onetrack

Facthunter, how did Fokker get around the major issue of moisture, and subsequent corrosion in the F27 pneumatic system? They must have had some type of exceptionally-effective air-drier? In mining, pneumatic systems are used a lot, to operate air rams that open and close ore chute doors, and other actuation devices. They're a PIA to work with, with corrosion being a major problem, despite air driers being used.

.....various disconcerting diseases are rampant in Vicmanistan, but totally absent in W.A. - obviously thanks to the good border control work set in place by Marky McGowan. West Australians are keenly observing, that Vicmanistan now harbours diseases and pests such as Queensland Fruit Fly, Avian Flu, Tomato brown rugose fruit virus, Political Foot-in-Mouth Disease, Support-your-local-machete-carrying-criminal-immigrant Disease, ASIC-card Disease (whereby those afflicted, feel the need to purchase an ASIC card, whether they need it or not), and..........

Moneybox, it's called "Duty of Care" and the concept has always been in our law statutes, but its principles were broadened in a trial held in 1932 (Donoghue v Stevenson). In essence, the RAA Ltd issue is not so much whether Matt Farrell should have flown that day, it's about whether RAA Ltd was criminally negligent in issuing an RPC to a pilot with reportedly inadequate training and flight hours. The individuals in RAA Ltd made the erroneous decision that flight hours in a paraglider could be counted towards the issuance of an RPC. The interpretation by RAA Ltd people of the aviation rules in this area has to be determined as to whether it was either simple misinterpretation, or criminal negligence, that led to an inexperienced and aggressively overconfident pilot killing himself. I don't believe the issue is as clear cut as some suppose, and it takes a lot of argument and dissection of defendants and witnesses statements in court, to determine the truth behind the actions of RAA Ltd in issuing the RPC - and finding accordingly, whether criminality was involved or not, by either one or more persons in RAA Ltd. Naturally, there will be plenty of sharp lawyers out there willing to take the case on, if the DPP determine that a charge, or charges, of criminality against RAA Ltd employees can be sustained. https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/donoghue-v-stevenson.php

That's a bit of a cocksure statement, Keith. No-one in RAA Ltd has been found guilty of any law-breaking, yet - that will be after any criminal charges are laid, and after a trial is held, and the offender/s is/are found guilty. The DPP has to be sure of securing a conviction before they will press charges. Some people thought the Ball Bay crash pilot would almost certainly be found guilty of manslaughter - but the charge was dropped due to no certainty of securing a conviction. I'd suggest the fact that the pax in the Ball Bay crash went for a ride accepting the statement on the instrument panel that experimental aircraft are not built to the same standard as certified aircraft - and passengers accept the increased risk accordingly - had something to do with the Crown being very doubtful of securing a conviction in that case. At the end of the day, the Crown must prove criminal actions or intent, to secure a conviction. In the case of RAA Ltd, Public Liability covers negligence of the insured party, that leads to loss or losses - but it doesn't cover criminal activity resulting in loss or losses. The $64 question is, whether there was simply negligence on the part of the RAA Ltd employees/managers in this Matt Farrell case, or if criminal intent and actions were involved. Passing judgement before any police investigation occurs, or charges are laid, and defendants found guilty, is quite premature, IMO.

Well, I never knew that Chipmunks came with an emission control, cat converter! How forward-thinking of them!

There were some buses that used big flywheels for part of their energy inputs, in Europe and in Africa, in the 1950's, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrobus I seem to recall there were further experiments done with buses using flywheels operating in a vacuum in a sealed compartment, but ultimately, this idea was not proceeded with, either.

......advised by a dark-skinned gentleman with a thick black beard and turban, talking in a thick accent, "Welcome to the bankrupt State, Sir! You will possibly find your electricity supply today is a bit haphazard, your internet connections will drop out frequently, the trains are only running intermittently, the airlines are suffering from a substantial number of flight cancellations due to major security threats, and the roads out of town are seriously potholed. However, rest assured, the Premier is advising the Govt has your best interests at heart, and our teams of online assistants, based in local regions such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even the Cook Islands, are all standing by, and willing to offer help - once they can verify your identify with a 100 point check, ensure you have introduced no diseases from other States, that were picked up during your travels, and that you have your credit card ready with..........

But you have to input a serious amount of energy to compress the gas, Spacey. There have been experiments using compressed air for motive power, but it's not a viable system over anything more than a short distance. For machines or vehicles or equipment working over short distances in say, factories or other short-distance operations, it can work. The lack of fumes is a big factor. However, even lead-acid batteries and electric motive power, are probably more efficient.

And EV's won't really hit their straps until numerous models start offering swappable batteries. This is the total answer to "range anxiety". If the main Tesla shareholder hadn't poo-pooed swappable batteries, Tesla could have been on a winner. As it stands, they're on a hiding to nothing, once the Chinese EV's roll up with myriads of choices, including the swappable battery choice. Nio have over 3000 battery-swap stations in China already and their 183 battery-swap stations in Shanghai carry out 9,000 battery swaps a day, very smoothly. Imagine buying your electric ultralight - no need to fork out $40,000 to $60,000 for an IC power plant, you just buy a very efficient 100HP electric motor that converts its rotary power into propellor power simply and efficiently - then you simply rent the battery size you want for your trip. When you land, a full battery is ready and waiting for your return trip. It's a no-brainer, no waiting for years for "hydrogen technology" to come to economic fruition, this is technology capable of being installed right now - and the operating costs would be affordable to anyone with modest income. https://cnevpost.com/2025/02/10/nio-swap-stations-shanghai-close-to-profitability/

........rarest of all the roads in the Universe - because there are no toll roads in W.A.! Cappy was stunned. "No toll roads? And here was I, collecting all my 50c and 20c coins, getting ready for the first W.A. toll booth I came across!" "Well", said OT, "we West Aussies understand, that you East Coasters can't believe there's a place in Australia without toll roads - so, accordingly, we've set up a special toll booth for the arriving East Coasters, to make them feel right at home, as they reach the Land of the Golden West. As soon as we see an out-of-state number plate, we redirect them through the special toll booth, and relieve them of $15, just to make them feel welcome, and right at home! Of course, the funds collected are put to good use, they're used to........

There's never been a better time to buy a floatplane! 😄

Sorry, I must have missed something at the start of the Ukraine/Russia war? I seem to recall it was a massive attack launched on the Ukraine by Putin - who called it a "three-day special military operation" to root out those terrible Ukrainian Nazis - but obviously I got it all wrong, it was actually a massive attack launched on an unsuspecting Russia, by those terrible Ukrainian Nazis. 😞

The pilot of the crashed Cessna 150 has been identified as Eric Roulston, Chief Pilot and owner of Shark Bay Aviation. There's a large amount of public expressions of sorrow over his death. Incredibly, his 23 yr old son was also killed in an aircraft crash in the Murchison (W.A.) region, on 13th February 2008, when the Piper PA-18 Super Cub he was piloting, was involved in a mid-air collision with a Robinson R44, when the Super Cub and the R44 were mustering goats as part of a State Govt contract. A spotter in the PA-18 also died in this crash. https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/eric-roulston-heartbroken-family-pay-tribute-to-wa-pilot-who-died-in-ogilvie-plane-crash-c-18191042 https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/roulston_kean_finding.pdf

That's one Pitts that's never going to fly again, and I trust the pilot, if he pulls through, hasn't incurred debilitating injuries, that means he will never fly again.

You're not allowed to leave the ground in any aerial device without CASA's approval, so the Jetson machine will need to have a whole new bunch of regulations drawn up, to cover it - and it will need an AAC. Maybe the drone legislation and regulations will be expanded to cover it.

........poured in a truckload of concrete to solidify the solution, thus enabling Mark to climb out unaided. However, then there was the lingering odour to deal with. No, we're not talking about the lingering smell associated with Marks sudden departure from politics, saying he was so tired - and his sudden almost-immediate re-arrival, totally refreshed on the boardrooms of numerous public companies - but the lingering smell that one acquires from being smacked into a long drop hole with 25 years of accumulated excrement, amongst other smelly things. "I've got a 20 litre drum of carbolic acid, we can give him a bath in that!", said Cappy, trying to be helpful. "You won't get me within a bulls roar of a carbolic acid bath, thanks very much!, countered Mark. "But it will kill all the bugs!", said Cappy, again trying to be helpful. "You just don't know what might have been lurking in that long drop! There could've been some...............

Not exactly a flying car - more like a flying ATV - but the production-ready Jetson One has been test flown successfully (including hands-off hovering) and full production is slated for 2026. Before you all get excited, its maximum speed is 63mph (100kmh), and it's good for 20 mins of flying before the batteries run out of puff. Needless to say, nothing is mentioned about retail pricing, but I'll wager it'll be around $200K. https://www.designboom.com/technology/jetson-one-first-production-ready-evtol-takes-flight-hovers-without-pilot-control-03-27-2025/

Peter, there's already a thread running on this crash in the Incidents and Accidents forum.

There's still a lot of LPG bowsers in W.A., just not universal like they once were. A lot of forklifts still run on LPG, and I regularly fill my forklift bottles at LPG bowsers in servos. What has disappeared, is the myriad of LPG installers and repairers, and suppliers of LPG equipment. But there's still plenty of LPG available, it's a byproduct of refining and gas production, and we still export sizeable tonnages of LPG.

And the reason quoted by the current Labor Govt for removing that funding for hydrogen powered trucks, is because there was a major shortage of hydrogen-powered trucks available for testing and research work. I'd suggest the reason there are virtually no hydrogen powered test trucks available, is because virtually all truck manufacturers see no potential in pursuing that market, simply because the economics fail to stack up, and the simple fact that an Australia-wide hydrogen-dispensing infrastructure is non-existent, and isn't likely to be installed, in the foreseeable future.

The weather forecast is for a pretty warm day on Friday 28th, cooler on Saturday with a strong Southerly wind picking up, which is going to bring showery rain (up to 6mm) from Saturday night into all Sunday, with showers easing on Monday. http://www.bom.gov.au/vic/forecasts/avalon.shtml

Airshow visitors planning to fly in to Avalon are being directed to land at Lethbridge Airport, as there is no provision for fly-in visitors to land or park at Avalon. QUOTE: "Only aircraft pre-approved through the Avalon 2025 registration system (application link below) will be authorised to fly in and out of the event. This will be limited to: Air Transport operators: Jetstar and other scheduled commercial operators. Airshow participants: aircraft attending Avalon 2025 and pre-approved to participate as flying displays, static displays, commercial exhibitors and airshow related charter flights." https://airshow.com.au/visitors/plan-ahead/flying-in/

There's a massive "green hydrogen" project planned for a coastal area on Murchison House Station, N of Kalbarri. A company called Murchison Green Hydrogen has set in place, plans for a massive "green hydrogen", highly complex production plant, that is going to use solar and wind power to desalinate sea water from the Indian Ocean, and turn it into green hydrogen. However, the "green hydrogen" production is not being released for any kind of local transport, or even industrial use. Once the project produces the "green hydrogen", it is then going to turn the "green hydrogen into liquid ammonia, by combining it with nitrogen from the atmosphere - whereby the liquid ammonia is then going to be exported for industrial uses in other countries - which uses apparently centre around using the liquid ammonia to produce "green hydrogen" again, for industrial use. Nothing is mentioned anywhere, about a transportation use for the hydrogen produced. To me, the entire project looks like a highly convoluted, costly, and economically borderline project - but it seems that Murchison Green Hydrogen are proceeding at full speed with the project, and it's planned to be in full production by 2031. Interestingly, despite being largely funded by the Danish-based, global entity, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners - they have managed to convince the current Govt to give them around AU$800M in production incentives, to assist in getting the project off the ground. I fail to understand how, if the project is such a great idea, why it can't stand on its own feet, without Govt subsidies. The project is proposing to produce around 900,000 tonnes of "green ammonia", which is around half of Australia's current production of ammonia from fossil fuels. The Asian economies are the ones being targeted for the bulk of the "green ammonia" production. I have this lingering suspicion that none of Murchison Green Hydrogen production and capability targets, will be met in the time frames stated. https://www.murchisonrenewables.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Project-at-a-glance_ONE-PAGE.pdf https://www.murchisonrenewables.com.au/ https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/800m-pledge-keeps-labor-green-hydrogen-dream-alive-20250320-p5ll52

Typo, sorry - meant to put "AN-225", didn't notice until long after the editing period ended.

I doubt that any type of airfreight will ever become a viable option if any level of weight or size is involved. The exceptions are huge projects where downtime costs are astronomical (such as the 117-tonne generator flown into Perth on AN-224 Mriya in 2016), or where life-sustaining critical supplies are needed. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/antonov-an225-mriyas-117tonne-cargo-arrives-at-worsley-refinery-in-collie-20160516-gow4m7.html