marshallarts

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.

I reckon it's a bit more than an illusion. With this ridiculous fuel "price cycle" that we have here (for car fuels anyway), the price can change overnight by anything up to 30%. Personally, I think that IS worth saving, so we make constant use of the Fuelwatch website here in WA, and adjust our purchasing accordingly. We have a Prado with large tanks which can take 180 litres of diesel - 30% saved on a fillup is worth at least a lunch, maybe even two!

Yes it certainly looks good. Peter estimates (hopes for) cruise speeds well over 200 knots - an earlier video seemed to show that the engine was producing over 300hp at the rev limit he has set (about 3800rpm, with a reduction drive). And it's pressurised too, so with both those turbos pumping, performance should persist way up into the flight levels, and no need for oxygen masks. I think the prototype is quite a bit heavier than it could/should be, so probably won't reach its performance potential. His plan is to put it into production, but not by him. He says some discussions/plans have happened, but they won't be revealed until after it has flown. He has quite a number of deposits for kits - a lot of the enthusiastic followers reckon it's a Cirrus-killer. Well maybe, and maybe not! Anyway, better stop this thread drift, just wanted to make you aware of it. Cheers, Steve.

RFGuy, something that might light your fire, if you haven't seen it already, is the Raptor prototype being built in the US. An Aussie guy named Peter Muller lives there and for the last several years has been designing and building this aircraft. Its powerplant, believe it ot not, is an Audi 3-litre twin-turbo diesel V6, with a 3rd-party Motec ECU on it. In conjunction with some software this allows him to tweak all sorts of parameters, and monitor/log heaps of things. The aircraft is very close to first flight. Today's update shows him doing some static runs to verify that there will be adequate engine cooling during take-off and climb-out. As you can see, he can collect more data than you can shake a stick at! Not for in-flight use, but very useful at this stage of the project. Peter's background is in computer software, NOT aircraft design. Today's video is below and there are literally hundreds more going back right to the start of the project. I really don't know if this thing is ever going to fly reliably and/or well, but I do respect this guy's persistence.

Ah didn't see that - don't use social media. If that's what it is then they seem to have almost created their own market for joyflights. They seem always to be up there in groups - maybe they do mock dogfights or something like that. 4 have just taken off this morning and headed to the training area (depending on wind, the circuit can go almost right over my house). Anyway, they seem to be generating a good level of utilisation. Why WA I am wondering? They could do this almost anywhere.

Six of these were in the air again today - a very nice flying day on the west coast. I saw a couple of them land at Jandakot, and interestingly, the crews were all wearing full helmets, in all of them. That was slightly surprising. And yes I've looked at the register and these ones are all still shown as owned AND operated by Pacific Flight Services in Parkes NSW. Maybe they are being leased by a training organisation here, but if so then you'd think (well I'd think) that the lessee might be shown as the operator. Whatever the situation is, they all seem to be very busy.

Hmmm interesting. Maybe the auctions didn't work and they are making other arrangements. There were 4 of them in the air this afternoon, some doing circuits. Definitely those regos.

Many here will have seen that 6 or 7 Pacific Aerospace CT-4s were auctioned on the east coast not long ago. It looks to me as if they have all (or nearly all) ended up over here in WA. I live quite near Jandakot, and often see several of them buzzing around. They all have registrations like VH-YCx and I'm sure as I can be that they haven't always been here. Anyone know the full story?

I don't fly now, but when I did I had no problem with landing fees as such, but I certainly might have adjusted my plans based on the LEVEL of the fees. And I'd feel the same about it if I was flying now. Rottnest Island over here in WA slapped very high landing fees on their (very basic) strip some years ago, which has (apparently) reduced leisure aircraft visits to almost nothing - it would be nice to think that someone on the management board might see that and make some constructive conclusions about it. If it was $10 or $15 it wouldn't bother me, but it's $56. There have been many complaints over the last many years that most of Rotto's services are now heavily overpriced - so much for the "people's island". I remember going over there to do circuits in a 152 once when Jandakot was very busy, way back in the 1980s. It was (is) a testing strip, because it nearly always has a fairly stiff crosswind.

I've thought this for a long time. And CEOs of local governments are obscenely overpaid as well. But it isn't only the public sector. We sometimes see CEOs of companies in the private sector get forced out of their job because something went badly wrong. This is them supposedly "taking responsibility" for it. BUT - often they walk away with a huge payout - how is that "taking responsibility"? And quite often they move almost seamlessly into some other highly-paid position. It's all a very cosy club up in that rarefied atmosphere.

Very glad you qualified that by mentioning its rarity! We haven't had common sense almost ANYWHERE for decades, as far as I can see. And that applies to both governments and private organisations. Seems to me as soon as ANY organisation gets beyond a certain size, common sense evaporates. I don't know what that threshold size is, but anything that has a department called "human resources" makes me very suspicious.

Happy to believe that. I would hope they'd be pretty good for the price I saw!

I haven't as a pilot of a light aircraft, but used ANC headphones as a passenger on a 787, just once. Mixed feelings about it in that scenario. It was a Bose QC25, so reasonable quality (I think) but maybe not up to aviation standard. It did a reasonable job but I didn't like the odd feeling of a sort of acoustic "pressure" in my ears - it was not as unobtrusive as I expected/hoped it would be.

Yes interesting point, that. ANC is nice is many situations but it has often occurred to me that it might not actually be a good idea for pilots of small aircraft. Engine sounds are important feedback, and I'd be fairly confident that an over-ear headset without ANC would do a good enough job of reducing the possibility of hearing damage. If I was flying I don't think I'd want an ANC headset. For the same reason, it always worries me to see people riding bikes around on the roads, with earbuds stuck in their ears from their phones. That's far worse than ANC, because they are not just suppressing ambient sound, they are actively replacing it with their own, often at about force 10 on the Richter scale. They really need to be able to hear what's going on around them.

Thanks all for the inputs. Some quite interesting info there. Keep it coming!

I asked this in passing in another thread and it got lost in the chatter there, but I'd be interested to know... Is it possible, physically and/or in terms of regulations, to hang a non-Jabiru engine off the front of a Jabiru? Like a Rotax 915, perhaps? UL Power? I'm assuming the aircraft would need to be amateur-built, and registered as VH experimental. But if that was done, does it mean there are workable choices in the engine department? If yes, has it ever been done, and if so how did it work out? Just wondering...

I note the ads above from the Jabiru website. Seems pointless to me to build a J400 then register it RAA, which (I presume) limits it to 600kg MTOW.

Way back in a past life when I was doing my night VMC I flew when I was not mentally fit to do so - definitely a sin. The NVMC training gave me some of the most intense and enjoyable experiences I've ever had, but I came badly unstuck on my first attempt at the flight test. I was tired from a stressful work week, hadn't slept well, and seriously thought about cancelling the test. But it was a beautiful still summer evening at Jandakot, so I thought dammit, let's get this done. I shouldn't have. I didn't do well on the oral test, and the instructor only just agreed to carry on and go flying. I did OK navigating out to Narrogin, turned on the PAL lights and there they were right under the nose, beautiful. Feeling a bit more positive. But when we got down to circuit height and lower, things deteriorated pretty rapidly. There was huge thermal activity happening down near the ground, and there was a ferocious gusting 90-degree crosswind at the surface - the windsock was standing out horizontal. Wrestled the aircraft down onto the runway for the first touch-and-go, but really struggled on the climb-out. Back up at circuit height was a bit smoother, but going down base and final the next time was like riding a bucking horse. Climb-out the second time was even worse - I was way behind the aircraft, chasing the airspeed and overcontrolling. I was even starting to feel a bit disoriented, so had no option but to ask the instructor to take control. As soon as he put his hands on the controls it was like oil on water - I could hardly believe it. Back up at altitude all was smooth and calm so we headed for home in glum silence. And back at Jandakot the windsock was hanging limp and barely moving, nothing like the chaos I'd just been through. I will never forget that awful night. So, salutary lesson for all - for flying, mental fitness is at least as important as physical fitness, probably more. The mental workload can increase significantly and rapidly, for all sorts of reasons. I remain very glad that I had an experienced pilot sitting next to me.

Sounds good. There is no mention of a J400 on the Jabiru website nowadays, I wonder if they would still put a kit together with the shorter wings? And I guess it needs to be pointed out that there is actually one other way to acquire one of these (or any J4xx), apart from building it - find a used one! But not very common I'd guess.