Methusala

I think that Col died testing an experimental rig designed to scoop water into a fire bombing a/c whilst in flight. Not a detailed memory but?...

Col Paye restored a Spitfire. When asked would he do it again he replied that restoring one was enough. They were an extraordinarily complex bird.

Dave is not a big guy, some of the Gere appeal to me is it's small size, remember designed 1931. About 300hrs no issues. I remember seeing this great aircraft at a Tumut BBQ. It is a tribute to the builder and a joy for the pilot. Rarely does one see such impeccable workmanship.

G'day Red, The image of an Escapade in the quoted reference shows an aircraft with a small 1/4 window behind the door. It has, as I said , squared off empennage members and, quite frankly, looks not similar at all, to the aircraft shown in your post. Don't mean to be at all aggressive about this and enjoy your posts. Regards Don.

The tail group in the Escapade are angular whereas the red aircraft you pictured have rounded extremities. I have an A Model Karatoo and it looks an image of the shown aircraft (except for the nosewheel), so Red, I believe that you are mistaken. Don

Jesse Anglin J-6 Karatoo

Had 'flapperons' on the Mk2 Kitfox. I found them to markedly reduce aileron effectiveness (especially at the reduced landing speed) and that flaps were, in any case, unnecessary to effect a well controlled landing. Side slipping was much better for controlling touch down.

A Huey went down near Kiandra following power loss. One engine and, as I agree with Nev, a lot of complex machinery. Ghastly when one goes down in circs. where possibly avoidable. Fate is the Hunter.

I suppose that I inhabit the bottom rung just about here. I learnt in a Pteradactyl that I assembled in the lounge room having got the fundamentals in gliding. Moved to a Tyro, then bought a Volksplane in which I accumulated 550 hrs over 11 years. Now I have a Thruster. I found that flying x-country in the VP became quite boring and doubt that doubling the speed would improve things. Just enjoy "slipping Earth's surly bonds" once or twice per fortnight and the Thruster does that for me. I have re-built the 582 that I fly behind and, knowing that any engine can be a time bomb, I fly accordingly. Maintaining and bonding with your engine (as with your wife) is a recipe for contentment.

The aviation regulator is investigating whether the use of a drone to dangle a man over a reservoir breached rules. (1 hour ago on the SMH)

There is a twin Jabiru engined Zenith home built. Saw it at Wedderburn earlier this year. Two seats and did not inspire me too much.

Well, we're just back from FNQ where we caught up with Frank and Fran. They showed us hospitality north Queensland style with a trip up and down the Mullgrave river, tinny style, and a great flight over the cane fields, rivers and foothills. We saw 2 crocs, one at close quarters, as you can see in the photo below. Frank handles the Drifter as though he was born in the saddle. Thanks once again Frank.

Hey you blokes, I know that we are all good aviators but... Is it possible to use real place names rather than 4letter identifiers. Not everyone has an encyclopedic memory and googling doesn't always work?

I'll take your word for it T'88. My T300 is only a little younger than myself (Nah! no kiddin' - honest) and may be a little out of trim.

This, of course, is the correct stance for a perfect Thruster landing.

A gent located down the Murray said, when explaining how to loop a thruster,"Gain speed till the windscreen distorts inwards." Then you know that the correct speed has been reached to complete the loop. Of course, this is all hearsay, and could well be an urban myth. ( I've never tried it meself!0

I've flown Drifters with Frank and my Canberra mate. Prefer Thrusters in Canberra (where it's mainly cold) but Drifters really do it in style - I like the ailerons, very light and well harmonised. My VP-2 had the heaviest ailerons, sometimes needed two hands! But a very effective rudder compensated somewhat.

Especially if they become stationary!!!

Hey! I know that this thread is supposed to be DRIFTER HEAVEN but you have to admit that the Thruster takes some beating in the visibility stakes. Especially since you can stand them on their nose with idle power and they won't bust Vne.

I am very disappointed that the "certainty" that we felt of being on the good side of history has been such an illusion. It is an illusion foisted on us by the established media. We had our first inkling that such was the case in the 60's when we were told that the Vietnam war was to keep us safe against the otherwise irresistible southward march of communism. Overwhelmingly it has been the rise of the www and its uncanny ability to link people around the world that is able to "lift the scales from our eyes". We discovered that every justification for war, at least since 1945, has been a cynical ploy to open up or maintain market share for one system or the other (oil being the great game changer). The story of Boeing's actions, slowly bleeding out, is just another example of how information is kept secret. Being able to read widely on the net enables a clear picture to form and the major players are powerless against this. I cannot imagine how Boeing couldn't see the potential to destroy trust in a (formally perhaps) great product. A headline that I saw yesterday stated that the assembly line workers have stories to tell of shoddy manufacturing on the 787 line. I'm unsure of the truth but unsettling is the feeling one gets. Unlike Facthunter, I spend some time in the cabin of 787's.

Off topic is situation normal around here!!!

This story reported today says that a report in the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday states that neither Southwest Airlines nor the FAA (Boeing’s primary federal regulator) were aware that a safety feature intended to alert pilots to a potentially malfunctioning ‘angle of attack’ sensor – in other words, a feature that might have prevented both the crash of ET302 and the Oct. 29 crash of a 737 owned by Lion Air – had been disabled on the new 737s is simply staggering. The link to the whole report is below:- Boeing Didn't Tell Southwest or FAA that It Had Disabled Critical Safety Alerts on 737 MAX - Global Research This adds weight to the argument that Boeing personnel have committed acts of reckless negligence and they should be investigated for their criminal conduct.

I have not been able to "undo" a like in the Cunamulla Fatal thread

My mistake. Should have been completed (including one of the first 912's in the country). Not my friend and ripped off many people. Not around to argue the toss.