Light Aircraft Association

Hi all, thanks for the interest, just thought I'd post an update. I flew down yesterday to chat with someone who has a similar setup to me who has done a lot of experimenting to get his Ellison throttle body working perfectly; he has recommended welding an off-centre splitter plate in the inlet mani...

I managed to get up for a couple of quick circuits tonight and the sooty cylinder's CHT was slightly colder than the non-sooty one. I think that rules out cool running and atomisation problems. Anyone disagree? I guess the next simple step is to switch the ignition leads when I get the chance and se...

John, valve stem oil seals good - both heads refurbished in reputable engine shop. Fault apparent both before and after refurbishment... Am probably going to bite the bullet and remove the tank for access to the magneto then replace the spark plug cables. Once plug leads are replaced, that'll be eve...

No apology required - I think I'm a fairly competent mechanic but am new to the VW engine - any advice gratefully received It's a fully cowled installation - Not sure how to attach a pic on here yet...
Have borrowed some chalk from the kids too.

That's an interesting suggestion - will see if I can scrounge one up! Fuel system is an Ellison throttle body (recently overhauled at quite some expense!) which feeds to each pair of cylinders via a common branch either side of the engine. i.e. the rear cylinder is fed from the same branch and is fi...

I know what you're saying Nick and I'd love to replace the leads for the few pounds it costs. Problem is that the mag is totally inaccessible without removing the fuel tank, panels etc etc - which I'm loathe to do! I might have to in the end I guess...

Hi Nick, thought I'd managed to get everything down but realised I'd only given half the story! The engine had the exact same snag before the heads were refurbished - in fact that's what prompted having the heads looked at. The plugs were replaced around forty hours ago and then new ones fitted afte...

Hi all, I have an interesting issue on my VW engined Nipper. One exhaust is sooty black, the other 3 are a nice light brown colour. The soot is not oily and the engine runs very well throughout the rev range - plugs are fine too. Both cylinder heads were refurbished an hour ago by a reputable engine...

Chris B wrote:Another date for the diary.

Aero Expo 2011 will be held at Sywell, from 17-19 June.

Sigh - clashes with FlyUK

OK - going to opt for Blois in 2011 (flying along with a friend who's never been) but LAA rally 2012 for sure!

Ah, decisions decisions...

Its been pretty good for me but my prop's fitted to a low powered (38hp) engine. Not sure what it'd be like in heavy rain or similar - not put it to the test

It would be nice if we could avoid clashing with the Blois show in future years. Probably not a concern for the majority I'm sure, but frustrating for many at the lighter end of the LAA spectrum who look forward to making a cross-channel excursion to the biggest microlight show in Europe... Sadly, I...

"Rather than ream out to the metric size, I'd recommend the SP4Y, Cadmium plated pins instead." Agreed - I have play in a Nipper which was picked up at Permit a little while ago. My inspector has instructed me to ream out to accept 7/32" SP4Y pins from LAS Aero. Be aware that you'll need a narrow h...

My shadow has a black wood prop with yellow tips. I use Halford spraycans - satin black and Ford signal yellow. Looks very good, easy to apply and dries quickly. Unless your prop is grossly out of balance, you can achieve a good result by simply varying the length of prop tape per blade, or if you w...

Thanks for the reply fellas - much appreciated. Have been cleaning the hub with Micromesh metal and it's coming up well. When it's all done I'll show my inspector and see if he's happy that there's no pitting and therefore no requirement to remove.

Hi all, first post, new member - treat me gently! I need to remove the prop driver from a SAUER VW 1834 engine fitted to a Tipsy Nipper. Can anyone point me in the right direction, i.e. is the big nut a R/H or L/H thread and is there an easy way of locking the crank to prevent rotation? Thanks in ad...