GraemeK

My favourite pic from that accident:

Here's a shot I took at Kingsford Smith in November 2010.

So are they going to rename the "BOM Tower" tracking point in Melbourne? I never really felt comfortable advising Avalon Approach that I was tracking to BOM Tower!!

Also the transition level in the US is, IIRC, 18,000ft - so instead of encountering the transition layer issue at 10,000 you get it at 18,000. Selection of transition level is at least in part dependent on the height of the rocks in that country (or in some places, that part of the country).

It was at the Shell servo at Laverton, but I don't know any of its history!

Happened to me once in a Warrior on climb out. No biggie, just get things settled in cruise and then shut it properly!

One word - Compass!

It can kill, but it shouldn't. When I was doing my (RAAus) training I had to fly several consecutive circuits with covered instruments (ASI, altimeter, VSI, AH, T&B, tacho). Surprisingly easy to nail altitude, approach speed, etc if you don't panic.

ERC Low 8, and ERSA for step heights under R131 in PRD.

1500ft AGL - but which ground level? Or do we need to fit terrain following radar if we want to avoid entering Class E?

I have one, although now relegated to pax, had no problems with it (apart from the fact after about 4 years the black foam material disintegrated - only discovered it when taking a mate to Avalon, when he took off the headset his ears were black - hard to get off so he walked around the airshow with a pair of black ears!).

Portsmouth NH approach:

Hudson River corridor, low and slow up past Manhattan. Until I retired, seemed to spend half my life in New York, so have a soft spot for it. And the US seems to value recreational and GA more than we do here.

In practice, not an issue though. Going into Moorabbin I never file a plan (unless it's part of a much longer flight, for which I'll normally file a plan anyway), into Essendon usually but not always. Never had a problem - in fact the only time I was refused an immediate clearance was on a flight plan, and that was because of conflicting traffic.

You can go into controlled airspace without a flight plan - the get out clause is para 2.7 (2.4 allows flight notification by radio): "Abbreviated details for operations in controlled airspace may be advised by radio if the flight is to operate locally, or operations will be for a brief duration."

Welcome pfer! Spent many great times in Indianapolis in the '70s working with Eli Lilly - and a few times managed to organise my visits to coincide with the Indy 500, lots of memories!

As is a PA-28!

At 8500ft, and MP 21.1, it's pretty much WOT depending on temperature. No experience on the Cardinal, but the recommended cruise settings on the IO360 in the Arrow at that altitude and 65% power are either 2200 or 2500 at WOT. So in the range.

While the descent rate may be slower than under a BRS, there is still a significant forward velocity and a lot of energy to be dissipated.

No effect at all! Except perhaps lots of feathers floating around the cabin and clogging up the A/C vents. How did I go as a mere PPL?

You can find copies of the pages from "Journey to Nowhere" on flickr: [MEDIA=flickr]Za2fxN[/MEDIA]

Well I can't compete with Thruster, that machine is something Heath Robinson would be proud to call his own! But my interests are woodworking (and particularly woodturning) and photography. Plus a bit of gardening when her indoors needs a bit of help with the chainsaw!

What is this CD of which you speak? Will it fit in my 5¼" drive?

Great memories, I've lost count of how many times I've traversed the Pacific on 747's, starting with the -100. Vividly remember first SP returning from SFO - when we overflew Hawaii I almost called the hostie to inform the crew they'd forgotten to stop in Honolulu (SP was the first nonstop San Francisco to Sydney). And the many times pre-911 I got to sit up front for takeoffs and landings, lots of fun with a couple of hairy moments etched in my memory - but overwhelming impression was the professionalism of the crews and their fondness for the Queen of the Skies. It also led to me taking up flying. Will miss her ...

In the early 70's I lived in Strathmore, with the Essendon boundary fence the other side of the road. Our house was directly opposite the runup bays for 26, and I have memories of lying in bed listening to the Bristols doing their runups prior to making their dash across Bass Strait every evening. Lots of noisy burping and farting before they were properly warmed up - but music to my ears! Not so much appreciated by GF though!