old man emu

16 hours ago, danny_galaga said:

I was trying in earnest to keep as much steel as possible away from the panel because of the compass.

Don't piss before your water comes. Any deviating effects your airframe, engine and avionics are likely to make on your magnetic compass will be dealt with when the aeroplane is complete and you swing the compass to get the data for your compass deviation card. You did ensure that when you bought your compass you specified that it had to be adjusted for Southern Hemisphere dip, didn't you?

I'm saddened by the lack of response to my plea for pilots to compose a letter to Gilgandra Council telling it that regular maintenance of runways is essential to attract people with money to spend in the local economy to use the aerodrome.

Is it that people lack the time to compose a letter, or is it they don't know how what to say? In an attempt to overcome these factors, I have composed an example and attached it here. In that I have put all the things that that should be put to Council. 

If you are going to give this support and want to follow the example, PLEASE change to wording and writing style to suit the way you speak. Don't simply use my words. That makes any letters sound insincere. 

Email your letter to me  here: [email protected]

Thanks,

Old Man Emu

for Arthur Butler Aviation Museum Inc.

Pro forma letter to Council.docx

On 16/01/2023 at 6:38 PM, facthunter said:

You can clearly see the aileron being applied to lift the dropping wing. It's all over at that stage.  Nev

Didn't I hear something in a discussion video about using aileron to lift a dropping wing when close to the ground. But that only applied to Ag pilots, so I'm led to believe.

20 minutes ago, derekliston said:

The only reason I can think of for that is to avoid landing fees.

Talk and talk and talk! No landing fees at Tooraweenah!

21 minutes ago, derekliston said:

I’d rather have a $10 landing fee than my wife have a $6,000 funeral fee!

That'll be a drop in the ocean compared to your vast estate she'll get after the funeral.

Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing, or words to that effect are often used to encourage the masses into action against a perceived wrong. 

In the case of Tooraweenah Aerodrome, I can happily say that there are no Bad Men lurking in City Hall. At the moment they are not "woke" to the need to budget for more maintenance and for provision of facilities. No one is trying  to turn the site into a 21st Century residential slum, or Storage City. Let's face it, every Council is short on funds and needs to be careful how the funds they have are allocated. All the Museum is trying to say to Council is that there will be an economic return to the community if the aerodrome is well maintained, and there is a decent place to relieve the body's needs after a few hours in a confined space.

I was very fortunate today at Bankstown where I met the Head of Flying Operations of the Little Wings organisation. This organisation does similar work to Angel Flight. He showed me on a map of NSW the places from which they pick up children to take them to specialists in Sydney. As we were talking he mentioned a young girl who had been burned and was receiving treatment in Sydney. He could not remember her name, but when I said the name of a girl I knew in a similar condition, he said she was the one. I told him that I drove the bus that took her to football practice. So he is going to write to the Mayor to tell him that keeping Toora in serviceable condition would improve the service his organisation could give to the community. 

That's the sort of information that will swing the Council's thinking towards a higher level of maintenance, which in turn will flow on to benefit those of us who would use the aerodrome. For those of you who don't need the aerodrome for business purposes, we ask that you indicate to Council that you would use it for one of, tourism of the Tooraweenah area, or taking a short break whilst en-route elsewhere, or as a destination for navigational training flights, or simply somewhere to go for a weekend away.

The Council is not interested in spending money on obscure activities such as establishing a museum. It only wants to spend money to the benefit of the community. This is what good men should see and do something about.

13 hours ago, Garfly said:

  that might interfere with the sale of our secrets .... but we can hardly afford at the present time to jeopardize our other interests in doing it."  

MY OPINION:

Written to their friend. I think that by January 1906 they had sold the patent to the company formed to make use of it. The comment to Chanute seems to me to be, "We could, but we have 'commercial in confidence' considerations to address. Once they sold their patent, I think that they realised that they were trapped in the corporate world, which they had not understood when the entered it. Basically, they lost control of their freedom of expression. Since they were the celebrities, it is only natural that the Company would push them forward into the limelight while that movers and shakers hid in the (theatrical) wings.

Garfly, I didn't mean to make a personal attack. On reflection I think I didn't read your post fully. Sorry.

Initially, Heritage listing sounds like a great idea, but when strangers start poking their noses in and enforcing their rules, those who pressed for the listing start losing their control. In other words, listing can be a double-edged sword. It opens the floodgates to grant money, but entangles you in the attached strings.Right now we just want to enthuse the Council. 

I would like to thank those who have responded to my request already, and ask those who are yet to do so, to take ten minutes to write a letter and send it to me. The experience we gain running this campaign could be a boon to you and your flying mates when your Council starts making noises about the high cost of maintaining your aerodrome and that closing down the aviation side  and opening up industrial or residential developments would return more to Council. Ironically, those same Councilors and their families and friends will happily fly away on holiday. Do they expect to fly in pilot-less aeroplanes? 

2 hours ago, Garfly said:

The layoff was caused by the brothers' obsession with secrecy.

That is utterly incorrect. The Wrights were swapping information all over the world. Yes, they did patent their method for 3-axis control. But they sold the patent to a company set up by the Big Business tycoons of the day. The Wrights held shares in the company and so were the front guys for any litigation brought on by the  company.  So check the fact before continuing to spread false news. I have posted a video about the patent business either her or on the sister forum.

QED - Quid erat demonstradum.

1 hour ago, Garfly said:

I'd be happy to make that case in an email if you think it would work.

There is a plaque at the aerodrome and I have applied for one from Heritage NSW. And these letters are the ammunition that the Mayor himself has asked for to fire at the other Councilors during the budget meetings.

Right now our task is to let Council know that if it spends money on facilities at Toora - meaning, first off, an amenities block with Loos and (separate) showers - that people will be attracted to the Shire where they will spend money on accommodation, refreshments and tourism. Those three things are what the Council wants to build up. All the historical stuff is important cultural history of Toora, but that's the province of the Museum and the Council can't put community money into that. What they want is a reason to include increased money for maintenance in next year's budget.

So what we are asking for is for pilots to tell the Council that would come and use the aerodrome as an entry portal into the local tourist areas, as long as the aerodrome runway was kept well mown and free of weeds that produce tyre damaging thorny seeds. You should also mention that an essential facility at a country aerodrome is an accessible toilet becasue afte a longish flight passengers and crew need to de-fuel.

Please write a letter in the usual business format. Address it to: The Mayor, Gilgandra Shire Council, Gilgandra 2827. Please include your name and contact details (postal or email) Then you can send to letter to me at this address:

[email protected]

I will collect all the letters and include them with our submission.

Thanks,

OME

9 hours ago, Student Pilot said:

I found it tedious 

It is like a traditional Christmas pudding - you have to consume a lot to be rewarded with the silver sixpences.

I agree that its main purpose was to inform Ag pilots, but what was said applied equally well to the operation of all aircraft. What I got from it was the need to be aware of risk taking on the edge of the envelope. I especially liked the statement "Risk has no memory." As for flying, I thought they provided a great explanation of the turning forces acting on an aeroplane. After hearing that, one wonders how the Wright Brothers, without the knowledge gained in the succeeding century, ever managed to make it to the 1910s.

They might have been aiming this instruction at Ag pilots, but I found it very good for a puddle-jumper pilot. What better way to learn than to be given the experience of the blokes who have been there, done that and bought the T-shirt.

And how great s it to be told about "Normalization of Deviance".  

I've had two letters sent to me so far, but I need to flood the Mayor's office with supportive letters. We all bemoan the negative reactions of Local Government to aerodromes under their control. Here is a Council which "off the record" has told us that if we can show a great deal of support from the aviation community, they will include upgrades to the infrastructure (i.e. build a toilet block, at least) in the coming year's works budget.

So please, fill up my email in-box with letters of support and I'll fill the Mayor's office.

Email your letter to: [email protected]

4 hours ago, IBob said:

OME, in this instance, it aint crap:

I was taking a shot at Skippy, not the product. Of late he's that plane of his has been giving him nightmares.

2 hours ago, Student Pilot said:

Beware charities

The Angel Flight Art Union is fair dinkum. The NSW Permit No is GOCAU/2487 Go ask NSW Fair trading to confirm if you are not too paranoid to contact a Government agency.

Put anymore crap in the plane and it won't get off the ground!

Arthur Butler Aviation Museum Inc is begging for your help.

The vision of Arthur Butler Aviation Museum Inc is, in part, to preserve the aerodrome at Tooraweenah that served as Butler Air Transport Ltd's transfer hub. The best way to do that is to ensure that it is maintained in the best possible level of serviceability and has the facilities needed by its users. The aerodrome is owned by the local Council, which is financially reluctant to add facilities such as toilet amenities and hangarage unless the investment is warranted through usage. They are doing the right thing by not charging landing fees. The only way Council will know of the need for these things and the use they will get is if the community tells them so.

The Museum will be taking a petition to the people of Tooraweenah to get local support. What would be of immense help is support from the aviation community. You can provide this help by sending a letter or email to the Secretary outlining how having the aerodrome in serviceable condition and access to the village for refreshment and toilet facilities would entice you into a stop-over whilst en route between the northern and southern States, or a day trip from NSW centres, or a short stay to experience the Warrumbungle Mountains and the rest of the "Real Country" ("Real Country" is the title of the tourism promotion of the three Shires bordering Tooraweenah.) Please note that until aircraft movements increase substantially, Avgas will not be available, and Mogas only by pre-arrangement.

It won't cost you a cent to write, but you effort will be worth thousands to the Museum. You can send your email to [email protected]

Please include your name.  The Museum's Privacy Policy is attached here.

Thanks in anticipation for your help.

Old Man Emu

Privacy Policy.docx

UPDATE:

I spoke to the organiser. The prize aircraft was constructed AFTER  the 7th February end date, so the problem won't affect the prize aircraft.

It seems that the Continental engine in the Cirrus S22 which is the prize in the Art Union likes to throw props. An SB is coming. The plane that is the prize here should have the SB deal with before handover.

Got an email today from CASA Flying Operations Team estimating a reply within 20 working days. That's 10th March. That's 51 days.

How can you advertise an event when CASA makes it doubtful if you will get approval? Here is an extract from their document Interim Air Display Administration and Procedure Manual CASA-03-0039

I submitted an application on 18 January 2023 for an event to be held on 20 May 2023, that's 121 calendar days prior to the event. That's definitely more than 45 calendar days before the event. But CASA will endeavour to issue an air display approval ... 10 days before the date of the event.

How the hell can you expect organizers to take care of advertising and confirming all the ancillary things that support the event if you don't know until the eleventh hour if approval will be given. How do the people who are going to attend plan their travel?

As the Display Organizer, I have to give the go-ahead for the event. My biggest fear is that the weather will not be favourable. I have made the contingency plan to call a postponement on the Thursday 2 days before the event if the forecast is unfavourable. But that is a postponement, not a cancellation. If CASA denies the application only 10 days before the event everyone's plans go out the window.

Did I mention before that for reading through a few pages and looking at some diagrams, CASA wants $160 per hour for what it says will take 10 hours - $1600 just to look at the application, and no refund if they say NO.

You might consider this: Applications for ... flypasts must be made 21 calendar days prior to the planned event. It is common for aero clubs and flying friends to arrange a flypast at the funeral of an honoured colleague. Just remember to tell the family to hold off on the funeral for at least 32 days after the death so you can get the required permission. And don't forget the $160/hr assessment fee.

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

It's full of "judgements" as to what technique (or combination) you employ.

Seems that the most important ingredient is a liberal helping of Experience. Over the years we've discussed a multitude of situations and the only thing that I can conclude from all those discussions is that there is no absolute. Flying is never as variable poor as the old y= mx + b equation for a straight line from x = a to x = b.

Sounds like we are talking about two different situations - muddy surface or short distance. Or do the same techniques apply to both?

From 1836 The Priors of Prague by William Johnson Neale: "there are more ways of drawing a cat out of a well than by the bucket!" 

Well! more ways may be found than one, To kill a Witch that Will not drown."

13 hours ago, Methusala said:

Can the cognicenti

Non sum unus de cognicenti, but I did find that LAG is an acronym for "lowest adjacent grade". But don't try to find an answer by Googling. You'll only come up with stuff about slope on footpaths beside buildings.

For CASA's opinion on "petrol" types of fuels look up AWB28-003 Issue 1, dated 2007