Litespeed

I am with Ozzie-

special section for electric would be great- the future is now.

Phil

A old promo video for the original Vampire.

more info in this longer video.

I note the production version will have much bigger doors and clear views.

Nice

Sadler who use to make the nice metal single seat Vampire have finally come up with a two seater.

Looks good and the price is right. Nice to see another LSA using Jabiru's 120hp motor.

I always liked the original Vampire and this is a cool 2 seat version.

Phil

And a 4 engine version done by EADS.

Nice.

Technology marches on and fun can be had with some sparks

The future looks electric- 260kmh is a damn fast rechargable

Phil

another light weight- at 72kg this electric really shows the future of flight.

I am amazed.

As a alternative to the rag and tube brigade in the anorexic class.

lovely little sportplane.

Even better with a powerful two stroke or a JCV360. Not a big fan of industrial conversions.

Phil

Some days it is better to stay in bed..................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQYQOzSMsRQ

We can all remember the dangers of Birdstrike- but this gives a whole new meaning.

Good to see that no bad bird goes unrewarded.

Phil

Yeah,

The speed merchants probably need something like a Hog to slow em down and relax.

Not a huge fan of crotch rockets either- my back is much older than the rest of me.

Aprilia make some damn nice bikes and would let any of them in the stable.

Chrome is not my choice either- if it shines it should be polished alloy or stainless.

I am a bit of a nut on polished alloy, and have all the gear still. But hate the mess of doing it.

A trailer on a bike, defeats the purpose in my mind- each to their own. A sidecar at least has style, I used to have a zepplin one.

Cheers

Phil

I have said it before and it will always be true-

Do not be anywhere near a idiot when they Darwinate.

Phil I wasn't talking of the BMW. reread my post. ( and I am aware as much as most, of the various BMW motored German planes in WW2)I was talking of the Duke and the Guzzi. The details of the weakness were discussed and agreed with a dealer and tuner of the Marque (Guzzi)so I'm not making it up, and the bevel drive Ducatis are extremely weak in the bottom end. The big end metallurgy was crook and they ran angular contact ball bearings for the mains which didn't last long. They don't even put out a lot of power, but they are sought after now. A round case 750 and a Mike Hailwood replica are valuable.. It's not for me to judge what people ought to be able to like in a motorcycle, without having a put down vomit emoticom requested. I do find that sort of comment "over the top". actually and I wish you wouldn't do it. Nev

my comments have seemed overly negative- I did not mean for the tone to come out the way it sounds.

I had never heard of the case weakness with the Guzzi, so it is just new to me. And fully agree about the ducati bottom ends- very weak design and a big money earner for mechanics. Even the Pantah models with plain bearings had major failures. I remember one breaking a rod and destroying the entire engine and gearbox mid corner when I was riding it- mid corner made for a scary moment.

I would love a round case ducati and MHR 1000 in any collection.

The Harley comment was not a slur at you, but their unsuitability for use in aircraft.

The vomit emoticon was about a suitable emoticon to describe my personal opinion of hogs- certainly not a comment on you or any one who likes them. Each person seeks different things.

Just like I keep seeing the Popcorn emoticon turn up but can't find it to use on the list.

My apologies Nev- no offence was intended- just typed faster than brain was functioning.

Phil

The best for a beginner or expert in one plane is a Multiplex with a pusher prop. Sorry the name escapes me.

They have a incredibly tough elapor foam and great design, nice low wing loading and fly easy. You can fly them a easy 45mins on a modest lipo battery.

Last time I watched a friend fly his, the local magpie decided the plane was a threat, so made dozens of sorties over half a hour. His flying display in combat with Mike was amazing. Sometimes he would dive from above, or below even from a high dive at the side and the wing. He had many hits on the tail that day.

We could hear his wings as the plane was so quiet with pusher and brushless motor. Amazing to watch, and no injuries on either bird or plane.

A normal rc made of wood and film, would never have survived the combat.

These are so good, many clubs flyers use them as all rounders and capable of great use and abuse.

NEV,

I have always down my own mechanical work and for many others as well.

I have never seen a Guzzi have a problem with the case near the cam. Is new to me.

Yes it could be used as a generator motor but was designed with other things in mind as well. In the 70's,80's it was the endurance racer specialist.

Guzzi motors were used by the Italians when they made drones for target and camera's.

I have ridden many a ducati and loved some, loathed others.

To say the old desmos were not built to last is a understatement. Run one hard for a long time and they blow bottom ends.

Yes to many bike riders that may not matter, but for riders that want to ride rather than repair and pay huge bills- it matters a great deal.

In years past, I did a lot of high speed touring- many tours ended with a dead duck at the side of the road. Try telling the owner- he should have expected such things would not be well recieved.

BMW - there are thousands flying in Europe using the bike engines and the company has a long history of aircraft engine making. WW2 remind you?

Phil

David,

the modern electronics can be a real pain sometimes and in suprising ways.

Glad your happy with the Prado, as I have heard of several that when driven in certain ways will go to limp home mode as well.

One guy it was just using the road to his farm- almost evertime. Toyota was not helpful at all and blamed the driver.

It is often a problem with sensors that fail or trip to tell the engine to go into limp mode or stop completely.

Safety features can often be the culprit- a mercury switch is moved by vibration and trips- tells the car it has rolled over, so shuts the lot down. bugger to fix it you don't know it exists.

But some are much better than others. My 13 year old v8 BMW has never had a electronic or mechanical problem and has safety gear some still don't.

Certain commodores have a habit of eating ECU's as if Lord Lucas Prince of darkness was alive and well.

They are great when they work but a huge pain for some to fix.

I swear some are running Windows for Car

Phil

To me it all comes down to appropriate technology for the intended use.

I do think that we use dinosaurs in aircraft but that is often the best choice for the intended use.

The fact that we pay a huge amount for a dino engine does annoy though.

I would like to see some more modern tech in them though. As far as mags go- they are generally very reliable just heavy and expensive. Other systems exist that are similarly redundant and do not need external power, but still use the induction coil method- just compact and cheaper.

AS a side note but still wing related-

The two best engines I have ever used in motorbikes were old school pushrod but excellent for their use and could not easily be bettered.

A BMW r100cs a worked flat twin that scared ducatis, I challenge any one to kill one through use- assuming oil is changed.

200,000km plus and still purred along.

The other was a Moto Guzzi Le mans MK111. This has also 200,000km plus and was as tough as the BMW but with speed to beat the ducatis any day.

So a push rod motor for the Guzzi that revved higher than a Desmo ducati, made more power high and low, and was lighter as well plus better economy.

All in a package that did the double century with normal maintenance. The Ducati was considered the better engineered as it had desmo heads- wrong it just made them complex and made them very specialized to service. All my friends had to do complete rebuilds at 40,oookm or risk total meltdown- some never made it.

Over the same lifespan and km's the better tech ducati would cost a minimum of $20k for rebuilds, the Guzzi none needed, same for the BMW.

Its all about horse's for courses.

As both these companies have made aero engines, context is covered.

But don't even think of a harley in the same breath. A harley in a aircraft is a recipe for disaster. (wish we had a vomit emoticon)

Phil

And there is nothing on earth - car, bike, boat or aircraft that sounds as good as a worked 1948 flat head Mercury with an open exhaust.

I have heard plenty of engines sound better- euro ones.

So all you guys had to say was Side Valve V8 and all would be understood.

Briggs and Stratton still use this ancient design.

I would never give ford credit for the V8- even for cars. He just produced the cheapest in big numbers, by clever manufacturing and casting.

By the time the flat head came out, DOHC, superchargers and 4 valves per cylinder were around and often in one engine. They just weren't cheap.

Given the low compression and poor power- I would expect it to be smooth with 8 weak power pulses.

Some brave soul has designed and marketing a flat four aero engine with side valves and hoping the narrow width will overcome the compromised performance. I am underwhelmed.

But I will assume its is a ford v8.

Is it a dinosaur push rod or something with tech designed after 1910?

Shit man,

I am going grey and don't recognise SV v8's.

What gives- don't hold back!

half way to a pension

Phil

Yes I think it is a stupid decision.

The whole line of had to act to badly to stop losses are smoke and mirrors and entirely self inflicted.

Given the knowledge of strike action and lead times involved it is very doubtful Qantas had to suffer such losses but rather chose to as part of its campaign against staff.

And any claims about financial losses are hard to believe given their track record.

Qantas had chosen to make losses and damage its workforce and public relations.

The $249 million is after a number of expenses that should have been mitigated by better management decisions.

This level of profit is actually a reasonable return for shareholders given the 3.53 billion in shareholder assets and given the turmoil management have caused.

And that is after a number of big hits after natural and human disasters hit profit big time.

I am not saying they should not try to make ammends with customers but should not have put it self in this place to start with.

I have no faith in any claims about costs of this esp when the ACCC has forced qantas to compensate at far greater levels than Joyce was calculating.

Many of the international customers will now charge for total cost of the holiday they lost, including hotel bookings, cruises, tours, other expenses etc.

I would be surprised if direct money back to international customers does not exceed $20 million alone in cash and that is a low estimate. Add in the lost fares, payment of hotels, payment to other airlines for tickets and a a heap of others costs and this will be a huge bill.

Same goes for local flights.

Some in finance are stating at least $100 million in direct costs are expected in the first week and totals when all settles down in 6 months of at least $250 million and much greater future costs due to loss of good will and market share.

Add this to the over $Billion lost in shareholder value since playing hard ball with staff and that means $1.25 billion in loss for playing hardball and all with no gain.

They could have burnt jet aircraft on the tarmac for a fireworks display and cancelled insurance and be in a similar spot.

So want to learn how to commit commercial suicide?

Joyce has a great track record.

So Qantas makes a token apology to customers with a free flight for 100,000 people and thinks that will make up with customers?

How much will those free flights cost at Qantas rates?

Given the freebies are trans tasman and unlimited destination in Australia, so what Perth or Darwin or....

That is going to be a huge bill- maybe average $500 minimum return in lost sales- so $50 million alone, add in FFP goodies yet to be announced, the huge PR bill that will continue for months.

and all for a ego trip.

Top stuff

give than man a laced cigar.

What is the price of 162 here in oz taxes paid?

And which Jab do we compare?

They were doing a school spec thats certified for $60k brand new J160 with steam gauges and a 22oo 4 cylinder.

So $70k with a zero timed engine at 1000hrs and change left over. (cheaper to rebuild than 6)

Any figures for 162?

Phil

I like the popcorn.

currently in meetings with brains trust.

Beer is cold.

Here is a link to the shareholders assoc. from the AGM.

Not happy campers

http://australianshareholders.com.au/asa_site/images/pdf_archive/presentations/qan%20vi%20agm%202011.pdf

Good read, provides a nice insight.

Phil