What`s Happening???

[biggles]

Ah, so the guilty croc may still be at large , hmmm ...... Bob.

 

 

[Admin]

For the sake of reference lets call the croc that was shot Ronald Ryan and the guilty croc O. J.

 

 

[farri]

Magic flight this afternoon...Sun going down behind mt Bellenden Ker...Well before last light...Exactly as the photo came out.

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[biggles]

Hope you've got that Drifter well restrained and the wet weather gear handy Frank .... Bob

 

 

[farri]

Hope you've got that Drifter well restrained and the wet weather gear handy Frank .... Bob

Bob, At this stage it appears we might be lucky! Latest is, it could hit at category 5! if it does, that`s serious damage! Cat 4 will be bad enough.......

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[farri]

Today we put to rest of a great guy who`s life was tragically ended too short!...We won`t forget you! R.I.P.

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[farri]

This is Nanda Holyoak! Nanda achieved his AUF pilot Certificate with me, in the Drifter, way back when I was instructing...Nanda was too young to have a drivers licence so his Mum would drive him down for lesons, from Wonga Beach, which is about 130 Klm, north of Deeral.

 

Out of the blue, Nanda Googled my name, found me on this forum and sent me a private message saying he would be in Cairns on the Easter weekend and he would like to come and see me! He and his Mum came to see Fran and Me on Monday, so I offered to take Nanda flying...It was 20 years since we had been together.

 

Nanda with his Mum.

 

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[farri]

With lousy, windy, wet weather all week, it looked like Hana and Lina, backpackers from Germany, were going to miss out on a Drifter flight with me, then mid afternoon today,their last day before moving on,the squalls eased off long enough to get them both up there!

 

 

Hana!

 

 

Lina!

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[farri]

Taking our beautiful 5 year old Great Granddaughter, Brooklyn, for her third flight, with me! Her first was at 4 years of age.

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[farri]

Mowing the main strip this morning and blew a front tyre on my old tractor....This afternoon I was in the process of replacing both of them when my Granddaughter Kristy paid me an unexpected visit! What better excuse to give it away for the day than to take Kristy flying?

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[boleropilot]

ain't it hilarious how SYTs (sweet young things) all love to go for a fly in a Drifter but the big boofy football player types say "no way Jose, you won't get me in that thing"!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

hey Frank, have you given her a go at flying yet? I gave a local 16 year old lass a crack at it and she took to it like a duck to water, and on a slightly bumpy day too...

 

BP

 

 

[farri]

G`Day BP, yeah! I find it hilarious (figure of speech) that some people don`t see the Drifter as "a real aircraft" and " if the engine stop, they fall out of the sky".

 

This afternoon, I told Kristy, on our next flight, she can follow me through on the controls!

 

Frank,

 

Ps, You back in the air?

 

 

[IBob]

I get a real kick out of this thread...........it just looks like so many good times............)

 

 

[M61A1]

I get a real kick out of this thread...........it just looks like so many good times............)

Try to imagine the images that DON'T get posted here.....

 

 

[boleropilot]

just in case someone gets the idea I am handing over the controls of my Drifter to 16 year old girls, let me elaborate:

 

I am always high, hard on the controls, eyes on stalks, all senses maxed out and absolutely ON IT for anything that may create a problem

 

the FIRST thing I always do is to explain how the I HAVE CONTROL / YOU HAVE CONTROL system works, with the participant moving feet and arms QUICKLY away from all controls

 

I make it clear that I may have to do something fast and furious with the aircraft without wasting time on idle chat - we even practice the process on the ground !

 

I emphasise TINY movements only for control - basically I try to be real smooth with my inputs too (if they're late from the back seat, normal at first), most of the time I'm just a damper on what they're feeling through the 'stick

 

when I get the idea they are reacting correctly to aircraft movements with stick responses I relax a LITTLE so they get more of the flying experience in that they are then actually close to controlling the aircraft

 

naturally we are talking no rudder input and only the gentlest of turns - and I gotta say, of the 3 or 4 passengers who have had a go, two of them were right on the money from the get go (and the best was a 16 year old girl)

 

let's face it, most of us will have asked a passenger if they'd like to have a go sometime....the Drifter tandem cockpit layout just means I have to be more careful

 

BP

 

 

[farri]

I get a real kick out of this thread...........it just looks like so many good times............)

That`s great Bob!......Yes! All good times for me and those I take up! what it`s all about, for me.....Hopefully! I can keep it up for a while, yet.

 

Try to imagine the images that DON'T get posted here.....

Can`t give away all my secrets.............

 

Frank.

 

 

[M61A1]

Can`t give away all my secrets.............

Frank.

Maybe we can share some Drifter secrets when I get up your way some day. Looks like a nice patch.

 

 

[farri]

The guy in front of the X-Air is this lovely lady`s husband.They are friends of my wife Frances and myself.Both achieved their AUF pilot certificate,way back when I was instructing,unfortunately,due to a health issue,the lady no longer flies as PIC...The X-Air is their`s...I get to fly it, whenever I want.

 

 

 

This mornings flight.

 

 

Frank.

 

 

[Geoff13]

Frank You appear to have the perfect setup, a Drifter, your own strip and an endless supply of willing passengers.

 

Surely it can't get much better than that.

 

I love watching your updates, it is one of the best threads that I have followed on any forum.

 

I am tempted to jump on the bike and ride up there just to get my photo on the thread :)

 

 

[biggles]

Yes you're right about young Frank Geoff. He does seem to have a rather enviable lifestyle, and also attracts his fair share of PYT's . My wife and I flew the Jab from Southern Victoria some years ago,and have remained good friends since. May get back later this year but, as the years roll on, something always seems to get in the way .... Bob

 

 

[farri]

Frank You appear to have the perfect setup, a Drifter, your own strip and an endless supply of willing passengers.Surely it can't get much better than that.I love watching your updates, it is one of the best threads that I have followed on any forum.I am tempted to jump on the bike and ride up there just to get my photo on the thread :)

Thank you Geoff, I sincerely appreciate it....Guys like you are the main reason I continue to post here....You are very welcome and It`ll be my pleasure to take your photo and it won`t cost you anything to go for a fly with me!.....Oh! maybe a ride around the block on your bike!

 

Frank

 

 

[farri]

Yes you're right about young Frank Geoff. He does seem to have a rather enviable lifestyle, and also attracts his fair share of PYT's . My wife and I flew the Jab from Southern Victoria some years ago,and have remained good friends since. May get back later this year but, as the years roll on, something always seems to get in the way .... Bob

G`Day Bob ! Fran and I would love to see you again but with a cruise speed of 55kts and head wind, we won`t be flying down your way anytime soon so you`ll have to Jaber it up to here.

 

Frank.

 

 

[kevb]

 

Hi Frank,

 

Things have slowed somewhat at the moment, I was conducting some maintenance on the Hornet when a friend noticed some cracking in the bracket that holds the center pole of the A frame and landing gear legs. Ripped it off to have a look and this is what I found. No flying for me for a while. I have been lucky enough to find a replacement so I won,t be grounded for long. The crack that we saw didn't seem to bad at first but as soon as I started to lift it little bits of metal fell away from the bracket and I could see that it was cracked pretty much all the way through. Have you seen much of this before on Drifters?, the hornet is a pretty high hour aircraft and has been used for training through the years so I expect that this bracket would have been pretty stressed through all of the landings ect plus I have been flying the paint off her as well. Anyway, counting the days till she's back in the air.

 

Kev.

 

 

 

[farri]

G`Day Kev, No! I`ve never seen that ...Make sure you inspect the pan below the bracket, very carefully?

 

The possibility of corrosion is greater for all of us who fly within a salt air environment...Read an article a while back that claimed, salt from the ocean, that is in the air, can be carried 200 klm inland...Whether that`s correct or not, we need to keep a good look out for corrosion.

 

Frank.

 

 

[kevb]

Thanks Frank

 

Will do with regards to checking the pan.

 

Cheers

 

Kev