Leaderboard

Best wishes Ian. The medical profession, despite my criticizing them, is real good these days. Apart from that endorsement, I agree that you will always be welcome to the right hand seat of the many planes owned by us forumites, certainly my Jabiru for one. We are very grateful for all you have done with this site.

I have 2 Rec Flying headsets bought in 2014 & have been used constantly & still working perfectly. One set used constantly & the other only when I have a passenger. I purchased a new head band from you that looks the same as the one in the photos above as the other lost its padding ability. The new one is better by far. I have replaced both sets of ear seals due to age & the gel coming out. Highly recommended headsets, better than most other PNR headsets on the market.

Chin up Ian. All the sympathy in the world does little to ease that hand you've been dealt. Rest assured that you have many friends (especially through your great forum). Take strength from knowing that. Have faith in the best advice that your opthalmologist gives you. And keep looking for those little gems of joy that do come your way, from whatever direction they come. And whenever a empty right hand seat is offered, take it. Even with limited sight, nothing can steal the feeling a steady climb out. All the best to you.

Yes, then there is an up to 3% extra when withdrawing the money to my bank account: Once you have money in your PayPal account you may want to withdraw it to your linked bank account or card. There may be a fee for this service, depending on exactly how you want to process the withdrawal. Here are the PayPal Australia withdrawal fees for consumer and merchant accounts: Withdrawal type PayPal fees Standard withdrawal to bank account Up to 3% depending on the linked account Currency conversion fees apply if PayPal funds are held in a foreign currency Withdraw to a linked card 1% Currency conversion fees apply if PayPal funds are held in a foreign currency Currency conversion fee 3% – 4%

Ian so sorry to read of your deteriorated eyesight and it’s impact on your ability to fly. I recently read that in the coming decade advances in non surgical opthomology will render all corrective lenses a thing of the past. Perhaps your day will come again? At any rate, we value your extraordinary contribution to the aviation community through your running of this website and I’m sure there will always be a right seat for your to scratch the flying itch. Best wishes Alan

That's hard, Ian. I've come to my flying later in life than many. I hope the years allow me a few hundred hours, for all that. All the best.........)

If you pay with a PayPal balance, or pay from a linked bank account that's in credit, then PayPal payments are fee-free within Australia. However, if you pay using a credit card through PayPal, then the fee is 2.6% + 30c fixed fee. You're normally able to select who pays any fee (buyer or seller) when you make a payment. PayPal Fees for Australia: A Full Guide 2024 - The Currency Shop WWW.THECURRENCYSHOP.COM.AU PayPal Fees for Australia: A Full Guide 2024 PayPal is a huge global online shopping and digital payment provider, with a presence in almost every country in the world. Thanks to its convenience, many people...

Thanks Nev, tell him I went for a short ride in a CT the other day and realised how much I miss mine but I can't trust my eye sight and vertigo not to give me a problem at the wrong time...say heloo to him and hope he is ok and not missing his A340's

Yes, but now you're our resident Matco parking brake expert......)

Yep, I for one misunderstood: my park brake is just a pair of ganged ball valves (one for each line): press on the brakes and turn off the valve. I guess there must be some good reason for the arrangement of poppet valves and lift cams in the unit you have, presumably that you can apply the brakes regardless of the valve position...

It's most like the sound of the steam generators on top of the boiler on steam Loco's. Hiss and wining sound.. Can be most disconcerting when all is absolutely quiet. Nev

I’d not swap the tinnitus for lights. Bugger! Sorry to hear this. I was just thinking about the sounds of tinnitus. Whooshing etc. When it’s really quiet I have mosquitoes. No idea if they are real or not. Used a lot of bug spray and now I just go “have at it”.

As those who have been in front of A Viscount with 4 engines howling will know is bloody intolerable. It's not the props. It's the compressor intakes. Nev

Hi Ian, I am very sorry to hear about your eye issues. I hope that you'll get opportunities to fly with an instructor from time to time to continue to experience the joys of flight. Greetings to Corinne too.

I've had tinnitus for a couple of years now & have learned to ignore it. I only notice it when someone mentions it. Mine is just a constant high pitched ringing.

Mike, I agree with you about tinnitus. I have a constant sound like an electrical transformer, plus whooshing like two tornadoes, one in each ear, and they are different and not synchronised. Similar to driving on the freeway with a window open just a tad. It is as persistant and annoying as cicadas in summer. I have the radio or TV on, not to listen to, but to distract and try to blanket out the sound.

They've sold thousands of Savannahs, it's a very complete kit. But visit the forums and most builders spit the dummy at some point over the manual. This seems to be the rule, more or less, with homebuilts, with the exception of the RVs, which I am told are literally line by line LEGO, though I believe they also aspire to a higher build quality and finish, so it's not quick. I've not seen one being built, but this is what I have heard, and certainly groups and schools build them: no way you could sensibly do that with the Savannah. So, hey, you're part of a unique but not uncommon journey, that almost all home builders will identify. I walked away from mine for some months when I stopped enjoying it and started making too many mistakes. But I picked it up again and enjoyed finishing it and am enjoying owning and flying it. My first suggestion, if you can, is to locate knowledgeable builders of your aircraft who you can bounce questions off. I got the last NZ kit to come out of Australia, so I had access to the very experienced Oz agent. I also spent a lot of time on Mark Kyle's build thread here on this site, plus several others, and I bounced a lot of questions off Mark. I found most aviators are only too happy to help. I also learned that nobody knows everything (of course) though some know a great deal: but nevertheless while I listened to the advice and was thankful for it too, I learnt to make my own decisions. This is my first suggestion, because I have since come across builders working in isolation, and sometimes they have headed off up some very strange avenues. My second suggestion is to get access to as many build pics for your aircraft as you can. My Oz agent supplied some, Mark Kyle and others have posted heaps, and I have now added my own online share. At the start, flicking through the pics really doesn't seem to mean much. But as you go on, they provide a wealth of detail and answer a whole lot of questions. By the time I was well into my build, I had an open manual, a separate open parts catalogue (which happened to have some exploded drawings) and an old laptop on the bench allowing viewing of build pics. I'll leave it there for now. It's a journey, and a less than usual one, but I'm pretty sure you'll get there, and be very glad you did. Happy days.........and blue skies. Bob

Hi Ian, Very sorry to hear about the deterioration to your eyes.. I can only echo what has already been sent... Thanks for maintaining the site despite various challenges - this one the most important.. All the very best wishes, Lance

You WILL want a park brake.

Yes I agree the depiction is fairly generic. Funny I was only discussing this with a friend of mine 2 days ago at his home where he's had that picture on the wall for ages, and his knowledge in detail of that stuff is very extensive. The coastline is very accurate, (I've been there) and the engine is probably intended to be a 3 cyl Anzani which is not correct. It's a great work of art, in my view worth having on any wall. Nev

I find the fact that a large number of these early flyers, tinkerers, and aircraft engine and airframe builders, seem to originate from the bicycle and motorcycle fraternity. Bertin was a bicycle mechanic, then a motorcycle mechanic. I guess dealing with light weights and small engines, as in motorbikes, would translate pretty easily across to flying machines. I think it also helped to be a bit of a mad bugger, a real risk-taker, as so many of the motorcycling and motorcycle racing fraternity seem to be, both then and now.

Bugger - really sorry to hear that Ian. Eyes are so critical to just about everything we do. I second danny's comment about finding a flying buddy so you can still escape the 'tyranny of petty things' from time to time. All the best, Alan