w3stie

More info pls Baz.

It's Musk's personal Tesla Roadster apparently. So it appears the Lotus Elise is officially the fastest car in the universe! ;)

I disconnected from all news media some time ago and I am a lot calmer. Mark Twain said if you read the paper you are misinformed, if you don’t read you are uninformed, you have to make a choice. If an issue is important I take steps to inform myself and do not rely on the media.

Unfortunately the ABC is taxpayer funded and is supposed to represent all Australians.

Very nice. Good choice of soundtrack

I've just started reading Propellerhead by Antony Woodward, after hearing about it on this forum. It's a good read so far, and I'd never heard the title or author before. It got me wondering, what other good aviation books are out there?

I was buying a boomerang a the Australian Geographic shop at Indooroopilly, and I asked the clerk did they have a no returns policy on it. He went away and fetched the manager, and she started politely on the spiel about their returns policy. I explained it was a dad joke, and they looked quite cross. Ah well.

Here's some background to that picture; Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Commander) Walter Lewis Chewning of Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, (February 19, 1914 - February 4, 1990) steps on the burning fuel tank of an F6F-3 Hellcat flown by Ensign (later Lieutenant) Byron Milton Johnson of Potter, Nebraska (May 19, 1920 - February 20, 2005) to effect a successful rescue of the pilot on November 10, 1943. Johnson, attached to Fighter Squadron VF-2 (The "Rippers") had flown out to USS Enterprise (CV-6) from Barbers Point, Hawaii with thirty-seven other Hellcats of VF-2. Enterprise, part of Task Group 50.2, Carrier Division 11 (with USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), USS Monterey (CVL-25), USS Indiana (BB-58) and USS North Carolina (BB-55) and three destroyers) under Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford, was enroute to Makin Atoll in the Gilberts to support the United States Army invasion, which occurred on November 20, 1943. The afternoon of November 10, Johnson took off in F6F Hellcat Number 30 for a routine training exercise. He immediately developed engine trouble and requested an emergency landing. He was waved off three times as he struggled to maintain control, but his tail hook caught the third arresting gear wire, and Johnson's Hellcat was slammed into the deck, coming to rest in the port catwalk near 20mm (.78 caliber) Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. The plane came to rest on its external belly fuel tank, which started to leak. As the engine vibrated horribly as the propeller bent itself on the deck, sparks ignited the fuel. The hard landing had jammed Johnson's canopy closed, shearing the retaining pin; he could not exit the plane. Chewning, who had joined the ship October 2, 1943 as Enterprise new catapult officer, scrambled out of the catwalk and came through the smoke. Stepping on the burning belly tank, he forced open the canopy and pulled Johnson to safety. While Johnson escaped unscathed, Ensign S. S. Osbourne had to ditch while waiting for Hellcat Number 30 to clear the flight deck. USS Brown (DD-546) picked Osbourne up. Both Hellcats (Bureau Numbers 25974 and 25985) were a total loss. Chewning was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his actions. The commander of VF-2's Air Group, famed fighter pilot Edward "Butch" O'Hare (March 13, 1914 – November 26, 1943) recommended that night that all pilots drop their external tank before landing to prevent such an accident repeating. Johnson, a graduate of Wesleyan (Class of 1937), joined the Navy three months after Pearl Harbor. After flight training in Kansas City, Kansas and Corpus Christi, Texas, Johnson received his Pilot's Wings in April 1943 in Pensacola, Florida. Remaining with VF-2, Johnson shot down eight Japanese planes over Iwo Jima in 1945. Johnson won the Distinguished Flying Cross twice, eight air medals and numerous other awards. His cousin, Robert Arthur Johnson, died in the German Ardennes Offensive in 1944. After the war, Johnson became a lawyer, serving as County Attorney and Public Defender of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Chewning played soccer and Lacrosse at Cornell while studying Mechanical Engineering, breaking his rib and left ankle in one game. He graduated in 1936 and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the Navy in January 1941. He was the assistant to the Chief Engineer at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before joining USS Enterprise. He served as Enterprise's catapult officer until December 1944, when he transferred to Dutch Harbor Naval Air Station in Alaska as ordinance officer. Chewning served in the Navy until December 1949; he also was awarded the Bronze Star. After the war he assisted research and development for various aeronautical companies, the United States Air Force, and the fledgling National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Motion picture film of the crash, taken from Enterprise's bridge, was shown as part of the television program "Victory at Sea" on January 25, 1953. Chewning and Johnson gave interviews to several newspapers about the accident after the program aired.

Apparently it's Gisbourne Airport in NZ.

Well I'll be jiggered. I actually thought that was photoshopped!

Very interesting. The US website quotes the airframe kit and finishing kit at about $13,495 USD which is ~ $17,250 AUD, but the Aussie agent says kit is $15,999 . Better grab a kit before they realise maybe

I think we’ll see hybrid aircraft before full electric. There are some interesting developments Hybrid Engines in Aviation

Remind me never to tell porky pies to a Coroner :)

This is the way they should go with electric cars IMO. Drive into a charging station, robot unclips the old battery pack and inserts the new one while you wait. You never own the battery, like the gas bottles the cost is taken up by the recharge.

That idea has great potential. It's in line with current thinking, and I'd say resistance is useless....

Trying to embed the clip.

Great passenger viewpoint of a ride in an F-16

Loved it Bill, gave it a like on YouTube.

"Oh yes M61.....why I'm rich too! I have a 22 year old Trike and an '87 Drifter. Total worth about $15k. Maybe." I truly don't think the $ value matters. We are a privileged generation to be able to fly at any price, and to have the freedom to do so without too much interference from the authorities. To me, you are a rich man Callahan :)

I can think of worse places to be stranded!

Glad to hear the pilot and plane are ok. It's a nice looking little a/c.

Looks like a drifter. Anyone know the pilot?

Plane Finder 3D for $7.99 in the app store? When you said it wasn't cheap I thought you meant $hundreds!

Can you give us details of the apps and hardware you are using for this?

It would be hard to deny that claim. We get a dose of France from the air every July with the Tour de France broadcast and it is always visually stunning!