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onetrack

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    Nitrogen engine.

    in Engines and Props

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    I worked as a contractor in the Nickel mining industry in the early to mid 1970's, South of Kambalda. Nickel was in huge demand back then, for armaments and armour plating, largely because of the Vietnam War. It was an interesting time. Anaconda Copper of America came to Australia, and formed Anaconda Nickel (Aust), to mine the Nickel S of Widgiemooltha (this company wasn't the Anaconda Nickel that Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest formed later on in the late 1980's, to mine nickel at Murrin Murrin - "Twiggy" just "borrowed" the name).

     

    Anaconda Nickel of the 1970's spent money like water, and their financial controls were poor, to say the least - but they were one of the richest mining companies in America. Then the copper price went way down, and the Chile Govt of Salvador Allende nationalised their copper mines in Chile, with little or no compensation.

     

    The Anaconda company and its subsidiaries effectively became almost bankrupt over a very short period of time, and they had to sell what assets they had left, to try and survive. Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) took over their copper assets in the late 1970's, including the huge Anaconda copper mine, smelter and refinery in Butte, Montana - but ARCO then closed down all the Anaconda operations by 1982, leaving Butte a ghost town - and a seriously contaminated one at that.

     

    The History of Anaconda Copper and the Anaconda Company - https://utahrails.net/mining/anaconda-history.php

     

    The sad story of Butte, Montana - https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/04/the-profits-of-doom/302177/

     

    The story of Butte above, was written in 2001. The cleanup of the massive levels of toxic waste and water contamination from Anaconda's mining, still goes on in Montana today.

     

    https://dailymontanan.com/2024/06/28/down-with-dirty-dirt-and-waste-in-place-in-butte/

     

     

    • Like 1

    Nitrogen engine.

    in Engines and Props

    Posted

    I presume you mean "Nickel". Yes, Nickel ore comes in the sulphide form, and processing it releases a lot of sulfuric compounds, which are highly acid. Thus you can get acid waste and aquifers becoming acidified if proper processing/handling care isn't taken. Even the raw ore is quite corrosive.

     

    But sulphur is a useful product used in industrial processes, so the sulphur should be extracted and used. The problems start with inadequate environmental controls or controls/regulation that becomes corrupted via bribery, or other forms of corruption - which is possibly all too common in places such as China.

    Avalon - No Interest ?

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted

    From Wikipedia - 

     

    "52-0994 – C-124C is on static display at the McChord Air Museum at McChord Field in Lakewood, Washington. This aircraft was formerly under civilian registration N86599, and located for many years at the Detroit Institute of Aeronautics.

    On 9 October 1986, the aircraft was flown nonstop from Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit to McChord Field. While flying over Washington, the aircraft was joined by a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Lockheed C-141 Starlifter of McChord's 62nd Military Airlift Wing. This is the last recorded flight of a C-124."

    Avalon - No Interest ?

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    Peter, are you sure that was 2012?? Looks more like 1962 to me!! That's an AL-series International truck behind the aircraft, the last AL-series was built in early 1956!

     

    Military Air Transport Service (MATS) was redesignated the Military Airlift Command (MAC) on 1 January 1966, so I would fully expect that photograph is early 1960's.

     

    The last C-124 Globemaster was built in 1956, and when MAC was formed, the few remaining Globemasters were taken over by MAC, as the C-141 Starlifter (which was designed to replace the Globemaster) was already in service (from 1963), and by 1970, all the remaining Globemasters were "retired" to the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard - and the Globemaster was taken out of service completely, in 1974.

     

    • Informative 1

    CAMPING

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    $22, you get what you pay for, which isn't much! It's only 4cm high, that soon compresses down, if you weigh the 75kg of the average male.

     

    I personally prefer something thicker for my old creaky bones! I'd rather spend a little more money to ensure I got a nice comfortable mattress.

     

    Anaconda and the other camping/outdoor stores usually have a better available range than K-Mart, but watch the pricing, and check around, there's some huge markups in this stuff.

     

    • Like 1
    • Informative 1

    CAMPING

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted

    Skippy, air mattresses are pumped up using a small 12V blower or a hand or foot pump. Once inflated to the desired firmness/height, the valve is closed. A lot of air mattresses tend to suffer from air leaks, and sharp objects can puncture them easily, thus care in positioning must be taken, and the area where the mattress is positioned must be free of any sharp objects.

     

    Self-inflating mattresses are made from a sponge-type material that is compressed when not in use. When you wish to use a self-inflating mattress, you unscrew a valve that allows air to be sucked into the mattress, as it resumes its full thickness, which is its natural shape/size.

    The valve is opened again to release the contained air when you wish to compress the mattress to a transportable size. You can also pump air into a self-inflating mattress to make it higher and firmer.

    • Agree 1

    The Never Ending Story

    in Aviation Laughter

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    .......nickname of "Black Jack", words that when spoken in awe, would subdue any opponent. Black Jack got his nickname from his habit of regularly appearing out of the gloom in low light situations, and by saying nothing when he suddenly appeared. It was enough to unnerve any ordinary person - but Jack could unnerve, hardened, tough, and fearless racers, just with his silent appearance from out of the darkness.

     

    Few people know that Jack was also an exceptional LAME, with tickling Beaufighter engines his favourite pastime. In fact, once the RAAF wartime pilots learnt about Jacks skills, they all wanted him to tickle their Beaufighter engines, too.

     

    Jack took his "tickling" skills to the BunnThruster with alacrity, and before long, the Imp engines were starting to sound like Bristol Hercules XVIII engines, and when Jack also suggested fitting armaments such as the Beaufighters 20mm cannons to the BunnThruster, to give it some credibility, there were cries of.........

     

    The Never Ending Story

    in Aviation Laughter

    Posted

    .....being seen parked next to a Hillman. While this arguing was going on, a maintenance team from the AUF was measuring the Hillman engine and preparing to extract it during a "midnight spares" run, as a suitable replacement for the Chinese lawnmower engines, which seemed to be dogged by poor assembly problems, factory contamination problems and non-existent spares.

     

    "At the very least, we know we can acquire Hillman engine parts anywhere!", said one maintenance team member, "There's one lying in every second backyard in rural areas, and some are even being used to drive wood-cutting saws, and I've even seen one on a..............

    CAMPING

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted

    Garfly - Well, there's a stove that is as basic as they come! But he's burning a solid fuel tablet on ground littered with pine needles!! A handful of pine needles and a match, and you probably have as much heat energy as a solid fuel tablet!

     

    Unless you location is quite wet, a handful of dry sticks of eucalypt or native vegetation origin can produce a LOT of heat. There are several species of native vegetation, including a couple of acacias, all nicknamed "kerosene bush", these burn green, just like they've been doused in petrol!

    • Like 1
    • Informative 2

    CAMPING

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted

    The old military standby of solid fuel works for small cooking/water heating jobs. The one in the first link is hexamine-based, there's another "toxin-free" U.K.-made variety called Firedragon solid fuel, but it's difficult to source locally, and seemingly quite expensive.

     

    https://www.survivalsupplies.com.au/solid-fuel-tablets-24-pack

     

    You team the solid fuel with one of these stoves, and you have very little weight to carry, but a lot of heating capacity.

     

    https://www.survivalsupplies.com.au/firedragon-multi-fuel-cooker?srsltid=AfmBOopl5U3lmF9kX52h_kxg-GXAe1caUsLsYMNyxGwAfQQ4gLCHGIkr

     

    Firedragon solid fuel - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/256707714421

    • Like 1
    • Agree 1

    Landing Fees

    in AUS/NZ General Discussion

    Posted

    But there ARE restrictions on certain areas of airspace you are NOT allowed to transit, are there not? Military airspace, tall buildings airspace, certain areas deemed by councils to be "no-fly areas"? Skippy, I think you're simplifying a principle that is nuanced, depending on who has obtained, and where they have applied, controls over certain areas of airspace.

    The Never Ending Story

    in Aviation Laughter

    Posted

    .........use as the control column. One bloke found a big Chinese lawnmower on special, whereby the engine would make a superb power plant for the Bunnthruster, another bloke found some big umbrellas in the Home and Garden section, which would yield some excellent material for wing and fuselage covering (and it was UV-proof, too! - Bonus!)....but the real finds came in the Plumbing dept, where........

    Savannah/Ventura

    in Aircraft Building and Design Discussion

    Posted · Edited by onetrack

    The correct size hole and plenty of lube (neat dishwashing liquid is good), and the pull-in tool that Moneybox pictured, will ensure the stem goes in satisfactorily.

    Make sure the leading edge of the hole is neatly and cleanly chamfered, polish with some emery cloth to ensure smoothness.

     

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