Moneybox

You can't blame RAAus for trying to protect themselves from the ridiculous liability issues that plague our society these times. We just can't help but follow the US in all this insanity. Why must somebody be to blame when another makes a mistake and injures themselves. People these times have lost their sense of personal responsibility. This is the type of behaviour that the greedy blood sucking lawyers and courts enjoy and use liberally to guarantee their income. If the average person behaved responsibly and owned their mistakes we'd all be able to afford insurance for those few times we really need to call on it. How many man hours are wasted every day on SAFETY related documentation and time wasting practices that are just put in place to cover somebody for liability of another's accidents and mistakes. 🤮

The original Hummer/Humvee was held together with a similar style of 3/16" rivet to those Skippy posted. I couldn't find them last night but they are stronger than the common pop rivets we buy locally however their panels are bonded together, not relying on the strength of the rivets.

I've not followed this thread but I've popped many thousands of rivets. Rivets are very easy to buy from any amount of hardware and fastener suppliers however all rivets are not equal. Apart from a variety of metal rivets available they vary in design as well. The ones shown in the photos above are not waterproof. We used to use these 40 years ago and then follow up with a card of tiny plastic plugs, one driven into every rivet hole where the broken mandril pulls out. These times we can buy sealed rivets. These are just a few I grabbed from the shed. Any of the ones showing the mandril ball on the end are much easier to insert into the drill hole but will surely leak even after painting. The square ended ones are fully sealed and are unlikely to leak after the job has been painted. They are a much better option on areas where you want to exclude moisture. All are readily available at fastener suppliers, even Bunnings will have a fair range and they are quite inexpensive. Just take care of the material you chose. Some will have a mandril that will rust.

Nice bit of research, thank you. I think they've left this little bit to catch me out. I've asked for an appointment with the shire CEO but he's on holidays until the 18th Nov. Hopefully they are too busy backbiting each other to be bothered with my affairs.

I just needed to see it in writing...

Response today from CASA.... Thank you for contacting us with your enquiry. Enquiry number ********** Question: I am planning on constructing a 500m private airstrip on my mining lease in Cue, Western Australia. I just wanted to reach out to CASA to be sure I'm not contravening and regulations in doing so. Answer: Aircraft landing areas (ALA) and are not oversighted or approved by CASA. Airstrips can be constructed at the landowner's discretion, though a pilot must only use a place to land or take off if they determine it is appropriate for that purpose. Likewise, the landowner may choose a surface that is appropriate for the intended types of operation/aircraft. CASA has produced some guidance on the use of ALAs. This guidance is aimed primarily at pilots to assist with the assessment of a location for landing or taking off, however may be useful as general information for the operator of an ALA. Please see advisory circular AC 91-02 v1.1 Guidelines for aeroplanes with MTOW not exceeding 5 700 kg - suitable places to take off and land. There are no specific regulatory requirements relating to the operation of an ALA. The responsibility for safe operations at an ALA lies with the pilot in command and operator under the conditions of subregulation 91.410 (2) (a) (iv) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR). For an ALA, Chapter 6 of the Part 139 (Aerodromes) Manual of Standards 2019 may be used as guidance. Your enquiry will close automatically after 5 days. If you have any follow-up questions or have been asked to provide more information, you can access your enquiry and send us a message here. If you have more questions after your enquiry has closed, please send us a new enquiry here. Regards, CASA\Regulatory Guidance

In my opinion the BMS is the problem for aviation use. I've not had the experience with lithium in the plane but I have 4x100 AH batteries in our motorhome. The output may be great, they accept fast charge but may disconnect with fast discharge. In the case of small electrical short circuit that may be a faulty device or worn wire might in usual circumstances blow a fuse or trigger a circuit breaker. With a BMS in your lithium battery it can take control and shut off all battery power. Then reconnection cannot be achieved without first removing any current draw. Of course it may be as simple as flicking off the master but still the BMS takes its time deciding to reconnect, time you don't have when suspended in air a long way from the fast approaching earth. For me it's a risk I can easily avoid by installing a good quality AGM battery.

We would always hose the booth out and paint with the floor still damp. Everytime your spraygun points down it stirs up dust. Insects are a real problem too. They tend to land and manage to struggle along for quite a way before getting bogged down. It leaves a unique pattern in the gloss finish.

That's the sort of accuracy I expect with Autocad but I have trouble with Sketchup. Maybe it's just me but If I try to select a point of couple of intersecting circles, I cannot accurately select the intersection.

Might depend on how many horsepower you intend to keep in there.... My problem is that I cannot disturb the soil using machinery without, as onetrack says, a Mining Development and Closure Proposal so that's what I submitted. It may have been a mistake as I've been a little hasty in dealing with the Shire proposal.

Rob, I guess a lot of water has passed under the bridge since this post. I'm just starting out and I'm looking for a simple uncomplicated AP and ADSB in and out. What did you end up with? Phil

Let's hope it's a decision we don't have to make. At least you're planning ahead so that has to be a good thing.

Sounds like an opportunity for a great hanger block. If you could afford to get started an have a couple others build hangers on your block for a little rent.

I can see your attraction to a huge flat paddock with no obvious hazards but if you walk one of those paddocks the plough usually leaves them far from flat and if they are soft enough that your wheels don't want to spin then I think you'd be upside down very quickly. Keep in mine I haven't even got my plane off the ground yet, it's just my thoughts on the subject. Some light planes have very small wheels that don't look suitable for travel over bumps and furrows.

I think you may be remembering your last trip up one of the non-coastal highways in the east...😆

Any plowed paddock could be very soft, I think I'd be looking for roads without trees and power lines. Of course much easier over here where dirt roads can be dead flat and 20m wide.

That'll be the end result however there might be problems in the case of an insurance claim. I got mine through before the change but as far as I can workout it's not a lifetime thing.

The only application I made to the council was an informal email to the Town Planner to discuss the need for approval of an open machinery shed adjacent to the existing shed in the middle of the lease. I was told I would need approval as it's within the town boundary and it was unlikely it would be approved. It was about a week before I got the notification from the Mines Department stating that the shire wanted to take my lease. I can erect a structure without a solid roof, shade cloth for example, without applying for approval but that's on my land not at the airport. I cannot place a container on my land without approval.

A hanger at the Cue airport has to be a CASA approved structure and the dome shelter doesn’t meet the standard. The one hanger out there consists of the same two 40’ containers with a colour bond roof on a couple of trusses. It does look a lot better and will surely still be there long after the plastic shelter has degraded.

True, that’s the old Big Bell hotel a little west of here. My ground is totally void of shrubbery however I bought the grader and drainage pipes and commenced work but I have issues with the shire at present. It has nothing to do with the airstrip but they have applied to the Mines Department to take my mining lease for recreation. No consultation with me just a letter from the Mines Department asking for my response which I did. Now I’m in the process of loading my guns ready for the first volley of legal action. I have the lawyer lined up and intend to consult with my legal team on Monday. My lease has proven reserves of over 25,000oz of gold. I wouldn’t normally go down this road but I met the shire CEO on two occasions in the week prior to receiving the notification from the Mines Department but never heard a whisper about the proposals taking place. If they want to play dirty I’m all in…. This is a small town and a very small community, there’s no call for this sort of behaviour.

Tell em it's a community service supplied for free by all respectable proactive towns. 😇

I think I'm a long way from this problem but if there are a group of like minded people in a particular area, how about constructing a shared airstrip. I spoke to CASA yesterday and the person I spoke to said that CASA did not get involved in approvals for private airstrips. Then I asked to have that in writing, he said "I'll check it it out and get back to you". We'll see... The reason I called CASA is because I put a request into the Mines Department stating that I was disturbing the ground for that purpose. Their response was that they'd like to see proof that I'd discussed the matter with CASA and the local shire. It appears that there will be no problem with CASA but my proposed airstrip is within the town boundary and I've recently had notification that the shire want my mining lease to have it's status changed to recreation. Now I have a problem....

I'm glad I was not sitting in there....

As much as I can see the value in the iPad cooling mounts I still don't trust them enough to rely on one for my primary instruments. We're quite practised at slipping our phones into the fridge before being able to make a call. If an iPhone overheats in my pocket, as it often does, a little fan cooling is not going to be enough to sway me. I spoke to Carlos from Aircraft Automation at 6am this morning. I've pretty much decided on the Super Echo AP that stands alone rather that the Levil Aviation AP. Both use the same trim tabs but the Levil AP needs the iPad to operate. Of course I'll still need the iPad for OzRunways. Now I just have to find a suitable ADSB in/out. 🙃

The problem at last cancellation was not the weather for training at Northam but costal weather meant the plane may not have been able to be returned over the scarp to Serpentine on the Sunday. As it worked out his prediction was correct, coastal weather was quite nasty. I'm getting quite impatient now. I turn 72 in a month and I've been working at this since turning 70. My last lesson was in Esperance on the Thursday before Easter and I've been waiting to get back since then. I finished up 2.6hrs short of the required solo time. After that I need Cross Country and Prop endorsements and then I can spend so time in the air however we now bordering on summer when flying up here is hazardous.