Marty_d

Your name is Aark?!?

Faaark.

What about a WWII style leather helmet in a small size? Perhaps custom made if necessary.

And it'd look so cute!

Anyone have a video of that?? I'm not quite sure what a spowe is, but I think I'd like to see princess Kate exfoliating it!

Nah, just one, but it's extra wide... remember the RH ear on the left head and the LH ear on the right head are touching, so the sound goes right thru!

I agree with FH.

Good on you for giving your kids great family memories for the rest of their lives.

You sound like you display airmanship and healthy levels of logic. There's a lot of things that can be called bad parenting, but I wouldn't list family flying trips amongst them.

With Eugene Reed he is about to start operating Freedom Flight from Cambridge in the next month or so.

I've been building the 701 for a couple of years now, only completed rudder / stab / elevators & most of one wing so far.

Reason I'm interested in Sandfly is because I'd like to hangar the plane there when finished, or at least trailer it in if hangarage not available. Not sure of the set up though - had a chat there with Stan Tilley a couple years back but didn't get around to discussing the operation of the strip. Still, if Eugene is going to be flying from there occasionally I'll get in contact with him.

Hi Gpshaun and welcome!

I'm in Allens Rivulet so can pretty much see the Sandfly strip from here. (Never heard it called the Sandfly International Airport, but that makes sense, you can get a beer over the highway at the Longley International Hotel!)

Haven't noticed a Jab flying around the area, is it based there now?

At the rate I'm building, my 5, 3 and 9mths kids will have their own pilot's licences by the time it's finished...

...In other news, a Cessna 172 crashed into a graveyard in Ireland. Gardai have recovered 73 bodies so far...

An aside... just looked at another article from the link above:

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/graffiti-artists-target-25m-private-jet/story-e6frfq80-1226679566871

Ok, it's a 2.5 million dollar jet. You're rich enough to own one, you can afford to get it cleaned. BUT...

"The damage will cost an estimated $110,000 to repair"?!?!?

They tagged it with paint, they didn't cut a wing off with a chainsaw!!

That's it, I'm leaving work and starting an aircraft painting business. Bring me your Foxbats, your Sapphires, your Sonex's and your Zeniths. Flat rate of $25,000 for removing graffiti!

This is just brilliant. Phil, you should like this - a magnificent blunder by the press!!

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/asiana-may-sue-tv-station-and-ntsb-over-fake-pilot-names-prank/story-e6frfq80-1226679495609

For those who don't want to read the whole thing... a San Francisco TV anchor read out the names of the 777 flight crew...

"Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee Fuk and Bang Dong Ow."

True!

In defence of the good old BMW boxers though, at least they have bras bars to protect the heads from the over-enthusiastic rider.

Or library. I downloaded a heap of them recently for a trip down memory lane! Loved them as a kid.

Those sticking-out bits always bothered me, Geoff. Mine are both 45 degrees off vertical to keep them off the road. The Italians can build a bike with curves to remind me of Gina Lollobrigida.

Something tells me those curves have seen better days!! I'm thinking she was probably a bit before my time....

Noice!!

Haven't been tempted to rip the engine out of the R1150 to use in an aircraft?

I certainly did. . . . she's coming to the flying club on Sunday for a flight and a bacon sarnie . . . . you never know,. . .we might even get a bit of good press out of it ( Regrettably, I'm a bit too old to offer the lass anything else )

If it's a good flight and a good bacon sarnie, what else could she want??

I know, I know... just trying to bring a little humour to the discussion. Just imagine the tail hitting Amanda Vanstone...

Oh, sorry, you're in the US - ok, make that Oprah, pre-diet.

So from the missing tail and a video with not a whole lot of detail you were able to determine that it wasn't a bird strike at 400 feet...

That'd be a bloody big bird.

I don't think race is the issue, it's probably like that 747 instructor said - cultural approach to education. He did state that the pilots who were sent overseas to do their flight training were fine.

Personally I think the racism card gets dealt way too easily. If a country has a problem with the way it trains pilots, there's no point gagging anyone who points it out, or who decides to up their personal survival odds by not flying with their national airline. It's not like people are saying that anyone with Korean ancestry can't fly well - if the person in the left hand seat of a Qantas flight is Korean you wouldn't give it a second thought.

If that article is real - and I have no reason to think it isn't - then it's about actual experience from an instructor who found incompetent crews driving large passenger aircraft. If I now stand on my hind legs and say "I wouldn't fly KAL because I don't trust that the flight crews are properly trained" - does that make me a racist?

Welcome from another Tasmanian, Gary!

(From the south end, but don't hold that against me.)

I know it's already been used, - and please don't take offence - but I think "Guppy" fits somehow!

Thanks Alan, the tailwheel is safely back with me, waiting for its next adventure. Perhaps on a delta...What about the Airstralia Budgie? An iconic Aussie bird and a play on the word "budget" which is the aim of the aircraft.

Yes, but if someone used one for nefarious purposes, it may become the "Budgie Smuggler". Probably wouldn't want that.

Come on guys!!!

I was 19 years old, had about 25 hours, flying for the first time with 2 - let's say largish - pax in the back seat. Yes, I am aware that the only bits of the plane that should touch the ground are the black donut thingys, but in that case it just didn't happen. At least it taught me to be more careful in the flare when fully loaded!

Yes and that tail tie - down ring is mounted on the fuselage rear bulkhead, which if cracked can get quite expensive to replace !!................Maj...

Luckily, they never asked me to pay for it. I assumed it was either relatively inexpensive (so the Aero Club wore the cost) or it was an insurance job. Apart from that "Did you realise..." phone call, nothing was ever said about it!

It's amazing that having a tailwheel on a "Gazelle " has an entirely different reputation. I've never flown a gazelle, but I'd have to say the C172 is pretty forgiving , and it can be thrown at the runway from a remarkable height without breaking anything ;-)Apart from a tailwheel I would say the citabria 7GCBC and its hairy stablemate the 8KCAB would be the nicest all rounders I've flown

Errr... from experience, with two largish passengers in the back seat, you can break off the rear tie-down ring on the C172 in an otherwise very nice (if a little nose-high) landing.

Didn't even realise until the CFI rang me up the next day!