Phil Perry

Phil and others,Here we prefer only one on board for obvious reasons. After all, only one suitable person is needed to fly the aircraft (why kill/injure two ?).....Additionally, the aircraft is not overloaded with two on board, and possibly close to it's max takeoff weight for the initial take-off, and the often tricky first landing. Maj...

Hi Nev and Maj, I think I may have confused the issue a bit for you here,. . . . NO PASSENGER, whether a pilot or not can be taken in the aircraft for the first series of tests, for the reasons that Maj pointed out. However, usually on the last couple of flights, which can possibly take a couple of days to achieve, especially if anything comes up requiring adjustment to the airframe,, contrlos or other systems .

 

When the Test Pilot is satisfied with the handling of the machine under test, it is often part of the test programme to carry out certain manouevres at Max all up weight. ( unless it only has one seat ! ) This isn't always practically possible to carry out using ballast, so at the discretion of the Test Pilot, the owner, or any volunteer may fly whilst these remaining tests are carried out. Full insurance is available at reasonable costs for these excercises.

 

This applies to all FIRST FLIGHT TEST programmes, and NOT to the flight following a successful aircraft inspection and the re-issue of a renewal certificate for a pre-exisiting permit to fly, this flight is described as a CHECK FLIGHT and isn't coveredd by the same stringent rules, since it is quite possible that no adjustments whatever may be required, so, apart from some basic dynamic stability tests, which are recommended, and not mandatory. . . , there is no reason to assume that any passenger would be in any mortal danger.

 

Nev, . . . . .Turning to your query regarding an owner who is also a certified inspector AND test pilot on his own type, not being allowed to inspect / test his / her own aircraft, someone decided years ago that human nature being what it is, that it would be a fairer system for a different qualified person to carry out this work. Case in point, an old Flying Club manager / Chief Instructor / Inspector / Check pilot I knew some years ago, put three of his aircraft into his girlfriend's name, so that he could inspect and check fly them all. So whatever the rule, someone will always find a way to circumvent the spirit of it. . . . . I'm not for one minute suggesting that the aircraft were not inspected properly,. . . . . but human nature and commercial pressure could in certain circumstances be dodgy bedfellows . . . ?

 

Phil

 

 

Me Too, I hinted a few times that I should accompany the test pilot on a F111 post maintenance test flight but I never got the nod.

Know what you mean Daz,. . . . .

 

I fitted some graphics to a 747 fin a few years back, . . . when I asked if I could have a quality control test ride in it to make sure the vinyl material didn't peel off. . . . the chief tecchie smiled weakly and walked away. I DIDN'T get the nod either !

 

 

OOps, hey Scott, . . . . . dont forget to use the OPPOSITE FOOT when you want to turn that Nynja around on the deck. . . . , as the controls ain't wired the same way as on the wobblywingythingy you had before. . . . ( Just thought I'd let you know . . . .)

 

 

Hiya Gooney, and Welcome. . . .

 

My mate said the other day that old guys like ( you ? ) and me should be consigned to bed at four in the afternoon, given a cup of cocoa, and told to leave the aviation bit to the kids. . . . . . But if my Missus sees me arrive home from the airfield before eight at night, . . . well, the first thing she says is. . . . " Got nothing to do ?? Good, then she lists all the D.I.Y. jobs that need doing. This is why I'm still typing this in the hangar at half past ten at night. ( UK / GMT type time. . . . )

 

I think I'm going to get my local lady hairdresser to put some dark "Lowlights" in me hair ( what's left of it ) so I can hopefully shed the "Old" handle for a bit longer.

 

Welcome again, and Happy New Year.

 

( Old ) Phil

 

 

I think theres one of these on ebay real cheap

There's plenty of them on Ebay real cheap here as wel. but if you want to get your bum into the air on the low cost side, . . . . . they are not a bad idea. As long as you don't need to get anywhere quickly. . . . . One young chap bought a 2 seat variant from the proceeds of a newspaper delivery round. . . . Don't forget we are all strapped for cash here in the UK, and can't all afford grp hotships with nitro-garlic injected 914 turbonutter b'stard engines. . . .

 

 

OOps. . . . The preceding pics were taken at a recent MW ( Mike Whittaker ) aircraft weekend fly - in. . . Mike was on the COncorde design team and designed, built and flew one of these aircraft in three months from go to whoah. I really ought to have reduced them in size though, as I don't want to clog the server !!

 

Phil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for that Nev. . . .

 

I forgot to mention that after the initial permit to fly is issued, any pilot familiar with the type, BUT NOT THE OWNER can fly with the owner pilot, ( acting as P1 ) and conduct a very simple, post permit inspection trial flight, I have done this myself, ( but not without at least a hundred hours on type ) This is obviously less of a serious situation, as the aircraft has been flying for a year, ( hopefully ) and has survived. So a 30 minute flip checking control responses, dynamic stability and a vne dive; isn't really a a big problem, given the original tolerances calculated by the manufacturer of the kit, and the results shown on the original test pilot's notes and entered into the flight manual allowed for this.

 

Phil

 

 

Phil the practice when they burried those things was to run the bulldosers over them to stop the bad guys from getting them,

Well, someone obviously had other ideas, I hope they are not all flattened !!!!!!!!

 

 

I think thats an AN2???? In any event clearly you dont need to do oil changes on those beasts, they would seem to throw oil out at a rate that exceeds an overfull JAbby???? Must be a couple of litres of oil all over the underside and leading edges......Oh yeah, have you heard an AN2 start? It sounds as though an electric motor runs up a substantial flywheel and then a clutch is engaged to connect the flywheel to act as a starter motor.....i was impressed...

Hi Andy, it certainly looks like an AN2. . . ! The engine is a rip off from a design by Pratt & Whitney, and was originally rated at 1200 Hp. In this country, several of these beasts are used, usually on a foreign registration, HA, or LY, which means that they don't fall under the auspices of the CAA. You have to either fly them to the country of origin for servic e work, OR import a licenced engineer and do it that way, . . .which some owners do. The one I flew at White Waltham a while ago was on the HA reg, and the engine had been De-rated down to a mere 1,000 horses to extend engine life.

 

We flew with the owner in the right hand seat, he was an ex-concorde pilot with a penchant for weird old aircraft ! These things are amazing, in that they can fly at 30 mph . . .thats THIRTY MILES PER HOUR ( not Knots ) with the leading edge slats popped out ( automatic at low speeds ) and land in an incredibly short distance. During my flight of just over 45 min, the aircraft was loaded with 12 Club members for ballast in spring loaded seats which pop our from the inside fuselage, ( ! ) and this one still had the static line wires for hooking up troop parachutes.

 

I loved the starting handle, which is mounted on the wall at the entrance to the cockpit. After turning the prop thru about four revolutions, ( hard work, even with the valves lifted, as it's four blades and about fourteen feet in diameter ( 4.26 M ) to clear out any oil in the bottom few cylinders of the radial to preclude a hydraulic cylinder head blow - off, Then the oil drip tray underneath the engine is emptied into a few jugs and filtered back into the oil reservoir. ( ! )

 

Then the starting handle is inserted into a hole on the left side wall of the cockpit stairway and turned muscularly to wind up the interesting start mechanism. Once ready for movement, the next bit is to get used to the rather weird pneumatic brakes, which are activated by bicycle type levers on each side of the control yoke. These work in a Pre - Select manner.

 

The idea is that if you want to taxi to the left, you squeeze the left lever, and then dab the left rudder pedal. If you have squeezed a little too hard. . . the aeoplane spins around to about 90 degrees left rather violently !! This was hilarious and took a few minutes, lurching and swerving to get it right. On application of full power for a take off, the tail doesn't actually seem to come up,. . . ? Instead, the ground appears to gently fall away, as though you are flying a brick building. This was what the owner told me to expect, and he was dead right. It climbed rather like a half - loaded Dak, but needed a lot of rudder to counteract the enormous torque swing from that gorgeous big engine.

 

Landing was interesting to say the least, the problem is the aspect, you need to be aiming for a point somewhere around 100 metres before the strip, otherwise you'll land too long, and the actual flare bit, isn't really, it just sits on three wheels just like it was on the departure. I guess you could get used to this after a few hours playing with it, IF YOU COULD AFFORD THE GAS.

 

This one used approximately FIFTY GALLONS PER HOUR, although you could lean the mixture a bit at around 7 - 8 thousand feet and get 45. ( Millionaire's Boy's Toy )

 

Anyway Ian, sorry to go blathering on, I'm probably on the wrong forum section again.

 

Phil

 

 

DOUBLE WOW !!

 

I've got to be honest I wouldn't mind WHAT models they were ! ! ! ! !

 

I also hope that the efforts to recover the bunch of buried ones that have been found in Burma turns out well, I'm following that story with much interest.

 

Phil

 

 

Sapphire said. . .

 

In the USA you build it, you test fly it, you crash it-tough tittys. If you are going to get into that sort of thing it's up to you to get it right. I think the same here.

 

I'm not surprised by ANYTHING that they do in "The States" . . .I mean, even their cars have a multitude of warning beeps. bings and bongs to remind the driver to actually do something. . . . .

 

If I ever decide to build another aeroplane, then I don't care how many rides I've had in the company demonstrator, . . . .I'm not going to test fly it. . . . as I'm not quite arrogant enough to assume that I would be able to ascertain precisely if the thing was flying as it should. . . sorry, I can't seriously agree with the " Build it - fly it - crash it, - build it again - fly it. . . . . . . . . " idea.

 

Anyway, I remember that, long long ago at Casey Airfield in Vic, the engineer ALWAYS flew with the pilot / owner after maintenance, thereby placing his A**e as well as his signature on the paper. . . . is that idea no longer in vogue ??

 

 

Sapphire, I believe the statistic you are referring to is the high rate of crashes and fatalities from first flights of newly completely homebuilt aircraft, flown by the builders themselves.In a lot of the cases the owner/builder/test-pilot has not flown anything for sometime, has not got any prev flight-time in the type he has built, and performing the first flight in. Additionally many of the first-flight crashes are initiated by engine failure or partial failure, due to lack of actual ground -running or testing of the engine and it's systems, or with the aircraft in a post-takeoff angle.

The solution of course is to use an experienced test-pilot, with lots of time and experience in the same or similiar type...Additionally the fatality/accident rate in the US on the Cirrus range of aircraft (parachute-equipped) is also around three times the average with other types currently .....................................................................Maj...

In the UK, we have two organisations which have control over home built aircraft. These are the Light Aircraft Association ( formerly the PFA ) and the British Microlight Aircraft Association or BMAA.

 

In some cases, Identical aircraft may be certified by Either organisation, if both have the aircraft listed as an APPROVED TYPE.

 

These organisations can issue "Permit to Test Fly" and after the qualified test pilot. . . . who is HAS TO BE highly conversant and experienced on the type. . . . . has completed his / her testing programme on the machine, there is then a temporary permit to fly issue. this means that for 25 hours, the aircraft must only be flown to specific listed airfields, and not taken away for more than an agreed distance.

 

( NOTE ** It used to be 25 Nm, but this may have altered, I'll check and report back if youse like. . . .. ) This 25 hour period is to produce a good "Shakedown" of the particular aircraft and it's associated systems, and it is most likely that if anything strange went wrong in build, and was not noticed by the Test Pilot, [statistically unlikely. . .] ( Who is also a registered INSPECTOR OF TYPE ) is going to go wrong, then it will statistically more than likely. . . happen within this test period.

 

The aircraft, if passed happily, is then certified and awarded a permit to fly which lasts for 12 months.

 

In NO CASE IS A HOME BUILDER EVER ALLOWED TO TEST FLY HIS / HER OWN BUILD PROJECT, EVEN IF THE BUILDER IS A TEST PILOT. Just as an added safeguard.

 

Can't imagine how it could operate sensibly otherwise ? I'm Gobsmacked if this procedure, or something very similar did not exist in any country which values aeronautical safety and plain old commonsense. All this doesn't take very long at all from a paperwork / admin point of view either.

 

Inspectors / Test Pilots here don't really charge a lot of money either,. . . usually just expenses in getting to your airfield.

 

I pay £50.00 to the inspector / check pilot ( factory built aircraft ) and £120.00 per annum for the permit to fly. Basic insurance is also required ( By the CAA ) and they must sight a copy of your policy before you can lift off, otherwise the aircraft will be listed on the CAA website as grounded.

 

I wonder if someone can let me know how it all works in Australia please, as I'm sure our Staffordshire Aero Club members would find that info interesting.

 

Kind regards,

 

Phil P.

 

 

Struuth. . . Thanks for the info Daz and that link Stew. . . well, it was fairly obvious that the GC was going to grow, I used to work there for a Sign / graphic company for a while, and the amount of building and expansion was obvious back in '82. . . . I've been looking at it on Google Earth, to see if I can locate places I know, but it's really expanded exponentially hasn't it. . . . As I mentioned earlier, I have a couple of friends staying there for the next four weeks or so, and on skype they mentioned Harbourtown, which prompted the original query. I know Biggera Waters, but I'll bet I'd get rapidly lost on me motorbike around there nowadays !

 

Thank you for the info Gentlemen. . . . . Much appreciated. Got to make more money so that I can justify a couple of months vacation . . . . . . . .

 

Phil

 

 

Hiya Peter. . . . We have a "Pirate Pete" in our local Club. . .[ Dunno why. . .he's never been near a galleon as far as I'm aware. . . ] flies a Microflight Spectrum, which is a throwback to the dark ages, first built in 1985 / 6. . . Ally frame, 40 feet ( S**T what's that in Aussie / French Kilometres ?? ) composite wingspan. . . ally tube ftame with no fabric covering, ( can't find a picture at the moment, ) big, 'eavy thing with a tiny Rotax 503 on the top in tractor config. and only a 25 litre fuel tank. . . Most of them have now been downgraded to single seat ops. Anyway. . . . ( as usual. . . ) I rapidly digress.

 

( "Larrikins" on here !!! ) I have not heard that term since I departed rwy 19 for the last time at Eagle farm in Sept 1982. . . . !

 

Lots of nice people about anyway. . . well, commuting to work in a flying appliance ! What luxury. I have not done that for a lot of years, , and I'm most envious.

 

Keep in touch Peter, your life sounds a lot more interesting than mine ( ahhhhh . . . cue violins . . . )

 

Kind regards,

 

Phil P.

 

 

Certainly sounds like a weird one doesn't it ??

 

I'd have to agree with Paul and Andy that a vswr check is a good starting point, but PLEASE ensure that the meter is designed for VHF, a CB radio type will not do. Ask around the club and you MIGHT find a friendly radio ham who could well have a Bird thruline wattmeter with a vhf slug available, which you simply reverse in it's socket to read vswr. ( ie, Forward and / or Reflected power ) Vswr is read as a RATIO, and as the lads have already said, a 3 to 1 reading roughly equates to 87 percent forward power, which ain't that bad. . . and unless the radio transmitter itself has it's auto- shutdown protection set quite high to protect it's final transistor or power output module, then this, or a bit less should work.

 

I've never achieved better than one point seven to one ratio with the installation on my flexwing, using a centre- fed, half -wavelength dipole antenna mounted with the centre feed at the top of the kingpost, and this allows good comms for well over 50 / 70 Nm even using the low power setting on the Icom A20 hh. I WOULD get a better vswr reading if I fed the aerial with a balun transformer ( bit of coiled wire and ferrite to match the 50 ohm coax feed impedance to the 70 "Ish" ohms required at the centre of a standard dipole. . . . - but I wouldn't bother going to that depth really as it wouldn't produce a noticeable difference in range. . . ! ) and also NOT have the bottom element strapped PARALLEL to the kingpost, which causes loss into the metal tubing and alo "Skew - Wiffs" the radiation pattern !!!!

 

There are quite a few good aircraft aerials available on the market which are ground independent, should you not have room for a dipole, or insufficient ground plane / counterpoise for a quarter wavelength whip.

 

Anyway, after that burst of Radio "ANORAKS" R us. . . .. you seem to have a slightly different problem, if it works on the deck and not whilst flying. No other ideas , the other guys have suggested the only real alternatives, and that was a really nice offer to have the raadio appliance Health - checked by someone with the gear and the know how. ( fixing problems from several thousand kilometres away is dead easy when you don't have to actually DO IT !! )

 

************ Additional but probably unneccessary info. . . . Should you want to experiment with making your own wire aerials, use 468 divided by the centre frequency you want in Megahertz, this gives a half wavelength Expressed in FEET . . . halve it ( duh ?) for a quarter wavelength. I'll leave it to the Aussies to convert this into FRENCH Kilometres.************

 

Best of luck with your tx problem anyway.

 

Kind regards,

 

Phil

 

 

Thanks Andy, yes I've tried all of those things, and you're spot on with the plug types. Being a "Radio Ham" and expected to understand life, the universe and everything. . . . . or so my pilot friends tell me. . . . I've tried all sorts of fixes, until this weekend, when I replaced the plug caps with the old "Illegal" metal cap type, and guess what ?? problem solved. So in future, I will have to carry some resistive ones in my toolkit, so that when I crash again, I can crawl around the back through all the blood and barbed wire, and then change them before the AAIB get there, thereby not invalidating my permit to fly and insurance cover by using unauthorised components. ( ? )

 

By the way, . . . the antenna is mounted atop the Kingpost, as far away from the engine as I can get it short of using one attached to a 100 metre trailing wire jobbie, rather similar to the ones we used to use in the outback for HF comms with Darwin Centre. . . . . ( ! ) And as for the SE5A,. . . . . . I dunno what the heck we can do with that, . . . Peter will know what is legal and what isn't, being plugged in to the UK CAA, but since radio comms were not a problem when that aircraft type was thought up. . . we may well have a problem with LEGAL suppression methods, You wouldn't BELIEVE how long it can take to get a SIMPLE, SENSIBLE AND EFFECTIVE mod thru the various hoops in the UK. . . . . .

 

 

Does anyone have ANY IDEA how we can "Quieten" the rambunctuous noise on a radio receiver mounted in an SE5A 7/8 scale replica ? It's owned by our Airfield Managing Director, Peter Davis, EX LAA Coach and ex Airline pilot. ( Knows sod all about what makes radios work though ! ! ! ! ! )

 

The aircraft is powered with a genuine Rolls Royce engine, with open plugs ie, not shielded, there doesn't appear to be any legal manner that this can be accomplished on that particular engine. . . . I had metal plug shrouds on my Rotax 503 for years, and never had a problem with engine ignition interference on the receiver, but when these were, for some Godunknown reason made illegal,. . . . no suppressor type cap was able to prevent the level of noise with which I have to put up. I don't mind "Coming off the power" for a short while to receive a clear ATC instruction, but If I asked for a weather report for a proposed alternate destination station by radio, I'd probably be eating treetops if I left it at idle for that long. . . ! ( AND PULEEESE . . . . don't tell me to FLY HIGHER. . . . . It's too darned cold here., the ELR ( European Lapse Rate ) is ten degrees C for every ten feet you go up !! )

 

Phil. ( Amateur Radio Operator G4 OHK - used to be VK4 YC when I lived in God's Country. . . . )

 

 

Hi Mick,

 

You mentioned some rather interesting warbirds there, the only one ( of any note that is ) that I've flown is a Dragon Spitfire 1x back in 2000, this was a 2 seat modified model with a Packard Merlin. Abslolutely Bloody Wonderful thing to fly, but extremely thirsty, and therefore a rich boys toy !!! The owner was only able, due to bad weather, to do a couple of flights that day, and used 149 gallons. ( Probably my fault, with all the aerobatics !! Time on type ? 57 minutes and thirty nine seconds, although, I wasn't really counting ( nah. . . not much ! ) ( How much did it cost I hear you think ?? . . . . . . . £1,250.00 Sterling. Worth every penny. )

 

We are not allowed to fly warbirds ( as "Passengers" any longer . . . as the effing stupid EUROPEAN 'ELF 'N' SAFETY rules have diktated that a warbird is not a safe thing to fly in.) It doesn't have guardrails on the wings to prevent you falling off, nor wheelchair ramps, nor cabin staff to make your flight safe and comfortable. Also, the operator would have to pay £50,000 per annum for Elf 'N' Safety insurance.

 

What a load of airbollox. But, regrettably, the UK is the only country in the Eurpoean Union to take any notice whatsoever of ANY rules and regulations ( 143 new ones every day. . .) whch they enforce here with jobsworth reliability.

 

Anyway, enough of my Pommie Whingeing,. . . . . Welcome Mick and look forward to you posting and letting us know what you are doing.

 

Phil

 

 

Hi SKYHAWK. . . . .

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Bunch of nice, well experienced people here, they obviously tolerate idiots, as they didn't ban me the same day I joined.

 

I have a friend living on the Gold Coast, we used to work together in teh Signs and Graphics industry, until he saw the light and moved to Queensland just over five years ago. I'll have to get the two of you together some time, as he is really interested in getting a Pilot Licence, I flew him around for a short while in the X'Air microlight you see on my avatar, and it became fairly obvious that he is one of those lucky devils who seem to pick up a new and alien skill very quickly, I'd flown with him from the right hand seat for around three hours, after which he was able to approach an airfield, and land the machine in a multitude of different circumstances without getting into a flap. I took him out in a PA28R200, ( Arrow 4 ) and after two hours he had the measure of the difference in inertia too. ( and he DIDN'T FORGET to raise the gear,. . . as I oftten do when I'm flying something with retractable dunlops. . . ) Very rare.

 

His name is unusual, so you'll probably remember it, it's Marvin Machette Challinor. ( French relatives I think !! ) He has just moved his family inland a few klicks from the Coast, and I have not got the new address yet. Heck of a nice bloke in his late thirties. Two of my best friends are staying at his gaff as I write, for the next four weeks, so I guess he'll be a bit busy showing them around.

 

Can anyone tell me what "Harbourtown" is, I have not heard of it, I left S.E.Q. in 1982, but flew around the Queensland coast for many years. . . . . Is it a new village or summat ?????

 

Phil

 

 

What Aussi trikers refer to as the "mast" is what Poms call the "monopole"Cheers

 

John

We certainly do. . . . . Thank you for clearing that one up John !! I wasn't trying to confuse Stew. . . . . ! ( I have to admit that "Mast" is a much more sensible term though. . . . . .since it has a big sail on top of it ? )

 

 

[quote="Sapphire, post: 262959, member: 1999"

 

My information is that the Concord was disposed of because of lack of business after the crash. There was pleny of warning that a crash would eventually happen. Tyres had burst before penetrating the fuselage and a fuel leak developed once. However it did not catch fire. The shock proof insulation etc installed after the crash was too late. Nobody wanted to fly in that poorly managed death trap.

 

Still. . . . . .it wasn't really TOO bad an overall safety record though was it ?? . . . . . . I wonder how many other large passenger jet aircraft types could claim a fatality - free flying record exceeding thirty years ?

 

I really enjoyed MY flight around the Bay of Biscay in one, . . . Best £600 I ever spent.

 

Happy New Year to all

 

Phil

 

 

Are you the leading star in "Les Miserables"?

No, Can't sing, OR speak very good French but point well made Bill. ( head retracted ) I can feel a new thread coming on. . . . . wait for it . . . . Musical instruments made from old ships tractors and aircraft ?

 

The original Concorde crash report was riddled with unanswered questions, later versions have raised many apparently more than valid points, calling into serious question. Whether indeed "politics" were behind this will be, no doubt, continually debated but probably never proven. As wilth the Tenerife incident, where one report pointed the finger directly at the Dutch Captain, whereas the other ( Dutch version ) virtually exonerated him, as he WAS their hero worshipped top man. But in that particular instance, there was an interesting paragraph which debated whether the quoted RVR at the time was below operational minima for BOTH aircraft operators; and possibly the airport too. . . . )

 

I cannot for the life of me understand why the Concorde fleet was disposed of with such unseemly haste, when Richard Branson wanted to buy a few of them and continue flying. . . .More Politics ?

 

We'll probably never get the answer to that one until the cabinet papers become public domain after thirty years, just like the Falklands stuff is all coming out now.

 

 

Off Topic ( slightly. . . . I'm not buying in to any argument about what happened to Concorde, I am assuming that you mean the French disaster. . . . ) But on a rather lighter note, I've just had a look at a home made four string banjo, which was built using parts of a Rolls Royce, car, plus bits from the ship QE2, and FINALLY, . . . . some metal components from Concorde. . . . . ( not from a crashed one. . . from one of the factories which built them. . .) Picture can be uploaded if any of you are aeronautically musical. . . . .

 

( well, I DID say. . . . " On a lighter note. . . . . ! )

 

Phil

 

 

D&W in the phone book for Wilton so must be them. Thanks OME.

PhilThink I remember you, I'm John Campbell the guy with DTC on the line 74-5 before Alan Baskett made me an offer I couldn't refuse so did CPL with Speedair at EN. Used to fly Scouts through until 79 with Dick Humphrey and socialised most Sunday nights (often bought Beef Stroganoff)

 

People you may remember (caution AFAIK)

 

Bill Campbell Hicks - Retired 75 to Gippsland Lakes, in 91 stubbed toe infected and seeing the quack a week later was too late

 

COL (Not LT COL) Keith and Elsa as mentioned

 

Bronwyn Married kids not flying

 

John Zmood looking at getting back into the air

 

David Hooten (father aerodynamicist at CAC/GAF?) finally passed CPL aerodynamics on something like the 40th! attempt still in GA

 

Didn't fly for 18 years until 2000 and don't see the BWK crew around much

 

Edited to add

 

My email address is : [email protected] : Skype : PilotPhil312.

 

Squirrel (sparrow) I got into taxi, driver is semi-conscious "uh where to" "some dark alley where I can take your money" that got his attention so back to my place to force fed him coffee to a caffeine OD point then back on the road.

Lawks a mussy. . . . .

 

Hello John, yes of course I remember you, although not very clearly. Shortly afrter Mr. Baskett sent me solo, I used DTC for some circuit bashing, and on one occasion, nearly lost the plot completely, when I moved the flap control from 40 to 10, then accidentaly flipped it back to 40, and tried a standard touch and go takeoff. It took a few seconds before I realised what I'd done, and corrected the situation before mushing into the grid power cables past the end of rwy 12R. . . . I'm very sorry that Bill Candlesticks has gone away,. . . I'm amazed that he lasted as long as he did, as he used to fly DC2 aircraft on the Boston to Philadelphia run just after WW2. . . . .nice bloke, a bit brusque if he didn't know you, but a heck of a good examiner. Bad judge of character though ( ! ) I mean He passed ME on the first attempt, but said that I really ought to go out and practice steep turning without losing a s***load of height. . . . . I actualy made the signs at Essendon for Speedair, as I also did, with the sign at the Casey Field entrance gate for the Antique Aircraft Association, I didn't get my commercial until I was working in Indonesia. I never did any commercial work in Oz regrettably., although I was able to do a heck of a lot of pribvate flying as I was a fairly well off feller back in them thar old days. I remember John Zmood too, I actually pinched his Ham Radio callsign, VK3 ZAU, after he let it go for some reeason or other, and remember his slide show of him swimming in the Antarctic.

 

Anyway, few more to mention, but My friend Ivan has just popped in to the office, and he is going to OZ tomorrow, to visit friends in Surfers, so I have to close now and have a pint at the hostelry accross the road, ( that's handy isn't it ... )

 

And my fantasy sex goddess Bronwen got married, . . . ? ah well, can't win em all.