Old Koreelah

A memorable old "Frank n Ernest" cartoon said it all: Frank is a successful Congressment in Washington, and confides to Ernest

"In politics you just have to stand for whatever people will fall for!"

Many councils have had their airfields gifted to them by the federal government over the years. Many also have a bad attitude. Recently, I was in Broken Hill on a vintage car rally, and had a landing fee invoice at home. I decided to call in and pay them. While I was there, I asked where I pay the fee for driving into town. The cashier could not understand that I was telling her that it is immoral that they charge me to land there, but not to drive into the town.If we drive into a town, towing the biggest caravan ever made, we can pull up at the local park, use the free BBQ, empty our rubbish into the bins, empty the chemical toilet into their sewer system, and drive off without spending a cent in their town, because we filled our long range fuel tanks in the last city. If we fly in, we need a cab, accommodation, food etc, all supporting local businesses.

 

Something I've always intended to do but never got around to doing: keep all receipts for every cent we spend in a town and send a copy of those receipts with a letter to the Chamber of Commerce in the town that missed the business because of a landing fee. Writing to the council will achieve nothing, they don't care.

Lyle

As I headed home the wind was coming at me at about 2 oclock. It increased to the point, that to remain on the bike and be able to keep riding, I had to lean the bike into the wind as though I was turning into a tight right hand corner..... I was in fact, riding in a straight line.

Farri I have done that too- leaning hard into a strong RH side wind at speed. When a semi approaches you learn very quickly to run to the far left of the road; the truck cuts off the side wind for a second or so, just enough time to "suck" the bike violently towards it!

The longer the truck the greater the "suction" towards it; B Doubles and Road Trains can be lethal.

Lyle

Thanks for your efforts, Mark.

Bare feet at that altitude and wind chill? Those Russians seem not to notice a bit of cold.

Wow, Darky, you sure tipped a bucket! Why don't you send those good ideas to the magazine editors; perhaps you could even write an article or two. We are the RAAus. We pay tiny fees for the privilege of being able to do what most mortals can only dream of. My union fees are over $600 a year, and I'm not sure what I get for that. To register and insure a car costs a thousand dollars or more; my plane costs $65. Our organisation relies on the dedication and morale of good people to keep it going and growing. Lets get real.

Wow, Darky, you sure tipped a bucket! Why don't you send those good ideas to the magazine editors; perhaps you could even write an article or two. We are the RAAus. We pay tiny fees for the privilege of being able to do what most mortals can only dream of. My union fees are over $600 a year, and I'm not sure what I get for that. To register and insure a car costs a thousand dollars or more; my plane costs $65. Our organisation relies on the dedication and morale of good people to keep it going and growing. Lets get real.

The only cow in a small town in Ireland stopped giving milk.

The town folk found they could buy a cow in Scotland quite cheaply. They brought the cow from Scotland . It was wonderful, produced lots of milk every day and everyone was happy.

They bought a bull to mate with the cow to get more cows, so they'd never have to worry about their milk supply again.

They put the bull in the pasture with the cow but whenever the bull tried to mount the cow, the cow would move away.

No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he was never able to do the deed.

The people were very upset and decided to go to the Vet, who was very wise, tell him what was happening and ask his advice.

"Whenever the bull tries to mount our cow, she moves away. If he approaches from the back, she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. If he attempts from the one side, she walks away to the other side."

The Vet rubbed his chin thoughtfully and pondered this before asking, "Did you by chance, buy this cow in Scotland ?"

The people were dumbfounded, since no one had ever mentioned that they had brought the cow over from Scotland . "You are truly a wise Vet," they said. "How did you know we got the cow from Scotland ?

The Vet replied with a distant look in his eye:

"My wife is from Scotland ."

Thanks for the replies. You have passed my test. Now the more complex questions can begin...

I want to listen to Area as well as CTAF. Presumably written by a radio programming wizz, the instructions to set up Dual Watch are incomplete. They are unclear on how to input the two channels to be "watched". I can't test if it's working unless there is known traffic on both channels, so it's an expression of faith that I have it doing what I want. Any ideas?

Regards,

Lyle

Perhaps someone can assist me to get more out of my radio. I can't get it to do many of the amazing things it is claimed to be capable of. The manual is a little skimpy in the places that matter, and the net does not seem to have any trouble-shooting advice.

The only mode in which the keypad can be used to change channels is the VFO mode. I can key in the frequency, which appears on the display, but as soon as I try to transmit it beeps an error message and reverts to the previous channel. That means changing channels can only be done via the rotary switch; it's time consuming and quite a distraction.

Regards,

Lyle

Thanks for the replies re automotive fuel filters. The advantage of my little plastic filter? I can easily see if it contains any sediment or rusty water and fit a new one it. It replaced a breakable glass sight bowl which dripped petrol on my leg; there was no means of turning off the fuel. I use rubber fuel lines rather than metal ones, which I feel would be more prone to rupture from vibration or crash damage. They are heat-shielded in the engine room. Open to suggestions re some better system.

Lyle

This incident sure has stirred up lots of soul-searching! I can't find it, but somewhere miles back in this discussion it was said that an automotive fuel filter is not kosha in an aircraft. Can someone comment on this idea; what is wrong with using a car-type fuel filter?

Lyle

Mittagong to the Kimberleys and back in a gyrocopter.

Crikey, Powerin, well done for putting such a positive slant on this mishap. Sure, we may all pay more in terms of insurance, maintenance time and training requirements, but we might also all learn something and increase safety. The great thing about our British system is that we use stuff-ups as engines for improvements.

Good point Dex about airfields attracting customers. I've seen some excellent free inner city bus services, which probably pay for themselves by reducing congestion and speeding up movement of shoppers. Has any one done a wide-ranging cost/benefit analysis of such? I can't see many councils paying staff to monitor airfields and collect cash. Perhaps airports will end up like public transport- employing an army of people to collect the money and make sure nobody slips by for free. The extra labour and admin expenses push costs up so much that ticketing becomes the main focus, rather than providing a good service.

I'll jump in.

Having spent most of my flying years building and modifying, I have yet to make any really long trips. A few of trips from YQDI to YTEM, YCNK and YWCK only. Each one was treated as a test run for the big trip to visit my mate in Darwin, which hopefully will be May next year.

Perhaps this thread is a good place to share ideas and experiences of the tin tacks of a trip. What to take, how to get fuel without carrying your own empty jerry can, where we might be able to safely tie down our pride and joy or hopefully, even get the temporary use of a hangar.

Any takers?

What was that old quote about the freedoms we enjoy today being dependent on everyone doing the right thing...

or

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson

The costs (in time, maintenance, inspections and money) of us operating in RAAus land are tiny- but likely to increase as a result of this.

Well done, Dex. A beautiful aircraft.

Following step. Approximately so!!!![ATTACH=full]15755[/ATTACH]

Thanks Chris, for a positive and reassuring report.

It's also good to hear nobody using this incident to bag the engine manufacturer, who I have found are easy to talk to and keen to help.

When there is a forced landing we never seem to hear about the recovery job. The pix show the design does allow fairly easy transporting of the ariframe and replacement of the engine.

Time to plant rice, Dex!

I flew to YWCK last weekend and had toyed with the idea of staying a day or two extra to wait out the windy weather before coming home. Sure glad I chose to vamoose quick smart! I would have been stuck there still; the overnight bag would not have coped with a week or more away.

What kit do others carry for such a contingency?

Good to see this topic open up again, Doug. I'm interested in your designs, but could not open any of your pix.

I keep modifying my D9

Bloody Russian spies have obviously been raiding my scribble pad!

Pilots fly through storms over the jungle along one of the most perilous air routes in the world to deliver supplies.http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/riskingitall/2011/05/201151112305049621.html

Yeah Tomo! That would be something!!A while back, I was at a 1000 feet AGL in the Drifter, heading south, when an F111 flew past, also heading south, at the same altitude and only about five hundred metres to my left.

 

Frank.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirsten-dirksen/land-rover-biodiesel_b_1098978.html?ref=technology&ir=Technology

 

http://www.yikebike.com/ When our species detects a looming crisis innovation sure switches on.

I tried to visit the factory in Christchurch a couple of weeks ago but quake damage put that off limits.

Regards,

Lyle