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dutchroll

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Everything posted by dutchroll

  1. dutchroll
    Some are less perfect than others.
  2. dutchroll
    I was thinking much the same. It's not a very good comparison. We're talking cutting edge technology versus garden-variety 4 cylinder piston engine. I don't see how you can make a valid comparison with a Merlin or RB211. Incidentally, RB211s went on to become very reliable engines with later upgraded versions. A classic example of the manufacturer putting their money where their mouth is and putting in a massive effort to improve their product. I can understand owners being a bit sensitive to the Jabiru situation and certainly understand them being unhappy with the proposed CASA restrictions, but when you get experienced LAMEs rolling their eyes (as I have witnessed on several occasions from highly reputable and competent LAMEs) and expressing total lack of surprise at another Jab engine failure report, you do seriously have to wonder......
  3. dutchroll
    I have no clue how you can arrive at the conclusion that the probability of catastrophic structural failure of a Jabiru is about the same as that of an engine failure in the same aircraft. There is nothing about that concept which makes sense from either a theoretical or real world perspective.
  4. dutchroll
    I worked for the Federal Government for 16 years. While governments worry about what Alan Jones says (even though he's an mind-numbingly ignorant old fool), they generally couldn't give a hoot about online forum discussions. They're also pretty cautious about the prospects of litigation in response to any action they might take. The 2nd part of your opinion is true - they do like to be seen to be doing something regardless of its practical effectiveness.
  5. dutchroll
    I think there's a half-truth in either side of that argument. Businesses have to be responsive to customer demands and wishes, or they'll go under. Of course this doesn't mean the customer is technically "right" - just that the customer will ultimately drive the direction of the business. In the Jabiru case though, I think they're going to have a tough time given the available stats trying to convince everyone they've responded appropriately. It certainly doesn't seem that way.
  6. dutchroll
    Agreed, but unfortunately on most internet forums there are also odd occasions where commentary can become so daft that the sugar-coating really needs to be left behind. A couple of years and a couple of dozen flying hours in aviation has taught me this. I always attempt to be polite whilst being a straight shooter. Regrettably not everyone on the receiving end of straight shooting likes it!
  7. dutchroll
    POST EDITED AS IT DOES NOT ADD VALUE - MOD I highly doubt that the chief enchiladas at CASA convened a high level meeting to discuss what is said on the RA forums or anywhere else for that matter. I'm not CASA's greatest fan by any stretch of the imagination, but they generally don't make decisions to put severe restrictions on aircraft without a substantial input of incident/accident data. In fact getting them to make any decisions at all usually requires heaven and earth to be moved. perhaps some serious effort should be put into permanently addressing the actual cause (or causes) of the problems. I've said in numerous posts on this forum that, like everyone else in the Australian (and World) aviation community, you ignore the concerns of the regulators at your own peril. That principle is not ever going to change, no matter how hard you stomp your feet on the floor!
  8. dutchroll
    All of the nuances of this debate aside, I could certainly see the Jabiru aircraft itself benefitting greatly from a more tolerant engine. Intolerant engines in the modern aviation age are normally the domain of NASA, various military forces, and other organisations who have the money, time and resources to expend on continually checking, maintaining, and repairing them to a degree far above normal GA/RA maintenance schedules. I just wonder when/if it will happen.
  9. dutchroll
    Woah....... LAMEs, by virtue of being human, are not perfect. But holy bat-logic Batman! You seriously reckon owners are? Seriously? LAMEs (and no, I am not a LAME, I am merely a pilot who has a couple of flying hours here and there over a couple of years aviation experience) undergo a bucketload of training, both theoretical and on-the-job, specifically applicable to aircraft and engine maintenance. Not a 2 week or 2 weekend, course, but years. I have heard of maintainer-owners do things which would see a LAME sacked in the blink of an eye. I have even heard of owners doing things which would have a LAME charged with a criminal offence. Like I said, you can get good LAMEs and bad LAMEs just like you can get good pilots and bad pilots. But gosh, the rather arbitrary statement that an owner will always do a better job than someone with 10 or 20 years aircraft maintenance experience - well that just can't be taken seriously!
  10. dutchroll
    Geezus. Yeah, OK, we can cut and paste whole chapters of University metallurgy textbooks here but does it get us any closer to solving the question of "what do we do about the apparent failure rate of Jab engines"? No, I would argue that it does not. Yes there are opinions voiced here (oddly enough you get that on internet forums), and occasionally even facts. However it would seem to me that neither have so far made any impression on what we might term "the Jabiru issue". Here we are with Jabs still gliding into paddocks with varying success rates and the action we see is........
  11. dutchroll
    Also many might have been able to stay in the air.
  12. dutchroll
    I wouldn't be wagering money on that. They'll look at the stats and if there is an outlier as far as reliability or failure modes, they could address that individual example through ADs or whatever else. I suppose I shouldn't care. I have an M14P and provided you warm it up like a radial should be, it's as close to bulletproof as a piston aero engine can get. If it ever stops I'll know that I've run out of fuel.
  13. dutchroll
    It's 80 years old! You won't be what you used to be when you're 80 either!
  14. dutchroll
    Regulatory action. My understanding is that this is a large blip on CASA's radar at the moment.
  15. dutchroll
    Well I think it's only a matter of time (and not a very long one either) before Jabiru have something forced upon them that they're not going to be very happy about. You may be able to do it in areas where money can be thrown at it, but you can't get away with building "low tolerance" engines for the GA/RA market.
  16. dutchroll
    And facts I'm sure you will get in the fullness of time. So when they're going well, they're great? When the DH Comet was going well, it was great too. A successful and safe aeroplane is a combination of a good airframe matched to a good engine. It's no good having one without the other.
  17. dutchroll
    The distinction between a "sensitive" and "non sensitive" altimeter is often muddled. Big commercial jets have sensitive altimeters (required for RPT operations), yet often use a drum altimeter with only one pointer, or an electronic display with a moving altitude tape and fixed indent. The critical difference is the provision in the "sensitive" altimeter for adjustment of the barometric datum - or in other words, the Kollsman Window or its glass cockpit equivalent. Once upon a time, recognising a sensitive altimeter by its use of more than one pointer was an easy distinction, as these by default had the Kollsman Window and old style single pointers did not. However these days the number of pointers isn't relevant to whether it's "sensitive" or "non sensitive" (nor is the altitude scale or resolution, which some people also mistake as a defining characteristic of a sensitive altimeter).
  18. dutchroll
    Although if it's an emergency, no need for overflight clearance for a diversion.
  19. dutchroll
    Many countries require overflight clearances (which is not the same thing as a flight plan and needs to be organised through embassy channels or the respective foreign affairs departments), or you risk military interception and an awful lot of pain and expense. Even airlines have to get them, but they do them in bulk usually covering a whole season for scheduled services on fixed air routes. Dunno what the heck these guys were thinking. No need for missiles or guns. The wake turbulence alone from a Sukhoi could make them do unplanned sky pirouettes.
  20. dutchroll
    I got lasered on final approach into Sydney 34L one night in a B767 a couple of years ago. They got me right in the eyes, at about 700'AGL. Couldn't see anything much for several seconds while my eyes adjusted back to the relative darkness out the front. Other guy was flying and after I blurted out "for **** sake I've just copped a green laser right in the eyes" he said "you OK to continue?" while he quickly considered the pros and cons of a go-around. By that stage my eyes were recovering and I responded that yeah I should be OK and we landed normally. Needless to say I wasn't particularly happy about it. They sent police to the general vicinity but never found the perpetrators.
  21. dutchroll
    I'd argue the best way to adjust separation is actually to extend the upwind leg of the circuit, delaying the crosswind turn. Having said that, yes there is sometimes no other option than to extend downwind, but in doing so you are now forced into flying a level base leg rather than a descending one, and possibly even a level final segment. Either way, you are no longer in the position in the sky where people behind you in the circuit expect to see you, and they're about to turn base at some point for their approach too. Whichever way you do it, I'd be a bit disconcerted to see someone orbiting at 300' or 400' on final approach!
  22. dutchroll
    Yeah, I was taught some pretty hair-raising manouevres at very low level and very high speed in my previous aviation life for many years before I moved to an inherently less dangerous style of flying, but doing orbits at low level on final approach wasn't one of them!
  23. dutchroll
    Why would you teach orbits on final approach below 500'. Isn't that what a go-around is for?
  24. dutchroll
    I have the Aera too, but don't use the speaker at all and the compass is miles away, so no issue for me. The only problem is that bright sunlight through my bubble canopy does make it difficult to read sometimes, and for that reason I'm actually going the opposite way - looking at installing a bright fixed display. If you want charts etc, as well as portability, then Ozrunways on the iPad is by far the best solution. It is not possible to get a portable GPS which legally satisfies RNAV requirements.
  25. dutchroll
    That's a pretty big generalisation! Most older people vehemently support Medicare. That's not a very "conservative" thing to do, but they tend to be "socially" conservative. Young people are often socially liberal ("leftie"), but the same young people are happy to hurl verbal abuse at someone who looks like an immigrant (even if the "immigrant-looking person" is actually born & bred here), which is most definitely not a socially liberal thing to do. People wax and wane in their political views depending on what is convenient for them at the time, not what is a logical to believe. Back on topic.....the cost of living in Australia has markedly increased, not decreased over the years. While we're generally paid pretty well, we also pay some of the highest prices for everyday items on the planet. Flying is an expensive hobby. So with all the other expenses in ordinary life, something takes a hit.
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