Marty_d

More proof of his lack of connection with reality. If (and I really hope this happens!) he gets thrashed in the polls, as a one-term president, even the stupidest of Republicans would not endorse his nomination in the future. That would be like the Democrats putting up Hilary again.

If a Trump supporter told me that the sky was blue, I'd stick my head outside to look. The fact that they could support such a scumbag raises questions about their judgement in every aspect of life.

If you get your news from Breitbart, you'll end up less informed than you were to start with. You don't have to look far for Trump's crimes. The fact that he's paid a total of US $750 tax in the last 11 years should be a good place to start. Claiming $70,000 a year for THAT haircut? I can't wait until he's out of office, he's broken multiple laws in both state and federal jurisdictions. They will be on him like flies on a turd, which is a very apt analogy.

Wonder why they bothered with all that metal around the cockpit. You could replace the whole top with a clear dome-shaped canopy - not like you need any structural stiffness there and you're protected from rollover by the mast itself.

Kind of looks like one of those pretend planes they have as rides for kids in shopping centres.

It's been a while... Fortunately @wideblueyonder just lent me some cowl moulds, so this is inspiring me to get back into it. I bolted the engine back on temporarily to test fit the mould. I got some advice from the Fibreglass Shop in Hobart that the moulds are too thin and need beefing up, so the first job (while on the plane to maintain shape) will be to add wooden strips and fibreglass them on to the outsides of the moulds. After that will be some more smoothing to the insides (surfboard filler epoxy was suggested, with sanding down to 1500 grit), then on to making the cowls. I've never fibreglassed anything before, so hopefully beefing up the moulds will be good practise, and as always - if you have any advice gained from experience, please tell me!

Massive thanks today to @wideblueyonder who took me up - not once, but twice - in a Sav from his Midlands Flying School strip at Tunbridge! It was great to fly with the eagles (as long as they kept their distance) - fantastic morning for it. Thanks also for lending me the cowling moulds for the 701 - I stopped in at the Fibreglass Shop in Hobart on the way home and got some advice. (I'm the one with the Santa look...)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-30/western-australia-pilot-romantic-gesture/12714318

The south west???? The most tigerish of tiger country. If I ever even dream of flying to the south west, just lock me up.

Surely the venerable old bird would generate forgiveness. The Spit, I mean, not HRH.

Borrow a Mk9 Spitfire (after appropriate training, of course!) and depart from Duxford at Cambridge. Track down the M11 to London, buzz Westminster and Buckingham Palace, fly under the Tower Bridge, then head east down the Thames to Margate. Turn south, do a pass of the white cliffs of Dover, then east again over the channel to Dunkirk. A pass over the long beach there, then down to Calais-Dunkerque airport. That'd do me...

Oh. That's a whole otter thing then.

Why? Beaver FUKN... can't see a thing wrong with that...

Nice paint job Charles! Welcome.

You can admire military aircraft while deploring war. As my avatar hints, I think the MkIX Spitfire is the most beautiful aircraft ever built, while fully aware that it was built as a platform for guns to shoot down other aircraft. I take your point that in comparison to Apaches and Warthogs they would be a fraction of the cost, and yes the engineering was done very well.

Before you get excited about the cheapness, read the article. The aircraft cost them the better part of a million each, they spent god knows how much modifying them, and in the end they're stuck in hangars in Africa somewhere and the company has written off the cost. As a slow-ish attack aircraft it's not bad, but I can't see it being able able to outrun or outmaneuver anti-aircraft fire, SAM's, fighters or anything else advanced militaries use. When you see what these blokes were up to, it's obvious the intended use was for tinpot despots and warlords to fight off poorly armed and organised rebellions.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-14/the-fighter-pilot-the-mercenary-boss-and-the-warlord/12644052 https://theintercept.com/2016/04/11/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-drive-to-build-private-air-force/ Interesting couple of articles there (the Intercept one is a bit more complete). Besides the entertaining read about extremely dodgy private army owners, I found the aircraft very interesting. Based on a Thrush 510G crop duster, they fitted surveillance and laser targetting, bullet proof windows, armoured cockpit, engine armour, anti-explosive fuel tank mesh, and wing mounted pylons for external stores including 23mm guns, rocket pods and dumb bombs. All without permission, certification, or even a full testing regime...

Hi Skippy, Any tips on where to source the lightweight carpet and firewall blanket? I have to start thinking of cabin finish soon. Thanks, Marty

Way to turn a beautiful aircraft into a fugly one. Plus it says it failed to achieve certification so had to go back to original. What the hell was the point of the exercise??

Pretty sure that's a fake. Looks like a rendered game-type Tiger instead of a real one.

Worth what you didn't pay for it then!

190,000 euro according to STREAM PRICING | tl-ultralightwa

Don't know about enclosed, but a simple floor/stone guard would probably be a good idea.

I got mine on Wednesday - first one as I only joined earlier this year. I didn't read that you only get the first one free, but anyway guess we'll find out!

Pardon my ignorance, but if you're taxiing along the centreline of a marked runway, can't you compare your compass reading with that?