Honey I Finished The Internet

15 Replies to “Honey I Finished The Internet”

1. Watched that a few days back. Interesting stuff. With a 30 mph wind that thing could probably hover.

   1. Sure can hover. I like to do a trick like that with a student in a glider: point the nose into wind and slow down to near stall (around 35mph in our basic trainer). If the wind is strong enough we are hovering.

      I have even flown backwards over our airfield in a strong wind.

      I did notice there was quite a strong wind in that video, so the “helicopter landing” is very doable.

2. When he is describing the levers and knobs he says ” that is the throttle, the choke , and the mags”

   does anyone know what he means by mags?

   And why there is a lever or knob for that?

   1. Magnetos. Ignition system.

      Levers and knobs might adjust spark timing or could just be for selecting between primary and backup system

      1. thanks

         1. well sda, this is a first.
            speaking of internet, this is my 1st posting from a cell ph capable because l have start.ca provider with wifi connexion which a tenant set up in a matter of moments.

            carry on!

      2. There are two separate ignition systems on aircraft piston engines. There are two spark plugs per cylinder, typically the bottom plug on every cylinder is connected to the right magneto, the top plug to the left magneto. Normally both mags are switched on as starting the flame from both sides of the combustion chamber gives more efficient combustion. During the preflight check, the pilot will always turn off one mag at a time to make sure both are working. There should be a ‘mag drop’ of 50-70 rpm when running on only one mag. If there is a bad lead or plug you will discover it while running on one mag. In the ’20s and ’30s many fire trucks had dual magneto ignition systems to ensure reliable starting.
         Aircraft engines only run at three speeds – idle, takeoff and cruise so their carburetors and ignitions are simpler than cars. The older Lycomings, Continentals and Pratt & Whitneys I worked on have fixed ignition timing. Engines are started and idled with the mixture control in the ‘rich’ position which slows the flame propagation in the cylinder. Too much idling at low rpm and rich mixtures can foul the plugs but leaning the mixture too much can cause pre-ignition. I have had occasion to change all 28 plugs on a DC-3 because I had the mixture too rich on #1 engine.
         From the schematics I can find on line the Rotax engines do not use traditional magnetos. Instead there is a small shaft driven generator providing DC and a timing signal to two CDI (Capacitance Discharge Ignition) black boxes each of which provides spark to one plug per cylinder. Ignition timing is 4deg BTC below 650rpm and 26deg BTC above, changed electronically.

3. Mags are magnetos, they provide the spark. This is standard on any airplane. Typically you have two, to provide redundancy. I don’t know about his snowmobile engine, but on my real airplane engine, I have two driving separate spark plugs so if one mag fails, the other keeps the engine running.

   The other point of a magneto is that it will always produce a spark if the engine is turning, so even if I have complete electrical failure in flight, the engine will keep running.

   1. Early 20th century tech.
      Takes beating and still Keeps on ticking.
      Sometimes the old ways are the best. Sometimes.

   2. Thanks

   3. Had many “tough” contests with a mag. (Non-aviation type of course.) One holds the wire while the other turns the flywheel. When it goes “pop” the armpit hairs light up.

      1. I was told my paternal grandfather would check for a miss on his old McCormick Deering tractor that way. Grab hold of the plug wire at the spark plug end, if it kicked like a mule, that wire was good. On to the next one.

         We used to play with the electric fence in a similar fashion. Pick a blade of grass, lick it, lay it on the wire, the winner was the one who got closer to the wire with his fingers.

4. This isn’t unique at all. There are plenty of airplanes that can be slowed to high 20s mph with slats and flaps, and enough wing area. The wind is blowing 15-20, so the ground speed is 5-10. To get controlled flight under 25 mph requires huge wings that make it too difficult to handle in any kind of gusty conditions, so there is a practical limit to how big you can make the wings.

   1. STOL great for bush country.

5. The Gossamer Albatross had a top speed of 18 mph, and averaged less than 8 mph in the Channel crossing.