Tonight was a great night for flying, after resolving my temp problem I took to the skies and logged another 30 minutes of flight time. There were 2 other ultralight pilots at the field tonight besides me taking advantage of the calm air.

Here are some pics of my new "back yard"

Me making a pass down the field


A couple of weathered red barns


The K State Gardens plus a family farm


Silly Grin


Brian's quicksilver


Don's Aerolite


happy flying
Chris

How did you solve your cooling problem?

Will,

After several phone calls to the people at valley engineering I discovered that I had my temp probe in the wrong location. They took their temp measurements from a head bolt and my sender was on the plug. Moved the sender to a head bolt and my problem was solved.

Chris

Suggest to Brian that on a power on climb like that in a pusher aircraft like the Quick with the engine trying to push the nose down it takes a lot of up elevator to climb like that. If the engine suddenly quits pushing down, he better be real quick with the down elevator or it will stall real quick. He might not recover that low. BUT, thats JMO and they vary.

Where is the sensor now?? pic? Charlie

I do those steep climbs in my Challenger every now and then. I used to do them in my Max too. I would say that when that pic of Brian was taken he was doing at least 60. Now I've never flown a Quickie, but I know that 60 mph in my challenger in a steep climb leaves plenty of juice to push the nose down if the engine quits. When I do a steep climb I accelerate to 80 mph, rotate, and climb until 50. I have chopped power when doing one (just to see what it would do) and it slows down pretty quick but it gives you a couple seconds to react. Again, this is just my opinion, and I may be wrong in any way regarding that photo, but I do know how MY bird handles in those aggressive climbs.  Good luck,


M3

Steep climbs are a specialty of the quicksilvers and brian is an expirienced pilot with around 15 years ul expirience.

The weather tonight looks good so I am planning my first trip away from the field. it will be about a 30 mile round trip and include the local park and the field where I fly rc.

Chris

Very nice pics Chris!
Your plane  looks much bigger than a himax or airbike.
What kind of numbers do you get with that engine?

M3, Thats fine in a Quickie it might be ok, but in a Quick as in Quicksilver the flight envelope is much smaller. I don't think he will ever see 80mph. to each his own.   Charlie

I went out again tonight, After doing some stall tests I flew around the local area for about an hour and a half. My flight included a stop at the local rc field 900ft strip with trees and powerlines at the south end meaning I had to come in from the north and depart to the north.

Ricardo, My wing span is 32ft on a 16ft fusalage the plane weighs in at 273lbs with the parachute, making it 103 compliant. So far I am getting about 1.5 gallons per hour at around 3000rpm with a cruise speed around 60mph.

Here are some photos.

High park




Gravel pit


on the ground at elm hill


enjoy,
Chris

When I first got into flying, I bought a Quicksilver MX from a friend down in Greenville SC.  We went down to Trenton SC and I had an itroductory flight with a guy in a 2 seat Quicksilver.  I think he decieded he was going to show me that I needed lessons before I tried to fly my Quicksilver.  At one point he did an accelerated stall and ended up in a very steep climb.  When that plane quit flying, it swapped ends so fast it seemed like it went from straight up to straight down in next to no time.  I bet you could still see the dents my hands squeezed into the tubeing I was holding onto.  Instant pucker factor!  You couldn't have pounded a 16 penny nail into my butt with a sledgehammer.   It sure got my attention and I did get instructions before I flew my quicksilver.  We were plenty high when he did all this.  Poor guy, I heard he got killed a couple of years ago when a prop shattered and he got hit with part of the prop.  Have fun and be safe,  Jim Chuk

Looks like you are spreading your wings Chris and expanding your area familarization flights.  Good going, keep it up!  I look forward to flying with you Sunday evening, hopefully I can get some air to air photos of you in all your glory.

Paul Fiebich

OK, on my high horse....I was told once by a repected flying instructor....Low flying is like terminal cancer....sooner or later it will get you.

I have seen a few guys fly like this....and after seeing 2 aircraft crashes...and assisting with the removal of pilots from the wreakage...(both survived)...one of these photos makes me 'cringe'. The quicksilver pilot is a risk taker.....you may think he's good pilot....I dont. He is far too low for this type of attitude...also...a quicksilver is not a Pitts.

I have also seen a very experienced 'good' instructor do the same...and the engine did fail.....the aircraft was quite damaged as he ran out of altitude during the recovery...not a good thing to see.

I have also been guilty of the same behaviour, however NOT any more.

Sorry to have a say about safety, however, I have lost a friend through NOT saying anything...and we all thought he was a good pilot, and he took himself with a 17year old lad into the ground through ....showing off.(stall,spin, in a Citarbra).The mother and sister witnessed the crash, and the wreckage burnt for several hours before the occupants could be removed....Just terrible.

And part of the problem can be..... if my mate can do it, so can I.....and then things get out of hand.


Thankyou for the other good photos....looks like you have a very nice aircraft.

regards Arthur

Arthur,

This thread was not intended to be a discussion of brians flying habbits. I still believe he knows what he is doing and when it comes to safety, he is the most safety minded pilot I know. He pays great attention to detail and if he doesn't think the plane and engine are capable of a manuver he wont do it. That photo was taken just before he pushed the nose down, he enters the climb around 70mph and levels out at 50mph.

Chris

Hey Chris! Just wanted to say I am really happy for you!!! This is a great way to fly, isn't it!    I think I remember in an old thread you said your parents weren't too thrilled about you getting into all this. What do they think now?

CONGRADULATIONS: very nice photos, have fun and never stop learning

Ummm...  I'm not saying that he was being safe or not, but he's not entering the climb at 70mph.  You would be hard pressed to get 70mph out of a Quicksilver pointed straight at the ground.  That being said, I've seen some very impressive takeoffs and climbouts in Quicksilvers that would have resulted in death in any other plane.  

Jack

Quoted from BlueMax

He enters the climb around 70mph and levels out at 50mph.
Chris

But: I did not mean to open a can of worms or start trouble as I said its just an opinion that some agree with.   The pictures are great, keep them coming.  Charlie

flynlow,
I think you would be impressed by what a quicksilver sport can achieve when its 503 is at max power I had never seen a quicksilver scoot like that untill I met brian.

Brian is one of the most respected pilots in the hanger and does a great job of promoting UL activity. Visit his site http://www.fitzvideo.com to see some of his amazing work.

Chris

I've flown a Quicksilver 503 with dual carbs, but I never saw numbers like that.  I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it sounds high.  Was this on take off or a divng fly-by?  Impressive either way.

I flew GA aerobatic planes for many years.  I would take other pilots up, do a very safe aerobatic routine at altitude and later I found out two of the many pilots were talking behind my back about how it was a matter of time before i was a crater!!  I always looked at it as I had far greater skills than they did and in an upset situation I was more likely to survive than they were because I knew the limits of my plane.

We shouldn't have to justify our flying to other pilots if we feel it's safe and we're not endangering them or the use of the field.  I now fly powered parachutes and mine is FAR 103 legal.  I find everytime I'm around other PPCs someone has to question if I'm legal.  I smile and tell them to mind their own business.  

Jack

Quoted from BlueMax

flynlow,
I think you would be impressed by what a quicksilver sport can achieve when its 503 is at max power I had never seen a quicksilver scoot like that untill I met brian.

Brian is one of the most respected pilots in the hanger and does a great job of promoting UL activity. Visit his site http://www.fitzvideo.com to see some of his amazing work.

Chris

Quoted Text

We shouldn't have to justify our flying to other pilots if we feel it's safe and we're not endangering them or the use of the field.  I now fly powered parachutes and mine is FAR 103 legal.  I find everytime I'm around other PPCs someone has to question if I'm legal.  I smile and tell them to mind their own business.

Are any of the local ppc guys affraid of flying close to ultralights? I seem to be having the same problem that mike is having. When I was out flying last night I encountered 2 ppc and a hot air baloon. I got some good photos of the baloon but the 2 ppcs would turn away whenever I tried to approach

I also saw a giant harvested field and couldn't resist the temptation to collect a few sticks in the landing gear here is a video http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1982859426961145601&hl=en

Chris

  

Quoted from BlueMax

Are any of the local ppc guys affraid of flying close to ultralights? I seem to be having the same problem that mike is having. When I was out flying last night I encountered 2 ppc and a hot air baloon. I got some good photos of the baloon but the 2 ppcs would turn away whenever I tried to approach
Chris

  

Actually, Chris, I had a hot-air balloon turn away and outrun me once.....

Here is a pic of the baloon

Chris

There aren't too many ultralights around here, but I know we're definately concerned about GA planes.  They like to get close without realizing we're very slow and their wake rocks us greatly.  The biggest concern is that they see us because we can spiral down to get out of their way, but we don't have the speed to turn and avoid them.

The PPG guys (wear the motor on their back) are much more succeptable to wake though as their wings aren't nearly as stable as a PPC wing.

Jack

Quoted from BlueMax

Are any of the local ppc guys affraid of flying close to ultralights? I seem to be having the same problem that mike is having. When I was out flying last night I encountered 2 ppc and a hot air baloon. I got some good photos of the baloon but the 2 ppcs would turn away whenever I tried to approach

I'd steer clear of the balloonists, they are out there to enjoy the peace and quiet of their type of flying and are likely to view a plane near them in the same way a fisherman would view a water skier.  Additionally our wake will interfere with their smooth flight path.  It would be best to give them about 200 yards of space and don't fly above or downwind of them.  We are all out there to enjoy our type of flying without interference from someone creating a disturbance.  We woudn't like it if someone in a King Air swooped down upon us for a better look or to have some "fun".  PPC guys probably feel the same way but most likely are not as sensitive since they create noise and wake also.

For photographs, set your camera on infinity, maximum resolution, shoot then crop the photo for your desired framing.  That is better than trying to get in close for that perfect image.

That is a nice photo of the landscape and the balloon Chris.  Your distance indicates no possible interference with it.
Paul Fiebich

Paul,

That is why there are no pieces of the plane in the photo. I passed him on the left paralell to his path at a distance of about a half mile. The ppc guys wouldn't even let me get that close. I tried twice to approach them thinking their first turn might have been planned, when they repeated this manuver for a second time I headed off the other way.

Chris

For me personally, it has to do with not knowing the other pilot.  He may be a very experienced pilot who will stay clear of me, and he may be a jerk who thinks it's fun to do a close fly-by.  I've seen both.  

If you really want to get close to us, we can't get away and that is un-nerving.  I've heard horror stories.  One guy had a helicopter fly in for a closer look.  He barely escaped crashing.  

Zoom lenses are great for balloons.  You can get some cool shots without interfering.  I've met a lot of the balloon pilots around here and they're usually giving commercial rides.  I can pass on the photos to their passengers.

Here's a couple my friend took.

They also have complete "Right of Way" in the air and some will report close flying as a near miss, believe it You don't want that. You are the one with direct steering. Make sure You know them first. This is not directed at anyone, just info. to remind everyone.

Thats a good reminder Charlie. I would also add that those of us with N-numbers are easily tracked and need to be extra careful. Even though you may be unregistered, they still will try and track ya down. Again, not pointing to any one person here. I just don't want a newbie to see the pics and then go try it without being forewarned.




M3