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G-CCFE JOURNEY TO NEW HOME.

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:11 am
by DesH
Well it was a very long day but it was worth it !

My alarm went off at 5am, by 6.15 I was checked in at Edinburgh Airport and by 7.15, courtesy of a good mate who fly's for Easy and £20 staff ticket I was bound for Bristol.
At 8.30 I was met by my airport transfer to take me to RNAS Yeovilton where I arrived at 9.30am, about an hour earlier than I'd expected catching the current owner George somewhat by surprise!

The ideal plan was to try to get a couple of circuits done to get a feel for the Nipper before filling the tanks and heading off for Perth, some 352 track miles away or approx 4.5 hours as the Nipper flys!
Unfortunately Yeovilton was quite busy with 2 periods of no flying right about when I wanted to be in the circuit, 10.45 - 11.15 for a wings presentation and 11.45 - 12:00 for a practice helo display. We quickly formulated an alternative plan whereby I would depart around 11:30, clear off to the south to do some general handling returning around 11:20 for a couple of quick circuits. George had given me a good brief and by 10:30 I was strapped in, engine running and ready to taxy, this unfortunately is where the problems started!

I gave tower a call on the frequency advised by George and was told to make the request on an alternate frequency which I did, several times with no response. I chopped back to the original frequency, made another call and got no response there either. I then spent the next 10 mins fiddling with the unfamiliar Microair radio, jiggling headset connections and chopping back and forth between the two frequencies trying to get a resonse.
By 10:45 it was apparent I wouldnt get away in time so shut down to investigate the problem. We tried a swap of headset to no avail so George jumped in another aircraft and gave me a call which worked perfectly, we could communicate without problems. We paid Tower a visit to discuss our problem and it transpired that they could hear me and had been responding to each call? They called another aircraft on the other side of the base using VHF and could communicate without issue.
The only conclusion we could come to was that the 2 Hawk jets that had parked next to me just as I was calling for taxi were somehow blocking the transmission from the masts on a hilltop some miles away. We moved the Niper a few hundered yards back and hey presto, comms worked perfectly!

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With offending Hawk's in the background where we were parked previously.
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So off we go at last!, I taxied out to runway 22 with the wind pretty much straight down the strip at about 15kts. My first impression taxing the Nipper was just how poor the brakes are (which I've heard a lot about!) and how little power it needed to move, in fact even at just above idle I was still having to dab the brakes to keep at a sensible pace, though to be fair I did have quite a tailwind.

Lined up and cleared to take off I opened the throttle as in any other light aircraft advancing smoothly to full over a couple of seconds, this however is where things get a bit hazy! I remember being instantly surprised at how powerfull the rudder is as I started to weave, first one way and then the other until my feet and brain caught up. This was also about the time the Nipper decided to lift off, pretty much coinciding with me reaching full throttle, it litterally was only a couple of seconds!

Now I consider myself to be reasonally experienced on GA types having flown a number of different aircraft from the usual Cessnas & Pipers, Grobs etc, I have a good few hundered hours on my CPL, I even had a share in an ex Mil jet up until 6 months ago but nothing I've ever flown has taken me by surprise quite as much as the Nipper did !

As I said, things got a bit hazy at this point as my brain was obviously working quite hard but I'm pretty sure the ASI was reading circa 50mph as the wheels came off so I kept the nose low, let it reach 70mph and then climbed away at what seemed a rather impressive angle.
500' was reached in no time at all and I started a gentle turn onto the crosswind reaching 1000' before turning downwind. Now that my brain had a chance to settle down a bit I started to realise just how noisy the Nipper is, I suspected that I might have forgotton to turn on the ANR on my headset and pressed the button only to realise that it was already on and turning it off did indeed make things even louder, 4.5 hours of this was certainily going to be interesting!

End of the downwinid reached, I turned onto base and then final whilst trying to get the speed back to around 70mph which it was reluctant to do feeling almost slippery! (something a Nipper is certainly not!) Settled at 70mph on short finals and then back to 60mph over the numbers, feet seemed to be keeping up, leave a trickle of power on, speed bleeds off to about 50, into the flare and a gentle squeek let me know that I was back on terra firma safely, not bad for a first go I thought!

WIth time for one more quick circuit I opened the throttle fully again and pretty much instantly took off! This time I decided to try the 60mph I'd been briefed gave best rate of climb and was greeted with an obscene angle of climb for an aircraft this small, if this was a Cessna or Piper I'd have run out of energy very quickly!

Now conscious of the time and with the display Helo holding out the the north I decided to abbrieviate the circuit and turned straight onto mid downwind. Same routine again onto base and then finals, once again it was a struggle to get the speed back to 70 and then 60 but all was well by the time I got over the numbers and the landing worked out just as well as the first. Just as I touched down the tower broadcast that the airfield was now closed to traffic and called in the display helo to start his routine.
I taxied merrily to the ramp to be greeted by George and it was about this point that I realised I had a bloody silly great big grin on my face that I couldnt shift!

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On the ramp at Yeovilton after my first flight.
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So the deal was done, we loaded as much into the Nipper as we dared, filled the main and tip tanks and off I set for Perth Lifting at approx 12:40hrs. Thankfully, I'd put a lot of effort into the flight planning and had done as much to relieve the use of my brain as possible, I simply took off, turned onto my predefined heading, cross checked with my GPS route and thanked Yeovilton for all their help before switching to Bristol.

The first 30mins of the route was pretty busy simply getting a feel for the Nipper in the cruise, flip flopping my way around the radio which I had still not got the hang of, ensuring I was on my intended track at a safe altitude to not infringe any airspace while also keeping half an eye out for a suitable field should anything go wrong!
My route took me just to the east of Bristol sneaking under the edge of the CTA and then almost due north for circa 100nm to the start of the Manchester low level route.

Once clear of Bristol things started to settle down a bit and I was also happy that the 10kts tailwind I had would ensure I had plenty of fuel to reach Carlisle. The next hour or so was fairly uneventful with the biggest problem being trying to find a suitable service to contact as the Nippers radio only seemed to have a transmit range of circa 20-30nm at 3000'.
As I arrived at the Manchester low level route I switched back to the main tank after having been on the tips for circa 75mins and dropped down to the 1250' required for the transit, this is when I also discovered quite how bumpy things can get low level in a Nipper on a convective day!
I was however quite surprised to see a C172 coming towards me right down the middle (and I do mean smack in the middle) of the corridor at what looked like bang on 1000', whatever happened to 'keeping to the right of the line feature / corridor your tracking' rule?, which fortunately I was adhearing to.

Once clear of Manchester I climbed the Nipper up to 5000' and finally had a chance to relax a bit as all the busy airspace was now behind me. This was about the time however that I started to become quite uncomfortable after nearly 2hrs and my legs and backside starting to get pretty sore, I tried wriggling all I could to find a more comfortable position as possible however it did little to make things better.

I decided now that I was good and high to try to get use of the rest of the fuel out of the tip tanks, after about 30mins the engine started to splutter confirming there was nothing left and after switching straight over to the main the engine thankfully burst back into life.
With about 15 miles or so to run to Carlisle I was greeted to the sight of a Falcon jet overtaking me about 1000' directly above which was quite impressive and despinte him being about 200kts faster than me, by the time he'd flown his DME arc I was on the ground right behind him.

Getting out of the Nipper at Carlisle was rather interesting however as I was prretty stiff after 2hrs 45mins en route and I was actually quite glad of the delay in being fueled so I could stretch my legs for a bit longer. It was at this point that I realised just how much attention the Nipper attracts on the gound. The crew of the Falcon jet that had landed just before me both came over for a look around her and asked a lot of questions. I think they both thought I was mad however when I told them what my departure point and destination were! There were also a couple of instructors from the Microlight school asked if they could have a prod around along with a couple of chaps that had just flown over from Newcastle.
The Nipper took 48 litres to fill which allowing for taxi time and and a good bit of climbing and descending worked out pretty close to the 16litres per hour I was advised would be the comsumption at 2800rpm and 90-95mph cruise.

I took off from Carlisle at approx 5pm feeling much better after stretching my legs and if I'm honest the last hour or so from Manchester had been pretty miserable as I was getting very sore. By the time I'd crossed the border into Scotland I was starting to feel far more relaxed being back in familiar airspace and the weather had got even better with hardly a cloud in the sky. I tracked the M74 most off the way up and with my confidence growing I even managed to take my first couple of pictures whilst holding the stick in place with my knees!

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Tracking the M74 from Carlisle to Glasgow...first time I'd relaxed enough to take a photo!
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Nipper Tip tanks, wouldn't be without them, especially on this trip!
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My route then took me between the Edinburgh and Glasgow CTA's overhead Cumbernauld and then on to Stirling and along the front of the 2000' Ochil Hills where my Wife is from and most of which we've walked up.

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A familiar and friendly sight, the Ochil Hills.
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Once over Ballado a turn to the north left me with only a few miles to run to Perth where I did an overhead join to check the windsock which to my surprise was horizontal and swaying furiously in about a 30-40 degree range of runway 09, so much for the light and variable winds that were forecast! Everything was going well until I turned final and got over the trees which are notoriously turbulent with the ASI swinging between 60 and 80mph with the gusts. I just got the Nipper settled nicely onto the runway and the wind gusted lifting me about 10 foot straight into the air again! A quick squirt of power to get things under conrtol and another flare and I was back on the ground but with a good firm arrival this time!
Sod's law, once I'd parked up the winds dropped right off and a quick check of the met readout showed about a 5 mnute period of strong gust just as I'd arrived!
I then took some pictures of FE at her new home, pushed her into the hanger and parked her next to Larry's almost identicel Jabiru nipper.

So after flying over 4 hours in a Nipper on one day what have I learned? Well, they are blooming noisy! I read once in an article that described flying the Nipper as being as noisy as sticking your head up the back end of a Saturn 5 rocket at takeoff, I can now understand what he meant! ANR or no ANR, the cockpit of a Nipper is a noisy place.
Its cramped, I'm 6'3" and even with the set back rudder pedals and seat modification its still tight, not just for leg room but for any sort of storage space in general. Dont expect to stick your map down the side of the seat cause the side of the seat is the wall of the cockpit and god help you if you actually need to unfold you map!

So if its that cramped and noisy you might well ask why on earth Nippers are so popular? Simple, its an absolute joy to fly! The Nipper flys like a baby fighter, ok its not fast but the handling is superb, the roll rate is fantastic, the controls are light and crisp and the take off is an absolute hoot. The acceleration is extremely brisky, by the time the throttle is fully open your pretty much airbourne and with a climb at 60mph the nose is pointing at the sky!

So how on earth do you follow a first day of Nipper ownership like that ? Well my second day consisted of a stream takeoff and formation flying with 2 other Nippers and then the chance to start exploring the handing & aerobatic capabilities of the aircraft. All this fun for only 16 litres of fuel per hour, doesnt get much better than that!

Pictures to follow.....

Re: OWNERS 'TESTIMONIALS' - WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO OWN & FLY

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:05 pm
by G-NIPR
Very well written Des,
Felt like I was there with you. Reading it makes me want to go out and fly right now, but a family day out prevents that today. (perhaps this evening...!)
Funny I have never had a big issue with the noise, probably because at the time I bought my Nipper was flying the DC6 with its throbbing radials, and flying lots of noisy light twins. But i suppose now I am on the Q400 (quiet 400!) I can see where modern aircraft are with sound levels.
I dont use an ANR in the Nipper by the way, just a quality passive with good cups. I keep my ANR for work, mainly because I am reluctant to leave a £600 headset unattended in the Nipper in a public hangar.
Glad the route worked out well and you got back safely.
Will be in touch,

Paul.
G-NIPR.

Re: OWNERS 'TESTIMONIALS' - WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO OWN & FLY

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 1:22 pm
by Neil Spooner
Nice write-up thanks Des,
Glad it all went well.
Thoughts:
Get your cushions made from the new-tech memory foam, it is also very good a absorbing impact damage! All the gliders have to use it to reduce back injuries now.
I don't use a noise canx headset, I found the ambient noise so great that it overloaded the electonics and negated any benefit. I use David Clarks with good gel ear seals. I would have thought the Jab' engined Nipper to be quieter than the VW. I seem to remember Pat's was quieter than mine. I also use a cloth helmet to keep the headset on during inverted manouvers, but is does help to keep the ear cups tight to my head.
Have you done any spin refresher training lately? Have you experienced and recovered from flat spins? Also be sure to visit the inverted spin, although I can't get mine to spin inverted, they are all very different individual planes. The tip tanks are sure to affect the spin and recovery.
Good luck and look fwd to seeing some photos.
Neil

Re: OWNERS 'TESTIMONIALS' - WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO OWN & FLY

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:46 pm
by DesH
Some more pics....alas I was too busy / nervous to take any during the first part of the trip!

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The City of Stirling, time to turn East!
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Nipper outside her new hanger after just over 4 hours in the air....looking far fresher than I did!
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Playmate in the background....apparently not the first time these 2 Nippers have shared the same hanger...
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Re: OWNERS 'TESTIMONIALS' - WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO OWN & FLY

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:28 pm
by DesH
Thanks for the comments chaps.

Paul - The Nipper does indeed seem very noisy to me but my only other comparisons are typical GA types and a JP which doesnt really count as I flew that with a bone dome which cuts out 99% of the noise! Alas I've never managed to get my hands on something as interesting as a DC-6 but I'm hoping one day! I'm wondering if a Microlight headset or similar might not be more appropriate for the nipper? Any suggestions?, Microavionics seem to make some potentially ideal units?, as Neil mentions I suspect the sheer Volume is probably too much for my ANR set though it did make a bit of a difference.

Neil - Thanks for the tips, I'm already on the hunt for a Memory foam seat cushion! Had thought about the cloth helmet idea but with the Jab not much cop inverted I'm not so sure I'll need it. I was doing aileron rolls on sat and briefly fed in about -1.5g holding the nose up a bit just out of interest to see what the jab would do. It spluttered a bit and spat some fuel out of the filler onto the canopy but other than that it took it pretty well, dont think I'll make a habit of it though but at least my headset stayed put!
Not done any spinning for about a year or so and dont intend to try it in the Nipper for now, to be honest the last lot of aero's I did were in the JP which is a very different machine but the roll rate is pretty similar to the Nipper which is why I stuck to rolls to start with. I'm just intending taking it easy for the moment and will build up to spins and loops once I'm feeling more confident and will perhaps take some refresher training in the Grob 115.

Regards

Des

Re: G-CCFE JOURNEY TO NEW HOME.

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:46 pm
by G-NIPR
Guys,
I have split this topic from the original source so that the 'sticky' of 'what are they like to fly' doesnt go off topic.
I have therefore retitled it, feel free to use edit and rename it if you like Des.
That way we can keep the 'what are they like to fly' more general and not a thread about one particular Nipper or journey.
Please write a piece with your impressions of what they are like once are happy to do so Des and post on the sticky above.Even if it is just a repeat of the comments you have mentioned here.
That tends to be the topic most newcomers go to when checking out the type....
Pictures look great by the way!

Paul.
G-NIPR.

Re: G-CCFE JOURNEY TO NEW HOME.

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:58 pm
by DesH
Thanks for that Paul, I was actually thinking once I'd posted that it might have been in the wrong place !! I had intended writing just a "what its like to fly" when I started to write but ended up rambling !!! It was late and I was tired !!!

Re: G-CCFE JOURNEY TO NEW HOME.

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:35 pm
by Pat Blenkinsopp
Des,
great article about your epic flight. Anyone who spends 4 hrs + in a Nipper should get a medal. Well done.
I have found that my Bose X anr headphones work well (mine is also a Jab engine)
One point with the microair radio. If you are doing aeros (part of the Nipper ownership contract...!)
And your donk stops as mine has a few times....No big deal, throttle closed and hit the start button.
and she will start: this can put a "spike through the radio and fry the internal fuse. It is a non warranty repair
and cost me £90. Moral : switch your radio OFF before doing aeros or doing an air restart. I have fitted a "shunt"
between the power plus and minus leads and am advised this will protect it in future. Cleaverdick types like Neil and paul will
explain what a shunt does: all I know is it is worth fitting one
Do take heed of Neils comments about spinning. He has been there and got the mud stained tee shirt!!!
My worst woopsee in that department was doing aeros in the wooden prototype Slingsby T67, doing a loop
and getting the speed wrong(too slow on recovery) and flipping straigh into a spin, I cocked up my spin recovery and flipped straight
into a spin in the opposite direction. I made sure I got the recovery correct on pulling out of that spin!! I lost 2500 ft in the whole process
and bottomed out with 1500 ft to spare TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT!!!!!!! That was many years ago and in fairness that T67 spun like a dingbat!
The Nipper is a much better bet and untill you are used to it, make sure that you do aeros within the c of g envelope and preferably on the mid or forward
range. (Yes I know the pundits will say its much better on the rearward c of g...better responsees etc etc) WE do it for fun , not unlimited aero competitions
unless of course you are Barry Smith!
Enjoy the Nipper and dont hesitate to get in touch if you need any advice, particularly regarding the Jairu installation.
Excellent: Welcome aboard.
Kind regards,
Pat G ASXI

Re: G-CCFE JOURNEY TO NEW HOME.

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:43 pm
by DesH
Afternoon Pat and thanks for your kind comments..

Cheers in particular for the tip on the Microair radio, the whole panel has not long been re-wired so there may well indeed already be a shunt in place but I shall check with the previous owners.
I will indeed also be picking your brain on the Jab engine as I have a number of questions but will do so over on the Tech section as I've hogged enough space on the General chat of late!

Cheers

Des