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nomadpete

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Everything posted by nomadpete

  1. nomadpete
    Without doubt, water bombing is a great asset. It will never replace boots (and rakehoes) on the ground. But it can cool down a fire front enough to allow the firefighters to stand a chance to control the fire (and to survive). I hope that the general public don't develop an expectation that big expensive water bombers can put out bushfires. They don't.
  2. nomadpete
    Butch, we presently do have Quote: "someone who is well paid with all entitlements ( super, holidays, sick leave, long service and the rest) tell you how to suck eggs" A bunch of us volunteers recently attended a function where we were addressed by well paid professional head office blokes. Most of the speech could be summarised as 'we're all doing a great job, be prepared, do your training, and well done chaps, but we all have a hard time ahead this summer.' Then he dodged questions relating to allowing anyone to help by using their own equipment such as using the farm tractor to slash a fire break, or heaven forbid, several professional tree fellers were ordered to always wait for a contract tree feller to be called in, if a tree needed felling, also, that we are not permitted to direct road traffic around a hazard, etc, etc. This stuff causes resentment in the ranks.
  3. nomadpete
    Yes, Nev, all firefighting pilots face risks. However, our military are expected to participate in more hazardous activities than the average worker. Even though risk management has crept into military and every other "workplace", don't forget that most of our bush fire fighters are already VOLUNTEERING to work ridiculously long hours in a very hazardous environment. Large numbers of volunteer firefighters are over retirement age. I can assure you that the risk is high for us old farts when we put on our yellows, too. And it is for the pilots already actively participating in firefighting and other emergency activity. I don't excuse the military from hazardous work just because it scores high on a 5x5 risk management assessment. Otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to play with guns and high explosives either at home or overseas.
  4. nomadpete
    Let's see. Wet H2O is water. Steam is water vapour, so it's really not 'water' whilst in a vapour state. But ice.... Nobody calls it water, nor do they call it 'water solid'. Ice is not wet. Only water is wet..... So as far as language goes, ice is not water until it melts. So there!
  5. nomadpete
    I don't think Skippy meant that the military should try to start firebombing without the right equipment. It wouldn't take a lot of foresight in a bushfire prone country, to buy some basic stuff in preparation for the armed forces to assist the people of Australia. Compared to the expenditure on submarines and unfinished fighter jets, it would cost peanuts and would actually be useful.
  6. nomadpete
    Nev, it sounds like you are suggesting that our military pilots are not as skilled/brave as our contract private crop duster pilots, who are presently bombing the fires by flying airtractors at low level in turbulent Smokey, hot air. I would hope that our military pilots have had some training in the art of bombing ! ?
  7. nomadpete
    Bex. Please. This is an aviation forum!
  8. nomadpete
    Thankfully Phil has started a new thread for further discussion of this important aviation conundrum. No doubt someone will be able to tell me how to apply the answers to my next circuit practice.
  9. nomadpete
    Oh nooo!!! Now the internet has provided two different answers to the question! But someone on our forum has gone to great lengths to assure me that the internet is a great source of fast, accurate research! Maybe I'm better off going back to sitting around the campfire debating our own theories, and drinking (good) wine. The old way was good enough to arrive at the same possibilities as the internet experts did.
  10. nomadpete
    So, Marty. You're implying that the advent of the internet would have led to a responsible reduction in my alcohol intake, but also hampered my ability to respond to a debate. If that happened, I would have had to wait until I got married to learn the art of debate. Bah, I think it was more fun without Google. Sitting around a campfire comparing Google searches just isn't very challenging. BTW, thanks for the answer.
  11. nomadpete
    Quote/"Does a fly do a half loop or a half roll to land on the ceiling? " When I was a young impressionable bloke, that very question caused a group of us to spend an entire long weekend consuming excessive amounts of alcoholic voice lubricants, in order to solve this important aviation conundrum. We never did come up with the answer.
  12. nomadpete
    Fire bomber briefing.....
  13. nomadpete
    In Ross's case, I believe the post crash fire had prevented a meaningful investigation into the cause of power loss.. We will never know what the cause was.
  14. nomadpete
    If, as was suggested at the time, there was initially a partial loss of owner before the engine failed, it may have caused Maj to hesitate before taking action. That would explain a loss of airspeed before he attempted any manoeuvre. I had a GA912 Lightwing . I once took off with both fuel taps turned off. I till can't believe my mistake. I am not suggesting for a moment that Maj did this. However, my experience is that my aircraft had sufficient fuel to climb on full noise to a height of about 200 ' before faltering, spooling down, then shortly after that going quiet. In my case, I put the nose down instantly and maintained flying speed until landing in the crop off the end of the strip. I did have that option. To lose our good friend after similar circumstances shook my confidence totally. I haven't got over it. I didn't really know Ross well but I felt closely connected to him. When I sold my a/C it had dashboard labels that he gave me. Ross, you are greatly missed by all of us, not just your immediate loved ones, but also your extended aviating family.
  15. nomadpete
    OME, what activity would you like to see? If you like I'll post something contentious, to get the ball rolling. Maybe Ian could have renamed it "Let's start an argument"
  16. nomadpete
    It'd be nice to see somebody challenge the coppers. They sometimes seem to put themselves above the law.
  17. nomadpete
    Some Aborigines are drone commanders. I've heard!
  18. nomadpete
    Do police drones have wings?
  19. nomadpete
    When Boeing say "Trust me!" No wonder QANTAS engineers are a bit skeptical. And no wonder QANTAS (to their credit) started inspections early!
  20. nomadpete
    Merkans don't speak English, old mate.
  21. nomadpete
    Does anyone remember Col Paye? It seems he ran a crop duster back in the sixties. This pic was titled 'Col Paye loading his crop duster.'
  22. nomadpete
    Do you mean to say that you are down under downunder.........?
  23. nomadpete
    The complaints sound just like the noise we used to hear, years ago, about 'those mad clowns who fly ultralights'. Out in the boonies, no danger to the public, taking a calculated personal risk, under 300' altitude. Probably safer than early ultralights because test flights were undoubtedly undertaken without a person attached.
  24. nomadpete
    In the January fires we watched a N.S.W fire 737 make two runs, water bombing just west of our home. The fire had crowned and the police had visited us to ask us to evacuate. There was a small twin turboprop spotter plane circling above, a Hercules, a couple of helicopters, and the 737. A busy time indeed. The 737 came in low, maybe 500', slow, and all flaps clearly hanging out. Hardly any noise (not that it would have bothered anyone). It disappeared over the trees before the drop so we didn't see that. All in all, quite a sight. Our personal airshow.
  25. nomadpete
    There is one little trap to watch out for with polycarbonate, as I discovered after replacing my aircraft windscreen. When the Lightwing factory built the aircraft, they sprayed about an inch wide strip of white paint around the perimeter of the screen, on the inside. It does look neat. So I copied this, only to find that spray paint can cause shallow crazing of the plastic. This showed up after I fitted the screen. I don't think it is affecting the structural quality of the plastic, as there have been no actual cracks anywhere. Just that annoying slight sparkle in a couple of places.
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