planedriver

Don't know how I missed Ians post before today.

Now thats one real good-looking jump team.;););) without even a mention of tandems. (What a Gentleman)

Welcome Tim.

You've arrived at a great site here. There's so much support and knowledge to be had on these forums, from guys that are expert in flying anything from office desks to 767's.

Good luck with the Technam. Keep us posted as to how you get on.

Many moons ago, I hoped the Queen was going to pay for me to learn to fly through the RAF, co's I figured she had a bit more money and plenty of aircraft to choose from. Sadly, I went in another direction and have regreted it ever since.

Keep the posts coming.

Regards

Alan ;)

Hey Matt,

25p is a lot better than having to buy more undies and change them in some shop doorway, only to hear a man with a funny hat say "Hello Hello Hello, now whats going on here then"? ;)

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeha!

Well done mate, you must be on a real "high" after all the hard work you put into it. So many out here will be envious, including me.

Kermit Green, you'd surely expect it to leap off the ground.

Don't worry if Slarti's shines a bit more. Rumour has it that he used a bit of slave labour during Boy Scouts "bob a job week" to polish his. After all said and done, it will be drooled all over, when the non-achievers check it out at your first fly-in

I've really enjoyed reading the posts and following your progress.

Instead of working on it half the night, you'll now be able to walk into the bedroom and say, "Hello, do you remember me"?

Stay safe, and enjoy it to the max.

Regards

Alan

Toilet-finding phones offer relief for Londoners

Friday Nov 30 05:48 AEDT

First came SatNav for lost drivers. Now there's "SatLav", a toilet-finding service to help people caught short in central London.

On Thursday, Westminster City Council launched a new mobile phone text message service that will guide Londoners and tourists to their nearest public lavatory.

Anyone who sends the word "Toilet" to 80097 will receive a reply giving details of their nearest public convenience.

Student Gail Knight, 26, came up with the idea for an innovation competition run by the council.

*

"When I'm out with friends we're always ducking into McDonalds or department stores to use their loos but we feel a bit bad about it," she said. "I thought a text service would be really useful for people on the move."

The service is available across the Westminster area, that includes many of the capital's most popular sights, such as Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace.

Unlike in-car devices that rely on satellites to pinpoint someone's location, the SatLav uses mobile phone technology.

All that comes at a price, however. People will be charged 25 pence ($0.58) per text.

Our new Federal Government has no plans in place for a similar service in Australia at this stage, and they expect the average citizen will carry on quite undeturd about it.

Why I am a pilot

A 65 year old man went to the doctor for his Class II exam and the doctor was amazed at what good shape the guy was in.

The doctor asked, "To what do you attribute your good health?"

The old timer said, "I'm a helicopter pilot and that's why I'm in such good shape. I 'm up well before daylight, climb all over the helicopter doing my preflight inspection, flying all day, etc."

The doctor said, "Well, I'm sure that helps, but there's got to be more to it. How old was your dad when he died?"

The old timer said, "Who said my dad's dead?"

The doctor said, "You mean you're 65 years old and your dad's still alive? How old is he?"

The old timer said, "He's 84 yrs old and, in fact, he built and flies his own ultralight airplane and he went flying with me this morning. That's why he's still alive... he's a pilot too!"

The doctor said, "Well, that's great, but I'm sure there's more to it. How about your dad's dad? How old was he when he died?"

The old timer said, "Who said my grandpa's dead?"

The doctor said, "You mean your dad is 84 years old and his father is still living! How old is he?"

The old timer said, "Grandpa is 102 years old and he was a pilot too."

The doctor was getting frustrated at this point and said, "I guess he went flying with you this morning too?"

The old timer said, "No...Grandpa couldn't go this morning because he just got married and he's on his honeymoon."

The doctor said in amazement, "Got married!! Why would a 102-year-old guy want to get married?"

The old timer said, "Who said he wanted to? thats just one of the problems when you join the mile high club" ;)

I backed "Steptoe's" horse. It did'nt win. But hopefully, i'll make a few buck off the scrap iron I collected along the way!!

I have used a tube of Autosol cream from Super Cheap with success on the perspex screen on my boat, and it seems to work a treat as it's a very fine abrasive.

Almost any fine compound such as brasso,will normally do the trick ok to finish off, but make sure you only use a very soft cloth clean cloth, such as grannys undies.

If you can find a supplier of the old fashioned Duraglit wadding you'll be happy with the results for sure. Duraglit is a cottonwool type product which is impregnated with (i think) oelic acid, and I used to polish scratched watch glasses with it years ago.

It dries out in the heat, so if you can find a supplier, make sure you keep it in the cool. Dont forget to do the right thing and wash grannys undies and return them to her in case you need to borrow them again

Stress Management.

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience of kit aircraft builders held up a part from the kit and asked, "How heavy is this part?†The answers ranged from 20g to “bloody heavyâ€Â.

The lecturer replied, "The actual weight doesn't matter.

It depends on how long you try to hold it up while working out where it goes.

"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

And that's the way it is with STRESS. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the aircraft part, before the sun comes up again, it is wise to put it down for a while and rest before picking it up again.

When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden, normally with more success."

"So, before you curse and swear and say “good morning†to the milkman on your way to bed, feeling totally frustrated, put the burden of work down. You can pick it up again tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, Put them down for a while."

"Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of reading it.

Build and fly your aircraft very carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

If you lend someone only some of your clecko’s and never see that person again, it was probably worth the cost.

Always keep in mind, it may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be an 'example' and serve as a warning to others.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

The early bird may get the worm BUT... It's the second mouse that gets the cheese.

When everything's coming your way, you're probably in the wrong lane.

Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

You may be only one person in your world, but you may mean the absolute world to somone else.

Follow these simple instructions and enjoy your kit-building

Having explained all this, I can only conclude that a truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a long detour, (but maybe next time, they won't be overtired, and will remember to allow for a GPS).;)

Very interesting report Matt.

Can't believe that it was back in 1993 that the auction was held at Bankstown. I was there, and remember that the first couple of CT4's went under the hammer for what I thought was a price reflecting very keen buyers who did'nt want to miss out. after which the hammer fell at much lower prices, for aircraft which to my mind did not show really significantly different hours etc: I was very interested myself, but had just gone through settlement and must have picked the "short straw", so it was'nt to be. Anyway, i'm now getting a lot of pleasure from reading of your exploits with Kaz with your one.

Thanks for that.

Alan

Welcome Kevin,

If you get only a fraction of the pleasure I get from this site, you'll be more than happy, but be warned, its very addictive. I'll be in Perth on holiday in about three weeks time, so if I see a chute flying around with someone with a grin from ear to ear, I'll assume it's you. Look forward to hearing more from you, about the exploits in your new toy.

Bud and Jim were a couple of drinking buddies who worked as airplane mechanics in Atlanta. One day the airport was fogged in and they were stuck in the hangar with nothing to do.

Bud says, "Man, I wish we had something to drink!" Jim says, "Me too. Y'know, I've heard you can drink jet fuel and get a buzz. You wanna try it?" So they pour themselves a couple of glasses of high octane hooch and get completely smashed.

The next morning Bud wakes up and is surprised at how good he feels. In fact he feels GREAT! NO hangover! NO bad side effects. Nothing! Then the phone rings... It's Jim.

Jim says, "Hey, how do you feel this morning?" Bud says, "I feel great. How about you?" Jim says, "I feel great, too. You don't have a hangover?" Bud says, "No, that jet fuel is great stuff -- no hangover, nothing. We ought to do this more often." "Yeah, well there's just one thing..." "What's that?" "Have you fa*ted yet?" "No....."

"Well, DON'T, 'cause I did and now i'm in PHOENIX!!!"

'Hello dere.

I'm a computer virus from Ireland

Please forward dis email to all the contacts in your personal address book, then delete all the files on your hard disk.

Dat's great, tanks very much.'

Welcome Nudge,

You'll get a lot of fun out of these forums and learn a lot from other pilots experiences. Good luck with the training as soon as you start, but keep your cuban eights and falling leafs strickly to the R/C models, or your instructor will get a severe case of the shi-s, apart from the fact that Jabiru's were not designed for such acctivities.

Alan

Thanks for the finer details Dave. If I feel well enough, I might get the boat out to see it arrive. Ought to be able to get some good pictures of it on finals, if it comes in over Botany Bay. If I get any, i'll post them on the forums.

Alan

Superjumbo to arrive in Sydney next week

Monday Oct 15 21:47 AEST

Luxury, at least for those travelling in their own first-class sleeping cabins, will take to the skies when Singapore Airlines flies the double-decker Airbus A380 into Sydney next week for the first time.

The key to the cabins on the world's newest passenger plane, Singapore Airlines boasts, is the separate seat and bed - replete with designer quilt.

Singapore Airline also boasts that the sleeping suite can be transformed into a stylish office, with its 57.5-centimetre platinum screen and workstation.

A formal ceremony in the French city of Toulouse had the aviation behemoth's maker, Airbus, formally relinquish the giant to Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines is the first carrier to take full commercial delivery of the long-awaited superjumbo.

At the launch, all eyes were on aviation's best-kept secret, Singapore's fitout of the monster jumbo.

Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders said the expansive space of the A380 had given airlines a new outlet to engage with their customers.

The effect of Singapore's Airlines innovation would ripple out across the industry," Mr Enders said at the launch

Singapore chief executive Chew Choon Seng said the carrier was proud of its fitout.

"It sets new standards in luxury and comfort."

Until now Singapore Airlines has been coy about its fitout, saying only that it had plans for a level of luxury beyond first class.

The carrier has revealed that if passengers can afford the hefty price tag for the first-class suite, they will have their own cabin designed by French yacht designer, Jean Jacque Coste.

The design will speak for itself, Chew Choon Seng said.

The change represents a new phase in aviation, which is enjoying a surge in demand.

Business class has also been upgraded to what Singapore describes as world's widest business-class seat.

There will also be greater space and comfort in economy class and a larger, 26.5-centimetre screen in front of each seat.

Airlines could of course jam more than 800 passengers into the A-380.

So far at least, operators in the Australian market have signalled they will resist that temptation, giving the extra space back to customers.

While Singapore Airlines will have a maximum of 471 passengers in its A380, Qantas will fitout the superjumbo for just 450 passengers, with 14 in first class, 72 in business, 32 in its new premium economy class and the bulk, 332 in economy.

The Flying Kangaroo has promised to give passengers in premium economy more leg room, a digital widescreen monitor and a laptop power connection.

Despite the plush fitout unveiled by Singapore Airline, some of the more outlandish suggestions of a flying holiday resort seem a way off.

Then there's the almost eerie silence of the plane when it's in the air.

The engines are quiet, so quiet that passengers could be forgiven in thinking they haven't started taxiing down the runway.

Airbus has dubbed the A380 the jolly green giant, on account of its relative fuel efficiency.

The plane uses 2.9 litres of fuel per hundred passenger kilometres compared with the aviation industry average of about five litres per one hundred passenger kilometres.

The A380 has been a long time coming.

The giant's intricate 500 kilometres of electrical wiring caused a two-years delay to the delivery of the planes.

Airbus indicated previously the delays were likely to take five million Euros from Airbus's bottom line until 2010.

But it was all smiles, with Mr Enders describing the giant as "not a luxury.. a necessity".

My post should have read, that they have half a dozen or more J160's;etc

Your quite right Darren. It operates out of YSBK and is one of the Sydney Flight Training Centre's fleet. They have probably 1/2 or more J160's on lease, plus a couple of J230's apart from usual range of Cessna spam-cans. The main thing is that the student pilot is around to assist with any enquiries.

Thats interesting Daren, i've not seen one before, though I know sometimes insurance companies use this sort of data it they think people might be making bogus damage claims .

Yea! but where the hell do nearly 85million bicyles go to?

It's good to see billions of barrels of oil being produced so some can be used for recreational flying. Sure beats pedalling.

Interesting world clock http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks2.htm

If you were driving a Holden race car at Bathurst today and had just passed a Ford in 4th place, where would you be?

Answer: Still only in 4th place and wishing you'd bought a Ford no doubt.

I saw the Goggomobile in the add breaks, but the owner refused to race it because he did'nt want it covered with all those silly stickers.:big_grin:

A great report ultralights, I really enjoyed it, Many thanks.

Was that really bush-fire smoke at Bathhurst, or was it those powerful Fords just burning off a bit of excess rubber? ;)

Of course most of us know that Ford used to put their fine engines in aeroplanes as well (Ford Tri Motor).

The Holden Tri aaaaaards not yet got off the ground.