I have a client here with a 162f with Joe Huff’s turbo engine. We have replaced the water pump seal 4 times in 2 years due to leakage of coolant around the pump shaft. We decided to eliminate the pump leak problem altogether by installing an electric water pump to replace the belt driven pump. If anyone is going to do this, please e found that we did not have a port on the inlet side of the new pump plumbing to connect the thermostat bypass tube to. Our solution was to cap off the bypass hose and then we drilled four 1/4” holes in the flange of the thermostat to allow enough coolant to bypass the thermostat which allows us to prime the electric pump.

Here are before and after pictures of the installation.

Posted something on OshKosh, can’t even find it!!

Hi all,
Slightly off-topic but figured someone here might have been through similar looking for advice on importing a UK-registered vehicle to Ireland for utility use (mainly hangar runs and towing a small trailer for the A600 build parts).
Context: my old Nissan Navara is on its last legs and the UK market has better deals on light diesels than the Irish market right now (post-Brexit pricing and fleet turnover). I’m looking at a 2021 Ford Ranger from a UK dealer, around £18k.
I’m trying to get a realistic picture of total import cost. From what I understand, the main items are:
- VRT, based on OMSP and vehicle category
-VAT and possibly customs duty for GB imports
-NOx levy for diesel vehicles
On VRT specifically, I initially thought a pickup registered as N1 might qualify for a low flat rate, but it looks like most light commercial vehicles are actually taxed as a percentage of OMSP unless they meet stricter criteria. So the final amount may be significantly higher depending on how Revenue classifies the vehicle.
I know the official figure only comes after inspection, so any estimates should be taken cautiously.
Questions for anyone who's imported a UK vehicle to Ireland (or elsewhere in the EU):

1. Did you use a customs broker or handle it yourself? The post-Brexit paperwork looks like the main complexity.
   
2. How long did it take to get a VRT inspection appointment?
   
3. Any pitfalls with getting (or keeping) N1 classification on a pickup like a Ranger? Does Revenue scrutinise seating/configuration closely?
   

When you back the power off for an approach or practice auto the main belts will oscillate wildly and will slap against the frame tube. Check your frame tubes for black rubber transfer from the belts. Adding a back side idler will keep the belts running true without contacting the frame. Here are some examples.

Dave Armando took Sheila and I up several times for lunch runs in North Carolina. What fun.



Here is a photo of John, Tony and Dave at John’s meet many years after their flight training by me in Rhode Island.

I instructed three great guys in Rhode Island back in 2015 all at the same time.


This year we were all 4 of us in North Carolina; John Garabedian with his Bell 47, Tony Evans in his 162f and Dave Armando in his R44.

I had a client who installed Safari main rotor blades onto his Rotorway 162f. We were at hover height just beginning our takeoff when the helicopter instantly flipped up side down and we landed inverted on the top of the rotor hub before the helicopter fell onto its side. The full story is at the top of the page, green button, Rotor system second page.

I had a client who installed Safari main rotor blades onto his Rotorway 162f. We were at hover height just beginning our takeoff when the helicopter instantly flipped up side down and we landed inverted on the top of the rotor hub before the helicopter fell onto its side. The full story is at the top of the page, green button, Rotor system second page.


Notice the dirt and sod in the top of the rotor hub.

I expect at last one person to take issue with this but I am posting a modification that I have done on my own Rotorway helicopters and it has worked out wonderfully for me. Many years ago I became frustrated with the inability to get wrenches or my hand into the tail boom just forward of the tail rotor slider assembly.

I measured the distance between the bottom slider rails to be just over 4” so I used a 4” hole saw and installed an access hole between the slider rails on the bottom of the tail boom. This mod has worked out great for me and I have trailered my ship to many meets over thousands of miles of bumpy roads with absolutely no issues. I am not recommending this for you, I am just telling you what I did and would do again.

I have found over the last 20 years that the aluminum shielding that spans between the radiator and the rear of the body panels to be counter productive and always in the way when performing service. Those panels also take a good deal of time to fabricate and fortunately in later years Rotorway no longer included them in the kit. I have removed them from a lot of ships. If you are building you might consider eliminating those shields. Here are just two of the 6 Rotorway’s here without the heat shields