JG3

Another Savannah in Africa

 

 

 

Of course this was just an airshow showoff stunt gone wrong, but is a really good lesson of how NOT to do STOL Ops.

 

At a real STOL landing out in the bush there'll be no windsock and probably no indication at all of the wind down there, and if such a short landing is required then probably trees or steep terrain close in that will make the airflow even more unsettled. So the approach should be flying in at a safe margin, slip down behind any obstacle on approach, and only pull back to stall right close to the ground, always with the throttle hand primed for a blast of power to go around....

 

The video shows that the initial wing drop wasn't all that radical, and there was still plenty of height to pick up that wing with a blast of power, left rudder, and ease the stick. With those inputs that excellent light aircraft would recover instantly and be flying again.

 

But the way that the wing yaws backward and downward sure looks like the classic mistake of trying to pick up a stalled wing with aileron....

 

Once again, a really good lesson of how NOT to fly STOLOps.....

 

 

May. Anticlockwise. The tropical 'wet' is finished, but foliage still green. Temps moderate. Winds favorable.

 

 

http://www.aeroconversions.com/[/url]

Some very incautious flying in there..... Long, low approaches over water and the industrial estate. If an engine failure nowhere to go.... And not necessary, as the last approach demonstrated, with a steep approach from altitude, and could always make the runway if engine stopped....

The Vintage Air Experience Fly-In at Archer Falls is also this weekend.....

 

 

Does anyone know what difference if any between the 170C wing and the 170SP sold in the USA???

 

JG

 

 

The police wont agree with you Pete. If it looks like a gun, has been made to resemble a gun regardless of whether or not it fires a projectile then its considered a prohibited weapon in most states and jail/hefty fines apply. .

A likely way to commit suicide by justifiable police reaction.....

 

 

One aircraft returning south from Old Station along the coast at altitude reported 45kt headwind at one stage.....

 

 

Brilliant. One day might overlay with ozrunways or similar?

Good idea!

I've just discovered another feature especially for pilots. In the search box just enter the airfield designations for the route you want to plan. i.e.- Planning for Caboolture to Old Station, enter YCAB YGLA (with a space between them) and you get this graphic and forecast:

 

https://www.windyty.com/?950h,2015-05-23-00,-25.487,152.103,7

 

This link doesn't show the track and the distance, but that comes up if you type in the start and stop airfields.

 

Click the 'Play' sign in the lower left or click on any day to see how the wind is forecast to change over the coming days. It's impressive!

 

JG

 

 

That illustrates the wind conditions better than the BOM weather radar.OME

Yeh, and graphics are a heck of a lot easier than the coded jiberish in those aviation forecasts....

 

 

Here's a wind/weather map that I find really fascinating and useful. Check different altitudes for head/tail winds. Different overlays for cloud, rain, even snow, etc.

 

https://www.windyty.com/?950h,-25.760,129.902,4

 

Particularly useful is the forecast section. Just type a location in the search box and it gives a 5 day forecast. Particularly interesting is the cloud graphic. This is the forecast for Old Station this weekend.....

 

https://www.windyty.com/spot/location/-23.843/151.256/name/Gladstone?950h,-23.842,152.272,9

 

Note the 15-20kt SE on Sunday......

 

JG

 

 

The article in the last mag, 'Seeing the USA from Above', missed including a link to the blog with the photos and the full story. And there are some pretty good photos of that spectacular scenery over there....

 

Come along for the ride at http://jgflyingroadtrip2014.blogspot.com.au/

 

JG

 

 

This is how I made a sun visor for my Savannah. Works really well, and wouldn't do without it.

 

http://www.stolspeed.com/savannah-visor

 

 

I wonder how they cool that rotor with the hot exhaust gas flowing through it.....

 

 

Spent a lot of time on this for working alone processs.SPOT is a good service BUT its a subscripton to US based company, plenty can go wrong

EPIRB is direct service to AMSA and by far the most reliable location system.

 

Need to use the GPS system models for best results

 

IOs etc systems and Spot are great backups but EPIRB is the backbone of SAR systems

 

How about using A SARTIME, free, simple and you can log whatever track you have planned. Can alter over radio on flight or mobile.

The advantage of carrying a SPOT as well as an EPIRB is that there is provision in the SPOT for three levels of urgency. I have mine set up with the lowest level message as "All OK" for marking my position when all is well but I just want to notify of my present position to selected friends. The second level message is "Stranded but uninjured" for when I have landed out and damaged the gear such that I can't take off again. That message only goes to selected persons who I trust to organize local assistance. The third level message is "Injured need urgent assistance". That message goes to the selected friends as well as to SPOT headquarters who organize formal emergency response. I sure like to have those options so don't have to trigger the EPIRB and call in the cavalry for a non-injured stranding. There is also an option, at extra subscription cost, to automatically leave a 'breadcrumb' track of positions every few minutes.

 

SPOT does work in OZ. A fella at our airfield accidentally pushed the emergency button when he just wanted to send the OK message to his wife. Within an hour the police arrived!

 

SPOT uses a different satellite system than the EPIRB so not the same coverage, but it's good to have both options.

 

JG

 

 

Hi I wanted to ask if there are any pilots who fly out of caboolture, And if so do you think most pilots use the fly neighborly Rule in that area . meaning heading feet odds evens and so on.

Don't count on it..... Busy airspace on weekends..... Keep your eyes open and use your radio.....

 

JG

 

 

Narromine Phoenix Easter Fly-In

 

The Narromine Fly-Ins of old were the best by far that I have ever attended, so sure would like to see them grow again... A lot of fond memories of times at Narromine.....

 

Narromine is such a great place, and has an excellent local supportive atmosphere...... Midway between Brisbane and Melbourne, so is the preferred overnight stop when we fly that route..... Convenient accommodation right at the field, and a short walk to the pubs in town unless the aero club is open...

 

Sure hoping that enough flyers will turn up to make it a growing success once again.....

 

I was really looking forward to going this year to help support that effort, but serious family matters have taken priority... And unfortunately two mates from SE Qld who were also planning to go have encountered family and medical priorities.... Bummer......

 

JG

 

 

I stayed at Cooberpedy on the way to the Rock.Plenty of accomodation at reasonable prices,

Give yourself a bit of time to have a look around, worth it IMHO.

 

Just in case you are not aware, Ayes Rock requires payment etc. prior.

 

Enjoy your trip

 

PHIL.

Does Coober Pedy have a taxi now?? Didn't when I was there last time, long way to town. Interesting underground motels. Famous pizza restaurant.

 

Curtain Springs is an ideal base for the 'Rock'. Right price, friendly atmosphere, not so upmarket as Uluru, near enough but not too near...

 

JG

 

 

Many that go there stay there and not because they like it. Nev

I remember reading a tourist guide about the 'Lake', saying that an aircraft got stuck there in the 60's, and is now "...a small salt-encrusted island.." Anyone tempted to try a landing out there needs to remember that image. I once watched a STOL aircraft try a touch and go on the surface, but broke through and started making deep tracks as the mud got hold. Fortunately he had enough power 100hp Rotax and a good high lift wing (Zenith 701) and a light load, but just barely managed to pull free......... It was a very close call, and a very tense time, with probably just as much of a mess in his shorts as the mud below....

Actually, I have landed out in the middle of Lake Eyre in a Beaver ultralight many years ago. But that was only after first walking out 4 hours under a full moon, and identifying a solid hard salt pan and marking it with my GPS. That spot was just as hard a concrete, as I found when I slept out there the rest of the night without a mattress.... Had to skirt around lots of soft muddy spots that looked just the same from the air but would have been traps for the unwary. Flew out the next morning and landed on that absolutely smooth surface, Waa-Hoo!

 

JG

 

 

...or is it "to much structure pushing the flyers out"...spacesailor

Exactly!

 

JG

 

 

Great, but is solar a realistic alternative for aircraft?

The Wright Flyer wasn't a realistic product at the time of it's first flight..... Standby to watch developments....

 

 

we ship over a billion tonnes of minerals a year. A year

Oh dear, that might put the earth out of balance and into a wobble.......

 

 

I agree Ultralights ... I think 40,000 people a year / yr visit the old mouldy 747 at Longreach ... Try telling the folk up there what a waste of time it's acquisition was .

The 747 at Longreach didn't look mouldy the last time I saw it several years ago. Maybe exterior paint will suffer in the tropical sun, but it's a really interesting display to get up close to and inside. I found that crawling around inside and getting a close look at all the control cables and wiring and complexity was really interesting. More so than the museum which is just like any other museum with 'no-touch' objects on display....

 

JG

 

 

Narromine council lost interest.Temora offered more

Valuable few organisers lived at Temora

 

Interesting fact Narrromine lost the Lowy air museum too, was slated to be there but council uselessness prevailed.

 

Need to put out more than a tender if you want people to value what you have on offer

But the fact is that the Fly-Ins at Narromine were very successful and popular, 200+ aircraft attending.

 

When it moved to Temora it declined until failing completely.....