Bubbleboy

Hi all.....maybe someone can help me on here. I have a Saitek Evo Force Feed back joystick and running FSX on Vista and I cant get the feedback to work on the stick. I have turned it on in FSX but still no go. All the joy stick discs and instructions say it is for XP so maybe there is something I need to do to make it work on Vista. Thanks in advance. Scotty

Ian....even if Clodsuck wasnt allowed to keep the entry in his log book im sure our Jen would be there to lend a shoulder and make up for it! Being the good aviation supportive wife of course! Scotty :thumb_up:

Thanks Ian...got it now! Scotty :thumb_up:

Brett and Mark......I noticed you guys are using the Aerovee engine. Can you give us some feedback as to how you are going with these engines. I looked at the web site and me being a keen fiddler of engines, the idea of assembling my own looks like fun! Out of interest, how much were they if you dont mind my asking and what extras need to be purchased to get it running? Scotty :big_grin:

Ian...that article by Greg Germanowski doesn't load. You aware of any other links? I have done a quick search but cant come up with any thing. Scotty

My hangar! 1/6 Scale Polikarpov I-152, 67 inch wing span fitted with a Super Tigre 2300. 1/5 J3 Piper Cub, 84 inch wing span fitted with Magnum 91 Four stroke. Building a 1/6 Scale Hawker Typhoon, 74 inch wingspan fitted with an OS120 Four Stroke pumped. Building a 1/3 Scale J3 clipped wing Cub, 124 Inch wing span fitted with a 50cc petrol twin. Building an Old Timer Lanzo Bomber fitted with a Magnum 61 four Stroke. 1/12 Scale Polikarpov I-16 fitted with an AXI 2212 electric motor. Various other trainers and sport models. Fly mode 1. Scotty :big_grin:

Hi Bill....thanks for that! Good feedback, I appreciate it. Educate me here. What is the difference between the grey and the blue head Rotax 582? regards Scotty

Hi Bill...is this the only Trike you have flown? If this is not the case, how does it compare to other brands? Does your one have any peculiarities? Scotty

Ross...you are right, I am being picky but that is me...lol It runs almost perfect, good enough anyway. That is the only thing I can fault so far. Other than when flying the Trike, the control inputs are the same direction as a 3 axis. As you know, Trike inputs are the opposite. This may just be a matter of playing with the settings or turning the joystick up side down Scotty

Hi Andrew...thats the kind of feedback we need. Customer support is a biggy and if they cant be bothered replying, well.....:hittinghead: Your right the Aeros are Ukraine. I was looking at a Norwegian site...doh! Still like to hear about what else is out here. Scotty :big_grin:

Hi Andy, Well I have seen the Quantum in Pacific Flyer magazine at a reasonable price. Surfing around on the net last night I noticed the Aeros Range as well from Norway. I like the look of the Aeros2. I have emailed the agent here in Australia to see about costings etc. I want to know what brands are here in Australia and if there are any issues with any of them. How they have gone when needing parts etc. Scotty

Damn! Dont you hate that. Educate me. What improvements would I notice if I upgraded to the card you have?

Hi Ross.....hhhmmmm, when I bought the computer a few months ago, The salesman said it was fitted with an upgraded card. Apparently it was custom built for a customer then the order canceled. There is a seperate graphics card the monitor plugs in to in the bottom of the back of the tower (sorry not a PC whizz). It seems the one that came with the PC originally is now redundant? so would that be the one that comes up under device manager? Scotty

Ok...had a look. ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO Does that make sense? Scotty

Ian...I have an Acer Aspire M5630 Q6600 @ 2.40Ghz 2.00GB RAM Im no PC expert. How do I find what Card I have? I know it is an upgraded Card. Scotty

Wow...this is all very inspiring. I too have always wanted to fly since a wee tacker and with my teachers at school thinking that Pilots are these people high up on Peder stools, I was promptly told I didnt have the brains to do it. Well silly me believed it! Years on I was lucky enough to get a ride in the cockpit of an Air New Zealand 767 and got chatting with the Captain who shocked me when he said it would be hard but if that is what I wanted, I could do it! Wow....wish I had that Captains name now! I started flying training and hold a PPL with a pass in CPL, Instument and ATPL theory subjects. He was right. The ATPL was hard but what an acheivment for me! I cant wait for a school reunion so I can bitch slap those Teachers! I would love to get a flying job of some kind. Reading what you guys have done has had me thinking. What license or certificate? do you need if you were to start a joy flight business running Trikes? Maybe this has been chatted about before but I cant find anything on it. Obviously with GA you need a CPL. Trikes, im curious....... Scotty i_dunno

Ian....Fathers Day was good to me! My good wife really excelled and I got the Saitek Joystick and FSX today. She had already ordered the joy stick before they were available in Clear Prop....bugger!! Still dreaming of a set of those pedals though. Im loving the joystick! FSX is nice. I recently bought a new PC with a Quad core 2 processor so I have set the graphics to the best and it runs it well. Just a little bit of screen freeze (is that what you call it?). Just need to work out which setting to adjust to smooth it up a fraction. Scotty :big_grin:

Hi all....thought it would be a good conversation topic to get owners opinions on the Pro's and Con's of different Trike manufacturers. I notice that some makes of Trike are a lot cheaper second hand on the Australian market and want to know if this is because of cheaper new prices or not so good quality as our own Australian brand. I dont want this to be a slanging match at any brand, im interested in learning about the different Trikes that are available here in Australia. Im keen to learn about the handling of different models, availability of spares and product support etc. Looking forward to learning about what is out there. Scotty :thumb_up:

Alas Bigglesworth...there were a nice cool Tooheys Old or two sunk at the time........Burrrppppp!

Riley.....I debated long and hard before posting it but I think the folk on here have a good sense of humour. Apologies in advance if I offend anyone. Scotty :black_eye:

Hi Guys...yes an oldie but a goodie. I cant claim responsibility but kill myself laughing each time I read it! Scotty

Beer contains female hormones Last month, National University of Lesotho scientists released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption. The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women. To test the theory, 100 men drank 8 pints of beer each within a 1 hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects: 1) Argued over nothing. 2) Refused to apologize when obviously wrong. 3) Gained weight. 4) Talked excessively without making sense. 5) Became overly emotional. 6) Couldn't drive. 7) Failed to think rationally. 8)Had to sit down while urinating. No further testing was considered necessary.

QANTAS - The Spirit of Australia The following letter is from the Qantas Flight Operations Newsletter dated June 96. Sir, In your icy, indeed hostile, telephone call of yesterday, you requested a report about the alleged proceedings involving my crew at the Qantas 75th Birthday celebration at the slip port. As the reports from the local authorities and the head of the Australian legation were undoubtedly a complete fabrication, I take the opportunity to put the truth of the matter on file. Qantas management's kind offer to "buy a round of drinks" was taken on board by the crew who decided to upgrade the event to its correct status, so appropriate quantities of libation and food were purchased, with festivities being held in my hotel suite. An enjoyable evening ensued but insufficient supplies had been obtained, so several members of the crew left for further purchases at a local bar. In a truly magnanimous gesture, ten bar girls from that establishment helped carry the beer back to the hotel. To demonstrate our appreciation of their assistance, we served them some cool drink. They then offered to show us some local culture, and, in order not to offend, we allowed them to dance some exotic dances. The banging on the walls of my room had, by now, quite honestly, become invasive, and it was disturbing the dancers, so we arranged an amusing little deterrent. S/0 Brown's impersonation of the Police Officer was excellent! In full Qantas uniform, with an aluminium rubbish bin upside down on his head, he goose-stepped to each room and harangued the occupants with a very witty diatribe about disturbing hotel guests. I personally heard nothing of his alleged threats of life in Alcatraz or the Gulags, claimed by the sister of the Minister of Police whose room was, unluckily, next door. I have no doubt that this woman was the sneak who called security and hotel management and I absolutely refute that the shout "Look out, here come the Indians! Circle the wagons!" was made. The simple coincidence of security arriving just as we stood the double bed on its side across the door to make the dance floor bigger is obvious. The major damage to the room occurred when a group of gate crashers, whom we could not know were hotel security, forced their way in just as most of us happened to be leaning against the bed watching the dancing. The subsequent events in the foyer of the hotel are an equally vicious distortion of the facts. I was explaining the importance of the 75th Birthday to the General Manager of the hotel and noting that other guests were fabricating stories of noise, drinking and singing at the celebration, when F/O Smith (ex-SAS) and several other keep-fit enthusiasts, in keeping with their almost monastic pursuit of health, organised the race up the drapes which hang along the foyer wall. It says nothing for the workmanship of some of these nations that the fittings were torn from the wall before most of the crew were even halfway up. At this stage, in an amazing display of international posturing, the Governor of the city, who was attending the National Day cocktail party in the foyer, cast some denigrating remarks about Australian culture. Although he misunderstood our gestures of greeting, female flight attendant Williams rescued the situation with her depth of knowledge of local culture. Her rendition of the Fertility Dancing Maiden in the foyer's 'Pool of Remembrance' was nothing short of breathtaking. Normally this dance is performed wearing just a sarong skirt so FFA Williams' extra step to nature was a bold step forward. Unfortunately, during one intricate step, FFA Williams slipped and fell beneath the fountain, so we were lucky that S/0 Brown, who had the great presence of mind to strip to avoid getting his uniform wet, leapt in to help. That the tiles of the pool were slippery is beyond dispute, as it took nearly ten minutes of threshing about before S/O Brown could actually complete his rescue. Such concern was there for these two exemplary crew member's safety, that the rest of the crew were forced to assist, and I deny that this massed altruistic rescue attempt could be construed as a 'Water Polo' game! This slanderous accusation was first put to me by the Chief of the Riot Squad, whose storm troopers had apparently been called by some over zealous Fascists at the cocktail party. Order had nearly been restored when the fire started. I prefer F/O Smith's version of events that the drapes had caught fire from being against a light fitting, and that he dropped his cigarette lighter whilst trying to escape the flames. Had host management fulfilled their responsibilities and used fire retardant material instead of velvet, the fire would not have spread to the rest of the hotel. The responsible attitude shown by my crew in assisting the bar staff to carry out drinks from the cocktail party is to be commended, not condemned, and the attempt by male members of the crew to extinguish pockets of fire using natural means has been totally misrepresented in some quarters. I cannot overstate how strongly I resent the assertions made in the Chief Fire Officer's Report. I made an official protest about these matters when the head of the Australian Legation visited us at the Police Station the next morning. However, not only did Ambassador Jones not attempt to refute the preposterous allegations made against me and my crew, but also by failing to secure our release immediately, caused the subsequent aircraft delay. I did not know Her Majesty was to be aboard our aircraft, but I am sure that her 12- hour visit to that country was appreciated by local dignitaries and probably HRH herself. (I must mention that the local manager is far too obsequious - Smarmy! Smarmy! You should have seen him bowing and scraping. Never make a Prime Minister, that chap!) Finally, I note that not since 'Rainman' has Qantas been mentioned in so many newspapers. (Some people in Qantas would die for coverage like that.) The main newspaper at the slip port coincidentally mentioned Qantas 75 times on its front page alone, although some of the coupled epithets can only be described as the worst journalistic excesses of the gutter press. I trust that now I have outlined the correct version of events, we may allow ourselves a discreet smile as to the lack of social sophistication of some of these developing nations and put all this behind us. As far as I am concerned, the crew carried on the finest Qantas traditions. Regards, Captain...... P.S. I checked amongst the language qualified members of the crew, but no one was up to speed on Latin. Can you recommend anyone in the International Department who could translate 'Persona Non Grata'?

I am writing to you, because I need your help to get me bloody pilot's license back. You keep telling me you got all the right contacts. Well now's your chance to make something happen for me because, mate, I'm bloody desperate. But first, I'd better tell you what happened during my last flight review with the CASA Examiner. On the phone, Ron (that's the CASA examiner) seemed a reasonable sort of bloke. He politely reminded me of the need to do a flight review every two years. He even offered to drive out, have a look over my property and let me operate from my own strip. Naturally I agreed to that. Anyway, Ron turned up last Wednesday. First up, he said he was a bit surprised to see the plane on a small strip outside my homestead, because the ALA (Authorized Landing Area) is about a mile away. I explained that because this strip was so close to the homestead, it was more convenient than the ALA, and despite the power lines crossing about midway down the strip it's really not a problem to land and take-off, because at the half-way point down the strip you're usually still on the ground. For some reason Ron seemed nervous. So, although I had done the pre-flight inspection only four days earlier, I decided to do it all over again. Because the prick was watching me carefully, I walked around the plane three times instead of my usual two. My effort was rewarded because the color finally returned to Ron's cheeks. In fact, they went a bright red. In view of Ron's obviously better mood, I told him I was going to combine the test flight with some farm work, as I had to deliver three poddy calves from the home paddock to the main herd. After a bit of a chase I finally caught the calves and threw them into the back of the ol' Cessna 172. We climbed aboard, but Ron started getting' onto me about weight and balance calculations and all that crap.. Of course I knew that sort of thing was a waste of time because, calves like to move around a bit particularly when they see themselves 500 feet off the ground! So, its bloody pointless trying to secure them as you know. However, I did tell Ron that he shouldn't worry as I always keep the trim wheel set on neutral to ensure we remain pretty stable at all stages throughout the flight. Anyway, I started the engine and cleverly minimized the warm-up time by tramping hard on the brakes and gunning her to 2,500rpm. I then discovered that Ron has very acute hearing, even though he was wearing a bloody headset. Through all that noise he detected a metallic rattle and demanded I account for it. Actually it began about a month ago and was caused by a screwdriver that fell down a hole in the floor and lodged in the fuel selector mechanism. The selector can't be moved now, but it doesn't matter because it's jammed on 'All tanks', so I suppose that's Okay. However, as Ron was obviously a real nit-picker, I blamed the noise on vibration from a stainless steel thermos flask, which I keep in a beaut little possie between the windshield and the magnetic compass. My explanation seemed to relax Ron, because he slumped back in the seat and kept looking up at the cockpit roof. I released the brakes to taxi out, but unfortunately the plane gave a leap and spun to the right. "Hell" I thought, "not the starboard wheel chock again". The bump jolted Ron back to full alertness. He looked wildly around just in time to see a rock thrown by the propwash disappear completely through the windscreen of his brand new Commodore. "Now I'm really in trouble", I thought. While Ron was busy ranting about his car, I ignored his requirement that we taxi to the ALA, and instead took off under the power lines. Ron didn't say a word, at least not until the engine started coughing right at the lift off point, then he bloody screamed his head off. "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!" "Now take it easy, Ron" I told him firmly. "That often happens on take-off and there is a good reason for it." I explained patiently that I usually run the plane on standard MOGAS, but one day I accidentally put in a gallon or two of kerosene. To compensate for the low octane of the kerosene, I siphoned in a few gallons off super MOGAS and shook the wings up and down a few times to mix it up. Since then, the engine has been coughing a bit but in general it works just fine, if you know how to coax it properly. Anyway, at this stage Ron seemed to lose all interest in my flight test. He pulled out some rosary beads, closed his eyes and became lost in prayer. (I didn't think anyone was a Catholic these days). I selected some nice music on the HF radio to help him relax. Meanwhile, I climbed to my normal cruising altitude of 10,500 feet. I don't normally put in a flight plan or get the weather because, as you know getting Fax access out here is a friggin' joke and the bloody weather is always 8/8 blue anyway. But since I had that near miss with a Saab 340, I might have to change me thinking on that. Anyhow, on leveling out I noticed some wild camels heading into my improved pasture. I hate bloody camels, and always carry a loaded 303 clipped inside the door of the Cessna just in case I see any of the bastards. We were too high to hit them, but as a matter of principle, I decided to have a go through the open window. Mate, when I pulled the bloody rifle out, the effect on Ron was friggin' electric. As I fired the first shot his neck lengthened by about six inches and his eyes bulged like a rabbit with myxo. He really looked as if he had been jabbed with an electric cattle prod on full power. In fact, Ron's reaction was so distracting that I lost concentration for a second and the next shot went straight through the port tyre. Ron was a bit upset about the shooting (probably one of those pinko animal lovers I guess) so I decided not to tell him about our little problem with the tyre. Shortly afterwards I located the main herd and decided to do my fighter pilot trick. Ron had gone back to praying when, in one smooth sequence, I pulled on full flaps, cut the power and started a sideslip from 10,500 feet down to 500 feet at 130 knots indicated (the last time I looked anyway) and the little needle rushing up to the red area on me ASI. What a buzz, mate! About half way through the descent I looked back in the cabin to see the calves gracefully suspended in mid air and mooing like crazy. I was going to comment on this unusual sight, but Ron looked a bit green and had rolled himself into the fetal position and was screamin' his freakin' head off. Mate, talk about being in a bloody zoo. You should've been there, it was so bloody funny! At about 500 feet I leveled out, but for some reason we continued sinking. When we reached 50 feet I applied full power but nothin' happened; no noise no nothin'. Then, luckily, I heard me instructor's voice in me head saying "carby heat, carby heat". So I pulled carby heat on and that helped quite a lot, with the engine finally regaining full power. Whew, that was really close, let me tell you! Then mate, you'll never guess what happened next! As luck would have it, at that height we flew into a massive dust cloud caused by the cattle and suddenly went I.F. bloody R, mate. You would've been bloody proud of me as I didn't panic once, not once, but I did make a mental note to consider an instrument rating as soon as me gyro is repaired (Something I've been meaning to do for a while now). Suddenly Ron's elongated neck and bulging eyes reappeared. His mouth opened wide, very wide, but no sound emerged. "Take it easy," I told him. "we'll be out of this in a minute." Sure enough, about a minute later we emerge; still straight and level and still at 50 feet. Admittedly I was surprised to notice that we were upside down, and I kept thinking to myself, "I hope Ron didn't notice that I had forgotten to set the QNH when we were taxying". This minor tribulation forced me to fly to a nearby valley in which I had to do a half roll to get upright again. By now the main herd had divided into two groups leaving a narrow strip between them. "Ah!," I thought, "there's an omen. We'll land right there." Knowing that the tyre problem demanded a slow approach, I flew a couple of steep turns with full flap. Soon the stall warning horn was blaring so loud in me ear that I cut its circuit breaker to shut it up, but by then I knew we were slow enough anyway. I turned steeply onto a 75 foot final and put her down with a real thud. Strangely enough, I had always thought you could only ground loop in a tail dragger but, as usual, I was proved wrong again! Halfway through our third loop, Ron at last recovered his sense of humour. Talk about laugh. I've never seen the likes of it. He couldn't stop. We finally rolled to a halt and I released the calves, who bolted out of the aircraft like there was no tomorrow. I then began picking clumps of dry grass. Between gut wrenching fits of laughter, Ron asked what I was doing. I explained that we had to stuff the port tyre with grass so we could fly back to the homestead. It was then that Ron really lost the plot and started running away from the aircraft. Can you believe it? The last time I saw him he was off into the distance, arms flailing in the air and still shrieking with laughter. I later heard that he had been confined to a psychiatric institution - poor bugger! Anyhow, mate, that's enough about Ron. The problem is I just got a letter from CASA withdrawing, as they put it, my privileges to fly; until I have undergone a complete pilot training course again and undertaken another flight proficiency test. Now I admit that I made a mistake in taxiing over the wheel chock and not setting the QNH using strip elevation, but I can't see what else I did that was so bloody bad that they have to withdraw me flamin' license. Can you? Best regards Scotty :ah_oh:

Al...great photo. My in laws use to live in Mt Buffalo up to about 3 years ago and driving between Myrtleford and their farm I use to see a Blue coloured, if I remember correctly, Trike parked in the field and flying around on occasions. Not you? Scotty :big_grin: