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kgwilson

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Everything posted by kgwilson

  1. Below 25 degrees is Winter? Well maybe in the tropics. At 30 deg South Winter is when the ambient temperature is below 15 deg & further South that is positively balmy.
  2. Have you had the gauge tested for accuracy? The first thing a Lame will do when looking at cooling issues is check the gauge.
  3. Yep but if you don't have a pilot there are no wages to pay, or insurance premiums, or worksafe fees etc.
  4. The acquisition is a guarantee Ozrunways is history. Happens every time, especially with US based takeovers and even more especially with a company like Boeing.
  5. Fair comment Ian. You do as you think fit. I am a member of another group and the edit function for posts on that site never expires which I though a bit odd. It doesn't seem to cause problems though. The site uses Xenforo software.
  6. How about an extended amount of time to edit a post? I sometimes come back after more than 1/2 an hour & realise I'd made a typo or error or would like to add another sentence to add context.
  7. After 15 pages of posts it is obvious that there will never be consensus. I think the system is absolute rubbish, is the only one of its type in the world, is a burden on recreational pilots, is ridiculously expensive, serves no useful purpose and supports an industry created by the government for a perceived and unverified risk. I refuse to get one. I've never been asked for it at Coffs (I know the controllers and also park by the Aero Club miles from the RPT apron area) but have at Ballina & was told I couldn't go in to the cafe but did anyway. I don't have a class 2 any more so my PPL is invalid but as I now fly an Ra-Aus registered aircraft I self certify saving another overly bureaucratic and expensive process
  8. Almost all corporate acquisitions make a similar statement, then once they get their feet under the table, restructures begin, original managers are moved sideways and then out the door, products are modified, updated, removed or replaced, prices increase, processes change and everyone is happy except the original customers.
  9. No. I have ERSA on my phone & all the maps on there and my tablet as well.
  10. Avplan has a better Android interface any way. It doesn't bother me as I don't use either. I use a simple free system without the bells and whistles and compexity called Enroute navigation which does everything I need and interfaces with my SE2.
  11. That was fully documented in the UK CAP 1397 when they determined self declaration for PPL https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=11&mode=detail&id=7359.
  12. I've been getting an annual check up with my GP for well over 20 years. The only thing that I have had is a BRAO (Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion) commonly called an eye stroke back in 2013. This prevented blood getting to part of the retina of my right eye & so I have lost vision for about 40% of that eye when it died through lack of blood oxygen. The rest is good & my brain has compensated. At the time I got scans to check plaque on my arteries, wore a harness with about 6 probes stuck to my body for several days, had a 30 minute stress test on a treadmill and some other things & I was pronounced fit & well. It was caused by a tiny bit of plaque getting in to the tiny retinal artery & blocking it. Very common apparently even in very fit people. At the time I thought i might become a genuine 1 eyed pilot. I don't even think about it now.
  13. I'm sure it won't but the aircraft were all sold and replaced in the late 90s to early 2000s. None were ever hangared so they were showing their age and I assume some corrosion by then.
  14. Back in the 90s we used to run club trips out to the beach with our 152s, 172s & PA28-181s to go fishing and get some shellfish. This was the West Coast of NZ North of Raglan. The black sand at low tide was compact and hard. It was just like landing on tarmac. We had to time it right & get away before the tide returned. Those were very enjoyable trips. The aircraft were thoroughly washed when we got back.
  15. Medical self declarations have been around in the UK for PPL since 2015. I have not heard of any adverse issues.
  16. My first was a Seagull 3 an original battenless full Rogallo wing early 76. Terrible L/D but easy to fly. This is what I learned to fly in. There were no instructors or schools. It was just have a go. I bent it several times but not myself luckily. Next came a Lancer 1, made by Pacific Kites in Auckland NZ, smaller wing higher aspect ratio fully battened single surface. Flew well but did not have a great reputation, mainly I think because some who bought them never adjusted to the different characteristics of a higher performance wing. Next the Chevron followed by the Skytrek Bandit 30%er. Broke my radius & crushed the wrist in the NZ Nationals at Coronet Peak in December 1980. At the time I was President on the NZHGA & there was a TV crew in the landing paddock following me in. A dust devil caught me under the RH wing at about 30 feet & flying slow to get to the bulls eye & I went in hitting the ground with the nose & LH upright at the same time. It was on the news that night but I never got to see it. Next and last was a Vampyre full aerofoil with floating crossbar & variable geometry nose angle. I sold it in 1990. We started flat land towing behind cars but I never got away in any thermals from towing. I flew a few home built trikes an Easy Riser Bi-plane and a mates Fledge plus lots of other gliders when I'd swap with friends. In the mid to late 80s I flew a few rag & tube microlights including a very early weight shift Quicksilver. By then though I'd got my PPL so drifted away from the seat of the pants flying to eventually building my Morgan Sierra starting in 2011 with first flight in 2015 & still going with it. I doubt that I will ever own another aircraft given I will be 74 in a week or so but I'll keep flying the Sierra till something warns me it is time to fold my wings for good. Hopefully that will happen when I am on the ground.
  17. Mine was in a Skytrek Bandit 30%er a beautifully balanced glider with light controls. My previous glider was one of Steve Cohens which was also a great handling Glider called a Chevron purchased in June 78. it had a V keel instead of luff lines and no blowdowns.
  18. Back in the late 70s/early 80s manufacturers began adding luff lines from the king post to the trailing edge of the inner battens and adding a dive tube at the wingtip that would prevent the tip inverting. These mods were to prevent the sail inverting or luffing after a major stall at altitude so the wing would pull out of the dive. before this the glider could just descend vertically with the sail luffing until it hit the ground. We were in our 20s then and bullet proof. After returning from the NZ national champs at Coronet peak near Queenstown where I'd got right in to 120 deg wingovers, I ended up stalling at the top of a more than 120 deg wingover and the wing ended upside down with me crashing in to the hang point (CG). I was still hanging on to the A frame base, got my feet out of the harness & stood on the cross bar. The glider spun upside down & then flipped over & I landed. It all happened in a few seconds but felt like eternity. The funny thing was that it didn't bother me at the time. It was only later that I started shaking and getting everything muddled realising I'd had the shit scared out of me. I never did another wingover again ever.
  19. The layout ergonomics of a Jabiru are awful but this isn't limited to Jabirus. A lot of aircraft have things in weird places and all are different. The simple option is to replace the 3 way switch with momentary/off/on with the on for raising flaps. You may need a microswitch on the flap travel mechanism to make sure the motor stops at the extremes of travel.
  20. Agreed but maybe it was the way I read the post. If its gusty & strong headwind I like a bit of throttle but idle once the runway is assured.
  21. This was in response to Pleuseys post & Bredan said this is how he has been taught too.
  22. Why do you need throttle at all on very short final. Keeping some on right till almost touchdown must increase your landing speed. You should be fully stalled at touchdown
  23. There seem to be too many idiots in this world. Read the instructions FFS. A bloke at our aerodrome got one and complained to me it didn't work. He hadn't applied for a hex code nor did he realise to see other ADSB equipped aircraft he needed an app linked via WiFI. Also he had nowhere to mount it with the suction cup so put it in the side door pocket. These people exist and they somehow managed to get a pilot certificate or licence.
  24. What a ridiculous statement. There are thousands of aircraft all over Australia in public and private hangars, tied down at ALAs or private strips in the open so any of them could get pinched by the radicalised nut job who is somehow able to start the aircraft and has miraculously learned to fly and become a kamikaze. I haven't done a risk anaylsis on the likelihood of this happening but at a guess I'd say it is infinitesimally small. So how would having an ASIC have any bearing at all on this.
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