08.05.2022: We had the annual general assembly meeting of the Experimental Aviation of Switzerland EAS (www.experimental.ch) today, which took place at Birrfeld aerodrome. Unfortunatlely the weather was pretty poor in Lommis in the morning, so I went there by car. The other homebuilders from Lommis came to the same conclusion, some only after having driven to the airfield. In Birrfeld the weather was nice, but when I drove home i got into quite a thunderstorm.
30.05.2022: When I went to the airport this morning I noticed a change at our fuel station. Our second-hand military fuel track used for Jet-A has been replaced by a proper fuel station. We now have two Diesel / Jet-A powered Robin aircraft, so a permanent solution was due. I guess that with that solution it is now also possible to sell Jet-A to external users, as the meter is calibrated, which wasn’t the case with the fuel truck.
The fuel truck is still parked behind the hangar, but I have heard they managed to sell it to a collector of military vehicles.
I also notiiced a new aircraft in the hangar, which is definitely a boy’s toy. It’s a FlyWhale.
30.05.2022: It’s time again for a 100 h / annual inspection. In addition the fuel, oil and water hoses are due to be changed, and the engine has reached it’s TBO.
Some years ago the Swiss Federal Office of Transport FOCA decided that TBOs published by engine manufacturers are not anymore to be interpreted as recommendations, but rather as hard limits. Due to that new policy, many aircraft were immediately grounded, as their engines were well beyound the TBO limits, more often in regard to the time than the actual hours of operation. My Rotax 912 ULS for example has a TBO of “1500 h or 12 years, whichever comes first“, according to the Rotax Maintenance Manual. In the meantime it is however possible to exceed these limits again under a concept called “OCM, On Condition Maintenance“. EAS has negotiated the conditions required to perform OCM with the FOCA, which essentially consist of a borescope inspection of the cylinders / pistons, an oil analysis and some inspections on the spark plugs, which is not relevant for me as I change the every year anyway. My engine will be 12 years old in August, but has only reached around 500 hours of operation.