skippydiesel

I believe you can contact me through "Messages" Blue envelope top left side of page.

Once again a Government is attempting (I predict unsuccessfully) to further reduce the road accident rate, by addressing a symptom (speed) of bad driving (driving faster than the drivers capability/the road environments/cars capability) . If they are genuine in their wish (clearly not), to reduce the rate of road accidents, they need to address the root cause, anything else is window dressing.

All doing the 5 year rubber replacement on/close to, time?? The inside of the rubber manifold flange should only be exposed to air/fuel - I know the air is toxic 😎 so could UK fuel somehow have something to do with it???

I do not agree with "Politicians can't interfere in such matters...." Australia may be a very flawed democracy, but it's still a democracy. Polly's are our servants. We elect/pay politicians to lead & represent us. If you genuinely have a case, not just having a whing, go for it!!!!! While this may be a little overly optimistic, get a polly in your corner if you don't think the bureaucracy is being fair/reasonable with you, is talking to the management/boss of the bureaucrats. If you start down this track, be aware that you may have to get expert medical opinion ($$$?) on your side, to present to the polly as evidence. Ultimately this will come down to one expert opinion versus another. If the outcome is not clearly in your favour - the Gov will err on the side of caution and support the bureaucratic ruling. Good luck

Hi Deek, I hope you wont give up flying. I understand your frustration - the problem is you are bringing logic/reasonable & substantiated argument to the debate. Unfortunatly bureaucracies & politicians (servants of the people?) have great difficulty with making informed decisions, that may not quite conforme to the "rules" at hand - "Computer Says NO!" If not already tried, I suggest contacting your local MP. Formally, request him/her to intercede on your behalf. Be sure to have all communication in writing. For face:face and phone conversations ALWAYS follow up with a letter (email) confirming the salient points/agreement discussed. Keep a record/file of all communications, with names/times & dates. The written word has real power, with public servants. Verbiage can always be denied, alternative understandings made.😈

I have repeatedly said I am not against posted speed limits. I agree with " It's making sure everyone is on the same page. " and I would add, should inform the driver of actual or impending road conditions, that require speed be kept below the limit for all road users safety. "There are other people on the road." True and the vast majority are bad drivers. By beef is not with appropriate (a rare concept) posted speed limits but with the one eyde legal focus on breaking these limits, as a safety policy, that clearly is no longer reducing the road toll. While I agree that most accidents will have excessive speed, as a contributing factor, the only common factor to all is BAD DRIVING something that is not addressed under the (NSW) driver adherence system.

"Now if it was a Rotax 912 with no airbox...well Ive replaced them on one engine twice in a 1 year and actually had one split half way round and the carb fell right off luckily after landing," Strange Red- I am on my second Rotax 912 ULS. The first with basic conical air filters, no extra carby support, had 900 hrs plus on it - never had a problem. Replaced all rubber at 5 years intervals. New aircraft/Rotax 912 ULS (92 hrs) has air box (carby support). Yet to do a rubber replacement. Interestingly: Had a story from a Europa/Rotax 912 ULS pilot. Carbys fitted basic conical air filters, no additional support. He & his wife (both very experienced pilot/instructors) were flying their newly completed/commission aircraft, when they lost a blade on the CS prop. The out of balance engine attempted to leave the airframe but stopped milliseconds after the prop lost . Aircraft landed in a paddock - no injuries. Such was the violence of the vibration, the whole of the front end of the aircraft had to be rebuilt. Pilot contributed the sudden stop of the engine, to the carburettors seperating from the rubber inlet manifolds. He was certain that he and his wife would have died, had the engine continued its vibration for milliseconds longer and departed the airframe.

How do you define "speeding"?????? We have come to think (brainwashing) that speeding is breaking the posted (legal) speed limit. I believe speeding is when the vehicle is driven at/beyond the safe speed for that driver/vehicle/ road environment ie unsafe. Examples : A drunk driver is unsafe at any speed. Driving in thick fog above 20 kph may also be speeding. A mechanically warn/damaged vehicle may be just okay at 60 kph and speeding at 70 kph. An experienced driver, in a well maintained vehicle, on a far west sealed country road, at mid morning, may be quite safe at 160 kph, Most of the Hume & Pacific Highways should be posted at 130 kph. Is it speeding when you accelerate , above the posted speed limit, to pass a B Double in 30 seconds, rather than take 15 minutes sloooooooowly overtaking (in cruise control), just a few meters away from a juggernaut that may, at any moment swerve onto you, blow one of those tyres and your vehicle be hit by a huge lump of spinning carcass???? Speeding, as in dangerous driving, is a contributing factor, not the cause of accidents - bad driving (which in my mind includes defective vehicle) is the cause of accidents. Speed never injured/killed anyone. We are so brainwashed about not exceeding the posted speed limit, many believe driving at or just below is SAFE eg I attended a non injury accident, where the young driver had left the road in dense fog. The rural road was posted at 100 kph. There are several bends on this 20 km length of road - one is almost a 90 degree - this was where the accident happened. It was clear that the corner had been taken at excessive speed (for the conditions). The driver was incensed at this suggestion, insisting he stayed below the speed limit!!!!!!!!. His vehicle had literally almost cleared a rural fence, only taking out the top wire. My drive to the scene never got over 20 kph and even then I struggled to stay on the road.

You miss the point, my apologies - it's the focus on speed, as the cause & panacea, for all driving incidents, that goes right back to the erly days of vehicles when clearly good driving is the only meaningful mitigation.

Update: After much discussion, it seems at least possible that, on reducing power (high inlet vacuum) a small air leak could be causing a momentary lean condition = higher temperature on that side. I closely inspected the left (offending) side carburettor & inlet manifold - found, what may be, fuel residue around the balance tube fitting Removed fitting, cleaned thread and reinstalled with HT thread sealant. Unfortunatly persistent rains have rendered the airfield unusable - a situaton that is likly to continue for at least 10 days after last rain (forecast for this Wednesday). Assuming no more rain on already waterlogged soil, I will be able to test fly at that time - living in hope.😈

Accepting an accident rate, is at best false logic, at worst bordering on criminal negligence. Elimination (Prevention) is first on the Hierarchy of Control - prevent the accident in the first instance and there will be no injury/death. Accident prevention, is the only way to minimise/reduce the accident rate, below the current persistent (many years) plateaued accident rate. Improving, maintaining, driver skill, is the only logical way forward. Clearly this will never be a 100% solution but at least it would go some in the right direction. Face it, the historic & current philosophy had initial success way back when, now and for many years stalled - time well overdue for a fresh approach - look at the root causes and stop addressing just the symptoms. While we have human drivers( & pilots), accident will continue to occur but the rate can be better managed by implementing effective systems/procedures (check out the aviation model). The logical extension of your statement, when applied to aircraft, would render them unable to leave the ground - just saying!. NOTE: I am not advocating the removal of posted speed limits ( I would like them to reflect the driving environment). I am advocating what appears to be a a novel concept -a scientific/logical approach to reducing the carnage on our roads and coincidently reducing commuter times in city environments.

Interesting. If the Jab carb socket was new in 2006 and it had been a Rotax socket, it would have been replaced 3 times by now (assuming adherence to recommended practise) and due for another new one in a coupe of years.

It always amazes me how willing people are to be brainwashed. Back in the days, when we were transitioning from horse drawn transport to car/rail, there were those who were convinced that traveling at a speed greater than that of a galloping horse was instant death. The clergy were particularly adamant on this point - presumably the dead person went straight to hell. One would think that with widespread education and some minimal grounding in science, to say nothing of being aware of the advance of technology, it would have become apparent to all THAT SPEED DOES NOT KILL!!!!!!! This is fact - beyond doubt. CRASHING of the vehicle can causes injury, death and ongoing economic loss. The focus on vehicle speed and safety devices does very little to address the basic problem - BAD DRIVING. I would go so far as to suggest this one eyed focus, to the exclusion of more effective/targeted solutions, has likly lead to maintaining the rate of accident in Australia, than any other factor. Look back - Authorities of all levels and persuasion, have for the most part been focused on legislated to reduce the potential for harm in the event of an incident. there has been at best, token attention to preventing the crash in the first instance. Sure there has been a bit about maintenance - thats what the joke of Roadworthy Inspections are about. Some thought has gone into such matters as lights (vehicle build standards) but actual driving skill/prevention of accidents ?????????. When it comes to driver skill - what skil?? Our illustrious leaders have been pretty well absent on this matter. Driver testing (once in a lifetime for most) is another joke. Driving standards are appalling. I see so called professional drivers (police/taxi/emergency/bus/truck) behaving badly every time I go on a tip, what hope for the private driver????? Our traffic accident rate remains stubbornly high - plateaued! Our leaders answer - Lower & more varied speed limits, More draconian fines for evil doers ( thats people who break the posted speed limit, not necessarily speeding in the sense of driving dangerously, don't wear a safety belt/helmet) Safety barriers to keep the crashing vehicle on the road??? Safety barriers on both sides of a road (sometimes in the middle) are an extravagant waste (for the most part) of tax dollars. In our area (NSW) there has been a sudden explosion in very large reflective chevrons on every corner - sometimes as many as 25 individual signs, presumably to guide the almost blinded (reflected light at night) every 10 m of curvature. Expensive & ineffective/illogical/pathetic advertising campaigns (our tax dollars) that promote the ineffectual messaging of the past

Seat belts, crush zone, air bags, etc etc have absolutely nothing to do with safe driving - they are to improve occupant survivability in the event of a crash. There is some evidence that suggests, that the installation of systems that make it safer to crash, actually work against safe driving.

Speed limits are a joke - CONSISTENCY one of the pillars of a safe/predictable operating system, is non existante. Speed limits are set by Councils, State bodies, Work crews, Emergency & Police . They often have little relevance to the road environment/conditions. Appear quite arbitrary in nature. Sure nil speed = nil accident but posted SPEED LIMITS that make no sense are almost as bad a no speed limit. Typical examples: On one 270 km stretch of rural road in NSW, there are corners where the advisory (yellw) speed limits are for the most part, way way too low, for the coming corner BUT there are a small number that are way too high for the corner - perhaps there to catch the unwary, who have become used to ignoring the signs. Local road, close to me, used to be 100 kph - almost strait/level & long enough to land a commuter jet on. No private entries, one left & two right side roads. Main drag, limit dropped to 80 kph ????? Even stranger the three side roads, two very windy/narrow with varying degrees of residential semi rural development density, stayed at 80 kph. You would be crazy to do 80 kph on the side roads but could safely hit 160 kph ++ on the main - go figure??? 50 kph zones on town main entry road, many kilometres before any development/potential safety issues. 40 kph temporary work - could be on a side road, may be no work being conducted for days-months (forgotten?), may be on one side & not the other (forgotten?) Can be installed for long distances where work may be performed at some time in future hours. 40 kph school zones that go for kilometers past the school in each direction, operate when no school activity (should be activated by the school 30 min each side of activity)

There is no doubt in my mind that modern cars are much safer both in handling and in a crash than those to the past BUT as with almost all technology there is a down side. Driving skill/road manners/courtesy is at a very low standard. The responsible Governments are still treating the symptom causing death/injury- speed (as in breaking the speed limit). If you went to your doctor, with a medical issue and were told that, having a go at curing you is just in the too hard basket but don't worry, we will give alleviating the symptoms a bit of a whirle. Oh! & you will be fined for not to take your symptom med - You would fire that quack & probably report them to the board of practitioners to have them struck off Why then do we allow our Governments to just treat the symptoms, that result in road injury/death & earnt a nice income at the same time.

Hmmm! All the camping gear for the romantic weekend plus two "large" adults.??????????? When it comes to small aircraft, I am fortunate in my genetic weight characteristics and have often felt really bad about knocking back a request for a jot flight from someone who weighs X 2++ me but you can't fight physics.

To the best of my knowledge, the engine mounting system and mounts are the responsibility of the airframe maker. This is likly due to the wide range of engine mounting systems and sizes .

"You can purchase electric-over-hydraulic trailer braking systems, they're very effective, but designed largely for bigger trailers. They're not cheap." Wow! not so much the that hydraulic trailer brake systems exist but the cost is huge. The cost advertised is just for the gizmo shown, you still have to purchase the disk brakes and the tug brake controller unit. It also seems that they are aimed at trailers grossing over 2 tonne, so need an expensive tug to go with the expensive brake system. At a guess $4K for the brakes and $180K for the tug😈

Every electric brake system I have seen uses electromagnets within a drum - not sure how you would achieve a similar result with a disk brake. How were your " hydraulic " brakes actuated??

Thanks for that Onetrack (commission on way😎). My Viscount Aircraft Carrier (or whatever you want to use it for) has an aluminium body frame/skin & the most amazing steel chassis (way over engineered) As I found out, converting a caravan is not as straightforward as many might think. Check out the square tube reinforcing in the internal photo - more photos available to genuinely intersted party.

Wow! Love the styling. Looks like it might be fast. Strange that they went to so much trouble to make it look streamlined and then had no propeller spinners. Any idea of the performance and engine hp

Ahhhh! Old tyre - not good, especially for heavy load & high speed combination. I should have had that on my list of possible causes. I like the old style rocker suspension, think its the best, lots of posative attributes but cost not one of them. Never mind the legalities, override brakes are a disaster waiting to happen (obsolete & should be banned). They were okay when they were the best that the technology of the time had to offer but now??? Sorry but I think anyone who willingly fits/uses them "is a few cents short in the dollar". If you had electric brakes your "....it took all my trailer handling skills to keep control of it...." would likly not have been so tested. I had a mate killed while using a trailer with override brakes - down hill - big load - trailer took control & pushed him under a Truck & Dog, coming up the hill. While the brake system was but one part of the "Swiss Cheese" factors, if he had electric brakes, he likly would have been here today.

Hi Onetrack, No special knowledge, just about 50 years or so of observation and a little experince: In the past it would seem most trailers had the axle(s) just trailing the mid point in the chassi. In more recent times, most trailers have a definite aft location of the axle(s) putting significant weight on the hitch point/back axle of the tow vehicle Of course there will be exceptions for special purpose trailers. Older trailers require knowledge/skill to load, so that they are hitch posative/heavy - not everyone seem to understand this. Carefully loaded this configuration makes for very nice towing. Bad loading can easily result in the trailer steering the tug = accident. Newer trailers also need care in loading, however this is to try and reduce load on the hitch - how often do you see the Grey Nomad with the sparkling new Cruiser nose in the air /Pho Off Road Caravan, hitch almost on the deck? While this will affect steering, possibly damage suspension and may be uncomfortable for the occupants, it tends not to be a major safety risk. In some instances, the newer fashion can not be loaded, so as to reduce the hitch weight and have an even/level tug configuration - in this instance load transfer systems can work well. There are several possibilities why you ".........blew a rear tyre at 100kmh on a downhill run..............." Low tyre pressure Overloaded Axles out of alignment Brake locking on or unequal braking FOD/Bad luck I would be intersted to know what sort of suspension & braking system your "...professionally well built..." trailer has????

Very tidy Blue. Tyres 25-30 psi will help a lot. When I decide to go low pressure to reduce the jarring, I hand check tyre temperatures for the next 100 km or so. To hot = need more pressure. To cold = could go a bit lower.