Category: aircraft

Once More Unto the Breach

On By JohnIn aircraft, healthLeave a comment

Okay, perhaps a bit more dramatic than the comparison with combat and battle than was invoked in Shakespeare’s Henry V.

How about this:

Second verse//Same as the first

I missed out on two weeks of lab time way back at the end of Gen-A, six terms ago, when my wife had Covid. Way back before vaccines were available for it. I had to remain away from the campus to prevent spread and missed out on some critically important lab time because of it.

Fast-forward to now, and I finally have all of my lab time and projects complete and even have time caught up on the Airframe time that I needed to tend do.

So, great news, I’m all caught up.

But sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back.

We’ve had four people out with a positive Covid tests in our rather small group of 14 — no idea about the 1st year students (about 30) or the other half of the 2nd year (about another 15). The three that were out are, to my understanding, planning on being back tomorrow.

But the administration has shut down our campus for a week.

So, we’ll be back next Thursday. We’ll have the shared frustration of all trying to get bare minimums on time needed to finish this last four weeks of the program.

No, wait… minus a week.

Last three… three weeks of the program.

Sense of Touch and Timing Technique

On By JohnIn aircraft, annoyingLeave a comment

There’s a reason these are only $11 and semi-disposable.

T118 Timing Pin… compact version for timing around corners.

Why?

Because if they were any more “sturdy”, then you’d be replacing a $2,000 magneto… or, minimally, that magneto’s $400 distributor assembly.

Sure, you’re going to tear it down and inspect it… **sigh** again… but it’s better to replace that $11 tool than the more expensive parts.

High-Speed of the Past?

On By JohnIn aircraft, sysadminLeave a comment

Ah, yes, we embrace high-speed online learning…

…as long as you’re okay with connection speeds only marginally better than a high-tech and cutting-edge DSL connection from 1994.

I need to fetch a 600MB Powerpoint presentation to review some notes on a (24MB) video that was embedded in it. But I’m at the mercy of the hosting provider’s CDN, which seems little more than an overloaded Raspberry Pi sponging off of its neighbor’s unsecured WiFi.

Yes, yes, clearly the creator misspelled “Propellers”, try not to judge. But the question is: how large is it? Not sure — I’ve been waiting for about 30 min or so. I’ll just sit and ponder the mysteries of the universe while I wait so I can extract one embedded element.

A carrier pigeon would be faster.

The Current State of Electric Flight

On By JohnIn aircraft, electrics/electronicsLeave a comment

Semi-random:

It seems a content-creator has had a chance to try out a Pipistrel Velis:

I had a chance to review the Velis POH a few weeks ago and was looking for some technical info about the batteries themselves: liquid cooling, where positioned, how serviced, etc. But it seems such details are beyond the scope of the Pilot’s Operating Handbook, so maybe I’ll see about tracking down its Service Manual completely out of curiosity.

However, the POH is still a huge amount of useful information that covers what it can and can’t do. Ch. 3, Limitations: Weight, airspeed, maneuvering, etc. And, quite importantly, for now, for anyone concerned about somebody taking these things across country at night through storms, the Velis is limited to daytime VFR flight only.

But there are other limits to consider. In Ch. 3, p. 3-7, Other Restrictions. It’s forbidden to…

  • fly in heavy rainfall: what constitutes ‘heavy’?
  • thunderstorm activity: how far away?
  • blizzards: next to? how far away?
  • IFR or IMC
  • if the aircraft’s surface temperature is 130℉ or greater
  • aerobatics: I would argue that, apart from the structural limits of +4G & -2G, the additional issues are in the battery coolant system’s reservoir and pump aren’t capable of ensuring flow during aerobatics
  • minimum state of charge
  • with either battery removed: while it says you’ll need to have both installed, and I would argue that it’s missing an important additional phrase: connected and functional

I guess what I’m getting at is that while it’s an Experimental by US standards, there are still limitations on Experimental pilots until the technologies advance sufficiently to not require such limitations.

Someday, we’ll have electric flight for the world. It takes time.

But eventually, we’ll… er… our children or grandchildren will attain it.

The Future cometh.