Following the recent discussion on the forum regarding whether the shielding screens of the cables to the ignition switches for Rotax engines should be grounded at one or both ends, I asked Nigel Bea
The 1N4000 series diodes show their peak inverse voltage rating (ie the max 'spike' they can take) according to the final digit. This gives the rating in hundreds of volts: 1N4005 should stand 500v w
Please remember that fuses and circuit breakers are there to protect the wiring in the event of a current overload. A crowbar circuit, where fitted, is there to protect the equipment from excessive v
Following Kevin Taylor's request for news of the Wilksch diesel, I forwarded the correspondence so far to Mark Wilksch and asked him to provide a definitive progress update for the Europa Forum. Belo
In addition to any set piece calibration test performed as part of the annual inspection, pilots should be alert for symptoms of pitot static system problems at any time. An unusual reading may be ca
Many people expressed an interest in the Scrapheap Challenge television programme showing how three teams (from UK, USA and France) designed an aircraft from scratch and built it in three days (given
A further thought is that it might have been old stock. Electrolytic capacitors that have been on the shelf for a long time (say more than two years without power being applied) should be "re-formed"
A word of caution for those sourcing electrical cable for aircraft: "class." Cable manufacturers classify their wires according to the application. For example, Raychem supply several classes in thei
Rayfast (tel 01793 616700, fax 01793 644304) is one supplier in Swindon, UK. I spoke to their sales department this morning. They receive Raychem cables on 300 m reels and will resell it to you by th
Congratulations, Kevin, on successfully dealing with an in-flight engine emergency. Thank you for taking the trouble to put all the details on your website, together with your analysis. I commend thi
It may help to add a little more theory to the discussion. The points below are based on a posting I made to the former Europa Forum on 30 March 2000: The action of the throttle is to reduce the mani
Paul, Further to the previous answers, there are two principal reasons for having a switch between the alternator output and the bus bar: first, to enable the bus bar to be isolated from the alternat
Yes, Brian, you are quite correct in saying that with a crowbar circuit the alternator output wiring still needs protection, and the 30-amp fuse could be retained for this purpose. Alternatively, Bob
Those of you capable of beating a path to Bedfordshire, England, may be interested to know that Ivan Shaw will be giving a lecture to the Cranfield Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society at 7 PM on
Could these problems be exacerbated by exceeding the maximum propeller mass-inertia limit recommended by Rotax? In the case of the 912 this was 6000 kg-cm squared. Does anyone know what the current r
Sorry, Hedley, that you couldn't make it to Cranfield on Tuesday evening. There is no transcript available - you really needed to be there to get the full flavour of an inspiring talk in which Ivan e
Paul, Many thanks for giving details of your lightning strike incident. It appears that the ground for your wing tip lights may have acted as a diverter to prevent the lightning current passing throu
Kevin, There have been instances of the Europa fuselage skin wrinkling in the area of the port wing leading-edge following either the loss of the exhaust outlet pipe or the pipe being angled back too
Simon, A further point to note about Issue 4 of the circuit diagram is that the 30 amp slow blow fuses for both the battery and the alternator supply cable protection are positioned on the firewall s
Steve, Yes, physical protection includes everything necessary to prevent the insulation being breached. This includes the routing of any slack in the cables to allow you to remove the panel and disco