onetrack

Mike, what do you use to sleep on? Have you ever found a satisfactory air mattress that doesn't leak? Keeping ones body off the ground when camping out is my primary aim.

.....being seen parked next to a Hillman. While this arguing was going on, a maintenance team from the AUF was measuring the Hillman engine and preparing to extract it during a "midnight spares" run, as a suitable replacement for the Chinese lawnmower engines, which seemed to be dogged by poor assembly problems, factory contamination problems and non-existent spares. "At the very least, we know we can acquire Hillman engine parts anywhere!", said one maintenance team member, "There's one lying in every second backyard in rural areas, and some are even being used to drive wood-cutting saws, and I've even seen one on a..............

Garfly - Well, there's a stove that is as basic as they come! But he's burning a solid fuel tablet on ground littered with pine needles!! A handful of pine needles and a match, and you probably have as much heat energy as a solid fuel tablet! Unless you location is quite wet, a handful of dry sticks of eucalypt or native vegetation origin can produce a LOT of heat. There are several species of native vegetation, including a couple of acacias, all nicknamed "kerosene bush", these burn green, just like they've been doused in petrol!

The old military standby of solid fuel works for small cooking/water heating jobs. The one in the first link is hexamine-based, there's another "toxin-free" U.K.-made variety called Firedragon solid fuel, but it's difficult to source locally, and seemingly quite expensive. https://www.survivalsupplies.com.au/solid-fuel-tablets-24-pack You team the solid fuel with one of these stoves, and you have very little weight to carry, but a lot of heating capacity. https://www.survivalsupplies.com.au/firedragon-multi-fuel-cooker?srsltid=AfmBOopl5U3lmF9kX52h_kxg-GXAe1caUsLsYMNyxGwAfQQ4gLCHGIkr Firedragon solid fuel - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/256707714421

But there ARE restrictions on certain areas of airspace you are NOT allowed to transit, are there not? Military airspace, tall buildings airspace, certain areas deemed by councils to be "no-fly areas"? Skippy, I think you're simplifying a principle that is nuanced, depending on who has obtained, and where they have applied, controls over certain areas of airspace.

Good luck with that stunt, Jackc! You aren't one of those "sovereign citizens", by any chance? 😄 The "Prince of the Abrolhos Islands" had some difficulty arguing his Princely entitlements in a W.A. Court! But perhaps you could try "Prince of All Airspace" and see how you go! 😄 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-13/abrolhos-islands-prince-kristin-macdonald-fine-fisheries-offence/102853378

Airspace above your property is owned by the landholder, and it can be bought and sold, and property developers are right onto this aspect. https://www.jonesrealestate.com.au/air-rights-is-your-property-sitting-under-a-gold-mine/

Landowners do own the airspace over their properties, and can restrict access to it, or charge for entering it. But the terms must be freely made public. The best treatment for greedy people is to avoid them, or their businesses, at all times. https://noborderslawgroup.com.au/articles/airspace-do-you-own-the-air-above-your-property/#:~:text=While court cases have determined,and enjoyment of your land.

.........use as the control column. One bloke found a big Chinese lawnmower on special, whereby the engine would make a superb power plant for the Bunnthruster, another bloke found some big umbrellas in the Home and Garden section, which would yield some excellent material for wing and fuselage covering (and it was UV-proof, too! - Bonus!)....but the real finds came in the Plumbing dept, where........

That's why the Fleetwings was spot-welded - much less heat input, a technique developed for joining thin sheet metal used in car construction.

Judging by the wrinkled finish on the fuselage, the stainless sheeting was terribly thin? This machine reminds me of the 6 new stainless steel 1936 Ford sedans built by the Allegheny Steel company (later Allegheny-Ludlum Corporation, from 1938) as an exercise to promote the use of stainless steel. The stainless steel was provided to Ford by Allegheny, who used it to manufacture the new cars on their standard production line. Four of the 1936 stainless Fords have survived, one is owned by Allegheny-Ludlum, and has been since new, and it's in superb condition. The cars that failed to survive succumbed to rusty floor pans, as the floor pans were built from mild steel.

The correct size hole and plenty of lube (neat dishwashing liquid is good), and the pull-in tool that Moneybox pictured, will ensure the stem goes in satisfactorily. Make sure the leading edge of the hole is neatly and cleanly chamfered, polish with some emery cloth to ensure smoothness.

Photos would be good. Facthunter is correct, valve stems must be a good fit in the rim, I'm surprised the tyre shop couldn't sort out the problem. Tubeless stems are normally a tight fit, did you use some soap or tyre mounting lube on it?

This one's a day late, I missed it yesterday, but it's still a good chuckle. https://australianaviation.com.au/2025/04/new-carrier-to-revolutionise-australias-skies-from-the-ground/

Ha ha! Of course, it's the Concorde Anniversary flight, it happens every April 1st! 😄

What? All the Concordes are grounded, their airworthiness certificate was withdrawn. Are you saying they've fired one up again?

Little wonder he's walking! His plane has been tagged out as RS, for the next 28 days!

Facthunter, how did Fokker get around the major issue of moisture, and subsequent corrosion in the F27 pneumatic system? They must have had some type of exceptionally-effective air-drier? In mining, pneumatic systems are used a lot, to operate air rams that open and close ore chute doors, and other actuation devices. They're a PIA to work with, with corrosion being a major problem, despite air driers being used.

.....various disconcerting diseases are rampant in Vicmanistan, but totally absent in W.A. - obviously thanks to the good border control work set in place by Marky McGowan. West Australians are keenly observing, that Vicmanistan now harbours diseases and pests such as Queensland Fruit Fly, Avian Flu, Tomato brown rugose fruit virus, Political Foot-in-Mouth Disease, Support-your-local-machete-carrying-criminal-immigrant Disease, ASIC-card Disease (whereby those afflicted, feel the need to purchase an ASIC card, whether they need it or not), and..........

Moneybox, it's called "Duty of Care" and the concept has always been in our law statutes, but its principles were broadened in a trial held in 1932 (Donoghue v Stevenson). In essence, the RAA Ltd issue is not so much whether Matt Farrell should have flown that day, it's about whether RAA Ltd was criminally negligent in issuing an RPC to a pilot with reportedly inadequate training and flight hours. The individuals in RAA Ltd made the erroneous decision that flight hours in a paraglider could be counted towards the issuance of an RPC. The interpretation by RAA Ltd people of the aviation rules in this area has to be determined as to whether it was either simple misinterpretation, or criminal negligence, that led to an inexperienced and aggressively overconfident pilot killing himself. I don't believe the issue is as clear cut as some suppose, and it takes a lot of argument and dissection of defendants and witnesses statements in court, to determine the truth behind the actions of RAA Ltd in issuing the RPC - and finding accordingly, whether criminality was involved or not, by either one or more persons in RAA Ltd. Naturally, there will be plenty of sharp lawyers out there willing to take the case on, if the DPP determine that a charge, or charges, of criminality against RAA Ltd employees can be sustained. https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/donoghue-v-stevenson.php

That's a bit of a cocksure statement, Keith. No-one in RAA Ltd has been found guilty of any law-breaking, yet - that will be after any criminal charges are laid, and after a trial is held, and the offender/s is/are found guilty. The DPP has to be sure of securing a conviction before they will press charges. Some people thought the Ball Bay crash pilot would almost certainly be found guilty of manslaughter - but the charge was dropped due to no certainty of securing a conviction. I'd suggest the fact that the pax in the Ball Bay crash went for a ride accepting the statement on the instrument panel that experimental aircraft are not built to the same standard as certified aircraft - and passengers accept the increased risk accordingly - had something to do with the Crown being very doubtful of securing a conviction in that case. At the end of the day, the Crown must prove criminal actions or intent, to secure a conviction. In the case of RAA Ltd, Public Liability covers negligence of the insured party, that leads to loss or losses - but it doesn't cover criminal activity resulting in loss or losses. The $64 question is, whether there was simply negligence on the part of the RAA Ltd employees/managers in this Matt Farrell case, or if criminal intent and actions were involved. Passing judgement before any police investigation occurs, or charges are laid, and defendants found guilty, is quite premature, IMO.

Well, I never knew that Chipmunks came with an emission control, cat converter! How forward-thinking of them!

There were some buses that used big flywheels for part of their energy inputs, in Europe and in Africa, in the 1950's, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrobus I seem to recall there were further experiments done with buses using flywheels operating in a vacuum in a sealed compartment, but ultimately, this idea was not proceeded with, either.

......advised by a dark-skinned gentleman with a thick black beard and turban, talking in a thick accent, "Welcome to the bankrupt State, Sir! You will possibly find your electricity supply today is a bit haphazard, your internet connections will drop out frequently, the trains are only running intermittently, the airlines are suffering from a substantial number of flight cancellations due to major security threats, and the roads out of town are seriously potholed. However, rest assured, the Premier is advising the Govt has your best interests at heart, and our teams of online assistants, based in local regions such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even the Cook Islands, are all standing by, and willing to offer help - once they can verify your identify with a 100 point check, ensure you have introduced no diseases from other States, that were picked up during your travels, and that you have your credit card ready with..........

But you have to input a serious amount of energy to compress the gas, Spacey. There have been experiments using compressed air for motive power, but it's not a viable system over anything more than a short distance. For machines or vehicles or equipment working over short distances in say, factories or other short-distance operations, it can work. The lack of fumes is a big factor. However, even lead-acid batteries and electric motive power, are probably more efficient.