Mike, James & the Team are flying around the world !!

[Africa]

If those 2 guys ditched in the sea they would go straight to the bottom with the size of their balls!! I am very Proud of them and thrilled that the crossing was made safely!

I will be having a cold one at Oshkosh with them and the round will be on me. jamie

[Ian]

Fanbluddy tastic

That crossing , even got me learning all about the trade winds last night (yes I'm a WX spoilt Gautenger) ... (why they chose that route..)

Listened to 702 just before 6 when they interviewed Mike, what elation in his voice... Puts SA aviation on another level....

I think it's just as nerve racking (maybe more) for someone like Odball and what he feels responsible for, well done Sir, maybe you can explain the electrics some more ?

Cheers ian

[The Agent]

Im must agree Demon and I like the joke about the big kahoooonas.

A chip and a 2 put and they are at Oshkosh.

[Slabfish]

All I can say is WOW ! Well done to all of the whole team involved . I only got to my PC now since my last post at5.30am and what a relieve that they are safe.With all the well wishes and moral support from the Flying community I don,t think much can go wrong now.

[Slider]

Well done M & J. Now i just need to win the lotto, because I WANT one of these aircraft................

[Oddball]

Hey there Ian,
the electrical system is based on a so-called 'Z diagram' from Bob Nuckolls' Aeroelectric connection website (http://www.aeroelectric.com/). Bob has been wiring aircraft for years and his approach to things is quite scientific. For example, he likes to use fast-on (male and female blade, crimped) terminals and connections as opposed to screwed ones. One classic argument against them is that g forces might pull them off. Bob did some tests and worked out that you would need to pull around 200 G to do that, in which case electrical issues would be the last of your problems...

As an electrical engineer Bob's arguements made a lot of sense to me so I have used them all over.

Anyway, I used a modified Z16 diagram for the Sling. The part that M&J were unsure of is that, right after the battery, there is a dirty great solenoid that connects the entire system to the battery. There is a short (5-7cm) thick bit of wire between the battery and this soleniod which is (almost) the only thing that will be live if you switch off the DC Master, or if the solenoid fails. This is what worried them- what if the soleniod fails? Well, firstly, its quite a special solenoid, oversized for the job and specially constructed by considering failures of other similar devices- as solenoids go this is a Rolls. Secondly, its position is important; if there is any electrical fault/ fire switching the DC MAster off immediately isolates the electrical system, except for that little piece of thick wire.

Inthe case that you do need to swtich the DC Master off there is a small wire that is directly connected to the battery that feeds a switch called the 'E-Bus Alt Feed'. This provides power to vital instruments only so that the flight can continue if that wire is still intact. It is in turn protected from fault by a device called a fusible link.

The whole system is carefully thought out with the idea that no single failure should make you land; you 'step back' to the E-Bus and the battery then should have enough life to get you down safely at an alternate. In this Slings case that would be impossible, so I was very careful with all the wiring, crimping and soldering. The harnass was protected from rubbing whereever I could figure out that it might rub and Tefzel insulated wire was used throughout (this insulation is a teflon derivative and is very tough and also fire/ heat resistant). 95% of the wires got a wire number on either side so that faults could be traced if required.

There are some other clever things as well, such as an overvoltage sensor; the dynamos/ alternators (its actually a dynamo) that are used in the Rotax engines can fail in a mode that increases the voltage rapidly- very unusual but should it occur you will fry all your electronics. The overvoltage will see this fault and immediately disconnect the dynamo, protecting your electronics and allowing you to continue on battery power alone.

I also used shielded wires for some circuits and in one case used a 'home made' shield for two potentially noisy wires - it was fantastic to hear that the system was noise free and in James' words the intercom "is crystal clear- best I've ever heard!" When we flew out with them to Pilanesberg I could hear how clear thier transmission was as well. A 'tab forrest' of fast on male blade connectors was soldered onto a copper plate that provided the negative connection for all the circuits so that there are no ground loops.

I was also most pleased to hear that the storm scope worked well- the antenna for that (very complex with a whole bunch of individually screened twisted pairs in an overall screened cable) was wired one bitterly cold evening at 3am in the Springs hanger as the guys bashed and moved the airframe around getting the wings installed!

The aircraft has an unusual fitting as well- a hooter; this was Mikes idea which he thought might help to scare birds away when flying low level near the coast. That was wired up that same evening a couple of hours earlier - Mike was under the aircraft on his back and the guys were trying to manoevre the wing into its slot (extra layers of paint was making this difficult and they had to keep removing it and sand paint away...). Without thinking I switched the DC Master on and pressed the hooter button. Mike must have been concentrating fiercly because he shot out and up from under the aircraft yelling 'yah, yah, yaaaah!' He had got one heck of a fright. It provided a laugh and a slight warm up for all of us.

Jay

[Low Level]

They have landed. Congrats guys, absolutely brilliant

What a relief

[tsotsi]

Well done!

[neandertaler]

@Oddball:

When I read you text I can feel the strain which you must have felt when they were on their loooong way.
Obviously you did a great job...

Cheers,

Oliver

[Sox]

Well done M & J. Now i just need to win the lotto, because I WANT one of these aircraft................

Big G summed it up yesterday with one comment ... "You can't pay for the advertising that these guys are doing for both Rotax and the Sling"

[ZULU1]

Well done, Mike and James, I had no worries as I knew that Mike would achieve that Atlantic crossing, just awesome..we watch in the workshop with a keen eye.

Really enjoyable and makes the Tour De France look Low Budget !!

Keep going we are really enjoying it.

zulu1

[Ian]

Hi Jay,

Many thanks for your interesting info, yes, it's those little things that improve reliability and operationalability big time.

I was at the field the previous weekend to their departure, and was impressed with the electrics, and saw the hooter. Thats gonna set a new fashion, I'm gonna put one into the Sav for just that purpose.. also there are many times when you try and get someone's attention when taxying...

Some reall good reference material on that site too, many thanks.

Hope you start to relax a bit ... first big pond over

Thanks for your post again...

cheers ian

[RV4ker (RIP)]

[neandertaler]

The boys are on their way again!
Sadly the GPS-tracker again doesn't work...

[Peg Leg]

Hey Morph

Just want to thank you for creating this post mate - here I was, a million miles away, down-under, and if it wasn't for this post, I might not have picked up on the adventure unfolding.

Just for chuckkle, MB sent me solo on a Quicksilver MX come Basic 4000 contraption come errie in 1986 and on downwind, just as I had gained composure of this huge event, the engine stopped, I sh76^%$t myself, dipped the nose and managed to scrape over the fence, bounce, bounce into some long grass, smack bang in the center of Microland - I just sat there, shaking and feeling helpless - my crutches at the hanger with yours truly - MB. So, anyway, here he comes running thru the grass with some spanners and re-assuring comments, of "are u ok?" etc.... A quick check by him around the plane (some one was helping him, but for the life of me I cant remember who it was), anyway, I remember MB changing the plugs, yanking the pull start and sure enough, the little 503 Single Ignition was splurting away again - MB, put his face two inches inf front of mine and set, "off you go..." I did and the rest is history - those were the days.

I honour Mike Blyth and guys like him, and maybe, if you will do it Morph, we should open a post to share our funny moments in flying, especially, but not exclusive, those funny impossible moments that became by definition the moments that shaped our aviation experience of flying in South Africa - Demon, Chrome Dome, and many other are also a huge source of encouragement and inspiration to all of us, and so whilst we are all awstruck by the gods of microlight aviation, lets' give them a moments reckognition - I raise my glass