"Little Nellie" has her first Annual/100 hour check

So, my little ultralight will be one year old on 6th September and, since I'll be in the UK until the 4th September, I thought I'd get her Annual Inspection done now. This way I can come home and fly her immediately :)

The check was very straightforward. First of all Khun Narin (the engineer) checked the wing fabric, frame and trike frame for cracks, signs of wear, condition, etc. We then gave the engine fresh oil, a new filter, new spark plugs and a compression test - all was OK. I then took her for a 15-minute test flight with Khun Narin and she flew as well as she ever did - smooth, quick and responsive.

I'll be testing the new BioniX wing on 14th August at Sywell when I'm in the UK. It'll be interesting to see what it's like but it would need to be very good indeed if I'm to replace my iXess 13 wing. The BioniX has an area of 15.1 sq.m. and I think I may find it heavy in roll after my 13.5 sq.m. iXess 13. What I like about the BioniX is the fact it will stall at about 32 mph (solo) compared to the 42 mph I have at the moment - this would make emergency landings in short spaces/ditching safer. As I've said before, there are very few places to land in Phuket if the engine goes silent so the slower I can land, the better. I also like the fact that the BioniX will cruise trimmed at about 80 mph, my current wing is about 70 mph.

I'll just have to wait and see..........

Flying my new Husky South

Late last year I went to Afton, Wyoming to buy myself an Aviat Husky A-1C; Huskys are made in Afton. Having paid the money I had her "torn-down" and shipped to Eastern Flying Club, near Pattaya, Thailand - a great club with many enthusiastic members! Here she was re-assembled and underwent her flight testing and, I flew her for about 15 hours to get the hang of her - I'd never flown a tail-dragger before and the techniques are a little different. Her name is Oh! Natty Jo-Jo after my daughters Natalie and Joanna.

On 20th July I flew her some 400 miles South to a temporary airfield, she'll be moved to another airfield sometime in the near future - she behaved in the ladylike manner you'd expect from a well-bred debutant! The trip took 3 hours and 40 minutes and so we were cruising with a groundspeed of about 115 mph at 10,500 feet and, we had around a 10 mph headwind the whole way. On this trip I averaged 7.8 US Gals per hour (29.15 l/hr) solo.

She's an A-1C with the Lycoming 0-360 (180 HP) engine. She has 31" Alaskan Bushwheels and takes-off/lands in pretty short distances. She is a BUSH PLANE:)