boleropilot

M8, plenty of people on the planet have seen stuff nobody can explain - please feel free to explain to me how two different people at the same place at a different time might 'imagine' how the same thing happened to them don't forget to explain the absolute proof of the similarity between the two separate events... I've been on the planet for close to 70 years and I have never experienced anything like I did on that night, and I hope I never do again feel free to take the piss but when it happens to you, try not to crap your pants BP

when I was a young lad I had an encounter of the very scary type out on the Hay Plains...I was driving back to Woodside Army Base (SA) along a very long straight stretch of road towards Hay, I was about 10 miles out I saw a light over to the right, moving along the treetops towards the road - what got me was that it was green/blue coloured, and kept stopping/starting again now I knew that an aircraft travelling in that direction would be displaying a RED wingtip light - and it wouldn't be stopping and starting it kept going until it stopped abruptly about 5 miles out of Hay, right in front of me, hovering over the road - it then started pulsing lots of different colours, getting faster and brighter then it just went ZOOM - straight up, and disappeared. by the time I pulled over to look up it was gone when I passed over the spot on the road I thought it was hovering at (no aircon on my old Cortina, so windows down) I was amazed at the very strong smell... nothing like I have ever smelt before (or since) - it was like a combination of metallic and burnt electrical smell, and it was just awful, it lingered for ages in the car so there I was, at the bar that night, and I told the story to the barman - he went white, and in a shaky voice said: "last night a truckie driving a semi along that same road had a very nasty thing happen to him" "he said he saw a similar light, but it flew straight towards him and screamed over the top of his truck, missing him by inches - he reckon the truck bucked like a bronco" "when he got to town he checked the top of the semi (because of the weird magnetic/burning electrical smell) coming from the top of his truck" "and he found a scorch mark a foot wide all the way down the canvas tarp - it even blistered the paint on the roof of the cab of the truck" we are definitely not alone, folks.....

well if it's Pastafarian Heaven, with a Stripper Factory and a Beer Fountain - count me in !!! arrhh me hearties !!!

oops

g'day All - with the trip to Cooktown still being planned and 0455 still having work done, I decided to look at a fuel gauge for the lower tank the unit I bought is quite a nice (fully adjustable) unit with a 2 inch gauge, which I have mounted in the dash directly between the ASI and Altimeter - looks nice there, and I can't miss it with my fuel system being set up with the top tank draining into the bottom one, the way it will work is that the gauge needle will start to move when the top tank is empty and the bottom one is starting to reduce from that point I will consider that I have no more than one hour to fly to be safe and will set my timer accordingly the gauge assembly was only $24 from eBay, the alloy plate to allow fitting of the sender unit in the valley at the top of the tank will be considerably more - it is being made locally (in the old Drifter factory!) anybody interested in photos or more info, feel free to ask, happy to post more details here Cheers Dave aka BP

looks like the reno is going well for the red beasty, Greg - any other work you can tell us about? and how's the weight reduction going m8????? Dave

tiny little fly in the ointment - I had my computer repaired and they dumped all my flightplans for the trip - thought I had backed up everything but would you believe I forgot that luckily I had paper copies to study with my paper maps (all tracks marked) so I'm now in the process of putting them all back on the pooter I've invested in an Apple iPad and loaded OzRunways on it and added a sim card, so that's going well (Wow what a program) the Drifter work is proceeding at a reasonable pace so I am hopeful I will get quite a few hours with the new motor before the trip Keep in touch, don't forget all pilots are responsible for their own navigation - the plan is start together, finish together, and (if possible) fly together... Dave aka BP

my attitude is to use a circular combo of base/final when the circuit is quiet, and I am hopeful the big fat strobe on top of my kingpost combined with the blinding led landing light under the cockpit will help idiots without radios to see me if the circuit is busy the last thing I want to do is to be positioned out of whack with other aircraft around me, so I would fly the 'normal' pattern I always fly with continuous (Army Aviation taught) scanning anywhere near an airfield - that is where I have had the majority of 'scares' in my measly 200 hours of Drifter flying... as for radios - don't get me started on that one...going without one is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet, only worse with the lack of helmet, only the rider is going to get killed - if a radio-less pilot runs into me, we both die I'm just sayin'.....

I've been on a 500 foot downwind when passed by a Cessna on a 1,000 foot downwind, high to my right and we were both exactly where we should be if I had turned base at my normal point for a glide approach I would have placed my aircraft directly in front of the Cessna when he turned final, forcing him to go around I simply said "Cessna on base, Drifter 455 is extending downwind to land number two behind you" and I had a perfect view of him as he completed his circuit the reply was "thank you 455, much appreciated" it's not rocket surgery, folks....and for the record, I won't be doing any full circle combos of base/final - my turns are just going to be a bit rounder...

fabulous stuff, Garfly - the thought just occurred to me (sitting at my computer and going through the 'round' turn in my head) is that your view of approaching aircraft on a straight-in approach would be improved because of the variation of the view as the turn progressed - but not if you are in a low wing aircraft when I say 'improved' I am talking about the fact that your aircraft is constantly changing it's position in relation (height and direction) in relation to any approaching aircraft flying in a straight line towards the runway, keeping in mind that if they are on a long final they may not be descending at that time and if they have not heard or seen you, you may well be positioned below the cowl of their aircraft just seems to me that the Rhino Turn has a hell of a lot going for it. btw, I HATE straight in approaches....as far as I am concerned they are bluddy dangerous - the only positive in them is no chance of stall/spin in a turn !!! BP

well I seem to recall I was deliberately turning un-coordinated and the nose went up gently and the airspeed just washed off nice and gently...and then all hell broke loose - so there probably was a little back stick in there, not sure where the throttle was at the time - all a blur really and one of the biggest lessons ever He loved to pull the power off at the most inopportune times, the funniest one was when we were at around 5,000 over the field and he said "can you see the field?" I replied "yes, it's right below us" and he just said "oh good - engine failure" and pulled the throttle longest and most relaxing engine failure drill I ever did.....and I pulled off a perfect deadstick landing to boot...not surprising really when you consider the time I had to plan it... BP

and some with a smoking pipe clenched in the teeth.....

I just made a comment in another thread here re. doing a big 180 from the end of downwind to short final - any comments? During training my instructor picked up I wasn't 'centering the ball' in some turns, so he showed me what can happen in a Drifter when you do that...the aircraft violently flicked inverted and it took 700 feet for recovery He just said "now imagine what would happen if a Drifter pilot does that at 500 feet in the circuit" which is why I LOVE that little piece of red wool taped to the windscreen of my Drifter - I actually have to look past it to see through the screen... BP

did you hear about the Cessna 172 that crashed in an Irish cemetery? So far they have recovered 135 bodies....

yes but it that happens and one child survives it will be a miracle that God saved him...

I'll never forget what happened on my first solo (um - the one where I got the Drifter off the ground) - I was warned very sternly what was going to happen when I pulled the throttle at the end of the downwind leg... But it was still a shock, after all those training hours with a 'heavy' instructor in the back seat - it felt like the Drifter just hit a brick wall - stick forward FAST and then start the turn... A little off track but there has been some comments on stall/spin so I'll ask the question - what do other pilots think about rounding out the corners from the end of downwind (like the Rhino pilots do it) I can't see it would be a problem for anyone looking for you in the circuit because you would be pretty well where your circuit calls would say you are anyway The big advantage is that you are removing two 90 degree turns from your circuit and that essentially removes two opportunities for stall/spin... And re. EFATOs, I know a pilot who always moves the aircraft off a little to the right as he climbs away to give him a 180 around to the left if the fan stops Yeah I know we're talking circuit funny buggers here (and this would only work at 'quiet' country 'fields) but every little bit helps and if it keeps you on your toes it can't be a bad thing...can it? BP

my wife and I are going to run away to Tasmania (from S E Qld) in 2020 to escape the heat - only problem is that by then we will probably have to move even further South to avoid being fried... anybody know anyone who knows how to build an igloo? BP

and a railway line to the Gold Coast - ah yes, we do have one now, but that's not the point...

Brisbane used to have electric buses - and trams...

a couple of points in Europe a lot of trike drivers with 582s are looking for an alternative power unit due to increasingly stringent emission laws - some have changed over to BMW motorcycle (flat two) motors - the thought of one of those in my Drifter gives me a woody... charging loops embedded into the road are being tested - just like the 'cordless' phone charger I use, just pop the phone in the cradle (which of course has a USB lead on it) the driver simply pulls into that lane and charging takes place without any connection whatsoever - while the car continues without slowing... our Chinese friends have designed huge electric 'inverted U shaped' buses that allow three lanes of traffic to pass underneath when they stop at stations - during the stop a transmitter wirelessly sends high voltage into a receiver on the roof of the bus and to top it all off, the UK are saying that no motor vehicle with internal combustion motors only will be able to be sold after 2040 - only pure electrics or mutants allowed and the fly in the ointment? how many coal fired power stations are we going to need to supply all this non-polluting electricity? um - hang on....as Pauline would say....please explain????????

I was level at 1,500 feet over Lake Moogerah and I was passed by a pelican in a shallow dive.......perhaps he spotted a school of fish ?

two comments, make that three, 1. RIP the Beaver crash victims and blue skies and tailwinds forever for the pilot 2. A Drifter on floats crashed in the US when the tail came off in flight - the aircraft was in perfect condition and maintained scrupulously by the pilot - there was unseen corrosion inside the boom at the tail of the aircraft 3. Re. the LL discussion - I am lucky to have been taught by a true professional - I was taught how to aim right for the middle of two trees if I ended up in that situation on the ground with nowhere to go - if there was nowhere to go at all (which means I broke all the rules re. tiger country) I should select the perfect tree (rather than just say my goodbyes) and stall into the crown of it - and to this day I still hear his voice through my headset: "AIRSPEED!!!" - and that happens every single time I feel my airspeed has dropped off in a situation where I did not intend that to happen. And I am about to get my Drifter back in the air after major maintenance - after much practice at Boonah and Roadvale (simulating the approaches I will have to fly here) I will be bringing 0455 home to Woolooman, to a 200 metre 'strip surrounded by hills...some LL coming up methinks... BP

oops sorry thought you were answering a post on another thread where I asked for a volunteer to fly the Drifter across to Tassie for me........OMS ! (old man syndrome)

hey Cosmick, I was only joking m8! no man in his right mind would fly a Drifter across that stretch of water! if I do manage to talk the boss into taking it over, the wings will be coming off and all the bits will be carefully stowed in a 40 foot container (along with everything else we own) I'm a little bit handy with wood so I would make up a set of frames to fit the wings perfectly - what could possibly go wrong? hangerage at a nice little field within an hours drive of where we will be living could be a problem... BP