Tell us about your last flight

[Moneybox]

I had a lousy night's sleep last night. I didn't get to sleep until after midnight because Mrs M wanted to spend some time on things that couldn't be done once I was gone. Anyway I got up at the usual, about 4:45am, had my wheatbix and dozed on and off for a couple of hours. When I eventually got myself into gear to go I checked Flight Radar 24 and found the airport to be too busy with the big jets so I delayed my departure until 8:20am. By then the wind was up and a bit gusty so I was a bit cautious lifting off. I actually dropped the front wheel again until I got a bit more speed so that I could get a clear lift-off without getting blown too far off course.

 

The wind was coming from the north so great for runway 04 and a good push in the backside for the journey south. Hobbs meter reading was 182.1 to 184.7 for the 259NM flight. It was a smooth flight so I didn't mind edging a little into the red on cruise.

 

 

The van I've had parked at the airport has a solar panel on the roof and the Bluetooth app said that the battery was fully charged. It might have had the voltage but it was too dead to crank. I had to wait for a friend to land so that I could borrow a jumpstarter. After paying the discounted $220 for a new battery I was on my way to Wongan Hills.

 

 

After catching up with the concreter I commenced the excavation.

 

 

It's not completely finished but I ran out of light. Tomorrow I expect to be filling it in with gravel and compacting it as well as I can.

 

 

After I landed, taxied and idled the plane for a few minutes, to settle down after the couple of hours in the air, I noticed the CO meter reading 14 PPM. I don't think there's a problem because after the flight to Reedy it was reading zero but I'll keep and eye on it next flight.

 

Edited October 6 by Moneybox

[Thruster88]

Ride to work Friday, three of us took the highway.

[BrendAn]

44 minutes ago, Thruster88 said:

Ride to work Friday, three of us took the highway.

what sort of biplane is that on the right

Edited October 9 by BrendAn

[Thruster88]

26 minutes ago, BrendAn said:

what sort of biplane is that on the right

A rare and beautiful Gere sport, scratch built from plans by David and his late father, grandson James is learning tailwheel in the red thruster so three generations will get to fly it. 

[BrendAn]

5 minutes ago, Thruster88 said:

A rare and beautiful Gere sport, scratch built from plans by David and his late father, grandson James is learning tailwheel in the red thruster so three generations will get to fly it. 

looks nice.  

[Garfly]

 

And a few more snaps of the beauty I happen to have hanging around.  ;- )

[Thruster88]

Looks like i will be grounded for awhile. A Plover is nesting on the runway in last years canola trash, camouflage is very good. "Nest" in lower left of pic.

[facthunter]

That's Rotec engined. They certainly look the Part. Nev

[Garfly]

29 minutes ago, Thruster88 said:

...  //  A Plover is nesting on the runway in last years canola trash,

camouflage is very good.  // ....

 

 

They're clever little critters despite nesting on the ground they do their camouflage well.

How do they do that!? 

These were snapped on the grass at Taree airport a couple of  months back

Edited Thursday at 12:22 AM by Garfly

[skippydiesel]

"They're clever little critters ....." ???

 

Is it clever to lay your eggs on any flat surface thats available ? - seen them in car parks, side of busy roads, etc.

 

The chicks are like something out of a cartoon,  little balls of animated fluff with legs.

 

I am surprise  the species survives - just shows you not every breedy strategy is as crazy as it looks to us humans.

 

😈

 

 

[Garfly]

Don't ya think it's clever to colour your eggs to match the furniture?

[facthunter]

When I had eggs I would try to not have them All in the One basket. Nev

[kiwiaviator]

On 07/10/2026 at 1:30 AM, Moneybox said:

 

 

 

After I landed, taxied and idled the plane for a few minutes, to settle down after the couple of hours in the air, I noticed the CO meter reading 14 PPM. I don't think there's a problem because after the flight to Reedy it was reading zero but I'll keep and eye on it next flight.

 

Those electronic CO detectors are very sensitive. I don't get terribly upset unless it gets above 50ppm. Based on the research I have done, you should be able to handle that for four hours HOWEVER everyone is different and zero CO in the cockpit should be the target. I recently added a Just Superstol to the hanger collection and I could smell the CO on my initial flight. The detector was indicating 120 ppm! I found two sources of suction causing the issue. One was the rear upper plexi had popped some rivets and the other one was down at the tailwheel shock which I sealed with rubber flaps. Now it may reach 15 ppm in a climb or descent and is zero ppm in the cruise.

[kiwiaviator]

On 22/10/2026 at 12:52 PM, Thruster88 said:

Looks like i will be grounded for awhile. A Plover is nesting on the runway in last years canola trash, camouflage is very good. "Nest" in lower left of pic.

Plovers are the biggest birdstrike candidate at our local airfield in NZ and are actively culled. Dogs are used to find nests which are destroyed. Sounds harsh however we have had multiple birdstrikes with a recent one being an air ambulance Kingair.

[Moneybox]

7 minutes ago, kiwiaviator said:

Those electronic CO detectors are very sensitive. I don't get terribly upset unless it gets above 50ppm. Based on the research I have done, you should be able to handle that for four hours HOWEVER everyone is different and zero CO in the cockpit should be the target. I recently added a Just Superstol to the hanger collection and I could smell the CO on my initial flight. The detector was indicating 120 ppm! I found two sources of suction causing the issue. One was the rear upper plexi had popped some rivets and the other one was down at the tailwheel shock which I sealed with rubber flaps. Now it may reach 15 ppm in a climb or descent and is zero ppm in the cruise.

I did check it again on the 45min flight into Jandakot. It was reading zero when I landed so the previous gas must have been while I was idling it down while stationary.

[Markdun]

You cant smell CO; it is odourless. You probably smelled exhaust gases with CO.

But on the topic, I have an electronic CO monitor in my boat (plus a seperate combustable gases monitor) which cost me $45....it last 10 years. Works great with LCD readout of PPM and has ear piercing alarm.  Leave tge motors idling while tied up at a jetty in calm conditions is tge only time its gone off in 15 years.  Why are the one's suitable for an aircraft, ie with a visual alarm, so much more expensive?  I still use the little annual card CO monitor.

[BurnieM]

The problem with using a card as a carbon monoxide monitor is that it relies on you being alert and checking it regularly.

Your alertness is one of the first things that goes with CO poisoning.

 

[skippydiesel]

1 hour ago, Markdun said:

You cant smell CO; it is odourless. You probably smelled exhaust gases with CO.

But on the topic, I have an electronic CO monitor in my boat (plus a seperate combustable gases monitor) which cost me $45....it last 10 years. Works great with LCD readout of PPM and has ear piercing alarm.  Leave tge motors idling while tied up at a jetty in calm conditions is tge only time its gone off in 15 years.  Why are the one's suitable for an aircraft, ie with a visual alarm, so much more expensive?  I still use the little annual card CO monitor.

Just repeating what I have read:

It seems that altitude may have a negative effect on the performance of some Co monitor/alarms.

A a few are designed/tested (expensive) for acurate function at altitude.

Many more (cheaper) are okay at lower levels.

I did ask Quell what altitude their 10 year one was good for (said I wanted to go touring in the Rockys ) and they  declined to answer.

😈

 

[BrendAn]

3 hours ago, skippydiesel said:

Just repeating what I have read:

It seems that altitude may have a negative effect on the performance of some Co monitor/alarms.

A a few are designed/tested (expensive) for acurate function at altitude.

Many more (cheaper) are okay at lower levels.

I did ask Quell what altitude their 10 year one was good for (said I wanted to go touring in the Rockys ) and they  declined to answer.

😈

 

can we get back to the last flight topic please.

[BrendAn]

had a fantastic local flight in the xair on saturday. really calm before the weather change later.

did a few high speed taxis in the jabiru, not game enough to fly it yet. 

 

[Blueadventures]

1 hour ago, BrendAn said:

had a fantastic local flight in the xair on saturday. really calm before the weather change later.

did a few high speed taxis in the jabiru, not game enough to fly it yet. 

 

Great looking dolly. 👍

[charlotteevans]

The waiting for rego is its own kind of limbo, so I get why you'd rather keep it quiet until it's sorted. An hour of stalls at Temora sounds like a solid refresher even without anything dramatic happening — sometimes the low-key flights are the ones that actually teach you something. Funny how a few months can slide past before you notice. I'm curious whether you're planning anything longer once the paperwork clears, or just keeping it local for a while.

[BrendAn]

8 minutes ago, Blueadventures said:

Great looking dolly. 👍

Yes. I bought that off a bloke that had it made for an xair.  Great spacesaver

[BrendAn]

7 minutes ago, charlotteevans said:

The waiting for rego is its own kind of limbo, so I get why you'd rather keep it quiet until it's sorted. An hour of stalls at Temora sounds like a solid refresher even without anything dramatic happening — sometimes the low-key flights are the ones that actually teach you something. Funny how a few months can slide past before you notice. I'm curious whether you're planning anything longer once the paperwork clears, or just keeping it local for a while.

Not sure who you are replying too.

I have never been to temora.