onetrack

....far-reaching. The daytime Aurora added to the hot Qld sun faded the curtains in Qld, and the Tasmanians couldn't get over how much brighter daylight was in Tasmania, thanks to the extra light adding to the dull Tasmanian midday sun. The social media pages filled with complaints and abuse as to who was responsible for this major cyclic stuff-up, and what needed to be done about it. Turbo saw the increasing level of complaints and realised there was an urgent need for him to return to Tasmania to switch off the Aurora - not a trip he ever looked forward to, because flying to Tasmania was like going back 70 years in time, to the era when even Victoria was......

If you've ever pulled a steam gauge apart and tried to fix it, you would probably be aware the average steam gauge has relatively cheap and poor construction, and I wouldn't trust them to any serious level, either. Of course, I'm not talking about "proper" certified aviation gauges built to an expensive standard and which have been QC'ed to the nth degree. But a lot of RA flyers appear to be reliant on automotive steam gauges, and the fact that the vast majority of these are manufactured in locations such as China, India, and Mexico, should be enough warning to not become 100% reliant on them. I doubt whether glass screens are commonly failure-prone, I would expect the bigger problem with them is wiring and connector faults.

The 4 MA's in the last 12 months may be a cluster - but over a 12 month period, I'm not so sure it could be called a cluster. Over a much shorter time frame - Yes. However, operating aircraft is all about following procedures strictly and rigidly, and MA's only occur when failures to adhere to strict procedures, or to understand set or agreed procedures, happen. For high hour pilots to ignore or fail to follow procedures, resulting in MA's, shows either complacency, or bad habits becoming regular habits. Either way, there appears to be a serious adverse trend developing, that if not addressed and arrested, can only lead to more MA's.

Is it not feasible to manufacture these trim panels using 3D printing? 3D printing processes and machines are advancing very rapidly in capabilities. https://formlabs.com/asia/3d-printers/fuse-1

Does this now mean the aircraft will need to be renamed a MaZenith, or a ZeniMaz?

That may be all very well, but what is needed is regular examination of how effective, cost-effective, and functional, various tight controls of the population are - especially long after the situation that led to those (often excessively) tight controls, has changed greatly. One could draw a comparison between the COVID-19 strict controls and the ASIC card controls. Both were introduced when current events were in need of serious action to curb an outbreak that threatened the fabric of our civil society. With regard to COVID-19, it was a rampant spread of a disease that needed serious action taken to limit population movement and thus try to control major outbreaks of disease. With regard to the ASIC card, it was in response to an outbreak of extremist Islamic terrorism that caused the 9/11 event, and which terrorist actions threatened all aviation activity worldwide, where security was non-existent. Now that Islamic terrorism and the groups that promoted it have largely been neutered by both war actions, and the killing and jailing of the vast majority of its promoters, it must to time to re-assess the threats posed to aviation, and to wider society, from that Islamic terrorism threat - due to a massive change in circumstances surrounding the size of the current threat, as compared to 20+ years ago.

I was under the impression they were doing an air-to-air photo shoot? Why are we having so many mid-airs involving pilots with outstanding abilities, experience, and huge hours in their logbook? 4 MA's in the last 12 mths? Something is seriously wrong here.

But ... but ... but ...... The ASIC card is supposed to identify you as a verified person, who has no malicious intent at aviation facilities? So, if you have an ASIC card, CASA doesn't believe what it says? You couldn't make this up, "Yes Minister" would have a ball with this card scenario.

.....the massive hack into the Heineken website, which MS had organised the website security for - whereby the hackers placed a fraudulent order for 3,000,000 cans of Heineken beer to be delivered to a remote island. It was only after the delivery was done, (at huge cost to Heineken) that the payment was found to be fraudulent, and the listed recipient of the beer, named as "Loxie" on the manifest, could not be found - and in fact, appeared to be a fictitious character from some long-running story on a little-known aviation forum reportedly located in Australia. Of course, when the fraud was discovered, and Heineken set out to recover the beer, it was all gone! - apparently flown out (avref) overnight in a clandestine operation. Immediate Interpol investigations were to be launched into the fraud, and there was specially-targetted law-enforcement interest in also identifying and exposing numerous other shady characters, who could found on the aviation website story - and who used strange forum names, and claimed special knowledge, and amazing powers - and who also declared they had friendships with high-ranking and rich and powerful people. It was becoming obvious this obscure website and long-running story was possibly all a front, for a multitude of players who were like chameleons, with an ability to change positions, relationships, and powers, in an instant - all of these being signs that not only was the long-running story outrageously unbelievable, but that it was being used for........ (And below, my friends, we have the now-sad story of MS bragging about how secure the Heineken site was - before the beer hackers sneaked in ......) https://customers.microsoft.com/en-us/story/1476165856303568991-heineken-consumer-goods-microsoft-security?culture=fi-fi&country=fi

A major lack of Govt handouts to develop industry and ideas. America is the country at the forefront of innovation, technological development and excellence, because the U.S. Govt pours trillions into private R&D, innovation and ideas, subsidises new factories, and hands out grants by the billions for anyone with good ideas. There's actually an entire U.S. Govt website dedicated to the huge range of U.S. Govt Grants. Here's just one U.S. agency handing out mega-millions for R&D. https://www.nsf.gov/ Meantimes, Australia pours billions into important things like the vastly inflated property market, more skyscrapers on the Gold Coast, the Aboriginal "industry", and massive sports stadiums - sells all our vital raw materials (including energy) at low cost using imported equipment, and lets other countries manufacture everything for us. Hopefully, I won't be around when the piper calls the tune, as eventually will happen.

I was under the impression that anyone airside of the security perimeter fence HAD to have an ASIC card, no exceptions. You mean to say, a planeload of armed-to-the-teeth Islamic terrorists could fly in and land, and shoot up and take over an airport, without all of them being fully compliant with ASIC cards?? Nahh, couldn't possibly happen, that's too far fetched. Like something out of that fictitious "Entebbe" film!

Spacey, I doubt very much whether there's any worthwhile level of auto-rotation available from those small propellors - and the AMSL Aero VERTIIA uses propellors, not rotors. A helicopter rotor is built as a "rotary wing", with wing design and lift ability in the rotor blades - those VERTIIA propellors have little lift ability. Plus, AMSL Aero are a "start-up company" with zero track record in aircraft design. They're a couple with a glitzy website, they're full of ideas, and they just want 50 billionaire investors to give them lots of money so they can experiment with their fancy-looking ideas for the next 20 years. Their website is very short on engineering principles and design as regards the wings and motive power, just big on the aircraft cabin design "potential". There's hundreds of these "revolutionary aircraft" websites in existence, they all have one major feature - they still need another 20 years and 2 billion dollars to convert their ideas into viable working products. https://www.vertiia.com/

There have been more than one SB or AD with regard to the Cessna seat locks and seat rails. Cessna introduced the Pilot Secondary Seat Stop, P/No SK210-174B, which should have been fitted to all applicable Cessnas by now. https://www.casa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-09/airworthiness-bulletin-25-032-cessna-pilot-seat-track-locking-pre-flight-check-maintenance-and-mod-status https://the195factory.com/products/sk210-174b-pilot-secondary-seat-stop

Scott Reeman, a LifeFlight Rescue Aircrew Officer, said the plane was coming in to land on the private airstrip and “ended up somersaulting and crashing into a tree”. “It clipped a palm tree in a house yard while it was airborne and then cartwheeled end-to-end across the yard and clipped another tree,” he said. The pair were able to get themselves out of the wreckage, Reeman said. https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/347798 The wreckage of the light plane that crashed in a Sunshine Coast backyard. CREDIT:RACQ LIFEFLIGHT

.......the positioning of spies close to the Khyber leaders homes. The spies soon reported back that sheep were also needed, because anytime the spies went near the Khybers homes on spying missions, the Kelpies raced out and rounded them up, thus seriously compromising their position. Very soon, a semi-trailer load of Merinos arrived at the spies designated unloading location, and then came the problem of......

That may be the case with some "alternative" dubious additives, but MMT has an excellent track record as a fuel additive over a generation or more, enough time to find any problems. The car manufacturers wouldn't approve additives simply because they claimed they'd damage catalytic converters. No CC, no problem.

.....the final, excoriatingly painful ending to the Kelpie Suicide Pack Scheme (KSPS for short - and a natty, short acronym is always necessary for every programme devised) came when Turbo pressed the button - and the switch broke. The simple reason behind the switch breakage was simply due to excessive enthusiasm on the part of one of the Turbine Inc accountants, who found he could save 3c on each switch purchased, if he went with a little-known Chinese switch-manufacturing operation, Fuk Yu Tu Manufacturing Enterprises. It was a mind-numbing blow to the KSPS programme when it was found, that not just a few switches broke, when tested - EVERY switch broke, when tested. Turbo was furious and demanded that.........

I don't understand why a valve seat recession protection additive wasn't used by the flight school. MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl) is a Manganese-based fuel additive that provides excellent protection against valve seat recession - and it boosts the octane rating of the fuel by 2 or 3 numbers at the same time. In addition, MMT has been in use in Canada for over 40 years, with no detrimental health or environmental effects. Manganese is a naturally occurring element in Nature and is needed in trace levels by plant life to improve nutrient uptake. In the U.S., Millers VSP additive is readily available, and I'm sure a big flight school could have acquired the product at a discounted price for bulk purchases.

....they got to the Lebanese South Western Sydney suburbs, the bus was hijacked, the passengers all robbed at gunpoint, new plates and a new VIN were installed on the bus, the speedo was rejigged, and it was rebirthed as a 2019 model with low kms, for sale on Farcebook at an exceptionally good price, cash only. The Khybers were stunned. They thought this kind of thing only happened in the high-altitude passes of Islaministan. "I guess we should consider ourselves lucky we weren't the victims of a bomb chucker!", one said, as they ruefully thought collectively about their fatal mistake of driving through South West Sydney after dark, without a 15-strong motorcycle escort armed with AK-47's, and blacked out windows. "Don't worry", said their leader, Abdul-Hakim, "At least we've still got our sandals!" .... but no sooner had he spoken, than a......

Was that a Cat III landing?

You cannot argue that the ASIC card is a service that you're being forced to purchase against your will. The Govt introduced Aviation Security legislation nearly 20 years ago, and you are obliged as an Australian resident to abide by those laws under threat of penalty - no different to the road traffic laws you're obliged to obey every day. The ASIC card is essentially a low-level identity card which is supposed have background security checks done on you, before it is issued. There is a similar card for Ports, the MSIC card, I cannot step into a Port restricted area without one. Australia's security laws and regulations are pretty stringent, and will remain so for a long time to come. It's not just Islamic nutters intent on more 9/11's, that the security laws and regulations are attempting to stop, the laws and regulations cover a very wide range of "bad actors", which includes drug smugglers, quarantine evaders, in fact anyone intent on harming Australians in any way, and intent on disrupting our civil society. The system is far from perfect, and it certainly is not going to stop the occasional person with unnoticed and unreported mental health problems from causing harm to innocent civilians, but it's far better than the "Wild West" systems of the numerous 3rd world countries. There's nothing to stop you writing to the relevant Minister asking for anomalies in the ASIC card regulations and their application, to be addressed and/or updated. The Act - http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/atsa2004348/ The Regulations - http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/atsr2005457/

Google "vacuum brake bleeder" and make your selection from a wide range of choices. They're nearly all Chinese, anyway, so no need to pay $139.99 for Supercheaps ripoff - buy a $20 one off eBay, they come complete with hand vacuum pump and vacuum gauge and case.

Hi Fabio - This forum uses the English language as the standard format. If you wish to receive answers to your question about the Jabiru engine, you need to write your posts in English. With regards to Jabiru "bushings", we need to know precisely which bushings you are referring to, as "bushings" is a common term that includes numerous but different parts.

I'm not a lawyer, but I believe trying to successfully sue CASA is akin to trying to herd cats. Just look at the number of aggrieved people who have tried - and failed. CASA can always deflect the blame onto the pilot, the LAME, or the AOC holder, for failing to follow precisely-delineated CASA procedures and regulations. Julie Black, the widow of pilot David Black, tried to sue CASA for being negligent over airworthiness directives, and CASA conveniently settled out of court, thus avoiding major court scrutiny. However, the judge in her case was scathing over the "organisational incompetence of CASA" with regard to their performance in overseeing the safety of the Dromader David Black was flying. In another case, Eagle VS CASA, a pilot tried to sue CASA for unreasonable delays in approving his medical. His case failed, as the judge declared that safety took priority over bureaucratic speediness and claimed financial losses, to anyone under CASA's control.

The aircraft was doing fire-mapping. Now, I'm not privy to what equipment they had on board, but obviously it was imaging equipment of some kind. When you're aerial mapping, many a time there's a requirement for variations in the mapping level, mapping speed, and direction, according to the level of detail required, the vegetation types, burnt VS unburnt areas, etc, etc. All these requirements often demand unusual flight profiles, as compared from the regular aviating style, of just getting from point A to point B in quick smart time. So, accordingly, I wouldn't read too much into the substantial variations in altitude and speed at this point in time - and certainly not until we get some information about how scattered the wreckage is. https://www.bushfirefacts.org/fire-maps.html