Building the new Bushbaby SAFARI

[KFA]

Hi Oupa, you must contact Francois Jordaan regarding the paperwork. There is progress but there is stuff(more paperwork) you need to do from your side. The gear looks good

You know the saying that you will only fly once the weight of the paperwork exceeds the weight of the plane

[Oupa-G]

Thanks Stefan will do so. Thanks for the help


Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Got one machined 60-2 today all other rings have been machined. The ring comes to 1200grams if you subtract the previous 60-2 ring there is a nett mass increase of 800 odd grams. The backplate that fits the balancing machine has been made just some final touches and then the backplate gets balanced first and then the 60-2 rings separately. We are using the clutch assembly as guide. This will make the engine even smoother. I hope when I'm finished with the engine my papers will also be finished.

Enclosed some pics


Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

The 60-2 rings are finished and the #1 priority is the balancing. If BMW take the trouble to balance their ring-gear see fotie then balancing the 60-2 ring is a must. The balancing back-plate has several holes and mounting holes for the 60-2 ring, as well as indexing points and also holes to mount on the bed of the CNC Trackmill. Apart from the mounting hole there are also three dowels for the exact positioning of the 60-2 ring.This jig will be balanced separately. The nice part is if I want to make more I have the jig to index the work and then to balance it.

Were trying to do some fine engineering all the work so far was done by Vliegvark and checked by myself I also see to the financing part.

Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Flywheel mounting plate went back to the ProTrack for final finishing. Spent most of Sunday in the PC12 the weather was kind to us not popping any CB's total flight time 6 hrs from CT to Rand and back to CT I show the map of the flight . Every RedX plane gets tracked via satellite the finesse of the electronics just amazes me. So much to do and so little time. I enclose some pics and I'm of to bed.


Cheers Oupa-G

[Bearcat]

Just to prove Oupa-G really was working ... if you can call flying the PC-12 "work" ...here he is at Rand on Sunday (13 Feb)
Nice to meet you Oupa-G ...have been lurking on your threads for a while

Pilatus PC-12 ZS-AMS Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Thanks Bearcat I must say that it is not working because I get no pay it is voluntary flying that I do for the RedX. I have been doing it for 30 years have been blessed with health. This was my 668th voluntary flight.


Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

The week slipped by to quickly. This weekend I was on call for the RedX but I did no flying so I finished all the little bits to assemble the gearbox , the bolt that holds down the counterweight must be tightened 10 nm and then 90degrees tightened the bolt to 10nM marked the bolt and then loosened it and drilled the split pin hole and then did the 10NM and 90 degrees and fitted the split pin.

I shortened the offending bolts that were to long . took new 30mm bolts and shortened them to 28mm, I did not want to put an additional washer as spacer because it then makes the Nord-Lock washer ineffective. A bolt properly torqued with a Nord-Lock washer and Loktite does not come loose. For those not familiar with the Nord-Lock Google it the function is superb.

I replaced the damaged bell-housing and assembled everything. I am awaiting the new 60-2 flywheel and then I'm ready to assemble. The added flywheel will be a nice energy absorbing buffer between engine and gearbox.

I have also made enough parts for all the other engines that I grounded till the right parts are fitted. The banana boys patience has been tested severely their baby is waiting in Loeriesfontein.


Enclosed some pictures

Cheers Oupa-G

[German]

Off the topic, but what is you comment on the PC12 accident Oupa-G?

[Oupa-G]

Very sad and unnecessary. I gave a comment on Avcom page 24 of that site.

Cheers Oupa-G

[German]

Agree, makes one think. Thanks

[Oupa-G]

Some minor gremlins crept into the PCD figures of the mounting plates and then the holes that the balancing people sent through were also not correct, but finally that was all sorted and the dowel pins were placed and everything is with the balancing people. So that should be finished .

To keep myself busy I took apart my wife's car to replace all the idler pulleys belts and water pump luckily I do not have to send any paperwork to the CAA for this. Here I can use my own judgment and I do the preventative maintenance because we are careful.

I believe that CAA has got another 2 weeks to respond to the request for the Safari papers. I am demotivated. It took 1 year to build the aircraft and we are struggling now two years to get a piece of paper and that is after the whole proving flight and test flying has been completed. It really pisses me off ,Sorry I have no better word for it. This is NTCA gone all wrong. Give me limitations of 550kgs but just let me fly. I will feel better tomorrow I'm going to clean the tank of my trike and I will fly the Trike and the Vansin.




Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Flew to Hermanus today in the Vansin and inspected six aircraft all owner maintained and it is a joy to see how owner maintenance really works. All the aircraft were well maintained and I really had the feeling I could have flown any of them. The ride back over Sir Lowry's Pass was bumpy and I had to slow down to the rough air penetration speed. The Vansin was cruising 140kts and I brought back the power to 100 kts and just roller coasted the turbulence. This is such a lovely plane to fly. I have taken her through Botswana to Vic falls through Namibia and to the most Northern part in Mozambique. She has never let me down and to think she first flew in 1978. I'm enclosing some pics.

To-morrow the engine is going back into the Bosvark subject to the RedX interfering. I want to get her ready for long trips somehow the CAA does not understand this.


Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Over the weekend hung the engine back The trusty Cruiser did its thing and Ystervark gave me a hand putting the engine bolts in. The design with all the pipes running through the top baffle makes this operation very easy. It is now a race between me and the CAA I have a chance of winning who is finished first, but I will be glad to loose.

Monday evening fetched a baby from Vredendal had to do a car light landing with the RedX so today I was a bit tired .

Received the 60-2 flywheels back from the balancers all balanced to less then .7 grams and the flywheel backplate was first balanced to 0.3 gram. The company that did the balancing does not only do the balancing they also build the machines, they are very accomodating and to think all that is local what a priviledge. They make Coetz Balancing machines.

The ISO standards for that weight is 3.25 grams. The balancing was done with lots of diligence. Each flywheel then comes with a certificate and I stamped the actual # on the flywheel for identification. The weight is 1260 grams on the average and this weight mimics the weight of the clutch assembly as the engine runs in the bike. This will function to transfer any forces more smoothly. It also doubles up as the 60-2 gear for the crank impulse for the second system.

Vliegvark did the machining and the placement of the locating dowels, you really have to be absolutely parallel otherwise the pins won't slide in , it is nice to see such precision. I have had enough wheels made to supply the South African market of BMW engines even if they got their gearboxes elsewhere.

Enjoy the pics


Cheers Oupa-G

[Oupa-G]

Tonight fused the dowel pins so that they cannot go their own way. Thats all.

Cheers Oupa-G