onetrack

It is the design that will eventually rule. Why buy a fixed size and style battery that is a major construction part of your vehicle, when you could have the choice of sizes and styles of batteries, according to your requirements or needs? With a swappable battery, there will be no more having to scrap your EV, simply because the battery is at the end of its life. Buying an EV with a fixed inbuilt battery is like buying a BBQ with a fixed inbuilt gas bottle, and the BBQ becomes worthless when the bottle become out of date.

It's incredible what the machining abilities are, of the new types of cutting tips. Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) coatings have revolutionised machining with their ability to cut like diamond-tipped tools without the level of breakage that DTT's suffer from. Cylindrical grinders have become obsolete today, as you can now acquire tips that will machine chrome like butter.

Link to the auction - https://www.slatteryauctions.com.au/auction-catalogue/AN-1-4-1-04854

"Foot impaired"?? He was a totally legless double amputee, not just "foot impaired"!!

It appears so - but the reverse is the case - were forged, now billet. The article says "Jabiru has now reverted to machining crankshafts from imported (solid) billets". The suspect crankshafts were forged. It's a curious decision, because I was always under the impression forged crankshafts were superior, with a better grain flow in the metal, leading to improved strength and durability and better resistance to cracking. Crankshafts machined from solid billets mean the metal grain is cut and discontinuous, caused by the machining, and as a result are generally regarded as weaker. I would suspect the faulty forged crankshafts have been produced from a substandard metal that either failed to meet specifications, or it contained internal flaws - or it was heat-treated and tempered improperly. I would opine that Jabiru have taken over direct control of the crankshaft manufacturing, possibly doing the machining in-house, whereas previously, it's likely the forging was outsourced and therefore less ability for Jabiru to keep control of product quality. Ongoing and constant checks are very necessary in repeated production, as errors can creep in, resulting in large-scale disasters. Even robotic manufacturing is not immune, someone has to keep a watch on the robotics parameters to ensure they don't move from their settings.

My personal opinion is that any "flat-tyre-fix-in-a-can" is a substandard, very temporary repair at best. The only sure way to repair flat tyres is disassembly and repair with vulcanised or adhesive-type patches.

It appears the crankshaft design has been fine, up until this particular batch - so the problem is in the batch of crankshafts, not in the crankshaft design.

It appears the recall is being managed very well, with the 6 cyl engines most at risk being repaired first, and the remaining engines dealt with as time and ability permits. As the new crankshafts are being supplied at no cost to owners, I would think this was a very worthy and laudable exercise. Remember, Jabiru still have an aircraft manufacturing operation to support and keep in production - replacing faulty crankshafts is something that must be managed, so it doesn't interfere excessively with the manufacturing side of the business. The 6 cyl engines affected were built April 2017 and June 2024. Jabiru announces SB re crankshaft replacement - https://www.australianflying.com.au/recreational/jabiru-issues-service-bulletin-for-crankshafts#:~:text=Jabiru Aircraft last week issued,April 2017 and June 2024.

......a big, gaily-decorated bus to run the mini-skirted miners around the aerodrome, and to carry the multitude of aircraft spares needed for their equally-diverse range of outrageous aerobatic aircraft, some of which were obviously very "girly", which led to jeers from the.........

Doesn't anyone manufacture "thornproof" tyres for aircraft? When I was a young teenager, riding a bike everywhere, "double-gees" (or "three-cornered jacks") were a curse to us for causing flat tyres, as they were in sizeable quantities in numerous places. But Dunlop made the "Thornproof" bike tyre (specifically because of the aforementioned seeds, I believe, from the early 1900's) - which tyres I bought, and they were a Godsend, no more flats from spikey plant seeds! - and they were very effective at resisting punctures from other sharp objects, too. The Americans produce a bike tyre liner called "Mr Tuffy", and this liner is effective at resisting flats from spikey plant seeds. Surely, someone has produced a liner for small aircraft tyres to improve puncture resistance? The tyre repairers hate the "Fix-a-flat", "Tyre Goo", and other puncture-curing liquid products, because they make such a mess, and make tyre repairs so much more difficult to carry out.

It's been a long time since gelignite was manufactured, Turbo! You obviously haven't blown out stumps for at least 40 years! Nowadays, using explosives for stump removal is not exactly an "approved purpose", there's any amount of earthmoving equipment will do the same thing, without breaking all the windows in neighbouring houses!

Despite Skippys regular praise of Hengst inline fuel filters, I have found from long experience (60 years of fixing mechanical things), that those small inline plastic housing filters containing cellulose-treated paper as the filtering medium, are a prime source of fuel flow restriction and blockage. Even a partially-plugged inline filter increases the load on a fuel pump and shortens its life. Remember, these little filters are the cheapest filter you can purchase, and it's hard to find specifications on them as regards construction materials, because they are cheap, and the lowest level of filtering you can acquire. A fine mesh screen filter is a preferred choice for primary inline fuel filtering. https://www.industrialspec.com/about-us/blog/detail/screen-versus-paper-small-engine-fuel-filters/

Sharp eyes, there, Nev. You're correct, the Packard diesel was long ago scrapped and a buyer from Argentina fitted a Wright Whirlwind. That engine was lost along the way and the engineless airframe sold back to a buyer in the U.S. in 1989. That owner passed away before any restoration work could be carried out, and the sad remains of the aircraft only just escaped being dumped. Another American purchaser bought the remains and rebuilt the aircraft completely and fitted a Wright R-975. I have seen photos of complete Packard DR-980 aircraft diesel radials, some have survived, but it appears none are fitted to aircraft. https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/packard-dr-980-radial-9-engine/nasm_A19710893000

Interesting to see the black Buhl running a Packard diesel radial. I believe this aircraft was purchased by Packard to be used as the "show machine" for their Packard DR-980 diesel. Sadly, the designer of the DR-980, one Capt L.M. Woolson, was killed in an air crash in April 1930, and coupled with the onset of the Great Depression, work on further development of the DR-980 ceased immediately. It could have been a different story for aircraft diesel engine development, if Woolson had survived, and the Great Depression had not interfered. https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-1929-buhl-air-sedan-was-a-private-plane-for-packard-now-it-s-for-sale-201213.html#:~:text=This 1929 Buhl Air Sedan,Now it's for Sale - autoevolution

........a dress shop, so he can match his dress to the snakeskin boots he "acquired". Now, it's not generally well known, but Cappy is actually a top-level cross-dresser, making Peter Wherrett look like an amateur, when it comes to cross-dressing. However, Cappy started to become really stressed out when he couldn't find a decent dress shop in Broken Hill because............

I'd never get that close to the limit with baggage today. I learnt my lesson about 20-odd years ago, I packed a set of car coil springs in my bag and got overweight, so I had to repack my bag, and transfer weight to my partners bag, in the airport. They probably wouldn't allow that today. Besides, I've now learned how to travel light, and buy what I find I need when I get there.

News media article - https://au.news.yahoo.com/chopper-crash-near-holiday-hotspot-041137433.html

Wow!! What a great shot! Fancy getting such a good photo of an Mi-26, right after it's just given birth!!

.......keskin boots! I've left them in my unattended and unlocked car! I'll have to get back there quickly and ensure that...........

It's interesting that the above-mentioned crash happened during training. Training crashes seem to be much higher in helicopters than in fixed wing aircraft, I believe it has a lot to do with students having difficulty developing the unique skills set and control sensitivity, that's required to fly a helicopter. This company insists helicopters are safer than fixed wing aircraft - but they would say that, wouldn't they? - they're a helicopter company! https://www.helicopterexpress.com/blog/helicopter-safety#:~:text=Myth %231: Helicopters Are More,operations%2C and disaster relief efforts.

.......away the charge of "urinating in public". Bluey had to think fast. He said, "See that bloke loading up that ute! He's stealing all that stuff from the pub!" Const Doubtfire immediately released her iron grip on Bluey and marched over to Turbo with a grim look on her face. But, once she got a clear view of Turbo's face, her expression changed to one of.........

The wreck is black and white. The white sections (the upper structure) were badly crushed and dislodged when the helicopter landed upside down in the River, thus leaving only the black lower portions mostly intact.

Back to the Hydrogen Dream - below is a very good and a very comprehensive (and lengthy) article outlining the near-total failure of the Hydrogen Dream, in Public Transport, in the EU. Essentially, only a couple of Hydrogen Transport schemes remain in operation, and they are only "viable" (and I use the word loosely), because of a ready supply of waste hydrogen from industrial processes in nearby major industrial zones. Even at that, the Hydrogen buses are still more expensive overall than battery-electric buses. An interesting point is the amount of hydrogen loss caused by leakage. It's around 1%, all the time - from tanks, from vehicles, from everywhere H2 is made or transported or contained. That's quite a bit of loss as compared to fossil fuels loss. Even taking into account ships sinking, vehicle crashes, and pipeline failures, I wouldn't think that fossil fuels losses or wastage would come anywhere near 1% of the total volume extracted and transported and used. The bottom line is, the battery-electric bus is making great strides into the public transport realm, and hydrogen is becoming a more distant dream each passing year. https://cleantechnica.com/2025/04/14/hydrogen-vs-battery-buses-a-european-transit-reality-check/

After having had many people try to kill me, in dozens of different ways, including people shooting at me (none of them succeeded!), I guess you could say, I'm a little risk-averse!

Well, if the ever-suspicious "cash crop" growers don't get you in your ultralight, then the hunters will! https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/hunter-pleads-guilty-to-shooting-ultralight-pilot/