onetrack

.......a polar bear after moulting, which dazzled virtually everyone around him - except Cappy, who had on his best pair of dark aviator sunnies.

Cappy spotted the white fur seal jacket and cried, "I want one of those! - for when I reach maximum speed at 8,000 feet in the Drifter, and the icicles are forming on my toes and nose! How much are they? - and do they come in........

HICEV is gathering pace, the only real restriction now is adequate hydrogen production, and a hydrogen refuelling network. New lightweight tank materials seem to have taken care of the storage problem.

Hydrogen is lighter than air, so any leakage dissipates quickly, it doesn't collect at ground level as with natural gas or with LPG.

Both Cummins and JCB are heading towards HICEV as a satisfactory, modest cost energy alternative. Toyota has a HICEV. The Japs are intent on developing a hydrogen economy.

Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest is investing heavily in solar hydrogen production, and JCB is signed up with him for a hydrogen offtake agreement. 

https://www.cummins.com/news/releases/2022/05/09/cummins-inc-debuts-15-liter-hydrogen-engine-act-expo

https://www.constructiontechnology.media/news/jcb-unveils-mobile-hydrogen-refueller/8024207.article#

https://www.jcb.com/en-au/campaigns/hydrogen

Thruster, it looks like tracked harvesters and plenty of bog cables, will be in demand this harvest?

I keep hearing about how the cost of batteries and EV's is going to reduce. It hasn't, and any reduction in pricing is going to be 10-15 years out, not in 1 or 2 years.

EV's are still exorbitant in initial purchase pricing, and there's no saving whatsoever in going electric - in fact, the overall costs are vastly higher than any ICE vehicle.

No-one even mentions that the batteries are stuffed after 10 years and you're up for a new one, at massive cost - some $20K to $30K.

Would you buy a petrol or diesel car where the engine had to be totally replaced at huge cost, after just 10 years?

10 years is around 150,000 - 200,000kms for most car owners, most petrol and diesel engines last for 400,000kms today, and their overhaul cost is low.

And on top of that, no-one has mentioned the cost of battery disposal. I have little doubt that getting rid of an old EV battery will cost you dearly, just as trying to get rid of worn-out tyres costs dearly today.

There's only one thing that will make EV's viable, and it is swappable EV batteries. No need to queue up for chargers or spend precious time looking for a charger - just drive into a swap station, swap the battery out in 2 mins, and head out again. The batteries can be charged overnight utilising off-peak power, instead of requiring huge recharge demand in the middle of the day.

Chinese companies have already started down this road, hopefully the trend will catch on. The fact that huge numbers of people now live in apartments makes the battery swap station idea even better.

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2022/08/you-can-swap-an-ev-battery-in-china-for-7/

......the Coffee and Beer Bar in Dobbs Ferry, NY, called. When NES's Father answered the phone (yes, the Canadian First Nations people were given phones in their igloos as generous compensation for the Canadians taking their land), he said, "Ziigwan Anishinaabe speaking. How may I help you?" (the Canadian First Nations people were quite courteous) - and the caller said, "You can help by paying up your outstanding bar tab, at the Climbing Wolf Coffee and Beer Bar!".

Naturally, this demand came as a bit of a shock to Ziigwan Anishinaabe, as he'd never even been to the Climbing Wolf Coffee and Beer Bar - let alone run up a tab there.

He replied, "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong person, I've never been to your bar, let alone run up a tab there!"

"Is there anyone else in your area with the same name?", said the caller from Climbing Wolf. "Oh yes!", replied Ziigwan Anishinaabe. "It's a common name amongst us First Nations people, there are probably dozens of us with that name!"

At that, the caller started to swear, which offended Ziigwan Anishinaabe greatly, as he was a gentle soul, and unaccustomed to being abused or sworn at. He said, "My son, I.........

Kathryns report below, about a tragic mid-air on final, simply reinforces the FAA's advisories. The 79 yr old pilot in this tragic accident was apparently making radio calls on an incorrect local frequency - but he still failed in his carrying out of the basic "see-and-avoid" principles (my italics).

The See-and-Avoid Concept

The FAA issued AC 90-48D, "Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance," in April, 2016 to alert all pilots "…to the potential hazards of midair collisions and near midair collisions (NMAC), and to emphasize those basic problem areas related to the human causal factors where improvements in pilot education, operating practices, procedures, and improved scanning techniques are needed to reduce midair conflicts."

AC 90-48D stated that each person operating an aircraft, regardless of whether the operation was conducted under IFR or VFR, shall maintain a vigilant lookout for other aircraft at all times. Regarding visual scanning, the AC specifically stated that "Pilots should remain constantly alert to all traffic movement within their field of vision, as well as periodically scanning the entire visual field outside of their aircraft to ensure detection of conflicting traffic.". AC 90-48D also described several specific methods that pilots could use to visually acquire other traffic. 

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2016/09/beechcraft-f33a-bonanza-n6027k-and.html

We have yet to find out, just how battered this Sav ended up.

I have this constant niggling thought, that a lot of scientific people fail to understand the difference between "Climate Change" and "Climate Cycles".

Our weather systems have been in place for aeons, and what little records we can find out about weather and climate in past centuries and millenia, show that our planet is subject to major climate variations - that often occur over a long period of time.

We have measurements for flooding and storms that speak of "1 in 100 year, 1 in 250 year, and 1 in 500 year" floods and storms. This alone shows that people recognise there are climate cycle extremes.

The average human lifespan is around 70 or 80 years, but that's a drop in the ocean, as regards climate length and variations over long periods of time, that no one human individual could observe.

Climate cycles have been with us for millenium, the scientists keep finding out new things about climate drivers - including such things as average wave height, which affects our weather.

Average wave height studies have only recently been added to the climate studies, thanks to satellite technology.

I find it difficult to grasp how scientists can get a complete handle on climate variability, when climate inputs are so immense and widespread, and difficult to measure precisely - and which inputs can vary over multiple lifespan periods.

I have little doubt that the vast amount of fossil fuels mankind has consumed in the last approximately 120 years has had an impact on our planets climate. Whether that impact is major enough to totally destroy life on Earth as we know it, is the $64 question.

I, like many others, always have reservations about U.N.-funded panels who adopt an approach that results in countries sovereignty being subsumed to an unelected group who profess to have all the answers to the vexing problems of our planet.

Dropping your battered Sav into the ocean, and losing it for good, truly would be a tragedy.....

Woo-hoo! Jackrabbit is your middle name, now!!  LOL

ICP Savannah ultralight.

Baz, here's a Marine white strobe light, but it's handheld with an on-off switch. A flash rate of one flash every 1.5 secs.

https://www.theboatwarehouse.com.au/safety-sound-equipment/safety-lights/waterproof-led-flashing-light-4-x-battery/

EDIT - Ahh, just realised this one is photocell activated, so it only works when it's dark. There might be other strobes suitable on that site.

Whitworths is another good Marine sales site, too.

What a lot of BS from the young bloke. If you fly a warplane with poor external visibility in a crowded air environment, the duty and responsibility is on the pilot of that aircraft to "keep a proper lookout".

That means ensuring you know what's in your blind spots, or approaching your blind spots. To say he was only concentrating on his flight leader to his left, is total dereliction of his duty to take into account other aircrafts positions.

He didn't own that portion of sky exclusively, and he wasn't up there alone, and he wasn't in a combat situation. He had a duty of care to ensure he didn't kill innocent parties, and he failed miserably on that angle.

There's at least 10 questions got to be answered here, and the very first has to be - what happened re separation rules? Even if the King Cobra had had a near miss with the B-17, what about wake separation?

Seems to me like cowboys ruled here, and I'll wager the inquiry will find similar major safety shortcomings, as in the 2019 B-17 crash at Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 

The lawyers are going to have a field day again, and I wouldn't want to be one of the organisers or operators at this airshow. At the end of the day, I suppose all the blame will try to be placed on one dead rogue pilot.

https://www.journalinquirer.com/connecticut_and_region/new-lawsuit-filed-in-vintage-plane-crash-that-killed-7-at-bradley/article_97f17b40-d03e-11eb-9cd8-37cc9948d60b.html

......melted in his hands, leavings stains that looked like blood on his fingers and palms. Biggles spotted the stains, and thought that Cappy had been shot through the hands whilst in a dogfight, and he promptly expressed great concern about Cappys condition.

He said, "I say, old Chap, those hands look frightfully shot up, are you still capable of piloting again, when we next scramble? I should arrange for the regimental nurse to look at those wounds, you know, we wouldn't want you being less than 100%, when you next encounter a Hun!"

Cappy suddenly realised that Biggles had misunderstood what he'd seen, and Cappy could play along with this, for maximum advantage (because Cappy was always after an advantage, particularly one that put him in a leading position with little effort), so accordingly, he said to Biggles, "I think I should.......

Not much conspicuity with the Pilatus, Jack - that paint job isn't named camouflage for nothing!

You could have your aircraft wrapped in hi-viz fluoro green and orange - but if other fliers are not staying alert, keeping a proper lookout, and making calls on the correct frequency - then no amount of hi-viz cladding will save you from a collision.

What a tragic and totally avoidable waste of lives and irreplaceable aircraft! At the rate the Americans destroy their warbirds, how long before none are left in flyable condition?

A sky chock-a-block full of people showing off at close quarters, and at constantly varying altitudes, what could possibly go wrong?

.....regularly indulging in patting the nurses on their derrieres - which led to him getting a..........

........before long, a bushwalker who came across the scene, dialled 911 - before they realised they weren't in America any more - so they dialled 000, and told the operator they were at the site of a major aircraft disaster, and they needed all the help the dispatcher could offer. When the dispatcher said, "Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade??", the caller replied, "All three, and tell them to hurry, because.......

Quote

How  could a ratchet strap be whirling around from taxi to takeoff without being noticed.

I would imagine the strap wrapped around the propellor hub and wasn't noticed by either ground crew or flight crew. I'd have to opine it stayed there until high prop RPM was reached at V1, whereby it lost its grip on the hub.

The bottom line is, inadequate prop inspection prior to takeoff, is behind it all.

Whether flight crew were supposed to check the prop, or whether that has been deemed unnecessary, and ground crew alone were supposed to check the prop, will no doubt fill a few pages of the report.

I don't recall any flight crew not checking props prior to takeoff on any commercial flight I've ever been on, within Australia.

This would sure get your attention pretty fast. Photos courtesy of an un-named passenger. Passengers off-loaded after the landing reported there was little to no post-incident support from Virgin staff.

I don't know what they expected? - passenger post-incident/accident support staff would have been the first to be sacked, and the last to be re-employed.

The whole exercise smacks of a company that sacked umpteen hundred, well-trained, competent and loyal ground staff (and aircraft crew) without as much as a thank you, when COVID-19 hit - then has rounded up poorly-trained, inexperienced replacements, at lower wage and salary levels. But of course, the "numbers on the books", are looking good!!

The whole story smacks of 3rd world aviation. Virgin has gradually been getting worse and worse, I guess appointing a former Red Rat executive as CEO to run the airline, might be some of the problem.

They owe me $700 from last year, and despite a promise to refund it in February, I still haven't seen it. Their business class has deteriorated to the point where the only difference between business and cattle class is the width of the seats.

Nev - On straight ahead driving and average corners, the steering wasn't that heavy. It was when you pulled up on the road and had to do a 90° tight turn into a farmers paddock, through a 10 foot gate, that things got "interesting"!

I can recall many a time having to put a foot on the (steel) dashboard to assist with getting the old Mack onto full lock to get through those tight gates! Being a sleeper cab, made it even worse!

I put up with it until about 1978, when I had some spare coin and Malcolm Moore (the Mack agents) offered a new Sheppard Power Steering box special deal, which I grabbed!

We fitted the power steering box and pump (easy enough to do), and she was like a completely different truck!

Another thing I did, was cut the cab support cross-member under the cabin of the Mack, and installed two rubber vibration isolator pads out of a Pacific-Ace vibratory roller - to reduce the kickback to the cabin from the 55,000lb rear tandems!

This made the ride in the Mack cabin so much better, it was like a European truck! I had to mount the 8" square rubber pads at 45° in the cross-member, so they cleared the cabin floor.

Couldn't do it today, you'd need a major engineering report, signed off by a qualified transport engineer, and plated and recorded as a major modification to the vehicle! I believe my old Mack is still running around Qld somewhere.