Spin

Just heard on the news that a Spitfire replica crashed near Gympie. Sadly initial reports aren't very positive.

Yeah mate, haven't heard any different. As you say the weather is becoming more n more promising - was pretty good out at Boonah today too, I dropped in for a few circuits at lunchtime.

Thanks for posting that, very interesting. Must say I didn't realise Saba was quite so short, makes the average bush strip look quite generous! As most of you know, we have our very own ALA on the beach at Eurong, Fraser Island. Of course there the hazards are more than just driftwood, you have backpackers, 4x4 hire vehicles and the odd dingo to contend with too. [ATTACH]10115[/ATTACH]

Nice one Tomo, a real treat to see the countryside looking so lush.

Interesting thread and doubly interesting to see how much nostalgia people have for their own upbringing. I'm the same, I grew up in a small town and had freedom todays kids can only dream about. Later on I ended up at boarding school out in the country and come Sundays we were required to be off the school estate, hiking on surrounding farms or riding the 25 odd km to the nearest bit of civilisation where we were likely to see girls. We got up to all sorts, a few of the more enterprising arranged lifts to the beach, about 2 hours away, while others had access to motor cycles and made their own way there. Guess what, in the time I was there no-one was killed or maimed despite leaping off waterfalls, falling off bicycles, horses and utes, in fact the worst injuries came from the headmaster after some idiot rolled in reeking of cigarette smoke, or got busted thumbing a lift back on Sunday evening.:black_eye: Unfortunately we cannot turn the clock back and attitudes have changed. I have a fair amount to do with personal injury claims these days and let me tell you, let little Johnny disobey an instruction on the school adventure trip, injuring himself as a consequence and you'll have the parents come down on all involved like the proverbial avenging angels. Funnily enough life threatening injuries (allegedly) become far less important than the money they are worth, once negotiations begin. A few thousand dollars can act as a remarkably soothing balm for wounded feelings. Long story short, appreciate what we had and treasure what we have left. You have only to read JG3's stories of outback exploration to appreciate that adventures may have changed, but they are still to be found for those that want it badly enough. Something that struck me about John's writing though is that there is an appreciation of the dangers and just as importantly the potential pitfalls of having to involve the authorities in a rescue. Epirbs and the like are wonderful tools, but they come at a cost.

Well this one amongst the 78 was trying to figure where the hell Kyabram is - once I did I figured it was a tad far. Never mind we've got our own locally - enjoy!

Yup, managed to scratch the itch, although it was touch n go - the strip was very wet in places and current politics meant that the school weren't keen to have their aircraft, first ones out to put ruts in the strip. Eventually became pretty busy and I managed to find a few dry metres to land on, beautiful day out there. I believe Dazza was booked for today and wx permitting I'm hoping to do a few circuits later in the week, got some interviews to do out thataway so may as well combine work with some fun! Are you going to fly down on Saturday, Dave?

Reminder about the fly-in this coming Saturday, brekkie from 8am onward. As an added incentive, there are three lucky draw prizes for participants, $250, $150 & $100 vouchers from the Sky Shop, so dust off the old girl and cruise down to the 'Coast. Oh and if anyone has any contacts with the weatherman, a sunny, calm day would be much appreciated.

Here's one from Boonah this morning - strip was a bit wet but what a glorious day for flying! Kiwi and his Drifter...

Geez DD :ah_oh:, that's history in the making there - at this rate Heon's definitely got the right aircraft for an outback trip:clap:

Saw one operating in its natural environment on the way back from Boonah this morning, weaving between the gum trees on approach to Canungra International. To me it's one of those "just looks right" aircraft. David, back to the discussion, has the manufacturer abandoned the sprung steel landing gear in favour of the trailing link or is the latter still an option as the website seems to indicate?

You sure about that price Russ, that would make it one of the better buys I've seen all year? Last one I saw had more like $90K on the sticker.

Bedroom seemed awfully bright this morning:laugh:, I was up before the kookaburras and then crawled back in under the covers, fatal that. Tomo you may be in luck, I see the forecast is for the wind to fade this afternoon, now if this only carries through to the morning I'll be a happy man - as will my junior co-pilot:clap:. Yeah dazza, be good to catch up, our visits have been out of synch for a while now. I'm hoping to go back out during the week again, got some work in the neighbourhood so may as well make the most of it. Wx may bollix that up though, I see we have more of the wet stuff to look forward to and the possibility of another frontal system by next Friday:crying:, just in time for the Jacobs Well fly-in.

Very true, I believe they improved the success rate of new pilots qualifying, quite dramatically when first introduced. I understand airliners rely quite heavily on AoA indications as well in the landing / t-off configuration. What I was getting at, was the implication that this is something new and not fully understood. I like the idea, especially for STOL operations, where airspeed is but a crude approximation of what you really need to know.

Thanks David, I've not done more than wander around one at Watts Bridge, but the design certainly struck a chord with me. For those that aren't quite sure what we're talking about, here's one of the photos I took that day; http://www.aircraftkits.com.au/ Cheers Carl

Yeah Dazza, sounds a bit like a simplified AoA indicator that I read about a while back. This one used a pressure sensitive pad on one leading edge, connected to a series of lights displayed in the cockpit, essentially showing how close you were to the stall. The way it was described there sounded pretty interesting - I just get a bit edgy about things sold like snake oil, ie. "I can't explain how it works, but trust me, I'm a doctor/engineer/pharmacist, it does and you are an idiot if you don't buy one too"

No wonder Greg had a bit of a wry chuckle when I asked him if he were still afloat. I've put in a punt for Sunday am, looks as though it may have cleared by then, just not sure what the strip is going to be like. I don't think we are going to see as much rain as first expected though, the front is moving through pretty quickly. Holding thumbs, been a while now.

Very impressed with the one I've seen so far - mate we're going to need photos of yours:clap:

And one of my favourites, taken at Amberley 2008. Never again... Cheers Carl "RAAF F-111 at Amberley 2008"

Here's one of mine, taken near Tipplers, South Stradbroke Island. Cheers Carl Edit: Oops just read the roolz. Here's the caption " C180, VH-TUV near Tipplers" Going to have to have another closer look at how to get these photos displayed at a decent size, looks miles better.

Bad Ozzie! I'm terrible with youtube, one video leads to another and before you know it you've knocked a dent into your cap and there's half an hour gone. back to the original; I dunno about more ponies, it might actually fly then and that frankly, is a terrifying thought!

You're not wrong there! I recall seeing a slightly longer version of the video somewhere a while back, seems there was a little operator error in negotiating the bush that appears just before the final shot - the whole contraption including the glamour ended going through rather than over the final obstacle! I can just see the water police trying to figure out how many laws you'd broken by operating it on the Broadwater.:big_grin:

I suspect it won't be all that pleasant to fly though, not like a real open cockpit. I've flown a C150 without doors for photography and it was quite turbulent in the cockpit, also an irritating buffet on the tail unless you kept the speed right down. Interestingly enough, I was told that although the C150 is approved for flight doors off, the approval didn't migrate to the C152 POH. Can't say I got around to digging out the absence myself, but the CFI of the school where I hired the aircraft was adamant that we could only use the C150.

Count on it mate, looks too beautiful and I look forward to putting a face to the name. Cheers Carl

Geez Frank, you've just added another area to my "fly to" list. So many places, so little time (and money:loopy:)