onetrack

The Swedes are whistling into the wind trying to lay the blame on Airvan. There are many instances of aircraft going out of control whilst dropping parachutists, and the primary problem is invariably associated with inadequate company and pilot procedures for keeping control over C of G whilst parachutists are exiting the aircraft. It's unfair to blame Airvan for events over which there are many variables, and into which individual events, Airvan had no input. It's basic airmanship to keep C of G within the defined limits. Below is a thorough accident report involving a Lockheed Lodestar from 1949. This accident report is invaluable because it contains witness information from surviving parachutists who jumped after the Lodestar went out of control - and evidence from other pilots who had had their Lodestars spin out of control after their C of G went too far aft because of poor parachutist movement control. https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/2020-03/N116CA.pdf

No dashcams in the 1970's, Spacey - and even though I often carried my 35mm Canon FT QL SLR camera around with me, it only took 35mm slide photos - in good lighting conditions - and there's no way I could've pulled a camera out in time and set it to photograph this amazing light event, it just happened all too fast. An interesting point re the "cams". There are a multitude of fixed, constantly recording cameras in place today - even on the Nullarbor there's cameras recording meteorite displays, so they can track where they fell and maybe find a new and exotic meteorite. But nary a one of those cameras ever seems to record a UFO!

I keep an open mind, but with a healthy dose of scepticism. There are simply too many reports from highly qualified and sensible aircraft pilots who have sighted aerial objects that travelled at speeds that were astonishing - and which objects also carried out aerial manoeuvres that defied physics. But as far as sighting little green men, or other fantastic-looking creatures, they all have to be made up. The Roswell "aliens" are fantasy, promoted by a handful of people for reasons unknown. As for my own experiences, I was a total non-believer in anything described as a "UFO", because I worked in many remote and rural places at all hours of the day and night, and certainly had plenty of opportunity to sight UFO's and aliens - but I never saw anything even remotely odd - until one Sunday night in the W.A. Wheatbelt, in the late 1970's. The brother had married a local farm girl and her (step)father had died some 2 or 3 years previously and her mother still lived on the farm, about 10kms West of a small country town named Kulin, where I lived from 1972 to around 1985. This Sunday night, we all visited the SIL's mother for dinner, which we did fairly regularly. The brother, SIL and their 3 boys travelled in their HX Holden Statesman, and I was driving one of our HZ Holden utes (we owned several, as business vehicles). We had dinner and left the farm to go home to Kulin around 9:00PM, travelling North on the Jitarning North Rd, then turning East onto the Kulin West Rd. I was leading in my ute and the brother in the Statesman was about a kilometre behind me, just far enough to allow my dust to settle. It was a dark but clear night, and no moon. As I approached a small triangular, un-named Nature Reserve on my left quarter at about 100kmh (this Nature Reserve is at -32.679757, 118.001518 on Google Maps), I was suddenly amazed to see a huge green "fluoro-coloured" glow appear amongst the trees in this Reserve. The trees there are a mixture of Jam, York gum, Morrel, and large Salmon Gums, with a fairly open understorey. This absolutely brilliant green, fluoro coloured light was bigger than a large house. It was the colour of the best neon sign you'd see in the city. It just suddenly "appeared" - out of nowhere, amongst the big trees. The glow was just stunning to see. As I watched in amazement, it took off - directly upwards, like a NASA rocket. But there was no smoke, no flame, no indication of any kind of propulsion. It had no identifiable or discernable shape, it was just a huge glowing light, like a big light globe. As it went up, it travelled at a rate that was totally unbelievable. It just went up, straight up, 100 times faster than any NASA space rocket. Stunned, I watched as it clearly disappeared into the upper sky, becoming a pinpoint, that then vanished - all within the space of 5 to 6 seconds. I was gobsmacked. It did not jell with anything I could recognise or relate to. I kept driving, because there wasn't much point in stopping - the "object" was just simply gone! When I got home, I asked the brother, SIL and their small boys if they had seen what I saw. They all said, "Yes, we saw it too!". We stood around and discussed it for a minute or two, but nothing about it made sense, and we simply shrugged it off as one of those things you just simply can't identify - and we went to bed. There were no other reports from that night, of "strange lights in the sky", or "UFO spotted in the wheatbelt" - nothing. We were obviously the only people to have seen this amazing "light show". Funnily enough, East-West commercial airlines travel over the top of Kulin regularly, there was an NDB at Pingelly to the West, the aircraft are starting their descent into Perth, between Kulin and Pingelly. Sunday night would have seen commercial aircraft heading into Perth on that route at around that time - but no-one in the aviation sector apparently reported seeing anything. To this day, I'm still confounded by what I saw. I just can't explain it, I've seen lots of strange things at night in the bush, meteorites, weather balloons, even "Min-Min" style lights (which were at ground level and which looked like headlights) - but nothing I've ever seen in my work and travel in all the remote wheatbelt and Goldfields areas of W.A. has ever produced a colour, or a display of fantastic speed, like I and my family members sighted that night.

The deal would cover parts, specialised service tooling, and other backup materials - along with all the desirable "accessories" to make the aircraft much more versatile. However, one does have to question the overall cost per aircraft. As with all Defence purchases, they give the equipment sellers an open chequebook, and just sign after the amount is inserted. After all, it's only taxpayers money. https://the-riotact.com/twenty-new-hercules-for-the-raaf-to-cost-wait-how-much/686234

.....bald patch - which is a matter of serious concern to Turbo, and one he doesn't like to hear discussed. Nonetheless, Turbo and Monty (or Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber Burns, as he's properly known) also share a lot of very similar character traits - ruthlessness, callousness, willingness to use a firearm at the drop of a hat, multiple christian names, shoots endangered species for their pelts, and utilises underpaid workers to split atoms on anvils with sledgehammers. Of course, needless to say, thanks to the global activities of Turbine Inc, both Monty and Turbo are billionaires. However, unlike Monty, Turbo has been seen to have a soft side, whereby he was once spotted dropping a 10c coin onto a beggars collection mat. To tell the truth, Turbo actually dropped the coin whilst fumbling with a handful of bigger coins, and he preferred not to stop and pick it up, in case the beggar spotted all the other, bigger coins. However, Turbos finest moment, one that raises him well above Monty Burns stature, is when he was accosted by...........

....and ensure that he's forced to import two 20 foot container loads of dots, punctuation marks and Capitals, so there's plenty to go around. In addition, Turbine Corporation Inc must be made to supply - at no cost to the NES or Eean - a full training course involving the proper use and placement of punctuation marks and Capitals, so that the NES can be read clearly and logically by even the most illiterate NES lurker. And there also must be made available, a substantial number of bumper stickers - you know, the ones that read - "ILLITERATE? NO PROBLEM! WRITE TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION!", so that the message is spread to.........

I was hoping that Bonza might even someday recognise that there's other parts of Australia that exist, outside the Eastern States. But here in the West, we're used to being regularly ignored like we're a foreign country. All the news media articles are centred around the Eastern States, and even the ABC was going to stop producing a local ABC news presentation - until there was a major uproar. What I'd really like to see is Bonza flying from W.A. to the Gold Coast or even other smaller airports in QLD. They could operate Busselton to the Gold Coast, and I reckon they'd be overwhelmed with passenger numbers. So many people here are thoroughly sick of Jetstar and Qantas and even Virgin is not what it used to be. And no-one, apart from the horrible redeye Jetstar flights, operate from Perth to the Gold Coast. The number of people who state categorically, that they will NEVER fly Jetstar again is amazing. Cancelled flights (generally with last-second notice), poor to non-existent compensation, badly behaved pax, crappy seating, the list goes on and on. If we want to go to the Gold Coast, we have to get ripped off by flying into Brisbane (at prices that are now 50% higher than before COVID), and then drive or catch the train to the GC. It's 2 hrs on the train from Brisbane to the GC, plus another $65 pp, so it makes for a real drag getting there. Plus flight entertainment is a thing of the past, and even business class is just a glorified economy class today.

Removing the head joint might have been desirable in the 1930's when cylinder-to-head sealing was a major problem area - but modern designs and materials have almost completely eliminated head gasket problems. Having the freedom to design a head with a vastly improved and more efficient layout and shape, and which is able to be quickly and easily removed to check for problems (and is easy to repair), is a big step forward from a one-piece cylinder and head. My prediction is that this engine won't even make a measurable dent in established light aircraft engine sales. It's not like it's got major cost advantages, either, it's still pricey for what it is.

I'd have to guess you won't get any change out of $350,000 for a new Texas Stallion - giving "cheap affordable flying", a whole new level of meaning. And what's with the idiocy of building/buying/operating a 4 seat aircraft that is limited to only carrying one passenger? Sports pilots obviously can't be trained to carry more weight?

And the engine also reverts to 1930's engine design practice, with severe limitations placed on valve positioning, thanks to the one-piece cylinder and head. You can only position the valves directly in line with the cylinder in a setup like this, so the seats can be machined. That eliminates any ability to produce a better combustion chamber shape, such as a hemispherical chamber. The engine has no major technological advances over anything previously produced, and offers no gains in fuel economy, no multi-fuel abilities, no forced induction for improved efficiency - in fact, it's a pretty ho-hum engine, as Skippy says.

To me, it appears there's an inadequate level of cooling fins in the head area. Compare it with say, many other air-cooled engines, they have a very sizeable number of fins all over their heads. The bottom line is the combustion chamber is where the heat is being generated, so you need those big fins all around that area. http://www.enginehistory.org/Piston/ACEvolution/ModernCyl.jpg http://www.enginehistory.org/Piston/ACEvolution/ACA-40.jpg

These tacho threads from previous years might assist you .... https://www.recreationalflying.com/forums/topic/24755-tachometer-flutter/ https://www.recreationalflying.com/forums/topic/26811-582-rev-counter-playing-up/ https://www.recreationalflying.com/forums/topic/18924-odd-problem-with-aviasport-tacho-on-912uls/

......Cappy was extremely unhappy and about to lash out - typical of his "catty" nature. Accordingly, the growl turned into a screech, and Cappy lashed out at the nearest face - which just happened to be the local Asian mixed-martial arts black-belt holder, WunHung Long (a close relation of WunTrack). Wun staggered back slightly, blood pouring from a gash that started at......

Excellent "write-up", Turbo. I just might add, paddock conditions can vary enormously within a short distance as soil profile changes. Depth and type of of topsoil makes a big difference to conditions, and grass over 100mm high can hide anything. Even long established paddocks still hide rocks and stumps. As they say in the movies and live media, "never work with children or animals" - they are both as unpredictable and skittish as each other, and both react in unexpected ways. You hang onto little kids around moving vehicles and machinery - accordingly, loose domesticated animals need to be restrained. If I was in an aircraft, I'd ensure any horse in a paddock being used as an airstrip was securely tied up before attempting a takeoff.

Ethanol destroys natural rubber and degrades fibreglass. If you have fibreglass tanks, it is highly advisable to ensure that no ethanol-supplemented fuel is used in them. Skippydiesel is not quite correct with his opinion on water in ethanol. There's a nasty development called "phase separation" with ethanol-supplemented fuels, where the water comes out of suspension and causes problems. https://www.leightonobrien.com/news/why-ethanol-early-fibreglass-tanks-dont-mix/ https://sutherlands.com/article/the-problem-with-ethanol-and-small-power-equipment/66

Dear confused NES'ers. My post is as I wrote it, I deleted nothing. I believe Planey must have found some potent drugs during his trip to the bathroom in the wee small hours - possibly mistaking the drugs for his prostate medicine. How else can one explain his post? - apart from, perhaps, the fact that Planey logged on to page 434 of the NES from 2013 and thought it was a current page, that needed something added to it! Planey, I trust those drugs wear off soon, and you end up back on page 790.

I've used silicone brake fluid many years ago, in an item of construction machinery. It was used to get around a major corrosion problem in the disc brake calipers. It worked just fine, and eliminated all the constant corrosion problems caused by using regular brake fluid. However, the silicone brake fluid was pricey, and it's an "oilier" product, with a higher viscosity than regular brake fluid. I had a lot less brake problems when I used it, the downsides were - ensuring only silicone fluid was used for top up, and having to keep spare silicone fluid near to where the machine was working, or on board.

There are numerous crash reports involving dropped objects jamming control mechanisms. I can remember coins and small tools featuring in some crashes, and one major crash was caused by a 5 yr old standing up to see his house during a joyride, his foot jammed in a control linkage, the pilot couldn't assess the problem in time, and the aircraft crashed, killing all on board.

Find an industrial hydraulics/seals supplier and they should be able to supply o-rings to fit virtually anything.

.....Hummelbird (long overdue Spaceyavref), which she fawned over. "Ooooh, what a lovely little aeroplane!", she cooed. "It's just the right size for me! Would you like to teach me how to............

Link works O.K. for me. IBob, I'd say your AV is too sensitive and is blocking the site, seeing some code that it interprets as a virus or malware. Try turning off your AV, then click on Dannys link.

There is a difference between a "handbrake", and a "hand-operated" brake. Most people immediately think of "parking brake", when "handbrake" is mentioned.

More importantly - was it actually a horse? - or was it really a camel, misdescribed??