You mentioned came from  Italy. Italians must pay a tax each year if they
fly more than 10 hours. Also if they are on Italian register they also must
also pay a, tax to government when they do  10 hours. Thus, they register
their gliders in another country to save tax.

Guess 15 or 20 years, a h36 came from Italy and clearly it had done far
more hours than log book said.

Simple do not buy gliders, from Italy. They are, the, world experts at
avoiding paying taxes.

Ian McPhee
0428847642


On Tue, 31 Oct. 2023, 8:07 pm Ian Williams, <i...@agcon.co.nz> wrote:

> Thanks Rob,
>
> Thanks for your response.  Yes, the ailerons come up about 15 or more mm
> when cruising. That is the symptom actually. Try applying that much
> deflection on both ailerons when on the ground.  U can’t do it.  So that
> amount of upward deflection  needs a really BIG  force to achieve. Hence
> the problem when the bearings are mis aligned.and actually rub on the
> wooden mounts..
> The cracking was vertical from the outer edge ti the bottom. The only way
> that could happen is the wood expanding inside
>
> Best regards
> Ian W
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On 31/10/2023, at 21:13, Rob Thompson <amessageto...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
> Hi Ian,
> You have had more than your fair share of problems!
>
> Some comments....
> - All the Dimonas with the old style ailerons that I have worked on have a
> noticeable upwards (negative) deflection. Does your's? Do you think
> this could be a factor?
> - Regarding prop cracks....I think all props should be dynamically
> balanced and I think not doing so causes significant long term problems.
>
> Cheers
> Rob
>
> Rob Thompson
> 0429 493 828
>
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 3:49 PM Ian WIlliams <i...@agcon.co.nz> wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I thought you all may be interested in the following
>>
>>
>>
>>    1. We have finally got our replacement prop from Hoffmann (10 mths)
>>    and was rather expensive so when I was told a forklift fork had gone thru
>>    the box in transit my reaction was rather predictable. Fortunately it was
>>    not damaged
>>    2. Before this happened, I had contact with Airmaster props here in
>>    New Zealand.  They could produce a really nice little constant speed prop
>>    (electrically operated) which would be a real plus for the L2000 Dimona”s.
>>    However I got a call from the head honcho of NZ CAA airworthiness who
>>    totally rejected the idea. (being a type certified aircraft) Hence the
>>    Hoffmann prop.   However now the Limbach engines no longer have EASA
>>    approval, that may change the H36 type certificate to enable  “special
>>    Category” or even “experimental”   so if there is anybody interested in
>>    installing an Electric Airmaster prop that will fit on an L2000 Limbach
>>    (correct rotation) let me know as I have organised 2 blades (Made by
>>    Sensnich).
>>    3. I think the cracked ferrells of the props has been caused by
>>    excessive temperature and humidity levels in our uninsulated, shingle 
>> floor
>>    and wet hangar over a long period of time. So I am thinking of a 
>> controlled
>>    heated insulated blanket over the prop and engine.   Raychem Autotrace
>>    heating cable seems a good suggestion or a slightly modified electric
>>    blanket.
>>    4. Currently I have almost finished an annual inspection on H36 S/No
>>    3667 ZK-GPH    It has been a real mission.  I found a turnbuckle fork end
>>    of one of the thrust cables under the engine was broken .. and had been so
>>    for a long time so was held only by lock wire. Quite strong lock wire I
>>    reckon
>>    5. I have ferried it around NZ for subsequent owners and the aileron
>>    control was unacceptably stiff, to a point of “sticking” when operated.
>>    Making it a really unpleasant little rocket to fly.
>>
>> This H36 was not a Thai one, but was imported to NZ from Italy (tho
>> German registered  D-KEBA)  in 2010. However it does have the early
>> “aileron push rod in compression when both ailerons are forced upwards.
>> This was a design problem which was corrected with later serial No’s which
>> had the rods in a tension mode.  The aileron bell crank for the older
>> Dimona’s is fabricated from tube while the later (tension) bellcranks are
>> made up of flat plate and there is only 3 bearing sets in the wings as
>> opposed to 5.
>>
>>
>>
>> Now for the jucy bit ..
>>
>>  We made a detailed inspection of each of the 10 bearing sets (5 per
>> wing) with a small camera and found some of the bearing sets (3 ball
>> bearings pointing inwards on a 3 piece metal “holder”)  mounted on wooden
>> mounts   ie the control rod passed thru the bearing sets and through a hole
>> in the mount.  We found that some bearing sets were not installed dead
>> centre of the mounting bracket hole  The over all clearance being about 1
>> to 2 mm.
>>
>> The upward load on the ailerons of the H36 when doing say 90 Kts is
>> REALLY high.  And I think is underestimated. Hence the compressive load
>> into the pushrods is also VERY high forcing the rod to bend like a snake.
>> Putting a high lateral load to each bearing set.
>>
>> So with misaligned bearing sets some of the bearings were not touching
>> the rod hence “rubbing” on the wooden bearing set mounts. So that is why
>> the ailerons were really stiff in flight but seemed OK on the ground
>>
>>
>>
>> To repair was a mission. We didn’t want to put holes in the wing so
>> designed a cutter system which we made from a short length of brass
>> turned it down to 18mm, put an 8mm thread in one end, rounded off the other
>> end and drilled a hole thru the thing used a 6mm drill cut off and a
>> cutting edge ground so it protruded from the brass”slug” about 3 -4 mm.
>> we then used an old push rod with the “slug” on one end and a battery drill
>> at the other and with great care, removed the mounting bracket material as
>> close as possible to the metal bearing fittings.
>>
>>
>>
>> So it still needs a test  flight but problem solved.  I think Hoffmann
>> has issues because prior to changing the push rod configuration, there were
>> about 5 different variations of bearing sets in the wings.
>>
>>
>>
>> If any of you want to see some pictures of the procedure let me know.
>>
>>
>>
>> Our Dimona (ex Thai) bearing sets had a solid nylon outer including the
>> outer ball race, so we had no choice than to make big holes and replace
>> them.   As they all were seized  Another Ex Thai (currently being restored)
>> didn’t have ball type bearings, just Teflon (or nylon rings)     S/no 3667
>>  fortunately had proper bearings (ie with a metal outside ball race) and a
>> nylon “tyre” against the push rod.
>>
>>
>>
>> So I thought you all may be interested.   I am astounded that the
>> aircraft has been flying for over 40 years like this and would be
>> interested in your comments
>>
>>
>>
>> Best regards
>>
>>
>>
>> Ian Williams
>>
>> Drury
>>
>> Auckland
>>
>> New Zealand
>>
>

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