Ahhhh Austerrrrrrrrrr (Merged)

[Windy Militant]

LowNSlow
I'll enquire about the speeds. So far I believe that apart from a few steep turns the only aero's that the group have done in our's are a spin for the annual.
However one thing that I have discovered is that the VNE varies as to the number of ribs in the Ailerons, at least on the J1 N. If you've got more than nine (I think) you've got the go faster version.
Not sure if ours has the aerobatic seats though, one of the things that we're checking on.

Orange Arm Waver
We were at the VAC Daffodill last year and depending on servicability will probably do as many fly ins as we can manage.:ok:

[LowNSlow]

Windy M I'll count my ribs when I get home. It's easy to see if you've got aerobatic seats, they are the ones with four straps, two of which come over the back of the seat. The " standard" ones have a lap & diagonal fixed belt like an old Morris Minor.

Orange Arm Waver I've been meaning to join the VAC since the chairman visited Rush Green in his Cessna 140 ;) ;) I'll do it for sure this year.

[Windy Militant]

Hello LowNSlow,
In that case, we've got the non aero seats. No speeds on the paper work just the G figures.
Cheers WM

[LowNSlow]

Windy good luck if you are looking for genuine aerobatic seats, they are as reare as hen's teeth :sad: If Austers were permit aeroplanes then we could submit a mod to PFA Engineering and stand a reasonable chance of getting it passed. Don't fancy going down that route with the CAA though!

[Windy Militant]

LowNSlow,
Don't know about the rest of the group but I'm not feeling that brave I'll stick to a few steep turns now and then and maybe the occaisional gentle chandelle ;)

[LowNSlow]

I tend to agree with you there Windy . Maybe after flying the Aiglet I'll change my mind.

[Vick Van Guard]

I am learning to fly an Aiglet Trainer (I have to keep telling myself it can't be that hard to land well after all it is only a Trainer ).

Anyway I have just checked the flight manual and it says that;

'' The aeroplane has been demonstrated to have safe handling characteristics in the following aerobatic manoeuvres''

Spins
Tight turns
Inside loops
Slow rolls (very slow I should imagine)
Stall turns
Half inside loop and roll out
Half roll and dive out

I think I will just concentrate on the bouncing for the moment.

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG I've been told that the Aiglet Trainer is different to the other Austers when landing due to the wingspan being reduced by 4'. I find the Autocrat quite 'stiff legged' especially with new bungees and also VERY sensitive to tyre pressures. Too little and she takes forever to get off wet grass, to much and she bounces back and forth like a SWB Landrover when taxiing and like a kangaroo if you land a tad too fast or if you flop her on from 2' up.

I would imagine the Aiglet floats less than the AUtocrat due to the reduced wingspan so these bouncy tendencies would be worse!

[Vick Van Guard]

LnS

Ahh now then I pumped the tyres up before last weeks bouncing session so that might explain it (he says hopefully). Out of eleven landings I only managed to do one without bouncing!

I went mad with the Light Aero Spare's catalogue yesterday, and ordered a steerable Maule tailwheel. I have had a couple of taxing experiences where I have been a mere passenger as the Auster has decided it wants to go its own way despite applying everything available to the contrary. OK on an empty airfield but I would very nervous at a fly-in where space is tight.

As my instructor Mr Bell remarked last week ''an Auster is not that hard to fly, but it is hard to fly well ''.

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG does your rudder have the control horn fitted to take the bungees or springs necessary to connect to the streerable tailwheel? If not I got a set from Ron Neal last year, he might have some more or be prepared to fabricate some to the original drawings. If you need to do this, I'll order some as well cos if I change the Autocrat for another Auster I'll want a steerable tailwheel again. Auster spares have original Auster steerable tailwheels. They work out around 600 squids if I remember rightly. How much is the Maule costing you?

[Vick Van Guard]

LnS

My Auster had a steerable tailwheel at one stage as it has the bracket on the rudder post. It had a new spring fitted about two years ago so may have lost it then.

The Maule unit is about £210 for the wheel and £220 for the mount (or vica-versa). Throw in another £18 for the 'latest' anti-shimmy springs. So a few quid cheaper and certainly cheaper than the Scott type.

I was down at Ron's place a couple of weeks ago, he remembered working on my Auster in 1964! It was owned then by Lord Trefgarne , who was mate 's with Charles Masefield the son of Peter Masefield who was the MD at Austers.
There was a very nice J/1 in the hangar which, might be for sale and a Mk1 Auster which will be nice when finished!

[LowNSlow]

Considerably cheaper than the Scott. I was going to replace mine with an Auster item until I found out what the Auster one cost and what my Scott was worth!

[Stampe]

Did a bit of flying in an Aiglet trainer many years back seem to remember the manufacturers handbook recomended an approach speed of 55 knots which is a lot for an Auster presumably down to the loss of wing area which I felt took some of the charm of the breed away.Didn,t like it much to be honest .As for aerobatting any Auster no thanks be like entering the Monte Carlo rally in tractor.:}

[LowNSlow]

Stampe harsh but probably accurate compared to your namesake :(

The Aiglet does look 'different' with it's relatively narrow wingspan.

I've heard that they are a bit of a ground gripper compared to other Austers despite the bigger engine. Any thoughts on that?

[Vick Van Guard]

I don't think the wingspan makes a huge difference, not that I am an expert on these matters. My Aiglet J/5F can get off fairly smartish when required, but has had the 145hp Gypsy fitted in lieu of the 135hp, which almost makes it J/5L apparently.

I think the approach speed would probably be 55 mph wouldn't it? All the figures in my POH are in mph. Stall speed is below 40mph with full flap which is ok by me:ok:

One significant advantage is that you do not have to open that last hangar door (the one that always sticks) quite so wide when you want to put it away:p

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG 55 mph sounds better than 55 knots. If I landed mine at 55 knots I'd bounce all the way to Hatfield and there ain't a runway there anymore :{

The Autocrat (Cirrus II - 100hp) gets off the ground, solo with a full tank (15 Imp gall), in about 150-175 yards in a 5 knot headwind. How does the Aiglet compare?

The Aiglet Trainer I'm thinking of has a 145hp Gipsy 10-1 in her, unfortunately without the ring mod. Oil consumption has been described as 'unbelievable'. The current owner is going to sort that out before I get my mitts on her though.

The wingspan is a major bonus for me as well. The Autocrat only has 18" or so between the wingtips and the doors so delicacy is called for. She has had a few scrapes but no damage beyond requiring a touch-up thank goodness.

[Windy Militant]

We've been wondering about this for a while. Our ASI is marked
Air Miles per Hour. The speeds Placard in the Aircraft is marked in Knots. So we've presumed that Air Miles per hour were the same as knots. However whilst flying in the comapany of other aircraft the speed seems to be more like Statute Miles Per Hour. I guess we'll have to check the ASI Against the GPS to see what it does actually read!

[LowNSlow]

Windy and just to add more confusion is your altimeter calibrated in metres :uhoh: :uhoh: Landing at 55 knots must be interesting :ooh: :ooh: As mentioned before, I usually aim for 50 mph ish over the fence with touchdown at about 35-40mph ;)

[Vick Van Guard]

I was just wondering if there would be enough interest in setting up an Auster message board?

This thread cannot run for ever and I guess it's not really that interesting to non Auster folk.

I was thinking about approaching the club about it.

What do you think :confused:

[LowNSlow]

Sounds like a good idea to me. It might liven up the club's website.

What was on the cover of the last Auster Club mag? I don't recall getting one for quite a while now.

Is there an Auster section on the PFA's BB? I haven't been there for a while and I think it is currently closed for maintenance.

[Vick Van Guard]

IIRC the front cover of the last magazine was a camouflaged Auster taking off from a strip in Devon, with a backdrop of trees. It showed the camo off to good effect :ok:

I have heard PB is not well at the moment, so could possibly effect delivery of the next issue?

There is nothing on the PFA site for Auster’s or anywhere else that I have found.

I will fire off an e-mail to the webmaster of the Auster site to see what he thinks about the idea. As you say the site could do with a bit of livening up. :D

[LowNSlow]

Cheers Vick VG I'll check my perfectly ordered magazine filing system (the pile under the bed, scattered in assorted boxes and drawers around the house) when I get home.

PS Fancy swopping a flight in the Aiglet for a flight in the Autocrat?

[Vick Van Guard]

L n S

Yes I would like a flight in the Autocar that would be fun ;)

I am still converting onto the Aiglet :eek: So give it a month or so and we will have to try and arrange something.

I am back in the UK Monday night, so I am in the hangar on Tuesday to do some odd jobs on her, and hopefully doing some flying Wed/Thur.

I am up at Nottingham (the original one) if you fancy a trip up. :ok:

p.s. a mate texted me yesterday to say there was a big article about Auster's in the new Flyer magazine (it's just a shame he did it at midnight and woke me up :\ ).

[Oscar Duece]

Well I must catch up with this thread.

Vick. I hope your Maule tail wheel is the 8" tundra one. As that is the only new Maule one that fits a 1 3/4" spring, ala Auster. (the scott is 1 3/4" as std.)
I've got an old Maule one myself, but will be making my own control horn.

LNS so a change is the the offing, a go faster clipped wing toy no less. At least your keeping with the breed.

As for AP, progress has been slow of late. It's just to damn cold to go out in the workshop. Plus business has been very busy and the wife demanding.....
I'm looking for some wheels and calipers at the moment. I've already got the cylinders and new rudder pedals. Toe brakes both sides !!

The plan is to have the fuselage finished by end of October, leaving just the wings. With the tank mods needed these could take some time. So it should see air under the wheels around September '05.

But if anyone hears of any goods wings with tanks in going, I could be interested.:ok:

p.s. Looking for come cleveland 600 x 6 wheels and brakes.

[Vick Van Guard]

Hi OD

The Maule tailwheel I have ordered is the 1-1/2 version, which is the width of my tail spring. Light Aero only do this one and a 1-1/4 version.

I saw a brand new Scott tailwheel on e-Bay last week, it was at £200 all week, so I did a bit of frantic bidding at the last minute and got it up to £385 and was pipped at the post by a chap with a PA-18. I am glad I didn't win though, as the adapter's are about $100 and it would have made it more expensive than the Maule.
Bet the chap with the PA-18 wasn't to impressed though!

L n S

Did you know there is a good write up about the Aiglet Trainer on Pilot magazines website?

[LowNSlow]

Oscar Deuce welcome back. Glad that AP is moving forward albeit slowly. I'm not completely sold on the Aiglet yet, I'm waiting for our mutual frien to get it back from France so I can have a whizz about before I make my mind up.

Vick VG there seems to be some discrepancy in spring sizes here! I would have thought that if they were to be different between models then the Aiglet would have had the heavier / wider one.

I'll be back in the UK in April, I'll pm you closer to the day. Mine's an Autocrat not an Autocar, they are much chunkier with a 180hp Cirrus Major compared to my 100hp Cirrus Minor :ok:

Ta for the Pilot tip, but I'm not a subscriber so I don't think I'll be able to access the flight tests

[Vick Van Guard]

L n S

You only need to register with your e-mail address to get the flight reports as I am not a subscriber either.

Deffo 1-1/2'' on TA, its a relativly new one though as I have the receipt from Auster spares.

Sorry about the type confusion, but Auster model designation can be a bit errrr well confusing at time's:D

[Oscar Duece]

So how come I've got a 1,3/4" spring on a 1946 Autocrat. I thought they were all 3/4".
By the way, how old is the receipt for the spring and how much did it cost. ?

LNS. Chris seems to be moving a few Austers lately, I hope he's keeping one for himself along the line.

[Vick Van Guard]

OD

I am slightly worried now, cos I am at work in Paris so not in position to check the size!

But I remembered using a vernier to measure it and I did double check it so it must be correct.

Incidently what set me off with the Maule type was seeing one that Ron Neal had just fitted to an Autocrat, which he said that he got it from Light Aero, and as I have previously mentioned they dont stock a 1-3/4, so its all a bit of a mystery.

I will check the receipt for you, from memory its from 02 and was for around £600, but I will double check when I get home.

L n S

Is it Romeo Fox that you are thinking of buying?

[LowNSlow]

VVG it is indeed RF I'm looking at. She looks in need of a tidyup but nothing too drastic (I hope). Do you know her? I must say that I find Auster naming and numbering confusing as well.

I've fitted a new tailwheel spring recently. I think it's 1 1/2" but I can't check it right now as it's 3,500 km away........

ODI think Chris has owned every Auster in the UK at some point or another. Unless his fleet has changed recently he has an Autocar, the Aiglet and he's sold a half share in his Autocrat. The Autocar is a chuncky beast. With the raised turtledeck it looks like a 3/4 scale Argus. The 180hp Major engine thuds along nicely too.

[Vick Van Guard]

L n S

Yes I know RF quite well. It used to be based at EMA, where I worked for many years. I think it arrived the same year as I did (1981). Always seemed to be a bit of a fixture around the place.
It was kept in the Flying Club hangar, so I have sat in it a couple of times.
The chap who is converting me to fly my Aiglet used to do the C of A renewal air tests. I know he has looped it and rolled it, but he says you tend to run out of sky quite quickly :uhoh:

Has a bit of history to, which I am sure you already know.

[LowNSlow]

Vick V G Chris told me some of it; she's ex-India, owned by a famous female ATA pilot (he couldn't remember her name) who called her Grey Lady and used her for air racing. Subsequently owned by the head of maintenance for an airline (whose name I can't remember) for decades.
My only real concern is the lack of the oil ring mod as this does make the oil consumption horrendous, she leaks a bit as well from the pics I've seen. Chris is going to sort these soon though and as he's on a constant search for a project he'll get them done asap I'd imagine.
Still, it all depends on the flying qualities and I will be sorry to see AM go.

[Vick Van Guard]

The lady's name was Diana Barnato-Walker. She has written a book called ''Spreading My Wings'' which is a very good read.

There is a couple of pictures of RF in it when it was being handed over to her when it was new.

The answer to the other question was British Midland.

It was owned by a chap called Tony Topps, who bought it off Ron Neal....... small world isn't it!

[LowNSlow]

Thanks for the info Vick V G. I'll look out for the book.

If I do get RF and embark on aerobatics I'll start off with as much sky below me as I can manage!

[Oscar Duece]

How much for a new spring set, £ 600 surely a mistake.

I always thought it was only the early taylorcrafts that had 1 1/2" springs. You can pick up new sets (3 piece) for these from the states for £ 56-00 plus shipping.

[LowNSlow]

Oscar D the 600 squids was for the tailwheel!

A Karl Tyre sells genuine Auster tailsprings for 20 quid a leaf.

[Vick Van Guard]

OK I have been spreading some duff gen about these tailwheels :eek:

I have just checked my doc's and my Auster had a new spring and tailwheel (non-steerable) from the well known purveyor of Auster spares near Newark three years ago, unfortunately I don't have the receipt. Don't no where I got the idea from that it was £600, I think its old age setting in!

Right the Scott type comes to fit 1-3/4 spring as standard, if your Auster is fitted with another size you will need to buy an adapter. The cheapest I have seen the tailwheel assy for is $800, with another $75 for the adapter if required.

Finally, the Maule type as supplied from that well-known light aircraft spares supplier in the West Country, comes in two types. The first one is fitted with a 8'' pneumatic wheel, OK if you have a Husky, and the second one is fitted with a 6-1/2 solid tyre which I would say would be the right one for J/1's and J/5's and the like. It comes complete with the connector springs. You can get them to fit either 1-1/4'' or 1-1/2'' spring. They are all just over £200 plus VAT, which I think is pretty good.



:ok:

[Grob Driver]

Just been reading the article in a well knows aircraft magazine about re-covering an Auster... Just wondered (more out of curiosity than anything else), what does is cost to have someone re cover an Auster for you?

Many thanks

Grob Driver

[Vick Van Guard]

Grob Driver
I enjoyed reading the article you are refering to :ok:

Ball park I would guess at about £4000. Spoke to a chap who recovers wings and he said that he could do them for about £1800 labour plus about £400- £500 materials.
For this they would recover a stripped set of wings and finish in silver dope. The guys who do the work were retired so the work is done on a semi commercial basis.

Have you had any look finding an AOP 9?

Just put some pictures of my Auster (http://community.webshots.com/album/40974844gQLllt?25) on the net if you are interested. :)

[LowNSlow]

Nice picture of your Auster Vick V G, nice paint scheme.

The article about recovering an Auster was very interesting, it did seem(!!!) to be realtively easy as long as the rules were obeyed. Maybe one day I'll get my friendly engineer to show me how to do it.

[cloudancer100]

Skylark4-Your experience would have been with Maurice Looker who run North Devon Air Services t/a The Puffin Aero club/Devonair,he used to fly ad hoc flights over to the Lundy Isles in G-AJXC an Avco Lycoming ( modified from an industrial engine ) Auster 5.
He once ditched another Auster G-AJEA into the Bristol Channel when the engine failed,both himself and his passenger were picked up by a passing ship,one of the few people to land an Auster on water and survive by the way !
Devonair also had two Miles Aerovans G-AILM & G-AJOG which were intended for the Lundy operations but never really used apart from when some R.A.F officers were invited to cull the deer on Lundy,they all piled into the Aerovan with guns and ammo to do the job,what a sight seeing one of these landing on Lundy ! but getting away from our beloved Auster,I rebuilt G-AJXC whilst working at Devonair 1959 remember well we used to start her by feeding the cables from the trolly hack through a cut out in the perspex cockpit,someone held the leads in place while Maurice shouted 'clear prop' then fumbling from the back out again,heady happy days these were.
Maurice went to work for the West London aero club at White Waltham as CFI,he still lives in Maidenhead,what stories that man must have of his career both in the R.A.F and civvy street.
Wonder what happened to my old Auster G-AJXC ?

[Aerohack]

I believe the remains of 'JXC are still in storage at the strip at Hook, Hampshire, alongside the M3, where it was damaged in a gale in 1987.

[cloudancer100]

sOB:sad: Thanks Aerohack,what a great shame as she was a real workhorse,perhaps the skills of Mr Neale at Leicester could put her back into the air again ? not beyond a possibility as you can do almost anything with steel tube and fabric.
A few Austers have been lost in gales over the years.

[Oscar Duece]

Sadly a lack of time forces tough decisions.


Auster Project going (http://www.thehangar.co.uk/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.pl?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=4156&query=retrieval)

:{ :{ :{ :{

[LowNSlow]

Sorry to see that the AHAP is going OD :uhoh: :uhoh: Check your PM's regarding some bits.

[Oscar Duece]

It's just one of those decisions. I run a small business with my wife and time is just the only thing we cannot create. (god knows what will happen when we have kids)

So it came down to getting rid of some toys or the wife.

Sadly like so many, will be giving up on flying lock stock and barrel, will be selling everthing else on eBay.:{ :{

[LowNSlow]

Tough decision OD but after all is said and done, flying is a hobby and other things do take priority. Eventually!

Maybe see you in Popham some day?

[Grob Driver]

Hello.

I could post this in the Auster section of the forum, but I don’t want it to get lost in amongst all the posts!

I was hoping to fund an AOP 9 but after a lot of looking and a fair amount of research, I’ve decided that it’s not the best Auster for me! So, I’m looking at something like an Auster 5 or AOP 5. However depending on who you talk to determines what advice you get. I was told to avoid Gypsy Major aircraft on the fact that they are expensive to run. So, I thought the Lycoming powered Auster 5 would be ideal. I’ve now been ‘advised’ to avoid the Lycoming powered Auster’s. I’m lead to believe that the old Lycoming engine is hard to find parts for having being made from converted ground power units.

Can people with Auster experience please post their thoughts on engine choice for this aircraft? Also is there anyone out there who regularly flies an Auster 5 who can give me some advice / opinions. Do you have trouble with the engine or spares?

Finally, fuel / oil burn. Does anyone have some realistic figures for fuel burn for the different engines?

This will be a big step for me… I have to make the right choice!

Thank you all very much

Grob Driver
(soon to be Auster Driver!)

[LowNSlow]

Grob Driver nice to see a convert from plastic to fabric!

The Cirrus in my Autocrat burns 4.5 gph, Gipsys burn around 6-6.5 gph. I would assume the Lycoming burns around 5gph.

A good Cirrus uses about 0.5 - 1 pint / hour, a Gipsy without the oil ring mod can use 2-2.5 pints / hour, with the oil ring mod it drops to the same as the Cirrus. I assume that the Lycoming would be about the same as the Cirrus.

If you want a whizz about in a Cirrus powered Auster, PM me.

[Vick Van Guard]

L n S

Are you still considering RF?

Offer still stands regarding a flight in TA if you are interested.

Oil consumption (with ring mod) is less than 0.5 pints /hour!:ooh:

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG I am indeed still considering RF. I'm waiting to meet up with Chris as we are specialising in missing each other at the moment!

Less than 0.5 pints / hour. That is a vast improvement on the non-modded ones!

I'd love a whizz about in TA but I'm aircraftless at the moment plus I'm going back to work on Tuesday. :sad: Where is TA based?

[Vick Van Guard]

L n S

TA is up at Nottingham (the real one).

Might be a bit tight this time round, PM me your next off shift time and we can try and plan something.

Cannot make the fly in unfortunately I'am away :(

My friend who has done my tailwheel conversion has an un-modded Chipmunk and he cannot believe the fact TA never needs topping up, and of course I never remind him about on each pre-flight!

Where are you based btw?

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG I'll be back in the UK on 16th June so maybe we can get together sometime after that. I'm based at Rush Green which is just to the East of Luton.

[Vick Van Guard]

There is a nice 'lead letter' with Auster content in June's edition of Pilot* magazine.

Elsewhere a good article about buying Chipmunks, interesting piece about Vintech and a good article on how to get the most life out of your engine, important when you read how much it cost's to have a Gipsey overhauled. :eek: :sad:

(*Other private pilot orientated magazines are available).

[LowNSlow]

Now that I've subscribed to Pilot (and yes thanks, the watch is fine) it should be waiting for me when I get home.

One of the owners of Vintech who keeps his Moth at RG gave me a quote for rebuilding a Cirrus Minor. It took smelling salts and a nurse to bring me round :ooh: He reckoned on 10-11k to rebuild an already disassembled engine assuming only normal consumables such as bearing shells, rings etc were required. This was including the saving of approx. 1.5k that is charged to strip and check all of the components before the rebuild.
When you see their facilities it is understandable why they are so expensive. It really is a demonstration of you pays for what you gets. IMHO they do a superb job of keeping old engines turning in the best possible condition. They did a cracking job of rebuilding my carburettor a few years ago.

[Vick Van Guard]

L n S


Ah yes you may have the watch, but do you have the t-shirt (http://www.pilotweb.co.uk/content/imagegallery/gallery.aspx?id=317&pg=7)!

(Or the mouse mat, key ring, mug, jigsaw etc etc)

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG our net nanny won't let me see the pictures!

[Vick Van Guard]

If you have an e-mail address and you want to pm me with it, I will send them attached as a word document if that's any use to you. :ok:

[LowNSlow]

Vick VG I've PM'd you .