Old Koreelah

I’m sure that would be possible; I’ve flown Technams with flap buttons on the stick. Just remember that electric flap controls are not foolproof. I’ve had one fail me at a critical moment. A manual flap lever lets you rapidly make changes as needed and you get a good feel for the airflow. I’m quite happy to juggle controls (I also have no mic button on my stick, so left hand needs to leave throttle to press talk switch on radio). Maybe we rely too much on technology to make life easier; the occasional high task load does us good.

A very timely thread; it’s almost two years since Covid stopped long trips. Skills are getting rusty. I haven’t flown our of our valley in that time. That means no flight planning, just wandering about enjoying the view and almost no traffic to worry about.

Good idea, Yenn. I know very experienced pilots who never cover their pitot, presumably because they don’t need the ASI. While stuck in my valley during lockdown I’ve been brushing up on basic skills like flying by attitude in case I need them when we finally get to fly long trips. Lots of practise flying near the stall might improve my chances if the noise stops. This morning I did a bit of flying around at V1.4 with flaps, doing tight turns and simulated EFATO turns onto the cross strip 1,000’ above the circuit.

Crickey Geoff, that would fill a lot of aeroplane compasses- or was it purchased for one of those ginormous ship’s binacles? My panel is plywood, with brass screws only in the vicinity of the compass. Even a tiny steel fastener can affect the accuracy.

Relevant:

Peter that used to be my attitude, until my iPad failed me on a trip. Luckily I had landmarks to follow, but that experience convinced me to do a proper compass swing. It only took half an hour and in flight testing for the last year has shown it accurate to within a couple of degrees all around the dial.

Skippy I can’t help there; mine looks like this one: https://www.skyshop.com.au/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=244&cat=compasses …but some people prefer this style: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/inpages/vertcard_compass3.php There’s mobs of interesting vids on compass use, like this one:

I believe it’s a legal requirement. I rarely glanced at mine for years due to it’s wild inaccuracy. Then i finally got around to doing a proper compass swing (actually following instructions) and now it’s accurate. Well worth doing properly, because modern tech will fail when you need it most.

It amazes me how our leaders have allowed this country to become so dependent on regular imports of critical items like oil, fertilizers and now urea for Ad Blue. Time to encourage local production.

My friends who have spent time on large cargo ships tell of long, boring voyages with steady winds, ideal opportunities for using some wind-assistance to reduce fuel burn and perhaps add speed. If controlled buy AI, neither of your objections should be of concern.

Modern sails can propel vessels at big angles off the prevailing wind. So why don’t commercial ships use wind? As I’ve been saying for yonks: oil is too cheap.

Beat me why big ships don’t use the wind. A large ‘chute sent high into strong winds, controlled by AI would save fuel and speed voyages.

Gold!

I wouldn’t mind so much if it was due to life spent in smoke-filled Jazz clubs with sultry wenches. One of life’s regrets?

Having tried to live a healthy life, the only medication I take is for my early stage emphysema; I wasn’t a smoker, but have breathed in an awful lot of Other People’s.

As you probably already realise, I meant that the cylinders were mounted opposite each other; this one had, from memory, six.

I once saw an old radial (possibly a diesel) with an even number of cylinders. I thought round engines needed odd numbers for smoothness.

To their credit, the Yanks published the results of much aeronautical experiment during that golden era. I used a 1940s NACA report on exhaust augmentors to build mine and they worked as the research indicated. As with motorcycles, its amazing how many outlandish ideas were tried and discarded only to be adopted decades later when better manufacturing technology and materials made them viable.

I’ve challenged some people to visualise the rivers of oil that humans are burning each day; surely we can’t keep doing that.

I believe the Supermarine seaplane racers used some form of total loss liquid cooling system plumbed into the wings skins. Sufficient for the short full-power runs they needed to set records. Using that waste heat to combat icing sounds like a great idea. A design engineer once told me that when power was shut off on the P-51 Mustang, it’s clever radiator provided measurable thrust. It’s said that Will Messschmitt couldn’t wait to get his hands on one to figure out why it had such long range.

I’ve had a C-17 fly directly over my house at about 2,000’ although it seemed lower, being such a big bugger. Our airport sometimes gets very low runs from big military stuff. A RAAF pilot once told me their radar wouldn’t notice our little bug-smashers, so we’d all better keep our eyes peeled.

Perhaps they are in fact responsible to everyone on the planet! Who has predicted mankind will be wiped out by climate change? Even the most extreme scenarios leave room for the survival of remnants of our species. I suspect many isolated/primitive/self-sufficient peoples of North Korea, Africa, New Guinea, etc. will have the resilience to carry on when our highly interdependent civilization collapses. I totally agree that there is much more we could learn about past climate changes and their effects on humankind; the difference is that this time we have science, not superstition to guide our reaction. I understand your distrust of organisations whose existence is dependant on a single threat. America is still suffering the effects of the all-powerful agencies set up to combat the illicit booze trade during Prohibition. It was later switched to persecuting the hemp industry (to protect Du Pont’s growing synthetics market) and morphed into the DEA, which has done a great job of locking up millions of poor blacks. I totally agree, so the current scientific focus on climate will likely greatly enhance our understanding of this most complex layer of the planet. The question is, will we learn enough to save ourselves? One very worrying effect of the rapid warming of the Arctic is the prospect of a new Ice Age affecting Western Europe. So much Greenland ice is melting that the complicated mechanism of the Gulf Stream is being weakened. There is evidence from the past of it totally closing down within a few short years. That could displace a billion people.

I often flick channels and it amazes how much utter crap there is on TV. I usually end up on the only three networks with worthwhile programs: NITV, SBS and ABC. Last night I was mesmerised by the arty Twelve Canoes on the Indig channel and then thoroughly enjoyed Claudia Carvan’s Books that Made Us on Auntie. We are a lucky country to have such quality.

Our postie is impressive and always goes the extra few metres for his customers. He rarely leaves parcels in our mailbox, but drives right up to our door and leaves them on our verandah. Since Covid, online shopping has overwhelmed their system; he is often an hour late and his van is overloaded with parcels. He obviously enjoys being our lifeline and is even growing white whiskers ready for Xmas!

Flighty do you consider the commercial media, including Murdoch’s empire, to be much more reliable and factual?