Litespeed

Which would be easy. We have more available roof space than that would need. 5million homes could cover the panels plus industrial roofs, carpark awnings etc. Space is not a issue, imagination and proper planning can do it.

I was talking generally not just one incident.

What about the grid and coal plant failures, some taking months to get old parts? A much bigger problem

It was obvious from the previous shutdown. The Vans attitude to customers, staff and partners was plain to see. The pineapples are loaded and signed by lawyers. Lubrication is only available if all rights are signed over. Chapter 11, a way to screw everyone, hide your money and keep the company.

Strange, I always thought 🤔 on hot days, due to the scorching sun 🌞, solar was cheap and plentiful, when allowed to connect to the grid. I better find a bucket of salt.

Actually you're on the ball 🏈. Essentially you just chop into small pieces, no waste and add a small amount of new resins and heat either forged and/or extruded into parts. So beams should be easy enough. This technique can be done very cheaply and with very low potential for pollutants. Transforming into a new product with minimal input is a smart way forward. A problem become a profitable solution. If you look up forged carbon you will get the idea.

Local solar and wind is entirely possible it must be designed for the conditions and positioned appropriately. Cyclone designs are available for wind systems. Since when does the sky stay black for four months of the year? It's very cheap to add more cells for shady days, battery storage drops in price constantly as well. How much would it cost for a Broome system, a guess of $1 billion for a system owned by the community and run by the them for a grid stable system that keeps the skills and money locally. How much for a Small Modular Reactor? Assuming you can get one (the biggest developer has just confirmed its program is stopped and not likely to be revived ) The expected cost would be $ 5 billion minimum. Plus all skills and maintenance would be contracted out forever to a foreign company. With us owning the legacy waste forever. It would also need a large desalination plant for cooling. Human consumption is not a priority, no cooling equals meltdown 😕. Shit, you can bet we would pay at least a cool $ billion on consultants. No wonder the lobby groups and LNP are dog whistling. That's Sovereign risk on a massive scale and cost.

I think I now understand, you don't worry about the consequences of your choices as long as it fits your comfortable world view. Beliefs are not facts or science.

And last week they were protesting here at Port Stephens, saying far offshore wind turbines would kill the Whales, destroy tourism and kill the economy. They quoted research that never existed, fraudulently claiming a respected expert scientist wrote it. 100% intentional bullshit for political aims. Followed by more Nuclear propaganda. Do we notice a pattern going on ?

No, I have been watching, researching and carefully sorting the truth from the wishful and intentionally distorted thinking for 30 plus years. I vet my sources with academic rigour , I don't just accept what a pro nuclear lobby group wants. Nor the LNP attempts to do anything to stop sensible progress. I did look at your links and whilst some have merit for unique situations, as grid power they are woefully underdeveloped, massively expensive, poisonous to life and never account for the true costs born by the public purse and the plant. After 80 years of the largest government funded R&D program in history, it's still a power system thats a market failure. Even assuming it never fails and never pollutes, the costs far exceed the benefits. Never has more money been spent in history, for so little result, but a massive legacy of environmental and economic debt for thousands of years. Renewable power can do all our our power needs far faster, easier and quantum's cheaper, this is also undisputed. Even large miners and manufacturing plants are investing in renewable power. They already know what's economic and works, they don't do it for Woke reasons. They are hard headed money men and can see the wind direction.

Intelligent enough to know it's not suitable for Australia, we have no history in it nor expertise. Even expert countries have huge difficulties and massive cost overruns. Until Fusion becames available it's a fool's errand.

But not smart enough to consider the obvious. Strawmen are made of carbon,nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen and utter bullshit arguments.

Now a 72 Afla Gtv with a Ferrari V8 is a real stonker. 300hp at wheels and sub 1100kg Check Home built by Jeff on YouTube.

I am blown away at the intellectual sophistry to make such a comment. Having a science background was clearly a waste of 40 years of study and in-depth interest. I could just shove my brain in the bin and give up now.

I do not see any inherent problems with appropriate gear drive and installation but that's where homebuilders often fail. Your Modern Yamaha motor punches big torque/power at moderate revs and smooth as silk. Done well I think they are terrific, so does the market. If peeps are paying for a new snow mobile just to get a engine it says they are very good and cheap compared to a underpowered Rotax. Intermittent? More like constant steady power bar takeoff. As a bike rider for close to 40 years mainly touring, your missing the point, they don't have to rev like a race bike to make good power. They are designed for grunt and longevity not for race tracks. Remember you can be just as dead when a snowmobile stops in snow as a aircraft. Yamaha know this.

Yes everyone is entitled to their opinion and it's welcome. However scientific facts don't care for anyone's opinion. Several large users like steel , aluminium. Plants and big miners are developing solar ,wind and battery for their power needs. They don't care about politics just profit in the future, there is proof of the economics of sustainability for power generation. I would love nuclear to be the solution and cheap but alas just like humans growing wings to fly, it ain't going to happen.

Never ever has a nuclear power plant actually made a profit in the real world. They only work with massive state subsidies and guaranteed insurance by state against any risk and complete no fault liability. Never has one been closed and rehabilitated at true market cost anywhere on the planet. No one has even sorted waste storage after 70 years, we create power for 50 years and leave waste that kills for thousands of years, very dumb. Without ultimate indemnity none would have been built. No new tech exists that makes them relevant unless you have a nuclear weapons program and it's still the most expensive power possible including cleanup cost which are never counted,ever. Even the so-called small portable reactors have proven a dud, none exist and the industry leader has admitted defeat even with USA subsidies. 70 years and still no good. Consider the huge costs in development for a unproven tech of massive complexity with no local skills, if the USA has pulled the pin and said No, what hope do we have? Don't forget they also need a huge amount of fresh cooling water on the driest continent which is a huge problem cost and environment wise. Building large desalination plants for cooling is absolute stupidity, but are essential to work in Oz. It would be easier and far cheaper to give every house free solar and battery then solar farms,wind etc. This is the cheapest and most reliable system available and will only get cheaper and also sustainable. Unless we an get fusion nuclear happening ie same as the Sun, then we have to rely on gathering the Sun's energy as our power plant. Even the pro fusion pundits admit it's far off and only solar,wind,waves will bring earth from the brink of global heating before 2050. If the most nuclear advanced countries are running fast from it, how can we as ab initio expect to succeed? It's a pipe dream from those that live in the past, not today and certainly not the near future. If you believe in a nuclear future to save us soon, I have a bridge to sell you going cheap only 100 billion... and payments for thousands of years after it falls down. Any takers? Nuclear, the dream of $100 power bills over 30 years that really cost $1,000 for a thousand years. Don't be suckered, science does not lie but people happily do. Ask the Japanese and see the $trillion dollar real word cost then a real discussion can be had.

Great news Geoff. What powerplant will you use? Lots more options these days than a half vw. Will you do any mods or just a plain build? Please polish it, love a shiny bird.

Like the idea, it provides a distinct Aussie flavour. However to be realistic it should just be dollar signs all over with images of crossed out aircraft for all the ghost flights. The tail should be a pirate flag. Now that's the real Qantas we know and hate.

Yes it's two regos to pay but it's only approx $200 a year on the boat, a small fraction of the tow cars rego. Any sailboat should be registered if only for proof against theft and for rescue services ident. A houseboat will be substantially heavier, for the same features and does not have a 17 knt top speed. They tend to be too heavy for even a big ute to tow.

https://www.caraboat.com.au/ I am biased as I know the designer they build locally at Port Stephens and in Thailand. But a very competent solution nonetheless. Traditionally to get a boat with caravan meant a tinny stuck on top the van or 4wd, a huge pain and tiny tinnie. Or a expensive cruiser boat and your stuck to waterways. This within limits actually gives the best of both worlds and has design features that are excellent for either a boat or caravan, that it manages to be a excellent for both is the exception to the norm. It's shallow draft is also a bonus for landlubbers. With solar charging it literally is fee free caravaning on any protected water you wish. Park fees are prohibitive and your stuck in one spot, "the water is your oyster" or crab pot, fish etc. Having Dolphins cruise by each day is amazing, not something you see in a caravan park. Not only does this Chimera successfully work it's actually a far cheaper and resources friendly way of meeting a need that already exists. A result far greater than the sum of its parts, a absolute case of "rare as Rockin horse shit". Having lived on the water 4 years now, I have a reasonable perspective of what really works and wish lists. I know it's not a aircraft but a great case study on a rare successful chimera. That it's local really floats my boat. Designers need to cast a wide net for ideas.

The idea of chimera vehicles ie has the design DNA of two species is always problematic. The successful designs are absolute rarities. Even big flying boats had limited boat ability, a lack of water props been a big limitation. Chimeras tend to be niche machines of limited success. It's a tough ask to make one good at either task when lugged with additional weight, and very hard to do both jobs well. I can think of one machine that fills a small niche. The Caraboat is a caravan that slides off the trailer to become a usable sheltered waters and fair weather outside houseboat. For some it makes great sense at a price point matching similar size caravans and cheaper than any similar specced boat. Lighter than a real van to tow as well. Aussie design

Given we give $11 billion in direct subsidies to burn fossil fuels and promote monster utes for any business, I think it's a tiny investment in the future.

I won't really comment in aircraft bar lack of current proficiency, lack of caution and failure to keep well ahead of the aircraft. I agree to many overconfidence issues are probably the root cause. As far as motorbikes are concerned, the old rider jumping on a modern high powered bike with zero recent experience is a recipe for disaster. Far more traffic and far more capable cars means the performance gap of bikes to cars has narrowed greatly. No longer can a quick takeoff blast everyone at the lights and provide a safety gap. Even massive utes can give older supercar performance, it is a real issue. That safety margin disappears very quickly today, massively fast and heavy vehicles are common and often driven by drivers that don't look and don't care. A lot of crashes on country roads are riders wiped out as a big ute takes up more than its lane in corners or alternatively too much speed then incorrect line through the corner by the biker. Just like flying, riding has very low margins of error, but it has no ongoing training requirements. Courses need to be provided to update skills for the modern world and it's far faster machines. The attitude and aptitude of returning riders also tends to be a killer issue, they aren't the young athletes they think they are. Just like pilots, riders are either old or bold, sadly the newly cashed up oldies are old and bold, that can kill really fast. I have met lots of returned riders who think it's just like their carefree youth, their days are numbered. I have ridden for the last 38 years but rarely since COVID and am very aware of my current limitations. I have noticed the polarisation of society over COVID had lead to some who don't care for rules or being responsible for their actions or effects on others. Lockdowns have made some very rebellious against authority and social responsibility. .Maybe this attitude has crept into riding and flying.