Old Koreelah

Thank you John. Its good to have a well-presented explanation of the board's roles. Many members may be surprised at the tedious but essential work our board does to ensure our freedoms. Hopefully our new reps can form a team to work harmoniously for the future of our fine organisation. I'm sure members appreciate the enormous and unrewarded efforts of our leaders.

 

Lyle

 

 

Bloody awesome historical film, Icebob! Can you explain a couple of technical items?

 

Early on, in the monochrome film, as a Skyhawk takes off it appears to drop a large object in the sea. What happened?

 

In the later colour footage, on takeoff the Skyhawk appears to have either very bright flaps, or rocket assisted takeoff. What's that?

 

Lyle

 

 

I can't find the recent string which included discussion of high speed rail.

 

As it took us a century or so to get around to building a single track to Darwin, we'd be more likely to ask Kathy Freeman to start an Australian Royal Family than build an HST system.

 

Meanwhile over the water, things are moving a tad faster:

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/24/siberia_alaska_tunnel/

 

 

This

Thanks for the link, Frank. It's finally been done! Otto Lilienthal and plenty of other pioneers would be so proud.

It sure make our fuel-buring aeroplanes look like Model-T Fords!

 

Let's hope the technology can be efficiently scaled up to human-carrying size. Next step is to develop synthetic, self-repairing feathers...

 

 

"Wouldn't Alan jones be a great ambassador for the sport?"

 

Good grief FT, I hope you speak in jest!

 

If he's in I'm out!

 

 

Like all the other blokes said: Congrats Don.

 

Lyle

 

 

"... it does concern me a bit that we seem to react emotionally to these things and I'd like to see a more encompassing response from the aviation community - along the lines of the EAA's Young Eagles initiative perhaps? "

 

One of the infuriating aspects of the growth of organisations is the ever-increasing formalising of procedures, until initiative is totally stifled. Nobody can create guidelines that fit all situations; in fact many bureaucrats will misuse complex procedural rules to cover up ineptitude or worse, as I have found to my cost.

 

I remember our relief when the great Barry Jones was made Science Minister; we had such high hopes for Australian Industry to be transformed. Instead, he was bound by tedious processes and procedures. and had to go on the defensive when a wonderful Aussie invention failed to get any assistance: "...it just doesn't fit the guidelines".

 

Perhaps the worst example was shown in an old movie; British solders forced to join an orderly queue to be issued with extra ammunition, as hordes of Zulus over-ran their position.

 

Let's leave a little leeway for common sense and "gut feelings".

 

 

Wow, a fairytale come true! I am so proud of our Rec Flying community!

 

Lyle

 

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-01/refugee-builds-homemade-plane/2818326

 

This young bloke is exactly the sort of person we need. It's good to see Mick Poole is at least aware of his project. I sure hope someone knowledgable is mentoring him; his pride and joy doesn't look too stable.

 

 

I can empathise with your concerns, Redo; Being 1942mm tall I have been disappointed to find I don't fit in several trainers, but the Jabiru was my saviour.

 

I too have experienced circuit hell and also the old numb leg syndrome, which removed all feel and made controlling a taildragger a tad difficult.

 

Short term solution: Take along plenty of cushions and padding to achieve a comfortable sitting position. Result: you are relaxed and you can feel what your feet are doing. Trim up elevator and lighten your grip- let the aircraft fly itself, leaving you to concentrate on your approach. Long-term solution: mold a seat to your backside and you can sit there for hours without legs going to sleep.

 

 

also:

 

EPIRB, Wizwheel/wind calculator, folding map table, protractor, pencils, eraser, blank pages, sleeping bag, Ian's 1.8kg microtent, micromattress, iPhone earbuds & 12v charger, woollen jumper, camera, Mr. Funnel, wooden fuel dipstick, tied-down kit, 100mph tape, tools, spare batteries, fuses, nut & bolts...

 

 

There are lots of under utilized airports within a short drive of population centres.

 

I "own" YQDI on weekends. When I take my little beast out there to go flying I rarely see another aircraft.

 

Empty skies and empty tarmac, just 50 minutes south of Tamworth.

 

 

Would love to attend, but have appt in SYD.

 

 

 

Howdy Wayne,

 

I've been far away for a few weeks and out of touch, but I hope to fly over on Saturday

 

Lyle

 

 

Remember Ronnie Barker in "Open All Hours"?

 

His immortal (stuttered) line describing a malfunctioning appliance...

 

"...deader than if it had been nationalised!"

 

 

Ross you have a very good point. From my decades of experience with rural searches, the sooner they begin the better. Local and low-tech expertise usually beats "professionals".

 

One of the most effective tools is a group of horsemen (and/or women). From high up they cover so much ground and quickly too, as well as silently. Quad bikes are also useful in quickly getting a couple of people to vantage points to look and listen. I've often wished we had a trike or two -ideal with their low speed, wide visual field and low cost.

 

Unfortunately the copper in charge of a search has other issues to deal with- like a chain of command, protocols and liability to think of.

 

When I once suggested we get a local rag and tube airborne (parked on a private strip less than a mile away) the dismissive reaction has been quite disappointing, especially when a squillion-dollar-an-hour rescue helicopter has been called in instead. Noisy, expensive and quite intimidating to the frightened and confused subject of the search!

 

 

I'm advised that iPhones have a 12-channel GPS receiver but get an initial fix from triangulating phone towers. Then they receive info on the best satellites to look for. This is why an iPhone is so fast at locating itself. The down side is that if phone tower signal is poor, then it takes ages to aquire GPs satellites. Last week I tested mine on a drive up the Putty Rd (north of Sydney), where the terrain is notorious - no towers for much of the way (and unable to acquire GPS)

 

Despite this, there was enough signal for Instamapper laid down breadcrimbs for most of the trip.

 

 

I have made extensive use of my iPhone aloft and recommend GPS ($1.19) for its very easy to read display, which includes ground speed.

 

I also use InstaMapper GPS tracker to lay a trail of breadcrumbs. My wife can follow my flight in real time, and after I get home I use it for analysing my trip. Each breadcrumb show altitude, ground speed, heading lat/long and time. Unfortunately it only transmits while in the foreground, and its display is only just readable in flight, but I can easily switch between it and another app such as GPS.

 

Lyle

 

 

The first time is alway special...just like sex.

 

It's 1977, and I've spent 4 days trying to perfect circuits in a blanik. Friday morning: drizzle overcast, cold and horrible. I feel like cutting my losses and going home, but decide to give it one more day. After the first circuit, as we wait for the tug for our next take-off, the instructor suddenly climbs out and closes the canopy behind him! My first solo is memorable, the tuggy expects me to cast off at 1000' but I'm loving it so much I go higher. He starts to waddle side to side to remind me to let go.

 

The euphoria of that flight will stay with me forever!

 

 

I also missed Keith Rule's Jabiru talk and would welcome any info from it.

 

 

Yep, some valid criticisms. Perhaps we should all put up our hands to help make it better next time.

 

Don't forget that the best part of NatFly is the excuse to go for a long flight and meet fellow aviators!

 

I had a terrific trip down, except for the stress of dodging rainshowers and poor visibility.

 

The flight home Saturday arvo was delayed by the display flying, and I had to hammer it all the way home to beat the dark. It was so bumpy after takeoff I regretted not waiting 'till Sunday. Thanks to our new access to upper airspace, I was able to avoid the turbulence made worse by stubble fires. Above 5000' the air was as smooth as silk.

 

 

What happens if you accidentally allow a tank to run dry? To find out, a few months ago I deliberately did this within gliding distance of home base.

 

I waited for the coughing to become pronounced before switching over to the other wing tank. The engine died and I was surprised how long it took for fuel to reach the carby to allow a restart. A useful lesson.

 

That's how the "bubble" got into my fuel system. It was enormous and occupied the top half of the fuel filter (which is mounted horizontally). It caused no problems for weeks before I noticed and bled it out, but had I been performing wild manoeuvres it may have travelled further along the system.

 

Presumably air can only enter from an empty tank, so avoiding that will be my first defence.

 

Mounting the boost pump upstream of all other components would push air bubbles through, but I can't see how I can then have a parallel system (in case the engine pump fails or develops a leak).

 

I'd like to keep my system simple, but will look at some other installations at Temora.

 

 

Thanks, people for the replies.

 

I particulaly liked planedriver's One other "solution" is to put a tee in the line at the high point leading up to a small "airpot" reservoir which should have a drain/bleeder on it to occasionally get rid of accumulated embolisms ....

 

I plan to regularly inspect for air bubbles, and avoid running dry. To keep it simple I may install a simple bleed point at the top of the offending loop.

 

 

"Keeps things simple, there is no need to reinvent the wheel with fuel systems, they need to be super- reliable in all sceneros.....................hope this helps "

 

Maj keeping things simple is what I have aimed to do.

 

I did try non-return valves, to stop fuel being forced back thru one pump by the other. To open the NR valve required too much pressure for my liking, so I ditched the idea and went for "simple"- each pump seems to have inbuilt NR valves anyway.

 

The Mizer instructions call for a filter upstream to ensure no grit can foul the turbine.

 

It seems the only way to totally prevent the build up of an air bubble is to have the pump upstream of every thing- even the filter- that means the two pumps are in series. How do other people set up theirs?

 

 

Thanks for the reply, Maj. I've done lots of flow tests and all seems reliable, but the possibility of an air "embolism" blocking flow in some situation is worthy of thought.

 

Because the mizer turbine shaft needs to be mounted vertically means there are more bends in fuel lines than I'd like.

 

Ideally, the boost pump should be upstream of everything, but I don't want it in series with the engine pump.

 

First I have the filter, then the miser turbine, then the fuel branches into parallel lines- one straight to the engine pump, the other to the boost pump. This means the boost pump is downstream of the bubble in the filter and can't force the air through.

 

Can you see the dilemma? Any suggestions?