Flying the Auster.

[1946]

There seems to be a trend of "Flying the ----" so why not have one on the gentlemans aerial carriage--drum roll--fanfair the venerable "AUSTER".
Being a recent owner and refurbisher of this delightful machine, I thought why not. Having only done a few hours training in the aircraft I am supprised at my landing attempts-so far no bounce- but the take off's, thats another story. Ever seen a drunk snake, trying to catch the swing seems to be the problem. We are talking Cirrus Minor 2 power, 100 ponies. The instructor has given me various methods to try and cure the swing--but!. Any hints.

[ormus55]

i had a 30 minute flight in an auster at skegness aerodrome c1976. now disused i think?
cant remember any details of the actual aircraft, except the flight was just glorious.
one abiding memory was the all exposed control wires inside the cabin!

[breakscrew]

I reckon that one landing in four of mine is half decent - however, I think that the bouncy balls that they fitted to the end of the undercarriage struts instead of wheels on the Mk9 must take some of the blame.

[BroomstickPilot]

1946,

From your description, I assume you must be flying an Auster Autocrat J1. The J1 had the Blackburn Cirrus Minor II engine of 90 b.h.p. (not 100). I trained for my PPL on this type in 1960. (The J1N had the larger DH Gypsy Major engine of, I believe, 120 b.h.p.).

I have looked in the handling notes for this aircraft, but all it says is; 'the natural swing of the aircraft to the right is easily counter-acted by use of the (left) rudder'. (British engines rotated in the opposite direction to the Continentals and Lycomings, so it's open the throttle left rudder, close the throttle right rudder).

To the best of my recollection, what my instructor taught was;
1. Line the aircraft up on the runway and let it roll forward a little to straighten the tailwheel.
2. Commence to open the throttle steadily, at the same time pushing the control column well forward to lift the tail.
3. As the aircraft assumes the level position, (with the horizon a couple of inches above the coming), use the opposite end of the runway as an aiming point and keep the aircraft on that line with rudder as it accelerates no matter how much it bounces, (and on Barton's rough grass runways, it bounced a lot).
4. The aircraft should fly off comfortably at 40 m.p.h.

My enduring memories of this delightful aircraft are the way she almost seemed to roll onto her back during spin entry (you could see the ground through the roof panel) and the hissing and crackling noise of the dry sump oil system and the dying whine of the gyros as you closed the door and turned to walk away from her after a flight.

In the Memorabilia Forum there used to be a thread called 'Austerrrrrrr'. Look it up: you'll enjoy it.

Broomstick.

[BroomstickPilot]

1946,

2. Commence to open the throttle steadily, at the same time pushing the control column well forward to lift the tail.

After posting, my memory began to seach back to my days on the Auster.

As I now recall, I used to advance the throttle just a little ahead of pushing the stick forward.

I think the essence of the thing, however, is to apply the power smoothly and progressively, so that you can balance it off with the rudder more easily.

These days, with Lycoming engined tricycles, I think we tend to be less careful about applying power and pile it on quite quickly, trusting rather more to the steerable nosewheel to keep us straight.

Another tip. On a hot day, when there is only the pilot aboard and the fuel tank is more than half empty, she becomes very markedly susceptable to 'ground effect' when landing, and will float on for ever. On a short runway, the only way you may be able to get her down will be by using 'precautionary landing' (i.e. forced landing with power) technique, so make sure you know it.

Broomstick.

[possel]

I forget who first said it but ...

"There are two sorts of Auster pilot; those who have ground-looped and those who are going to!"

[djpil]

I forget who first said it but ...
"They say if you can land an Auster you can land anything. I still can't land anything and I'm not too sure about Austers."

[Jetscream 32]

Ahh a lovely mount!!

As with most taildraggers - line up - roll forward slightly stick hard back and aileron into wind - smooth application to full power - try and roll the first 10 feet with stick back whilst maintaining runway heading or general direction you would like to depart - WHILST AVOIDING THE HEEL BRAKES - progressivly stick forward - tail up feeding in the left - tail should have been up in the - fly off - attitude for a few seconds before she lifts serenly into the yonder!!!

Let me know if you want a proper conversion - stick & rudder together!!
:ok:

[Them thar hills]

But are you STRONG enough to land a Terrier ??!
(or was it Terroriser)?
:)

[Sleeve Wing]

But are you STRONG enough to land a Terrier ??!
(or was it Terroriser)?:)


Are you left-handed or right-handed then, tth ???

Anyway, I think the Terror was easier to land tidily than an Autocrat. Undercarriage geometry was better. Bit like landing a Chippie..............

And, yes, Broomstick, agree, let it roll a bit on T/O to get some airflow over the rudder before stick forward to get the tail up.

Rgds, Sleeve.

[Them thar hills]

SW
Handed ?
I try not to be handed, but the Terrier had very large and heavy elevators I recall. Any sort of a bounce and the stick wanted to do its own thing !
(in my defence I did my PPL on Condors in '72)
Anyhow, no-one will read this as they're all on about Chipmunks and Pittses yet again.
On - topic, for the directionally challenged, I advocate making small corrections early, not large ones late.
:}

[1946]

Thanks for all the replies, and the great hints on keeping the old girl strait on take off. A Maul driver at the 'Club' is giving me a hand and has advised, as perprune replies, taxi strait, advance the throttle slowly at first, leave the tail on the ground for a short space of time, then lift the tail slowly after positive direction control is obtained and fly off at about 35/40 kts. It is a matter of practice makes perfect, get airborn safely the way that suits you best, wether it be tail up or slightly down.
The Arrrr-Auster thread was what introduced me to the delights of pruning. I have had some great contacts, and a lot of help and advice from PPrune Peoples. You are a great bunch!

[jabberwok]

One more point. Swing isn't a fixed value that requires X amount of rudder. As you open the engine up for take off you will initiate some forces that will create a swing - torque, P effect etc. You may even correct for these quite quickly.

Stage 2 comes when you raise the tail as precession will induce a further swing component. It only lasts for the period you are lifting the tail but most pilots sense this and have already started to correct for it. Once the tail is up this precession effect stops and you have to adjust for this. I can't say reduce rudder pressure because the other forces creating a swing may still be increasing as airspeed builds up.

Putting all the theory aside though it is more a matter of developing a feel for what is going on rather than any logical analysis of the various forces that come into play. It took me many, many take offs before I could stop my drunken pig meanderings. :\

[Gipsy Queen]

i had a 30 minute flight in an auster at skegness aerodrome c1976. now disused i think?
cant remember any details of the actual aircraft, except the flight was just glorious.
one abiding memory was the all exposed control wires inside the cabin!
In the early 'sixties, when those enormous bouffant beehive hairdos were all the rage, I took a female friend up in a J1N from Rochester.

She was rather nervous about it all and confidence was not improved by snagging the top of this creation in the elevator overhead trim cable as she got in. Managed to extricate most of it but some had to be carefully detached in order to free her from the mechanism. Not funny at the time but she did overcome her nervousness sufficiently to be amused by the scalp moving up and down the fuselage with each trim change.

The handle was filched from a Vauxhall 14 window winder. Happy days!

[ormus55]

many thx for the handle info.
often wondered what car the handle was off?
i was pretty sure it was summat like a lanchester or rover c1938!

i can picture the handle right now.
happy days.

[Amos Keeto]

Thanks for all the replies, and the great hints on keeping the old girl strait on take off. A Maul driver at the 'Club' is giving me a hand and has advised, as perprune replies, taxi strait, advance the throttle slowly at first, leave the tail on the ground for a short space of time, then lift the tail slowly after positive direction control is obtained and fly off at about 35/40 kts. It is a matter of practice makes perfect, get airborn safely the way that suits you best, wether it be tail up or slightly down.
The Arrrr-Auster thread was what introduced me to the delights of pruning. I have had some great contacts, and a lot of help and advice from PPrune Peoples. You are a great bunch!

What's the reg of your aircraft and where do you keep it?

[1946]

Amos Keeto I am in the land down under.
The Reg on the Aircraft is VH-AIK (ex G-AIGL exported in 1952) and is kept at Cambridge airport, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

[Amos Keeto]

Amos Keeto I am in the land down under.
The Reg on the Aircraft is VH-AIK (ex G-AIGL exported in 1952) and is kept at Cambridge airport, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Oh blimey, this limey was going to ask if he can pop over and take a photo! Good Luck and great to know there are so many Austers surviving in Oz.

[LowNSlow]

broomstickpilot according to my manual the Cirrus II is rated at 100hp for 5 minutes with 90 hp as max continuous.

1946 glad to see you've got the old girl flying and that you are enjoying the peculiarities of Auster ownership. One great addition to the Autocrat (or any other aircraft with a the daft free castoring tailwheel) is tailwheel steering. Ron Neal had the pukka Auster control horns for attaching to the rudder. Makes taxiing SO much easier than the bursts of power to energise the rudder followed by a stab at the heel brakes to stop the swing. Regarding the take off swing I concur that keeping the tail down until there is sufficient airflow over the rudder is a great help in keeping the initial roll straight. Also, on landing, get the flaps up as soon as possible as they blank the airflow over the rudder. The secondary benfit is that you also lose the lift they produce. I've found the best way to reduce (note I said reduce not eliminate;) ) bounce on landing is NEVER touch down at more than 40 MPH (not Knots).

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi LowNSlow,

I have just checked my handling notes again.

These, by the way, are the handling notes for the Autocrat published by the Association of British Aero Clubs and Centres, I suppose, sometime in the 1950s and issued to me in 1960.

On one page in the 'Descriptive - General' section it gives the engine as 90 b.h.p. On another page in the 'Operating Data' section it gives the engine as being 88/90 b.h.p.

Nowhere does it mention 100 b.h.p. even for the five minute limit at full power.

What are the notes you have got? Is it something from Blackburn's themselves? I must say I'm curious.

However, all this is academic. Probably no engine will give its full blueprinted power output, even when new. Any Cirrus Minor engine is going to be at least fifty odd years old, so its going to give even less.

But a lovely aeroplane with a splendid old engine nontheless.

Regards.

Broomstick.

[airborne_artist]

BS pilot - what was the octane value of the fuel used in 1946, compared to today's fuel, and would that make a difference to power?

[BroomstickPilot]

airborne_artist,

In my handling notes, the fuel is given as, "normally 73 octane, or unleaded fuel of any octane number up to 80".

Octane is only an anti-knock rating. So fuelling the aircraft on 100LL would probably allow the engine to be worked harder at a higher altitude than on 73 to 80 octane because the onset of knocking (detonation) would probably be delayed.

It would not provide 10 more b.h.p.

regards,

Broomstick.

[LowNSlow]

Broomstickpilot they are photocopies of the original Blackburn manual but I am relying on a memory that has been prven wrong before! Using the same memory, isn't the Cirrus I rated at 90 hp and the II / IIA at 100hp? My Minor II still pulls the required 2,050 rpm for the run up and comes pretty close to the book climb / cruise figures so it should be producing fairly close to it's rated horsepower.

[gasax]

Stolen from Wikipedia:

Cirrus Engine was a British aircraft engine manufacturer, known for their line of 4-cylinder air-cooled inline engines for general aviation use. The company was bought by Blackburn Aircraft in 1934, and operated as a separate division until production ended in the post-WWII era.

Cirrus's first product was the 90 hp (67 kW) Cirrus Minor, which passed its 50 hour type rating in 1925. It was the first air-cooled inline engine, a design that proved extremely popular for light aircraft. The basic layout was quickly copied by a number of other manufacturers.

The Minor was known for excellent reliability, and had a major "win" when it was selected to power the RAF's Auster observation aircraft. The RAF's version had several modifications, known as the Series I. Although externally identical, the Series II engine was redesiged to operate on 77 octane fuel, as opposed to the original's 70, increasing power to 100 hp (75 kW).

And even more amazingly you can buy an 18cc replica of it for your model!!

Enjoy your Austering! And look after that antique dragging you airward!

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi LowNSlow,

Thanks for your response.

However, there you are. Gasax has come up with the goods: thanks gasax.

It would appear that when you apply that last half inch of travel on the throttle lever, and the engine switches over from 'hot air' to 'cold air', and the extra petrol jet cuts in, and you get that last fifty revs, she is giving you 100 b.h.p.

Good old girl!

Broomstick.

[gasax]

Just as bad an arrangement as the Gipsy with its 'power valve' which turns it into a 'fuel cooled' engine at high throttle settings!

[Lister Noble]

BS pilot - what was the octane value of the fuel used in 1946, compared to today's fuel, and would that make a difference to power?

Raising the octane rating allows an increased ignition advance,which usually increases the power output at higher revs.
This can often show a significant increase in bhp.
Lister:)

[1946]

The little 'Blue Book" or owners manual has a statement similar to : Maximum revs is 2600rpm for five min. which is the 100hp rateing. Normal cruise is around the 2100rpm and will give approxmatly 85/90 hp.(Depends on prop pitch)
AIK came with a fully sterable tail wheel, I think of the Maul variety, and brings the back of the aircraft up slightly and may give a better forward view.
Have been told 35kts is a good landing speed with two notches of flap, tried the full flap landing, woah! was loosing it fast till the flaps came up.
I have just spent the last couple of months perfecting a fiberglass replica instrument pannel, full faceia, looks nice with a black hammer tone paint finish, even if I do say so myself. The old pannel has more holes and gaps in it than a drafty motor bike.