kgwilson

I think I'd just get better quality nut plates. Problem solved.

Well I'll start with exposing myself...

 

I'm glad you didn't post a photograph.

Something definitely wrong. Nutplates are as as previously stated designed to be tight with a tapered female thread. Even if you have the right male (usually machine) screw they can be easy to cross thread and seem OK as they get really tight. If this is the case unscrew the male part & inspect the thread very closely. It will be very bright and the start will be distorted. Biff it & get another. When the correct thread is used they tighten to a point and then will fully close down with just firm pressure on the driver. The one you have pictured doesn't look like a quality nutplate to me.

What really happened and why flying at night is a bad idea.

 

http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/PlaneInATree-N6487J.htm

 

Well, apart from the signs that's where it landed. It looked too good to have been put there.

I don't know how they did it but it seems perfectly placed. Be hard to see in Summer though unless the whole exercise killed the tree.

Saw this 4 or 5 years ago. If you can fly here then every where else is a breeze.

There are some of us who somehow are destined to fly. For me it was probably from about age 3 or 4. Started with silly things like jumping off the garage roof with an umbrella. Fail. Then balsa gliders with plasticine on the nose for balance, paper kites, & models that flew. Add a 1cc engine & I began to dream that one day I'd fly. My first flight was in a Tiger Moth at age 7 courtesy of a friend of my Father who bought it for 50 quid after the war. Education, adolescence, girls & motorbikes intervened till I saw a hang glider fly from the Eiger in 1973. Back home in 76 & my aviation career began with Hang Gliding. 15 years later PPL. There have been periods of time out like when I learned to sail but I've always come back to flying. Cost has never been a consideration. It just meant the time between flights got extended. Finally at age 62 freshly retired I started to build my own aircraft. Finished at age 65 & it is one of the highlights of my life. I've had close calls, I've crashed, I've completely fuxed up but I've learned from every thing I've done. If I can keep this up I'll die happy.

I will be 70 next month & don't have an issue with confidence. I fly fairly conservatively & always check the conditions & forecast. Several people I knew were going to Evans Head but decided the Sunday forecast was not good enough as they had planned to camp. Most stayed away because of forecast weather. I was pretty sure it would be OK in the morning to early afternoon based on the forecasts, (Metars TAFs & Area as well as Windy & BOM). The flight over was beautiful apart from the relatively poor visibility but that has become the norm this year. When I decided to leave, a mate checked with Coffs & the Southerly had already turned up there but only about 20 knots at that stage. It was only a matter of time so we both left then & I had a 10-15 knot headwind back to South Grafton & on my overhead 1500 foot call noticed the sock was limp. I landed in calm conditions but just after I'd put the plane in the hangar the wind came up. Still quite flyable but that was just the start.  On Sunday it was howling according to others at the Aerodrome. It was doing the same at Evans Head

Occurrence reporting is encouraged by RA-Aus. The original report is in the reporters own words so depending upon their skills in written expression and aviation knowledge some will sound a bit nonsensical or odd. If the incident does require investigation then RA-Aus write a summary of the event and close the case. If no action is required the original sometimes incomprehensible detail is what is left for all to see and ponder over.

I got in the rotor flying my Hang Glider back in 1976 & crash landed behind the hill. I wasn't hurt but the glider was. It was very scary as I had absolutely no control. I have a healthy respect for mountain ranges when there is a lot of wind now especially when it is straight in & up to 45 degrees off. If the range is 3000 feet high I want to go over at a minimum of 5000, preferably 6000. If there"s cloud any lower than that it is a no go.

Very sad news. I saw them at Evans Head on Saturday. The weather was forecast to deteriorate with a strong Southerly coming through on Saturday afternoon. I left & got back to South Grafton by 1:00pm & it was still hot & calm. My wife rang worried as it was howling at home & my last track location was 3 miles before I got back. I'd forgotten to hit the checkin before turning the Spot off. On Sunday one of the guys from here drove to Evans due to the bad weather. He reckoned the wind was strong enough to blow a dog off a chain. Get-home-itis has killed far too many of us. The rotors on the lee side of those steep hills would have been horrendous after an equally frightening kick on the upwind side.

I must say I'm blown away by the fact the Iranians have simply admitted now, that they hit it with a missile in error.

 

I was sure obfuscation and lies and blaming America, would be the order of the day, for years to come.

 

All I can guess, is that the evidence was so overwhelming from the start, that it just couldn't be denied, and that's probably the reason why they owned up.

 

When the leaders of the various Western countries started saying it was an Iranian missile hit, picked up by U.S. spy satellites and Intelligence from intercepted communications, then I knew it was getting the ring of truth.

 

Poor buggers, it's bad enough getting shot down by a foreign nation, let alone your own countrymen.

 

Doesn't say much for the trigger-happiness and poor level of training amongst the missile operators.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-11/iran-admits-to-shooting-down-ukrainian-plane/11860508

 

When it was the Yanks at fault in 1988 it took them a lot longer to admit to anything & then it was up to the ICAO to tell them they lied & even after 8 years they refused to accept liability. The USA is far from honest in almost anything they do away from home.

Maybe he'll be putting his hat back on now.

There were not many aircraft at Evans Head this year. I got there at 8:30 & ended up parking in what is normally the operational area to fill a gap and have something for the public to look at. The forecast was poor with a Southerly change due in the afternoon with Thunderstorms so this kept most away I'd say. They did their best with a Spitfire, an Extra, a Winjeel & an impromptu STOL demo from Bush Flyers Downunder. It was well organised yet again and there were plenty of people there. I left around mid-day as the Southerly had already got to Coffs but it was calm & hot back at South Grafton A few photos are attached.Lots of people few aircraft.

Spitfire & Slepsev Storch

Helping to fill up the flight line

Very few campers

Almost deserted aircraft parking area

But plenty of people

The shooting down of an Iranian passenger jet in July 1988 killing all 290 passengers & crew by the US warship Vincennes has all but been forgotten but how the real story changed dramatically over time.

The Pentagon initially denied any involvement, then admitted it but claimed the aircraft failed to heed multiple warnings & said they took "defensive action". A month later they said Iran must share the blame and stated it was "not the result of any negligent or culpable conduct by any US Naval personnel associated with the incident."

But in December of that year, a United Nations agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, came to a different conclusion. It faulted the United States because none of its ships in the area had the equipment necessary to listen in on civilian air traffic control frequencies, which would have identified the passenger jet.

"Seven of [iCAO's] eight recommendations were directed at the Navy shortcomings it had identified," The New York Times reported. Iran sued the US & it took 8 years to reach a settlement where the US would not accept liability but expressed regret at the loss of lives & paid compensation of $61.8 million to the victims families.

Whatever the truth is behind this current crash, it is likely to bear little resemblance to the current theories.

Another report says the aircraft turned around and was headed back to the airport after the explosion or whatever it was and then crashed. There are plenty of theories and speculation but until CVR & FDR are examined and the information interpreted, that's all they are. The US especially has a vested interest in the Iranian missile theory.

IT isn't about not paying landing fees. It is about how we do it. RAAus has obtained our details for Reason A & B (management of our RPC's and registrations, essentially) - but then, in an attempt to curry favour with airports and CAsA - have entered into a commercial arrangement with the Australian Airports Association to disclose our details - without any evidence whatsoever that we actually operated there mind you - to members of that association - who themselves will not say who they are, as their details "are private". Kosher? Hardly. At least AvData (pondscum they may be), publish a list of airports that utilise their services so we can avoid them if desired.

 

FWIW, I already pay $3,600 a year in hangarage and usage fees to a private airfield operator. I am also a Central Coast Council ratepayer, however, because I am not based at Warnervale, am classed as Itinerant, so my landing fees for 1 hour of circuits there come to $150. Plus another $110 just for the privilege of refuelling (Not even counting the fuel - that's extra again). So $260 just to fly a few laps and refuel in a Sub-600Kg machine. And they aren't the most expensive places I've found either...It is cheaper for me to fly from Sydney to Morrabbin or Archerfield, fly an hour of circuits there, land, refuel and fly home than it is to fly 10nm to Warnervale and do an hour there...

 

You tell me why it's fair to charge someone to "refuel on Council land" and how I - as an aircraft owner - can "owe" Council for doing so but if I refuel my tinny on its' trailer on the footpath I can do so for nix...Yep, definitely time to get out of flying. ?

 

Councils charging exorbitant fees are doing themselves a disservice in the long run. Those who approve the fees are people who know nothing about aviation and have the erroneous view that aircraft owners are all wealthy people whereas boat owners are not. Pilots will stop going there eventually and they will wonder why.

Our aerodrome is leased from Crown Lands by the hangar owners who manage it. We pay $1550.00 a year which covers lease, insurance, rates, maintenance, cones & markers, toilets, fencing, gates etc & puts a bit away for runway resealing every 10 years or so. Each aircraft owner pays $200 usage fee annually which goes towards runway, taxiway & parking area maintenance. All the work to maintain the aerodrome is done by a few volunteers. We have an honesty box for landing fees of $5.00 per ultralight & $10.00 per GA. Some don't pay which I find a bit insulting given the cost & effort we put in to provide the aerodrome.

The Great Eastern Flying is on again tomorrow and Sunday. The website has only just been updated with the program and there is no discrete frequency this year. Everything was left till quite late I guess because of uncertainty with the Bushfires. I'll be heading over early tomorrow. It's only a half hour flight for me.

More information at  http://www.greateasternflyin.com/

ATC can tell you to squawk 7700. Whether you do or not is your decision so the buck stops with you.

And now the Ukraine Air Iranian crash. Nothing to do with the Max and probably nothing to do with the aircrafts integrity but still not good news for Boeing.

Most factory made aircraft will have detailed in their POH "best rate of climb" and " best angle of climb". Two totally different processes. One up I can climb out at 1800 fpm at 65-70 knots & can see sweet FA in front of me. At 80-85 knots I can still climb at 1200-1500 fpm & see everything. I only climb out steeply if there is a bloody big mountain in the way as the CHT & EGTs are getting towards their maximums at full power & low speed.

Totally outrageous and 100% unacceptable. How did they get away with it for so long? It just proves to me that government funding and authorisation based on a process devised by academics with no knowledge or practical experience can be exploited by devious arxholes for profit and bring an entire industry into disrepute. Well the culprits will be rewarded, the students bankrupted or totally disillusioned and the architects will do nothing.

I would say high angle of attack but not in a tent. If flap retract is slow that will keep AoA lower & require more back pressure to climb. Perhaps higher gearing on the flap extend/retract mechanism would help.

Something is not right. Perhaps the Bristell is not a good choice as an initial trainer or their training regime is not as robust as it could be. Other than these 2 major crashes what other minor incidents have they had?

That's one of the major reasons why I built my own.