SSDR Rally 2015

The BMAA held their second SSDR Rally from the 3rd - 5th of July at Enstone Airfield, this time the event had a more focused structure which meant companies like GSAL were willing to help by sponsoring the event, together with Flylight, TLAC, P&M Aviation, E-Go, Pipistrel, & Skydrive.  This new structure seemed to work well and we are already looking forward to next years Rally.  The following images give a flavour of the event and there was a very good spirit over the weekend with plenty to see and do.

This image taken by Colin Johnson in his Flylight Dragon shows the event layout which was very intimate and added to the feeling of comradeship, many who were there and attended said how it was like the old days where peopled helped each other when they had problems with their simple flying machines.

Sponsors set up their stands down one side and the central area was laid out for visiting aircraft.

TLAC had brought along their revised Escapade Cub now called the SHERWOOD KUB, it has a revised airframe which is now produced in-house.

The engine option on display in the Kub was a Polini 250 (36hp) single cylinder liquid cooled 2-cycle engine with geared reduction, it looked like a quality product, this engine is also used by Flylight in the Dragons.

The Flylight boys flew in their Viera and it was great to see it again, it has always attracted a lot of attention.

Another interesting aircraft was a Hybrid powered motor glider, which Paul Dewhurst flew, it is a development project from Cambridge University.

Quite a few aircraft flew in on the Friday and camped the weekend, many CFM Shadows which still look modern to this day, some lovely Minimax's also made it.  However, many came by road on trailers and were rigged on site, just like the old days.

The last four images are of a Goldwing, the predecessor to the current E-Go in terms of overall design philosophy, however, this example is currently going through restoration to make it airworthy.

Saturday evening was topped off by a BBQ and the weather was fabulous many had fun flying in the setting sun, while other enjoyed the food and drink.

However, the highlight for me was seeing Martin flying in the Eagle, there are not to many airworthy examples and it is a very rare sight indeed, roll on the next SSDR Rally which is planned for 1-3 July 2016 at Enstone.

Nieuport N11 Update

Roger sent in some images of his Nieuport 11 build, it has been approximately 10 months since he started the build and the airframe is almost complete, not bad, just goes to show how fast the alloy riveted and bolt construction is.  He has also engineered his own braking system using lightweight push bike callipers and discs.

He has also completed the wings and assembled the airframe for a C of G and weight check which will help him decide on the various engine options.

 

Nieuport N11

Roger Peirce collected his Nieuport N11 kit at the end of August 2014, seen here with Robin Morton in the GSAL workshop.  Since this photo was taken Roger has been doing a fantastic job of building the aircraft to a great standard and in a very fast time, it just goes to show how fast this build system is compared to traditional wood or welded steel tube.  The following images will give a flavour of Rogers build and quality of work, the pop riveted system is truly a fast and efficient build system. 

First job was the rudder, this takes the builder through most processes required in building the airframe.

Second job elevator and stab, once completed you will have built up the confidence to continue onto the fuselage.

Below you can see one side of the fuselage being laid out on a drawing scaled up on the building table from the A4 drawing pack (only the Eindecker is currently supplied with full size CAD drawings).  In the second image you can see the other fuselage components laid out before trimming and fitting

In no time you will have built up the main fuselage ready for the control system and the wings.

Below are some nice shots of the fuselage, once this stage has been reached you can fit the tail feathers and make any adjustments required.

Below are images of the lower wings spars being laid out, assembled and trial fitted to the fuselage.

GSAL will post further updates on the N11 build as we get them.

LAA Rally 2014 Update

It's been a few months since the LAA Rally and most would have read reviews in various magazines, we've been so busy at GSAL that this is the first chance we've really had to update our Blog!

Well, what you wouldn't have read about, probably, is the range of new kits we're able to offer due to the SSDR regulation changes, which effectively removes the 115kg empty weight we've been working with in the UK.

 

The poster we had up at the rally showing the new kits drew a lot of attention and many people were interested in these aircraft, surprisingly the DH2 seemed to capture peoples imagination, perhaps it's the relation it has for stopping the Fokker scourge...!!!

We have customers building Eindeckers, N11, Dream Classic, and shortly a DH2, next year could been an interesting flying season for WWI replicas.

We'll be posting images and updates from these builds and other developments soon.

Happy flying.....

LAA Rally 2014, 29th - 31st August

Grass Strip Aviation Ltd, will be attending the LAA Rally again this year showing support for the rally, and if all goes to plan you'll find us on stands 12/13.  We look forward to meeting in person with those who have already inquired about various kits and anybody else that might find our aircraft of interest.  Lets hope the weather plays its part in making this a fabulous weekend.

Popham 2014 Update

It was the first time in my experience that we had good weather on both days, and attendance was high with a few camping over on Saturday evening.  G-GSAL was sporting a new Hercules propeller with a none authentic colour scheme, but everyone seemed to like it.

Saturday, Mike Clark flew in his fine example of a GSAL Fokker Eindecker for the our stand, and was there to answer questions for any potential builders.

 

Mike's aircraft is powered by a 50 hp Hirth F23 with belt reduction drive, it also has a Hercules Propeller, which is the only type that GSAL recommend.  At the end of the day Mike performed a few flypasts before setting of for home, we managed to capture a very short clip on the mobile phone.  Many thanks to Mike for his support.


GSAL, invited Hercules Propellers, proprietor, Rupert Wasey to our stand for the weekend.  Rupert flew in his award winning Flitzer biplane while we carried his lovely Bell tent by road.  We had invited Rupert to get a feel for the Microlight scene, promote his products and provide technical expertise on propellers.

On Sunday Steve Duckworth flew in his lovely GSAL Fokker Eindecker for our stand, his aircraft was featured in the September 2013 MF magazine, and has the same MZ201 / Hercules Propeller combination as G-GSAL (prototype).  Steve was also on hand to answer questions about the build process.

Preparing to leave for home, Many thanks to Steve for his support.

GSAL also had the prototype MDS 30 V-Twin on the stand, sporting a Hercules Propeller on loan for the show, many thanks to Rupert Wasey for his support.

 

We are currently working on the development of the V-Twin and should be posting updates shortly once we have some solid performance data.

It was a very good weekend with many traders showing new or updated products, and there was certainly a feel that the good days are coming back, lets hope so..!!