fatmal

https://thestack.com/world/2015/12/18/flying-car-receives-u-s-airspace-approval-for-testing/ An ambitious project! VSTOL, hybrid/electric, 200mph and 500 mile range. This small-scale (2-foot) drone has been approved by the FAA, with significant restrictions, for flight testing. Good luck to them - good to see people pushing the boundaries! Mal

This. I had a similar noise in an Allegro while side-slipping (not on purpose - I was new to type and couldn't keep it in balanced flight!). If I side-slipped on purpose, the bubble doors would pop from convex to concave - who needs a skid ball :-) The popping noise I got was from skins on the tail, which, if you pushed on them would also go concave - making a scary noise in the process! Wander about pushing on the skins, and see which ones 'pop'. Mal.

Because I live within 3k's of a couple of supermarkets, making it not sensible to fire-up the car to do the shopping, I bought a folding bicycle trailer similar to the one in the attached photo. I tow it with a non-folding non-electric bike. Allegedly it will handle up to 60kgs, but my weekly shop doesn't weigh that much! The bits that don't fold, like the drawbar, could be awkward to store safely in the cabin of a smaller aircraft - if you're in a J230 you wouldn't even need to fold it! Combining a folding bike with a folding trailer and a few 20 litre jerrycans could be an option at those fields without local fuel. Mal

Maybe this should be in off-topic? The TV show Grand Designs last Sunday was about a couple building a house on their Scottish airfield. Nice place in the end - although as usual over budget (both money & time) Available to watch on ABC's iView at http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/grand-designs/ZX9901A005S00 mal

Even easier - the other Sting (EOF) appears to be twin-engined!!! See attached

The Pentagon has decided to test the F-35's capability as a close air support platform - by pitting against the 1970's-era A-10 Warthog. I suspect that the 'lumbering' A-10 will win! http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2015/08/30/prove-cas-capabilities-face/71336130/ mal

Hold down the power button (on top) and the home button (on the front) for about 10 or 12 seconds - the iPad will restart. No data will be lost (I've had to do several due to dodgy apps!) mal

Well, they may still be smashed, but they may not stick to the airframe if NASA gets their way.... See http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i26/Airplane-Coatings-Help-Recoup-Fuel.html NASA are estimating up to 5% fuel savings - the benefit for most of us would be less time washing the bugs off! Mal

Sadly, war bring all sorts of engineering advances (or at least some weird ideas!). This one is my favourite A 57mm 6-pound field gun mounted in the belly of the De Havilland Mosquito! Mal

Hi Trevor, While I don't know of any specific hand-control setups for Jab's, a good place to start may be wheelies with wings at http://www.wheelieswithwings.com.au/ I believe that there was also a paraplegic guy who flew around Aus in a J230 - other forumites may be able to provide you with a name/contact. Good luck! Mal

It would have been an interesting exercise. I believe the procedure involves the fighter lowering its landing gear and flap and radioing the 'target' aircraft to follow them. The Baron has a 180 knot cruise and a stall of 73 knots, and the SU-27 a 1,350 knot top speed and a 130 knot stall. If the Baron wanted to make things difficult they could slow to below the fighters stall speed, forcing them to fly a pattern around them, though thats probably not a very good idea to annoy them like that! mal

Stumbled across this article. http://www.gizmag.com/perlan-glider-flight-space/33196/ "In an ambitious attempt to break every wing-borne sustained flight height record for a manned aircraft, the Perlan ll project intends to construct and fly a glider higher than any sailplane has gone before. Riding on the colossal stratospheric air waves generated over mountains, the team plans to fly their craft to more than 90,000 ft (27,000 m), which will shatter their own existing glider altitude record of 50,671 ft (15,400 m) set by Perlan l in 2008." Mal

Pete, I hope you're wrong about your friend being on the flight. DFAT number is 1300 555 135 from http://www.dfat.gov.au/ Australians on MH17 The Department has contacted the next of kin of the 28 Australian citizens known to have been aboard MH17 and is offering counselling and consular support. We are still confirming with relevant authorities the nationality and identity of a number of other passengers. At this stage the Department will not be releasing any names out of respect for the families affected. A team of Australian officials, including the Australian Ambassador in Warsaw, is travelling to Kyiv to liaise with Ukrainian authorities concerning the recovery, identification and repatriation of Australians. This will be a lengthy and complicated process. If you have concerns for any Australians who may have been on MH17, you should attempt to contact them directly. If you are unsuccessful in contacting them and still hold concerns for their welfare, you can call DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on+ 61 2 6261 3305 from overseas, or within Australia on 1300 555 135. Call waiting times have been reduced to a few minutes. All calls are important. Please call back if you can't get through. You can contact Malaysian Airlines directly on +603 7884 1234 (Malaysia) and +317 03487 770 (Netherlands). The Malaysian Airlines website also has information on the MH17 tragedy.

Find a copy of a book called Stick and Rudder, by Wolfgang Langewiesche. While it was written some time ago and some of the terminology used is outdated, it thoroughly explains THE most important thing about flying - the Angle of Attack! Mal

Airbus has lodged a patent for the windowless cockpit, using synthetic vision to provide the view forward - and down. I think it would be quite unnerving to essentially be 'floating in air' with no apparent structure around you. Probably not as unnerving as for the passengers walking up to it though!!! Full story at http://www.gizmag.com/windowless-cockpit-airbus/32816/ Mal.

Not manned flight, but a very unique view from inside a fireworks display. I wonder how many quadrocoopters he went through....

Not sure if this is a real incident or not, given the non-airworthy state of the 737's... Boeing builds the 737 fuselage in Wichita, then ships them by railroad car to Renton Washington, like this - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=462196 Unfortunately, there was a derailment, and two fuselages ended up in the Clark Fork river. Story and picture at http://newstalkkgvo.com/montana-rail-link-train-derails-near-superior-three-cars-in-clark-fork-river-audio/ Mal

Maybe late to this thread, but here's my bike history; Suzuki TS50 - I was about 8 years old - couldn't reach the ground! Honda CD175 (single carb model, 4-speed). Was Dad's bike but I used to ride it round the local park Yamaha YZ125c - evil thing! The rear monoshock attached directly to the steering head, so large bumps at the rear would induce head shake Yamaha RD350 - used to ride it to school! Yamaha LC250, the first bike I raced on a proper track. I used to think I was quite fast until I did that!! Yamaha XJ750, also a race bike - the footpegs were so short it failed a roadworthy. The trick was to keep the throttle open (shaftdrive holds the backend up) while dragging the front brake (anti-dive keeps the front-end up) - left go of either and you run out of ground clearance and you crash Yamaha RZ350 Yamaha TZ350F - wild thing! Seized at 200kph+, which was quite exciting! Yamaha TZ500G - fast at the time, but easily beaten by a modern 1,000cc sports bike now Tony Hatton framed, Rotax-powered 250 gp bike - wildly unreliable, but 50+HP from 250cc will do that! Kawasaki Z1R Turbo - completely nuts! When the turbo spun up, you could feel the frame twist - even in a straight line! Kawasaki KDX175 - made me realise that dirt riding is REALLY tiring! Suzuki RM370, a 400N, then a Yamaha YZ465 - I can't look at those things now without twinges of pain! BSA DBD34 Gold Star - a rebuild project (in my lounge in London) Honda RC30 - best bike I've ever ridden, and I've still got it. It sits in my brother's garage, sadly not ridden for a few years Honda CBR600, Suzuki GSXR600 (both race bikes) Aprilia's RS125, 250 & RSV1000 (all race bikes) Moto Guzzi V50 Honda RS250 - one of the slowest bikes I've ever ridden, but had the biggest crash - was hit by a car that was being towed, and they hadn't turned to key on, so the steering was locked on full right lock. Honda VFR750 - a great allrounder 2 x Honda VTR1000 Firestorms - did 30,000 k on the first one then sold it. About a week later I thought "What did I do that for?", so bought another Suzuki RG150, another race/trackday bike Husqvarna 610 Supermotard - a fairly soft motard Husaberg 650 Supermotard - an extremely crazy motard!!! Soooo much fun!!! There's probably a few I've forgotten (or wanted to forget!). Now - I ride a 200cc scooter, as its the right tool for my daily commute. It's odd, I can drive a car for years and not break a single law (or at least not get caught!), and I'm a VERY conservative pilot, but put me on two wheels (yes - even my scooter!) and I turn into a hooligan! Mal

Does anyone know of a flight school in Southern Vic (reasonable commute from Melbourne) where I can do low performance, tail-dragger & 2-stroke ratings? If they have a Drifter on-line that would be ideal - I'm assuming that they're the only factory built of that config? Thanks in advance. Mal

but probably not the safest! A 16yr old stowaway survives a flight from San Jose to Hawaii - in the wheel well! Some interesting info in the link below. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/stow-no-hitching-ride-under-plane-could-leave-you-under-n85946 Mal.

A team of engineers is building a replica Bugatti 100P - the original Veyron! Designed by Ettore Bugatti for air-racing, it was expected to reach 500mph - in the 1930's! Living in France at the outbreak of WWII, Bugatti pulled the unflown prototype apart and hid it in barns across France, to stop Ze Chermans getting a hold of the technology. Info at http://bugatti100p.com/bugatti-100p.html & http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/wwii-fighter-jet-bugatti-100p-superplane-reconstructed-after-75-years-video-1438415 Personally, I think the forward swept wings and rear CofG would have made it quite unstable - unless you were flying backwards! Mal

The costs of aviation in the US means that more pilots are leaving the industry than are joining. The linked article below explains how this, in conjunction with an expected increased demand, will lead to a shortage of pilots. I do take issue with their statement that aircraft production is now down to 700 units per annum (from 14,000) - surely that doesn't take LSA into account! It would be interesting to see if the same is happening in Australia - I haven't been in aviation circles long enough to see a similar trend, although I have noticed that it is mainly older pilots coming into RAA. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/small-aviation-businesses-say-pilot-shortage-could-drive-industry-into-the-ground/2014/02/08/2422cadc-8f5c-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html

Simulator Support Officer Job No.: 494307 Department: Air Traffic Services School Salary: AUD 64,839 - 77,116 Work type: Full time casual $65k-$77k ish according to the advert. Not so keen on the 'Full time casual' statement - sounds like you'd be first to go when it's cutback time!

Completely incorrect - this is a different Challenger (a long-wing), which happens to be at the same airfield.

I saw this on a billboard on the way to work this morning - when you're stuck in traffic you've got plenty of time to read the adverts! RMIT University Flight Training open day at Point Cook Sunday 25 Aug http://www.rmit.edu.au/engineeringtafe/flighttraining mal