AndyB

I also use fuel that can be over 6 months old and still starts first time. I use Mr Funnel in the tank neck and a battery operated transfer pump from 20 litre jerry can.

Nor even a seatbelt!

Yes, that course. He is running a one day one in July. I emailed him.

Is this torque steer and an inherent feature of the motor/frame design. I find that with either of my 2 machines it makes no difference what wing I use, they always behave perfectly and only require a slight left lean. 

Cheers Chris. I have just spoken with him and he has a course in July.

Next I'll be searching for which radio to use!

I live within the CTR and some really nice take off fields near me. I also fly pretty much along the edge of the CTR and under the end of the 3000 to 6000. Now I need to find FRTOL training.

Following discussion in another thread about transponders, it prompted me to contact my local ATC and see what they would require for clearance to fly inside the CTR. Interesting answer: must phone before flying to make aware of flight plan; contact on radio as soon as airborne. No transponder needed. So only requirement is a radio and call-sign.

I have now done a few flights on my trike, the first I have ever flown. I am really getting to like it. Today I took off from wet grass, over a foot long in absolutely nill wind.  With the trike everything can be done slowly. The wing pulled up slowly, but I was able to feed power on, pulling the wing up and just take take my time. And landings, what a joy. I was bothered before using the trike that it would hurt my back (I am fully fused from thoracic to hips) as the slightest bump is very painful. But its just like landing an aircraft, flare a little, rear wheels start to touch, ease off flare and let the front wheel drop. The friction then slows the trike, keep hands up and just let wing land nicely in front. So gentle. 

3 hours ago, chrsfrwll said:

I was talking about what was needed to use SkyEcho, in response to Alan calling it a transponder, which it’s not. However the the OP mentioned he can fly in his local controlled airspace in Ireland subject to him having a transponder and radio. 

Yes, I know. But I could also fly in class D here if I had radio and the transponder. I think transponder not compulsory but my local ATC are not happy without one.  

I have been using an ADSB receiver unit that Patrick Coleman sells called Paradar. If you want to be able to see what is near you (well, those that transmit ADSB) it is really good. The unit has a circle of LED's that represent the compass and simply lights up where the other aircraft are. I fly near RAF training jets and they all use ADSB. You also get an LED showing you north.

7 hours ago, chrsfrwll said:

With pedant mode fully engaged (),  technically that's not a transponder but rather an ADS-B transceiver. Also you can't change the code, should ATC so desire. However it is portable, has a good battery life and will let those with ADS-B in see you. Falls within the remit of Electronic Conspicuity the CAA have been banging on about for a while. You also need to preprogram it with an ICAO Hex address you'll need to apply for (as well as your call sign). Plus you'll need an OFCOM licence for it in addition to your FRTOL.

(this is a road I have gone down )

Cool, that is really good help. I live inside Teesside controlled airspace and have to travel to get out of it, which is a shame because there are some excellent fields half mile away.  So if I am understanding correctly, I need: a transponder; a registered call-sign; need to do a radio course and get a FRTOL; need a radio and an OFCOM license? 

I use: neutral (middle, or line) for take and off; full in for landing in wind under 6 to 10 mph; above 6/10 mph then neutral. However, lots of people prefer trims at neutral for the greater speed it gives and the higher pressure feel of the brakes.

I don't agree Steve. The Tornado is by far the best for power to weight. I have used Moster 185, Polini 200, Nitro and Tornado.

Moster has more umph than Nitro but not even close to Tornado....which is still lighter than the Moster!

The Praajet/Moster I had vibrated far more than either my Nitro or Tornado. I think most vibration is caused by prop balance. Using an RC prop balancer will get your prop to a static balance of 0.1 gram...then it will not vibrate. The pic below is an RC £12 prop balancer with a shaft machined to fit my AC blades. This will balance to an accuracy of a 1 cm2 piece of prop tape on the end of a blade. 

On 14/03/2020 at 21:54, Walt said:

I have bought the Impuls LT. Very good value for money and build quality. I did replace the prop bolts, as the ones that came with it were full thread stainless steel with 4mm allen key heads which stripped (the heads, not the threads). I got hardened steel bolts from Accu.co.uk, product code: SSC-M6-75-12.9 and stainless steel washers product code: HLDW-M6-A2. I've only managed one flight with our poor recent weather, need to tweak the harness for easier entry. 

Be careful using 12.9 bolts. It is common mistake that stronger is better, it isn't when you have vibration. Going stronger makes them less resistant to vibration because softer, more ductile steel is more flexible.

3 hours ago, Garry said:

Hi Andy, where did you get the wheel retainers from for the 25mm GRP shaft?

 

Here

https://www.bearingsrus.co.uk/other-products/shaft-collar/25mm-double-split-shaft-collar

More expensive than single split but much better for making sure they stay put.

21 minutes ago, steelmesh said:

Very cool Andy!  For the rear axles, is that a flexible material to act like a suspension?  Or do those balloons do a good job soaking up the earth?

The rear axles are 25 mm solid GRP rod, so act as suspension. I have been using the solid rear wheels. Can't use baloon wheels in the field I use as its too rough.

It doesn't matter. In the true sense a flight starts with the wing on the ground and not already up, so if you want to count full launches, then no.

I assume it is the grooved type of belt? It was probably just settling back in to its new tension then. After it had been quite loose it is likely the rubber was rubbed on the inside. After running much tighter for a while the grooves will have been better pushed into the pulley grooves. I usually find I set mine (Nitro) at 370 and it drops to 350 straight away.

After flying the belt will be warm.....and just ever so slightly longer. Hence tension will be less. The tension settings are usually to be done when cold.

Are you thinking of having a trike? Yes, this was my first trike flight ever. I watched lots of Youtube videos first to get an idea of what to do. The best video was actually the US twit "Super Dell". The only problem with his video is you have to fast forward past the bull-shit he adds in, in between the good stuff.

I had a run round the field without wing first, to get a feel for how much throttle gets me rolling on the very rough ground. Then 2 key things, layout and use of power. As well as normal wing layout you have to think about warming the trike up facing away from wing, then switch off and connect it all up. Then finally, get the A's pulled taught (Dell video good), then collect all the other lines and pull all the slack down to the wing end....I also made line holders so that the lines are already half way up the hoop AND pulled taught in that positon.

Power is critical because you HAVE to get the trike moving. If you power on and trike doesn't move, or moves too slowly, then the wing will go up, then come back down on the prop. Too much power and you could bend the hoop. Now, I have a slight advantage here because being 6'4" tall my arms reach further than the cage. I am pretty strong, but If I use too much power my arms get shoved back against the cage (I have been power launching for the past year). So before having a go on the trike I practiced quickly applying 3/4 power to get me used to sound and movement.

One good thing about trike launch is you can look up at the wing and watch what is happening. If it doesn't look good, just power off a little (still need trike to keep moving!) get in shape and go. I took off in nasty twisting wind, switching 180 deg. I waited for initial launch to get wing off the ground into wind, but I did some distance at partial power to get into shape.

I have also made the wheelbase narrower now. It didn't bottom out at all, even on the really rough stuff, but it was more difficult to steer because if a rear wheel got in a hole it would try to turn the whole trike. It is 50 cm narrower now.

Update. I flew my home made trike 2 days ago. Superb to be back in the air after 5 months.

It flew great, but was really uncomfortable. I had adjusted the hang points to give the correct angle with me and the trike attached.....which put the hang points at their heaviest setting. In the air this has the effect of feeling like it picks up the front edge of the seat and tries to fold me up in a ball!. So, I have redesigned the attachment of the trike so that the CoG of the trike is directly under my normal hang point setting. This way I don't have to make any hang point adjustment for the trike.

I also found the front wheel annoying as without both feet on it, it would turn round. In the air this puts the wheel sideways on the air and is like a brake. On the ground it means I can't put a foot down. So I have added a big spring. Idid some tests with a luggage weighing device first to calculate the requited spring size and spring rate and have managed to get it spot on in one go.

The other thing I have added is line holders to keep the lines form pulling into the prop during initial inflation. These worked so well that when I landed all the lines end ed up back on the holders!

The hang test is after my CoG mod and with my hang points in my normal foot launch position.

Trike flight 2 is on for tomorrow.     

I had Polini but didn't like it. I now love Nitro and Tornado.

Lol. Twanging belt for tension only works well between 2 very fixed objects...otherwise the other bits vibrate as well.

Can you do your prop speed reduction before it is fed to the belt? Keep it 2800 rpm?

2 hours ago, andyy said:

I think we rely too much on our phones and if it fails,battery dies or you drop taking a selfie you are knackered.

 

I nearly dropped my phone once. It made me do something better. I now use extendable key chain devices to attach anything I love dearly and don't want to drop. I have a rear case for my phone, with a hole drilled through it and the key chain attached. The other end is attached inside a flying suit pocket. When I go flying I just slot my phone into the captive case. In my same pocket I have a battery bank which can run the phone for 5 hours with gps maps running.