F10

Yeah this is a pain! I have used sunny over-glasses, sunnies that fit right over your prescription frames…if you don’t mind looking like Jacquie Onassis…or a visor that’s lost it’s helmet….but they are easy and practical. These days I opt for a photo sensitive coating, they are pretty good, very clear inside and go very dark when exposed to UV when outside. Seems the most hassle free compromise for me. Don’t go dark in a car however, because the car glass cuts the UV light anyway, so they don’t respond. Got a frame in the classic Ray Ban teardrop aviator shape, so when the lenses darken, they look/act just like sunnies.

Will be great to have a strip in this area, Phillip island now helo’s only and Tyabb and Tooradin bit far out. I would love to land in sometime from Yarram! Great for a day visit to Cowes or San Reno, if the ferry is running?

Some nice posts! Well my last “flight” was amusing, I left for Yarram a bit late in the day (this last Sunday) so arrived, had the traditional hot chocolate from the clubhouse coffee machine then had a good natter to Jim, he showed me one of the club members Cessna180 he’s just purchased, very nice! Then opened hangar. A few weeks ago on pulling out the choke to start the Rotax, the black plastic knob must have fatigued because a quarter section of the knob broke off. I bought some black putty, which I used to re-build or build back up, the broken knob section. Then realised I would have to wait for it to dry! So back to the clubhouse for a Pepsi and another chat to Jim and Bernie…Jim had a bloke with him, who years back worked for Vacume Oil and had supplied fuel to East Gippsland airfields from back in the 1950s. Then, back at the hangar, thought, by the time I get the dust covers off, fold the wings out, after manoeuvring out the hangar…re-fuel then the reverse process on returning…so in the end drove home, but still having enjoyed the day! 😌 Gotta love “flying” for fun!

Barnaby “voice”! No, but to me, Matt Canaan talks some sense…especially when China puts out in 16 days what we do in a year…..like Jo Brandon says “common maaan”!

Very nice! It’s looking good! Always liked Rans, the S7 Courier always been a dream of mine!

Yeah, I listened to this laughable little report on the ABC, that oh so virtuous propaganda machine of the left, describing a lovely little scene of all these virtuous people re charging their “unaffordable by most” Teslas at all these charging stations between Sydney and Melbourne, you could almost see the dreadlocks blowing in the wind and the barefoot girls in see-through cheesecloth dresses making daisy chains, along the highway verges, whilst out of sight over the horizon, the still standing wind farms and struggling solar panel farms hopelessly overloaded, were saved by a churning ever reliable and all weather coal fired power station, charging all these hundreds of EV’s and wrapping our happy flower children in a comfortable blanket of virtuosity, whilst they championed the satanic evils of coal.

Somewhere I read from someone, some good and solid sounding advice. The trouble with Mogas, is that it isn’t subject to the quality controls AVGAS is. SOA tanker might carry a cargo of diesel, then fill up with a cargo of 95 or 98 RON, to deliver, without having to wash out the tanks. I filled upmy car with 95recently and I’m convinced it has Ethanol in it, you can smell it, smells like crushed Sugarcane. So, firstly with all the climate change zealotry out there, one would have thought we would be seeing unleaded AVGAS starting to make its appearance, or increased aviation quality controlled Mogas starting to be available at airfields, but it seems nothing yet in sight?

Oooh I hate you! Dang that looks awesome! RansS21? Lovely!

Just to clarify on supercharger, yes they can increase boost or manifold pressure. That’s why a 7 litre V8 will put out 1000Hp+ down a drag strip. Also typical Merlin 60/70 series max boost was around 60” MAP, but at Reno air races, will crank them up to around 103” if not higher. Poor old war horse engines, it’s a tough retirement! Makes me wince! I think typical supercharger function in aircraft is to allow for maintaining manifold pressures up to higher altitudes. For example, with a P&W AN1430 radial, the fixed gear supercharger, would not allow you to go to full throttle at sea level, you would be way over boosting the engine. As you climbed, you advanced the throttle to maintain 30” MAP, until you reached full throttle height, than because it was a single speed supercharger, above full throttle height, MAP will reduce. A two speed supercharger would gear up, to maintain MAP to a greater height. So not so much boost increase, but maintaining engine max power at higher altitudes. Turbo chargers do the same thing, but because they are not driven by the engine directly but by exhaust gasses, they have a waste gate to prevent overboost.

I understood aero engines tend to be high compression, because apart from valve seat lube, lead reduces detonation. It seems strange why there is so much resistance to unleaded AVGAS. I thought because the bigger turbo and supercharged twin aircraft engines would detonate with unleaded, therefore they are driving its continued use. Anyhow, this is a pretty technical argument as I saw in one article on this subject in “Kitplanes”. All I’m saying is as a ROTAX operator, I would enjoy easy access to unleaded AVGAS.

No, not for tail dragger currency 🤡….attached on GND for ease of ground handling, as she sits on her tail with the wings folded.

Just think the Argossy was one of the ultimate twin boomers. Yes true, but power to weight wise, the turbo I would think allows for a better load capability. Let’s face it, helicopters only became really useful machines, after the introduction of the turbine engine.

Pics of Gazelle with added nose art! We’ve had a lot of bad Wx in Gippsland….Hope I can give her a run this Sat, before yet more rain in the late arvo! Tail wheel is for tail dragged currency……🥸

Some pics of two Wittman Tailwinds in Florida USA, sent to me by a mate who lives there on an airfield estate. Fast machines!

Looks interesting…what is that?

Bit like the camel and the horse…an aircraft designed by a committee! But it certainly looked like a useful transport. Personally I think the turbine engined Argossy was impressive.

I thought unleaded 100 Octane AVGAS was imminent? Seems not. It’s th one pain about a Rotax, they don’t seem to like it. Deposited of lead on the gearbox slipper clutch and I’ve seen a UTube clip about an oil change and the guy decided to clean out his oil tank. There was a lot of lead deposit sludge at the bottom of the tank. During the war, the Germans made up for their poor fuels running on as low as 87 octane as I recall, by adding to piston size. The Fw190 BMW radial, was over 40 litres in capacity. Could Lycoming/Continental drop compression and do the same? No doubt a weight and cost problem! But it would be nice to fill up on AVGAS with no worries.

Wow interesting story, no doubt this played a part in the demise of Wingnut Wings model kits, by far the best 1/32 scale kits of WW1 aircraft. The most amazing detail. They were in fact shortly to bring out a 1/32 scale Avro Lancaster, which had astounding detail and even had wrinkled skinning on the surface detailing, amazing. Needless to say however, they were not cheap models, but you got museum display type detail for your $. deMarco was pretty matey with Kermit Weeks, who flew at some of the NZ airshows. I had some exposure in a way to the uber rich crowd when I was posted to the SAAF Museum historic flight. There’s a reason there’re wealthy….wouldn’t give you ice in winter, and will fight over 2 cents. This is not meant as a character assassination, just a business fact. Be very wary…friendship is generally based on the thickness of your wallet. I’m always amused at all the articles about aircrew who fly warbirds, as the only reason 90% of them fly warbirds has nothing to do with some magical flying ability, or some unique “burning love of aviation” (who doesn’t have that!). It’s the mighty $. There are rare exceptions. A few ex BBM pilots have built up connections and have managed to wrangle a seat, plus they have of course valuable government sponsored hours on type…plus some personalities from the maintenance world who to their credit, got a bit lucky and a pilots licence. Despite this somewhat murky world of where the bucks stop,I for one are happy to see it has meant a lot of this awesome flying machinery, in which young men from all sorts of backgrounds, put their life on the line in deadly combat in defence of their country and Judeo-Christian civilisation ideals…..and it was horribly close….

Nice! Like Colts, I have often thought it would be nice to buy an Aerolite 103, to “scratch the itch”, whilst I re-built my Gazelle…that would be fun!

Yep it’s a pity we don’t have a FAR 103 system, and if we did, somthing which gets you out to 50 miles from your ‘drome. Legally you can go to 50 miles without getting a met forecast…so should be good for 103. Aircraft like the Aerolite 103, which to me looks like a very nice piece of kit, would be great for a swing around the patch on a lovely late afternoon when it’s cooling off and the wind has dropped. To do this without all sorts of legislation tie down straps would be good. In a single seater….you only have yourself to blame, it seems being able to take your own responsibility is almost a privilege these “safe” days.

Local “government” seems more of a problem from recent experience. Town councils or Shires seem to always have some officious obstructionist on the council who has some chip about aviation. I’ve heard lots of complaints about obstructionist councils, although I’m hearing only one side. But for example, very few councils seem to want to listen to, or ask for advice or suggestions from their town airfield users. We’ve had a very smart security fence put around our “terminal building” (more of a shack really). Walk two yards past the dance on the access road, and you can climb through a three strand barbed wire fence, no code required. Not complaining about the fence….but it certainly wasn’t a big priority…surely a cement hardstand at the nice new re-fueling bowser be a higher priority? Or instead of a promise to tar the car park, how about the dispersal area, cars have a nice grass lawn. Organising new hangar plots, instead of first waiting for interest to be shown?

Yeah, which is strange as it seems to make sense on paper. I have 50 odd hours on my mystery aircraft, some years back. Flying with the side doors slid back, the view is tremendous, very helicopter like. Had the worst control harmony I’ve experienced, very heavy ailerons, not bad elevator control and a feather light rudder, almost the exact reverse of what you kind of want!

Was fun! Very sorry, I took no pics….I’m old school so unless I’m lugging a 35mm Pentax or Olympus, it sometimes just doesn’t occur to me that my phone can take pics….! Maybe someone did? Some interesting aircraft. A very nice Auster, and a heritage Cessna 180, fitted with a nose wheel by Cessna as a first test of the tri gear market potential apparently.

The idea was: Cheap power line inspection and traffic reporting, compared to a fling wing operating costs. Like the later Brit designed Optica.

Add one can of baked beans, for JATO assisted take off!