slartibartfast

VH-XXX was not even asked to leave this site. He slunk away under the weight of his own transgressions. With that new thread he seems to be suggesting that Ian was asked to leave the board and is costing us money in legal fees by not going.

Brilliant story Don. And provided we get a happy ending, it would make a good movie, although one would have to suspend belief a bit.

If you hear a rumour that sheep are going missing, you don't ask the wolf.

I just got home - I left Temora on Saturday arvo to go grape picking the rest of the weekend. Despite losing a lot of the crop to mould, I've had a great weekend. Glad I decided to take Thursday arvo off. I would have struggled to get there on Friday. Don and David, sorry I couldn't find you all afternoon to say bye. Thanks for all the entertainment and the hospitality of camp David. I'll be in touch. It was great to meet so many forumites this time. The morning tea was a great success - even if our "I'm too scared to talk to a crowd" leader made me take the mic. The rampant and often unseemly politics of the weekend made for even greater entertainment. Beats a movie night. I noticed Paul Middleton at our morning tea. He isn't a member but told me he wanted to see the people who were attacking him. The board member meeting was also an interesting time. I think that through forumites David, Don, Dave and Geoff we have really upped the ante on accountability and confidentiality. The board has been put on notice that we want more transparent proceedings and governance which truly represents the members. I was also very impressed with Steve Runciman. He definitely seems to be a man of his word. I'm looking forward to the promised Executive Director's (CEO if he insists) response in the minutes you are preparing Steve. This forum has raised the bar in open communication and keeping the bastards honest. Well done all. Ahlocks - Captain said you were looking for me, but I couldn't find you. PM if you like. I'll catch you somewhere else soon. So, congrats again Temora - especially Carol. Even better than last year. Shame the weather kept so many away. The colour coded cards were a great idea. The food court needs beefing up . More people would have really exposed some short-comings there. The food was excellent though. Another political issue not mentioned yet - there were no RAAus office staff there. I understand they boycotted the event due to a dispute with the ED/CEO. They were sorely missed. We need this crap sorted out. To all the other forum members I met (Ballpoint didn't even wait until I got out of the plane to say hello), it was great to meet or re-meet you all. To Ian and his long suffering father Jack - well done again. I hope the effort was worthwhile. I didn't take many photos this year, the focus was more on video. I'll be working on a vid or 2 soon - including footage where I took David for a flight in my airborne sports car. Another convert?

Thirsty, did you see this post from Cazza?

I can beat that Rob. 267kg empty and will go further on my standard 100 litres than your long range tanks will get you. Good to 600kg too. But not pretty enough for your better half. I read that somewhere too Glen.

All good David. I realised it was just the inadequacy of the printed word - hence my mild retort. I was serious about your superior knowledge though. That's why I laid out the symptoms. Hopefully Chris can prove the hypothesis.

Actually no - I wasn't kidding (I'm sure there's a more diplomatic way to point out that I'm an idiot). I was going by the symptoms. The engine turned over poorly even jumping from a power pack. Cold starting was very poor. The earth return lead caught fire and melted. Putting in a new solenoid of the same type got it going again, but still poor starting. Fitting the aforementioned quality solenoid solved the starting problems completely. The engine now turns over much faster and for much, much longer. While turning over the engine to get oil pumping out the new hollow pushrods before completing reassambly, it probably totalled 3 minutes cranking. 2 weeks later without recharging the battery, it fired straight up. You're no doubt right - I bow to your knowledge on the subject. It was probably initially poor contacts, then a leak to earth which melted the lead. Replacing it with an identical but new unit didn't solve the poor starting. Fitting a better solenoid did. I'd like to see Chris change nothing but the solenoid. If that fixes his problem too, we have a winner.

Let's just say I'm not convinced that I'm the man for the job. The size of the footprints I would stumble into are a bit daunting. On the up side, I can pop out to Fyshwick any time I want. And not just for porn.

Congrats your Darkness. Now Haliaeetus leucogaster won't even have controlled airspace to hide in.

Whew!

A Cole-Hersee like this: Looking at their catalog it looks like part number 24047. I got it from a regular auto electrician. Motor is Jab 2200.

At the risk of repeating myself, It's the starter solenoid. Replace it with a quality one and be amazed. Mine starts first turn when it's -7 degrees now. Stands to reason. If you've done all the other things, and a jump pack won't turn it well enough, then the current is going somewhere else. In this case, I found it to be leaking to earth at the solenoid.

Way to go Pud. Good luck and happy flying.

I've watched arrivals at Hartsfield-Jackson (Atlanta) where I could see 12 planes on final to parallel runways - 6 pairs using L and R with minimum separation. That's how it can be done - and is every day there. I think it's the third busiest behind LAX and ORD (O'Hare Chicago). I did them all in one day once.

Back in 1981, I went solo in 32 launches - and I'd never flown before. I loved gliding. It definitely teaches you a lot about flying. I found that a whole day's effort was required - even if you only had a 12 minute glide. Put me off a lot. I went hang-gliding instead.

I've had to repair mine after almost every outing lately. It's wood covered in fibreglass resin. I just repair it with more resin. I sanded it way back and put many more coats on it over many weeks recently (while using the backup prop) after a very bad gouge (decachip in metric). It ended up way out of balance, so I checked the symmetry and found I'd built the leading edge up too much on one side. All good now, but again needed more work when I got back from Echuca. That's where a taildragger would be great. My prop is too close to the rough stuff.

Nope. I don't do twitface, or OMGVille. I can send a copy of any you like. Here's a few more of the 340 I took. This was a really great weekend. The Beech Staggerwing and the Stinson Reliant were favourites. The Birddog on floats was something different. I got a real close look at the Roulettes from the holding point of 17. I've never seen so many 195s. There were 5 I think. Very nice.

Ah yes. I remember now. Was great to meet you DJP. Are these yours? [ATTACH]13444.vB[/ATTACH] Here's a shot as I was leaving which shows the wisdom of taxiing early. Check out the line waiting to depart. [ATTACH]13443.vB[/ATTACH]

Mine plugs into my spare cigarette lighter socket. Picked it up at Bundy. You can see it here: [ATTACH]13442.vB[/ATTACH]

Very sorry Ian. I was a bit distracted, but I would have loved to chat for a bit. I'll have to catch you next time. I had to sit in the plane for 45 mins to ensure I got away in time. After unicom kept telling us they might be able to get away, then not, then yes, I've never idled so long. I wasn't sure it would start again the last time. The holding point at the threshold was a great spot to watch the Roulettes though. The tailwind all the way meant I got there with 45 mins to spare. A headwind could have eaten that up though. Glad you got back too.

You can't leave out the west! Head down the coast. One of the times I did it, the bulldust was so bad that I got from Broome to Sandfire exhausted. That was it for the day - about 300k's. My BMW has crossed the Nullabor 19 times. You have to do it once at least. Aviation parallel? I have spent many hours with my arms out wide (throttle lock) going "zoom zoom". Low level flight was easier to get away with in those days. The first year I crossed the Nullabor was the first year it was sealed. If the planes didn't get you (aviation reference), nobody would.

The one on the runway end? That was my shade for most of today's pics. Slight framing issue there stanza. Were you and Bec there too? As I was walking to the Cheetah at one stage someone said "you made it". I thought they were referring to the Cheetah. Only later did I realise it may be a forum member talking about me getting to Echuca. I hope I didn't snub anyone I really wanted to meet. That would **** me off.

I heard you were there. I stopped a guy who looked like you. Turns out I'm an idiot. Who knew? Got to agree though. Great displays, great aircraft, and the talk by Matt Hall yesterday redefined greatness. Oh yeah - I have 340 photos of varying levels of interest. Anyone vary interested? (I realise that's misspelled. It's a pun)

Try this one. http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=862456908001