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planedriver

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Everything posted by planedriver

  1. planedriver
    There'd have to be a few old blokes on here who can longer fly, who'd love to have it as a static display in their garage, while they sit in it making engine noises and spitting on the inside of the windshield.
  2. planedriver
    I would have the same concerns, much the same as possible corrosion on electrical connectors when i've seen helicopters posing on the back of mega-yachts in the Mediterranean.
  3. planedriver
    Great post OME, You stole most of what I was in the process of writing. Sadly from an aviators point of view, Bankstown Airport is constantly shrinking at an alarming rate to commercial and industrilal development. The green area's are getting smaller and smaller and replaced with what seems like an ever growing amount of building sites. In the southwest corner of the airfield where I used to enjoy Schofields Flying Club plus others, there is now a warehouse so massive it needs to be seen to be believed. I looks almost big enough to put a runway on it's roof. The aviation museum has gone, and many others. As you rightly point out, so many have suffered as a result of the airport being leased out. The sad case of Clamback & Hennesy to mention just one, who had built up their business over decades, only to have many years of hard work and investment virtually stolen away from them, due to conditions imposed by the new leaseholder and no compensation. Unfortunately, it seems that those with a vested financial interest in the almighty dollar, always seem to come out as the winners.
  4. planedriver
    Scarey stuff! Had a Pitts do that to me many years ago in western Sydney. No radio calls, and just came out of nowhere, though not quite as close as that. Something you don't forget easily.
  5. planedriver
    Is this simply confirmation of your previous post Nev?
  6. planedriver
    See you with a collection bucket at traffic lights on Saturday morning. It shouldn't take much out of your day.
  7. planedriver
    No better time for others to learn from it.
  8. planedriver
    None run well simply on the smell of it. No post crash fire fortunately. We'll have to wait to find out if this was the case. So close to the final destination too, but if you don't have much in reserve that's always a possibility. The young lady pilot is OK,which is the main thing. I'm sure all on here wish her well.
  9. planedriver
    To say nothing about the poor bastards who should be using it to wrap fish n chips in the proper way
  10. planedriver
    Ask almost anyone who flew a lot with the early !600 motors, and over the years has progressed to the current engines, and i'm sure it will reveal very significant improvements. It all takes time to learn, sometimes from negative events. Whatever you make, buying the Mk 1 version of almost anything,comes with the knowledge that things are likely to change from your original purchase. Compared with well known overseas purchases, I think Jabiru have responded to to any negative aspects and problems encountered in a positive way, and with proper attention as per manufacturers recommendations, it seems to be apparent that many flight schools are getting very acceptable hours of reliable operation at a very acceptable price.. However, there are many aircraft that sit around in hangers doing next to nothing and if they're lucky,get to fly just few hours a year, but whose owners expect them to perform like they've just come off a production line, and sadly in the many cases, that ain't going to happen.
  11. planedriver
    You sound like a wise man spacey
  12. planedriver
    A local hire company near where I used to live had a motto "Profit and experience is gained from the use of what we hire, Not necessarily by the ownership of it". Same could be said to apply here.
  13. planedriver
    I've flown with John who comes across as a very competent instructor who knows Jabiru's inside out from many many years of personal experience, apart from being a true gentleman supported by his lovely wife they help make Dave's flying School what it is today. A great place to learn. Sometimes in life we are handed the short-straw to deal with as they say, with no guaranteed outcome, and I wish John a speedy recovery.
  14. planedriver
    That's so sad!. Here's a photo I took recently when it was in better shape. Unfortunately this is the 2nd time this little Jabby has met up with a tree, but fortunately all on board survived pretty much unscathed, which is yet another testimonial of the strength of Jabiru airframes. The other occasion was an EFTO at Wedderburn in 2001 when it wound up in the trees that surround the airport.
  15. planedriver
    Looks wonderful! Makes some of us a tad envious. Glad the new legs seem to be proving an improvement. Maybe that's what I need?
  16. planedriver
    Now gotta buy your own batteries. How slack!
  17. planedriver
    That's interesting! All that for just over $50bucks already made. No wonder manufacturing anything has less incentives these days.
  18. planedriver
    Exactly! for safety sake you set remote up in "man present" mode so the winch only pulls while the button on remote is depressed. Release button and it stops. Otherwise if it keeps going till the next signal, it could keep going till passes the end of trailer ripping your pride and joy to bits, if there's no limit switch. I had a remote which simply hung around my neck and I was there to be able to give he boat a bit of a shove if need be while winding it in.
  19. planedriver
    Most power winches are easily converted to remote control operation. Just ask any automatic gate guy that knows his stuff with a bit of background electrical knowledge. I converted my trailer boat winches that way decades ago, after having my partner just stand there looking pretty, (we were both a lot younger then) while I struggled to get my boat on the trailer when a strong southerly wind was blowing. At one time I considered marketing an add-on kit, but never got around to it, despite having now about 60-yrs in the game. If anyone fancies having a go themselves, make sure you use rolling-code or tri-code radio gear on probably 493 meg , and not on 27meg hz as marine 2-way gear and CB's will jamb them up if anyone is transmitting. (The cost of parts should cost no more than a couple of hundred bucks)
  20. planedriver
    At Biggin Hill Air shows in the UK, you would sometimes see an extremely low high speed pass along the runway and the the aircraft would disappear. Everyone was waiting with baited breath expecting a bang and a load of smoke. What the pilots did was to drop into the valley just past the end of the runway and swing around unseen from view, then come in again from the original end much to every ones relief.
  21. planedriver
    Thanks Peter for bringing us so much good stuff. You're doing a great job, much appreciated! Rgds Planey
  22. planedriver
    That was good to watch. Thanks for posting it Peter.
  23. planedriver
    I live in Earlwood only about 6km west of Kingsford Smith airport which is generally pretty quiet given my angle to the runways. However I can lay in bed and tell when the B73 or A320 take off on their freight runs out of hours. The BAe146QT 's are so very quiet, it's no wonder that they are popular for night ops, and sleeping with my head near an open window, I can only just about hear them taking off. Bankstown Airport has heaps of them being maintained and prepared for such operations.
  24. planedriver
    I would not even want to take a guess at what this cost to build. What an achievement for those that built it, and the skill of the pilot or pilots that it took to fly it so well.
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  25. planedriver
    Many years ago on a return trip via Singapore, I bought my then wife an outfit which was identical to what the Singapore Airline hosties wore. For our anniversary I took her to Centrepoint Tower in Sydney for a meal and requested a table right by the windows and she looked stunning wearing that outfit i'd bought her. She absolutely froze at the height and we had to change to a table further back away from the windows. As we were about to leave, the lady by the lift looked at my wife and said "i'm intrigued that you seem scared of heights, how are you when you're flying? to which my wife replied " i'm terrified and and do nothing but eat and eat till it's time to get off" The lift arrived and down we went, and I said that poor girl will probably never ever fly with them, I think you've just done them big a dis-service with those comments!.
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