Cool! great video! So I guess after time you will be flying from your own strip?
Great job.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=em-u ... i11ihThXSk


I started to fly my "short" 3 local airport cross-country circuit today! Great light winds & a bit hazy ... trying out a new camera angle / mounting position!

half way to the second airport I smelled a hot oil/ smoky oil smell - just whiffs now & then ???... did not see anything on the ground that could be smelling like that ... looking behind me ... no smoke ( or flames )- engine looks /sounds fine ... nothing amiss on the instruments or alarm lights! Decided to abort the rest of the flight & head directly back to home base to investigate ... was eyeballing all sorts of places to put down in the (long)13 minute dash for "home airport"... just in case the all - normal status changed!!
Post flight inspection showed oily residue on the coolant radiator underside fins .... absolutely NO oil leak evidence & oil level same as start check! Suspect an old spill of oil when we changed hoses has just gravitated through the radiator in the heat ..of a longer operation & weather! Will power wash radiator & see if oddity goes away! YIKES ... be still my heart!



Mowed lawn & raked some more rocks up off the farm landing strip ..... the rest of the day!

Nuff excitement!!

Been missing too many good flying days ... making excuses ... specially with all the Cumulonimbus & T-Storms that have been around the last 2 weeks! (too easy to "Good-ADM" opt-out!! / )
OZ'rora has been patiently waiting ...thoroughly cleaned & preflighted ... with nice new front tire & installed VSI ... ever since I got back from ROTR!

Today light winds ... within my margins .. clear skies ...I just HAD to get my chicken-shit scared butt back in the gyro & suck-up my imaginary boogy-demons!

Tested the new pitch on the prop ... dialed it back some more ... a couple of runway hops & patterns until I was satisfied.... then off to see the district wheat harvest continuing after all the rain & look at our big hayfield from the air. Circled several neighbours places & ours ... did some S-turns ... en route along a road & out at the hayfield ... did turns around point & lower (300ft) "race-track" 1/2 rectangle ... part irregular shape - curves around the swathed area! My newly installed VSI was a great check on my holding altitude ... which I noted on the Altimeter ... doing MUCH better ... keeping consistent Alt overall!

They mysterious oil-burn smell came back intermittently ... at last .. there was evidence on post-flight ... where it was coming from ... a few drops on the engine support beam & traces on the prop ... seems like a very slow weep around the gearbox - engine seal!

I remembered to activate my SPOT GPS .. tracker ... to test & confirm it was going ... now Jim can keep tabs on me!
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... I28gbrFTs8

I got some Gopro video ... but working on getting a new computer ( overdue for an upgrade)to make future Imovies ... for youtube! as ... my Ipad is overloaded!

At the end I saw that I'd activated the flight-track on Ifly ... so I took a picture of my track ... LOOKS a bit like Stan's random wandering-onna-whim! The S-turns show up well & the circles-about a point ... peeking out of top of my maneuvers around the big hayfield! ... not too bad ... considering the time off since ROTR & very little work doing this in OZ'rora!

Well it was great fun ... once I got over the "what's gonna freak me out today"??? syndrome! SO clear ...awesome visibility ... skies all to myself! Dang-it ... finished with a really crappy landing ... overthinking it ... not just DO-it!!!

So what are you gunna do next.....or go to I should say.!!!!

Why the VSI?

Again...great reporting and way to go and get after those boogey men...say Hi to Jim for me.

How's that big bird of his coming along?

Waitin for more adventures from the Drop Bear Flyer!!!

Excellent adventure again. I applaud for making good ADM. When you re not sure you are not 100% either. No one saw the crappy landing and if no pictures it didn't happen...... sooooooo
Nice scribble on the map
Thank you for sharing. I like your adventures.
Oil drippin' ..... part of owning something with an engine
You are doing fine! Keep doing it

Next project is to install a gascolator .... without a way to sample from bottom of tank sumps ... I feel it is necessary ( heeding Vance & Stan's lead!! LOL!)_I DID install curtis valves in the original side tanks ... but the ethanol- Mogas I used last year rotted the tiny O-rings in the sample/drain valves & the seals in the fittings ( which were a bugger to install the first time!) ....... I'm now using the airport ethanol free Mogas & need to install a H2O trap!

Oh & I need to replace the rubber grommets on the bottom of the seat tank / sight gauge. ( 2 years old & now got the new orange ones from Bear P.)

I got some orange fuel dye ... so now I can SEE the fuel level in the side tanks! Working GREAT!

I'm still looking to eventually redesign the nose-wheel ... after the horrid shimmy on the grass strip TO .... I KNOW it's a CRAP design ... (& chews up 4 ply nosewheels ....JEEZE ... I started out with 2 ply!!! ...crap kit stuff!) ....will keep coming back to bite me... I'd like to get hold of a sportcopter nosewheel assembly .. & fit it ... somehow!

THAT will mean I need to install toe/heel independent braking ... & it goes on !!! eventually redo the rotorhead (sportcopter design) & get sportrotors!

By then I'll call it a Buttercoptersportfly!!!!

Don't let anyone else see that trackin cause it looks like you been drinkin !