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onetrack

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  1. onetrack
    .....to chop up other vegetables - seeing as he was actually the campsite cook - not any frontline combat hero. Yes, dear NES readers, this explains why Cappy bears the surname of Cook, as cooking for the tribe has been a primary occupation of Cappy's family line ever since his ancestors crawled out of the caves, stood upright, and had a look around. This skill was developed right after Fred "Flintstone" Cook, first discovered that dead dinosaurs tasted better when chunks of meat off them (cut off with kukri's, of course) were toasted to charcoal crispness over open fires - and this promptly led to other Neanderthals turning up, to find out what the delicious smell was - and Fred offering them samples - with larger portions available in exchange for spear heads, sharpened flint stones, etc, etc. All this led to Fred figuring out that a dinosaur meat food truck was what was really needed, and if he could get that fire up onto a moving bed, he'd be able to extend his meat sales extensively. Accordingly, Fred tried to invent the wheel, so he could move his dinosaur meats around. His first attempts were pathetic, with square sides and offset holes (sort of like Cappys aircraft-construction efforts) - but before long, Fred had........
  2. onetrack
    .....claim that he actually owns the kukri one is carrying. Regardless of who owns that particular kukri, it's noted that Cappy says it must be used affectively. That means you utilise the kukri on your enemies with great affection - in essence, you have to say, as you wield it, "I love you to death" - just like the movie stars do, in moments of tender passion. This then eases the pain of sending your enemies to cross the River Styx. Cappy seems very familiar with large sharp curved knives, which appears to indicate he has a large infusion of Genghis Khan DNA in his lineage, which obviously comes from the time his great great great grandfather was found with.............
  3. onetrack
    Well, a new Childrens Hospital was built here in Perth a few years ago, and almost immediately, excessive levels of lead were found in the water from the piping in the hospital. The lead was traced to brass pipe fittings that contained unacceptable levels of lead. Guess where the pipe fittings came from? In addition, roof panels were fitted to the Hospital, that were later found to be tainted with asbestos. Guess where those panels came from? And guess who produced documentation stating that their panels were free of asbestos, prior to supply? It's a constant problem from that big manufacturing country to our North. Try buying a new Chinese generating set, and see if you can get it to reliably produce its factory claimed output. Good luck with that. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-27/perth-childrens-hospital-cleared-for-opening-after-lead-problem/9591812 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-14/asbestos-found-in-perth-childrens-hospital-roof-panels/7628108
  4. onetrack
    Don't worry, if Chinese tractors and construction equipment and cars are any indicators, the drone will have major flaws - peasants will have done the assembly - resulting in missing parts, connectors left unconnected, and bolts left loose - the castings will still have casting sand attached, the QC papers will be forged or acquired via bribery, and the item will have been rushed into production with inadequate testing. But they will build 500 of them every day, that's the main concern.
  5. onetrack
    Or a decent mock-up, with nothing actually flying yet? Military parades in countries led by dictators are notorious for holding military equipment displays with equipment that is largely fake, or non-operational.
  6. onetrack
    There has been more than one aircraft crash caused by an improperly secured cowling or fairing, and even canopies, detaching after takeoff. Some of those crashes have been fatal. https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/news-items/2014/open-canopy-leads-to-fatal-takeoff https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/news-items/2025/flapping-cowling-door-likely-distracted-pilot-prior-jandakot-chipmunk-accident
  7. onetrack
    John, it depends on the interpretation of "practicable". I define "practicable" as being an idea or principle that is produced in a working model. Others may view the definition of "practicable" as successful commercial production of the principle. IMO, the first practicable turboprop was the Gloster Meteor EE227, which first flew on 20/09/1945. However, the EE227 was a test bed, not intended for production. The first successful commercial turboprop was the Vickers Viscount, which first flew on 16/07/1948 - however, the Viscount didn't receive full type certification until 27/07/1950.
  8. onetrack
    Nev, a tailwheel fork or arm is not really a critical structural steel part. But yes, plating can produce hydrogen embrittlement - however, it's primarily high strength, low alloy steels, that are affected by the hydrogen generated by the plating process. Hexavalent chromium is a bigger threat to your health and lifespan!
  9. onetrack
    I have read a very involved, technical, official research item (it was an American publication) a couple of years ago, that carried out destructive testing of both Li-ion and LiFePO4 batteries. Unfortunately, I can no longer find it. However, the test results were clear, the LiFePO4 battery did not spontaneously combust, it merely smouldered - and at a much lower temperature. Admittedly, any smoke is bad news, and even worse news in an aircraft. However, there are many destructive testing results available online, that show LiFePO4 is as inherently safe as you can get, as regards modern batteries - considering that high energy levels and plastics are also involved. The Czechs below treat an LiFePO4 with ruthless attacks, most of which wouldn't happen in any normal use. The only flame that ends up being produced is the plastic burning.
  10. onetrack
    It says a lot for the old Auster as to how well balanced it was, to be able to take off by itself, and fly by itself!
  11. onetrack
    .....a group of Comancheros, kicking chairs out of their way, and with their Sgt-at-Arms snarling, "Alright, who's the bastards who took up our regular bike parking places with that Holden crap?" Big, blonde, pink-faced Ted Shepherd (note the clever sheep reference), his pink face (and neck) now turning a bright red, raised himself from his chair, uncoiling his massive 2 metre frame as he did so, faced the SaA with his famous glare that made sheepdogs cringe, and said, "Well, if youse are talking to me, it was...................
  12. onetrack
    What the hell was he doing? He was carrying too much speed for satisfactory landing, and failing to flare. Whoever qualified that pilot, needs to be re-assessed as an instructor.
  13. onetrack
    Yes, there are transport restrictions as regards transporting both LiFePO4 and sodium batteries in all aircraft, as they're classed as Dangerous Goods by transport regulations. There is only one LiFePO4 battery certified for use in aircraft power or backup systems, it's the EarthX brand. No sodium batteries are yet certified for use in aircraft systems. However, there are quite a number of pilots with light recreational aircraft who are using LiFePO4 batteries for power systems in their aircraft, with no reported problems at this point. As always, the use of a LiFePO4 battery that has a robust and good quality Battery Management System (BMS) attached to it, is very important.
  14. onetrack
    Sodium-ion technology batteries offer no substantial economic or major safety advantages in portable applications - especially when compared to lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries. The sodium atom has 4 times the mass of the lithium atom, and therefore energy density is far less than LiFePO4 - and it can't be improved, simply due to physics. The sodium-ion battery has some application potential where weight and size are not critical issues. In a light aircraft, these issues are critical. Sodium-ion batteries have a lower life cycle than LiFePO4. As little as half the life cycle of LiFePO4, and two-thirds at best. The cost factor of sodium-ion batteries is not yet substantial, even though it is promised it will be much cheaper. The fire risk of LiFePO4 is already very low, and even when perforated they still don't "blow up", as the early, cheap consumer product, lithium-ion batteries did. If they do get damaged, LiFePO4 will only smoulder heavily, they don't turn into a runaway spontaneously-combusting event. Sodium-ion technology and research is still relatively new, I see no reason to rush into it for portable applications, because the overwhelming advantages are not there.
  15. onetrack
    The F35 reminds me of the old Alec Issigonis joke about a camel being designed by a committee that was instructed to design a horse. The F35 is every bloke and his dog having a say in what they want in an aircraft, and it ends up being a nightmare of complexity, and it can never do what the designers promised it could do - and certainly not supply the primary requirement - provide satisfactory reliability.
  16. onetrack
    The PT6 isn't really a concern for engine failure potential, their reliability is nothing short of amazing. I saw the failure figures recently, it was something in the order of 1 engine failure every 400,000 hrs.
  17. onetrack
    RFguy has nailed it, my error, not paying enough attention - that's an AT-502B, they run the 750HP PT6A-34G engine. They can go to 4263kg MTOW for later models with the modified wing spar. That still doesn't explain the long takeoff roll. The factory specs say 1140ft (347M) to get airborne. He must have been on a fuel saving mission. Air Tractor - AT-502B AIRTRACTOR.COM Air Tractor AT-502B World’s Most Popular Ag Plane For many ag operators, the AT-502B is the ideal combination of payload and performance. It’s got every airframe and engine advantage to...
  18. onetrack
    ....had a great time discussing the things they shared great interest in - mainly, powerful positions, the ability to handle the permanently aggressive Media Rat Pack with aplomb, making statesman-like decisions on the future of the country - and especially, Climate Zero. Few people know that OT is a Climate Warrior and his mines are Green and Clean. His mining efforts produces no emissions, as he mostly uses cheap labour from the sub-continent, rather than big expensive polluting machinery from the Land of Trump. OT at one time was a huge buyer and user of Caterpillar machines - then one day he saw the light, and the damage his machines were doing to the Climate, so he underwent a literal "Damascus Moment" as regards pollution, and joined hands with Twiggy Forrest in singing "Kumb-By-Ya", and dressing in hemp shirts and...........
  19. onetrack
    Moneybox, was he fully loaded, or just economising on fuel? Seems like a very relaxed takeoff. The Airtractors I watch working, cropdusting in the Wheatbelt, don't hang around, they've got 1600HP, they get off the ground pretty fast - and they sure move when they're spraying! I think they spray at about 90-100 kts? One of them fairly made me soil my underpants about 3 years ago, when he flew right into the path of my Hilux as I was cresting a hill at about 110kmh - he came up from behind the crest of the hill as he finished his spray run! Never saw him coming, didn't even know he was working that paddock. 🙂
  20. onetrack
    No MTOW in the specs? Seems like a glaring omission. The article above appears to be quite dated, the list of engines currently offered by Pelegrin is vastly different to what's listed above. Currently, the only engines offered are the 160HP Rotax 916iS, the 130HP UL Power 350iSA, and the 185HP Edge Performance 918. I did finally find the MTOW, it's not listed in the manufacturers site specs, it's listed under "Technology", which is a weird place to list it. The aircraft is rated at 650kg MTOW - but the cabin is very narrow at 700mm, and the -2.2G wing loading is not all that good. Tarragon Aircraft WWW.TARRAGONAIRCRAFT.COM tarragon, aircraft, plane, UL, fast, fastest, carbon, fibre, tarragonaircraft, quality, best, tandem, military, modern, luxury, exclusive, performance, acrobatic, latvia, riga, manufacturer, composite, pre-preg, tehnology...
  21. onetrack
    Kiwi, I have no radio skills and only basic electrical knowledge, but this is what a search tells me (link below). The Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit in your radio appears to be suffering from intermittent failure, and I would have to opine this is either a hardware fault, or a circuitry fault in the radio. https://www.google.com/search?q=xcom%2Bradio%2BPhase-Locked%2BLoop%2Breference%2Boscillator&sca_esv=80900f88cf1b312c&sxsrf=AE3TifNoCp0ipiL1reCdaKQayxFfPqenFQ:1756603918630&ei=DqazaJelJpObnesP2Lr9sAw&ved=0ahUKEwiX5NLE87OPAxWTTWcHHVhdH8YQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=xcom%2Bradio%2BPhase-Locked%2BLoop%2Breference%2Boscillator&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiMXhjb20gcmFkaW8gUGhhc2UtTG9ja2VkIExvb3AgcmVmZXJlbmNlIG9zY2lsbGF0b3IyCBAAGIAEGKIEMgUQABjvBTIFEAAY7wUyBRAAGO8FMgUQABjvBUj7LVDyB1imKnABeAGQAQCYAeMBoAHDEaoBBTAuNC43uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIMoALxEcICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAgcQIxiwAhgnwgIEECEYCpgDAIgGAZAGCJIHBjEuMS4xMKAH_TSyBwYwLjEuMTC4B-4RwgcFMC41LjfIByU&sclient=gws-wiz-serp WWW.GOOGLE.COM
  22. onetrack
    Personally, I reckon a Skyraider II would be a better model choice. I could really give the local rabbit population a work-over, with one of these!!
  23. onetrack
    In a sudden and dramatic twist to the NES, it has been revealed that air piracy has infiltrated the NES story line, and readers must be made aware that those contributors who appear legit, are not what they seem. It's a little-known fact, that Cappy comes from a long ancestral line of sea pirates, and thus it was easy for him to simply take the small step from sea piracy to air piracy. These people are also known as "sky pirates", and one must be aware that these low-lifes inhabit the sky permanently, just the same as sea pirates inhabit the sea. These sky pirates will pounce on your aircraft, out of clouds, where they enjoy hiding, to rain death and destruction on your aircraft, crew and pax - and even try to steal your aircraft! Therefore, dear NES readers, one must be constantly alert for what is hiding in clouds, when one is enjoying the freedom of flight, and apparently safe skies. It is a solemn reminder that many aircraft have been............ (and here we have Cappys ancestors doing what they did best, stealing other peoples airships, or generally blowing Police airships out of the sky!)
  24. onetrack
    Moneybox, upload your videos to a free hosting site such as Screenpal, and then just put up the link for users to watch it. Screenpal will allow you to upload videos up to 15 mins long, for free.
  25. onetrack
    .....replaced it with a kangaroo, thus causing great confusion amongst his military comrades, who all thought he'd been to Hong Kong and scored an Aussie souvenir hat from a returning Chinese tourist after a visit to Australia. It wasn't long after that episode, that Harry started to be called "Skip" by his comrades (and we all know what the Chinese are like, for making fun of peoples names). "Skip" in Chinese actually means doing a pretty anti-social act, so it wasn't long before the sound of "Hey, Skip!" brought guffaws from the assorted PLA comrades nearby, and.......................
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