rgmwa

No worries, Red. You don't have a Manned Model Aircraft category anyway.

Here's one for Red750's list. https://youtu.be/hxrvSocW7IM?si=K0IC9yVdW33NvM5g

A really good landing is when you can use the plane again afterwards. Edit: Just saw that Blueadventures beat me to it but I can't delete is now. Still, worth repeating.

Please switch the engine off when filming next time.

That’s part of the pre-camera switch on checklist. That’s why you don’t see it.

I've experienced a couple of breakdowns on the way across the Nullarbor. The first one was an overheating engine just outside Southern Cross in the 1990's due to what turned out to be a cracked head. Wife and four young kids in a LWB diesel Hi-Ace towing a camper on our way to Victoria for a holiday. The local mechanic (Jaimie at Southern Cross Motor Mart) was a bit reluctant to help at first but then spent his Saturday morning pulling the engine apart. Vans (he called them `pie wagons') are not easy to work on as access to the engine is pretty restricted. He rang the Toyota dealer in Kalgoorlie and commandeered a new head about to go into another vehicle, gave me his old Landcruiser to go and get it (just as his wife had hooked up a horse float to collect a pony from Cunderdin for their daughter), arranged for me to take it over to a backyard mate of his in Kal to have the valves and springs assembled in his home workshop and then spend a very hot Sunday morning putting everything back together. He had it done by lunchtime (after a heavy night as he was the president of the local hot rod club and they had had their annual dinner the might before). He sat on the step with a beer while I took the van for a test run. When I came back there was water dripping out because the water pump had packed up. He didn't have a spare but said "I know who does", hopped on his pushbike and rode down to the oval where another mate of his was watching the cricket and came back with a box under his arm. Back over the pits to put the pump in, another test run, and we were back on the road the next morning and got to my parent's with the kids in just time for Christmas despite all the odds. Jaimie (and his wife Michelle) were absolutely unbelievably kind and generous. We always called in on subsequent trips. The second time was a few years later, same van but this time towing a caravan. A local garage had installed a new towbar just before we left but it turned out they had used 10mm mild steel bolts to secure it instead of 12mm high tensile bolts. As a result we almost lost the caravan not far from Caiguna when the bolts on one side sheared and a bracket failed. We barely managed to limp into the roadhouse with the caravan almost dragging on the ground. I phoned the garage back in Perth but there was nothing much they could do. The roadhouse didn't have anyone who could do the welding but they rang a workshop in Norseman who agreed to do it if we could get the towbar there. I left the family at the caravan park and drove back to Norseman and found the workshop. The young owner was very helpful (turned out he was a qualified pipeline welder so he knew how to weld). However he didn't have the right bolts, nor did any other place in Norseman, so I drove to Bunnings in Kalgoorlie and got some and the right size drill bit just in case. Back to Norseman, towbar welded and properly installed this time and an overnight drive back to Caiguna. The garage in Perth picked up the bill, which was the least they could do as we could easily have had a very bad accident. It just shows there are really good people out there who will go out of their way to help if you are in trouble.

Yes, but if you're pretending to be a qualified commercial pilot flying paying passengers for an airline, that puts you into a very different category than flying solo around the backblocks without a licence in a C152. You may be a great natural pilot but both are illegal and one carries a very substantial risk to the general public.

It's been a while since I last read it, but in `Fate is the Hunter' Ernie Gann describes a similar incident where he encountered an unqualified pilot who went on to kill himself and his passengers some years later.

Almost everything we do involves some level of risk and if things go wrong it will inevitably involve other people in various ways. But there is a big difference between irresponsible and possibly unlawful behaviour and considered risk and legal activity. The trick is being smart enough to recognise the difference and there are plenty of idiots who don't care what the difference is. I think they are more the ones OT was referring to. I might like to go gliding but would I choose a Blanik or a wing suit. My choice might define who I was.

If it was Eddie Seve he was a well known member of the Freedom Formation and a very experienced pilot. RIP /lovable-uploads/66fcf5dc-f35a-40eb-9833-936a75009470.png Freedom Formation | Aerobatic Display Team WWW.FREEDOMFORMATION.COM.AU Freedom Formation - The largest Formation Aerobatic Display Team in the Southern Hemisphere

What a shambles! I’m happy with the old site so if they keep it going that suits me and probably many others, but it makes you wonder how they made such a mess of this expensive upgrade.

Could be a worry if it starts to rain.

I was a late starter too. It took me about 20 months to get my PPL and then four years to build the plane. It all takes time (and money).

You've done very well to achieve all that in pretty quick time.

A photographic memory would be great. Someone forgot to load the film in mine.

Mine will idle down to about 1450, but I don't go below 1800 unless stopping the motor. It also helps to cut one magneto at about 1800 and wait two or three seconds as the motor slows before cutting the other one. It stops with less of a clunk. A 2000 rpm idle is a bit slow when the engine is cold. I usually run it a 2200-2300 initially.

I agree, Nev. But if it is over her head you might reliably conclude that all is not well.

When the skirt’s over her head the plane is upside down. Simple, but effective and requires no batteries or gyros.

Seems like a good idea, not that you should ever fly into IMC as a VFR pilot, but it could happen. What would it cost?

Perhaps I should have been more specific and said rivets used in aircraft structures need to be aviation grade.

Yes there are areas that are non critical where it wouldn’t matter, but why mix and match rivets. They are not exactly expensive and it’s just not good practice. However your plane, your choice.

Because apart from consistent quality they are designed to capture the head of the mandrel to ensure full shear capacity.

Don't use rivets from Bunnings on an aircraft. They need to be aviation grade (eg Avex).

... and full of corrugations or under water. 😀

You can still access the old site here: https://reg.bom.gov.au/