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kgwilson

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Everything posted by kgwilson

  1. kgwilson
    You couldn't hide an airtag on a small item like a SE2. At 32mm x 32mm & 8mm thick t's the first thing that would be discarded and left where the SE2 was stolen from.
  2. kgwilson
    The hexadecimal code provided by CASA is linked to the serial number of the SE2 so if the robber tries to use it it can be tracked. They cannot get another code for it and by deleting the code it will not work so it will be completely useless to the robber. You should report it stolen to CASA.
  3. kgwilson
    I still don't know why anyone would turn the radio volume down to do a runup. Even with ANR you will still have some (even if only minor) engine noise and anyway you are looking for RPM drop and if the engine runs rough at runup you will feel this. I'd really like to know the reason for doing it. There are holes beginning to align with decision making and communications but the proverbial straw is the Cessna taxiing across the runway intersection without communicating this intention and the crash happens as a consequence of this.
  4. kgwilson
    There are sometimes comments like the nosewheel is a training wheel etc. I don't know why. As FH says the tailwheel is inherently more directionally unstable on the ground so tailwheelers are good rudder users especially in crosswinds. Then the same can be said for castoring nosewheels. Virtually all commercial and military aircraft are nosewheel types but there is still a lot of tailwheelers in GA and of course they come in to their own in STOL aircraft. Nosewheels are generally the weak point in the undercarriage with wheelbarrow landings causing nosewheel collapses often after a series of porpoises. Horses for courses I reckon and personal preference but one is no better than the other. Once in the air the aircraft fly pretty much the same.
  5. kgwilson
    Only the US & the UK use MPH & a few tiny places like Jersey, Isle of Mann & Guam. The Metric Act of 1866 decalred metrics to be lawful in the US for all business dealings and court proceedings. The US metric association was formed in 1916 dedicated to the adoption of the metric system The US passed a law to voluntarily metricise their measurements in 1975 & in 1988 this was amended to declare the metric system the preferred system for US weights & measures for trade and commerce. Typically some people threw a hissy fit and politicians jumped on the bandwagon declaring metrics to be un-American. They are unlikely to change given the size of their internal market place even though their military uses metric measurements. There is little hope for any place that can elect a President like Trump. Sportpilot is an Australian publication and should have used measurements appropriate to the Audience. The Risen is Italian so all the measurements from them are metric and have to be translated for a US audience, It is only historical that we continue with Knots and feet in Aviation and with imperial measurement due to the source of a lot of hardware. Would you be happy to return to miles, gallons, fahrenheit, fractions, etc? I wouldn't.
  6. kgwilson
    If the article in the latest Sportpilot written by Michael Halloran, the new CEO of Jabiru aircraft is how the future of Jabiru pans out, then the business is in safe hands. Whether Rod and Sue have any shareholding in the company is not stated but Michael has been associated with Jabiru and Rod since the 1990s. There is a photo of him with a Jabiru taken in 1994.
  7. kgwilson
    So, Who owns jabiru then?
  8. kgwilson
    The cost of a new Gen4 3300A is $25,850 according to the website. I bought my Gen 3 new in 2013 & it cost $18,633.88 & that included the airbox & filter, carb heat muff, ram air ducts, an extended prop flange, engine mount rubbers, exhaust muffler system & tachometer & sender, oil temperature and oil pressure gauges, CHT gauge & sender and freight. The basic engine was $17,325.00. The only extras I asked for were the instruments & extended prop flange. Everything elso just turned up. With the current exchange rate an installed 912 ULS with radiator & all the bits as above would be well North of 40k.
  9. kgwilson
    They have sold 6 times as many engines as aircraft. Despite what Rotaxophiles think the Jabiru engine is well established with continuous improvements, is very well priced and has an excellent reputation everywhere except with a few disgruntled people in Australia. Both the airframe and engine need to continue production and improvement over time. Aviation is a small market and overcapitalisation is a very real threat. Hopefully the new owners are motivated by their dedication to the aviation industry rather than profit only.
  10. kgwilson
    The way CASA treats people who do the right thing and declare every medical event in their history requiring a myriad of additional tests after the Pilots DAME has given their OK it isn't any wonder that many lie or refuse to divulge information about a past issue. There have been quite a few threads on this subject in the past where pilots have had to spend $10,000.00 or more to try and get through the CASA brick wall, sometimes to no avail. That expenditure was to try and satisfy CASA after their DAME had given the all clear.
  11. kgwilson
    The number is likely to be miniscule. The study completed in the UK before their decision to scrap medicals for GA pilots in favour of a personal declaration found no deaths at all that could be solely due to medical misadventure.
  12. kgwilson
    At most airports the grass is smooth and mowed often and in many cases is an alternative to the seal as it is at South Grafton. Our runway is 50 metres wide with only the centre 8 meters sealed. Funny thing is that we have had 2 wheels up landings in the past 18 months & both landed on the seal & messed up their bellies substantially. I land on the grass as a matter of course. My tyres thank me every time.
  13. kgwilson
    And if you drink Gatorade you will die. Nobody gets out alive.
  14. kgwilson
    A couple of things. Why not land on the grass? That would minimise underbody damage & why keep the engine running? Surely windmilling would stop when close to stall speed and minimise prop/hub damage. Then again maybe the pilot isn't the owner & insurance will pay anyway.
  15. kgwilson
    I have to sit on the front edge of the seat in the 172M to do a full/free yoke movement if the seat is right back. One of the girls in our club at the time had to fly with 2 cushions behind her back with the seat fully forward to be able to reach the pedals and yoke. She was a very good pilot and 1 year with another female from the club got a 3rd in the round NZ air race.
  16. kgwilson
    Well in the 172 I can barely reach the yoke when the seat is fully back. When it happened there was an immediate pitch right up and luckily as I already had full power I was able to grab the top of the panel which was already showing the foam through cracks in the vinyl covering from 10 years of desert UV and gave me some grip. I was about 2-300 feet in the air at the time. Total time from the seat letting go and getting the nose down was probably only about 4-5 seconds. I didn't have time to think about anything and completed the circuit without further issue. I remember giving the owner & the CFI a serve when I got back. JGP was taken off line and didn't come back till the complete refurb was done. This one had a 180HP engine and a coarse pitch prop & had a better climb rate & angle than the standard 160HP 172M. I just checked my old log book. It was 18th of October 1998.
  17. kgwilson
    I've had a 172 seat rail let go on climb out. Reported this in another thread a few years back. There was an AD on this back in the 90s or possibly earlier. When adjusting the seat & get it right you need to give the seat a good rock back & forth to make sure it is locked in place. In my case it was in a 172 that had been in the desert for more than 10 years after a drug bust & bought by a club member from the DEA for about US5k & shipped to NZ. It was put on line for a while before it was fully refurbished. I was in full power climb mode when the rail gave way. I grabbed the top of the panel with the throttle hand & pulled myself back to get the nose down. The panel fascia came right off half obscuring the instruments. I'm pretty sure the 152 seat rail system is the same, just a bit smaller. According to FB this was Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport. The main runway is 06-24 with a cross runway 11-29. Takeoff appears to be from 29. You can see the 06-24 sign at the end. There is 1300 metres from the threshold of 29 to the intersection with 06-24. The camera had good zoom as this was taken from the terminal. You can see the airbridge at the beginning. There will be report on this and the tower will have all the data.
  18. kgwilson
    Ground stations seem to be concentrated around cities. They are few & far between in the regions of Australia. It used to cost about $45.00 to set up a Raspberry Pi receiver but I think it is over $100.00 now. Anyway all that I am concerned about is seeing others in the area I am flying in and hope that they can see me. At present there are too few aircraft ADSB out equipped and even fewer with ADSB In. Most I see are Training operators who have had to install ADSB out to their ES Mode S transponder. The 6-7k cost has put most private operators off. If the entre GA & RA fleet had SE2s everyone would see everyone else.
  19. kgwilson
    https://www.flightradar24.com/add-coverage
  20. kgwilson
    You may need to set up your SE2 as an ADSB device in FR24 and then there must be a ground station somewhere receiving the transmission from the SE2 which passes it to FR24 through the internet. You can set one up very cheaply with a Raspberry Pi connected through your home network but there may be some in your area already. Somewhere in FR24 there is a huge list of all the ground stations registered with FR24.
  21. kgwilson
    The simple explanation is that there are no genuine sightings of actual alien craft and never have been. There have been thousands of sightings of things that those sighting them have no explanation for, so they have convinced themselves that they must be alien and for some reason a large number are saucer or circular shaped.
  22. kgwilson
    I reckon they got the 737 Max 8s at a good price. After the 2 crashes, lengthy groundings and the findings of the investigation with Boeings reputation trashed they had heaps of these unsold after numerous airline cancellations.
  23. kgwilson
    The reveiwer obviously hasn't flown with many budget airlines before. Most are now using an app as well as in flight WiFi for most stuff. Before this though others also had local produce, wine from a 750ml bottle etc and waiter type service as well. Usually only full service airlines have the meal trolley and in economy this can be a slow process if you are in the middle.
  24. kgwilson
    Just like religions, all belief in something they are unable to substantiate or prove in any way except in their own minds.
  25. kgwilson
    If everything is checked and found to be OK with ethanol I still wouldn't use it in an aircraft unless it is run virtually every day. Ethanol is hygroscopic and will absorb the moisture from the humidity in the air. Depending on the time of year and the level of humidity it will not be very long before there is water in the tank as while it is absorbed by the ethanol it will eventually separate out and being heavier than ethanol and petrol will end up at the bottom of the tank.
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