One of my pals moved his Grumman off the field and gifted me his hangar. The old one (the World's least salubrious aircraft shed, a confection of plywood and plastic tarpaulins,) was reduced to a flatpack on Monday and today the wreckage went to the town recycling centre, courtesy of a friend with station wagon and trailer. That is a big cross off my worry list. My airfield operators are good folk and I don't want to upset them. I have flown the aircraft for more hours this year than last year. High on my list of concerns has always been running out of fuel. I spent some time designing a fuel computer which cost about $60 and shows tank contents, fuel pressure, current consumption, average consumption and fuel used. I have put in a reserve tank as well which is really noticeable on the take off run but the ten extra litres gives me two and a half hours endurance and the possibility of going further afield. One problem though is the rev counter. I don't like the tiny tach as I can never see the LCD which is always at the wrong viewing angle. Any attempt to make a grey wire to reality converter is doomed. I have built eight so far and I am an electronics designer by trade! So I finally gave up and bought an 8,000 RPM rev counter. Which reads 8,000 RPM. At any engine speed. Pokkers! I have CDI ignition and the short pulses from the trigger are something I would prefer not to tap into for fear of impeding the spark. I might have to if the next circuit doesn't work. Last week, after a good flight back from a local airfield, I dropped in over the trees, greased it on and landed in no distance at all. Later in the day, having turned the idle down, I closed the throttle, lost the thrust completely and landed the aircraft two feet up  Tomorrow, it will all be sorted out and if the weather is suitable, I shall go flying. Our climate is unpredictable but even so, I have managed to fly every month this year. Hope you fellows are equally fortunate. |
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