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Passengers on Delta Flight DL466 from Atlanta to Las Vegas were stunned when their captain suddenly announced he was refusing to fly their assigned Boeing 757. The veteran pilot, with over 25 years of experience, revealed that he had flown the very same jet the day before and filed a maintenance request for a possible elevator issue—an essential control surface for safe flight. Despite a nine-hour inspection that cleared the aircraft, his “gut feeling” told him something wasn’t right. Walking off the jet bridge, he ordered boarding stopped, explained his decision over the PA, and declared he was rejecting the aircraft for safety reasons—something he said he hadn’t done in 22 years. Even his first officer admitted it was only the second time in his career he had rejected a plane. Though the decision caused more than an hour’s delay, passengers at the gate broke into applause, praising the captain’s transparency and commitment to safety. Delta quickly dispatched a replacement 757, and the flight eventually departed without issue. The incident highlighted the ultimate authority of the pilot-in-command, who by law has the final say on whether an aircraft is safe to fly. While the delay was inconvenient, the overwhelming sentiment was clear: passengers were grateful for a captain who put their lives ahead of the schedule.

Nice morning at the beach catching up with flying friends. Summer is on the way so below the clouds has thermals starting by mid morning. Nice and cool under the tree canopy at the beach. Sand was hard and smooth a top landing strip.

Weather up here is starting to heat up and getting a few storms. It’s early in the season but getting build up. Went to fly Wednesday and DI’d engine and opened hangar doors. Mate next door offered a cuppa so over I went and caught up how his auto pilot and new screen is progressing at Foxbat. Weather changed a bit and did not fly. Thursday was a bit kinder with only a few light showers but low cloud. Did a full DI and took off cloud base at just over 1200 ft and local flight school doing circuits at next airfield 10 miles away. Radioed my departure and intentions. Found 1500 ft cloud base to west and one big blue hole was further to west. Returned to home and gave the Nynja a wash in the rain. Nice fly overall.

On a warm summers evening, somewhere in Cyprus

the retractable Lance is like a big heavy american car. With the big six you need a boot full of right rudder on takeoff and the aircraft is sorta sluggish - based on my endorsement with instructor, LAME a stack of tools and a new battery for a stranded aircraft.. Soft springs on the nosewheel steering on the ground, the feel changes once airborne. So 3 blokes for big day out to Bathurst. A bit of gear and max fuel - we are at MTOW. so stall at zero flaps around 63mph, 53 knots. So TOSS around 1.3 X 50 say 65 - 70 kts add half the gust for mum and kids say 10 -15 kts and you have something like 80 -85 kts Now consider distance to speed - around 1200 ft to 53 kts (performance charts and we qant another30 kts or 50 ft/second we needed 1200 ft to get to 53 kts so we will need the same again and then some to get to 90 kts thats 2400 ft plus .... Is the runway long enough yo give us our TOSS and some gust allowance? Maybe not. Now we get a gust just after liftoff we yaw left, dont counter it fast enough (fiddling with the gear retraction or the nose locker door opens?) the left wing drops and we try to pick it up with aileron, not rudder........

This is the list so far, rather scatologically ordered, for my Bushcat. But there are many Rotax options listed: Suppliers: Loravia.com - Rotax engine parts, France Individual parts: Radiator cap is BMW P/N 17112345074 at about 1/2 of the Rotax price (fitted to BMW motorcycle F650 with Rotax engine)." Radiator hose, section 106: Note: gates 03-0010 and 01-0007 are 25mm ID and will replace the rear two bends and the right hand side short straight piece near the starter. 25mm is a much better fit. 2 X 02-0951 (Datsun 120y lower radiator). Leftover 70 something degree bend from above 01-0007 goes on right hand radiator tank outlet. Oil coolers: Manufactured by setrab Part no. 50-110-7612 (Setrab Oil Cooler 210mm 10 row M22 female. Setrab part number 50-110-7612.) X 2. One has the brackets cut off. Radiator: Manufactured by setrab Part no. 50-925-7612 Fuel line: Gates barricade carburettor Regulator/rectifier: CARR5115 from vectriqparts.com.au Exhaust nuts: OEM - Bert Flood . the part number is 842950 - Lock Nut M8-SW12 Starter relay: Denso part 182800-1950 Same relay is used on Rotax Max Evo go kart engines. Much easier to find searching for that . Nippon Denso. Can get from Ecclestone aviation UK Starter motor (not 100% sure about this one). Aftermarket..suits BMW f650 https://www.stein-dinse.com/en/item-1-1524043.html#prettyPhoto Fuel pump: Pierburg 7.02242.32.0 - Fuel Pump https://spareto.com/products/pierburg-fuel-pump/7-02242-32-0 Not branded as Rotax, but from the same manufacturer. Spark plugs: DCPR7E NGK Dcpr8e currently on my engine as far as I know, there is no 'aircraft' version of this so just get them from Repco. 90 degree carby tube for choke: https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004164377398.html?spm=a2g0n.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.604cf19cHB72xq ZS Racing 90-degree Throttle Cable Adjuster For PHBG Keihin PWK PJ PWM PE Mikuni TM VM Carburetor Spare Parts Water/oil temp sensor: Aftermarket version, reviews well for 912 at aircraft spruce: UL FLIGHT LINE TEMP SENDER 150C M10X1.5 T-6 T-3 (bought from skyshop Australia) 17mm water hose replacement: Gates Silicone Hose in 5/8" (16mm) x 3ft, ON 2481 can be purchased from: SCA Item No. SPO3377117 $97.00/3ft Maxi Parts Product Code GAT 26241 $50.00/M Ignition modules. Better and cheaper: https://www.ignitech.cz/en/vyrobky/bikes/rotax/rotax_912_and_914/rotax_912_and_914.htm

From the adsb track looks like a departure stall spin. Six seat piper pa32 lance.

This Motor is a No Nonsense simple, well Built Low revving Long life direct drive Motor with the Two throat carb beneath the engine where they should be. V engines have a lot of advantages. The whole Plane gets MY tick of approval. Good effort. Nev

A two seat version of this type of aircraft does exist, the Globe swift. For 100k aud it would be my choice over a SE1. I like old aircraft. 1946 Swift GC-1B Aircraft | Aircraft Listing | Plane Sales Australia WWW.PLANESALES.COM.AU ALL REASONABLE OFFERS CONSIDERED - PRICE GUIDE $100k AUDThe 1946 Globe GC-1B Swift is a classic two-seat, low-wing monoplane known for its sleek design and responsive handling. Built with an...

The before start check list gets you to confirm all doors closed before pushback, some airlines arm the slides before starting the push others arm the slides during the push. You definitely get a warning, have attached a few pics of ecam plus oxy/door page on the A320.

Nice morning for a Nynja fly to the beach catching up with flying friends. Summer is on the way so below the clouds has thermals starting by mid morning. Nice and cool under the tree canopy at the beach. Sand was hard and smooth a top landing strip.

I do not think you can call flying 3 high wings from South Africa to Oshkosh a stunt. Certainly it had marketing value but only because it showed what they were actually capable of. Yes, a Sling TSI or HW is getting up there at $550,000 but let’s not forget a new Cessna 172 (with a lower useable load) is now $1.2 mil.

Three people are dead after a light plane crashed at an airport in regional NSW and burst into flames. The crash happened at Shellharbour in the Illawarra region on Saturday morning about 10am. Police have confirmed three people are dead. Images from the scene show the completely destroyed aircraft in the middle of the runway, with police and firefighters surveying the scene.

Only option is to push the nose down and grit your teeth. I do this in the simulator. (yes, and take it on board, its a simulator) . Nevertheless I beleive that working these problems in a simulator regularly improves real life response. Of course takes a few seconds for a human to figure out they need to do this. Well, maybe not a Thruster 2-stroke pilot where, I am told, any loss of engine power during climb needs to be an instinctive nose down reaction as the drag will kill airspeed in quick time.

Yep correct; when I wrote the post you refer to, I had been informed that engine oil had to be removed for the weighing (at the time I thought that is odd and contrary to previous). Checked further and that information was incorrect for some reason. Weighed with engine oil at full and other equipment etc.

No immediate obstructions, slightly rising terrain but you have the Escarpment 4-5 miles away. The gusts may not seem like much but they are really inconsistent with a westerly wind dropping down 2500 feet off the Escarpment. On 26 normally you would depart right crosswind and climb then circle back and head west.

Accelerate on the ground OR IN Ground effect. Wind from the West there comes over some rough country with a big drop off. Did MY First flight there in 1958. It was Called "Albion Park" then. Nev

looks like it was 15 gusting at least 25. nothing unusual for that AD. canberra on 30, the GA runway, is regularly 15 gusting 25, it's a windy place. when its a bit breezy I always hold my PA28 a few feet over the runway until at least 80 kts ( no flap) Are there any immediate departure obstructions on 26 off the end of the runway at shellharbour ?

My centre stick is attached to a torque tube which runs aft to behind the seats. It was relatively easy to add a short lever below this tube, attached by a hose clamp, which connects to two opposed springs and a cable. A control wheel below the left seat alters the amount of this spring bias in either direction while still allowing full roll commands to over-ride the weak springs. This setup has worked well for many years. If desired, I could take some pics when I next head to the hangar.

Every year, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is full of surprises. In 2025, there was none bigger than the Spirit Engineering SE-1. Kept tightly under wraps, four SE-1s made the journey from Grand Junction, Colorado, to Oshkosh to debut the design on the world’s biggest stage. The four SE-1s arrived at Oshkosh after burning a total of 88 gallons of fuel, and the aircraft have been the buzz of the convention. Priced at US$69,500 out the door, the special light-sport aircraft (S-LSA) draws attention with its design that is reminiscent of aviation’s classics. Think Luscombe, Ryan ST, or Swift. There are insufficient details to create a profile of the aircaft just yet, even on the company website. However, here are a couple of photos and a video.

Already flying again. His reasoning for not lowering the landing gear was sound. A reminder that people die trying to save the aircraft.

There are at least half a dozen in the UK. My brother and I flew in the two at Duxford earlier this year (they also have a two seat Hurricane), and there are three at Biggin Hill. You can fly in a two-seat Spitfire in the UK from several locations, includingBiggin Hill (Kent), Duxford (Cambridgeshire), Blackpool Airport, and North Weald (Essex). Other locations offering flights include Headcorn (Kent), Compton Abbas (Dorset), Goodwood (West Sussex), and Bournemouth Airport (Dorset), according to Aero Legends, and Spitfires.com. Cheers, Neil

Originally for training, now for hire and reward. Big market in joy flights, something like 5 flying in England?

Skippy, look on the positive side. A crack developed for seemingly no reason. Then more cracks developed as you went to fix it. It seems to me, that that canopy was getting suss anyway, and perhaps you avoided a bullet from having the canopy fall apart in flight. It appears your model of aircraft has some canopy problems anyway, so now you can ensure you have a very good canopy, by installing the best you can buy and fit. No-one ever said owning an aircraft was a cheap and trouble-free proposal - like all complex machinery, regular applications of money is the only thing that keeps them going.

Price is USD 69,500 complete. On today's conversion that's around $106,000 in proper money. Are you saying it costs another $100k to transport a plane from the US? (Not to mention the folding wing system means it fits in a 20ft container with no fuss - tie it down and it's done). Which also means it can sit in a single car garage instead of hangaring.

was it still under warranty

Just thinking too, it's probably a smart choice to make something retro. Mostly the people with the money and time to commit aviation are 60 - 80+ years old. Probably a good proportion of them prefer the nostalgic lines, polished aluminium look and all aluminium build, to the plastic fantastics. Being a single seater isn't a problem for them, as their wives are trying to get them out of the house anyway...

He said he made good out of a design and military contract, I guess cashed up and put a dream into go. Looks a very nice setup and outcome. Best of luck to him for the future. I expect someone over here will buy one and I look forward to seeing the real thing up close.

Tumut originally Tumut north upgrade pic Tumut south upgrade pic Looks like they may be getting an AWIS and a different CTAF Current re-opening date is 21 November (but they have had a few delays previously).

From a design perspective the A320 is far more modern designed as Fly by Wire from the start. The 737 still has all the cables and controls that can be manually managed. The undercarriage is too short also so the engines have had to be steadily move forwards and upwards with a flat bottom cowl to allow the newer larger and quieter engines to be installed resulting in stability issues that had to be addressed such as MCAS which was largely the causes of the crashes in Indonesia & Ethiopia. This led to the grounding of the 737Max & the fallout for Boeing and its management culture has resulted in Airbus leapfrogging Boeing and the worlds biggest commercial aircraft manufacturer. Boeings reputation kept spiralling downward as many other issues appeared. If it wasn't for the US government military contracts Boeing may have gone bankrupt. Like all big US companies that screw up they get deemed as too big to fail & the government bails them out.

I beleive that when discussing one's flying with one or a group., self admonishment / self criticism / critical examination / reflection of one's actions and judgements is the cornerstone of aviation and improvement. I've realised now in my 5 years, that even the villiage idiot can land a Piper. But it's the judgement that you exercise that defines you, and if you are willing to self reflect on anything less than perfect flying. I revel in the opportunity to discuss and workshop my less than textbook flying amongst my peers. That they enjoy doing same reflection for their own flying amongst a group.

There are some fellows who seem to think you must be challenged for everything you say Nev 😂 Don't know what their problem is, there's always something to learn in aviation. Maybe admitting they don't know everything would be a start? Don't let the hostility worry you, some of us are stilling willing to read your contributions and learn stuff. Stuff is good and aviation stuff even betterer, keep up the good work Nev 👍

We are talking of 2 different procedures. Bruces Protocol is the stress ECG type used in Aviation Medicals TOO often and not good with older people. 7 stents is way above the normal number. Angiograms inject a dye that show arterial restrictions and has some risks associated with it. Stents are often inserted at the same time as it's convenient to do it then. You have to cut an artery to get in there. Nev

Pretty sure that goes for any aircraft

The Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford have recently completed the restoration/rebuild of another two-seat Spitfire "Lady Luck" MJ444. Cheers, Neil

Seems like a hard Life. Who's the Boss Walla with her hands on Hips? Nev

EJJ is the Cavalier that flew from NZ and was based at Heck field , the owner built it in NZ he was a German guy Gunter it ws in the same hangar as our aircraft

AAhhhh yes ...................... the machines tedious, regular, continuous & insatiable need for money (been there done that - a bit like an enjoyment tax in a way)

Despite the Aura and nostalgia with the RR Merlin it did have a few basic faults and did not have a very high TBO. In Most Countries it was never accepted on the Civil Register as a commercial powerplant. Magneto skew gear failure . Cam follower scuffing ( No rollers) and Auto Boost Control amongst other things . It's easy to cast Blame on restorers and I wouldn't take much notice of the "OLD GASKET" thing. There is some Good stuff on the skew gear on line. Nev

The guns had been removed probably to save weight after adding the second seat (later versions had canons) & the prop looks to be composite not metal. Looks very repairable to me but won't be cheap.

Fortunately, we fly for a Multitude of reasons so DIFFERENT planes will appeal to different Aviators. There will never be a "One size fit's all". How a Plane penetrates rough air depends a lot on Wing Loading. IF you want to go Long distances safely and when you want to, Fly with Airlines. Don't try too hard to justify the Practical aspects of owning your type of Plane. Don't rush to buy one. The Longer you look around and experience things the Better your choice will be IF you decide to Buy.. It's NOT a Must do for every Pilot.. Nev

I can see this 336kg MTOW aircraft at cruise speed of 87 kts consuming about 2 US Gals. I'd expect they are providing accurate specs as he seems proud of his product and would not like to be proved incorrect. Just my view of things. Powerplant Engine: Spirit V2, 42 hp, inverted V-twin, air-cooled, direct-drive Fuel Capacity: 8 gallons Fuel Consumption: 1.8 – 2.2 gph in cruise Approved Fuels: 91 AKI unleaded auto gas or 100LL avgas

it cruises around 100 knts on 2 gallons an hour. stalls at 40 knts. 69500 us fly away. i think they have done well. definately not form over function.

The B727 was Underpowered sometimes slow to altitudes and IF you got slow it fell out of the sky on approach. Lots of FLAP and DRAG. Not a Beginners Plane. Designed to use shorter strips. . Lots of redundancy in the systems. keep engines spooled up below 3,000 ft .Very versatile, Powerful controls. 2 Yaw Dampers on the rudder. Lots of flap speeds and settings and 2 schedules depending on actual Weight. . Those Dreamliner Lovers Probably never got to fly the Douglas DC9. We called it the "Ducati of the Skies". Had little range. 3 Hours to empty. They are ALL PLANES to me. Nev

Money saving policies and accountant driven short cuts, outsourcing etc. The earlier 737s had rudder problems that lost a few Planes. I deliberately Avoided Piloting THAT plane though most of my time was on the B 727-276, Boeings stretched Trijet and a well constructed thing by Contrast. kgwilson covered it well. including the Engine Positioning. I'm OK with the Airbus A 320 although the cabin width is a Bit less for 6 seats abreast. It certainly has plenty of engine thrust. An easy winner in my books

I sort of understand the legalities and note a similar situation in the US. However, there are no structural/engineering differences between them (except perhaps a higher assembly quality in the factory built).

One of my ex-syndicate partners bought a sling2 and absolutely loved it, so much so that when he decided that he was getting too old and sold it, he went out shortly afterwards and bought another. As for the bling issue, you could say that a Lada will get you there just like a BMW, but oddly, people prefer to buy the beemers… I’d love to have a full glass cockpit with autopilot and the works. It’s only the rapidly diminishing pool of the readies that stops me. 😛

Took the Nynja for a fly on the weekend to Lake Dunn, a 207 N/ml each way and stayed overnight. 29 aircraft attended the catchup. It's never an advertised event as it's just a by word of mouth catchup of flying friends. The strip is to be extended about 100 meters to comply with RFDS aircraft requirements. The strip was in perfect surface condition. Weather was excellent and tail winds of about 15 knots each way so can not complain. Lake Dunn August 2025 with text.mp4