old man emu

Airplane or aeroplane? Seems like we are gradually adopting the US pronunciation more and more. The newspapers seem to use `airplane' these days, and even the ABC newsreader was talking about`airplanes' recently. rgmwa

OME

I've watched a couple of English documentaries recently about the Hurricane, Spitfire and Wellington. They were interesting in as far as they went, but I was getting bored of the same stock footage that fills out these documentaries.

Video of the subject airplane in flight does nothing more than provide some aircraft recognition. I don't know how many times I've seen the same twin-engined bomber being shot to pieces from below and behind.

What I'd like to see is some up-close-and-personal film. Show us what the pilot can see when sitting in the cockpit. What's the external visibility like? Where are the undercarriage controls? How does the gunsight work? How do the trim controls work? How do you operate the engine when on patrol and when you are in fighting mode? Let's get some recording of the cockpit noise in flight.

Then let's get under the skin. Show us the hydraulic system plumbing. How is the ammunition stored and fed to the guns? Where do the spent cartridges go? Is here any armor for the pilot. Let's have a good look over the engine. Are there any peculiarities in the engine design.

Wow! If you showed all that you'd have a really full, one hour insight into any historic airplane.

Old Man Emu

I want this car ! ! ! ! ! ( I used to have one. . . . ) 'Finest remaining' 1963 Ford Cortina set to fetch £28k at auction

OME

Have we got anyone over at Oshkosh?

OME

16 and a half thousand posts and he can't start a thread! Guess who we've been carrying for years.

OME

As young Oliver said, "Please, sir. I want some more."

I recently was watching an episode of the English archaeology series called Time Team. They were excavating Shakespeare's own house in Stratford-om-Avon. Not the house that he was born in. That's in the middle of town, but the one he owned in his later years, a bit out of the town centre. Anyway, it often happens during the excavation of old castles and manor houses that they discover the latrine pits. The thought of them finding the latrine pit of Shakespeare's house brought to mind the rhyme often seen on the back of public lavatory doors:

"One would think

with all this wit

the Shakespeare's ghost

came here to sh!t."

Imagine the humour of the situation of they did fine Shakespeare's latrine pit. Perhaps a long lost manuscript of a sonnet that he thought was ....

not up to his usual standard.

OME

Those inspection rings are simply attached with dope. No special glue needed.

OME

The pollies use the cops to pull over their enemies for breath tests?Really?

OME

I've just come from a meeting with a client for whom I have done a workplace safety risk survey. (Small workforce metal manufacturing business) The client asked me about Hi-Vis clothing for his workers.

I told him to survey the possible risks that wearing Hi-Vis would reduce. Since there are no moving vehicles in the factory; no work is done outside the building; there are about 5 people working within the building on the floor, and the welders say that they get too much reflection from Hi-Vis clothing, I told him to forget Hi-Vis and supply the workers with overalls in the colour he wants for his uniform after documenting his risk assessment so he could justify his decision. The overalls will give better protection from welding radiation, an hot slag, as well as being more fire resistant than a polymer material vest.

There are too many people who demand the wearing of Hi-Vis gear in situations where a risk survey and assessment has not been conducted and the only justification for wearing it is "everyone else wears it".

I was in a shopping centre recently around lunchtime and crowds of construction workers were there buying food. They were all wearing yellow, so no individual stood out from the crowd. It was like trying to identify one particular zebra in a herd.

OME

Junkers made a very nice air horn - the Jericho trumpet.

Ah! The Russian Night Witches.

Night Witches: The Female Fighter Pilots of World War II

OME

Don't just go to the Minister. We should all be writing to our local member to impress on them the value of aviation to the whole country, and not just to the big guys. Whether you local electorate is Big City CBD or beyond the black stump, we need to call attention to the value of aviation to this country now and in the future.

The problem that aviation at our end of the scale has is that there are so many needs, and until we can organize ourselves to concentrate our calls on parliamentarians to one problem or need at a time all our efforts will be dispersed.

OME

Don't base your IC -v- E comparisons on using the 300 Hp all the time. Imagine a 140 kg electric powerplant/battery unit that can produce up to 300 Hp in a plane that requires, say, 80Hp to cruise at 100 kts. You could use the 300 Hp to rise off the ground like a fart in a bath, then back right off to 80 Hp for cruise. Would a full charge last a lot longer? Couple that with contra-rotating props and you might not even need as much as 80 Hp to maintain cruise.

We really need to delve into current battery technology and not rely on our experiences with Eveready Nine Lives.

OME

Lawyer: Successful litigation by a plaintiff for injuries arising from small, thin shards of glass could foreseeably run into millions. Likewise the company's failure to promote the responsible service of alcohol by manufacturing a glass of twice he standard size would adversely impact on the normally amicable relationship between the company and its insurers. Our advice is to steer the middle course and manufacture glasses of standard capacity and material thickness.

My grandson couldn't keep quiet that long.

Watch out if you fly in the rain as the canard.loses lift when it gets wet.

(The term “canard” arose from the appearance of the Santos-Dumont 14-bis of 1906, which was said to be reminiscent of a duck (canard in French) with its neck stretched out in flight.)

OME

And baby makes three

OME

First aid kit

Strips of brightly colored cloth for signaling

Mirror for flashing as a signal

Prismatic compass

Plastic bags for condensing water

OME

Our son took about two hours to travel the length of Camden Bypass this morning !! We tried to go to Camden but the traffic was at a standstill on Burragorang Road so turned round.

I've never seen hold ups like it.

OME

The only way into Camden Airport was by air. Did you get caught in the traffic jam on Burragorang Road? I went through The Oaks, but not past the airport. I wonder how it faired.

OME

Normally it's not one WAC but a whole of AUS pack with the edges cut off and then put together.

I hope that you have a very, very high wall to put your map on. Check the scale of the map and compare it to the actual size of Australia.

Oh, and start at the top of the wall.

OME

Thanks.

See you all there!

OME

What happened to the really good parts of this site? You know - the Off Topic one?

OME

T I expect that if everything is on hand, I could realistically hope for a completion date 6 to 9 months after starting. OME

OME