pmccarthy

I recently bought some 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch fibre washers at an Autopro store. The shop attendant asked if I had samples so he could find them out the back, and luckily I had them in my pocket. When he came back with the new ones, he had matched the outer diameters of the washers and not the holes.

I don't believe that the photos in BrendAn's first post are of an 1889 machine. They are way too advanced. I have searched this subject for an hour or so and there was no further mention of Mr Rowe, at Whitton or anywhere else. I found other stories of farmers inventing successful flying machines, all seemed to be BS.

AN AERIAL VEHICLE. A correspondent writes from Carrathool: — An ingenious young man named Richard Rowe, of Whitton, has constructed an aerial machine which bids fair to become an unparalleled success and to entitle his name to be recorded with those of great inventors of past and present ages. It is the outcome of two and a half years of hard study and indomitable perseverance. At times he would abandon the task as being impossible to accomplish, but would again resume it with renewed energy and greater determination to succeed, believing that such a vehicle could be made which would enable people to travel through the atmosphere with speed and safety. It is said that perseverance, combined with keen perception, will overcome all difficulties which at first appear insuperable; and it is amazing to see what success he has so far brought his invention. The machine is constructed of with marvellous mechanism, but finding that wood was not sufficiently strong to withstand the great pressure and work which would have to be sustained and performed by it, he is now engaged in making one with improvements composed mostly of steel. He has made some very successful ascent or trials, reaching a height of 150 feet, and proposes ere long to give exhibitions in the art of aerial navigation. The machine which can be manipulated by either the hands or feet — and in two ways or methods by the hands— rises from the ground, there being no necessity to place it on an elevated position; and one great feature in it is that the occupant has complete guiding control over it, and is enabled to ascend and descend at will, and to propel himself through the air with astonishing rapidity, about 10 miles an hour. The inventor smiled when he heard that Blondin was to get 1000 dols. for walking on the tight-rope from the top of Eiffel Tower to the Exhibition building in Paris, and said he would undertake "to fly" the distance from the same elevation "free gratis" and show the world that Australians had the pluck and ability to accomplish anything what man could do under the sun. Sceptical was the condition of our mind when we read the above communication, for we did not find it easy to believe that place like Whitton could furnish an environment favorable for the development of a mechanical genius. We consequently referred the item back from whence it came, only to receive by return post a re-iterated assurance that it was correct in every detail. In reply our correspondent wrote :— I can quite understand your inclination to doubt the truth of, my par re "aerial vehicle.'' The thing seems almost' incredible and misleading. I have seen the machine, also an ascent, and I do not hesitate to say that the success of the machine is really marvellous. I was desired to ask you to publish the par which I sent last week, otherwise I would not have sent it, as he is very reticent as to it's manufacture. Personally speaking, I was sceptical myself and laughed heartily at the lunacy of the man. I fully anticipated a fearful death for the aeronaut."

Either way, it’s a ripper story.

Security requirements for pilots: The Department of Home Affairs is Australia's security regulator for aviation. They also administer the Aviation Transport Security Regulations. Under these regulations, all current pilots must have an aviation security status check. You will also need an aviation security status check if you're applying for a flight crew licence. To get one of these checks you will need to apply for either an: Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC) Aviation Identification (AVID). this comes from https://www.casa.gov.au/operations-safety-and-travel/aviation-safety-and-security-pilots/security-requirements-pilots#ApplyingforanASIC

I believe all GA pilots are supposed to have an ASIC or AVID to complete the AFR.

I decided to get an AVID instead this time, now that I only fly RAAus. But when it came, it came with an instruction that I must always carry it with my original Flight Crew Licence and Current Medical Certificate. I still have the licence but it doesn't mean much, and I don’t have the medical. I had started to reapply for the ASIC but the guidelines said it is for people needing frequent access to security controlled space. I don't. I would only need it once or twice a year. Hence the change.

I bet they took years to accept the whizz wheel when it came out.

Great result Danny!

Having flown the Airtourer, Foxbat and Vixxen with flaperons, I am surprised that you think they are different. I am not disagreeing, just haven't noticed it myself.

Ah, the clipped wing Ercoupe!

I just used the search button at the top of this page. But you have to be in Forums for it to search them. If you are in what’s new it will just search there.

Members 1.6k Aircraft: RANS Location: Childers, Qld Country: Australia Posted December 18, 2023 Found this list - you can pick the terms that best suit. Excellent: Like New Pristine Immaculate Optimal Perfect Very Good: Well-maintained Excellent Condition Minimal Wear Near Mint High Performance Good: Good Condition Regularly Maintained Moderate Wear Reliable Fully Operational Fair: Fair Condition Some Wear Functional Usable Adequate Performance Poor: Poor Condition Signs of Wear Requires Attention Operational with Limitations Below Average Performance Needs Repair: Needs Repairs Defective Not Fully Functional Requires Maintenance Subpar Performance Non-Operational: Non-Operational Out of Order Inoperative Requires Major Repairs Not Functional Scrap: Scrap Condition Salvage Only Beyond Repair Unusable Condemned

Yes I have flown one dual several times though never went solo.

An ex DC3 captain once said that it was difficult to have a relationship with a hostie while on the ground as you kept sliding off.

I'm not saying it is corrosion, but the connections on the struts just look dirty like they need a good wipe over. I suspect the same on the fuselage though its hard to see.

Those in the back row are shaded by the wing. For heaven's sake!

It’s a trick - I saw through it immediately.

Sling your hook boy.

We often complain about "Cessna plummeted to the ground" type stories. So where did the verb "plummeted" come from? It did not exist until it was invented by reporters for aviation accidents during the 1930s. A plummet was a lead weight used in a ship to sound the depth. It was also a plumb bob used by builders and surveyors. For a long time, people wrote that something “fell like a plummet”, referring to the way the plummet line spun out in a ship. In January 1930 in describing a mid-air collision in the USA a journalist wrote “There was an explosive flash, and bodies were hurled out of the flaming ships and began to fall like plummets into the sea.” In the same month an accident at Point Cook , Victoria, “A surmise that a structural breakage can alone account for the sudden drop of the seaplane Widgeon 'straight down like a plummet into the water' from an altitude of 400 ft., would seem to be founded on the unlikelihood of 'engine trouble,' the occurrence of which is hardly thought compatible with a dive so swift and sudden.” Then in 1933 “The U.S. Navy airship Akron dived into the ocean, off the American coast, with all hands aboard. Aboard her as she faltered and plummeted into the-storm-swept sea were 76 men, including Admiral William A. Moffett, chief of. the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics. Four men were rescued, but one of these died later.” This is close to the first invention of the word "plummet". As the 1930s progressed, “dropped like a plummet” gradually gave way to the new verb “plummeted”, which had mostly taken over in aviation stories by 1937 and then proliferated during World War 2.

This subject keeps coming up in threads about accidents. The ATSB say that they are not funded to investigate RAA accidents or even all accidents (fatal or otherwise) and that they will choose which accidents might yield new insights to improve safety. I think this approach misses a vital point. The investigations should not be carried out to better inform ATSB about the causes of accidents. They should be carried out to inform pilots. I accept that the rules are "written in blood" and that conceivably every possible cause has already been investigated and reported. So, all causes are recorded in the bowels of ATSB, in past investigation reports and articles in crash comics. But that doesn't put them in the minds of pilots. We are all interested in recent accidents and keenly await investigation reports. The learnings from them may be old ones but they become new again when they are recent or involve people we know, or people known to our own acquaintances. The old stories need constant refreshment, and this is best done by investigating and reporting as many causes as possible as soon as possible after each incident. These stories will stick in our minds and influence the way we fly. It doesn't matter how many "stall spin" accidents are in the files, students and new pilots will not read them or will consider them to be old, irrelevant stories. It is the one that is in the news, or happened on the next airfield, that will change our behaviour for life.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-mid-north-coast-light-plane-crash-at-gaagal-wanggaan-national-park-near-nambucca-heads/ce07835b-342a-437a-9438-87805059dc51 includes a before photo of the Sting ( unless it is a stock photo of another one).

Good analysis here…

From the video I think most will be dead.

Stabilator on the Vixxen works really well. I previously had a PA-28 so appreciate it.