old man emu

Move the glue gun up a bit.

OME

Thanks Mark....I am being told that I was supposed to have cut the sharp tabs off the end of the thimble before swaging it.Scotty

OME

Good result on the swaging. (Oh! And some nice carpentry)

OME

Have you ever invested in Aviation Culture? Have you considered investing in rare aviation books?

I spotted these books for sale in a rare books shop in Bowral NSW:

Biggles in the Baltic. Capt. W E Johns. 1941 Reprint. Hardcover. No dust cover. 256pp; 6 B&W illustrations. $200

The Biggles Flying Omnibus. Capt. W E Johns. 1940. First issue. Containing "Biggles Flies North", "Biggles Flies South" and "Biggles Flies West" . Three volumes. $200

Biggles Flies Again: Capt. W E Johns. 1934. True 1st edition. Part of The 'Ace" series. Currently the onle copy advertised for sale in the world. $1500

The Spy Flyers: Capt. W E Johns. 1937. Identical to first edition except for the Autumn 1937 catalogue. $350

Planes of the Great War 1914-1918. Howard Leigh. Forward by Capt W E Johns. 1934. 111pp. 50 B&W plates. $150

British Aircraft 1809-1914. Peter Lewis. 1962 1st Edition. 576pp (Yes. 1809-1914) $80

Black Bread & Barbed Wire - Prisoners in the First World War. Michael Moynihan 1978. First Edition $85

Aeroplanes & Aero Engines. Capt P H Sumner. 1939. 3rd edition 281pp $95

I have no financial interest in the bookshop, or any of the books offered for sale.

Seller's website: www.thebookmen.com.au

Old Man Emu

This copy has lots of aviation stuff.

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ueQDAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

OME

I often lose myself reading old magazines on line. One of my favourite sites is Google books. There I found digitised copied of Popular Mechanics magazine going right back to 1900. Here's the link:

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=A9EDAAAAMBAJ&as_pt=MAGAZINES&source=gbs_other_issues

Not only do they contain interesting stuff about early aviation, they also contain items about inventions, and techniques for making all sorts of things.

Did you know that the hand drier using blown air were invented before WWl? Sucks to be you, Mr Dyson!

OME

He doesn't play with electricky stuff - all old time analogue.

OME

Scotty,

If you are a watchmaker, then you should look into becoming and instrument fitter.

You could set up a business for a relatively small outlay, and at the moment instrument fitters are few and far between.

I know a fellow who has been running this sort of business for years from his home. He bills at about $120 per hour. He's getting on in years now, and could be worth asking if he wants to sell out.

Don't become an airframe/engines LAME. It will cost a lot to set up shop, after you have done your four years of apprentice time and sat all your licence exams.

OME

Was that young Thommo on his way home for the weekend?

OME

What that means is that if a manufacturer sets out how a maintenance task is to be done; how often, and using what parts etc, then that is the way the job must be done. On your plane, the manufacturer says to glue the fabric down, shrink and dope. Since there is no mention of stitching, you are not required to do it.

If, however you are building something like a Pietenpol AirCamper, there are no manufacturer's instructions on how to carry out the covering process. Therefore you would refer to the FAA Advisory Circular AC43.13-1b.

(I don't have a strip. I'm within the Wilton Parachuting Danger Area)

OME

First rule of aircraft maintenance is: If the manufacturer describes the procedure and materials to carry out a job, then that is the way to do it.

Second rule of aircraft maintenance is: If the manufacturer does not describe the procedure and materials to carry out a job, then follow AC43.

OME

Some time ago, I posted an article on how to tie the Modified Seine Knot. You might find it useful.

http://www.recreationalflying.com.au/threads/a-practical-guide-to-rib-lacing-using-the-modified-seine-knot.16575/

Old Man Emu

Who bought it?

I bought a WLA with sidecar in 1968 for $1000, all painted up. Sold it in 1970. Forty-two years later I bought another WLA solo for $14,000. Gave it a lick of paint and fitted some shiny bits. Now it's worth around $20K. And I have it as a daily ride, if I don't have to cart anything bulky.

OME

It's in the genes. His great grandfather was a dog fighting Ace over the Western Front.

Doesn't matter how frequently it oscillates. It shouldn't.

Probably buried along with the WLA Harley Davidsons still in their crates.

I belive that the truth is that the surplus aircraft of all types were stripped of instruments, radios, armaments etc then set alight so they became blobs of molten meal, or they were cut up with saws for recycling. They did it to CAC Boomerangs there, too. And there are pictures at Narromine of wingless fuselages of Mosquitos being towed away after being sold at auction to local farmers.

This yarn about buried military equipment is mostly urban myth.

(But what about the Spitfires in Burma?)

OME

I am still concerned about the oscillation.

Thanks for the input Nev, I've flown it feet off and it tends to hunt a bit, rather than being out of balance one way or the other it tends to yaw one way then slowly yaw the other way, we're talking half a ball here. Matty

OME

Unlucky? I'll tell you how unlucky I am ...

I booked one of those sex tours to a mystery island and ended up on the Greek island of Lesbos.

OME

If your airplane is not rigged correctly, you'll also find that it cannot meet the performance figures claimed for it.

How does yours compare to other people's?

OME

I have a problem flying straight and level and keeping the ball centered, it won't fly "feet off", unless there's a rigging problem cheers Matty

If I was you, I'd go back to Aerodynamics 101: If a plane is to fly straight and level, all the forces acting on it must balance out. Find out what's out of balance.

Q1. Which side does the plane keep wanting to turn to?

Q2. What would make a plane turn in that direction?

Q3. Are the wings rigged level? (Check several points equidistant from the wing root.)

Q4. Does one of the ailerons droop?

Q5. Is the rudder rigged correctly (allowing for some offset for prop wash effect)?

Q6. Are both sides of the fuselage equidistant from the fore/aft centre line.

You can see that the answers to Q3 to Q6 can be found simply by using a tape measure, however it is probably best to buy a few metres of clear plastic tubing from a hardware store, fill it with water and use it as a water level to make sure things are level.

Hope you find that the answer is simple.

OME

From the aviation news on the Hme Page

Plane makes emergency landing on dike

She wasn't impressed by the flying skills involved.

OME

I see that they stood down the ATC guy who authorised one of the aircraft to change altitude.

I heard a sound grab from a passenger in one of the planes who said he say the other plane descending to the left. Seems the pilots were on the ball at the time so they carried out the correct avoidance procedure.

OME

I sent a request for some information to the CASA DAMP Oversight sectiontoday and I got this automated reply:

"Please accept this email as acknowledgement that the CASA DAMP Oversight section has received your email. The DAMP Oversight section is currently experiencing a high level of correspondence, and we will respond to you in due course."

Admittedly, September is the month when DAMP organisations have to submit their 6-monthly report, but that is done electronically. I wonder who else is corresponding with them.

OME