Phil Perry

Some people put a Artificial Horizon in their plane in case they might need it one day. I think if you don't have one you remove the temptation to push on when you shouldn't. Of course different if you are current IFR and have the correct equiped plane.

In the UK, we have, in the past had avoidable accidents due to highly experienced pilots "punting" between VFR and IMC flight, just because they used to have, or still had an instrument rating, and flight through cloud presented no apparent fear, due to their massive training. . . . This attitude is fine if you are flying at IFR levels, using IFR safety principles, but it isn't a good idea at all of you are buzzing around the Scottish Highlands at low level., swip-swapping between bits of clear air and low cloud. . . . this is not one kind of flying or another, it's been shown over time to be a recipe for disaster.

 

There's nothing wrong with having a sperry, / artificial horizon gyro on your panel, I've found these quite useful over the years, as someday, if you fly a lot, one day, you WILL curse yourself for not having one, even if it's just to carry out a nice, level, balanced 180 to get yourself the hell out of it.

 

Temptation to exceed your personal limits shouldn't really come into the argument in my view,. . . If you always fly like a plonker,. . .then no amount of instrumentation or training is going to help you because you'll always bee keen to fly in crap and put yourself in harm's way,. . . .NO,. . ..if you can afford one, and the regulations allow you to fit one,. . .and you can find a space on your panel. . . . get the credit card out. . . .

 

No offence meant Teck,. . . . I just don't agree. . . . nor you Ozzie mate. . . . but I still like you both ( ! ) But if Turbo or Kasper come up with some damning statistics which favour your argument,,. . then, following a trip to Melbourne, I will bare my bum on Bourke street. until then, . . . . . Pedantism R Phil.

 

Oh, and Ozzie,. . .add to your list,. . . . "Don't forget to carry a stick. . ." ( See "Wide Brown Land" in "off topic" ! )

 

 

Thanks for that Kasper,. . .read that after posting the newsfeed stuff, then got distracted by the Missus yelling up to the office about some lovely roast beef. . .etc. . . .

 

Phil

 

 

IF you were going to do this I would definitely do it in something overpowered and cheap ... like taking a T85 thruster and giving it an engine transplant along the lines of a 100hp two stroke - then you have the get up and go to get to 1000ft quickly and the drag to get back down quickly to get the wheels down.Or do like the, in my opinion, mad UK microlight comps boys n girls do and take a flexwing trike and throw it at the ground regardless of speed and hope the snoot holds for the hour of abuse. You can pick up an old pegasus xl or raven x for under a thousand pounds and a time expired 912 for around 3000 ... take out the seatbelt and its SSDR 300kg and away you go - up and down at 45mph and you can be in the air and steep climbing turn a few feet up.

 

Not that I want to do this mind. I have no interest in trying to do extreme flight in that direction - much more interested in the FAI records ... except its impossible in this country to do them because the RAA is not affiliated and the organisation that is affiliated is not interested in responding to queries from ultralight pilots :-/

Some neat ideas there Sir,. . . . using a hig power / high drag combo WOULD make the job simpler, . . . especially if you could do it on the cheap,. . .not many T/E engines of that type around for that price though,. . . peole keep rebuilding them. Mad Mick's EV97 school airframe has in excess of 3,000 hours on it, with what is essentially the same 80Hp 912 engine. . . . just well serviced and ( normally ) looked after. . . . shame about the FAI / lack of affiliation problem though. . . .

 

 

This report is pasted directly from a newsfeed, so don't expect miracles in the detail. . . . Phil.

 

HEADLINE. . .

 

“Pilot pulls out of dive with seven seconds to spare. . .”

 

On a flight from Aberdeen to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Isles, Scotland,. . . a scheduled Loganair flight was struck by lightning and temporarily lost control.

 

The aircraft dived to just 1,100 ft above the ocean as the pilot managed to wrestle back full control just moments before it crashed into the icy sea.

 

As the airliner fell at 9,500ft a minute, the autopilot had ignored the pilot's commands to climb and instead sent itself into a nosedive. (?)

 

The near disaster occurred as the Loganair flight from Aberdeen approached its destination at Sumburgh airport, Shetland, at night.

 

The weather was so bad - thunderstorms with rain, snow, hail and 70mph wind - the 42-year-old pilot decided to break off his approach when they were still seven miles away.

 

And the 30 passengers aboard the island-hopping plane sat in terror as a ball of lightning appeared in the cockpit and a bolt struck its nose, travelling the full length of the plane before leaving at the tail.

 

But a misunderstanding meant that the pilot and co-pilot then struggled to regain control of the aircraft as it descended at high speed.

 

As the co-pilot declared a mayday, the pilot tried to gain height - but every move was countered by the autopilot. ( What ? )

 

When it reached 4,000ft the plane suddenly pitched nose down and started falling at 9,500ft a minute - giving crew members barley 20 seconds to act.

 

At 1100ft, as ‘Pull up!’ alarms sounded in the cabin, the captain applied full power and the aircraft finally started to climb.

 

The plane landed back at Aberdeen, with no reported injuries or damage to the aircraft.

 

An investigation by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AIIB) found that the crew may have thought the lightning strike had disabled the autopilot because it had knocked out some of the other controls.

 

However, it was still operating and trying to adjust and fly at the level it had been instructed.

 

The pilot saved the plane with just seconds to spare ( ? )

 

Only when the computers become overloaded with faulty data, did it disengage itself and give the pilot seconds to save the flight from potential disaster. ( ? )

 

Shona Manson, a passenger on the flight during the incident on December 14, said: "It was really, really bumpy.

 

"If it was someone who's a bad flier, it would be their worst nightmare."

 

No technical problems were found with the aircraft, which is now back in service and pilot training now includes simulations of the incident.

 

 

This is,. . .according to the news report, the actual aircraft involved in the above story.

 

 

A two time British advanced aerobatic champion was killed yesterday when his Edge 360 spun into the ground narrowly missing a gaggle of aviation press reporters and photographers at Old Buckenham Airfield in Norfolk.

 

David Jenkins, pictured below,. was in his fifties, and had joined the 2 aircraft Wildcat Aerobatic Team, a pair of Pitts Special aircraft, at the same airfield in 2013. He was carrying out a solo practice display for a forthcoming air show when the accident occured.

 

It is very sad when any pilot loses his life in an accidentl. but when the pilot is exceptionally talented, it makes it more difficult to understand. . . . .the A.A.I.B. are investigating as of this morning ( 23 April )

 

 

 

Hi Phil,I'm from Vermont, off Morack Rd near the secondary college. Casey Field went under a few years ago.

 

If you Google 'Berwick', and look on Google Earth, you can see the old runways, but there is a factory complex, and a campus of Monash University there now. Adjacent to the Princes Freeway Berwick Bypass.

Hiya Peter,. . . .I lived in Mitcham Road, No 523,. . .an old Victorian house divided into 2 units,. . . . had a gorgeous deaf lady living in the other half, which was good in a way, as she never complained when I played loud rock music, or plugged the gibson les paul guitar into my 100 watt marshall stack and vibrated the foundations a bit,. . .she did ask If we'd had a mild earthquake last night a couple of times though,. . . .

 

yes, I've "Google Earthed" Casey Airfield, and you can just about see where runway 30 / 12 was. . . .with the new bypass, it was hard to see, initially where the site actually was. . . shame that,. . .wonder what year it closed down ? . . . I gather that Elsa Hatfield is still around but Keith isn't. . . . . and one of the pilots I knew back then, who has posted on here, Baron Von Eric,. . .is now livving in Obamaland. . . . . Johnm was there around the same sort of time too I gather, but I can't remember him. . . . . he'll have to give me some dates and other memories to concentrate the remaining grey matter,. . .not much of it left now I'm afraid. . . .

 

Phil

 

 

I'm expecting 2000+FPM climb in the RV-9 but getting back down with the FP prop is the problem. Circuit altitude at around 35 seconds, 50 seconds back down perhaps, maybe this is something to have a crack at once the 40 hours is flown off - show what an RV is capable of?

KR,. . . .I think it's more what YOU are capable of,. . .do you really want to risk your nice new aircraft by Pi$$ing about with it like my silly mate does ? . . . .can't really see the point. If he DOES get his precious record, then everyone will have forgotten about it in a fortnight,. . . but if he stuffs it up,. . .it might take a bit longer than that to fix it methinks. . . . .

 

My view is this, in a nutshell. . . If a pilot feels that he / she would like to push themselves right to the edge of their experience, in an aircraft which is capapble,. . and can maintain the concentration to do something like that for personal reasons,. . . and is willing to take the financial and personal risk involved,. . . then that's fine. . . .I have had a Pitts S2 plus passenger back on the runway in well under 2 minutes,. . .but that was only because the engine started making peculiar "graunching" noises and lost some power . . . . which turned out to be expensive. ( I'm very glad I didn't own it ! )

 

Phil ( AKA Howard Coward ) PS,. . .I CERTAINLY wouldn't like to attempt it with a hot taildragger on a tarmac strip either !

 

 

Sorry to hear about the loss of your mum-in law mate, when I was there a couple of years ago, it was nothing but rain and fog so you would have been better off enjoying a pint of Watney's warm beer in the pub anyway.

Thanks for the kind words Planey,. . . . but I don't think you'll find a Watney's brand beer in the UK nowadays, when I returned from OZ in '83 it no longer existed. Probably swallowed ( no pun intended) up by the larger breweries which are mainly American owned now. . . . . and we've just had six days of lovely balmy weather,. . . clear skies and lots of flying, but it's OK, we're back to normal this weekend with temps back down to sensible UK levels, ie, 7 deg C, high winds and rain on Saturday and Sunday, then on MONDAY. . . .back to work. . .it's forecast as clear skies and 17 C. . . . . .can't win.

 

 

WOW,. . .several bottles of champagne have been recovered from a shipwreck in the Baltic sea and it has been reported that the wine is not only still drinkable, but that it is excellent, even retaining it's characteristic sparkle. . . . !

 

The wreck was approximately 350 feet below the surface, where the average temperatures over the past couple of hundred years were around +2 to +4 deg C. . . . very dark ( you don't say ? ) and quite some pressure at that depth. . . ( dunno I've never skindove that deep )

 

Wine specialists have decided that the conditions were conducive to the wine remaining drinkable for such a long time,. The wooden ship cannot be identified, but apparently the consignment of wine was a gift from the French King Louis the seventeenth, to the Royal Court of Russia, . . . they have identified the type of champagne from markings on the corks, as the labels had long since disappeared. Google that King, Louis XVII,. . .and you'll have the approximate date of the shipment,. . . it wasn't mentioned in the report, and I can't be ar$ed really. . . . not being able to afford such luxury liquids personally. . . .

 

25 bottles from the wreck are to be auctioned in the near future, and valuers have suggested that they could reach as much as £20,000 per bottle. There are still many bottles in the wreck, although some of them were destroyed in the turmoil as the ship sank.

 

Wine tasters reported also that the wine is much sweeter than current champagne varieties, which was, we are told, the fashion back in them thar days. . .

 

The Veuve Clicot champagne company have placed some fresh bottles on the seabed approx 300 metres away from the wreck site, and these will be recovered and tested annually to gauge the effect on modern wines.

 

Hic.

 

Phil

 

 

Phil. I know how you feel with Mother in law. mine is in Abergavenny, also lost her marbles, but can put on a very sane act for a short while with strangers. ie she can fool the doctors and me. She however is going on 103, we didn't think she would make 100 at one stage, now we just don't know. Hard on my Sister in law.

ABERGAVENNY . . . .a close friend of mine went down there this morning,. . .he decodes and recodes car keys, and the local council had all of the vehicles broken into over last weekend, and most of the keys stolen too,. . . he and his buddy have got to change the ignition barrels on the damaged ones, and supply a load of new keys, 2 per vehicle,. . should be a good earner. Anyway, sorry to hear your Mother in Law is in a care home, . . as you may have seen from my posts, my Mother in Law died on April 1st, and the funeral is next week. I got her age wrong though, she was just shy of 92 by a few weeks,. . .so in the main, she had a bloody good innings, only spoiled by the Alzheimers over the last three years. I TRULY hope that I may retain my marbles when I'm 88,. . . . .that's assuming none of the rest of it chucks in the towel before that !

 

Anyway, I'm glad my mae Pete has got a bit of work, he used to build and repair computer system units, but with the advent of the iPAD . . .the system unit seems to be drifting rapidly into the history books. . . I may have mentioned this bloke in other posts,. . .he is an utter whizzkid with computers, has only one arm due to bone cancer, and only one and a half feet,. . . . . yet he is one of the most cheerful and optimistic people I have ever known. Anyway,. . .digression R us.

 

Phil

 

 

Ah but you see you miss the Guiness part of the record ... they are not international records for aircraft that are FAI records but are entertainment/interest 'records' that can be created as Guiness think fit based on what people ask them to 'recognize' as a record.If you want class based records then its FAI ... and those records are not really interested in most circuits in hour etc but are more in keeping with fastest, highest, longest and these records are not only limited by what the FAI want to have as records feats but are overseen and monitored.

 

For FAI microlight records see here:

 

http://www.fai.org/record-microlights-paramotors

Sorry Kasper mate,. . .I forgot to mention you in my last reply post,. . .yes, I'm aware of the difference between a dark frothy pint of beer and the federation aeronautique internationale record system, I don't think my mad instructor person wants to go down that route ! . . . too many obstacles, like er,. . .more experienced pilots with vastly superior aircraft doing vastly superior and challenging things in a vastly superior manner with them. . . . .! !

 

Phil

 

 

Phil, If you were in the American Civil War, then by my calculations, you are telling LARGE PORKIES about your age, however if I am wrong & you are not telling PORKIES about your age, then in all probability we may have crossed paths when you were residing downunder in this fair Country & flying out of Melbourne particularly at Berwick which was strictly under the control of Colonel Hatfield, who use to always talk with a plum in his throat like a Pommie & talk a lot of Bullshxt.On my next invitation to see our Queen (which will be never) I will look you up if you are still on this planet as your days like mine are now numbered.

I never thought Keith spouted Bull$whatever John,. . . . . but Elsa always refused point blank to give me the recipie for her home made burgers. . . .Geeez they were beautiful ! ! ! If you were there at the same time as me, then I apologise for not saying "Hi John,. . .see you on the interweb forums after the millennium. . ." I wonder if you noticed that utterly superb sign board at the main gate which I designed and made for the antique aeroplane association, who were based at Casey Airfield ? There were no computerised vinyl stickers around back then, so I had to write it with a signwriting brush, but I cut the three "A" letters out of an early scotchcal gold product, then made a cardboard template. Holding the template around a half inch off the surface as a part mask,. . ., I then used an airbrush to place a misty shadow under all the letttering that was painted thereon, and it looked the dog's danglies. . . . .never got paid though,. . .can't remember why ! ! At that time I was co director of a small sign company in Surrey Hills. . . . ah,. . .memories.

 

Yes, I remember that Keith was a retired Leutenant Colonel in the Army Air Corps. . . what country I have no Idea, but after I crashed his Tiger Moth ( VH-TIG) into a ditch due to pure stupidity whilst taxying in a crosswind without a wingman, . . . the bar$tard wouldn't let me fly his precious Leopard Moth. . . . ( Can't think why . . .? ? ? )

 

***Edited to add***

 

But he DID allow me to fly a battered old white Auster, er,. . .might have been a JiN, with split flaps and a bench seat in the back. . . . VH-ARX I think. . . if it can still be traced,. . .did many happy hours in that , it was good, as you could slide the side windows back, rather like an early mini car,. . .and throw your cigarette ends out of the window. . . . .( Not in the bushfire season of course. . .! ) I actually saw a photograph of that aircraft on the front cover of the Auster CLub magazine, from some time in the early eighties,. . .it was living somewhere down east, in Gippsland possibly and repainted in resplendent airline colours,. . .can't remember what airline. . . . .

 

***Constant re-editing***

 

I just remembered why I didn't get paid for the sign board,. . the AAA let me fly their Demoiselle, which was a cross between a VERY early Wright Brothers creation,. and a VERY early Microlight,. . .had a wooden skid under the front, and it hadn't been flown for a while. . . it was,. . . . . interesting. . . .but I couldn't get over the feeling that I was being used as an expendable crash test dummy. . . .

 

Phil

 

 

Did he take your BP with a new fangled electronic BP meter or a good old mercury filled sphygmomanometer? One of the GPs I go to for skin cancers is of the old school - Edinburgh and uses the mercury one. When he takes my blood pressure, it is always lower than when taken by a doctor using an electronic one. The old school doctor reckons the new ones always over read. As a matter of fact, I went to a cardiologist for a stress test and my blood pressure was taken with a mercury sphyg. It gave the same low reading as my GP's one.OME

Not got a lot of faith in his fancy electronic kit actually OME,. . . . the first reading was 160 over ninety five ,. . .(?) he rebooted it a couple of times, this part took around fifteen minutes ! . . . He didn't tell me what the final reading was, but " A little on the high side of normal" doesn't sound too bad really.. .! Not only this, but I'd just run up four flights of stairs as I was late for the appointment, I should have sat in a dark room and watched some tropical fish for an hour perhaps ? ? ? ! ( AND NEV. . . Note* "Ran up the stairs. . . ." ! )

 

 

Guernsey : I hope you're wrong. . . . the only thing which could go badly wrong, is if he damages the nose leg on one of the high speed touch and go landings, and digs it into the dirt . . . . hope he wears a crash hat just in case. . .

 

John. . . . Yes,. . .it will be recorded on video, . . .by several of our members, . . .

 

Yenn : I've got some time in Eurostar, but can't remember the specs,. . probably 30deg pitch and sixty roll. . . sounds about right for an LSA. .but depends on the POH.

 

Pylon : . . . Yes he probably would,. . .100 horses is marginally better than 80 ? . . . but I dunno about the Foxbat nosewheel though,. . .we've had five failures of these on our site alone over the last few years, probably due to accidental abuse over time, but they do not appear to be overly generous in strength, . . .they taxi VE R Y slowly on a couple of the Peri tracks ( no relation ) as they are a bit undulating ! and they are nearly ALL owned by four person syndicates, are they all honest john with the group when they do the odd wheelbarrer arrival I wonder ( wearing my cynical hat here. . .)

 

His main reason for this "Bit of fun" as he put it, is that since the current Guiness record is held by the same aircraft, he would like to beat it by around five or six circuits. . . .OK, I wish him well, but we'll ahve to shut the airfield for an hour, which in the summer is going to be a bit of a headache, as a lot of our visitors are Microlightist fundamentalists, and don't use radio. Doubt if the CAA would appreciate us applying for a NOTAM, for a nondescript field full of daft amateurs !

 

He wants to use our longest runway. . .25,. . .which is 357 metres numbers to numbers, with around 30m each end under/overrun, to give him a bit of leeway on the landings. . . .hope the wind is in the right direction on the day then !

 

Anyway. . . . I'll give you a full report if and when this event is over, safely, I hope. . . . It might well not happen, as our Airfield manager is away on business in the USA at the moment, and he is a senior low level flight display examiner for the CAA,. . .he might not allow it to go ahead.. . .I wonder how the insurers would view it, ? ? ? So many questions !

 

Phil

 

 

Wouldn't it be better to try this in some supercharged RV- something that can get to 1000 feet in about 2 1/2 seconds?

Exactly what I said PM,. . . can't see that record standing for very long, unless it's divided into classes of aircraft / power output. . .etc. . . He only has an 80 HP Rotax 912 in that thing,. . .but he says he's going to clean all the $hit of the underside, balance the carbs and polish it all over . . . . NO. . . I'm NOT going to take the mickey. . . . .

 

 

Phil, do you realise that you now have less days ahead of you than behind you & therefore you had better get your house in order while you are still on this planet, because this is not a dress rehearsel, its the real mccoy:cheers:

Dont be daft John. . . .they told me that when I was in the American Civil War. . . .!

 

 

I learned over last weekend that one of our flight instructors intends to make an attempt on a current standing Guiness World Record,. . . ( ! ) for the most touch and go landings completed within sixty minutes.

 

I asked him,. . .er,. . .WHY do you want to do this ? . . .he said that he would like to "Put Otherton on the map". . . . ?

 

Sorry, but the last time I looked at a chart,. . .we already are. . . .I dunno, . . perhaps I'm being uncharitable here by taking the pi$$,. . .but why would a bloke who has an expensive aeroplane, and ONLY ONE. . .want to risk it doing a damn fool thing like that ? ? ? I have to assume ( being a cynic of the highest order when aviation stuff like this comes up. . . ) that it's rather more an ego trip, rather than anything to do with places on the map,. . . . but in your only aircraft,. . ./ AND YOU ARE A FULL TIME FLYING INSTRUCTOR FOR A LIVING . . .?

 

I am told that this record ( ? ) is currently held by another pommie, at Barton Airfield - near Manchester UK, in an EV97 Eurostar aircraft ( almost identical to the Sportstar, but 450 Kgs )

 

In order to exceed the current record, and I really can't be ar$ed to check this out,. . . is 36 landings in the space of one hour. The rules ( ? ) are basically this.

 

From initial takeoff, with a single pilot and no passenger, the aircraft must climb to 1000 feet above the airfield, complete a circuit, ( Size of circuit unspecified. . .) and carry out a touch and go landing where all three wheels must be seen, to contact the ground.

 

The record attempt will be invigilated be TWO authorised members of the Guiness Book of Records team, whose collective decision is final.

 

I asked a question this afternoon, ( as I was drilling some holes to fit U bolts into a right hand turn arrow signal that I've made for the signal square,. . . ). and after watching the "Man" practising for the attempt,. . .

 

I had seen him come screaming down final flapless, very fast, . . .he told me afterwards that on the first two circuits he was travelling down final at "Around" ninety MPH. . . . the thing wouldn't land at all,. . .well, of course it wouldnt, with a high speed like that, the ground effect on a low wing aircraft like would be such that he would have had to Force it onto the grass,. . . not reccommended. . . as in a level attitude, the nosewheel would be subjected to the same, or even more load than the mainwheels, and nosewheels on LSA machines, are for taxying on. . . .

 

The EV97 has a nose leg which is bolted to the firewall, and has bungee suspension, but if you hit it hard and bottom the suspension travel, then the inner tube smacks into the bearing and this cannot be good,. . . . and the attachment isn't exactly brilliant either, . . .how strong is an LSA firewall ? . . .Iv'e seen lots of them bent on Foxbats and a couple of other types as a result of "wheelbarrow" landing abuse. . . .

 

Anyway, after eight circuits, he finished his practice excercise and came over to have a chat to ask me ( ! ) what I thought. . . . he said that he'd decided that the best airspeed to fly final was around 85 MPH, and this enabled him to get onto the runway with all three wheels leaving him a bit of time to get off again . . .the longest runway we have is only 480 metres. . . .

 

Another question. . . . You have to climb to 1000 feet right . . .? "Yes". . . .how do the invigilators KNOW that you've done this, . . .? He didn't know,. . . I suggested a Gopro cam trained onto the alt so that his height agl could be verified, so that is another thing he has got to look into,. . .since the EV97 has a "Bubble" plexiglass cockpit canopy, you don't really want to start using doubkle sided velcro mounts for a gopro onto that as it's polycarbonate, and the glue will damage the surface, and you can't clean it with thinners. . . .

 

I have not really had a good look into the cockpit today, so I don't know how he can mount a verification camera in a position where it could "See" the altimeter clearly, but with altimeter lag to be taken into consideration as well, he might have to actually exceed 1000 feet, to get the alt to actually READ that height.

 

I have not gone into the arithmetic on this idea, but the lad tells me that he HAS to make 1 minute and 54 seconds to EQUAL the current record,. . . . but he said that his fouth and fifth circuits were timed at 1 minute and thirty nine sec,. . . . .

 

I wonder if he's thought of fatigue, and maintaining a super high level of concentration to try this stunt . . . .(as it appeared to me ) his circuits were terribly tight, and basically all over the shop, trying to get the quickest turnaround. . . .

 

I shall report on this some more,. . . . I really and truly hope he doesn't hit the deck a bit hard on circuit 39, and break the noseleg,. . . . at 85 MPH this is not going to be a pretty sight. . . . . .

 

Sorry to sound like a bit of a wet blanket, but I think this is just bordering on silly. . . .

 

Phil

 

 

Only sixty four and a half? Geez, I thought you were an old bloke!

Well,. . . to be honest,. . .my Birthday is June 2nd,. . . . when I was 3 yrs old, and Her Britannic MAjesty Queen Elizabeth the second was corronatified,. .everyone had tables out in the streets, blocking all the roads, which wasn't really a problem my Dad said, as nobody owned a car back then. . .but I THOUGHT it was MY birthday party.! ( I WILL of course be posting my Birthday present wish list for all my forum friends, so that I don't get the same gift from everyone,. . . .ie, a replacement wine bottle corkscrew, and a copy of that excellent small book, ( not available in the UK,) entitled. . . . " 101 USES FOR A DEAD CAT. . ."

 

So I'm really 64 and thee quarters plus. . . . and ( apparently) I get some kind of state pension then,. . . .I think, at the moment, it's around £113.00 PW,. . .but since I lived in the Big Red Country down under for 11 years,. . .I won't have enough national insurance stamps to qualify for the full pension . . . . so I may still have to go out and work, as the private one isn't that brilliant either ! ! !

 

But thank you for your kind thoughts PM. . . . .

 

 

Horror of Horrors. . . . .

 

I just got refused a medical cert by my doctor. . . .

 

My old family GP has retired, ( I didn't know this, as I very rarely go there, but have played golf a few times. . . waste of a good walk that is. . . and taken him flying on dozens of occasions,. . . )

 

The new Bangladeshi practice owner ( nothing against Bangladeshis,. . . LOVE their curries. . . ) said that my BP was a "Little on the high side of normal. . ." and he wouldn't sign it until I'd got it down a bit.

 

( I'm sixty four and a half, with no cardiac problems and have held a class 1 and later 2 medical consistently in the UK since 1983. . . ) I refused Pills, . . don't like a chemical crutch. . .so he said I've got to go and lose some more weight. . . then go back and see him again in four weeks. Geez,. . .I lost 30 Lbs ( dunno what that is in kilopascals )in three months at the local "Weightwatchers" down the road , where I was the ONLY MALE. . . . I figured that if i WAS nice to the fat ladies, that,. . .when they got THIN. . .they would be my. . . ."Friend ? "

 

Oh well,. . .no more biscuits,, cakes,. . .pork pies,. . .McDonalds bacon & egg muffins with 2 hash browns, . . .Burger King aberdeen Angus steakburgers,. . .sausage and tomato sandwiches,. . .cheese, ham and onion toasties,. . .Baltis with fried rice and keema Naan,. . . Chinkies with crispy shredded duck and pancakes ( love Hoi Sin Suce ) prawn crackers,. . . meaty spring rolls and dim sum,. . . .and ALSO reduce my intake of Barossa Valley product ? ? ? ? ? GEEEZ. . . is life worth living without all that ? ? ? ? ?

 

 

Its a Toyota car plant which was built on the site of Burnaston airfield. The aviation (& the Derby airfield name) then relocated to the current site at EggingtonCheers

 

John

Yes John,. . . .quite right, . . . .too much B.V product again,. . . I flew in to the closing down fly-in at Burnaston many years back,. . .very sad day. ( Can you drink wine and still recall all this stuff. . .? ) I wouldn't mind the memory problem, but four days ago I drove right past the darn place on my way to Newark,. . . . ( It was dark when I came back though. . . . . . . ) Alzheimers R us . . . . er, what were we talking about again,. . .?

 

Phil

 

 

Possibly they become more attuned to that input which matches what we already think...?

AAAHHH,. . .I see Marty, . . . .yes of course,. . . ."Synchronous Airbollox Agreementism" . . . . sounds about right to me. . . . .

 

 

As we blokes get older, they only get larger. So my wife tells me. Ears, that is.

But do they become more,. . . or less receptive to aural input . . . ? OR. . .pehaps more forgiving when listening to airbollox. . . .?

 

 

The only airfieldy looking site around Derby would have to be the old Derby Airfield itself,. . . this sits on the west side of the A38, well SOuth of the town of Derby, near where the A50 motorway crosses the A38, have not looked at it on G/E yet, but will later. . . . This was closed down when the humungous Honda factory moved into the area around 25 years ago,. . . a suburb called ( strangely enough ) Honda. . .has sort of grown up around it, rather like the Roman Forts of old, where whole industries and residences grew up around the fort to service the soldiers' needs. . . . then after just a couple of hundred years,. . .all the Roman soldiers buggered off home. . . typical. . .

 

The actual airstrip, which was always grass, is still there, and a very reasonable distance away from the factory complex to make it safe to operate,. . . I can't imagine why it has been closed for so long, when it had been in existence for over fifty years before Honda came to town. . . . . It was the ONLY licensed airfield in the county,. . .although, there are probably by now a few farmer's fields being used for Microlight clubs in Derbyshire. . . .

 

I shall keep my large ears to the ground and see if I can wheedle any more info pertaining to this project anyway.

 

Phil

 

 

Thanks for having a go, Phil. I read on another forum that their manufacturing plant was going to be built on an airfield up Derby way. Maybe that will help you locate it, or find a source for scuttlebut.OME

Bit of a common problem existing and likely to become worse, I would think. Here non CPLs can sometimes do conversions. Commonsense should prevail . Teaching skills don't belong to everyone though and some of the most knowledgeable people cannot get it across. Some very experienced pilots have no wish to instruct, citing lack of patience etc. I enjoy it . Nev.

The non commercial PPL Buddy system has been available in the UK for many years Nev, but only for someone who has a full license him/herself, and the Buddy PPL can show evidence of currency in the same type of aircraft. Usually limited to Cessna / Piper crossover, or indeed any type swap as long as it has very similar control and landing gear config.

 

We don't have an insurance issue with this,. . .but when someone has carried out a complete control system variation course a very long time ago, it becomes a little more demanding, which is why I am not really willing to continue along that road in this particular case. ( I will have my medical restored by next weekend incidentally, but have no burning wish to return to instructing. . . too old ! ) Phil ( I'd rather just make snide comments like, was that a landing ? or were you shot down ! ! ! ! !