kgwilson

Many places have automated response units which is a good way to check if your radio is working. That is if the airwaves are not busy. The one at Grafton will respond if there has been no other received calls in the previous 5 minutes. Also if you are hearing radio calls you at least know the receiver is working. There is no harm in asking for a radio check if other aircraft are in the vicinity.

Aviation is littered with scenarios that should never have happened, many when all the procedures and communications were carried out correctly. CASA uses a lot that ended up as near misses as case studies in the hope that we can learn from them. While we continue to learn and hopefully reduce the likelihood of such events, we will never eliminate them. Every now and again, against all odds the holes in the proverbial Swiss cheese will align and we will go through the process all over again.

Water is like concrete if you hit it at speed & it will hurt. Water skiers can attest to that. So just like bare foot skiers with appropriate skill and speed the wheels won't dig in. If you don't have both of those it will be a very expensive exercise.

Most are probably MAGA nutters.

By the time they get this to market it will be just about all over for internal combustion engines even for aviation. All the Japanese auto makers are struggling right now losing huge ground in their biggest market, China.

The answer to that vid is "It depends". Practicing over an airfield is easy and the windsock will guide you to the best runway. In the middle of nowhere everything changes when the engine fails for real. You forget half of the engine failure procedures though trimming for best glide & looking for a landing spot are the 2 most important if you can't get the engine going as in changing from the empty to full tank etc. Altitude is your friend with no power so then you use that to your advantage so when you have identified the landing spot make the most of the altitude you have.

Quell is a well know local brand & part of the Kidde group founded in the USA in 1917. They produce fire protection, control and gas detection systems. The CO detector with replaceable batteries can be purchased from stores for about $35.00. Both the 10 year battery & replaceable battery models have a 10 year operating life. I'll probably replace my existing unit with one of these though it is a bit bigger than the unit I have but has pretty much identical features. It will be almost certainly Chinese made like just about everything else.

Not sure of the brand but like most things it is made in China. It is quite compact at about 70mm x 70mm. I have it velcroed on to the panel. It cost about $30.00 5 or 6 years ago

Me too. The engine was running perfectly & I shut it down but could not get it to start again. I did all the trouble checks and found that the mags had to be on before it would run. Who woulda thought.

Up to 10 parts per million is considered normal CO background level. Maximum of 30 parts per million is safe for a maximum of 8 hours exposure. From there the maximum exposure and time varies by individual. 100 ppm can be endured only for short periods not exceeding 30 minutes and can be accompanied by headaches and breathlessness depending on the individual. Above 400ppm can be fatal. Different authorities have higher or lower levels with some saying anything over 35ppm and you should leave the area immediately. Some monitors start going off at very low levels. Mine has a digital read out that displays the level from 30ppm and flashes a red LED and starts to alarm at 90ppm with loud beeps and fast red LED flashes.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-22/building-the-worlds-largest-electric-ferry/104894884

Incat has produced some of the most innovative catamaran ferries on the planet and are a world leader in this field and now with electric propulsion. I read about this project a year or so ago. There is a great future in building ships like these & a great export earner for the country. Far better than digging stuff up and sending it offshore so someone else can reap the benefit.

The longevity of EV batteries manufactured since 2022 has shown that most will outlast the vehicle they are installed in & with CATL providing up to 2 million km warranties on their current batteries plus the ability to charge them in the same time or less than filling up a tank of diesel or petrol reduces the benefit of a swappable battery. Most of the earlier EV batteries are currently being repurposed for fixed storage but if that market becomes saturated or the battery is too damaged etc they are ground up to form black mass and over 95% of the minerals are recovered for recycling.

At the current rate of battery development I can't see much future for internal combustion engines at all. CATL have just unveiled a new EV battery that has a range of 1500km on a single charge and can be recharged to provide 520km of range in just 5 minutes. https://carnewschina.com/2025/04/21/battery-giant-catl-showcases-three-innovations-1500km-range-battery-520km-in-5-minutes-ultra-fast-charging-and-2025-mass-production-sodium-ion-battery/

You need a RCD (residual current device) for this protection. These can be combined as a RCCB (residual current circuit breaker). I have these installed in my house.