On 02 Nov 2003 15:04:24 GMT, (JJ Sinclair) wrote:

All season long, I have heard a clunking sound every thme I hit a bump. Checked
over everything several times and found nothing, battery secured with a strap,
oxygen bottle tightly secured in its cradle, push-rod guides tight against the
push-rods, no side play in the gear (retrasted)? I thought it might be the main
wheel bouncing in the wheel-well, so I glued in a piece of foam to the top of
the wheel-well, so that the retracted wheel would just touch it and prevent any
vertical movement. Still had the clunk. Normally, I would forget about it, but
this ship was "totaled" by the insurance company, about a year ago, and I had a
nagging feeling that I had missed something in the rebuilding process.

Last week I lost all electrical powar, didn't have my back-up battery in,
because it was just a "fun" flight. Wasn't much "fun" after everything stopped
working. Where am I, exactly? How far to that duster strip? How much altitude
do I need? DAMN, I'm going to be forced to do some of that "Piloting Stuff". No
audio. No vario, we need some altitude, right now or getting home isn't the
most emediate problem. Boy, I miss the audio, Can't keep looking inside or I'll
run into this other guy (in my thermal) Oh yeah, the B-40 has a back-up
internal battery (thanks Mike Borgelt) Getting home, just might work.

Lets see now, I'm about here, so how far to home? Should have put some of those
"old-fashioned" distance circles on this "old-fashioned" map. OK, at 1000 feet
per 15 statute miles, I will need, Hmmmm, 30 miles divided by 10 = 3 times 1500
feet = 4500 feet. No that doesn't sound right? Oh, yeah, that's 30 miles
divided by 15 = 2, times 1000 = 2000 feet + 500 for pattern. Now what's the
elevation? Let's see now, that's up one page on the GPS, Oh hell, it's now
working, remember

Anyway, I made it home and found the electrical problem and the "Clunk" at the
same time. The clunk was the battery plug, clunking at the end of its 6 inch
lead. All this clunking broke the wire at the solder connection to the battery.
I now have the plug epoxied to the battery and I'm clunk free at last, clunk
free at last, Thank God all mighty, I'm clunk free at last.
JJ Sinclair


Reminds me a little of the Hornet at the loacal club. One day a guy
came down and said the rudder had jammed momentarily while doing mild
aerobatics.
After a bit of discussion and nothing obviously wrong we took the
rudder off and found the screw in bit of a panel mounted fuse holder
lying in the bottom of the rudder.

Glad the B40 9 volt battery saved it for you JJ.

Mike Borgelt