onetrack

If you want to cut a piece of rubber with a knife more easily, you wet it down thoroughly.

With all the information provided, especially relating to the total engine hours, I'd expect the problem is related to an intermittent fuel flow blockage. The inlet hose problem is indicative of age-related problems. Floating debris in fuel tanks will cause intermittent blockage, the inner lining on hoses separates, and can either peel back and create flow restriction, or simply bubble away from the join between inner and outer materials, and thereby partly block the line. I've seen a tiny circular metal remnant from hole punching, slip into a fuel line out of the tank, and then act like a butterfly valve. Gun it, and the fuel flow went to near zero. Ease off the throttle, and the fuel flowed. It took a piece of wire shoved down the fuel line to remove the piece of metal.

Correct link in Turbo's post is here.... https://electricmotorglider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CV-Carb-Web.pdf

Russian disruption operatives checking to see what kind of damage they could do to British aviation? The Russians have already been caught placing incendiary devices on cargo aircraft, with the intention of creating serious damage and loss of life to Western/NATO countries, who they believe are conducting war on Russia. There has never been a more dangerous time for Western aviation than the present, with an angry and embittered Russia intent on creating havoc amongst its "enemies".

.....immediately saw the losses mounting at DG International, and promptly investigated the possibility of re-purposing the vast amount of DG rabbit warrens into underground runways. Despite his intensive knowledge of rabbit numbers, behaviour and warren locations, CT was blown away when his warren investigations returned indications that the rabbits had already moved enough dirt to make 3 underground runways at DG - just with a little extra excavation work. As the rabbits are masters at excavation, on a par with highly qualified miners, CT was intrigued to find that all that was needed was the removal of a number of pillars, and not only would there be room for 3 underground runways, all with different orientation - but there would also be room for an underground airport hotel, a DFO, several major retailers, plus extensive warehousing abilities, as well. CT couldn't believe the figures, even though he went over them and re-checked them again, several times. It was just amazing, the numbers were out of...........

But it's not just one wheel, Skippy, it's between 6 and 20 wheels. Ever tried to give a fast spin to a wheel on a hub, say a truck wheel (comparative size) and noted how much effort it took? The amount of energy required to spin up a stationary set of wheels (and hubs - in total, a sizeable amount of weight) would be very substantial. You can notice the retarding effect in your passenger seat when you hit the runway.

But the only requirement for a military drone, is that the engine be reliable enough - and cheap enough - to last just one mission! Bit of a difference to expecting your aircraft engine to perform 100% reliably for 2000 hrs, until overhaul!

Skippy, I've got no problem agreeing with your correct understanding of how an aircraft travels in a pocket of air, and does not "know" where the wind direction is from. But time and again, we see pilots crash at low level, and especially when banking or changing course, and they're looking for and acquiring a ground reference, which can distort their perception of air speed. As Facthunter has pointed out, close to the terrain is risky operation, and things can go bad very quickly, if you're not expecting bad things to happen. I'd have to opine, you can't put an old head on young shoulders, and youthful inexperience must have been a feature of this tragedy. I'm talking inexperience in total logbook hours, inexperience with low level flight and possibly gusty conditions, and inexperience with a relatively new (to him) aircraft.

Just to put a name to this crash and to flesh out the man, the gent was Mark Andrew Freestone. His story could be any one of us, he loved motorbikes and flying, and life in general. He did a lot in his 62 years. His funeral streaming link is below, he was obviously admired and well thought of, not the "cowboy" one immediately expects from air crash events. Maybe, as many motorcyclists do, he liked pushing the boundaries of performance. We just have to remember that aircraft are very unforgiving of pushing the limits. Mark Andrew Freestone | Vivid Stream WWW.VIVIDSTREAM.COM.AU Mark Andrew Freestone

Doing a 180° turn, going from a 20KT headwind to a 20KT tailwind, with a heavily loaded experimental aircraft, with a reportedly low stall speed, while you're at low altitude, looking for something on the ground - what could possibly go wrong? Then make that a 20KT crosswind for landing, you've got a real handful!

200L of fuel capacity, if near full, and 3 POB, could make for a low speed manoeuvring trap for a new owner. How many times have we seen pilots stall and crash when looking for something on the ground, and they overlooked adequate airspeed for too long? 20KTS of wind is a high wind component, compared to the published stall speed.

The aircraft appears to have been VH-registered, as the ATSB has initiated an investigation. https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/2024/tinamba-west-aircraft-accident

.....sewn up, as his best mate Turbo had seen a wide business opening in the Patersons Curse harvesting, and had set Cappy straight, on how to organise with farmers, which paddocks would be harvested, and in what order - and of course, he would also arrange payment to Turbine Inc's major subsidiary, T.I. Patersons Curse Harvesting And Removal Services. Cappy was to told by Turbo to explain to the farmers, that as Patersons Curse was a noxious weed, TIPCHARS was assisting the farmers greatly by harvesting and removal of the nuisance weed, and thereby increasing farm profits and values - so it was only right that TIPCHARS was properly re-imbursed for their efforts. Of course, Turbo had realised, after some study, that the pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in Patersons Curse were in great demand in both traditional medicine treatment, as well as in regular medical cancer treatments. Turbo quickly realised he was onto a winner. He would get paid handsomely for weed removal, and also get paid handsomely for the chemicals extracted from the weed. It was easy money on two fronts, and Turbo had always hankered to get into the Pharmaceuticals side of things, as he was well aware the profits in Pharmaceuticals were only something he could dream about, with his run-of-the-mill, cat farming operations. Turbo and Cappy returned to Shangri-La with cartons and cartons of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. They would not only make massive profits selling the pyrrolizidine alkaloids pills, they would also present themselves as Shamans! It was to this end, they both went hunting for Eagle feathers to manufacture their Shamanic cloaks, as feather cloaks are a crucial part of being a Shaman. It wasn't long before Cappy found some crow feathers. "Hey look, this'll do us!", he cried. Turbo was disgusted, but he hid his disgust well, because Cappy was his Khyber Pass mate. He replied, "Mate, we need, eagle feathers, to give us street cred - and besides, if we.......

It would've made a nice old mess of that turbine, if it had been ingested! How many other slack workshop procedures have crept into their workshop?

Well, not as expensive as the real thing, as Bob pointed out. The high HP Merlins were very delicate pieces of highly-strung machinery, they needed constant mechanical attention, and valve lash adjustments on the Merlin were every 25 hrs, as well as re-tensioning head studs every 25 hrs. The Merlin was going well to reach 500 hrs before needing overhaul. A lot were shot at 250 hrs, especially if they operated in the desert, and weren't fitted with Vokes Aerovee filters. As Bob pointed out, the Allison only needs valve lash adjustments every 200 hrs. The DC-3 prop and Hamilton Standard quick-feathering hydromatic propeller were a much cheaper option, than the Curtiss electric propeller on the genuine Spitfire. Yes, it's only 3 blades instead of the 4 blade version on the genuine article, but who's going to make a hullaballoo about that? It's like show visitors complaining that your restoration isn't a genuine factory colour.

.....view the more impressive mountain ranges, rather than trying to climb them the hard way. However, Cappy wasn't happy in Shangri La, and it was largely due to the fact that he was constantly coming across George Mallory propped up on a sun bed, taking in the "rays". Cappy initially made the mistake of identifying George as another Shangri La client who had spent far too long in the sun, and who'd developed that mummified skin look. However, when Cappy touched George, and he fell off the sunbed, Cappy realised to his horror, he'd made an awful mistake, and that..........

That's the best video I've watched in ages, and I watched it right through! Bob Deford is just an amazing bloke! I reckon there's probably another good video about the mechanic bloke who helped him build the Spitfire!

Maybe the legal grounds for a manslaughter charge simply weren't strong enough? - purely because it was an experimental aircraft, and the warning plate advising such, is there for all to see? But the bottom line is - he still has to face 6 serious aviation charges - and he has to live with the fact, he killed his mate. Not something I'd like to live with.

The big difference with manufacturing in China is whether it's a Western company that has installed Western-trained managers and Western-developed QC programmes to oversee the quality of the end result - or an all-Chinese company that has no Western input and which relies on local people that may be seriously lacking in management skills and QC skills. I've read where approximately 200,000 Chinese, who were all educated in Western institutions and who have acquired Western standards of management skills, engineering skills, and QC skills, are the primary people driving the industrial expansion of China in the last 30 years. The problem is the majority of them are employed by Western companies to manage and operate their factories in China. Naturally, there are also Japanese and Taiwanese companies who have developed a name and processes for quality products, and these people also operate within China. Attention to detail is a hallmark of those manufacturers who produce quality products, and the Chinese themselves have not had a reputation for attention to detail, up until recently. And then there's the problem that the Chinese fail to understand "branding" and corporate "image", as Western, Japanese and Taiwanese companies do. The common large Western/Japanese/Taiwanese company names you can immediately think of, spend vast amounts of money and effort, and also legal expenditure, in ensuring that their "name" and "brand" are recognised for their high standards and support of their products. They back it up with good customer relationships, good supplies of parts and adequate and competent technical information. However, Chinese manufacturers are agglomerated into multiple factories and brand names, which leaves customers confused, and who get lost trying to find corporate brand support. It's not helped by the language barrier, and a severe shortage of good English translators within China.

......one sat bolt upright in the rear of the Jeep, which frightened Cappy so much (and it's reported that as a Khyber Veteran, he's not easily frightened), that he jerked the steering wheel so much, the Jeep did a neat 180° turn, and all the bodies - including the one sitting up - fell out. Cappy stopped (eventually, despite those dreadful Jeep drum brakes) and backed up. He knew this going to make for warm beer very quickly, so he..........

I've used Penrite P26 Foaming Intake Cleaner on a 3.0L diesel PK Ford Ranger, that was suffering from excessive EGR buildup, and showing an EGR fault code. It worked a treat, and the code went off. The engine seems to run better since. Penrite make a petrol version and diesel version, and they recommend you change the oil after using the product.

I bought a Creworks 15L ultrasonic parts cleaner off eBay for under $250, and use a proprietary Ultrasonic Parts Cleaning solution from a local chemical supplier. It all works good, it cleaned up 6 grotty pistons very nicely. The Ultrasonic Parts Cleaner has an inbuilt heater and it goes to 80°C. Despite the UPC solution having a pH of 13, it didn't adversely affect the aluminium. It's watered down to a 1%-5% solution, in use. ULTRASONIC PARTS CLEANING SOLUTION - All Chemical ALLCHEMICAL.COM.AU Buy high-quality ultrasonic parts cleaning solution in australia for various applications. Trusted supplier offering reliable products nationwide.

Water appears in fuel tanks via condensation from the air component of the tanks. As the air cools, the moisture content settles as water in the tanks. So, keep your tanks full as much as possible to reduce condensation.

The article I read, the Ukrainians flew a Foxbat into a Russian Navy ship, causing a modest amount of destruction. Ukraine Hits Russian Navy's Caspian Flotilla With Long-Range Drone Strike MARITIME-EXECUTIVE.COM Ukrainian forces have attacked a Russian naval base in the Caspian Sea for the first time, according to local authorities in the Russian province of...

Just wait until the classic Chinese "quality fade" cuts in. That's when the corrupt operators in the company start short-circuiting the factory supply processes and specifications. Add to that, manuals in Chinglish and a general lack of important spares when they're desperately needed. And don't even mention the resale value. It'll be a cold day in Hell before I trust my life to a cut-price Chinese engine that is essentially an illegal copy of a European product.