sfGnome

My beloved had a much better bike than mine (which she let me use occasionally 🙂), but she had to give up after smashing her wrist in a snowboarding accident when she no longer had the strength to apply the brakes (so I inherited her bike 😁). I eventually sold it when I found I was using the push bike instead of it (now there’s a mode of transport you need to have eyes in the back of your head for in Sydney traffic). The bloke I sold it to wrote it off within a couple of months. I will add that she will fly with me, but unenthusiastically. 🫤

When I lived in Ireland, I could (and often did) fly to just about anywhere in Europe for about $100. That’s the difference that a large market with lots of competitors makes. Mind you, one of those carriers dropped me in Paris somewhat later than advertised - ie 2am, long after the metro had shut down for the night - so I had to walk through northern Paris looking like a tourist dragging a suitcase and expecting to be mugged at any moment.😳 Delays are the price you pay for cheap flights.

I’m impressed (and yes, I did have to go and look it up 😵‍💫).

Doesn’t look like much, just a country town, but it’s MY country town. First time I’ve been away from the airport since getting back to flying after a break of 7 years. Been doing lots of circuits; still not entirely comfortable, but getting there. It used to be so easy… 🫤 Amusing aside. My GPS decided to not function and I had to navigate using compass and clock. Lot of years since I last did that. Lucky it was dead still and clear (and I wasn’t flying very far 😛).

There wasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, a Gen 5 on display, but the new boss did wave around a cylinder head with some extra holes while talking about the fuel injection that they’re developing. Interestingly, they’re going to keep the carbies as a backup. Run on injection normally, and fall back to the carbies if the injection fails. I don’t know how that works, but it sounds like a good idea (assuming the carbies are still functional after 1000 hours of idleness).

Yep. There were 2 in the under-wing camping area. Don’t know what was on the flight line.

A couple of points about the show (and some topics from various threads…) There were 3 slings on show. Bernie just showed you the dream machine. The Sling 2 is much more affordable (for various descriptions of ‘affordable’), especially in kit form. If you want cheap, the powered parachutes were there (~$5k up for 2nd hand, $35k new). Take off easy from a small paddock. Fly low and slow. Sounds like a pretty good replacement for 103 to me (but that’s not my thing, so don’t yell at me for suggesting it). I had a yarn with the Dexter, the Atec distributor (haven’t seen him for years). The low Aussie $ is not making his job any easier. I asked about CTA transit rather than full access, but the view was that the required training was the same for both, so there was no advantage in doing one before the other. Errol (GAP - BushCat distributors) confirmed that BushCats were not being manufactured any more, but the parent company (who actually manufacture all the parts) was doing well and will be continuing to supply spares. He said that when sales started to decline, they put up their prices to maintain margin, which of course made sales decline even further ‘til it was terminal. I was really interested in the AvPULP product. Essentially, mogas with guaranteed quality control end to end, and guaranteed no Ethanol and high end volatiles. Currently only available at one airport (Victorian, but don’t remember which one), but promising quite a few more within 12 months. It will only be installed at airports that will consume sufficient quantities, so don’t expect to find it at Upper Cumbucta International. They claimed that the price would be comparable with servo mogas. Saturday crowd was mostly aviation types (ie all ancient - myself included), but Sunday was largely young families. Just maybe a dream or two were born in little brains. 🙂 The only down side to the weekend that I noticed was that because the visiting aircraft were parked airside, you couldn’t wander around having a gawk. Had to satisfy myself with the ones parked in the under wing camping area that was accessible. Regardless, happy I went.

Just make sure that the cap is tight when the Good Samaritan is taking you back to the field from the servo. Don’t ask me how I know… 😳

One end of term at school, they put all of us in the hall and played a 16mm print of the movie (presumably easier than trying to teach us something on the last day). However, in an unfortunate error in timing, the school bell went before it finished, so we never got to see if they made it off safely. I assume that they did… 🙃

Drove one of my Minis (I had 3, or more accurately, I moved one engine through 3 bodies) down a boat ramp one misty rainy night mistaking it for road. Oops! Pushed it back out with the help of some mates (bare feet on knobbly concrete in mid winter water 🥶), gave it a good spray with WD40 and it ran no worries. Mind you, I never went anywhere without a full tool kit and my overalls, and there were a few romantic evenings ruined by me having to fix the thing on the side of the road. Still got a really soft spot for them though. Occasionally I find myself thinking that it would be fun to restore one (a proper one; circa ‘68-‘70), and then I give myself a swift uppercut to bring me to my senses. 😵‍💫

Too far away for you, but by way of comparison, Fly Illawarra at Shell Harbour charge $240/hr for instruction on a J160. The prices you’re paying at Sale seem a little(?) on the pricey side. 🫤

Yep, bung the list on here. I’m in need of some clecos, and who knows what else you have might be of interest?

Just for a moment, that’s the highest elevation AGL that your plane has achieved… 😁

The biggest issue with the 3G shutdown is that a lot of older phones automatically switch to 3G (and only 3G) for emergency calls. I presume that was because the designers thought that 3G had a better chance of getting through in remote locations, but it’ll mean that they won’t get through at all after the shutdown, and the worst aspect of that is that they won’t know that their phone won’t work for 000 until they try it…

It was a 24 reg, used by the RA flight school there (Valley Ultralights if my memory serves me correctly - long since shut down and the aircraft sold off). Cost him a fair bit to get it approved. That would have been about 15 years ago, so the processes will likely have changed.

Being an RA pilot, I was taught to expect engine failure at any time (ie always have somewhere to land in sight). I got a real shock one day talking to a friend who was a CPL and instructor in the GA world about not flying over tiger country and he asked “why not?”. When I explained, he said “Oh, I never thought of that”.

There was a bloke at the Cessnock club doing them 7 or 8 years ago. Not sure that’s terribly useful information though…

True, but the alternative doesn’t look too good either… 🫣

Ok, I definitely wouldn’t want someone shooting at me while using it (I guess I should say that I don’t want someone shooting at me any time! 🫣), but wouldn’t it be awesome fun to use.

Her story is that ol’ Reg A. refused to have female pilots. She took Ansett to court and won, opening the doors for the many female big rig pilots we have today. Yes, there were many female pilots before her, but it was a particularly hard glass ceiling that she broke… Actually, it reminds me of a story my father told me. My grandmother, many, many years ago, drove up to an intersection in Sydney and was waved through by the cop on duty. When she went back later the same day, he stopped her because, he told her, she was the only female driver he had seen all day. Times change. 😛

A big advantage of SSRs is that the control current is so low. The relay is on all the time, so the current draw of a solenoid is significant if you lose your alternator and want the battery to get you home. Of course, with a 0.6V drop at 100A, that’s 60W you’re dissipating (presumably during starting), so you’d want it to to be bolted to a nice big lump of metal as a heat sink.

Nev, is the lead issue with 100LL exacerbated or ameliorated by the purely synthetic oil?

That can be a significant issue. My mum used to tell me stories about her brothers flying gliders before the war, and I think she was chuffed when I started flying. However, by that stage, neither she nor dad were physically capable of climbing up into my low wing Tecnam, so I never got to take them up. Regrets, I’ve had a few… Of course there’s a related disadvantage too. How many times have you knocked your head on the wing when preping the plane (or is that just me 🙄)?

Can’t imagine anyone getting offended. They’re good questions that have been thought by lots of people before you. The sunburn bit is easy enough; a hat to start with and a sunshade above you if necessary. If you’re too hot, climb. However, how to exit a flipped low-wing? Add that one to the list of imponderables along with what to do if the wing falls off, and other such nightmares (and yes, I know you can carry a hammer and attempt to break the unbreakable window, but for me that remains a case of please, please, please don’t happen 🫣).

Thanks for all the info. Most appreciated.