Hi All,
I am sitting at the Tampa Airport on my way home from Sun and fun and just
want to respond to a few bits of traffic
---From the past few days.
1) the bit on tie wraps in re color is actually incorrect. Sensitivity to
UV and to heat is based on material, not color.
Nylon is the superior material forTyWraps, but the cheap stuff you buy at
the local auto supply store is frequently
not nylon. The test for nylon is to create a sharp (180 degree) bend and
press sides together. If a white line appears in
the material don't waste your money.
2) Re Airventure. Fred, I don't know when you were last there, but I go
every year. I grew up in NYC and live there now, so
I know a million people at a time when I see them. Osh on a good day does
indeed in my in the flesh opinion has a good 200 - 400
thousand people present. SnF this year by comparison will prove to lucky
to have over 50k per day - very light traffic.
3) Speaking of SnF, I took the two day Rotax 912s Maintenance course and
it was most excellent. We spent a fair bit of time under the hood of
CTSWs
Burping oil systems, tearing down Bing 64 carbs, pulling and inspecting
the hydraulic lifters and valves, etc. Broken down a gear box and
re-assembled.
Did carb synchs on a running CTSW, and learning to listen for gear clatter
vs. de-synch. I know there's a bunch of Light Sport guys here and I
really
recommend Dean and his class. It will equip a gear head type or an A&P to
do essentially all line level maint. I took lots of pix and video'd the
hands on stuff.
PS It was interesting to see that the CTSW has only 10 ga wire from that
tiny battery to the master and to the starter. I use #2 welding cable
myself.
At John Wheeler's request I will try to soon put together some useful
Rotax facts from the class, and from Eric from
Kodiak(who of course was not there Officially), Mike from California
Power, Phil and Kerry from Lockwood, and
Shayne (formerly from Lockwood, but still doing deep Rotax work)
.
Some quick points
1) If you use a diet very rich in 100LL (>50%), remove and clean lead from
Oil tank, every oil change. Mogas users should do this at annual
2) The Rotax 9 series really HATES oil starvation
3) Forget about Evans coolant - a waste of time and money
4) Everyone needs to move to the 1.2 bar radiator cap this year (Pascal
---From Kodiak just dropped the price during the show
from a ridiculous $74 to a simply high 29.95)
5)Do not let the true CHT (i.e., the internal head coolant temp to exceed
275F). Failure will anneal the head, warping it and causing severe damage
More on True temp measurement and it's approximation later. For now,
just keep Measured CHT below 248F
6) Use the Rotax Maint books and Maint forms in the Line Maint Manual!
7) The Rotax 9 series really HATES oil starvation
Ira N224XS
Flying with a Blue Mountain EFIS/One
PS: To throw fuel on the EFIS fire here, I personally watched the new US
Europa dealer buy a BMA EFIS Lite for his personal Europa
after successfully installing several systems for other builders. (Of
course, Bud had watched me install the first one at FlightCrafters ;-) )
!!! Europa Kits are again being Sold in the USA
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