THE MICROLAND THREAD..."Home of the Tailwinds"

[faniel]

Jammer Alan en Stef om dit nou te lees
Probeer, dalk is die prop reg teen Vrydag

Dankie vir die aanbod om ons tasse en coolbags op te laai, waardeer

[Blue Max]

Jammer om te hoor Allen en Steff
Maar moenie worry nie, julle kan my trike vlieg.
Dis n Raptor en baie lekker om te vlieg.
Maar dit sal n goeie plan wees om te probeer om die prop weer reg te kry voor Vrydag.
Sterkte.
Ek hoop my hanger staan nog met die thunderbird daarin. As daar EEN hanger deur is wat enige oomblik gaan af waai is dit daardie een waar my T Bird in staan.!!!

[Blue Max]

Fanie ek het n mini I Pad gekry en jy moet jou tools saambring en my wys hoe werk die ding.
Ek wil he jy moet Airnav Pro op hom aflaai.!
Dankie

[Bundy]

Do you know if any of the other hangers have geen damaged?

Hope you get it fixed soon

Well Nick...we now know exactly how you feel....was our turn this time.
I drove around all the hangers and there were no issues I could see, your's, Fanie's and Oom Pauls were fine when I checked....
The problem is that South wind!! 20-25 knts constant....and when it blows between the hangers there is a venturi effect making it even stronger in certain places.
Took both Johannes and myself's effort to open the door just enough so I could slip through into my hanger to check the damage!....That's how strong the force is against that door!

I'm very grateful to Johanness who really did a great job of tying up the door until I got there.
We must look after him chaps, he is our eyes and ears out there! Thanks Jo....he prob saved our wing for us...

[mulderpm]

Oh no Alan. That is so sad to hear. Time you bite the bullet and moved into a steel hangar.

We were at Mandavu Dam, Hwange NP, on Thursday night. The wind nearly blew our tent away. -1 deg the next morning.

Now sitting at Mawana Lodge in Kasane. Frosty, St Louis, in the hand, 29 degrees. Will be in Kasane next few days.

Enjoy your Elands trip guys.....missing you all.

[mulderpm]

For the Bots trip....the strips at Elephant Sands an Pandamatenga are not serviceable at all. Change of plans required.

[HENNING JOHAN]

Nata in Bots got a new runway!For the hanger door,you guys are not alone!I was today at rand @ AFOS there was 2 corner flashes was blown off yesterday.Allen sorry about the prop.Regards Johan

[Bundy]

Thanks guys, glad you having a good time in Bot's Paulie!

I sorted the faulty latch on our hanger door so that it cannot come off again when the doors are rattling in strong wind....If you have these latches (the ones that go "up" and then rest on a steel peg to keep them "locked in"....go look what I did to mine to stop them from coming off and do the same to yours.
I am also going to weld on another bottom latch midway along both doors so I can secure the bottom edge into a concrete footing in the next week or so and this will solve our issue effectively.

Pic's of the prop damage....off to Nigel Coutts tomorrow morning to replace the blade, re balance and set the pitch as we had it....will just have to bolt it back on and do a test flight or two to test the settings. Going to replace the bolts...I'd rather just fit new ones.
I cant find my bloody torque wrench ....may have to borrow one from somebody when I re fit?

[Blue Max]

Maar moenie worry nie, julle kan my trike vlieg.

No reaction ????

[mulderpm]

Alan, if all else fails, my prop is not doing anything....you are welcome to borrow it. Just torque the bolts 22Nm.

The view from our camp site.

[Bundy]

Thanks for the kind offers gents but I would rather not "borrow"
Not rated on a Raptor in any event I'm afraid Oom Paul but thanks anyway.

I appreciate the gesture though...

Will just come through for a lekker piss up in the bush this time.

Looks like heaven Paulie....can you believe I've never been to Bot's? Would love to go there one day.

[prospector]

Hi Bundi, where there any other damage to hangers you observed, makes me worried as I'm parked opposite you,and those doors aren't doing to great either.

[Bundy]

Hi Bundi, where there any other damage to hangers you observed, makes me worried as I'm parked opposite you,and those doors aren't doing to great either.

Hi there,

No....not that I could see. Was there on Saturday morning and the wind had calmed quite a bit by then.

What I do notice though is a lot of owners do not tie up their wing tips with bungi's?.....you must see how those wings move around inside the hangers when the wind is blowing....cant think those hangblocks will last too long? Some of the tips eventually end up on the ground scraping the floor... Lots of hanger rash evidence on those wings.

On a positive note the fence is looking good so far....and some of the internal fencing has now been removed. Looks a lot more "open" now.

The south facing hangers (like ours) are better from a sun point of view but the strong frontal winds and storm related gust's will always be a problem there too.

Stef and I have decided to get comprehensive insurance now....we've been exposed to risk for too long. We were lucky this time round. Neither of us can afford to re build DBP again so we must just get sorted now.
It is not as expensive as I previously thought (will let you guys know what we will be paying) and the fact that we share the expense will help us a lot. Will be getting a few quotes in this week.

[Air Hog]

I know it is still early days but so far the weather looks lekker for this coming weekend.

Come on Bundy, get the prop fixed before the weekend!!

[ME 109]

Alan, hope you get sorted with the prop soon!
My son, Kevin, wants to join us at elands if possible. He will be riding through on his Motorcycle, but unfortunately will not be of much use as a backup for me. We will sort food etc for him, he will bring along his camera equipment for some in flight photography.
If accommodation is fully booked, he can bring along a tent if needed.
I will contact you later in the week.