marshallarts

I do think OME raises a good point here. And it's not just the billions being thrown at the F-35 fighters. What about the multi-billions being peed down the toilet for these ridiculous submarines? The Collins class subs which will apparently be retired soon have been a huge money-hole too, both to buy and to operate and maintain. My question is - has ANY submarine operated by the RAN since WW2 EVER done anything of any strategic significance? I suspect not, and I just don't buy this line that we need them as a "deterrent". So we will pour these billions down the same hole again, and thes

Does anyone here know anything about the Whisper aircraft, out of South Africa? They have a 2-seater (all-composite I think) called the X350. Looks pretty good on paper (or on screen) - fast, fairly spacious, quite good useful load. I'm not a potential builder, just curious to know how good (or not) they might really be. Their website is at https://www.whisperaircraft.com/

Interesting to note that there is one of these for sale by auction at the moment in Australia. VH-YXP, part of a deceased estate in NSW somewhere.

Hmm I did the boat trip out to Woody Island just before Christmas, and on a guided walk was assured by the guide that there are NO snakes on that island. Seems odd that only one (or few) islands in an archipelago of 100 or so would be snake-free. Don't know what to think now!

What makes it a Recreational Aviation accident? Just the registration of the aircraft? If so, this one wasn't an RA incident - the aircraft is/was VH registered.

This is just awful. It's not clear to me how the PIC fits into the picture here. I know VH-SIP has been for sale for a long time, because I've been sort of half-watching it since I live just 30 or 40 minutes from Serpentine, and if the lotto numbers ever lined up well enough, it just might have been something I would be interested in. The Aussie register still shows the original builder as the owner/operator, so unless Mr Brady bought it very recently and the details haven't been updated yet, he doesn't seem to be the owner. If he was just doing someone a favour, then it almost makes it al

How very irritating. That $70/35GB prepaid with 6 month expiry suited us very nicely, what's there now somewhat less. Oh well, by the time we need to recharge it will be different again! I can hardly wait....NOT.

Similar here. Our tablet becomes our own private Wireless Access Point when there is no free one around to use. Or even when there is - free public wifi is not necessarily secure, so I would NOT recommend doing your banking on it.

I strongly recommend that you compare the coverage maps. The key phrase with ALDI is "MOST of the Telstra network" - you will note for example that while Telstra has coverage almost all the way across the Nullarbor, Aldi has NONE. Zip. Zilch. We use a Telstra simm in a tablet for our road trips, because in our experience Telstra has the best coverage, hands down. Our current one is a prepaid for $70 which lasts 180 days and gives 35GB - data only, no calls or texts. But things change all the time - I can's see that one on the website now.

Thanks from me too, kgwilson. The Canstar scores confirm my (generally bad) experience with Varta rechargeables, both AA and AAA. They were OK for the first few charge/discharge cycles, but it didn't take many before the capacity started going south. Won't buy any more of them.

Ah, so it is the turbo engine - I thought that was the most likely candidate. Not surprised to hear that parts are getting difficult to come by. Also interesting to hear it is one of the Serpentine fleet.

Crikey, I wouldn't have expected that as a choice of aircraft engine. I just looked up specs for the Smarts, and looks like there was an 800cc diesel and a 1-litre petrol., with and without turbo. None of them would exactly give neck-snapping performance, I suspect. It would be interesting to know how that turned out.

I second that. I've noted recently that at least a couple of the 152s I flew during my basic training back in the early 1980s are still flying today, with the same organisation. I'd love to know their TTAF times! It must have been better economics to keep them going rather than replace, or they wouldn't still be there.

Not for the retailer running the servo, I think it's the fuel companies further up the food chain that are doing the ripping off. I certainly wouldn't be investing in a servo now, but people are - there's a new one being built near me, despite the fact that there are at least 3 others within a couple of km. Very hard to see the viability there.

Ah, taxes on taxes, you gotta love it! I thought it was a principle of our tax system that this doesn't happen. Just like all those taxes that GST was supposed to replace - funny thing, but some are still here (e.g. stamp duty), 20 years on.