rgmwa

What's happening with the engine while you're working on this project? rgmwa

Flew from Serpentine WA (YSEN) to Portland VIC (YPOD) where my parents live, with overnight stops at Esperance, Border Village and Whyalla. About 2,900 km so far with intermediate stops at Katanning, Cocklebiddy (rough strip), Nullarbor Roadhouse (good strip), Ceduna and Naracoorte. The biggest problem was not the flying or the navigating, but the logistics of getting mogas to the plane (except for the Nullarbor, oddly enough). Nevertheless a great experience. Even made page 3 of the local paper with a photo and article (maybe I should say relegated to page 3). Highlights so far have been flying along the cliffs at the Head of the Bight, crossing the Gawler Ranges in SA, and taking several people up for local flights around the Portland/Warrnambool area. These included my dad (aged 97) - first time he's ever flown with me, one of his friends (aged 86) from Geelong who according to his wife, still hasn't stopped talking about it, my young nephew who has just got a job as an inspector with the Fisheries Department in Portland, but had never seen the coastline from the air, and one of my brother's friends who was terrified of flying but determined to have a go and is still over the moon at what he achieved. He came back the next day with an A4 page of questions about flying, and has since watched every RV12 video he could find on uTube. He's become an RV groupie, if there is such a thing. That's really what being able to fly is all about. Now I just have to get back to WA! At 7,500' NE of Esperance... Head of the Bight... Overnight stop at Border Village (luckily the winds weren't too strong)... rgmwa

First 727 flies again... http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/original-boeing-727-prepares-for-its-final-takeoff/ rgmwa

I read somewhere that Packard made quite a few design changes to the Merlin, mainly to facilitate mass production. rgmwa

I thought the two small fans for the pilots above the windscreen made the cockpit feel a bit more homely. Nice touch! rgmwa

The Facet pump for the 912ULS in the RV-12 is a 40105. You could order one from Vans - probably cheaper postage than A/C. http://vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?ident=1456236795-212-141&browse=engines&product=pump-carb rgmwa.

We'll that's it! I'm giving up on the airlines and taking my own aircraft from now on, even if it takes me a bit longer to get there. I can accept that I have no hope of landing an airliner, but there's no way I'm risking flying with some other passenger who thinks he/she can. rgmwa

For what it's worth, the RV-12 has a return fuel line. rgmwa

OK, I wrote all that down. Can't wait to get my beer and meet the press gallery now. rgmwa

Ah, a nicely balanced relationship, Bex. You're a lucky man! rgmwa

I did it recently. Joined mid-field cross wind and flew a right hand circuit, which was the correct procedure for the same runway on a neighbouring airfield that I've often flown out of. Fortunately no other aircraft in the circuit at the time. All too easy to do if you're not careful. rgmwa

That's what I said to my wife too, but she didn't believe me. However, I proved her wrong because it was a huge investment in time and money. I think that's what she meant, anyway. rgmwa

No, it's true. I really did have about 300,000 points, although I admit I may have left my run a bit late now. rgmwa

That's fantastic news! I had no idea. Luckily, I still have about 300,000 Ansett points locked away in the family vault, so I'll give them a call and see how I go. rgmwa

Joost Conijn designed, built and flew this bizarre looking plane from Holland down through Spain, across the Strait of Gibralter and then across Africa from west to east in 2010. I hadn't heard of him until just recently when I was given a copy of his book. Although he doesn't go into details of the plane, I read on another forum that the wings are made from a Blanik, and the fuselage and tail are fabric covered. The engine was a Subaru. This was his third homebuilt. Conijn is a well known Dutch artist/adventurer, and once built and drove a wooden car across eastern Europe. Good to see there are still a few unconventional travellers out there. Flying that plane by the seat of your pants across Africa would not be for the fainthearted. Technical details here: http://avia-dejavu.net/photo OK-NUL-43.htm The following video has snippets of his first plane and the one above: His website (in Dutch, though): http://www.joostconijn.org/index2.php rgmwa

Thanks Sav. I remember watching the series quite a while ago now, but certainly worth another look. rgmwa

Thanks Dinger. Will get in touch if necessary closer to the date. rgmwa

Thanks PM. I'll be complying with the rules regarding life jackets and skeds, etc, and transport and fuel should not be problem as I have relatives there. The biggest factor will be the weather, but I believe Mar/April are about the best months to make the trip, so hopefully I'll have a good run. rgmwa

I'm considering flying via Cape Otway to King Island next March. There is some good trip information in previous posts regarding crossing at the eastern end of the Strait, and also the recommendations in ERSA, but has anyone got any first hand experience of flying to King Island? rgmwa

You're right Gnu. Creation is truly unbelievable. rgmwa

That's no fun! It used to take me 40 minutes just to admire the picture on the box, carefully unpack the contents, study the plans, identify each part and imagine the end result of many weekends of painstaking assembly. What is the world coming to? rgmwa

That's certainly a pretty poor review session IMO. For my last GA BFR, apart from a 40 question test paper (which you can do in your own time beforehand), my instructor took me flying for about an hour and a half, which included 10 mins on instruments, steep turns, stalls, slips, incipient spin recovery, a forced landing, a series of unusual attitude recoveries on instruments (at my request), and finally a short field landing on returning to Jandakot, which is a Class D airport so I got a workout on ATC procedures too. Under Part 61, which I just missed out on, I think they now have to do some kind of navigation review too. rgmwa

RACWA also does training at Murrayfield near Mandurah. They have an office/hangar, instructors and aircraft based there. That's a CTAF airfield. Would be a good choice if you live in the area. rgmwa

Don't take any credit cards to the airfield. rgmwa

Probably nothing more subtle than "we've got it, so let's use it .... and if it impresses the Russians too, then so much the better". rgmwa