Moneybox

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.

My lessons are due to commence 15th - 16th November. I'm praying for sunshine....

Pretty accurate reporting... Emirates has confirmed to the BBC in a statement that flight EK9788 "sustained damage" on landing at the Hong Kong airport. You can always trust the media.

https://sydneyropesupplies.com.au/product-category/shock-cord-bungee-cord/page/ https://www.camscords.com.au/collections/shockcord?srsltid=AfmBOoq9cNam-PgQ-bHMGPuSW7C47Bjsw80bo-kbi4bHCqMNF4uCGUmS https://www.theoriginalshockloc.com.au/products/100-australian-made-marine-grade-shock-cord?srsltid=AfmBOorJe8dhe1NkT5cxKIzhHV5BvGby-FoCI5yzSRcgx49qY9X44NWm I'd start with these places. Search SHOCK CORD.

I would try someone like Sling Rig. They are the best I've found for ropes, chain, shackles etc. They may also have the shock cord you're looking for?

How often do you NOT find an airstrip that is listed in OzRunways? On our way home from our African holiday we looked at the weather forecast for cue, it was 40°C in Cue on Friday, a sign of things to come in the next few months so we decided to take a look at options to live further south. Our main reason to be in Cue is for the gold prospecting but if I'm up flying soon that'll take priority and Cue is not the best location to fly in the heat of summer. We started looking at Northam where the plane is chained to the ground. Anything with a bit of dirt around it was over $1,000,000 or falling apart so we checked nearby towns. We viewed houses in Toodyay and York before finding a high set 10 acre stony block within walking distance of OZYOK. That's the shire airstrip 1200m of grass and no fees. No fuel either but YWGM has Mogas 98 just a few miles east. Before blowing the kid's inheritance (they'll never get any anyway by the time I'm done) we should slip down and take a look at the airstrip. Well I dare say the airstrip is simply not there. We drove down the winding track shown on OzRunways surrounded by 1m high Canola to find the entire area ahead just more Canola. The airstrip must be plowed under and planted along with the rest of the paddock. We should be home later tomorrow so I'll call the shire of York and make some inquiries meanwhile my money is still safe in the bank.

I don't claim to know what I'm doing but it sounds like a job for a trim tab on that rudder?

We just flew the 11 hrs from Perth to Johannesburg with South African Airways, couldn’t understand any of the audio and the entertainment didn’t work well enough to use. We were just fortunate to be tired enough to catch up on some sleep while sitting up. There wasn’t enough space to topple over so that helped. We just had to hope they didn’t decide to land somewhere in between.

A simple editable Excel file might do the trick. Anybody could add a column or extra line for various engines or aircraft.

A very helpful list although all Rotax installations are not the same. The difference in your spark plug numbers is the heat range. The DCPR7E runs hotter than the DCPR8E so not a suitable alternative for everyone.

Most plastics cannot stand compression at the fasteners. If the rivets or screws are excessively tight it’s likely to develop a star crack originating at the hole.

(My son made up an angled spacer for mine, tilting the screen towards the pilot position (more betterer!)) Marty introduced me to Fusion 3D CAD so I’ve spent several hours getting familiar with it so that I’m prepared for little jobs like this. I have the 3D plastic printer but I’ve never had a job for it before. I’m looking forward to knocking up all those little fancy bits I need from time to time.

Why bother to search if somebody will do it for you (you just haven't searched like the rest of us do)

Digital is great however some such as my accountant live in the dark ages. We’ve bought and sold several properties with almost all documents filled in and signed digitally. The mines department also have quite a lot done digitally however they never really got the gist of it, they still need a signed paper copy attached as a PDF. Those government IT guys are not quite up to speed.

Why keep a dog and bark yourself 😂

Any flight from Cue to somewhere will take hours. I’ve watched a few videos, one showing the Super Echo following a flight plan. The AP must improve safety on long flights where fatigue is likely.

I’m shopping for ADSB in/out and a simple affordable AP. James from Swish Products has come up wth this nice looking package but it’s not cheap. I’ve been considering the Level AP but it relies on the iPad so I find that an unreliable option. The Level option includes ADSB. I like the look and simplicity of the Super Echo AP that also uses trim tabs instead of conventional servos. And then if I don’t go with the Level I still need ADSB in/out. I don’t want portable. Too many options ps: off to Africa in a few hours so might be quiet for a bit.

Guardian flush mounted iPad holders have fan cooling. Look like a good option?

I used to import a lot from USA. I’ve been ripped off too many times too and it’s always involved the yanks. I’ve had excellent results dealing buying and selling to most Asian markets, much more trustworthy. I’ve had some very good purchases and freight deals from the UK as well. Apart from Temu and Aliexpress my last purchase was from the Pilot Shop in Czechoslovakia where I got my Sportstar engine mounts. Great people to deal with. I avoid buying from USA if I can.