Radio Preppers

Hello  :)

This might have been better in General News but I do hope some of you guys will be able to contact me next week on the air! This week I am working near Paris for a famous car manufacturer which will remain nameless, so no radio for me. I'm writing Python code all week. Friday however I am leaving for the South of France, Provence, North of Marseilles, to catch a few days of sun before the winter. I think I will take my KX2 along with my 6m fishing pole and 9:1 UNUN.

BTW, I had to post a "backup" video on the YouTube channel, and schedule another one for this Monday. These videos aren't my best so I was keeping them at hand for such cases. I also haven't been feeling great lately and used my spare time to rest. Though, I did manage to get back to flying on Sunday and took my girlfriend up in a "Moto du Ciel" ultralight, equivalent to a U.S. LSA light plane... Hopefully this vacation will do me some good, or it's back to the doctor's.

Your best bet at a contact is to check the RBN for my call:

http://www.reversebeacon.net/dxsd1/dxsd1.php?f=0&c=F4WBY&t=dx (http://www.reversebeacon.net/dxsd1/dxsd1.php?f=0&c=F4WBY&t=dx)

There won't be anything there of course before Saturday the 16th.

I might try some SSB too, but good luck finding me :o

Gil.

Have a great time.  Sadly I almost never hear France, at least from the antenna in my upstairs office.  But if I see you active and DroidProp says there's a chance, I'll move to the basement where my 180' long-wire comes in.

Great that you're flying again!  I'm not and really miss it.  I looked up that Moto du Ciel.  Ha, it looks like a 21st century, open cockpit equivalent of the Paper Cup,...er... I mean Piper Cub.  Great, great fun!  I've got 100s of hours in open cockpits and on the good days you can navigate with your nose ;D.  The smell of things like saw mills, paper mills, stock yards and garbage dumps have gotten my attention, then I looked to find them on the chart.  It made a nice cross-check to my pilotage and ded-reckoning.  That, or a good indicator of the wind direction (I miss dirty, smoky factories when I fly non-GPS lol).

Same here Gil, I saw your post, glad you're flying again.


I was not taught the third method of aerial navigation, pilotage and dead reckoning yes, but smellage no. LOL

Back in my flying days, I bought a Piper Vagabond, (PA-15), for $2500 which was nothing but a clipped wing Cub with a short fuselage. It was a cute little plane after restoration. I miss those days, but I'm too old and too broke to fly anymore.

Joel
N6ALT

Oh, I hope you get to feeling better Gil. Enjoy the south of France.

Joel
N6ALT

Quote from: KK0G on September 13, 2017, 09:00:01 AM
I was not taught the third method of aerial navigation, pilotage and dead reckoning yes, but smellage no. LOL

My wife was in the front hole on a long trip and pioneered Nasal Navigation after smelling a few things before we got to them(head winds) or once we were abeam them (cross winds)(http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/Emoticons/ROF_LMAO_zps503195e3-1.gif)  Looking on the chart to find what we smelled really helped pass the time.

Quote from: caulktel on September 13, 2017, 10:58:09 AM
Back in my flying days, I bought a Piper Vagabond, (PA-15), for $2500 which was nothing but a clipped wing Cub with a short fuselage. It was a cute little plane after restoration. I miss those days, but I'm too old and too broke to fly anymore.

Joel
N6ALT

A Vagabond?  Nice 8).  I love short winged Pipers.  +1 for being a rag and tube tailwheel pilot.  I owned a Stinson Voyager for a bunch of years, but if I was smart I would have gotten a Pacer.  Similar size and performance with much less maintenance.

Thanks guys, I need to build one or get a kit...

Gil

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

Bob,

Nasal Navigation is funny, being as we did a lot of barnstorming I was always smelling stuff from the air, like the rendering plant in the middle of summer, where all the dead livestock went to :o. Of course some of the best times I remember was when the Almond trees were in bloom, wow! did that smell good from about 1000 ft. The cabin Stinson was a nice aircraft, I rode in one a few times. Pacers are great too but not the Tri Pacer, I always got sick riding in the back seat of a TP. My Dad had a 1940 BC-12 Taylorcraft, it was sweet, low and slow. My brother has owned about 20 planes, currently he has a Chief and a Champ all restored and is building a Whitman TailWind. Expensive hobby compared to Ham radio.

Joel
N6ALT

Joel,
Tri-Pacers (I call them flying milk stools), T-carts, Chiefs, Champs (I soloed in a 7BCM, 85 horse Champ) and building a Tailwind.  It's like you are talking dirty to me.  I'll be in my bunk (with an EAA magazine). ;D

I am looking into the Pietempol Air Camper, since it can fall in the ultralight category in France, which is more like LSA...

Gil.

Well, looks like I'll be packing the MTR.. I can only take 10kg since my girlfriend filled the checked luggage already. The 6m pole and EARCHI 9:1 UNUN are coming along too. Not sure if I'll take my T1 or ZM-2 tuner. It makes for a very small station but still 5W! I'll make a nice video for Monday the 25th.

Gil

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Quote from: cockpitbob on September 14, 2017, 01:08:25 AM
Joel,
Tri-Pacers (I call them flying milk stools), T-carts, Chiefs, Champs (I soloed in a 7BCM, 85 horse Champ) and building a Tailwind.  It's like you are talking dirty to me.  I'll be in my bunk (with an EAA magazine). ;D

Funny stuff Bob, I'm still laughing :).

Hi Gil,

I saw a  Pietempol at a air show years ago, If I remember correctly it had a VW engine in it. I was a cute little plane and flew very good. If you decide to build one of those, you'll never afford to get your sail boat back :). Those spruce spars are really expensive from AS&S.

You should have a good time with the MTR. I look forward to your video.

Joel
N6ALT

You guys are killing me with all the great aviation memories :'( .  Not flying hasn't hurt this much in years ;D .


Gil, a Pietenpol!!!! ;D ;D .  That's the first plane I actually felt like I had a crush on.  I never got to fly one, but for years I planned on building one.  I had the plans, back issues of the International Pietenpol club news letters, etc.  I gave all that to a friend who actually did build a Piet.  I gave it all away because I bought a scratch built 80% replica of a 1933 Fairchild-22.
(http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/AirToAir4_zpslw1zc9ht.jpg) (http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/AirToAir4_zpslw1zc9ht.jpg)


My wife and I flew it to Oshkosh from CA in '97 and the EAA liked it, and the fact we flew it 2,000 miles at 95mph camping under the wing, so much they did a little article on it and us.  Yes, it has no electrical system.
(http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/PamStarting_zpsyqfe8uzn.jpg) (http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/PamStarting_zpsyqfe8uzn.jpg)

Beautiful plane Bob. Great to see your wife propping it. Man, if I had a dollar for every plane I propped when I was young, (including a AgCat), I'd be rich. None of the planes my family and friends owned had electrical systems in them, that would just be wrong. When they put a tower at my home town airport it took all the fun out of flying because we had to look for green or red lights in the window of the tower before we could land. Finally had to get Icom handhelds as the FAA required it on that field due to commercial traffic. We switched to a grass field south of town that had Almond orchards at both ends of the runway. The trees made the strip look very short, but it was all in my head.

Joel
N6ALT

Awesome plane indeed Bob! WOW!

I have a funny story about hand starting... Back in the day when I was towing banners I owned an "Airland" French ultralight, pusher 2.2L VW engine, a biplane. My starter motor was broken so I just hand-started it. Once I had the throttle opened a bit too wide...  ::) Now you see it coming... The VW fired up and the plane started rolling! Problem is, I was in the back and had to go around the wing to reach the throttle up front! :o



So as the plane is picking up speed I'm running alongside it trying to take it over, but it's not going well...  :o I then see the strut to my left, joining the two wings and grab it... The plane starts to turn and keeps turning with me pulling on the strut! After one turn I realize I'm going to eventually have to let go! So I choose to let the strut go when the nose of the plane points to the middle of the field... Fortunately, the plane had slowed down a bit while turning so I'm able to pass the wing and do a mad dive to the cockpit, pulling the throttle back! I then laid on the grass for a bit to catch my breath! Upon getting up I noticed a few people back at the hangars with incredulous looks in their eyes..  ;D  I always used wheel chokes after that...

Gil.

Nice Hammerheads! 8) ;D
What a fun plane!  Unlike conventional bi-planes you aren't way back and between the wings where all you can see is fuselage in front and wing panels on either side.  The visibility in that plane looks fantastic.

You towed b.. b.... banners?!?!?!?  Wow!  That's some pretty hairy-chested stuff.  Low and slow but don't hook the ground(!), then grab extra weight and a ton of drag and fight your way back up to altitude. 

I used to hook them between poles, but finally opted for taking off with the banner attached, in front of you of course... It was easy with a very light single seater powered by a 65hp Rotax 532. That plane originally had a 40hp 447. I had time to pick up speed a foot off the ground before reaching the banner and pulling up (50m rope). The airplane was way heavier. I broke the landing gear once after the banner dragged on the ground on a no-wind day. The banners, flag types, were 12m x 8m. It was dangerous work but you had to learn fast, by surviving your mistakes. I miss those days.

I am thinking already how long a dipole could I fit in that wing?!

Gil

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Quote from: gil on September 16, 2017, 04:12:05 PMI am thinking already how long a dipole could I fit in that wing?!

Gil

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

Go end-fed, maybe lol.  I met a pilot that flew some long over-ocean trips in a piper archer back in the 1970s.  He had a wire antenna on a crank spool that was mounted next to him in the cockpit.  The wire exited the tail of the plane.  He had a small funnel attached to the wire to provide drag to pull the wire out and, I assume, keep it from whipping in the air as he flew.  I suppose he would crank in/out the right amount for a good match on the band he was on.  I wonder if he ever forgot to crank in the antenna before landing :o

Great video Gil, I can't believe you towed banners with a ultralight. My dad towed banners with his Taylorcraft with a 65 horse Continental for years over Chico CA. He would pick the banner up with it between two poles also, then when he was done he would fly low over the field an pull the release. We would have it all rolled up by the time he got on the ground and off to the Pub:-) One time he flew a banner with a guy proposing to his girlfriend, she said yes! It was in all the papers. Fun times.

Joel
N6ALT

Quote from: caulktel on September 16, 2017, 05:25:35 PM
One time he flew a banner with a guy proposing to his girlfriend, she said yes! It was in all the papers. Fun times.

Joel
N6ALT

That's how I proposed to my wife 26 years ago!  True story.   We were in Fremont, CA and the banner tow guy (Belanca Scout) was based in Livermore. 
I really need to get my old negatives scanned.  Somewhere in a box in the basement I have a pic of the plane towing the banner.

On our C-206s we use a random wire running from the top of the cabin to the top of vertical stab to one wingtip. An Icom auto tuner is used for matching. It works pretty well even on 60 meters. I'm sure the altitude helps too.

On the air now, check the RBN link above...

Gil

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One good contact with England on 30m, using a 6m wire.

Gil

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Looks like I missed you.  The last RBN spot was 2.5hrs ago. 18-21wpm.  You've knocked the rust off your CW skills.

I am more at like 17 wpm right  now... I will be scouting other locations soon  :-)
Gil

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10117

One contact with Romannia.

I'll leave the antenna up for a bit in case someone wants to try...

Gil.

At 18:40 I'm hearing half of a long QSO on 10,117, but it's so faint and QSBing in and out that I haven't picked up any call signs.  RBN shows lots of hits, but none are across the Atlantic.  My DroidProp app makes lit look like 10m will open up between us a bit in the next hour.

There was some USA/EU reports on the RBN for 30m... No long QSO on my part, only the one from the 17th, also on 30m, lasted 11 minutes...

Gil.

Will you be on the air today Gil?

Hi, no, today is our last day... I have a nice video coming up, of the trip, making a few contacts with the Weber MTR...

Gil

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Oh boy, what am I getting into :o

Gil.

Mmmmm.  I so jealous.

I assume you've checked out the International Pietenpol Association.http://www.pietenpols.org/

Their archive of news letters has  lot of great building info.

QuoteI assume you've checked out the International Pietenpol Association.

Sure did! It will be a background project... My primary objective is to get a sailboat again, but having something to do with my spare time, on top of radio, will be nice. Maybe I'll even finish it someday if I'm not too old by then ::)

Gil.

Quote from: gil on October 05, 2017, 08:36:20 AM
Oh boy, what am I getting into :o

Gil.

That's great Gil, everybody needs something to dump their money into :) I cant think of anything better.

Joel
N6ALT

Quoteeverybody needs something to dump their money into

I know I'll eternally be broke, but kicking the bucket with more than $100 on my account would be worse :o

Gil.

Quote from: gil on October 05, 2017, 02:21:56 PM

Quoteeverybody needs something to dump their money into

I know I'll eternally be broke, but kicking the bucket with more than $100 on my account would be worse :o

Gil.

Building the plane will SAVE you money.  Wood, Dacron and fasteners aren't very expensive.  It's going to take so much time to build it that it will prevent you from doing all sorts of other things that cost money :D.

Gil,

What engine will you use? I just watched a couple of Pietenpol videos, one had a 65hp Corvair engine and the other one had a Model A engine, both were great. I have also seen VW engines used.

Joel

QuoteIt's going to take so much time to build it that it will prevent you from doing all sorts of other things that cost money

LOL, you might be right :o

QuoteWhat engine will you use?

No idea! It's really going to be an easy-peasy project... VW is too light and not enough torque, unless you use a reduction drive. It'll fly, but not well and the nose would be very long. A good ol' Continental A65 would work. If I'm rich by then, a Verner five-cylinder radial would be awesome. Ultralights in France are limited to 60kW (80hp), so choices will be limited. The Ford A is great but that big radiator in front of the cockpits is a no-no in my book. If I want a bigger engine I can always redo my pilot's license (my US license isn't accepted here) and register it as an experimental, though ultralight would be better since there is no medical and it could matter in a decade or two...

What's interesting is that a 40hp Ford model A works as well if not better than an 80hp VW... Food for thought... Drag is a b-tch... You need a large diameter prop on that plane, and a direct drive VW isn't going to swing it...

Anyway, changes of me actually getting to the engine installation phase are slim... We'll see in a few years... If I can get a boat I will be gone for 2-3 years in the middle of it, so... It's all conjecture at this point. I only bought the plans...

There sure would be a dipole in that wing, as long cross-country flights at 70mph can be, well, long... CW too, no less.

Gil.

Yup, stay air cooled.  Not only is there more weight and more to go wrong in a water cooled engine, but those Model-A engines aren't that reliable and I have to wonder if there's anyone in your part of the world that knows about them, like how to pour new babbit main bearings.

Aside from that, to me the biggest negative would be the radiator right in front of me.  Besides making spotting traffic a problem (constant s-turns as I fly?) I fly to sight-see.  What I love about parasol planes is you have all the fun and style of a bi-plane, but without that bottom wing getting in the way.

The difficulty here is that max gross weight is 450kg, 991Lbs... So the plane would have to be very very light... No alternator, battery, starter, no electrics, light fabric, and all the tricks possible to lose weight, including myself! The biggest issue is that a lighter engine would stick too far out. A Ford model A weighs around 265Lbs.
Empty weight is presumably 625Lbs with Ford-A, but people end-up with 650 to 750Lbs. I would have to end at around 590Lbs empty with a lighter engine and longer nose... Quite possible.

Gil.