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BCrystal

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  1. BCrystal
    Departed today WSSL Singapore, Singapore 0300 UTC 29 Jun ETA WICC Bandung, Java, Indonesia 0700 UTC 29 Jun (14:00 Local Time in Bandung)
  2. BCrystal
    *Who* summoned a Magneto?
  3. BCrystal
    Bangkok to Singapore today
  4. BCrystal
    Re: the earlier discussion, "running the gauntlet of conflict zones". There was a recent violent attack and fire today 18 June 2017 on a hotel tourist resort compound near Bamako, Mali. Some small aircraft were involved in fighting against the attackers, see the BBC News video: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40322039 "Malian troops and soldiers from France’s Barkhane counter-terrorism force were called to Le Campement in Dougourakoro, a resort popular with westerners east of Bamako. Residents nearby reported hearing shots fired while smoke billowed into the air. At least 32 people were rescued and 14 others injured, the security ministry said. “Security forces are in place. Campement Kangaba is blocked off and an operation is under way,” said a security ministry spokesman, Baba Cisse. “The situation is under control.” Witness Boubacar Sangare was just outside the compound during the attack. “Westerners were fleeing the encampment while two plainclothes police exchanged fire with the assailants,” he said. “There were four national police vehicles and French soldiers in armoured vehicles on the scene.” He added that a helicopter was circling overhead." Gao, Mali, was one of Amelia Earhart's stops in June 1937. There have been recent violent attacks on the Gao airport. Coincidentally, Brian Lloyd flew Spirit over that part of Mali last week on 11 June, but did not land there.
  5. BCrystal
    For a round-the-world flight such as this one, or for frequent foreign travel, it seems that a 24-hour face analog watch with multiple hour hands is great if you are comfortable with keeping 24 hour time. The marketeers often call it a GMT watch, but that is certainly a misnomer. If anything it should be a UTC watch! Greenwich Mean Time is not a time zone anymore. Greenwich, England is not even on GMT time Digital display watches are fine for accuracy and multi-functions, but they are often difficult to read at a glance. They fail at getting the feel of relative timing. The Glycine Airman is the classic 24 hour analog face. Its rotating bezel and 2 separately settable hour hands makes keeping track of 3 timezones fairly easy. The Airman is a mechanical automatic watch. There are Airman watches on the wrists of pilots today which have been keeping nearly perfect time for over 50 years... without requiring any battery change... just a few shakes now and then. The more recent (and much cheaper) quartz timebase Timex GMT provides both a "normal" 12 hour hand, and 24 hour hand (red in the photo) on the same face; it is powered by a simple battery. Accuracy for almost any watche is sufficient for aeronautical timekeeping, when you have digital GPS time display on the control panel in the cockpit, to set your wristwatch hack to. The only remaining thorny question for all of these watches, is: "Do you set the calendar date to roll over at 0001 UTC, or at local midnight? " Perhaps that is a personal choice.
  6. BCrystal
    The radio watches intended for the USA market use the WWVB 60kHz LF (Low Frequency) signal, useful in North America for small portable devices such as clocks and wrist watches. This type of LF radio watch reverts to uncalibrated internal free-running quartz crystal while not within range of WWVB. The LF radio calibration signals are broadcast by terrestrial transmitters. Usually, the cheaper LF radio watches are designed for a specific country's time signal broadcast frequency and unique digital protocol format. Some have multi-frequency LF and multi-format receivers for areas such as USA, Japan, and Europe. More recently, GPS watches have become available. GPS-based watch and clock calibration uses the 1.5 GHz signals transmitted by GPS satellites, which can be received anywhere on (or above) the surface of the earth. WWVB coverage map
  7. BCrystal
    Brian Lloyd posted some commentary while in Dakar: "The day was spent at the Aero Club de Dakar working on Spirit. I did not realize when I went there just how much history I was entering. The Aero Club de Dakar was already an aviation fixture in the 1930's before Amelia Earhart reached it. So I got to stand in the same space that was occupied by Amelia Earhart and other pioneering aviators such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who was a member. The writings of Saint-Exupéry are legendary, and include the well known not-quite-children's book, "Le Petit Prince" (The Little Prince). But it is his writings about aviation, e.g Vol de Nuit (Night Flight), that are classics for all pilots. So Spirit got her oil changed, plugs cleaned and re-gapped, and the engine fully inspected with the cowl off. I was lucky that people like Zak, Alain, Michelle, and Tafa took me under their collective wing to help me along. For the first time Spirit has a full load of fuel. I need to be able to fly 1900nm to N'Djamena and then on to Khartoum without refueling. There is no avgas to be had in N'Djamena. For the pilots out there, I am loaded right to aft CG. This means that I have to be careful not to over-rotate on take-off. A long runway, less nose-up trim, a light touch, and patience will make it all work out. It will also tell me if a non-stop flight from Fiji to Hawaii will be possible or if I will have to make a stop at Christmas Island. Alain and his lovely wife took me out to dinner tonight. He opined that I may be one of the last people to ever be able to make this flight as the world of general aviation is disappearing. Unfortunately I agree with him. The world has become too regulated for people to just head out on an adventure around the world. Yes, I am probably safer than Amelia Earhart was due to the modern technology but the bureaucratic rigidity can be just as daunting. Here are some pictures from today. I hope you can share a bit of awe and reverence for the pioneers who proceeded us and spent time in this place." Spirit oil change in hangar of Aero Club de Dakar Senegal 10Jun2017 ©2017 Brian Lloyd CC-BY Brian Lloyd and Tafa the mechanic change Spirit oil in Aero Club Dakar hangar Senegal 10Jun2017 ©2017 Brian Lloyd CC-BY The historic door of Aero Club de Dakar at the airport in Senegal 10Jun2017 photo ©2017 Brian Lloyd CC-BY Aero Club de Dakar sign Senegal 10Jun2017 photo ©2017 Brian Lloyd CC-BY Tafa the mechanic cleans Spirit spark plugs in Aero Club Dakar hangar Senegal 10Jun2017 photo ©2017 Brian Lloyd CC-BY Spirit gets fully fueled with avgas at Dakar airport Senegal 10Jun2017 photo ©2017 Brian Lloyd CC-BY
  8. BCrystal
    Are "Safely" and "Chad" supposed to go together in the same sentence? Chad is 8th and Sudan is 5th (tied for 5th place with Syria! ) on the FSI (Failed State Index). Nearby South Sudan is 1st on the list, followed by #2 Somalia, #3 Central African Republic, #4 Yemen. The route really runs the gauntlet of conflict zones.
  9. BCrystal
    Brian's position report in mid-Atlantic talking to Dakar ATC station, as copied on 13357.0 kHz HF radio by Cedric F4GFZ in France: http://projectameliaearhart.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Brian_Lloyd_Spirit_position_report_13357kHz_mid_Atlantic_to_Dakar_received_in_France_by_Cedric_F4GFZ.mp3
  10. BCrystal
    To Jose KP4DAC, I heard you today on 14346.0 several times calling WB6RQN. Brian reported about an hour ago by satellite that he has been quite busy so far on this leg with weather and with HF ATC.
  11. BCrystal
    Update 18:25 UTC - 08 June 2017 - It appears that the HF radio has been repaired by Brian Lloyd, at an airstrip in Natal Brazil. The revised schedule for the flight has not been set yet.
  12. BCrystal
    The patterns are for combined vertical and horizontal polarization. The radiation of currents flowing on the skin of the plane contributes substantially (50% or more) to the radiation pattern. The performance of the antenna has yielded good contact with HF ATC while in flight over the Caribbean and the Atlantic near the coast of South America. Listen to this recording made by an HF ham radio receiver in France. It is Brian Lloyd (call sign WB6RQN) communicating on 14 MHz HF while flying his Mooney with the belly antenna, over the Atlantic, near Venezuela. The radio distance is 4300 miles (3735 nautical miles or 6920km) from the plane to the receiver in France. On the recording, 3 June 2017, he is talking with stations in USA, Europe, and South America. http://projectameliaearhart.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WB6RQN_Aeronautical_Mobile_Atlantic_Ocean_Near_Venezuela_3JUN2017_rx_F4GFZ.mp3
  13. BCrystal
    Hi Jose, Although the antenna wire is under the belly, the whole body of the Mooney aircraft becomes part of the antenna system on HF for this type of antenna. Theoretically, one can think of the aircraft body as half of the dipole, and the belly wire itself as the other half of the dipole. The radiation pattern is very different from a belly-mounted VHF/UHF antenna. So there is a more complex pattern with zenith skywave radiation on some HF frequencies while airborne. The whole airplane (wings, tail, and fuselage) is also broadly resonant at around 12 MHz. This is mainly due to the electrical wavelengths of currents flowing along the skin of the plane from the feedpoint of the antenna out to the tip of the wings. On most ocean flights, the angle of radiation for propagation to HF ATC (or HF ham) is usually in the range of +5 degrees to +45 degrees above the horizon. See the HF radiation patterns:
  14. BCrystal
    It seems to be a data parsing problem in the web system. The zig-zag line is due to lat/long truncation (rounding) to 4 decimal places. Web admins are looking into it.
  15. BCrystal
    That Kolkata/Calcutta experience is awful. It is certainly a location to be avoided if at all possible.
  16. BCrystal
    Press Release: Pilot Embarks on Earhart 80th Anniversary Flight Brian Lloyd Solo Flight Follows Historic Amelia Earhart Route Miami, Florida, USA, June 1, 2017 – As pilot Brian Lloyd propels his single-engine plane named “Spirit” into the sky on a solo round-the-world adventure, he commemorates Amelia Earhart’s famous flight eighty years ago on this date in 1937. The two month flight will follow Earhart’s historic route to circumnavigate the world at the equator, which starts in Miami, skirts South America, crosses the Atlantic, then Africa, and onward around the world. Prior to departure from his home airstrip in Texas, Brian Lloyd said, “I am driven by the spirit of historic flights. It is important to remember the aviation pioneers like Amelia Earhart, and their contributions to aviation. Their bold actions made today’s air travel possible for all of us.” “My father taught me to fly when I was 14 years old. Aviation is in my family, both of my sons are pilots.” Mr. Lloyd said. He is actively communicating while in the air. The public can track his flight on the web, social media, as well as Ham radio. “I’ve been a ham radio operator since 1976 and enjoy radio communications very much. The flight route has some very long legs, so I will have plenty of opportunities to talk with ham operators while flying over the world’s oceans,” Brian said. Commercial airliners fly long distances every day, but non-stop ocean flights are quite difficult for small propeller planes, which have limited range. To make it possible, Brian Lloyd modified his 1979 Mooney airplane to carry 150 gallons more fuel, then equipped it with modern navigation equipment, long range radio, and satellite communications. Still, the flight is not without risk, and special safety gear must be taken along. The public can track his flight on the web, social media, as well as Ham radio. About: Brian Lloyd, 62, is a pilot, flight instructor, engineer, educator, and radio operator. He lives near San Antonio, Texas, USA. The commemorative flights are co-sponsored by The Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum, a non-profit in Texas, and many other individuals who contribute to supporting the flights through donations. Project Amelia Earhart website: http://projectameliaearhart.org Press Kit: http://projectameliaearhart.org/press
  17. BCrystal
    Mooney_Logo_2048a.jpg

    From the album: BCrystal

    Mooney logo. Image drawn 2017 by B.Crystal. Offered free to public. CC-SA.
  18. BCrystal

    BCrystal

    Images added to a gallery album owned by BCrystal in Member's Albums

    Images by B.Crystal
  19. BCrystal
    That's a very good point, Jose. A possible solution to discharging static at the HF antenna is the use of a high inductance shunt coil or high value resistor (3k to 20k), at the antenna feed thru (hot to ground). A shunt 10k ohm 12 Watt wirewound resistor may be the easiest solution. Also, there is the possibility that a 1:4 UnUn (12.5 ohms to 50 ohms) to transform the low impedance of the antenna to a higher impedance might solve the problem of matching and static discharge at the same time. In addition to impedance transformation, an UnUn provides DC grounding of the antenna. We are exploring both of these methods for improvement of the HF belly antenna installation.
  20. BCrystal
    José Monroy (aka Piloto in this forum) published a pdf paper "706 in Mooney4.pdf", about the Icom IC-706 HF radio with HF top wire antenna installation in his Mooney. Download on Mooneyspace.com: "HF ICOM 706 MKIIG Installed in a Mooney by Jose J. Monroy KP4DAC, May 8, 2008". As thanks to José, a computer model was generated from the information in his antenna system paper, and it is attached below: Geometric view of the antenna computer model of the HF Top Wire Antenna on Mooney: Antenna computer model of the 13 MHz radiation pattern of the HF Top Wire Antenna on Mooney: Antenna computer model of the impedance curve for the HF Top Wire Antenna on Mooney: Antenna computer model n 4NEC2 file format for the HF Top Wire Antenna on Mooney, download: HF_ANTENNA_AIRPLANE_TOP_WIRE_MOONEY_4NEC2_MODEL_1A.NEC
  21. BCrystal
    To kick things off... Below, you will find some information about an HF antenna installed on the Mooney M20K that Brian Lloyd is using for a Round The World flight. An attached file includes a Mooney M20K aircraft computer radio frequency model that anyone can use for analyzing their own antenna systems on Mooneys (the file is adaptable to other aircraft). The Mooney antenna file format is 4NEC2 (free software). With the 4NEC2 software, one can simulate any frequency of antenna system. This includes HF, VHF, UHF and microwaves. The models provided here in the attachment below are suitable for modelling HF antennas on Mooneys. A Micom 3 HF SSB ALE radio has been installed in the Mooney with a new under-fuselage "belly" HF antenna with ATU. Brian Lloyd designed the system and antenna for use with ATC as well as ham radio. The Micom 3 radio is a commercial 125 Watt HF transceiver which covers all the aeronautical HF and amateur radio HF frequencies from 1.6 MHz to 30 MHz (and also receives 100 kHz to 30 MHz). It has a main radio unit mounted in the aft avionics bay, and a control head mounted in the main cockpit control panel, which has been custom-made to fit. The HF antenna is a tensioned wire that is under the belly of the aircraft, slightly offset to the left side of the fuselage. The antenna installation utilized Dayton-Granger parts: 10 inch aluminum antenna strut with insulated hole 10 inch non-insulated aluminum antenna strut Antenna insulator angled feed thru Antenna insulated tensioner Insulated antenna wire Computer modeling shows that the wire is resonant at about 17.9 MHz. The aircraft skin of a Mooney M20K itself is resonant at a radio frequency of about 12 MHz. An Antenna Tuning Unit (ATU) is required to match the belly antenna's capacitive reactance load with an impedance of less than 10 ohms on most HF frequencies. Here are some images showing the HF antenna system during installation, and some results of antenna computer modeling. HF Belly Antenna radiation pattern for 11 to 28 MHz: HF Belly Antenna radiation pattern for 3 to 9 MHz: Diagram of the HF radio and antenna system: Photos during installation of the HF Belly Antenna showing Dayton Granger struts, insulators, wire, and insulated tensioner: Photo of Antenna Tuning Unit (ATU) installation and Feed Thru Insulator for the HF Belly Antenna: Geometric view of the antenna analysis computer model of the Mooney M20K: Geometric view of the antenna analysis computer model showing the HF Belly Antenna on the Mooney M20K: Impedance curve of the antenna analysis computer model for the HF Belly Antenna on the Mooney M20K: ANTENNA ANALYSIS COMPUTER MODEL of Mooney M20k file download: HF_ANTENNA_AIRPLANE_BELLY_MOONEY_M20K_231_4NEC2_MODEL_7A2.NEC Polar format impedance Smith Chart of the antenna analysis computer model for the HF Belly Antenna on the Mooney M20K:
  22. BCrystal
    Do you have HF in your Mooney? Have you thought about installing HF in your Mooney? What type of HF antenna do you have on your Mooney? What HF radio and ATU are you using in your Mooney? Was HF already in the plane when you got it, or did you have it installed? Aeronautical High Frequency (HF) radio has been the mainstay of long distance Air Traffic Control for over 80 years, especially in areas of the world where coverage with line-of-sight VHF radio is not reliable or possible. Although aircraft satellite ATC communications are now commonplace, HF is still very active for Major World Air Route Areas (MWARA) as well as Regional and Domestic Air Route Areas (RDARA). HF is widely utilized for bush flights and NGOs to communicate with ground mobiles, remote outposts, camps, or portable units. Some pilots who are ham radio operators may also enjoy talking on HF radio with amateur radio enthusiasts. So, there are many reasons for Mooney pilots to want HF capability in their plane.
  23. BCrystal
    Brian Lloyd recently posted the following on the project facebook page: "... asked if I would be carrying a SPOT tracker so people can see where I am all the time. The answer is YES. You will be able to see the position of the plane at all times. I will post the URL for tracking the plane once we start doing flight testing. In addition, the aircraft is equipped with an Iridium satellite phone which will allow me to post email and Facebook updates while flying." Brian Lloyd asks: "This brings up one more thing -- I need a small group of support pilots who can monitor the world-wide satellite weather, watch my position with SPOT, and help me steer around any severe storms. I have Stormscope (sferics-based lightning detection) and that should also help me avoid thunderstorms but having another set if eyes looking at satellite weather as well as sending me METARs and TAFs from the route will help a lot." Contact Brian Lloyd directly on the Project Amelia Earhart page on facebook.
  24. BCrystal
    Project Amelia Earhart video: Historic Route Flight Map:
  25. BCrystal
    Round The World Flight, Project Amelia Earhart 1937-2017, in a Mooney Airplane On an early June morning in 2017, pilot Brian Lloyd will climb high into the sky above Florida in his Mooney M20K 231 airplane named "Spirit". His objective will be to retrace an historic equatorial flight route for Project Amelia Earhart, commemorating 80 years since that famous attempt at circumnavigating the world in 1937. For Brian's solo round-the-world flight, his classic single engine aircraft has been newly refitted with a suite of modern cockpit avionics. Also, a Micom 3 HF radio and antenna system has been installed for long distance aeronautical communications, as well as the opportunity to talk with ham radio operators during certain phases of the flight. An additional fuel tank boosts the extended range for long oceanic route segments. In addition to the normal electronics gear such as VHF and GPS, the airplane equipment includes computer, satphone, ADF, DME, and Stormscope. The aircraft position will be tracked by satellite on the project's website. The flight will attempt to keep to the historic Earhart calendar schedule as closely as possible, crossing the Caribbean, South America, Mid-Atlantic, Africa, Middle-East, Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific. Brian Lloyd comments, "At this point the planning shows that longest leg of the flight will be from Fiji, across Howland Island (where Amelia and Fred disappeared), and then on to Kauai, Hawaii. That leg is 2,788 nm (3,208mi or 5,163 km) long. The flight time for that leg will be about 15 hours." There are no landing facilities on Howland, so he will overfly the island, dropping two leis, one each in memory of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. The commemorative flight's final destinations include a stop at Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchison, Kansas, then on to the 2017 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh Wisconsin USA on Monday 24 July. Link: Project Amelia Earhart website Link: Project Amelia Earhart Facebook page Link: Project Amelia Earhart funding page Link: Project Amelia Earhart Youtube Video Link: HF Radio system in the Mooney
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