PaulN

Hey Charly, Welcome to the forum family. Nice to see another Lake Macquarie flyer ... well I used to live at Warners Bay but been in the Snowy Mtns since 1988 and soon to move to Port Macquarie. My wife and I have lots of relis and friends in the N'cle area and like flying in when we get the chance. Can't wait for Belmont to open again. We usually fly in to Wallsend, a nice little strip but just a bit out of the way for our usual contacts. When do you think Belmont will be available to fly into? Paul

Mike, I've searched all over the WAC for strips within reasonable distance from Shepp but can't find anything that looks remotely like this ... I think remote might be a key description for this one, it looks very quiet and with no infrastructure. Is it a farm strip? You say an early morning flight so shadows appear to indicate a rwy in NNE/SSW ish profile and looks like windsock is east side of middle. Any more clues mate? Paul

Hi Tvaner, I tried to open your attachment but only got this message ... Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator I've not seen pics posted like this before. What's different? Paul

D'oh!!

G'day Jah, I realise Redhead is not exactly a suburb of Sydney but why not make contact with the crew at Airborne to see who they might recommend? After all trikes are their thing. http://www.airborne.com.au/pages/home_n.cfm Cheers, Paul

Hi Twincom, Welcome, good to see you here. May I ask? It would appear you're a low hours flyer, that is, not logging 100s of hours annually. You've had the twin long enough now to know its costs and you have no doubt projected other expected costs. Just how many hours PA do you fly her and what do you calculate to be your hourly cost? I'm interested in seeing a comparison between your twin and an RA-Aus lightie. Paul

You may not know that many non-living things have a gender; for example: 1. Ziploc Bags -- are Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them. 2. Copiers -- are Female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm them up again. It's an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can wreak havoc if the wrong buttons are pushed. 3. Tires -- are Male, because they go bald and are often over-inflated. 4. Sponges -- are Female, because they're soft, squeezable and retain water. 5. Hot Air Balloons -- are Male, because, to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under them, and of course, there's the hot air thing. 6. Web Pages -- are Female, because they're always getting hit on. 7. Subways -- are Male, because they use the same old lines to pick people up. 8. Hourglasses -- are Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom. 9. Hammers -- are Male, because they haven't changed much over the last 5,000 years, but are handy to have around. 10. Remote Controls -- are Female...Ha! You thought they'd be male. However, consider this -- it gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying.

Hi Mike, Hope you don't mind, I reworked your photo a little to make it more viewable. I've done my bit, now your turn ... any hints? It looks way too quiet for Shepp :big_grin:. Paul

Yeah, too easy. How did you get onto it so quickly? I think I'll have to go flying somewhere interesting soon to get some more pics. Paul

Hey Mike, can you make the picture bigger? I can't make out the strip ;). Paul

And I Reckon you're right. Onya Case ;). OK, what's this one?

;) for the forum and for contributions like this one ... we all learn from stuff like this. Thanks Motzartmerv for sharing it and to everyone who contributed. Paul

Oh no, I'm undone. What to do? I don't know 144,000 people. Please fwd me your name and email, quick ... I hate fleas.:confused:

Love the video Matt, that's a gem to keep ;). I have to ask though, how's having the most fun Molly or Aunty Matilda? Paul

Just a couple of thoughts Mazda. 1. Ian had comms problems in his ex CTsw recently which proved allusive until someone put him onto a very simple fix. Over to you Ian ... 2. Do you have a good earth strap on your engine mount frame as well as the engine block? I've heard that if this is missing our inefficient you can get radio noise. Paul

Thanks to everyone for the tips. I finally got back out to the airport today to fiddle with this problem. As I had already done during our trip while stopped over at Yarram, I removed the pitot line from the AI and blew back with no result. Then applied compressed air (only gentle pressure, thanks for the heads-up J430), still no result. Next I removed the metal pitot tube from the wing and blew through with good air flow. A careful look inside the metal tube revealed a bug had built some kind of web/nest. It appears that on our arrival at Launy a bug must have slipped in before we managed to fit the cover then while parked for that couple of days it built its cosy little home. All is well now and I'm happy again. Thanks ;) Paul

As expected, fantastic report and top pics guys, thanks. The trip over Bass St is a great experience, isn't it? On our way over I was wishing we had more time so that we might meet up with you while over there (see a "A Special Christmas"). As it turns out it was just as well we came back when we did, no more than an hour after leaving Cooma airport when we got home, I collapsed into a heap with some virus and still struggling to get over it. Cheers, Paul

Yep, 08/26 with xstrips 01/19 and 13/31. This one should be a lot easier but I bet no-one will get it before next year. Paul

No, I'm not a knowledgable person but I'll stick my neck out. The advice I have been given is that the Rotax gains no start-up benefit from pre-start hand cranking. The only need for hand cranking is during pre-flight checks. For a correct indication of oil level in the tank one should hand crank around 3 to 5 turns until you hear the oil tank gurgle ("burping") to ensure all of the oil is pumped back to the tank before reading the dip stick. From experience I have found the only must do's (must have's) for efficient starting in all conditions is a good sprag clutch, heavy duty starter and a good battery. Until I recently replaced all three of these I used to have all sorts of issues getting the Rotax to wind over and fire up, especially when cold. Now she fires up with just a touch of the start button every time ;). Hope this helps, Paul

Technically speaking, no . Cape Barren Island it is ;). Now let's see how good your research is, what are the rwy numbers?

Santa has indeed been especially kind this year ... you must have been an especially good boy. CONGRATULATIONS and wishing for you many happy hours of safe flying. Paul

No. Further south. Now that should help Terry, it's gotta be in either Tasmania or Antarctica .

No. Further south than that.

Bogus or not, each story is based in the US so all are quite believable ;). Paul

Terry, at this early stage let's just say this strip is south of Cooma (YCOM), any more and it would be a give-away. Paul