at Shuttleworth he had the opportunity to fly many of the collection’s aircraft.

David’s daughter, Jill, remembers flights with her father in a Tiger Moth, from Old Warden. She adds ‘Dad was responsible for giving me a thrill of flying which has never left me’. Dodge Bailey, a

pilot at Shuttleworth since 1989, says ‘David set an example of conduct and presentation that I have tried to emulate ever since’.

David’s role at Shuttleworth was part-time (nominally three days a week) giving him the opportunity to pursue other activities in support of GA. Needless to say, he was not idle!

In 1967 David co-founded the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) UK, with which he was involved for 45 years, serving as house journal editor, Executive Chairman and President, and ‘aerodromes man’. In this latter role he handled more than 750 operational or planning issues relating to small GA aerodromes in the UK, including appearing as an expert witness in some 30 public enquiries, and with involvement in 12 court cases mostly related to aviation accidents. In addition he was a founder member and Vice-President of the UK Historic Aircraft Association (HAA), as well as President of the Vintage Aircraft Club and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Together with colleague Jack Wells he established the General Aviation Awareness Campaign/Council (GAAC). The current GAAC Chairman, Charles Henry, says ‘I still follow David’s guiding principles’.

David was awarded the OBE in 1996 for services to aviation, the Darrol Stinton Memorial Trophy from the HAA in 2013, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Transport Trust in 2020.

David had a wide range of interests outside of aviation. These included music (he played the trumpet and trombone and sang in church choirs), railways and nature.

David’s legacy to GA will live on in many ways, through the people who remember him, or know of him, through the aviation associations that he founded or co-founded, and not least through his many publications, the last of which, his 17th book, Flying and Preserving Historic Aircraft, has just gone to the publishers.

In the words of Wally Epton, the current UK HAA chairman, ‘We will not forget such an aviator. There are few such as David in the General Aviation world. As a VP of the UK HAA David was held in high esteem by his colleagues. We shall miss his highly valuable contribution to historic aircraft knowledge and wisdom’ .

Martin Robinson, CEO, AOPA, says ‘I enjoyed many hours talking with David about all things aviation… he certainly was one of a last generation and is remembered by many’.

• Obituary prepared by David and Audrey’s daughter, Jill Ogilvy-Scott.

LAA is also sad to report the recent passing of Jenny Pothecary, William ‘Bill’ H Cole and Iain Gibson, former East of Scotland Strut Co-ordinator 8 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Letters

Letters

Right ‘HL proudly on display on the tarmac at a families day event held at RAF Shawbury!

We are always pleased to receive your letters, photos of your flying, and your feedback. Please email the editor at ed.hicks@laa.uk.com Query over ‘Taming iPad temperatures’

Dear Ed, I was very impressed by the article by David James on page 49 of the August 2023 issue of Light Aviation. I immediately put an order in for a 100mm Peltier cooling puck, as he presented the idea so compellingly. However, as soon as my order went off, I began to think of the possible implications of having magnetic material in relatively close proximity to the magnetic compass.

Doubtless, he has some thoughts on this. I wonder if you could ask him?

Best wishes, Geoffrey Rishman (Mem No 041339).

Ed replies: Hi Geoff, I’m glad you enjoyed the article. There is a surprising number of magnetic sources in our cockpits – many we often forget. You did as I often hope our readers will do when enjoying the magazine content, you’ve thought about it and will consequently proceed with care when using the tips in your own cockpit.

David James replies: It was remiss of me not to mention this very obvious point (magnetic field) in my article. Ed’s comments are very sensible, and it is extremely simple to check whether any of the many magnets used in our light aircraft have any real effect on the a/c compass or e-magnetometer. In my aircraft the magnetometer for my Garmin G3X system is far out inside one wing, and my back-up compass is fixed to the top tubing of the windscreen in the centre, as is commonly done. A worse situation used on

some aircraft has the compass mounted centrally right on top of the glare shield, and sometimes – worse still – aft-wards right atop the panel, i.e. nearest the occupants. I also note that some owners stick such things as magnetic pen holders on the structure, so it can potentially all add up. But in reality, imho, it is quite hard to end up with any of these magnets close enough to make any noticeable effect (say, 1°).

Away from one or two times the major dimension of a magnet (so about six inches, say, in the case of one of these cooler pucks) the field decays as the inverse cube of distance. As it happens I have a commercial field meter, also a specially sensitive magnetometer that I built for measuring low level fields – both DC and low frequency (I built a radio astronomy and geophysics observatory near my home, to study, among other things, minute changes in the Earth’s field, which is related to solar flares, sunspots etc.). A while ago I actually surveyed the inside of my cockpit, just out of curiosity on this very subject Geoff raises, and confirmed that the potential for the smallest influence on the back-up compass can be attributed to induced fields from current through wiring rather than the magnets inside the headsets, my tablet (and its case catch), phone etc. (I don’t have a pitot heater, but that is one source which is a likely candidate for possible concern, it just needs care in cable routing).

I think Geoff will have to work hard to end up positioning such a cooler puck close enough to cause a compass offset problem, unless using a very unusual positioning of tablet/phone and/or compass/magnetometer.

Permit renewal… Thank you!

Hi. Can I just pass on my thanks to Adele, Francis and the Engineering team at LAA HQ for pulling out the stops to return the Permit for ‘HL (G-BCHL). It was much appreciated, and meant ‘HL could be displayed at RAF Shawbury families day recently.

As an unusual footnote to the event you might be interested to know that I grew up in Shawbury and as a young child in the local primary school used to watch the No. 9 Air Experience Flight Chipmunks operating in and out of Shawbury, which I suspect planted the flying bug, and in particular, Chipmunks. To be able to fly into the event in a Chipmunk was a very special opportunity which was down to you all – thanks so much!

Best wishes, Alistair.

Top marks on Permit renewal process!

Dear Sirs, Thank you for the Permit renewal, I have been a member for many years and just accepted the process which has always been OK. However, lately on flying forums, I have heard some criticism about the Permit delays.

I would like to congratulate the LAA, especially Zoe who picked up on a mistake which I made when I was filling in my form.

She took the trouble to call me and it was rectified in seconds.

Kind regards, Kevin Handley.

Simple tech helps new Permit forms

Dear Ed, Like many others perhaps, when I came to submit my application for renewal of my Permit after using the old blue form for years, I found the new forms a little daunting. Well, why would you use one form when three with several pages will do?

Now I am aware that the new system is designed to save LAA processing time, so I assume that the idea is to process the new forms by scanning using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and knowing just a little about this, if writing is not clear nor boxes ticked nor crossed clearly, then the forms have to be read by hand. This obviously takes more time and I assume runs the risk of the application being held up.

Using a simple computer program that can write on a pdf file can solve this problem by entering text clearly and filling in the tick boxes with a black spot.

One such inexpensive program is Ashampoo pdf Pro 3, which is available on the internet for as little as £12.60. I used this, without too much difficulty, to complete each of my forms then saved, printed, signed and scanned again (as requested by LAA to prevent alteration) and finally emailed the scanned copy to the LAA. The result was that I received my new Permit documentation in less than a week.

What is more, this year’s paperwork is now saved ready to be updated next year without having to re-input a lot of the same information.

I hope that this discovery helps both applicants and the LAA processing team.

Kind regards, John Edser.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 9

Straight and Level Updates from LAA HQ Airspace use and regulation Simon Tilling CEO

O

ne of the biggest challenges we face in the General / Light Aviation world is that of airspace use and the regulation of who can go where, how, when and what they have to do to be compliant.

The CAA Airspace Modernisation Programme, AMS, involves redesign of the higher level airways structure, connecting it to the lower levels, and ultimately the approach to individual airports. In addition to the regular consultation with the CAA re the above, the LAA is engaged with NATS for upper airspace, the three main TMAs at major airports and RPAS / UAS and other operators applying for Temporary Danger Areas and other restrictions via the Airspace Change Proposal process Representing the interests of LAA members is a volunteer team led by one of our Board members, Ian Sweetland. This team works in conjunction with other GA bodies, such as the BMAA, BGA and the General Aviation Alliance. At present the team is working on responses to more than 20 current ACPs Repeated trials of RPAS / drones present increasingly frequent

Passion and friendships Eryl Smith Chairman

I

t’s been 20 years since I first went to AirVenture at Oshkosh.

The impression created by the enormity of the event, the friendships made and the memories live on. For many, Oshkosh is an annual pilgrimage, for others it remains a bucket list item. Talking with a member who had recently returned from their first visit, it was clear that it has lost none of its ability to inspire, with its sheer scale and breadth of activity.

Closer to home, members will have made visits to SchaffenDiest, the RSA at Brienne-le-Chateau, other European events and the many fly-ins around the UK, sharing our passion and renewing long-standing friendships.

By the time you read this we too will have held our Grass Roots Fly-In at Popham. While not on the scale of Oshkosh, I hope it will have demonstrated the shared interest for our flying and the Association, and above all else enabled new friendships to be forged and old ones recharged.

Writing this in the final days before the event (to meet copy deadlines), I am heartened by the support shown by exhibitors, many of whom are longstanding supporters of LAA, but also those who are exhibiting for the first time and particularly to those exhibitors who generously provide sponsorship; Garmin, LAS

10 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

requests to restrict the airspace we all use. Many of you will already be aware of the current application in the North East of England applied for under ACP 2023-015 by Apian. If granted, as it is currently configured, north-south and east-west GA traffic will be restricted to a narrow vertical band when the prevailing cloud base is taken into account. Avoiding the proposed area would entail a route through a similarly reduced vertical corridor under the CAS for Newcastle Airport, or possibly even further offshore.

The LAA Airspace team, led by Ian in conjunction with other interested groups, is actively building a response to this ACP. The LAA team needs, and relies upon, member input for the very detailed knowledge and experience required to present reasoned and compelling arguments in our responses to any ACPs. The preservation of airspace for all users is a key objective for the LAA and I would strongly encourage you to get involved and reach out to Ian via an email to Airspace@laa.uk.com On the flip side of the above, I’d like to mention the Local Area Airspace Infringement Team initiative begun by the CAA, which the LAA strongly supports. Its objective is to engage the GA community around the larger airports, to reduce infringements through improved communication and understanding, on both sides. If you get the chance to attend one of these regional sessions that the CAA holds, I would strongly recommend it. ■

Aerospace and Cambrai Covers. They all value greatly the opportunity to get in front of our members and I hope you will continue to support them with your purchases.

We have worked hard with the team at Popham, HQ staff and our team of volunteers to stage the event and I am grateful for all their efforts. I hope that for all those members who were able to attend it proved to be a successful event and look forward to Ed’s full report in the next magazine.

As the dust settles on this year’s event we will turn our attention in earnest to 2024. The intention is to return to a full Rally, but the economics and the ability to find a suitable location and airfield owner / operator willing to share the risk and reward of hosting an event of that scale continues to prove challenging. If this does not prove possible we will need to consider how best to address the understandable disappointment of members for whom a southern location is less than ideal!

Looking ahead we are approaching our AGM and annual service awards on Sunday 15 October which will provide an opportunity to report back to members on the Associations finances and performance. As noted in this month’s News section we have had to relocate the venue for the AGM to Old Warden due to suitable facilities no longer being available at Turweston.

Finally, many continue to enquire about Steve Slater’s health.

At the present time he remains in hospital but is making slow but steady progress with his rehabilitation. On behalf of all I have expressed continued good wishes for his recovery. ■

Letters Extra

Airspace awareness Two challenges to the airspace we use, highlighted by members and the General Aviation Awareness Council National Grid – Tilbury to Norwich – Effect on aviation A note from David Brown I thought it would be worth sharing a small part of a document that we, at Priory Farm Aviators, have submitted to National Grid and the CAA in response to a request for ‘feedback’ to their proposal to run a huge length of above-ground large pylons.

Priory has around 30 locally based aircraft of varying types and performance, and more than 70 members, which include BMAA Inspectors and Flight Instructors. We are also working closely with Norfolk Gliding Club and the CAA in this respect.

Locally based aircraft types: These range from Vintage Cubs, microlights, biplanes, flexwings – and everything in between!

Visiting aircraft: This year’s fly-in saw just under 100 movements in the day, with 60 visiting and 24 new arrivals.

The proposed new cables will run very close to many airfields and in many cases drastically reduce safety margins and certainly fall outside the standard CAA recommendations The primary concerns of Priory Farm Aviators include: • Safe proximity of large, long and tall structures so close to the existing circuit pattern.

• Significantly reduced alternatives in EFATO (Engine Failure After Take Off) scenarios.

Advice and guidance from CAA in respect of proximity of buildings / objects (2km) to active airfields CAP 793: Chapter 3 – Proximity within 2,000m.

Significant reduction in recommended CAA Manoeuvring areas – see Fig 5 (CAP 232) Extracts: CAA CAP 793 Safe Operating Practices at Unlicensed Aerodromes: Chapter 4. Aerodrome Physical Characteristics: Three runways • 3.1 Terrain and obstacles will affect runway design and length, but the runway should be of sufficient length and width for the type of aircraft being operated.

• 3.2 Runways suitable for use by qualified or experienced pilots, for example on farm strips, may not be suitable for flying training.

Suggested runway dimensions and safety factors are shown at Appendix B. • 3.6 The runway should, wherever possible, be designed such that trees, power lines, high ground or other obstacles do not obstruct its approach and take-off paths. It is

Above Tilbury to Norwich pylon route recommended that there are no obstacles greater than 150ft above the average runway elevation within 2,000m of the runway mid-point.

We hope the CAA is bringing all airfield collective concerns together. Please register your concerns: at tinyurl.com/ nationalgridpowerlines

The pylons are coming!

From the GAAC team The need to increase electricity generation (particularly from off-shore wind) requires new distribution infrastructure, largely based on new networks of pylons.

The GAAC is aware of three major new routes from Tilbury to Norwich, from North Humber to High Marnham and from the North Scottish coast south via Inverness. The cables and pylons (up to 50m in height) on these routes would seriously adversely affect a number of GA airfields and we know that the impact has not been considered by National Grid.

The GAAC has already assisted the affected airfields in making its case to National Grid. If you are aware of any other planned routes / pylons that could have an impact on an aerodrome, please let us know and we will follow this up.

GAAC Team: contact@gaac.org.uk

ACP2023-015

A note from LAA member Brian Robe Imagine, if you will, this future flight in May 2024…

Bob and Terry have had a short flying holiday in Scotland. They flew from an airfield near Wales and routed up the west coast of England to explore the Highlands and islands.

After some excellent flying and a couple of nights of camping, they are on their way home in lovely cloudless weather down the east coast of Scotland and over the Firth of Forth, stopping at Atheys Moor Airfield in north Northumberland.

Bob and Terry are not transponder equipped and prefer to monitor the radio, and don’t do controlled airspace. Topped up with tea and mogas they leave Atheys Moor heading south for Hexham and the route across the Pennines via Alston to the Eden Valley and on south for home.

As they near Hexham the lovely weather turns to lowering cloud, but they are cruising at 2,000ft on the QNH from Newcastle and are happy to continue above the drone trial Temporary Danger Area height of 1,750ft. As they enter the South Tyne Valley, the route over the Pennines is blocked by low cloud, but Bob and Terry have flown this way many times before and know that the South Tyne has a poor weather route West to the Eden Valley. They turn west up the South Tyne Valley and press on as they can see sunlight in the Eden Valley. Passing Haydon Bridge and still clear of cloud at 2,000ft, Terry points out to Bob, who is P1, that before Haltwhistle the TDA height increases to 2,000ft. Bob gains 500ft and encounters broken cloud, but can still see the surface and light ahead, so the intrepid pair bash on the last few miles of the Danger Area. Quite suddenly the broken cloud is not broken any more and the ground is no longer visible. Bob and Terry don’t make it home…

This, of course, is fiction, and I hope that it never happens to anyone. However, the Drone Trial and its Proposed Danger Area are real. A large area including the South Tyne Valley and the east coast at Newcastle is being closed to aviation next year (February 12, 2024 – August 12, 2024). This is a seven-day per week, 24-hour per day closure without a Danger Area crossing service.

A private company called Apian is running the trial and multiple Zipline drones will be flying. The trial purports to be gaining information to help the NHS deliver various medications at great speed to outlying surgeries and hospitals, even though Alliance Healthcare and a fleet of electric vans rated ‘outstanding’, do this job and collect samples which the drone cannot do. In my humble opinion the NHS name is being used to force through a commercial drone trial which is unsafe and should not take place until the drones can safely fly in unsegregated airspace along with the rest of us.

These drones have ‘see and avoid’ technology but it is not certified in UK airspace. Please object to the proposed Temporary Danger Area. https://airspacechange.caa.co.uk/ PublicProposalArea?pID=546 September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 13

Inspiring members to take on their own aircraft build or restoration project Compiled by Mike Slaughter

Project News T here are quite a few New Projects registered this month – seven is a lot of new builds for this time of year. Not only that, but four-seaters are catching up with the two-seaters 3:4. It really is a list of all that’s modern in the kit world. Clearly the numbers are swollen by the inclusion of the first two Sling High Wing projects registered with the LAA, a physically large airframe with a tall stature. I’ve just found a lovely video online of a beautiful tailwheel example, and if I think of some of the passengers I fly with I’d have to carry a boarding step to maintain their composure. I think the type looks fantastic as a tailwheel… I’ll have to put one on my Christmas list, just in case anyone is stuck for ideas.

There are two great projects for you this month that are a contrast to each other. I really enjoyed reading Bob Lee’s account of his Super

Cub restoration, which is, without doubt, a true LAA restoration project with some nice background history. Bringing things right up to date, there’s Allan Forbes’ Bristell NG5 Speedwing build.

Recently, while opening the dwindling amount of birthday cards I receive at this time of year, I checked my email to find a totally unsolicited project update that I did not expect nor have any prior knowledge of – it was a true birthday gift and always a lovely surprise at any time of year. So, please don't wait to be asked, next time it’s raining or gout stops you standing at the workbench, take a little time to update your fellow members on your project progress – be they finished, part-way through or just started.

To get in touch with Project News, and tell your story, report a milestone or just to send a picture, email: projectnews@laa.uk.com.

Please share your story!

G-BHOM (s/n 18-1391) Piper L18C Super Cub

By Bob Lee

W

hen I bought ‘Oscar Mike’ in July 2014 it was clear that, while airworthy, she was in a somewhat tired condition and would need an overhaul. Having discovered that she had French military history I was keen to return the aeroplane to its French military paint scheme, and so began many weeks of research into colours, national markings and insignia etc.

‘OM’ is an example of the military variant of the Super Cub powered by a 90/95hp Continental engine and with a large additional area of glazing behind the rear seat.

She was built by the Piper Aircraft Corporation during November 1951 for the United States Air Force (USAF) using frame 18-1272, coming off the production line on the 15th with Constructor’s number 18-1391, and given the USAF serial number 51-15391.

During the years 1951-1952, 352 of this type were gifted to the French Army by the USAF under the Mutual Defence Assistance Programme. This aeroplane made the transition in January 1952, when it was transferred to the Aviation Legere de L’Armee de Terre (ALAT) – the French Army Air Corps. Serving initially with 1 GAOA (Groupements d'Aviation d'Observation d'Artillerie), a school training observers and pilots in artillery spotting and forward air control. Probably based at Nancy in

14 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Above Erected and awaiting her engine at Shobdon.

north-east France, 1 GAOA had the unit codes ‘Ox then AOx’ during the period 14 February 1952 to 30 June 1958.

After serving with ALAT in various guises the aeroplane was demobbed and sold to Belgium in 1968. It had two identities there: OO-HMT, and from 1970 OO-PIU. It was sold to a new owner in the UK in 1980, registered as G-BHOM and spent the next 34 years based at Benington near Stevenage in Hertfordshire, before

Project News

Dismantled, frame fully stripped of parts and prepped for painting.

Interior fittings and cable runs installed prior to covering and a trial fit of the new instrument panel. being bought by my wife and I, and being moved to Shobdon Airfield, Herefordshire.

Information regarding the likely original colour scheme and markings for this aeroplane has been difficult to find.

However the ALAT museum at Dax in south-west France has been extremely helpful in providing generic colour schemes, plus position and size of the national marks, insignia, unit codes, serial number etc. Also of great help has been the magnum opus of Christian Malcros ‘Piper L18C in the service of ALAT’, which lists the entirety of the aircraft supplied by the Americans with its initial unit, subsequent movements and final fate.

His tome also has many photos of these aircraft in service. Unfortunately I have been unable to find any photos of ‘OM in ALAT service, which means deciding on a paint scheme has had to include a bit of guesswork.

There is a good possibility that its initial colour was overall yellow and that it adopted the markings indicating operation by Nancy Aero Club under contract. However, I did also find evidence of Olive Drab paint during the strip down of the frame and I have therefore chosen to avoid creating ‘another yellow Cub’ and, with approval from the French Army and the UK CAA, have adopted an Olive Drab scheme with the later unit codes for 1 GAOA. The individual identifier letter ‘R’ is poetic licence, the symbol on the fin is the ALAT insignia. The restoration therefore creates a reasonably accurate representation of one of these aeroplanes in service.

Having made the decision to take the aeroplane out of the air I started work in November 2019 with the removal of wings, empennage and some interior trim. The fuselage was then moved to my garage where it was stripped of all the damaged and oil-soaked fabric and heavy interior vinyl trim, control cables / sticks etc.

Once down to the bare frame it was clear that there were few areas which needed repair, fortunately. After thorough preparation the frame was given two coats of epoxy primer and this was followed up with LAS Cockpit Green on the internal areas which would be visible from outside. Internal components such as rudder and elevator cables / control sticks, floorboards and the elevator trim system were installed and the fuselage then covered in Diatex 1500. The fuselage was treated to 13 coats of dope starting with the nitrate needed to help stick the

Two coats of two pack epoxy in a temporary spray booth – the much-used party tent.

NDT of undercarriage and lift strut cluster joint.

Diatex 1500 being applied to the frame.

Nitrate dope to all fabric initially brushed on to ensure complete encapsulation of the fibres.

Olive Drab butyrate followed the UV protective aluminium.

Insignia and national marks sprayed on using low tack vinyl paint masks.

Fuselage ready for transport to Shobdon.

Wings ready for transport to Shobdon.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 15

Project News

Left New panel had to be modified to fit.

Newly overhauled Continental C90-8 awaiting completion of installation.

The all-intense first ground run.

First flight 2 May 2023.

Oscar Mike on one of her shake down flights.

16 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

subsequent coats of butyrate to the fabric. The national marks, roundels etc were sprayed on using self-adhesive vinyl masks, and butyrate mixed to achieve the appropriate colours. All transparencies have been replaced, with the windscreen and rear skylight being sourced from the USA. A new instrument panel was acquired from the USA to more accurately represent the style of the panel in French Army aircraft.

With the fuselage more or less complete, attention turned to the wings, struts and empennage. This required a swap of wings and fuselage with the wings being brought back from Shobdon in a purpose-made carrying rig on the back of a car transporter, and the fuselage being relocated there. Wings and empennage, which had been recovered in the recent past, were simply prepped and painted with butyrate, and the struts similarly prepped and painted. These components were then moved back to Shobdon ready to erect the aeroplane.

By 21 October 2021 the wings and empennage were attached and other minor jobs completed, the next major job being the overhaul of the engine (Continental C90-8F).

This was delivered to a well-known and highly regarded engineer in Somerset in November 2021, and by late January 2022 was nearing completion. However, in late February 2022 a major blow was dealt to the project when serious and irreparable damage to an internal part of the crankcase became apparent. This resulted in the need to replace the whole crankcase and anybody who knows anything about small Continental aero engines will know how much these, in serviceable form, are very similar to hen’s teeth.

The camshaft was also declared unfit for further use and the crankshaft came very close to suffering the same fate. Eventually, with a suitably serviceable crankcase, camshaft, crankshaft and other major components the fully overhauled engine was returned to me at the end of November 2022. Installation of the engine took a further two months and the first engine ground run was completed in early February 2023.

The ground running had revealed a couple of fuel and oil leaks, which needed a certain amount of dismantling in order to deal with them, which meant the first flight was delayed yet further. Eventually most of the ducks lined up correctly and the first shake down flight was able to be completed on 2 May 2023 combined with the Permit Renewal check flight. Further flights to continue the break-in process will be carried out as time and weather conditions allow.

These sorts of projects are rarely the output of solely one man and while I have been able to do the majority of the work myself there have been times when calling on others expertise and experience was necessary. In my case I had help with the following areas of work: fabric, welding, avionics and electrics, propellers, upholstery and of course engine overhaul and installation. All the people involved with this project know who they are and all have my sincere thanks for the support and advice that they have given.

Project News

G-FORB (LAA 385-15843) Bristell NG5 Speed Wing

By Allan Forbes

The start, how it all began.

N

ever did I imagine playing Microsoft Flight Simulator in my home study back in 2002 that I would end up with a PPL, never mind building my own aeroplane…

I became hooked on flying for real in 2018 after a short flight from Thruxton to Northampton with a colleague in a Piper Seneca, eventually passing my PPL in 2021. I guess the usual process from that point was joining a group and doing as much flying as possible, which I did.

However, I found availability or at least short notice availability or the lack of very frustrating and I started looking around for an alternative – and that’s how the build thing began.

Two friends already had Bristell NG5s and I had been fortunate enough to fly many hours with them, so the choice of aeroplane was simple, as I already loved how the Bristell looked and handled. Initially I was looking for a small group share in the same type, maybe two or three people, but as many of our readers will already know, that’s as rare as hen’s teeth! After many hours trawling the classifieds I gave up and persuaded my wife that an investment in our own NG5 was the way to go.

So, with the necessary permissions in place, I contacted Bristell UK through my friends and, like others before me, I was told there was a kit already in stock and ‘ready to go’. I agreed the order with Tony and Farry at Bristell UK and the fast-build 51% kit was delivered in August 2022. I had gone from a frustrated hour buying GA Pilot to a Permit kit owner / builder in a matter of seconds… what had just happened?!

After selecting the style scheme, we agreed on the colours for the cabin, fuselage and wings and set to work filling and sanding the pot rivets, which is a job that everyone loves…

I was really fortunate as one of my friends, who was already an NG5 owner / builder, had a workshop that he agreed to let me use. Not only was it a great, wellequipped space, but he was a constant source of useful information and a very willing helping hand.

It was a really exciting and hugely satisfying day when the fuselage arrived at the workshop after we had completed the paint scheme. While it was starting to look

Is that it?

Initially I was surprised how small the Rotax actually is.

Above left Designing the panel in the kitchen, like you do.

Above middle Autopilot Servos.

Above right The internal fit out is coming along.

Below Big milestone day, the first engine start.

In for paint… the bulk of the main painting done.

like a real aeroplane, there was still a huge amount of work to be done. Ensconced in the workshop, and with winter ahead, we set to work installing the internal panels, autopilot servos and engine mounts.

Understanding how this all comes together gave me a great appreciation for the systems and controls that keep us in the air. There was a lot of reading and a huge number of questions, so having people around me who had already completed the process made a huge difference.

I decided on the Rotax 912ULS for the power plant, I remember thinking once unboxed, is that it! It is such a compact unit, I was really surprised at its size, nonetheless, I was impressed with everything I had learned and read about the unit, and so was comfortable in my selection. As a belt and braces approach and for a better understanding of the engine and its internal workings, I attended a specific course run by the LAA. I found doing this very valuable and a great opportunity to network and meet other like-minded people.

While the internal finishings are not the things that

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 17

Project News

keep you airborne, a lot of my time and agony was consumed with how the cabin was going to look. In particular, the leather seating and instrument panel. I spent many evenings at home printing out to scale images of instruments and arranging them in different configurations – and generally annoying the life out of others asking their opinions. Eventually I settled on the configuration with dual Dynon SV-HDX 1100 supported by the Garmin G5, Trig Radio connected to the Dynon Network, Dynon Transponder, and iPad for SkyDemon.

One of the things I really love about the Bristell is the cabin and the amount of space. Knowing that I was going to be spending many hours there, I wanted it to be a space that I really loved and was proud to own. I spent way too many hours drooling over leather interiors and finally settled on the blue configuration (above).

As the workshop wasn’t big enough to bring the wings and fuselage together on completion of the fuselage, we needed to move it to a rented space at Chilsfold Farm.

Above All finished and at Popham ready for test flight.

There were many defining moments during the build, but one of the most satisfying was when we attached the elevator and wings. Now she was truly an aeroplane, what a great moment.

In June this year, we finally reached the stage when the aircraft was ready for testing. The test flying was completed by my Inspector Farry Sayyah, and subsequently submitted to the LAA for approval.

The LAA informed me (8 July 2023) that it has sent for CAA approval and the Permit to Fly is imminent.

What a journey – one that I never thought I would ever take. So satisfying, so frustrating, so all consuming, so very, very worthwhile.

I can’t wait to get flying in her and look forward to many, many happy hours aloft in G-FORB. I couldn’t have done this without the huge knowledge of those around me and my sincere thanks to David Medcraft, Gerry Collard, Farry Sayyah, Kevin Faint, Kevin Dilks and Fiona at LAA Engineering. ■

New Projects If your aircraft has been featured in the New Projects list, please let Project News know of your progress at: projectnews@laa.uk.com n Sling High Wing (LAA 432-15874) 3/7/2023 Mr P Harrison, Wirral, Merseyside. CH48 5EQ n Sling High Wing (LAA 432-15875) 3/7/2023

Mr T D R Hardy, Renhold, Bedfordshire.

MK41 0LY Sling High Wing. n Van’s RV-14A (LAA 393-15877) 7/7/2023 Mr M Lanham, Leven, Fife.

KY8 5FQ n Bristell NG5 Speed Wing (LAA 385-15876)

Cleared To Fly 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.uk.com n G-RVBP Van’s RV-7 (LAA 323-15569) 2/7/2023 Mr Benjamin Polwin, Scopwick, Lincoln, LN4 3PW n G-LILB Van’s RV-3B (s/n 10159) 2/7/2023 Ed Hicks, Staverton, Trowbridge, BA14 8UR

18 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

4/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering n Sling 4 TSi (LAA 400A-15878) 10/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering n Van’s RV-9A (LAA 320-15879) 12/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering n Van’s RV-14A (LAA 393-15880) 21/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering

Right Aeroprackt A32-M Vixxen G-UAUK. n G-ACXE Klemm L25-1A (PFA 846-13177) 3/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering n G-AMIV DH82A Tiger Moth (s/n 83105) 14/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering n G-ANFP DH82A Tiger Moth (s/n 82530) 14/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering

RV-3B G-LILB.

n G-ANKK DH82A Tiger Moth (s/n83590) 17/7/2023 Name & Address held

by LAA Engineering n G-SRCB Van’s RV-12 (LAA 36315191) 26/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering n G-UAUK Aeroprakt A32-M Vixxen (LAA 411A-15870) 24/7/2023 Name & Address held by LAA Engineering

Restoration

Servicing

Repairs

VINTAGE AND CLASSIC AIRCRAFT SPECIALISTS

The Midland Aeroplane Company Limited Hangar 8, Oxford Airport

Telephone: 01865 601970 contact@midlandaeroplane.co.uk

Technical

RV-4, Rotax and Robert…

Ken Scott talks to engineer and designer, Robert Haag, about his remarkable project to produce a 600kg ultralight Van’s RV-4, powered by a Rotax 915iS… Photography: Ed Hicks and Robert Haag 20 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Technical

With a Rotax 915iS under the cowling, this is one RV-4 that’s been brought right up to date.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 21

Technical

A

nyone who has flown an RV-4 will tell you that the only thing that flies better than an RV-4 is a lighter RV-4. However, not many pilots will get the chance to fly a truly light one.

Van’s Aircraft long-ago first brochures listed the weight of this 150hp/wood prop prototype at about 905lb, but that proved very difficult to achieve in the customer-built world.

Most builders could not accept Van’s spartan ideas about interior comforts, instruments and other appointments, and soon a 950lb RV-4 was considered light. Then came bigger engines, constant-speed propellers, IFR instrumentation, full interiors and controls for both seats, and weights around 1,000lb became common. (My neighbour’s RV-4, with an injected 0-320 and a 3-blade constant-speed composite prop, weighs 1,015lb and performs very well indeed.)

So. Now consider an RV-4 with a ballistic parachute,

Above Robert’s RV-4 600R on display at AERO Friedrichshafen, in April 2023.

“An RV-4 with a ballistic parachute,

single lever computerised power controls, three-blade constantspeed prop, fuel injection and137hp available at 15,000ft… Step forward the RV-4 600R…” 22 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

single lever computerised power controls, three-blade constant-speed prop, fuel injection and 137hp available at 15,000ft. Sounds good? Now imagine all that with an empty weight ‘half-a-human’ lighter than Van’s bare-bones prototype! That is exactly what German engineer Robert Haag has designed, built, and flown. His RV-4/600 mates the time-tested RV-4 airframe with the Rotax 915iS engine and the result is an RV-4… like nobody has seen before.

Robert, 45, was first introduced to aeroplanes by a family friend who was a flight instructor. “One trip to the airport… and the virus struck,” he says. At 15 he started flying gliders, then powered gliders, then more powerful aeroplanes, ending up with his own flight instructors rating. On leaving senior school, he found an apprenticeship as an aircraft mechanic. Building on the hands-on experience, he returned to education and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. After 13 years in the R&D department of a fire engine manufacturer, he returned to his first love and began engineering, design work and prototype, building light sport aircraft. In 2015 he designed his own large hangar and built it on an airfield near Aalen, about 90km east of Stuttgart. Most of the space is dedicated to light aircraft maintenance, but Robert kept some room for his own projects. One project in particular had been in the back of his mind for some time.

“Over the years, I’d flown several RVs and, as Van’s says, the smile never goes away,” he says.

“But in Germany building an RV was becoming more difficult. The Lycoming engine requires avgas, which is getting harder to find in Europe and very expensive. The straight-exhaust Lycoming has difficulty meeting noise regulations. And of course, it is made in America which means it must be imported into Germany, where shipping

Technical

Left Engineer Robert Haag is justifiably proud of his work to combine RV with Rotax.

Below top left Creating a custom engine mount.

Below top right Fitting the Rotax 915iS engine to the RV-4 airframe.

Bottom left Creating the mould for the bottom cowling.

Bottom right Taking the top cowling out of the mould – what superb work!

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 23

Technical

24 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Technical

costs and taxes add to the already high prices. In my business I became very familiar with Rotax engines, which are made in Austria, not far from where I am based. I became very interested in the Rotax 915.

“It was rated at 137hp and because it was turbocharged, it could maintain that power up to higher altitudes. It was approved for mogas. Best of all it weighed a lot less. (Actual engine installed weights are difficult to determine. In round numbers, a 160hp O-320 with a prop governor, baffles and exhaust system weighs about 290lb.

The Rotax 915iS, similarly equipped, is just under 200lb — a delta of +/-90lb.) I remembered flying an 0-320 powered RV-4 and I thought if I made careful choices and did some good engineering, I could build an RV-4 that would meet the 600 (1,320lb) kilogram gross weight requirement of the German microlight category and still have enough capacity to be a useful aircraft.

“At the time a lot of microlight manufacturers were chasing a cruise speed of 160kt (unlike the US Light-Sport category, German microlight regulations do not specify a speed limit, and do not prohibit constant-speed props or retractable gear). I thought the excellent aerodynamics of the RV, combined with power of the Rotax 915iS, might make that possible without having to use expensive composites or retractable landing gear. So in the late summer of 2019 I ordered a complete RV-4 kit.”

Covid hit just as the RV-4 kit was delivered and, with a

Above While a single lever controls power, the engine management is controlled by the Rotax EMU, which is all part of the complex packaging forward of the firewall.

Opposite left The cowlings fitted to the aircraft – the Rotax requires no fewer than 10 different air inlets.

Top far left Rotax oil tank will be familiar to many pilots.

Robert’s next project is to create an oil system that provides inverted oil for aerobatics.

Bottom far left The rear attachment cables for the ballistic parachute run to the wing rear spar and are hidden under 'break-away' fairings.

Left MT variable pitch propeller is controlled by RS Flight Systems electronics.

lot of time suddenly on his hands, Robert completed the basic airframe in just nine months. The aeroplane was pure Van’s from the firewall aft, with just a couple of exceptions. Robert found that Beringer wheels and brakes (made in Europe) were slightly lighter than the stock units in the kit, so he substituted those. A couple of minor modifications were made just forward of the canopy to accommodate the (required by German regulations) ballistic parachute.

The parachute is a good example of Robert’s careful thought. It may seem strange to think that adding the weight of a parachute actually helps to build a very light RV-4. But, just forward of the windscreen, the RV-4 has a removable panel. It opens to a bay originally designed to provide access to the back of ‘steam’ instruments, some of which could be 12 or 13in long. The new glass displays extend only an inch or two behind the panel, and Robert was able to fit the chute and its propelling rocket into the remaining space. The attaching cables were connected to the engine mount and to the rear spar/fuselage attachment. The rear cables were run inside the cowling, then outside the fuselage to the wing. An extension of the fibreglass gear leg cuff covers the cable and makes the installation all but invisible.

Keeping the parachute in this forward position meant the lighter engine did not have to move nearly so far forward to maintain the designed C of G, which meant that added fuselage side area and weight could be kept to a minimum.

Rotax has managed a commendable compact engine package, but even so, fitting a turbocharger, intercooler, oil cooler, computer boxes, gear reduction drive, wiring harnesses, fluid lines, cooling ducts and, oh, yeah… a four-cylinder engine inside the firewall profile of an RV-4 was a tricky job. In fact, the photos show just how carefully every item had to be considered.

With the longer mount built and the engine installed, a new cowl was fabricated. That ‘one sentence’ is easily written – but it represents many hours of work, making a positive plug, then making solid negative moulds to lay up the glass cloth and epoxy. No fewer than 10 air inlets were needed to cool the coolant radiator, oil cooler, turbocharger, turbo intercooler, cylinder bases, and electronic ‘stuff’.

In the cockpit, things are much simpler. A single lever controls power. Engine management – fuel flow, ignition timing, etc – is controlled by the Rotax EMU. Optimum rpm is determined by a box from RS Flight Systems. This unit, increasingly seen in European Rotax-powered September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 25

Technical

aeroplanes, uses several data points delivered by the ECU to determine the desired rpm and controls the standard hydraulic governor with an electric servo.

With any aviation engine today, there is always the awkward question of money. You might expect that a complex European engine like the Rotax would be brutally expensive – and you wouldn’t be wrong. The list price for a 915iS in the US is $43,000 and change (if you need 10 more hp, the newly released Rotax 916iS, with identical weight and size specs, will set you back about $50,000).

But if you think the traditional American engine is less expensive, think again. Van’s Aircraft has a long established OEM agreement with Lycoming and sells factory new engines for the best prices around… if you are building an RV. A new IO-320 with dual electronic ignition and an exhaust system lists for $43,750. None of these prices include shipping, nor do they include the myriad of 26 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Top Smart cockpit has three section instrument panel.

Above left A ballistic recovery parachute is mounted on the firewall, helping with weight and balance with the lighter Rotax engine.

Above right No separate mixture, prop and throttle levers, just one single lever.

bits that are required to make the engine actually fly. Both manufacturers quote a 2,000-hour TBO. You can get a good fight going over the relative merits of a fast-turning, gear reduced, fairly complex, computer-controlled engine designed in the 21st century versus a slow-turning direct-drive engine that’s about as complex as a stone axe and has its design roots in an era where computers were people with pencils and big erasers. In the end, you ‘pays your (very large sum of) money and you takes your choice’.

After all the challenging work of building the airframe and fitting the unique engine was done, the aeroplane was ready to fly. Unpainted and tanks empty, it weighed just 814lb, making it very possibly the lightest RV-4 ever built… lighter than many RV-3s.

“I was concerned that adding forward fuselage area might upset the RV control harmony, especially in yaw.”

Technical

Robert says. “I worked very carefully and in the end I had to lengthen the cowl just 10 inches to make the C of G balance out. With the more pointed cowl, the added side area is not that much. Still, it is not nothing, so I was anxious to see if it made a difference in flying qualities. I am happy to say she flies beautifully. I have flown more than 50 hours and my worries about yaw stability seem to have been unnecessary.

“I have flown spin tests and the aeroplane recovers quickly and normally – although I must mention that I have never spun a Lycoming RV-4 so I can’t say if my RV4/600R is different. The climb performance is better than with the O-320. True airspeeds at altitude are higher too, courtesy of the Rotax turbo. High enough that I must reduce power to remain under the Vne limit, starting at about 12,000ft.”

So, can you too, build and enjoy an RV-4/600? It is increasingly possible. Now that Robert has the moulds for the cowl and the jig for the welded engine mount, he intends to make those parts available. He notes, “While it will take longer to build an RV-4 than other RVs because the kit is not pre-punched, it should not take longer to build an RV-4/600 than a stock RV-4”. According to the ‘Hobbs Meter’ on Van’s website, 1,452 RV-4s have been built, so any RV-4/600 builder will be following a welltrodden path, at least as far as building the airframe is concerned.

And what about those ‘other RVs’? Well, Rotax has

Above Who would have imagined an RV-4 within microlight category rules? Well, it’s here… but only in Germany, for now.

Left and below Data from extensive flight testing.

always intended the 915/916 series as direct competition for the Lycoming O-320/360, so its engines should work well in any RV intended for 150/160hp. In fact, they are already flying. An RV-7 with a 9155iS is flying in Argentina and Lockwood Aviation has been experimenting at its Florida HQ with an RV-9A powered by a similar engine (Ed-This aircraft was revealed at EAA AirVenture in July - see page 30). With its longer wing, the RV-9 and the turboed engine might be a particularly happy match.

How about the RV-8? I’ve been lucky to have flown RV-8s with five different engines, ranging from 160hp to 220+.

My favourite, hands down, was a very light RV-8 with an O-320 swinging a metal constant-speed prop. The thought of that aeroplane weighing 120lb less is positively exciting… An inverted oil system is under development that will enable aerobatic pilots to take full advantage of the lighter engine.

The whirring sound of the turbocharged Rotax is still unusual at American airports, but that may be changing quicker than anyone envisioned. Builders like Robert have shown us what’s possible with a modern internal combustion engine, good craftsmanship and engineering skill. And, at least until practical electric propulsion becomes possible, it might be the way forward. ■ Ed’s note to Light Aviation readers: I asked LAA Chief Technical Officer Jon Viner, what steps an LAA member might have to take to approve the RV-4/600R in the UK. Jon Viner – A member could put it forward as a new type (referring to LAA Technical Leaflet 1.27) and would need to provide reports that it showed compliance with BCAR Section S issue 8. It’s likely that if it complies with the German rules, then it would be a good way there.

It's also possible that an LAA member could put in a modification request to re-engine an existing RV-4, albeit the aircraft would need to stay as a ‘Group A’, unless they wanted to go through the process of re-certifying as a microlight.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 27

AirVenture 2023

677,000 visitors attended the seven-day long aviation extravaganza, which featured more than10,000 aircraft – 3,365 of them, showplanes…

Photos Ed Hicks, Nigel Hitchman and Paul Kiddell 01 One of the stars of the show was this fabulous P-51C Mustang, Thunderbird. The restoration, which was completed just a few days before the show started (it flew to Oshkosh fresh from the paint shop) was completed by AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji, Minnesota for Warren Pietsch’s Dakota Territory Air Museum. Thunderbird was owned by actor Jimmy Stewart, and also by legendary aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran, and was the winner of the 1949 Bendix Trophy at the Cleveland National Air Races.

The aircraft also famously ferried film of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation for US television network CBS in a race to broadcast the event with rival network, NBC. 02 Wisk Aero completed what it claimed was the world’s first public demonstration flight of a fully autonomous, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), fixed-wing air taxi during AirVenture. Wisk’s Cora, its fifth generation autonomous, eVTOL technology demonstrator completed a multi-transition flight, with the air taxi transitioning from hover to wing-borne flight four times. The aircraft made numerous demonstration flights.

03 NASA’s Super Guppy was a popular AirVenture visitor.

Purchased from Airbus after it retired the type, the Guppy carries out important outsize-cargo tasks for the agency, with its next role due to be the transport of heat shield components for the Artemis Moon missions.

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05 04 Those in the know reckon Oshkosh has never been graced with a Nicholas Beazley aircraft until this year’s appearance of this wonderful NB-8G. The aircraft has been restored by Cam Blazer, from Leawood, Kansas, and was transported to the show by road. It’s powered by a very rare Armstrong Siddeley Genet radial – Cam is desperately searching for a BTH G L 5 magneto. Please drop the Editor an email if, by some rare chance, you happen to know of one!

05 The Gravity Industries Jet Suit flew regular demonstration passes at the start of the airshow. If you fancy taking your own Jet Suit flight, then the company is offering flight experiences at Goodwood. You can also commission your very own Jet Suit – prices start from a mere £456,000…

06 Zara Rutherford and her globe-trotting Shark ultralight stopped by to visit Oshkosh after yet another Atlantic ocean crossing.

07 Lockheed C-121A Constellation Bataan, owned by Air Legends Foundation, was used during the Korean War as the personal transport of General Douglas MacArthur, who gave it its nickname. It’s just come out of a seven-year restoration

by Chino-based Fighter Rebuilders, and was in stunning condition everywhere you could look!

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Show Report

01 01 This unusual looking bush plane, the Vision Aircraft Ascender, has stunning visibility from its four-seat cabin.

Created by bush-flying enthusiast Alec Wild, it has a 1,000lb useful load and is powered by a 225hp Lycoming IO-390. The aircraft will be offered as build-assist kitplane, with a basic completed price of around $500,000. www.vision-aircraft.com 02 Having been around nearly 10 years, the AirVenture news for the folding-wing Sport Performance Aviation Panther is that LAA Engineering is investigating approval of the aircraft, based on its now substantial in-service experience. More news to follow in the coming months.

03 US Rotax experts, Lockwood Aviation, is testing the installation of the Rotax 915iS in the Van’s Aircraft RV-9A. Early results suggest the engine to be an excellent match to the airframe, and could also see the use of the 916iS on the same airframe.

04 Kitfox Aircraft displayed two Kitfox Series 7 Supersport aircraft powered by the new 160hp Rotax 916iS engine.

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AirVenture 2023 01

01 This wonderful Taylor E-2 Cub was named recipient of the Silver Age (1928-1936) Champion. Owned by Stephen Taylor from Bellevue, Washington, the aircraft made a 1,900mile road trip by truck, before being assembled and flown to Oshkosh.

02 Walt Bowe’s newly restored 1926 Waco 9 was named Golden Age (1918-1927) champion. It was flown to Oshkosh by Andrew King, who had special permission to land on the ultralight grass strip, given the aircraft has a tailskid and no brakes.

03 Mark Stewart had everyone making a double-take with the single-bladed Everel propeller on his E-2 Cub. Designed for efficiency – one blade always operating in ‘clean’ air – it was never as efficient as intended!

04 Pat Harker runs C&P Aviation at Anoka County-Blaine Airport in Minnesota and is restoring an F-82 Twin Mustang. His stunning Cessna 172 was winner of the Contemporary (1956-1970) Grand Champion Gold Lindy.

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September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 31

01 01 The Midget Mustang design turned 75 this year. A master of metal, Jim Butler built these two examples, ‘55Z the red one, his first, in 1964, before starting ‘14LB, the polished one, in 1967, which he modified with retractable gear and folding wings. Both EAA Grand Champions of their time, ’14LB caused a re-write of the judging rules as it is so utterly perfect that it won twice, and would have kept doing so. Nancy Pierce from Whitesboro, Texas, has owned ‘14LB for 35 years, while friend Ben Britton, Oak Creek, Wisconsin has recently acquired ‘55Z. Oshkosh 2023 was the first time this stunning pair had flown together.

02 Van’s Aircraft’s RV-15 engineering prototype has done a year’s worth of development flying, and the company says the conforming prototype design is now in the computer, ready to start building. Now confirmed as a two-seater, expect a cruise speed of 140kt and a useful load of 900lb. Van’s hopes to have kits on sale from Osh 2024.

03 The Gweduck kit amphibian costs around a cool $1 million, by the time you’re flying, range is 1,000 nautical miles cruising at 120kt powered by two 300hp Lycoming IO-540’s. www.gweduck.com.

04 This Sling High Wing was built by YouTube movie maker JP Schulze and flown from South Africa to Oshkosh in 2022.

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AirVenture 2023 01

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01 This gorgeous Waco YKC owned by Roger James from New Carlisle, Ohio received the Antique Grand Champion – Gold Lindy.

02 Familiar to us Brits, but somewhat of a rarity at Oshkosh was this Canadian-based Thruxton Jackaroo.

03 A masterpiece of authentic warbird restoration, Bonnie, is the only flying Republic-built razorback P-47-23 Thunderbolt in the world. Owned by Bruce Eames of Houston, Texas, and restored by AirCorps Aviation, it was awarded Grand Champion World War II warbird, and won AirCorps a Golden Wrench award. AirCorps used extensive 3D-scanning and reverse engineering techniques to restore the aircraft.

04 One of the most highly polished aircraft at the show, this Lockheed L-18 Lodestar from the Mid-America Flight Museum was named Transport Category Runner-Up in the Antique class. It was flown to the event by Kelly Mahon.

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September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 33

AirVenture 2023 01

01 Winner of the Grand Champion Plans built – Gold Lindy award, was this Piper PA18 Super Cub built by Jeremy Price, from Watertown, South Dakota. The project took 15 years and 5,000 hours, Jeremy has documented this project online – jeremyprice258.wixsite.com/mysite 02 Timber Tiger Aircraft, which makes the 95% scale Ryan ST kitplane replica, has purchased the rights to sell the Early Bird Jenny replica, as a modern kit. While the Early Bird Jenny was a 67% scale replica, the Timber Tiger Jenny will be 75% scale, to better fit today’s pilots.

With Travelair Mystery Ship vibes, pictured behind the Jenny, and also from Timber Tiger, is the Kay’s Speedster. The two-seater has retro-era styling and will be powered by the 160hp Verner Scarlet 9S. 03 Wittman Tailwind owners gathered to celebrate the design’s 70th anniversary. This example was built by Michael Wilson of St. Charles, Missouri, and was awarded a Plans champion – Bronze Lindy award.

04 Turbine Motor Conversions is offering an upgrade to 550hp for Murphy Moose owners with a firewall forward PT6 turbine package.

Take off in 150ft and climb at 3,400fpm…

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Show Report

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01 Even though it made its first flight in 1955, the Lockheed U-2 is still providing high-altitude (70,000ft) day and night reconnaissance capability for the US Air Force, example made a number of fly-bys and touch-and-gos during the AirVenture airshow.

02 It’s fair to say most AirVenture visitors had no clue there was a privately owned Mig 23 ‘Flogger’. The rare Russian jet, was flown at the show by owner Dan Filer, from Longview, Texas. Unfortunately, Dan and his crew mate had to eject from the aircraft a few weeks later after a technical fault with the aircraft during an airshow in Michigan.

03 One of those ‘Only at Oshkosh’ moments, the airshow crowd were treated to this trio of Mig-17 afterburners.

04 Designed by the Stinson Aircraft Company and subsequently built by Convair, 302 L-13 Grasshoppers were built, so it’s a rare, but fascinating machine.

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September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 35

Show Report

01 01 Darryl Hudec from Stone Mountain, Georgia was the recipient of the Grand Champion Kitbuilt – Gold Lindy for his outstanding F1 Rocket. The aircraft was packed full of unique finishing touches both inside and out, while every component was perfectly finished and presented.

02 One of the more unusual homebuilt helicopters, this Vertical Aviation Technologies Hummingbird 260L was a Gold award winner in the Rotorcraft class. This example called The Beater, was built by Vic Syracuse from Locust Grove, Georgia. It took him a year and 1,800 hours of work… but he’s built 11 other homebuilts before.

Interestingly, the four-seat, Lycoming-powered Hummingbird was previously certified by the FAA as a Sikorsky design, and has a zero-accident safety record vertical-aviation.com 03 A short drive to the south-east of the main airport site, is the wonderful oasis of tranquillity that is the Seaplane base. The picturesque cove along the Lake Winnebago shore is a great place to escape to, with lots of shade from the surrounding trees. Rented by EAA for the duration of the show, for 50 weeks of the year it returns to nature.

04 The Fun Fly Zone is home to ultralights, light planes, powered parachutes and trikes, hot-air balloons, homebuilt rotorcraft, and light-sport aircraft (LSA), and is well known for its 900ft grass runway. The ‘airstrip within an airport’ operates a 300ft circuit pattern and is extremely active throughout the day.

05 Two night airshows with a stunning fireworks finale take place on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

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01 The ‘One-Week-Wonder’ Sonex Waiex built during the week of AirVenture 2022 by hundreds of volunteers, has since been painted in this rather striking (and patriotic) colour scheme. The aircraft was rolled out and taxied on the last day of the 2022 show, and took to the skies a few days later.

02 If you want to channel your inner Tom Cruise, then the Archon SF2 is a two-seater version of the single-seat SF1 design that visited the LAA Rally in 2016. Fisher Flying Products SF (short for Sport Fighter) is developing the kit for the US market, reducing parts count for a quicker build.

Fisher is aiming to complete the SF2 kit in the fourth quarter of 2024, and was offering early buyers a kit price of $39,900.

Sensible buyers will choose a Rotax 900-series engine, but you can opt for a 130hp Heron turboprop, if you’re feeling the need for that aroma of Jet A1…

03 Off in one corner of the show, the Aeromart area is often missed, which is a shame as there was a great Stearman project on a trailer, just ready for someone to take away…

04 The truly mad Bally Bomber single-seat B-17 replica, is for sale, just looking for its next owner… You’d always be sure you’d cause a stir at a fly-in if you bought it!

05 Creating pilot dreams for the future, there was a big collection of pedal planes for kids to try – and for parents to buy plans and kits. They all rolled out for an en masse taxy later in the week.

06 Flying the flag for the Brits, James Hartop from Farway Common flew his Navion Rangemaster via a North Atlantic crossing… now that’s an Osh trip tale and a half!

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September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 37

Coaching Corner

Coaching Corner…

Making navigation easier…

In part two of his discussion on navigation, PCS Head of Training David Cockburn looks at waypoint selection

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n my last article, I suggested that the first priority in navigation is to fly in a straight line (a constant heading) by looking well ahead, noting a point straight ahead of us as far as we can see, and frequently visually returning the nose of the aircraft to that point. A constant heading reduces the risk of becoming ‘uncertain of our position’ and gives us time to check whether we are actually following the heading we originally planned. It also makes our flight path predictable to everyone else.

That constant heading will take us over a number of features on the ground. If we can recognise one of these as a point (‘waypoint’) over which we wanted to fly (‘on track’), we can either confirm we are going the right way or adjust our heading to fly over it and then readjust to follow our original plan. We can use waypoints further along our planned track to further refine our heading and lead us to our destination.

I emphasised that first phase of the flight as the most important, and that to make it work we need to (a) start from over a known point and (b) fly an accurate known heading for long enough to be able to judge how far off our planned track we are, and what heading change is needed after returning to that track. I also said we need to identify not only the waypoint we intend to use but the exact point over which our planned track lies.

We need to be able to identify a selection of previously chosen waypoints along our route early enough to use them. For every straight line (‘leg’) along the route, the start point and the first waypoint are the key to success.

Despite having been taught how to make heading and timing calculations using a forecast wind, we know that our instruments are unreliable, the local wind may be different from forecast, and our calculations may be in error.

We must be able to spot that first en route waypoint before we drift too far off track, but we must also give time for the straight line to produce an identifiable track ‘made good’ so we can make an accurate heading adjustment beyond the waypoint. Six minutes of track ‘made good’ seems a good figure to aim at, because a 20° error in our initial heading, such as might result from an unexpected 20kt crosswind, would only take us two nm to one side of track after six minutes. If our ground speed is 60kt, we travel six nm in those six minutes, and 12 nm if flying at 120, so we should select our initial waypoint roughly those distances along the leg. Future waypoints need not be so close, but it gives a lot of confidence if we can see the next one from the previous one.

Textbooks say that waypoints for visual navigation

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should be unique and easily recognisable. Unfortunately, such features are hard to find in the UK and often difficult to identify, especially if we have little experience of map reading from the air. Don’t rely on your satnav to find awkward ones (but do make sure you load at least all your turning points into it!).

To help, let’s consider some basic facts about feature identification from the map. Our field of view ahead from the cockpit is not directly downwards but at a shallow angle between the horizontal and about four degrees below it, so features need to appear to ‘stick up’ from the ground ahead. If the ground slopes upwards as we approach it, features will usually be clearly visible, but a downward slope can hide even the best feature until it is hidden bits of aircraft. Even if contour lines aren’t marked, rivers and lakes are invariably in the bottom of valleys, so we can get an idea of what we are likely to see. We need to spend a little time identifying the ‘lie of the land’ before selecting waypoints.

Textbooks also recommend looking ‘from big to small’.

For example, when trying to identify a railway bridge across a river beside a town, we should start by looking for the town, then the railway (the higher line feature), then along the railway to the river. I suggest that it’s not always the largest size that should be our initial concern, but the most obvious. For example, if there is a large unique white factory six minutes along our track and we can see it from our start point, that factory can form the initial reference point to a motorway junction a mile or so to one side of it, even if the junction is hidden by high ground.

Ground features

I suggest that most of us are familiar with the ground features around our home airfield, and can recognise the most obvious ones. One of these known features ought to be our start point, but why not use another for the first waypoint, or at least as the initial guide for it? During local flights, we can note and become familiar with easily recognisable features between six and 10 minutes away to provide a wide choice of known waypoints for future use. These don’t have to comply with textbook recommendations, as long as we can recognise them.

On a given day, it may be that none of our known waypoints lies along our planned track. Also, a straight line between our chosen start point and destination may not be the most efficient, and is unlikely to be the least stressful way of getting to our destination. If we place a ruler between our start point and our destination we can see what sort of stressful situations are likely if we follow

Coaching Corner

that straight track. We don’t want it to take us through, or close to, airspace restrictions, or unlandable terrain. We do want it to take us over easily identifiable waypoints, and so we should be flexible. If we add a turning point (a very obvious waypoint) between our start and our destination we might not only make the initial navigation simpler (by being able to use a familiar waypoint), but also less stressful later.

Potential hazards

We should always be ready to add one or more turning points to give ourselves an easy journey with sufficient identifiable waypoints and the minimum of potential hazards, and a change of track of less than 30° at a turning point will add very little time and fuel use to the journey. However, every turn will require a change of heading, so after each one we need to be able to identify our first waypoint to make adjustments, and we can’t use local knowledge. That means careful map study, but if we choose suitable turning points we can make sure the first waypoint after the turn is really obvious. I find mapping software on my home computer allows me to try a variety of routes before choosing one, and I can read tracks and distances easily.

As an example, consider a flight from Hall Farm to Popham as shown on the chart extract. Even if conditions allow flight at 3,500ft or above to avoid R101, Benson MATZ and its permanently active ATZ, the parachute sites are still likely stress areas if we follow the direct (red) track. We should be able to find Buckingham, so a road or river entering one side of the town could be the start point, although I shall assume local knowledge and use the lake just to the north of the town, which would allow us to use Buckingham for a ‘gross error check’. There seem few suitable turning points east of Benson, and it is difficult to avoid restricted areas unless we fly through the busy airspace over highish ground under the London TMA, perhaps using the M4 junction at Wokingham as a turning point (as marked in orange). However, airspace is less congested to the west, and there seems more scope for avoiding unexpected problems such as weather. As a turning point, Didcot power station should be clearly visible, but we don’t want to fly right over it because conflicting traffic is highly likely. We can, however, use the power station and line features as guides to turn over the nearby service area. If we didn’t use the lake as a start point, starting to the west of Buckingham rather than the east involves less of a turn before the start, and also continues to place possible waypoints to the left of our aircraft, where we ought to be able to see them better.

Further along track, 11 nm, is that odd-shaped built-up area and railway complex which should be easy to identify, and slower aircraft can use the left group of obstructions in the line of equal height ones as their first waypoint. The 994ft obstruction or the dual carriageways north-east of Oxford can refine our heading to the service area. After the Didcot turn, we parallel the dual carriageway until waypoints are available at the road junction with the M4, the forest before Thatcham, and finally the mast just left of track leads us to Popham. Notice that I have rubbed out my track where it passes over likely, or even possible, waypoints.

Once you have determined your turning points, it is important that you load them correctly into whatever sat

Above Our route on the chart for the Hall Farm to Popham flight.

nav device you carry. Can I suggest that if you’re not 100% familiar with your device it may be worth giving some priority to looking at the instructions and then practising the key-strokes? In flight, a quick glance at the route on the display will give you confidence everything is going well, but more importantly, if you have to change heading to avoid weather or another aircraft, you will have immediate guidance back to your planned track.

Next month I’d like to conclude this look at navigation by expanding on last month’s basic ideas with an in-flight technique which I have found works well.

You’ll find more details of this pre-flight planning and other navigation advice in leaflets available online from the Royal Institute of Navigation at rin.org.uk/page/GANG ■ September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 39

Engineering Matters

The latest LAA Engineering topics and investigations. Compiled by Jon Viner

Engineering Matters Including: More issues with hoses, Andair fuel pump update, understand how your tailwheel works, potential airframe corrosion, and CAA guidance on glider tug care

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elcome to Engineering Matters – the section of Light Aviation that is dedicated to discussing all manner of topics concerning both technical and operational aspects of the LAA fleet. We all learn by sharing information, so if you have anything to

say that you think would benefit others, or have experienced an interesting technical issue or component failure, then please contact us with a description of what you encountered and include accompanying pictures. Send your submissions to LAA Engineering at engineering@laa.uk.com.

Tailwheel locks

Aircraft Spruce

A vintage type on the LAA fleet recently suffered a groundloop accident. It was put down to ‘pilot error’, but maybe the pilot was being a bit harsh on himself. It turns out that the tailwheel lock was a bit worn and seems to have disengaged at an unfortunate moment, allowing an uncontrollable swing to develop.

Above Matco T6 – casters beyond 40° of steering angle.

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Tailwheels come in all sorts of ‘flavours’ – some are fixed, some are freely castering, some can be fixed until released to freely caster by the pilot, some are linked to the rudder, and some have a mechanism whereby they’re usually straight, but beyond a particular break-out force they caster to that side. This latter type has various ways to achieve the break-out, but it’s often done with a cam arrangement, and when the tailwheel unit moves beyond the ‘shoulder’ of the cam, it’s then free to caster in that direction. A tailwheel that breaks out unexpectedly and prematurely is clearly going to be more challenging to deal with than a fully castering tailwheel and a groundloop is a distinct possibility.

Where break-out type tailwheels are fitted to an aircraft, the operation of the break-out action should be part of the regular maintenance checks: add it to your tailored maintenance schedule if it’s not there already! Adjustments can often be made by tightening up the steering springs or re-profiling the cam to give more of a ‘notch’ effect. Alternatively, worn parts should be replaced.

Engineering Matters

Above This complete pipe failure led to a loss of a static pressure.

This pipe failed despite only being used for air. We should expect all pipes to become stiff and brittle.

Hoses… again Member James Pearce recently let us know of an issue that he encountered when doing the annual check flight on his Foxbat. He noticed that when he was doing the stalling checks, the speeds were coming out five or six knots above what he was expecting.

Quite rightly, this didn’t seem right to him and after doing some research he came to the conclusion that there might be a leak in the static line. Sure enough, having traced the static line back from the instrument panel, he found that the static line had completely fractured, resulting in the static system using the cockpit pressure rather than the external air pressure and causing the ASI to overread (it would have also affected the altimeter. In some types, venting the static source to the cockpit causes a noticeable deflection of the altimeter, depending on airspeed or whether the vents are open).

This serves to illustrate two things. Firstly, if you go into the annual check flight with the mindset that its purpose is to help spot developing problems on the aircraft, it will help keep the aircraft in

a serviceable and airworthy condition. In this case, having an expectation of what the stall speed should be, highlighted a potential issue when the figures didn’t match. Other examples of issues that could be caught in the check flight are: a lower climb rate than expected due to deteriorating engine condition; unusual / unexpected stall characteristics due to misrigging of the flying surfaces; unexpected vibrations, particularly at high speed, due to accumulating wear in the control system.

The second lesson is that you shouldn’t expect any plastic component to have an infinite life. Although the static line in question was made from fuel-proof polyurethane and only contained air, examination showed that it had become stiff and brittle over its 15-year life.

Plastic and rubber lines should be checked annually along their lengths for integrity and signs of deterioration – if lines are becoming stiffer than you expect, or are becoming cracked, plan in a maintenance activity to replace them.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 41

Engineering Matters

CAA guidance on glider tug maintenance CAA recently issued Safety Notice SN-2023/002 on the subject of maintenance programmes for aircraft used for glider towing.

This is aimed at highlighting some of the challenges in maintaining aircraft that are often used in situations where they typically have a higher ratio of engine starts and landing cycles to flying hours, operate at high power settings and are often used by a number of different pilots.

The document is available to download from the CAA’s website. It recommends owners should consider more frequent inspections than

Above Some parts with light corrosion that should be treated – some parts with heavier corrosion that needs to be investigated – if there’s a chance that the corrosion extended to the fabric’d side of the tubing then it should be removed in order to properly access the tubes for treatment.

recommended by the airframe or engine manufacturer, adding maintenance / inspection actions to accommodate the nature of the operations, and considering cycle-based actions in place of hoursbased actions.

The same logic could also be applied to any aircraft with an unusual operating regime – or even the ‘reverse logic’ of considering calendar-based checks on items rather than flying hours if the aircraft is going to take a particularly long time to accumulate the hours for a specified check.

Above Significant corrosion – the paint should be fully removed in cases like this so that the condition of the underlying surface can be assessed and repaired as necessary before re-painting.

Airframe corrosion Australian website www.flightsafetysolutions.com.au has flagged a potential corrosion issue on some Tecnam types in its ‘Owner Safety Awareness’ document OSA0001. A few of its customers are reported to have discovered significant corrosion in the lower longerons of the airframe. We don’t appear to have had any similar reports on UK aircraft, but please keep your eyes peeled and let us know if anything is found.

In general, no corrosion on structural items should be tolerated.

Light surface corrosion can readily be addressed by lightly abrading and re-painting. Any corrosion that is more severe must be investigated to see how the underlying surface has been

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affected. Stripping back the paint (and if necessary, the fabric, etc) in the area concerned is likely to be needed – consult with your Inspector before going too far down this route so that you can form a plan for signing off any work that needs your Inspector’s attention. If the corrosion has resulted in material being lost in the underlying material then its strength will have been adversely affected and risks failure at lower loads than designed for.

Corrosion can also cause pitting that can lead to cracks and structural failure, so it’s vital that corrosion isn’t ignored. If necessary, affected parts need to be replaced or repaired.

Technical Leaflet TL 3.05 has details on the repair process.

Engineering Matters

Lucy Wootton: Chief Inspector notes Updates from the LAA Chief Inspector.

New LAA Website

Most of you have probably seen that the external LAA website has been completely revamped and went live in July. One of the key requirements of the new website was that it needed to be fully operational on mobile devices, which is a very useful tool for Inspectors working out in the field. Inspectors can now access documents including the Permit to Fly revalidation documentation, TADS and Technical Leaflets easily from their phone.

As Permit to Fly revalidation forms are the documents most often accessed by Inspectors, these can be found at Engineering > Revalidating a Permit to Fly > Permit Revalidation Forms.

I started working on designing the new LAA external website back in October 2022, alongside my other duties as Chief Inspector. People may ask why this was a duty for the Chief Inspector? Well, apart from having previous experience of creating websites, there is more LAA Engineering-related information on the website than anything else and much of it is used every day by the LAA Inspectors and, also of course, by aircraft owners. Furthermore, having correct and up-to-date information on the website frees up time in the Engineering office, previously taken up by phone calls and emails enquiring about information that is now easily to hand and up-to-date on the new site.

Left Screenshots from the new LAA website.

There are two search functions on the new website, one for the main site found at the top right of every page, and one specifically for documents contained within the ‘Info Library.’ The search within the Info Library is detailed and very useful to Inspectors, so you can search for a specific Engineering or Pilot Coaching Scheme document. For example, searching ‘TL 2.00’ for the Technical Leaflet on revalidating a Permit to Fly or searching ‘CSD’ to view all the Pilot Coaching Scheme documents.

Under Engineering > Inspector Zone > Become an Inspector are all the notes and application form necessary to apply to become an LAA Inspector. If you are interested in becoming an Inspector, then make sure you have a look at that page and get in touch with any questions! The Inspector Zone also contains other information for current Inspectors regarding categories of Inspector Authorisation and the latest Continuing Airworthiness Information, such as Alerts, Technical Service Bulletins and Mandatory Technical Directives.

For anyone looking for an Inspector, it is just two simple clicks: Engineering > Find an Inspector.

You are now able to provide feedback about any part of your experience with the LAA, using the Feedback form that can be accessed from the ‘More’ section of the website menu. You can also use this to provide feedback regarding the website itself.

Obviously, as the new site beds in, there will be tweaks and improvements that need to be made.

Andair fuel pumps We’ve previously reported the issues that Andair had discovered regarding incompatibility of some models of its fuel pump with fuel containing alcohol. In a recent update it reports: “We notified users about our PX375-TC#7, PX375-TC28v#7, and PX375-S models and their susceptibility to

ethanol-blended fuels back in October 2022. In November we released an update regarding pump unit revision changes (#8 & C#4 models) and announced that we had begun the process of retrofitting new components or modifying existing components that incorporate the necessary changes needed for ethanol blends.

“Since then, we have received many units back for our free upgrade / retrofit.

“We now wish to notify all customers that may still be affected by this issue: the cut-off date for the F.O.C [free of charge] ethanol-blend fix is 1 October, 2023. Thereafter, there will be a fee of £220.

“We encourage all customers still using an ethanol-blend fuel with Andair pumps (#7, S#1 or earlier) to discontinue immediately and contact Andair for guidance, or to return their units for inspection, repair / replacement.”

Left Andair PX375 fuel pump.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 43

Engineering Matters LAA Engineering housekeeping The summertime peak in Permit revalidation applications has brought more than the usual crop of paperwork traumas due to a variety of causes, many of them repetitive and many others unique in their nature. As always, carefully proof-reading the application before sending it to LAA HQ will pay dividends in allowing us to turn it around quickly and efficiently – for example, make sure that all the ‘ticks in the boxes’ have been entered – a surprising number of applications are received with simple questions apparently left unanswered. Others have the answers or figures transposed – for example, an aeroplane that, according to the filling out of its form, has a higher stall speed with flaps down, than with flaps up.

Please bear in mind that a proportion of our applications get audited each year either by our own quality manager or by the CAA, and we need to show that we’ve been following our procedures – ‘findings’ are raised against us if we’re found to have accepted applications that are incomplete or at variance with our previous records of the aircraft concerned. Please pay attention to the detail – when stating the propeller type it really won’t do just to say ‘Sensenich

wood’, we need you to tell us the propeller type number, which hopefully corresponds with what’s on the aircraft’s operating limitations document or the PTL/1 list.

A recent case in point was a Sensenich propeller which turned out to be 72CK42 type, where the aeroplane had been cleared to use a 72GK42 – only a tiny change in the model number but the ‘CK’ version wasn’t rated for the power of the engine fitted to the aircraft concerned, and the revalidation process showed up that for safety reasons the prop needed to be changed. When doing the check flight, where the schedule asks you to fly the aircraft close to the maximum gross weight (usually no less than 90%), then if you fly it at a lesser weight, this will certainly cause a delay in processing it and quite likely LAA’s Engineers will call for a re-fly of the test.

An exception to this is those aeroplanes that have published performance figures at a lesser weight that are published in the Appendix to the CAA airworthiness check flight schedule number one, where this alternative lesser weight can be used, avoiding the need to load the aeroplane up with crew and expensive fuel.

Recent Alerts & AILs Recently issued instructions for continued airworthiness. (Please check the LAA website for further details).

CAA MPD 2023-002-E Propeller gearbox magnetic plug inspection / propeller shaft replacement on Rotax 912 and 914 series engines CAA issued MPD 2023-002-E on 11 August, which mandates Rotax Service Bulletins SB-912-078UL, SB-914-059UL and SB-912i-014iS. This highlights a manufacturing issue with a batch of propeller shafts in a particular serial number range.

These have been installed from new in the engine serial numbers listed, and may also have been installed on other examples as spare parts.

For affected parts, it calls for a check of the gearbox magnetic plug in the first instance, followed by a replacement of the propeller shaft. The MPD is available from www.caa.co.uk and the SB is available from www.flyrotax.com

Rotax Service Bulletin SB-912-077/SB-914-058 Rotax has recently issued a service bulletin which it has classified as ‘mandatory’ for the exchange of particular part number stator assemblies in certain 912 and 914 series engines. The replacement of these stators is to be accomplished at the next engine maintenance event or within one year from the issue of the SB, which is available from www.flyrotax.com FAA ADs affecting some Continental engine models The following FAA ADs have been issued.

We believe that they only had the potential to affect one aircraft on the LAA fleet, but for general awareness these are: AD 2023-02-12: Certain models of Continental engines (including various IO-470 models) fitted with certain Superior Air Parts intake valves – refers to SAP MSB22-01 which requires removal and replacement of affected intake valves.

AD 2023-05-16 (superseding AD 2023-0408): Certain models of Continental engines (including various IO-360 and IO-470 models) fitted with particular crankshaft serial numbers – refers to Continental MSB23-01A ‘inspect affected crankshafts for proper counterweight installation’.

Sling AIrcraft service bulletins The following Service Bulletins have recently been issued by Sling: 0021 – 25012023: Missing elevator torque tube locking bushes, affecting particular kit serial numbers of Sling 4 TSi aircraft.

0022 – 02062023: Bolt de-embrittlement, affecting engine mount and propeller bolts on particular kit serial numbers of Sling 2 and Sling 4 TSi aircraft.

0023 – 02062023: Incorrect nose gear bolt, affecting particular kit serial numbers of Sling 2 and Sling 4TSi aircraft.

0024: Throttle cable replacement, affecting all Sling models fitted with Rotax 912iS and 915iS engines.

LAA Engineering charges LAA Project Registration Kit Built Aircraft Plans Built Aircraft Initial Permit issue Up to 450kg 451-999kg 1,000kg and above Permit Revalidation

*Gyros note: if the last Renewal wasn’t Project registration royalty £50 £300 administered by the LAA, an extra fee of Category change £50 £125 applies Group A to microlight £150 Modification application Microlight to Group A £150 £500 Prototype modification minimum £60 Change of G-Registration fee £600 Repeat modification minimum £30 Issue of Permit documents following £700 Transfer (from C of A to Permit or CAA G-Reg change £55

Up to 450kg 451-999kg 1,000kg and above Factory-built gyroplanes*

£190 £240 £275

(can now be paid online via LAA Shop)

(all weights)

44 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Permit to LAA Permit)

£275

Up to 450kg 451 to 999kg 1,000kg and above Four-seat aircraft Manufacturer’s/agent’s type acceptance fee

£150 Replacement Documents £250 Lost, stolen etc (fee is per document) £20 £350 PLEASE NOTE: When you’re submitting documents using an A4-sized envelope, £2,000 a first-class stamp is insufficient postage.

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We can help with panel and wiring design through to complete installation.

Contact us to discuss your Avionics build requirements and to go through ideas.

Call us on 01280 700020, or visit us at Turweston (next to the LAA) to discuss your requirements.

Talk to us for LAA member discounts

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Our Address: LX Avionics Ltd, Hangar 10, Turweston Aerodrome, BRACKLEY, NN13 5YD

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LAA Strut News

Struts 4U

Andrew Caldecott rounds up Struts news and views

H

ello and welcome to September Struts 4U report. By the time you read this the Grass Roots Fly-in will have been completed for another year. Hopefully many of you will have visited our Struts area and chatted to us about all things Struts. From all of us who attended a very big vote of thanks to the organisers for all their input

46 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Above Looking forward to scenes like this for Grass Roots 2023…

Below did you make a visit to the Struts tent to meet up?

– especially the LAA HQ office team. Your efforts don’t go unnoticed, although we need to say thank you more often.

One great feature of our outstanding organisation is how talented so many people are. Apart from the aviation elements, we have a vast number of Strut members who contribute by providing fantastic communication. Over the past few months (and with the pandemic time in mind)

LAA Strut News

Strut Calendar Please contact your local Strut to check the details before attending the calendar events.

Struts have excelled by keeping people informed of events and activities – especially with newsletters. The content and quality of information and writing is a credit to you all. Zoom meetings and presentations are commonplace, with recordings on social media available.

Also, we must not forget this excellent magazine, Light Aviation, again providing topical information and articles.

Please keep sending information about your Strut, which we can incorporate here each month.

A tremendous success, especially during the covid period, was the LAA Friday Pub Zoom evening meeting, which many of us hope might resume in the near future.

Despite the weather not being too kind of late, many events have been exceedingly successful, as Strut newsletters clearly show! It always seems that it gets windier and wetter at weekends – such is the British weather! Congratulations to all organisers who always manage to cope with any situation. I nearly lost my gazebo at Stowe Maries but, thanks to the Air Cadets, it remained grounded.

Strut history has always fascinated me, particularly events, speakers and ‘fly-outs’. Seeing photographs are a great teaching aid (aerial photos showing fantastic landscapes, buildings and beauty spots can really help navigation). Maybe possible quiz questions for a winter’s evening meeting? Looking at the older pictures to compare new developments in our ever-expanding residential areas comes to mind. Photos of build projects, restorations and members highlight the progress of our GA family – using older aircraft and techniques with modern avionics can be a challenge.

Youth & Education Support, our education support group, has been developing a concerted Youth Direction and policy. Our future lies in young hands and we need to take every opportunity to grow all our links. More on this item in coming months.

The next few months for my article will, I hope, begin to focus on individual Strut information. From their history, stories, safety tips, members, activities and all things Strut. I encourage all our Struts to promote the good work you do, as well as what you have to offer LAA members who are local to you. As always, please send all contributions to Struts4U to me at acss@gmx.com ■

Andover Strut: Spitfire Club, Popham Airfield, SO21 3BD. Contact Bob Howarth email: bobhowarth99@ btinternet.com Phone no. 01980 611124 Bristol Strut: 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. Contact: david. millin@sea-sea.com East of Scotland Strut: Harrow Hotel, Dalkeith. 2000. Contact: Tim Raynor hipe@btinternet.com East Midlands Strut: Meeting on the first Tuesday of the month on Zoom until further notice due to venue availability. Contact: tonyrazzell2@ gmail.com We also have a Facebook group and upload recordings of some meetings where we have speakers.

Gloster Strut: Contact: Harry Hopkins phone 07902 650619 harry.hopkins@ talktalk.net Highlands & Islands: Contact: b.w.spence@btinternet.com 01381 620535.

Kent Strut: Contact: Steve Hoskins hoskinsltd@outlook.com 07768 984507.

LiNSY Trent Valley Strut: Trent Valley Gliding Club, Kirton Lindsey. pilotbarry1951@gmail. com http:// linsystrut.wixsite.com/website North East Strut: There are no meetings at present, but if you would like to help to get the NES operational again please get in touch with the Strut Coordinator, David Millin. david.millin@ sea-sea.com North Western Strut: The Clubhouse, Boysnope. 1400. Third Thursday each month. Contact: cliffmort@btinternet. com 07813 497427.

North Wales Strut: Caernarfon Airport, Dinas Dinlle. First Sunday of the month – HEMS Bistro Café. 1300. Contact: Gareth Roberts gtrwales@gmail.com 07876 483414.

Oxford Group: Sturdy’s Castle Country Inn, Banbury Road, Kidlington, OX5 3EP. Second Wednesday each month. Contact LAAOxford@gmail.com www.oxfordlaa.co.uk Redhill Strut: The Castle, Millers Lane, Outwood, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 5QB. Pub contact: 01342 844491. Third Tuesday of each month, meet at 1900-1930. Contact: david@milstead. me.uk

Shobdon Strut: Hotspur Café, Shobdon Airfield, Hereford HR6 9NR. 1930. Second Thursday of the month.

Contact: Keith Taylor bushebiggles@ sky.com Southern Strut: ‘Longshore’, Brighton Road, Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 5LD. First Wednesday of the month, 1930 for 2000. Contact palmersfarm@sky.com Strathtay Strut: Scottish Aero Club, Perth Airport, Scone, Perth.

Scone Clubhouse. Contact: keith. boardman@peopleserve.co.uk 07785 244146.

Suffolk Coastal Strut: Earl Stonham Village Hall, IP14 5HJ. www.suffolkcoastalstrut.org.uk/flyin/ Contact: Martyn Steggalls events@ suffolkcoastalstrut.org.uk 07790 925142 The Joystick Club: There are activities on offer throughout the year. Pedal planes and simulators at Old Warden Air Shows. Contact: Mike Clews, m.clews@sky.com. 07775 847914. www.joystickclub.co.uk Vale of York Strut: Chocks Away Café, Rufforth East Airfield. 1900.

Contact: Chris Holliday 07860 787801 valeofyorkstrutlaa@gmail.com www. valeofyorkstrutlaa.wordpress.com Wessex Strut: Henstridge Airfield Clubhouse. August; Monthly summer BBQ’s and activities. See www. wessexstrut.org.uk for updates.

Local fortnightly Strut walks organised

by Wessex Aviators Leisure Klub.

Contact: neil.wilson@laa.uk.com West Midlands Strut: There are no meetings at present but if you would like to help to get the West Midlands Strut operational again, then do please get in touch with the Strut Coordinator, David Millin. david.millin@sea-sea.com West of Scotland Strut: Various locations in the Greater Glasgow area.

Contact: Graeme Park graemepark01@gmail.com Youth & Education Support (YES) – YES also available for Strut talks/ presentations. Contact: Stewart Luck captainluck@hotmail.com (Contact 07974188395 to volunteer.)

• A copy of the Struts Handbook,

issued in pdf format to celebrate the LAA 75th birthday, can be found on the LAA website.

• Please contact your local Strut to

check the details before attending the calendar events.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 47

Air Courtage Assurance offers a discount to LAA Members

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Meet the Members

Flying the flag for… flying!

From not knowing any other female pilots to becoming the Chairwoman of the British Women Pilots’ Association.

Annabel Cook talks to Sharon Nicholson about sandwiches, surfboards and why she always carries a tyre pump…

T

otal number of types of aircraft and (approximate) hours you have flown

Oh my word, that’s quite a lot. Around 25 in total, I think, including single- and multi-engine piston, turboprop, jet and rotary. My total time is 9,000 hours, with about 4,500 on SEP. I’ve flown around 100 hours in helicopters too, but couldn’t afford to keep it going.

The smallest aircraft I’ve flown would probably be something like the Emeraude or Condor, the largest was

definitely the Embraer 135 Legacy. My long-time love is the Christen or Aviat Eagle. I first saw one at Oshkosh in around the late 1970s or early 1980s and, soon after, I was lucky enough to be able to sit in the first one that was brought to the UK. In 2008 I was finally able to buy a half share in one.

It’s been a mixture of luck and hard work to fly so much. I’m currently an instructor at Stapleford Flying Club, and have previously been an examiner and training captain, worked as a private corporate pilot, and on traffic survey and aerial photography flights.

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 49

Meet the Members Left Collecting a brand new Embraer Legacy from the factory in Brazil.

How long have you been in the LAA, and do you have an LAA aeroplane?

I first joined the LAA in around 1979. It was the Popular Flying Association in those days, of course. I’ve owned several LAA aeroplanes, so have been a member on and off ever since.

Any favourite or less-liked types that you’ve flown? If so, why?

I’m like a Labrador – everything is my favourite thing.

Flying is flying! A less-liked type doesn’t exist. Similar to most people, I might pick a different type depending on the weather and what I wanted to do. And you do get a ‘lemon’ in any type from time to time…

Forced to choose, I would say that the Jodel is one of my preferred aircraft. It handles gently and is relatively

Above right Arriving into Southend in an R22.

Below When in Nice! Taking a break in the back of a Citation 550.

Bottom Sharon taking her first flight in a helicopter thanks to the BWPA.

benign for a taildragger. It’s comfortable and has good luggage space, so it makes a nice touring aircraft.

Although it carries a reasonable amount of weight, there are limits. I might have overladen mine a little bit once – on one occasion it took me a while to get airborne out of Old Warden!

The King Air was the first bigger commercial aeroplane I flew, and I found it nice to handle and easy to fly. It does have six levers though, so you do need to know what you’re doing.

For photography and filming, the Cessna 172 is great.

But, as an instructor, you don’t always get a seat lock on the right-hand side to stop it sliding backwards on take-off.

It’s a horrible feeling, and dangerous.

A ‘least-favourite’ is the Europa. I thought it would be an all-singing, all-dancing, fast tourer. But the one I flew had a handbrake and no toe brakes, so no brake assistance. And it had an engine that didn’t run smoothly.

It probably needed an overhaul, but the combination of that and the brakes did not fill me with confidence.

Current and past (privately) owned aeroplane(s).

The first was an Emeraude. I had just got my licence and was told about a share for sale. Having already flown Condors, I liked the light taildraggers and knew it would be cheaper to buy into a group. However, it wasn’t well maintained, and didn’t fly nicely. I got out of it as quickly as I could and bought a Jodel, which I shared with my then husband.

We sold that to buy a 1958 Mooney M20E. It was sleek and fast. A mix of a sports car and tourer. We used to fly down to Majorca for family holidays with our son and his surfboard in the back. We had a lot of fun flying around the mountains in Spain. Once, we hit a rotor, which was interesting as the surfboard hit the ceiling – as did my husband’s head!

We sold the Mooney when we divorced, but I was able to buy a half share in an Eagle when I was flying jets for a living. With work I was already doing loads of touring, so I was looking for something with the ‘fun’ element.

Your best aviation moment and flight – and why?

Loads! It’s hard to choose! My husband, Tad, bought me 50 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Tad Dippell

Meet the Members

an hour of aerobatics in an Extra 300 at Kemble. That was a lovely experience and good fun. It’s a sensitive aircraft, and I managed not to mess it up completely. On my first flight I was super gentle, which is what it needs. On my second flight I tried a bit harder, and I managed to stall coming out of a loop and it flipped upside down! I did feel a bit green when I landed.

The most satisfying has been medical flights – repatriations and organ transport. Being able to help people by being part of the team rescuing them and taking them to hospital was hugely rewarding.

Above Watching the Eagles aerobatic team display at Oshkosh inspired Sharon to buy a share in a Christen Eagle.

Any aviation heroes – if so, who and why?

Tom Poberezny of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Eagles Aerobatic Team. I used to sit and watch him, and the rest of the team, display every day at Oshkosh. I’d never heard of or seen an Eagle before that.

Tom put a lot back into aviation and looked after people. For example, he was also the co-founder of the

Below flying a model jet around the mountains of Switzerland.

Young Eagles. I always thought this was a great scheme and respected that he worked hard to help bring young people into flying. I was delighted to see the LAA introduce something similar and it’s what motivated me to start volunteering with the British Women Pilots’ Association (BWPA) – having the opportunity to help people and encourage women of all ages and backgrounds into aviation.

A few years ago, I wanted to write to Tom to tell him how much I admired everything he had done. I couldn’t get in touch with him, so wrote to another member of the Eagles Aerobatic Team, Gene Soucy, explaining that their team had been my inspiration to buy my Eagle and I was hoping to get my Display Authorisation. This was just before my most recent visit to Oshkosh and he was decent enough to reply and say he looked forward to seeing me there.

How did you get into volunteering with the BWPA?

It was the mid-1990s when I first joined the BWPA. As many still do, I initially joined to apply for a scholarship. I didn’t get one, but I stayed because of the great friends I made and the interesting people I would not have met otherwise.

The following year I was asked to help with marking scholarship applications. I didn’t know then that by 2023 the scholarships would have become so popular that we would need to hold a big strategic review to work out how to manage them!

Having remained a member, I volunteered to join the committee about 10 years ago to provide career advice.

Then, in 2019, I put myself forward for the role of Chairwoman. I didn’t quite feel I knew enough about the working of the Association, and I have a busy life, but I wanted to steer the BWPA forward into attracting more, and younger, people and making it more inclusive. I’m pleased to say that the volunteer team has achieved that September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 51

Meet the Members

and more. Over the last few years, we have taken huge steps forward. We have increased the membership by about 60%, have active regional groups, a huge number of scholarships, and have an excellent and hardworking team of volunteers in committee roles.

As well as being Chairwoman, I am the BWPA’s, and thus the UK’s, representative for the Federation of European Women Pilots (FEWP), where I am also currently President. This means that the BWPA is now represented in 15 European countries. The BWPA was a founding member of FEWP, which has grown phenomenally since we hosted the AGM and social weekend at Shuttleworth in 2018. I’m proud to say that, of all the countries comprising FEWP, the BWPA is probably the biggest – on a par with Germany.

Above left PostEagle flight grin.

Above right Sharon is often found at Old Warden.

Any favourite aviation books?

When I was younger, I enjoyed reading books about Sheila Scott. I would have been about 18 when I read her book On Top of the World. There was also Amy Johnson, by Constance Babington Smith, which I absolutely loved.

These were the first books I read about other female pilots. I didn’t know of any until I started taking flying lessons and people started mentioning names to me. It’s great that the BWPA is doing so much to reach those just starting out in aviation and inspire them in the same way these books did for me.

What have you got out of your membership and volunteering with the BWPA?

As well as all the friendships made, I have a real sense of pride to be one of the members who is part of the volunteer team driving the largest and longest-established organisation of women pilots in the UK. It has such a fascinating history with members from all walks of life, including household names such as Sheila Scott and Lettice Curtis. All the volunteers step up primarily because they want to help other people, but many have also learned practical skills from each other – in some cases, opening up new career opportunities.

There are many exciting and unique opportunities I have had from my membership as well. The most memorable was a helicopter flight in the Swiss mountains.

It was the first time I had ever been in a helicopter. The flight was a short hop from an airfield to a site where people were flying model aircraft. I got dropped off there and was able to have a go on a dual control model jet aircraft, flying that around the mountains. You wouldn’t get that kind of experience anywhere else! It was really special.

How do you think we can attract more young people into aviation?

Schools hold careers talks that provide an easy and excellent opportunity for introducing aviation as a choice for youngsters, particularly as the sector is so diverse and potentially attractive. Many BWPA members have 52 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

contributed to these kinds of events. They have had some really positive experiences with changing perceptions. It’s not just about getting more girls into aviation, it’s about normalising seeing women in those roles. And making sure young people understand their potential and what options are out there.

It has been helped by advertisers, including airlines and the military, putting more women into their recruitment campaigns. It has gone too far in some cases though!

Above left When Sharon was younger she enjoyed reading books written by Sheila Scott.

Above right Sharon loved the book, Amy Johnson by Constance Babington Smith.

Any lessons that you’ve learned from certain moments/flights?

Yes – always strap up tight! Especially when flying over mountains with surfboards in the back.

I have spent 10 years inspecting aircraft, including corporate jets, and tying things down is a good lesson.

Once, I was flying a Citation to the Channel Islands through a storm. The crew, passengers and luggage were all strapped down, but no-one secured the sandwiches.

There was so much turbulence that when I landed in Jersey, I was literally peeling nicely cut up triangles of bread off the ceiling. They all landed butter side up…

My other lesson learned is to always check the tyre pressure. I once flew the Eagle and, because the spats were on and it was hard to see the tyres, I misjudged the amount of inflation. The Eagle has tiny tyres that only need to lose a little bit of air to go soft. As I started my take-off run and lifted the tail, lots of extra weight went onto the main undercarriage. Because the tyres are so close to the spats, with a tiny gap, one tyre pressed in and turned me 90°. I found myself heading towards a Yak and the only safe action was, because I had enough speed, to

Meet the Members

Do you have other non-aviation hobbies/ interests?

take off over it. When I landed, I discovered that the spat was so tight against the tyre it had scored the side wall.

The outcome could have been awful, and certainly gave me and the Yak pilot a fright. After this incident I took the spats off to shave them down, and now keep a tyre pump in my car to accurately check the pressure before every flight.

My life is all about flying. If I’m not flying myself, I’m working in aviation or I’m out at airshows. And, of course, I’m a keen volunteer with the BWPA. Given more time, I would love to get back into drawing and painting. I used to take my sketch pad with me when I worked at the flying club when I was younger.

I would start with a picture of an aeroplane and then turn it into a complete abstract. I sold one at a flying club auction. I bumped into the buyer recently and they said it’s still in their house! Quirky and abstract tends to be the way I go. At a BWPA event I had a glass of wine and it left red rings on a napkin. I doodled on it and gave it to someone who had it framed. I still have some of my old drawings lying around. I’d love to put an easel up in the loft or start taking a sketch pad out with me again.

Do you have any ‘fantasy hangar’ aircraft or vehicles that you’d love to own/try?

Mustang. There’s just something about it. The way it looks and sounds. Definitely a Mustang over a Spitfire. A friend who I met through the BWPA flew one recently and shared her story in an article and video. It only made me want to fly one even more!

I would also have a Pilatus PC12. The engine is dependable, which is important in a single engine aircraft!

It’s my ultimate touring aircraft as it’s so fast. Lunch in Lucerne would be a breeze.

My fantasy vehicle would be a Porsche 911 convertible in dark blue. I just like the look of them and the classic design. Also because they kept talking about Porsches in my German lessons at school and it was the first car I’d heard discussed so much.

Below The BWPA’s most recent Festive Lunch and Awards Ceremony.

Any advice for other aircraft owners and pilots?

Always speak to an instructor and get advice if you are thinking of buying an aircraft. Talk to as many people as you can before making a decision – and do a check flight. ■

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 53

Landing vouchers

LANDING VOUCHERS While October may see us rolling into autumn, hopefully we’ll still be enjoying some great flying weather. So, we’ve got these three great landing offers for you to enjoy at Goodwood, Land’s End and Manchester Barton.

✁ Aviation LIGHT

OCTOBER 2023

Our thanks to these airfields for supporting our LAA members landing voucher scheme. Please be sure to thank them for their participation by buying fuel for your aircraft, or if there’s a cafe, fuel for you and your passengers!

Half-Price Landing for October 2023 Goodwood Aerodrome: 01243 755061

A great destination, and there are often opportunities to see racing cars on the historic race track. Located near the Sussex Downs and the lovely city of Chichester, the airfield has lots of things to do and visit. Nearby Tangmere Museum is a terrific way to learn about what happened in the local area during WWII, it also has a Lightning simulator to try. Taxis can be arranged. PPR essential please. Take your voucher to the main airfield clubhouse. Avgas and JET A1 available. There are three grass runways. Radio is 122.455. https://www.goodwood.com/flying/

✁ Aviation LIGHT

50% Off Landing and 10% off Cafe October 2023 Land’s End: 01736 788944

With both hard and grass runways, this LAA-friendly airfield is a great destination, and the flight down gets better the further you go, as the two coasts merge. A great restaurant with good coffee is on site, which is also offering a discount too! Local attractions include the Land’s End Experience, great coastal walks and beaches.

The Airport is a good place to stop before visiting the Isles of Scilly. Avgas and Jet A1 on site. Please PPR. Radio is 120.255 Closed on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays. Wear a hi-vis please. www.landsendairport.co.uk

✁ Aviation LIGHT

Free landing October 2023 Manchester Barton: 0161 789 1362

54 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

© Barton 31 Trafford

A great airport for visiting Manchester and the North West region. The airfield has two cafés on site. Radio 120.255 – AFIS callsign ‘Barton Information’. The airport is open seven days a week 0900-1800 local, 0900-2000: Friday and Saturday (or sunset, whichever earlier). JetA1, Avgas 100LL are available at all times during airport hours. Visit the Trafford Centre for shopping, or see an event at the many Manchester venues. Public transport at the main gates and taxis available. PPR and brief online www.bartonaerodrome.co.uk

Free landing vouchers, informative webinars, great written content and lots more will help YOU improve your flying this year.

Join us on our #fly2023 challenge. Visit 23 new airfields and log 2,023 minutes throughout the year!

Sponsored by Bose and uAvionix.

Email your classified advertisement direct to the LAA: office@laa.uk.com

Classifieds

September

AIRCRAFT FOR SALE

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

AVRO 504J/K 95% airframe for sale. No expense spared reconstruction/ressurection to flying condition. Prostate cancer prevents completion.

Machine totally dismantled and uncovered. All original instruments - both cockpits -, turnbuckles, Gosport Tubes, aeroscreens, Rotherham pump, etc. Comes with sufficient grade "A" cotton to cover entire airframe. Serious enquiries only, please. d_coopermaguire@btinternet.com

Van’s Aircraft RV-6A. 180hp 0-360 A1A. Fixed pitch prop. 975 TT Engine & Airframe. Cleared for aerobatics. Always hangared. King KT74, Trig TN72, Icom A-220. Permit June 2024. Based Earls Colne. £69,500. Call Steve 07584 068595.

Deadline for booking and copy: 19 September 2023 If you would like to place an aircraft for sale advert please see details below:

MCR01 Banbi LLA Sportster G-PGAC. Built at Factory by RAF Pilot owner. Always Hangared Marshalls Cambridge. Last Flew 27-05-20. Pilot 91 retiring. New 912 UL 80 January 2016. with 56 hrs. Full panel, Skymap, SkyEcho to Fit, Icom 220 , Yaesu 550L, Pilot NC Headsets.etc £18.000. Contact Allan allanc48@sky.com

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.

56 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

PROJECTS FOR SALE

Much loved PA18-150 (modified) which may be eligible for LAA Permit in near future. Built 1964 and operated as PH-OTC by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in their attractive livery as a photo-ship. Now with 180 HP Lycoming plus Millennium Heads. Airframe 12,439hrs; engine 1151; Annual/ARC expires July 2024. Contact Rob at cfi@sussexgliding.co.uk.

Pietenpol G-LEOD (single seat) 98 hours, Aviation Metalcraft fuselage. Subaru 1800cc engine, Amax reduction gear, Hercules propeller, Swiss-type silencer, 80 litre fuel tank.

Poly-Fiber covering. Sold with new permit, spare Subaru engine, wing covers and Yaesu FTA-750 Spirit transceiver. Based Farthing Corner, Kent.

Hangarage possibly available. Offers around £12,000. Contact Ian McLeod on 07708 878 446 or ian.mcleod@talktalk.net Magni M24 Rotax 914 Turbo, 330 hours, excellent condition. Examined & test-flown Steve Boxall.

Permit June, ‘24. Based Kent. Age forces sale.

Bargain at £50k. John 077105 05320

PARTS FOR SALE 1500cc V.W. Peacock conversion, needs magneto drive and prop hub. 101 hours since complete overhaul in 1982. Not run since removed from VP1 in 1988 - £300 or offers. 4 Slingsby RAF tutor glider struts – offers Wisbech, Cambridgeshire area – Tel: 01354 638 382 Propellor carving machine. Big and heavy. Pics on request. Free to anyone who collects from Biddenden, Kent. Contact 07841 775 214

FOR ALL MEMBERS CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES CONTACT SHEILA OFFICE@LAA.UK.COM

WWW.LAA.UK.COM

SERVICES Engine Overhaul. Zero time Major engine overhauls carried out on all types, since 1976, c/w dynamometer run-in and test. Bonner Engineering, Shoreham Airport. Contact Bill Bonner: 01 273 440250. aerobonner@aol.com.

Aircraft Weighing - Light Aircraft Weighing Service in East Yorkshire and surrounding area.

For details contact Demraview Ltd. Email: Demraview@gmail.com Mob: 07984 810 761

DREAM IT, FLY IT, VISIT OUR WEBSITE

WWW.LAA.UK.COM

FUEL SERVICES

SERVICES & MORE

Safe flying No Ethanol Don’t risk it with water absorbing E5 and E10 fuels (mogas). WARTER UL91 and 100LL aviation fuels are ethanol free, storage stable and have a vapour pressure suitable for flying.

Please call for more information.

Available in 55 and 195 litre drums for immediate despatch, UK-wide, on a next day basis.

Anglo American Oil Company +44 (0) 1929 551557

www.aaoil.co.uk

COVERS

TRANSPORTATION

Aircraft Transportation Specialists Specialist vehicles to move your aircraft safely

For all display and company advertising contact Neil Wilson NEIL.WILSON@LAA.UK.COM WWW.LAA.UK.COM

Telephone: 0121 327 8000 E-mail: info@ponsonby.co.uk Web: www.ponsonby.co.uk

Contact us now for a quotation

September 2023 | LIGHT AVIATION | 57

Where to go

A

WHERE TO GO

selection of flying events for the months ahead, and some you definitely want to add to the calendar for later in the year. Don’t forget, GASCo is always running Safety Evenings up and down the country. We’ve got them listed here, plus it’s worth keeping an eye on its website, www.gasco.org.uk, for further updates.

September 1-3 Alderney Flying Club Fly-in (PPR) 1-3 Perth Scottish Aero Club fly-in and Meet the LAA (PPR) 1-3 Oaksey Park Luscombe and Friends fly-in (PPR) 1-3 Chatsworth Country Fair Airshow and Balloons 2-3 Foxlands Farm The Victory Show (PPR) 3 Old Warden Vintage Air Show 7-11 Longleat Sky Safari Balloon meet 8 Little Snoring TLAC C42 Owners Training Day 8-10 Goodwood Revival Meeting 8-10 Sandown British Rotorcraft Association Gyro fly-in and camp 9-10 Bern (LSZB) Electrifly-in (PPR) 9 Sleap VPAC End of season Fly-in 9 Bodmin Cornwall Strut Fly-in

As always, check the Royal Aero Club Events website for the latest information and web links for many of the events: http://events.royalaeroclub.org/events.htm.

Our thanks to the RAeC and to Dave Wise for the use of their data.

If you have an event you want to advertise on the list, please email the details to Dave at: dave.wise@btinternet.com.

9 Old Warden VAC and DeHavilland fly-in (PPR) 10 Popham Auster fly-in (PPR) 10 Bodmin Cornwall Sports Car Club fly-and-drive-in (PPR) 14 Stapleford GASCo Safety Evening 16 Sutton Meadows Cambridgeshire Microlight Club (PPR) 16 Deanland Breakfast fly-in 0830-1200 No road visitors (PPR) 16 Compton Abbas Vintage fly-in (PPR) 16 Bodmin Bader braves FOG Disabled Children’s Day (PPR) 16-17 New Farm BMAA Open Series (PPR) 16-17 Leicester BAeA Aerobatics 16-17 Duxford IWM Battle of Britain Air Show (PPR) 17 Manston LAA Kent Strut fly-in (PPR: 01843 823067)

Planning ahead Sept 20 London RAeS President’s Summit 2023 – Future of Flight Sept 21 Netherthorpe GASCo Safety Evening Sept 23 Leicester STOLFest Competition fly-in and BBQ (PPR) Sept 23-24 Compton Abbas Pooleys Air Days (PPR via Pooleys) Sept 23-24 Sywell Pistons and Props Show (PPR) Sept 23-24 Sandown RRRA Air Race Oct 1 Old Warden Shuttleworth Wings and Wheels Show (PPR) Oct 3 BAWA Filton GASCo Safety Evening Oct 7 Compton Abbas Vintage fly-in (PPR) Oct 12 Met Office Exeter GASCo Weather Decision Making Seminar (pre-book) Oct 14 Duxford IWM Flying Finale Air Show

Get ready for Summer!

UK VFR Charts – S.Eng/Wales 1:250,000/1:500,00 (Folded) £15.99

Waterbird Wings over Windermere £12.00 Embroidered Wings £2.50

Engine Log Book - £14.00

LAA Navy Baseball Cap £12.50

Propellor Log Book - £16.00

58 | LIGHT AVIATION | September 2023

Log Book Binder - £15.95

Prices exclude P+P.

Aircraft Log Book - £14.00

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LAS AEROSPACE LTD

Concorde House, North Road Industrial Estate, Okehampton,Devon EX20 1BQ

TEL: 01837 658081

www.lasaero.com