Hello all...

Enjoying a bit of business over here in London and was introduced to the SkyCar! Looks absolutely fantastic, and a really interesting concept for some "off road" adventures. Check out their website HERE and more about the expedition HERE

I sure enjoy the videos of trikes flying near the clouds...  but ...I am wondering if it is a good idea to post them for all to see?

 Most of these videos show trikes breaking the rules of the air by being way to close to those clouds. Could we be opening ourselves up for trouble?

Since we're still cleaning house a bit, I thought I would share a link to our archived "classic" Trikepilot site, where you can still check out some of our more popular content. One of the most popular features were the videos by Bill and Wesley Fortney.

It seems rather "quaint" now in the unlimted video hosting for free world we have in 2008 to remember that back in 2002 to 2006 we actually were very concerned over file size and bandwidth! These movies are all tightly packed for good reason.. but still hold a ton of bang for the buck ;-)

While you await our updates, please feel free to check out these awesome videos. LINK

I just bought a new prop. It should have been 62''. When I put it on it was 65''. I have 9'' ground clearance. Is this enough to fly off grass. It's an Ivo that may can be cut down, but I didn't want to. Any comments. Thanks.

Wow, what a turnout so far... we've crossed back over 200 members signed-up in the last couple days. Thanks Gang!

Just to update all of you, we have built our first migration tool and have a couple more to go, but we WILL be rescuing the hostages from the original Trikepilot site on the "other" network... guaranteed. At the same time, we're creating a ton of new and really useful tools and features for the site that we could have never done on the other platform.

Tonight I'm going to start rebuilding the Pilot Tools section so you can get access again to your Wind and Weather and Map data...

Keep the faith, keep experimenting, and we'll be back on track in no time flat!

Spence

Hi Guys, this an update of where me and Gunny are at the moment.

I have posted a video too, check it out., anyways happy reading....

Whilst Rob has been gallivanting off around Europe winning medals and drinking loads of booze, me and about two hundred other rookies have been camped out on the airfield waiting for the superior flying bean to once again take us aloft.
 
For me it had been around five weeks since I had been up with the seagulls and I must admit I felt that I had grown gills, and had also contemplated selling the GT and buying a boat, but just as I was about to sell the old bird, the sun came out, and any thoughts of selling her disappeared, and my eyes were once again skyward.
 
Saturday soon came around for my lesson, so off I drove to the airfield, and what a surprise, loads of activity, as club members were off for a flight to either the isle of white or to some open day to a MOD place, (sorry the name eludes me). The weather was over cast and the cloud base was low, I would have said about 700 to 800ft., so the old boys who were off for the weekend popped the kettle on again and patiently waited for the weather to pick up. For me, it was time to rig up Gunny, (Gunny is what I call my GT450, G-CFGT), which normally takes me around 30 to 40 mins.
 
During this process I met John who flies a Tanarg and Richard who flies a Quantum 912, these were the boys who were off to the MOD place. Once Gunny was rigged, I popped over to the office to see who was up before me, that guy was Nigel, who I had met before.
 
Whilst Nige was having his lesson, I set about genning up for my Nav exam, it seemed that I had only just got into the book when it was time for me and Gunny.
 
You may be thinking why has GT not gone solo yet,…. Well I am lead to believe, I am ready, but the bloody wind is always blowing in the wrong direction, and therefore, I have to wait for the conditions to be right. So it was “Clear Prop”, and away to runway 15 for an hour of circuits (yet again).
 
During the circuits, I saw the two groups slowly disappear south, heading for the seaside, wishing I could go too, but sadly me and Gunny have a long way to go yet.
 
The first two circuits were, pants, as I wasn’t using enough power to steady us through the turbs, and on one of the finals, over the old “joe anner keys”, I initiated a go around to Robs amazement, he did say that I would have got in on that one, but it was my call, and he wouldn’t knock anyone for going around, then slapped my crash helmet and called me a tossa! Nice.
 
The remainder of the flight went well, even though some of the landings were a little bumpy, Rob said that my general flying is good, and as soon as the weather turns for better, I should be up there on my own…. Pigs will fly before I go chuffin solo Rob.
 
Happy Landings
 
GT & Gunny

Back from the Brink!

Just a quick update to let you all know that things are starting to shape-up over here. We sent out an email to most of our previous members, and already have over 175 trikers back on the new site...awesome!

Some things we are still working on, and want to keep you aware of so you can look for them coming online shortly:

• Pilot Tools Section Restored (Maps, Winds, Etc.)
  
• Better Video Player and Embed Capability
• Arcade
• Layout changes to make it easier to read and share
• Better Instant Messaging to compliment the Video Chat
• Member Map

...and much more.

Thanks!

Spence

MZ 202 Engine by Compact Radial Engine

The following question was posted on a forum at HomeBuiltAirplanes.com  from a member  "I have a 503 on my PPC and a 582 on my Slipstream. I would like to replace the 503 but would like to try another engine beside the 582. My friend has a hirth and I won't get one based on his success. Anyone flying the MZ202 or MZ202i Comments?"

Below is my response to the posted question and editorial after my original post

Leon Massa owner of Compact Radial Engines provided more insight I thought I should update my post with his comments, which are inserted below in "Red"

But, I got in the last word with my rebuttal posted in "Green"

The MZ201 engine has a long history. It is an Italian design dating back ~ 12 years. The really big difference between the Hirth and the MZ is how they are made. The Hirth is a cast molding process that uses vibration to remove any air trapped in the pouring process. This type of casting leaves the aluminum more brittle and less dense than other methods. Case in point, it is very common to strip the spark plug threads in the Hirth heads. Talk to owners and you will find many have had to put some form of thread reconstruction to fix the problem.

The MZ201, MZ202, MZ301 are manufactured using a high pressure injection molding process. This makes the crankcase, cylinders and heads more like billet aluminum. Injection molding assures no air introduced during the molding process because only liquefied aluminum is passed into the mold, no vibration is needed. The result is a stronger engine able to transfer heat more efficiently to the cooling fins.

The MZ201 was designed as a free-air engine and worked fine in a tractor configuration, however, cooling proved to be a problem in a pusher setup. (No, this is incorrect. The 201 only has one carb,it runs at less rpm and produces less hp than the 202,therefore it produces less heat as it is not working as hard, max power is achieved at 4700-5000 rpm.It can be used in tractor or pusher config) Thus the introduction of the MZ202. I am unclear who introduced the MZ202 fan cooled engine. However, Leon Massa purchased the manufacturing rights for the engines. His company, Compact Radial Engines, Inc. is located in Surrey, BC Canada. Leon still has the engine's major components molded in Italy. When he receives the components they are then CNC machined to within 2 mil (0.0005" depending on the part and the fit needed) tolerances for final fit. I know of no other company that uses this good of a specification.

The MZ cylinders are Nikasil, which is a ceramic coating (and nickle) on the cylinder bore. This type of cylinder is much stronger and heat resistant than pressed in steel cylinders. The Nikasil bonded to the aluminum allows the more efficient transfer of heat from the cylinder wall to the cooling fins. Should you have the misfortune of a piston seizure a Nikasil cylinder can better stand up to the overheated piston. With a steel cylinder a piston seizure will, more often than not, require it to be bored to clean up the melted aluminum that fills in the voids in the steel.

When Leon first started marketing the MZ202 in the USA there were some problems. Some were created by Leon (not likely) (OK Leon, your pride is showing) and some (all) were caused by the end user.

Leon's biggest problem was the final assembly setup that left the factory. That problem caused most engines to run rough and often times "4 stroking" which is a term used to described a condition similar to running with the choke in the full on setting. It was not an easy problem to overcome for most owners.

The problem itself was simple to correct after discovering that Leon was shipping the MZ202 with the carburetors jetted two full steps below sea level. (This carb setup was done on purpose and was "setup" by a "Bing" rep right from the Bing factory.The setup was that the carbs were set rich at sea level so that customers could run the engine right out of the box without worrying about "running it to lean", all customers need to "tune" the engine for their own conditions so the factory carb settings were in most cases too rich.We could not possibly setup every engine to suit everybody) A fact that Leon forgot to tell his customers about. (No, It should be obvious that you would have to "tune" the engine to your own conditions and enviorment) (if that is the case, the customer still needs to know the engine is tuned way rich!) His reasoning for the very rich carburetor setting was to assure a problem free engine break in procedure and he never knew at what altitude the engine would be put into service. (more on the break in procedure later)

Several owners and dealers ended up sending their engines back to Compact Radial Engines because the engines would not run good. I was one of those owners. However, rather than sending my engine to him, I loaded it in my car and drove to the factory.

Leon was very accommodating and spent his entire day disassembling, inspecting with a micrometer and caliper and then reassembling the engine. I spent the full day at his side and learned a great deal about the full manufacturing process. I was very impressed indeed.

Each cylinder after final CNC machining and Nikasil coated is inspected for tolerance and is given one of three classifications (A, B, C). The pistons are also made to match each of these A, B, C, classifications. The result is a cylinder and a piston that match the MZ clearance specification. I will tell you these variances from cylinder to cylinder are very small but one that Leon was concerned about. After all this was to be an engine for aircraft, not land locked vehicles. He knows first hand that a pilot can't just pull over to the side, get out and fix a problem  (yes, I'm a pilot too (GA and PPG)

My problem was nothing more that an engine with way to rich jet settings throughout the rpm range. Once that was corrected by jetting, re jetting and re jetting again, I got it right. My MZ202 in a pusher configuration does not vary more than 30 degrees F from idle to full power or anything in between. The transfer from each jet's range to the next jet's range is near perfect. And, the MZ202 runs great!

The other problem Leon has seen is poor lubrication. There are a great deal of different 2-cycle oils on the market. According to Leon most are marginal at best. Therefore, Leon has elected to use oversize ball bearings on the crankshaft. These large roller bearings on both ends of the connecting rods help protect the engine from poor performing 2-cycle oils.

During my visit Leon addressed the oil issue in great detail. He showed me two MZ202 engines that experienced engine failure due to lack of lubrication.

The first engine was disassembled with the crankcase halves exposed. I could easily see that the connecting rod bearing had been overheated to the point the rod itself turned blue from heat. Interesting thing is the air and oil/fuel mixture enter the engine at the position of the connecting rod bearing on the crankshaft. At this juncture the rod bearing would be the first thing the air oil/fuel mixture would come into contact with. It looked to me as though the owner forgot to mix oil with his fuel. Don't take bets that the customer ever admitted to doing that, because you would lose.

The second engine failure I saw was due to a rod bearing failure on the piston. This is a crucial area where good lubrication is a must. Leon let me feel the underside of the piston and it felt like it was rubber coated. He then showed me the wrist pin. It was blue from high heat. Leon stated this area of any 2-cycle engine gets the least amount of lubrication, therefore the oil used must be of the highest quality or failures will occur. Leon then went on to teach me about 2-cycle oils.

I have been a believer of high quality synthetic 2-cycle oils for years. I used them in my racing snowmobiles. Anyhow, Leon told me about an environmental requirement in the USA for new oil sold in the USA. All new oil must contain 10% recycled product Thank you Ralph Nadir. Leon said he highly recommends Castrol TTS synthetic oil because it is made in Italy from 100% virgin stock. He then went on to state lubrication is never an issue with the TTS oil. He has not had an engine failure to date with owners using this oil. That doesn't mean that other high quality oils won't work, he just has a lot of faith in TTS oil.

Leon used my engine to show me another advantage of TTS oil. I had been using Red Line Racing Synthetic 2-cycle oil. Leon took a scraper from his pocket and pushed it across the top of one of my pistons. The crud just pealed off in a soft gob of black. Leon said this was unburned oil and would be the reason de-coking would be needed often. He then showed me a piston and head using TTS oil. There was a complete absence of carbon build up and you could see the jetting of this piston and head had been right on. Would you care to guess what brand of oil I use now? Problem is Castrol TTS oil is hard to find. For more information where to get TTS oil, send me a private email. I am not telling you this just to sell oil.

Final thing - the engine break in procedure is well detailed in the owners manual and full break in takes less than 10 minutes. With this step completed, re-jet the engine using Bing carburetor's jetting charts and go fly.

As far as being a test pilot for the MZ202, that phase has been done. In fact a single place light weight helicopter called the Mosquito uses the MZ202 as it's only engine option. In this setup the engine is running at full sustained power all of the time it is in flight. Now that is reliability! (yes, and I think I have shipped about 60 MZ202's so far to the Mosquito guys, maybe more I lost count)
(one last comment..... you must run premium or high octane gas to prevent pre-ignition)
 

This past April at Sun-N-Sun I had a chance to observe two versions of the Mosquito helicopter in flight and on the ground. In both cases I was most impressed with the on the ground operating conditions of the MZ202. The engine is started and warmed up like any other 2 cycle engine. After the engines were up to operating temperatures the engines were brought up to operating rpm which is full throttle. That is right full throttle with no load on the engine. That's right a free running engine with no load against it for more than 5 minutes. Unbelievable, but true! As I watched the two pilots would sit on the ground with no collective applied to the rotor. The engine was running to the point I could hear the reed valves flutter. As soon as a pilot applied a bit of collective to the main rotor the flutter would be gone and the engine purred ever so nice. The engine never changed pitch, such as labor, when lift-off collective was applied. They would fly around the pattern, land and sit there for more than 5 minutes at full throttle with no collective and then do it all over again. I watched this cycle go on and on for over an hour on one of the Mosquito's all of the time running at full throttle. I have never seen a 2 cycle engine run that hard. I asked how many hours were on the two Mosquitoes I saw. One had 42 hours and the other had 45 hours at the start of Sun-N-Fun and had been flying every day during their flying window. I never did get to talk to the second pilot because he was having to much fun flying and had not stopped by the time I left. I would have to estimate the second Mosquito topped 50 hours before the End of Sun-N-Fun.
Test Pilot, I think not.

Rocky
Just telling it like it is