kgwilson

Well I wonder how the F35 will work out. It is the most expensive development of all time at over 1.7 Trillion USD and was 10 years late in initial delivery. The original concept was created in 1994 but the first F35 A didn't fly till December 2006. The development program was fraught with problems and component failures and the timeframe meant that much of the specialised avionic were obsolete before the aircraft even flew requiring billions more to be spent on new and upgraded equipment. The current program is still problematic requiring costly upgrades and combat testing keeps getting pushed back which is supposed to be completed before full scale production can take place. Some pilots seem to like it but most are not very complimentary. It is outperformed by the SU-28 plus aircraft.

Also California is the first state in the US to ban the sale of ICE cars from 2035 and it has the strictest emission standards in the US. Also with 39.2 million people it is easily the most populous state in the US so having the most cars is obvious.

Both Mooneys had their undercarriage retracted & were on hydraulic lifts. There was a metre of water through their hangar & they only just kept out of it. Once in a blue Mooney got a little bit in the rear of the fuselage due to the AOA it was sitting at. If you go to the air race website & click on the donate button (you don't have to donate) for Show me the Mooney you will see a photo of the flood level in their hangar.

Two pilots from South Grafton are taking part in their Mooney M20Js. They are team "Show me the Mooney" and team "Once in a Blue Mooney". Show me the Mooney won the last outback air race before covid.

I imagine only pilots with real strayan first names and a good command of high speed aussie slang will be considered which is why they "hope to recruit staff in time for their entry into the Australian market".

It is the output voltage x output amps that determines watts. Output from the charger is around 5 volts so needs 3.6 amps to provide 18watts. i.e. 5 x 3.6 = 18.

I just read the manual regarding charging & the unit is not PD compliant which means you cannot use a USB-C PD (Power Delivery) charging cable so need to use a USB-A to USB-C cable that complies with the QC3 (Quick Charge 3) standard with a minimum output of 2.5 amps which is only 12.5 watts. Uavionix recommend using a charger with at least 18 watts output so that means a 3.6 amp output QC3 charging device. There are plenty available on line that plug in to a cigarette type power outlet, some dual QC3 & PD. The problem is making sure that the adaptor does not interfere with the radio or other electronics while you are flying. You won't know till you try it.

I don't think you could invoice yourself but you could still apply for the grant on the basis of the purchase cost alone IMO. If the unit purchased would need installation there is probably no ability in the system to not specify installation unless you put in the installation cost as zero & therefore you would have no invoice to upload. Worth a try. You can get a fair way through the application process before you are required to upload invoices. The application for a Skyecho2 does not have input fields related to installation costs because there aren't any.

Yes. Don't buy a cheap one though as I did originally as the interference made the radio virtually unusable. Also don't just use a basic USB-C cable. These will only carry about 1.5 amps of current. A good quality Baseus 100W USB-C cable only costs about $8.00 from Ebay. You can buy panel mount USB C outlets with more than 5 amp (25W) output. Good ones cost around $40.00 or so but I have no idea whether they interfere with the radio or not.

I have a 3.5 amp x 5 volt USB power supply and my power outlet (cigarette lighter type) is connected directly to my battery (I did this when building to enable my solar system to keep the battery charged when in the hangar) so no issues with charging in flight if ever necessary. I also have a 20 watt power bank with a 60 watt USB-C cable. Most modern tech items like phones & tablets have fast charging capability so 2.5 amp requirement is pretty basic now. Just submitted my application No 244.

Uavionix $1020.00, Mendelssohn $1,095.00. Both include shipping..

if the tank is half full there will be mostly vaporised light components in the other half so there will be little exchange from the outside to bring in water vapour and you only need to add a litre or 2 to refresh those components. Full is OK but temperature expansion and contraction of the fuel will waste some out the overflow and contraction will suck in (moisture laden) air. I think the half full comment is more to do with the ability to refresh what is in there. You can't if it is full. A very empty tank will end up with a lot of exchange of air from the atmosphere. I have fixed a number of generators when they would not start after being left for months and after adding fresh fuel, by removing the outlet hose & carburettor float bowl to let the water out. At my SES unit we have a dozen or so generators and run them once a month for 5-10 minutes under load & keep the tanks with some fuel in them. I add 100ml to 500 ml of fresh fuel each time they are started. This way I know when we have a major power outage and need them, they will always start and run properly. The comments regarding high revving engines and old fuel is very true. A fairly new Stihl 192T chainsaw was used on a SES job after some months of no use. It went OK but the comment I got back from the user was it seemed to lack grunt. After that job it would not start. The Stihl shop took 5 minutes to find the piston had a hole in it, the big end bearing was stuffed, the bore scored badly and rings were most likely broken. The simple reason was overheating due to old fuel. The saw was written off & I replaced it with a battery powered one.

While I agree that Mogas should be as fresh as possible, it will last in your aircraft tank for about 5 weeks without significant degradation. I have proven this when I did not fly for 5 weeks & just decided to try to start the engine which it did so I flew with no issues. Some of the aromatics will evaporate off but the octane rating will actually improve slightly. The tests run by BP found after 5 weeks 98 RON had improved to 99.5. The only issue with a Jab engine is that it may prove harder to start from cold. The loss of aromatics will cause detonation in small high revving engines such as used in boats and chainsaws. The light components provide octane benefits under high revving conditions & this is not an issue with a low revving Jabiru engine though would be in a Rotax. Also you do not need to add very much to improve starting & running properties, 5-10% is adequate though I tend to put another jerrycan full in as my main tank is 100 litres & I often only have 20-30 litres left after a flight. The study text is below. The table did not copy properly so the pdf of the study is attached as well. INTRODUCTION Petrol is a mixture of many components with different properties that contribute to the performance of the fuel. When petrol is left out in an open container exposed to the air it will in time completely evaporate. As it evaporates the composition and properties will change because different components evaporate at different rates. This is a normal feature of petrol and the same process takes place in equipment fuel tanks. Where petrol is kept for more than a week in equipment tanks then it can become stale and it is better to add fresh fuel before using. Examples are classic, veteran and vintage cars and bikes, racing cars and bikes, drag cars, boats, dual fuel vehicles, lawn mowers etc. Generally petrol will last in equipment fuel tanks for about 3 weeks at a temperature of around 20 deg C, after that it will perform better when fresh petrol is added. Petrol will last in sealed containers for more than 6 months, while some breathing will take place this is not enough to significantly affect product quality. In underground storage tanks the rate of replenishment prevents the fuel from becoming stale HOW PETROL CHANGES IN EQUIPMENT TANKS Loss of light components – impact on mixture The light components in petrol are lost first as the petrol sits in the fuel tanks. These components provide valuable octane benefits during cold start. Because they are volatile they compose most of the air fuel mixture during cold start, if they are absent then the mixture becomes lean resulting in higher temperatures, pre ignition, detonation and piston damage. This is generally the cause of piston damage in high revving engines used in boats and small engines such as chain saws etc. The portion of the petrol that remains has a higher density and higher octane but this is not available during cold start resulting in hard starting. Because the fuel carburetors and injectors operate on a volume metering system the higher density means that more fuel is introduced for a given volume of air and so the air fuel ratio is fuel rich. If all the fuel cannot be burnt then it forms carbon deposits that will foul the spark plug and cause the engine to stop and not start. This is generally the cause of problems in classic cars where the engine stumbles and hesitates or cuts out. Loss of light components – impact on octane The light components in petrol are lost first as the petrol sits in the fuel tanks. These components provide valuable octane benefits under high revving conditions such as cold start acceleration and the loss of these components can result in detonation and pre ignition at high speed resulting in piston damage. The remaining components that have not evaporated are high octane and octane can actually increase with time but this octane is not available for high revving conditions. Document: Petrol life in vehicle fuel tanks v4.doc Page 1 of 2 Issued: Jan 2010 Supercedes: Feb 2005 BP Australia Limited A.C.N. 004 085 616 Gum and Peroxide formation With long storage periods, especially in the presence of hot weather or engine heat the petrol can oxidize to form peroxides. These compounds can attack rubber and metal, stripping away the liner on fuel lines or copper from fuel pumps and attacking rubber hoses. These normally take a few months to form in sufficient quantity to cause a problem. This process is faster if Ultra Violet light can get to the petrol. IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION ON PETROL PROPERTIES Volatility restrictions Current State EPA legislation restricts petrol volatility in the summer period, generally November to March. In that period petrol will have less volatile components than at other times, generally the summer volatility of petrol is 30% lower than the winter volatility which means that the loss of lighter components in summer can be quicker. However this is not usually an issue due to higher temperatures but can create problems in autumn if the summer fuel is held over. To avoid this fresh fuel should always be used in the April May period. MAINTAINING FUEL IN EQUIPMENT TANKS It is not possible to provide a foolproof strategy for engines that are used only intermittently, however the following principles help. 1) Always add some fresh fuel when the equipment is to be used if it has not been used for more than a week. This will provide additional volatile components and protect from cold start high revving detonation and piston damage. 2) Always keep the tank half full to stop water vapour from being sucked in and condensing. 3) Use a fuel that contains anti oxidants, metal deactivators and corrosion inhibitors to protect metal surfaces such as BP Ultimate 4) Using a hotter spark plug will help to reduce carbon deposits At the end of 5 weeks the fuel is 5% heavier and the fuel air mix will contain more fuel. For further information, please call the BP Lubricants and Fuel Technical Helpline 1300 139 700 local call Or visit www.bp.com.au/fuelnews Document: Petrol life in vehicle fuel tanks v4.doc Page 2 of 2 Issued: Jan 2010 Supercedes: Feb 2005 BP Australia Limited A.C.N. 004 085 616 petrol-life-vehicle-tanks.pdf

Simple solution. Change to Mogas 98 & plug fouling, piston, valve and head deposits are a thing of the past.

I can see the point of sticking with Zulu, BUT all modern devices know the local time from either the GPS or the local cell tower so it is fast becoming irrelevant as well.

It is quite pathetic that Weather and Notams are still produced in this dumb code. Almost every aviation weather app available has a plain English translation except Air Services. They come up with all sorts of reasons why it remains so like having to comply with international standards. Bollocks, they could provide both in the same app by selecting the appropriate tab or ask in settings which one you want like Avia Weather et al. I set this as my default including changing Zulu to local time.

From comments I would say the prop pitch is too fine. I have a Bolly Bos-5 with my Jab 3300 Gen 3 and have set the pitch so that WOT straight & level at about 3000 feet it tops out at 3300 rpm which is the maximum continuous rpm operation for the engine. Low level cruising at about 27-2800 rpm gets me 18-19 LPH & 115-120 knots. High level cruising around 8000 feet at 2850-2950 RPM is around 24-26 LPH & 130-135 knots. The J160 I have flown averaged 15-16 LPH & that was with a Jabiru wooden prop. The jabiru Scimitar prop which replaced the wooden props is made by Bolly and is ground adjustable though it comes new with the pitch set to Jabiru specifications. If you have one of these it may have had the pitch modified by the previous owner.

Trim for best glide if a) you have time and b) you have available trim. When I was training it was just nose down & best glide speed with EFATO. With engine failure at 4000 feet it was nose down & trim for best glide.

There are so many articles and video clips on the "Impossible Turn" and how it can be achieved but nowhere near as many on why it should not be attempted. Like Yenn I have simulated it at height & did not notice much height loss at all but I am not even going to try at 500 feet AGL. Pilots both inexperienced and very highly experienced keep getting killed trying the manoeuvre so there is a good reason for the name. Whether is is houses or trees or water in front within 30 degrees of centre I am going down it that arc, end of story. All I have to think about is stall speed and landing spot/impact.

Yeah it was Easter so quite chilly when we left. When I did the W&B we were a little bit overweight even with no baggage. The fuel burn for the trip was really high so we left with full tanks. Even so on the return trip by the time we got to the coast we were still well below the tops but flew up the Hollyford valley climbing all the time & crossed at the saddle where the Routeburn track leads to the Dart river & then back down the lake to Queenstown.

Flying in the mountains on a good day is spectacular in NZs South Island. I took a C172 from Hamiltion to Queenstown for the Warbirds over Wanaka 22 years ago. It was a club trip with 2 172s & 2 PA28-181s. I'd never flown there before but I was familiar with the topography so it wasn't daunting at all plus I had my Mountain Flying rating. We flew in to Wanaka on the Saturday (there were 600 light aircraft there) for the show but the next day 4 of us in a 172 flew from Queenstown to Milford Sound & back. The weather was good & that was my most spectacular flight ever. It was full noise all the way up the lake just to get high enough & then over the almost 10,000 foot tops to the West Coast and a descent all the way up the fjord to the Milford airstrip past vertical rock faces and massive waterfalls. I had to fly past the strip up the valley straight at a mountain & do a 180 to land on 29. Back then there weren't many rules. I just called in a sarwatch & told ATC we were going. That was it. I don't think they allow privateers there any more. Too many tourist operators. There are some great youtube clips of flying in to Milford. Here is one to give you an idea of what it's like. The Caravan had it pretty easy on this day & landed straight in on 11.

Curtis drain valves work well & can be locked open & fuel will drain quickly from them so it is pretty hard not to notice. I replace the Oring if I ever notice a drip on the bottom of the valve after a fuel check which I do before the first flight of the day & after every refuel. I have replaced a couple over time. Jabirus do not use Curtis brass drain valves.

Our club has a Junior member category and a couple of members (one an ex GA CFI) run weekly meetings and are going through the RAA ground syllabus with them. They get to go flying (free) with members every now & again who explain how the principles are put into practice. Age is between about 10 & 14 & parental approval is required for all activities. Some will drop out but there are a few that I think will keep going.

Margins and cost increases in the supply chain. The cost of a barrel of oil straight out of the ground is a small part of the cost per litre to the end consumer. Costs associated with refining, storage, transport and all the stages to get the fuel in to your tank have gone through the roof. Even during the pandemic when the oil price went negative i.e. you got paid to take it away, the cost to the consumer didn't fall below $1.20 a litre for 91 on average.