onetrack

Was that a Cat III landing?

You cannot argue that the ASIC card is a service that you're being forced to purchase against your will. The Govt introduced Aviation Security legislation nearly 20 years ago, and you are obliged as an Australian resident to abide by those laws under threat of penalty - no different to the road traffic laws you're obliged to obey every day. The ASIC card is essentially a low-level identity card which is supposed have background security checks done on you, before it is issued. There is a similar card for Ports, the MSIC card, I cannot step into a Port restricted area without one. Australia's security laws and regulations are pretty stringent, and will remain so for a long time to come. It's not just Islamic nutters intent on more 9/11's, that the security laws and regulations are attempting to stop, the laws and regulations cover a very wide range of "bad actors", which includes drug smugglers, quarantine evaders, in fact anyone intent on harming Australians in any way, and intent on disrupting our civil society. The system is far from perfect, and it certainly is not going to stop the occasional person with unnoticed and unreported mental health problems from causing harm to innocent civilians, but it's far better than the "Wild West" systems of the numerous 3rd world countries. There's nothing to stop you writing to the relevant Minister asking for anomalies in the ASIC card regulations and their application, to be addressed and/or updated. The Act - http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/atsa2004348/ The Regulations - http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/atsr2005457/

Google "vacuum brake bleeder" and make your selection from a wide range of choices. They're nearly all Chinese, anyway, so no need to pay $139.99 for Supercheaps ripoff - buy a $20 one off eBay, they come complete with hand vacuum pump and vacuum gauge and case.

Hi Fabio - This forum uses the English language as the standard format. If you wish to receive answers to your question about the Jabiru engine, you need to write your posts in English. With regards to Jabiru "bushings", we need to know precisely which bushings you are referring to, as "bushings" is a common term that includes numerous but different parts.

I'm not a lawyer, but I believe trying to successfully sue CASA is akin to trying to herd cats. Just look at the number of aggrieved people who have tried - and failed. CASA can always deflect the blame onto the pilot, the LAME, or the AOC holder, for failing to follow precisely-delineated CASA procedures and regulations. Julie Black, the widow of pilot David Black, tried to sue CASA for being negligent over airworthiness directives, and CASA conveniently settled out of court, thus avoiding major court scrutiny. However, the judge in her case was scathing over the "organisational incompetence of CASA" with regard to their performance in overseeing the safety of the Dromader David Black was flying. In another case, Eagle VS CASA, a pilot tried to sue CASA for unreasonable delays in approving his medical. His case failed, as the judge declared that safety took priority over bureaucratic speediness and claimed financial losses, to anyone under CASA's control.

The aircraft was doing fire-mapping. Now, I'm not privy to what equipment they had on board, but obviously it was imaging equipment of some kind. When you're aerial mapping, many a time there's a requirement for variations in the mapping level, mapping speed, and direction, according to the level of detail required, the vegetation types, burnt VS unburnt areas, etc, etc. All these requirements often demand unusual flight profiles, as compared from the regular aviating style, of just getting from point A to point B in quick smart time. So, accordingly, I wouldn't read too much into the substantial variations in altitude and speed at this point in time - and certainly not until we get some information about how scattered the wreckage is. https://www.bushfirefacts.org/fire-maps.html

I may be wrong, but I'd guess that Jabiru would prefer to sell a lot more engines than airframes, so they could grab a large slice of the market that Rotax already has.

We're a rough, tough crowd here, flyboy, you need a flak jacket on regular occasions. Maybe there's a few too many, grumpy old men here? Nev growls a lot, but I think he's probably like an old dog - a lot of growling, accompanied by frequent tail-wagging.

It'd be good to acquire further information regarding the crash wreckage, to see if the plane broke up in flight, or crashed largely in one piece. However, I think we'll have to await the ATSB report, the crash site is no doubt located in a remote spot, and I can't see any media getting out there - it's just too remote a region, and too low a general interest, as regards news, to warrant them sending out journalists.

The full name of the stuff that Duncan is looking for, is "Dow Styrofoam™ RTM-X XPS". It's a very high density, blue-coloured foam, with primary uses in high-grade fibreglass sandwich panel construction, in the construction industry as a gap filler between concrete panels, and in many other construction areas as well. It's a high-strength foam with good thermal insulation properties. We have a local company producing fibreglass sandwich panels for the construction of caravans, truck bodies, and even transportable buildings using this stuff, it makes for a premium-grade sandwich panel. A friend about 300kms away in the S.W. of W.A. is building a caravan using this sandwich panel, I actually transported the sandwich panels for him, as they comprised several 8M x 2.5M sheets (too long for him to transport) - and I got a good tour of the factory and the products they're using. The company is owned by a Kiwi bloke, who's a pretty clever operator. http://www.advancedfibreglass.com.au/fibreglass-insulation-panels.html Styrofoam RTM-X XPS brochure - http://nebula.wsimg.com/c85c0564aef9ffdb4dd3b78fecf62866?AccessKeyId=123FD79F158CB204173C&disposition=0&alloworigin=1 RTM-X XPS Technical data - https://styromax.com.au/app/uploads/2013/10/Styrofoam_RTMX-Tech-Data.pdf

John, it's known as "extruded polystyrene", thus the "XPS" name. There's a substantial difference between extruded and expanded polystyrene, the expanded polystyrene is much less dense. https://www.usimm.ca/en/polystyrene-panels-should-you-choose-expanded-or-extruded-polystyrene/#:~:text=The Difference between Expanded Polystyrene,on average for XPS vs.

Liquid Piston have been in business for 20 years and keep saying their engine is totally revolutionary, and solves all the drawbacks of the Wankel. Unfortunately, LP are still yet to "perfect" their engine after 20 years - essentially because simply turning the Wankel design inside out, doesn't solve a lot of the inherent, basic drawbacks, of the rotary design. But they still keep up their claims of an "engine revolution".

Note that the foam company has a minimum $200 spend on any purchase.

It appears StyroMAX in Darra should be able to supply your needs. However, be aware they only sell, full size sheet sizes (600mm x 2500mm), no on-site cutting is allowed. https://styromax.com.au/products/dow-styrofoam/

Jerry, I was always under the impression that morbid obesity was a very present and serious threat to a persons health - let alone the restrictions placed on their physical ability to do everyday jobs. It's become obvious to me that a lot of people are "gaming the system", to acquire jobs that they simply should not be placed in. I know the trucking industry is desperate beyond belief to acquire drivers, but this bloke drove it home to me, just how deep that desperation is. I'm not talking about people that are just a bit overweight or pudgy, I'm talking about people who are virtually unable to carry out required basic moves, such as bending over to pick up something off the floor. Then there's the problem that these people weigh substantially more than a lot of equipment is designed to carry. Most seating has a 120kg weight limit, so they're creating hazards just by their sheer weight. And imagine the diet choices of an already morbidly obese truck driver! - substantial amounts of greasy roadhouse deep-fried food, pies, pasties and sausage rolls! This truck driver is not an orphan, I'm seeing a substantial increase in these type of people, everywhere I go now.

I had a recent delivery of palletised freight to the West from Toowoomba, via a company based in North Brisbane. The companys trucks and equipment are superb, but the driver who stepped out of the cab of the Kenworth wouldn't even get a job with me - let alone get to drive a truck for me. He was only in his mid-20's, but to say he was grossly obese would be an understatement. He was so fat I don't know how he fitted between the seat and the steering wheel. He was at least 150kgs and would have to have had a waist measurement of around 2 metres. He wouldn't fit in most aircraft, let alone an ultralight, and I fail to understand how he was classed as medically fit to drive a road train. The medical examinations and medical classifications can obviously be "worked around".

Spacey, nothing has changed on this website, I would suggest the problem is in your Galaxy Tab settings. Often, it's too easy to click on a setting and change it accidentally, which messes up your screen layout. Click on the three dots on the upper right of your screen and look for "tools", "more tools", or "options", in the drop-down menu, to find a list of things you never knew you could do. It's quite easy to accidentally hit two keyboard buttons at once when typing, and this can initiate a keyboard shortcut action, which changes settings.

To me, all the signs of a wing spar failure, and an in-flight loss of a wing are written all over this one - but of course this is all pure speculation until the wreckage is fully examined, and evidence and photos are released. The Aero Commanders have form when it comes to numerous wing spar design failures, and numerous wing spar strengthening additions, that have all turned out to only produce more problems. And when the original records can't even be found as to how many spar strengthening brackets were made out of 4140 steel, and how many were made from stainless steel, it just gets worse. Then the lack of understanding over many years, and from many designers, as to the problems associated with galvanic corrosion when aluminium and steel are in close contact with each other, is astounding. Plus the discovery of the unusual grain structure, of only some of the aluminium, in only some the wing spars, lends a whole new meaning to "variable factors". Then add in nearly 40 years of flying with this particular aircraft, and the adverse factors really start to stack up.

I can soon see a number of people re-reading this CAA "Aero Commander Chronicle", which documents the Aero Commanders very chequered history, as regards faulty wing design, and the number of Commander wing structural failures. https://www.scribd.com/document/265895944/Aero-Commander-Structural-Failures

Emergency services have confirmed 3 deceased on the crashed Gulfstream 695A Commander 1000. RIP, those three gallant crew.

The firefighting call signs change on a regular basis, it appears. https://www.nafc.org.au/call-signs/

I believe there has been an error in media ID, and the aircraft was not operating as Birddog 275, but as Birddog 370. It appears to be VH-HPY. One eyewitness reported sighting a plume of smoke around 30kms away from the Landsborough Hwy. The actual crash site has not yet been located, but one would expect it won't take long in that scrubby, relatively open terrain. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/queensland-police-assist-in-search-for-missing-light-plane-at-mckinlay/news-story/c8de8f716878d377dc4cec839704f828

Reports are coming in that it was a firefighting Birddog, a 275 Gulfstream 695A Jetprop Commander 1000. The crash is deemed "unsurvivable", and the 3 crew on board are believed to have perished.

The West Australian Coroner has denied the need for a coronial inquest into this devastating Broome crash. The parents of the 12 yr old girl killed wrote to the Coroner requesting an inquest, but the Coroner wrote back to their lawyers, stating that there was no need for an inquest, he has enough information to determine a finding for the crash, without an inquest. I personally believe this is a poor decision, and it lets a lot of people off the hook. The pilot, once again, was lauded as an outstanding individual - but the less-than-outstanding record he left behind, was that; 1. He was flying without a licence 2. He failed to follow recommendations in the POH to thoroughly investigate any unusual vibrations during operation of the Robinson 3. He failed to apply the recommended procedure for responding to a tail rotor emergency. This a simple tragedy that should never have happened if professional procedures were followed, and if adequate oversight was in place. CASA can't exactly claim to have clean hands in this disaster, either. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-03/amber-millar-coronial-inquest-fatal-broome-chopper/103060250

.....to back up Cappy on the 3-stringed .222, OT arranged for his American cousin, Justin, to play his 3-string shovel guitar, so they could make up a proper Hillbilly duo, that brought tears to the eyes of the....... (Justin playing his 3-stringed shovel)