sfGnome

Thanks for the suggestions, gents. The learning never stops... Much appreciated.

The situation: Cool clear day, 7500 ft. Engine starts to run a little rough. The reaction: pull on carby heat (though not very much - I've since been told that carby heat should be all or nothing). The response: Engine instantly picks up between 100 and 200 rpm. I was expecting the engine to run more roughly to start with while the ice was consumed. Surprised, I turned the heat off; revs drop. Back on; revs rise. Any idea what was happening? It just doesn't seem to fit in with any of my preconceived notions...

Bruce, I had to get bifocal sunnies made just so I could read the instruments! It made such a difference being able to read the labels instead of attempting to remember which switch was the strobe and which was the mags... I just told the optometrist that the lower part needed to focus at about arms length, and then got him to put the separation line between the two halves down lower than normal so that the bulk of the lens is for looking out of the cabin, and only a relatively small part is for reading the panel and maps.

Can't move them now - that'd damage that beautiful interior - but two sets of switches mounted on top of both the throttle mounts would be good. Nice easy access when setting up for landing without moving your hand far from the go-button.

KJ, really nice looking. What are the two switches on the armrest? Any chance of accidental activation? (Oh, and those seats look so comfortable...)

Top stuff Phil. I remember scanning my logbook and emailing it to my family - even if it didn't mean anything to them, nothing was going to stop me telling the world!

I love that view out the back window. I've never flown a plane where I could see what was behind me...

Beat me to it, Owi. I weighed my flight bag as part of the preps for Temora (had a slight weight issue with all the camping gear!), and was surprised. Ended up removing about half the guff, but it's tough when the heaviest books are mandated. p.s. I carry toilet paper too, but that's for the public toilet near the strip which has generally run out... :DirtDOG:

I love how excited she sounds. The best type of pax.

Thanks David. Two quotes from that paper that I found memorable: and

Your wife lets you get away with no insurance?? I occasionally find mine reading the policy while fingering the kitchen knives... Not true. Really!

Of course, the ideal is to be in a 4 person syndicate where 3 of the 4 don't fly any more... :big_grin: Seriously, it's easy to play with the percentages, but I know I'd find it much easier to stump up $25k and $60/hour than $100k and $160/hour. The tough part is finding people who are going to treat your baby with the same respect as you do. I used to share power tools with my brother-in-law, and it gave the the heebie geebies seeing how he treated them.

Yep. That was one of the things I checked before the first lesson. I was quite surprised to find in my case that there was no limitation on flying at all. I even rang the company to be certain because I found it hard to believe.

Hear hear!

Well, I loved it. I'm never going to fly that way, but it was great to watch. I didn't notice too many other people with their eyes at ground level either. It would have been fantastic to see some of the museum aircraft flying as well, regardless of the fact that we can't fly 'em. p.s. It would have been good to see more rag and tube there too, but out of all the planes that flew in, there weren't many of that type. Is that indicative of a general cross section of users, or is it just that it's too hard to fly that far in the simpler a/c?

Well, I saw FlightyGirl (the plane), even if I didn't see FlightyGirl (the real thing)! :big_grin:

One of my best was being in the pointy end of a 747 landing in Frankfurt (pre 9/11 or course), but I think the best was the first day I came home from the model flying field with all models intact! That was a long time coming... :big_grin:

Back home from Temora. Got to meet a few forumites in the flesh; managed to not meet many more by the looks of it. Thanks for tracking me down Dexter. 'Twas a trifle cool at night! The blokes next to us were scraping ice off their plane before they could leave this morning! Dome tents were popular in our neck of the woods. The weather was a bit rough on Friday. Here's a bit of an indication of what it was like when we arrived, though our entry was a little more sedate... Still, it started to break up nicely in the evening. I know Ultralights has already posted a photo of this plane, but just what are you supposed to put into a heavy-lift aircraft that can only take 540kg all up? Twister and Foxbat during the display. A low pass. The flying bedstead. Day two ends... We left around 10am today when most people had gone, so the parking fields that were packed are looking a bit bare. Still, if you look closely, there's 8 a/c lined up and one just in the air. They were streaming out thick and fast. The two really memorable events of the weekend for me were a) flying into Temora listening to the constant stream of announcements on CTAF and then being one of three planes all turning downwind simultaneously (one from midfield, one from up field and one phaffing around near the turn to base), and b) flying home at 7,500' in pure bliss up above all the crap! Thank you to anyone and everyone involved in getting the extra height ratified. That was magic.

I just booked underwing, so there was at least one spot left (until I took it... )

Geez, looks like Grandpa's old axe - just replace the head and handle and it's as good as new! Looking forward to seeing the pics

Like Dex, I have a ring-around list when I go, but if I'm going to be 'practising my scales' then I don't drag anyone along. When I first got my cert, I had lots of people wanting to come along for a ride so I just told them that I'd be happy to take anyone anywhere in Aus, but they had to pay half costs. Strangely, the requests dried up instantly. Now I just get to take the people I ask, and I haven't asked anyone for a cent yet.

I reckon the Rex jockeys would have enjoyed that call

Ok, we've ascertained that it's only a hypothetical question for the reasons that cfi gave, but that aside, DJH has hit the nail on the head. Get down in one piece without endangering others, worry about the paperwork afterwards. On the subject of ATC at a major airport, if you stray into controlled space, they'll start re-routing the RPT away from you immediately (which is why they hate incursions - it costs the airlines a bomb and it screws up the timetables). They aren't the slightest bit worried about your safety, but the safety of the 300 passengers on the bus you're about to blunder into is of far more interest. The pleasing side effect is that you get to live as well...

It's easy, Darky. Just hit the magneto switches sometime. Hey presto, gliding...

Cool. Any (publishable) reason for the change of scenery?