octave

Since my son moved to Wellington I have done many many trips over there. It can be an interesting landing at Welly when it is windy. Something I usually do is have a coffee or three at Spruce Goose cafe which is very close to the runway and affords opportunities for some aviation photography as well as the surrounding hills that look down on the runway. This video shows the airshow put on to celebrate the opening of Wellington airport back in 1959. The weather was less than perfect but the show went ahead anyway.

OK badly typed on phone so just to clarify. I am wondering if the people who voted to return the same people are representative of the wider membership or if people who want change did not on this occasion get out and vote. A simple question about why of those who bothered to vote did we got a vote pretty much for the status quo. Are most people relatively happy or do the unhappy people not vote. seems to be a fair question. I would have thought that those who are angry would be more motivated to vote. by the way I voted.

given the result it would appear that generally the people didn't vote were those who are unhappy with things.

I would not say stuffed but probably less suited to country living. As I said I drive my son's BMWI3 when visiting him. He is quite a petrol head and owns many cars but drives an EV for his daily drive. Even with his fairly aggressive driving style he has enough range for his usual daily drive. this vehicle has a range extender engine but this is rarely used. He charges it of a standard plug at home on off-peak electricity which costs a little over $1 per 100 km. He lives in Wellington where fuel is well over $2 a litre. Apart from that servicing and repairs are dirt cheap (no repairs so far) Tires on this particular car are horrendously expensive $400 each! I found it much more fun to drive than an ICE vehicle. There are some Teslas that have done 500 000 miles and still have 80% capacity Tesla batteries will live longer than expected, survey finds it seems that batteries are tending to last longer than predicted. Occasionally a battery will fail however the standard guarantee is 8 years. !0 years is quite a longe life for a car. A friend has one of the first Nissan Leafs and is contemplating replacing the battery which will cost around 5.5k I am not sure how this compares to replacing an engine in an ICE car after it is clapped out. Used EV car batteries are being repurposed for stationary systems. What happens to used electric-car batteries? You may be surprised. Of course, the numbers are still relatively small but as the share of EVs grows so will the recycling market, indeed it is already underway. China scrambles to tap EV battery recycling opportunity I am not suggesting that today's EVs are suitable for all driving regimes however in my son's case charging overnight on puny 8 amp charger (car starts charging when off-peak begins) gives him plenty of range for his daily run with plenty to spare. The batteries do not effectively get to zero due to the protection systems but the charging starts out being fast reducing as you get past 80%. My son only uses a fast charger (50kw) when he goes to his favourite cafe where if it were almost flat it would take about 40 minutes. For many people the daily drive is modest, the car sits idle overnight. When I borrow this car one of the joys is never having to go to a petrol station (it does have a small range extender engine but we have never used it. To say that charging takes 40 hours is very much a worst-case scenario and really only applies to the largest batteries and the smallest charge, ie standard powerpoint. I am certainly not saying everyone should go out and buy one if I thought that I would buy one myself but it is not quite economically viable yet. This country does lag behind many other countries. Whilst visiting my son in NZ it is common to see quite a few evs on the road (loads of leafs, or is it leaves?) I believe Norway has reached 60% of new vehicle sales being EV. Almost every car company is selling or developing EVs and many have announced that they are phasing out ICE engines. If I had a few more dollars to throw at it I would certainly buy one because it is much more pleasurable to drive and the range would be fine for what I do. Often people are unaware of where the technology is at this point in time. In a discussion with someone recently they were adamant that batteries only last for 3 years which is strange given they are guaranteed for 8 years. As to whether EVs will become a fast-growing sector of the new car market we will soon be able to see in the stats. Certainly, the experience in many other countries would suggest growth in the EV market.

The efficiency of an EV electric motor is between 85% and 90% the efficiency of an EV at the wheels is between 59% and 62% for a conventional IC engine around 17% to 21% of the energy in petrol reaches the wheels. Electric Car Myth Buster — Efficiency | CleanTechnica As a regular driver of a BMWI3 but alas I don't own it I am wondering how the "inefficiency" of the electric motor manifests itself.

I disagree with this statement. The energy density and price of batteries has improved markedly since 1986 https://data.bloomberglp.com/bnef/sites/14/2017/07/BNEF-Lithium-ion-battery-costs-and-market.pdf

Rivian R1T Flexes Its Muscle With Eye-Popping Towing Capacity @ Top Speed

Perhaps the term jet is used in a way similar to jet boat engine but with air. The term jet probably has a wider meaning than just a liquid fuel burning turbine engine. WaterJet Overview

No argument there. It is already the case that vehicles are designed for certain uses. For my driving, I own a ford focus which also will not do the things you suggest. My son is actually quite a petrol head and owns 5 or 6 cars (the number seems to fluctuate wildly) He owns a couple of motorsport cars and also some kind of Landcruiser type vehicle which is used to tow a trailer to transport motorsports cars. With petrol in Wellington being well over $2 a litre it would be ridiculous to drive the 4wde to work every day. Many people own more than one car and generally these cars fit different usage patterns. By the way you can tow with a Tesla but I think at this stage it would not be the best choice due to reducing the range. Tesla Model X 2019 review: Long Range tow test Really it is about analysing what you need your car to do. My car is useless as a towing vehicle as are many other vehicles but they suit the purpose. Most cars are for the daily drive. I imagine a hybrid would be of more use to you at this stage.

My son who lives in NZ owns a BMWI3 with range extender. On our last visit, he lent it to us for 2 weeks and we absolutely loved driving it. The price of petrol in NZ is much higher than here but he charges his EV overnight on off-peak for around $1 per 100km. I would suggest that the tech does allow it. A top of the line Tesla 3 has a range of over 500km but I guess at a price that is more than many people are willing to pay. I was impressed with the BMWI3 in terms of just how much better it is to drive than an IC engine. Hybrid Cessna 337 Hybrid-Electric Cessna 337 Takes Maiden Flight - Avionics

Both aircraft on final at least skydive plane was not full. Both pilots killed after two light aircraft collide mid-air in Masterton ,

Looks like one aircraft was a skydiving aircraft. Crash involving two light aircraft near Masterton

Emergency services at scene of two-plane crash in Masterton

Thanks for posting, great to see a positive aviation post.

My last flight was 1.1 hours and was a BFR the CFI was the PIC, does this mean this 1.1 hour does not add to my total hours? If that is the case I have been misreporting my hours.

I am just wondering if the way stats are collected means the figures may seem unusual. When I report my hours I will include my last flight which was a BFR, my instructor no doubt reports his hour he spent with me. In other words are student and instructor hours recorded twice. By the way, it is only mildly interesting to me, I am not one of the perpetually enraged. My average hours over the last 5 years is 23.2 so pretty much on the average. The flying school I hire from seems pretty busy with 3 aircraft and 3 to 4 instructors

A pub in Fitzroy in I think if I remember correctly

The problem I have is that I am prepared to listen to those who are unhappy but in the end, I can only vote (and I always do make the effort to vote) for those with the courage to put themselves forward. I can only vote from amongst the candidates that are put before me.

My wife and I spent many years working part-time and living on our bush block, this meant we had little superannuation. Our assumption was that we had missed the boat and would have to work until we dropped. A few years ago we got advice and salary sacrificed the maximum $25k plus we cut down our spending to what we thought we would be able to live on from super and crammed the rest into super. We also sold our property and downsized and put that money in our super. My wife and I at 57 no longer need to work, although I do work a couple of days a week because I want to and this allows me to fly. Super has certainly worked out well for us and the lesson is it is almost never too late. I tend to look at our super every day at the moment which is probably a bad habit. Most days it is up and some days it is down and then sometimes, like last October it seemed to drop and drop but then it recovers. Its growth is zig-zag line but the trend is and has been for some time up.

It is still paid to your estate even if you don't have a will according to the law if something different happened in your families case that seems very unusual. Apart from that super funds usually urge you to list a binding beneficiary. I can only imagine that we are talking about different things. My wife is my beneficiary, my adult son is not listed but should we both die my super and my wifes super goes to my estate which consists of my house car bank accounts etc which will then go to my son. Without a will, some other relative could contest that but a distant cousin or the government is not going to get it. Perhaps you are referring to people who are in aged care? "When you die, your superannuation benefit balance and any insurance benefit (known as a death benefit) is usually paid to your dependents or your legal representative. If you don’t have any dependents, it is paid to your estate and will be dealt with according to what is in your will or by the legal rules for those who die without a will. In relation to superannuation, dependents can include your current spouse or partner (including de facto or same-sex partners), your children (including step kids or adopted children) or any other person who is financially dependent on you (for example your father-in-law who lives with you) or in an interdependent relationship with you." After death - ASFA Super Guru

That seems highly unusual! The government does not get to keep your super if you die without a will. Getting your super | ASIC's MoneySmart Who gets your super if you die If you die, your super fund trustee normally pays your death benefit to one or more of your dependants or to your estate. Smart tip Update your nominations if your marital status changes or you have children. For super death benefits, the term 'dependants' includes: your spouse (this includes same-sex de facto partners) your children people with whom you had an interdependency relationship people who depend on you financially. Most super funds let you nominate who you want your death benefit paid to, either as a non-binding or binding nomination. If you don't nominate someone, the super fund trustee will decide who your money goes to. This can lead to delays and may cause fights in your family.

If we are talking about $10 per aircraft per year why don't those people do the dignified thing and pay what they owe. I pay through my hire fee, why should I wait at the holding point for a pilot who is using a faciliyy that I am paying for? The field I fly from has great facilities, the windsock is always new tha grass raxi ways always in good nick. I for one appreciatte the facilities a available to me and bit too tight to pay for them

Councils do charge for organised sport on council grounds. I think whether or not councils should allow free use of their airfields would be a matter for the ratepayers. I would imagine that 99% of ratepayers would not be users and therefore it would come down to whether the ratepayers could be convinced that that financial cost of maintaining the airfield was balanced bringing people into the area. I pay my landing fees as part of my aircraft hire so I am not very impressed with people who don't pay. I think we need a system that ensures everyone pays their fees and then hopefully, more airfields would be open to us and perhaps there may be more incentive for airfields to compete to attract traffic to their airfield.

I read that it was not a case of flying in the wrong direction but rather believing that the destination was supposed to be Edinburgh. Still a bit concerning though. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-26/british-airways-plane-edinburgh-scotland-dusseldorf-germany/10938796

Jaspers Brush?