Month: November 2020

Ariel orientation

Trying to figure a neat balance shape in the air.

The problem with a single, slow flying biplane … is you most definitely cannot be in 2 places at once … and for a smoke shaped Heart it’s handy to have 2 aircraft emitting … in sequence

This first attempt … I choreographed inside the cockpit .. figuring if I did it INTO wind .. then the drift wouldn’t make it lopsided … so smoke on and started at the ‘top’ of the heart .. pulling right and down BUT opening up the turn .. so it made he longer side of the heart vs a circle

Then, when you ‘think’ you are at the bottom … heave your head around …tricky in a full harness … and see if you can see where the initial smoke turn banked away ….now SMOKE OFF and belt back up the centre vertical of the heart to that start point … and then peel off to bank the other way …remembering to turn the SMOKE ON !

With credit to my very good friend Pam for capturing some great video footage from St Ouens Bay.. looking back towards the airport overhead…

Looks like I stopped the smoke fractionally early at the foot of the heart ❤

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First Sherwood SVFR clearance

With viz up and down we suddenly got superb blue sky and clouds rolled away … well for 10 minutes !

Got a SVFR clearance for 1 quick circuit .. thanks to Jersey ATC for great support

Apologies you have to sit through windscreen clean and securing the front seat harnesses..

16 mins in … just airborne before the battery runs out …

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Landing number 250

Flying today with Will to check out the radio crackle and 5 landings in lovely sunny calm conditions …

Last landing off a close bad weather circuit tight behind a landing Twin .. expertly spaced by Jersey ATC …was landing number 250

Earlier landing shot
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Radio crackle

When I installed the brand new Trig radios and transponder they were clear as a bell .. in any flight conditions …

After 3 plus years I’m starting to get crackles and background noise which is becoming increasingly annoying and distracting.

This has been ongoing for a few months now and what I had passed off as an annoying background buzz has become a pain now …

On Transmit and Receive it’s generally really clear But P1 to P2 is very difficult .. 100% clear on startup and for the first few minutes

The LAA published a really useful multi page guide which I have now started to work through … step by step…

I started by removing and cleaning and refitting the earth points for the main battery to engine earth point … the regulator earth point and both radio headset earth points, Tested today .. 4th Nov and although slightly better for a while .. it came back around 15 mins into the flight.

Reading the article it starts to get you to narrow things down .. like does it go with. Revs, does it go with. Additional power etc

It’s def not tied explicitly to revs … ie like an old unchoked car radio .. the whine increasing with revs .. it DOESNT do that …but … it defiantly gets louder with increased power

NEXT check …. will look at each of the direct battery connections …

my guess .. is that .. in the salty sea air we constantly fly and park in … that, after 3 years plus .. I’m getting build up on various connectors and, as the LAA very useful paper notes, I’m getting arcing where a bad earth is letting build up happen … and then it buzzes as it arcs …

watch this space ….

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