onetrack

Alan, having open top tank vents at right angles to the airflow, would just create a venturi effect at flying air speeds, and suck fuel out of the tanks - and it would also create a vacuum in the tanks.

......he still had some serious lingering erectile problems. "Yah", said the Hooters waitress, "Ya'll must know I jest lurve hunky Oztralian men! - but I ain't found one yet, that can keep up with me! And this one here, sure looks laik he's 'past his prime', y'all know?!"

Cappy looked deflated. Another rejection was getting hard to take. He needed something to make him look less aged, and more attractive to the young wimmen. Suddenly, he remembered - his pilots uniform!!

He raked through his wardrobe until he found his rather dusty, and a little moth-eaten uniform. But the gold on the epaulettes still sparkled, and this would surely be his ticket to once again having gorgeous pieces of fluff hanging off his arms!

He dragged the uniform off the coat hanger and tried it on, to see if if still fitted. Uh-oh, the pants were now difficult to do up! Surely he hadn't expanded that much around the middle!

He'd have to see his tailor! And he jumped in the Hillman Minx, cranked it up, and took off up the road in a cloud of blue smoke, dreaming about where this newly-adjusted uniform would.........

.....Jerry - who is, of course, a Tomcat. But there's been pressure from Warner Bros to drop my new show, where cats are used when there's not enough available wombats. Besides, the wombats are pretty slow on stage and they have a nasty tendency to dig large holes in the stage, and then disappear down them. That doesn't do anything for the quality of the performance, and we tend to get a lot more 'Boo's' from the audience if we use too many wombats.

But getting back to Warner Bros, I need some advice now. I've never had such a big global corporation trying to pressure me like this, and I need some serious level of legal support, and how to go about knocking the wind out of Warner Bros sails. I've got another mate recommending some dubious legal bunch called 'Turbine Whine & Dyne Legal', and I'm not finding any good reports on this........

Rgmwa - Selby Ford of Beverley, W.A. built his "Silver Centenary" experimental in 1929-30 without any blueprints or calculations! But he did study up extensively on aerodynamics (without formal training or without gaining any qualifications) and drew on current designs of the era to build his aeroplane.

He apparently also did draw full-size sketches of the basic design, on the Beverley powerhouse floor! I believe he also had a unique mind that led him to possess excellent practical design skills. I have employed people who possessed similar highly-competent abilities in fabrication.

Capt C.H. Nesbitt was the test pilot of the Silver Centenary, and claimed that it flew beautifully. Nesbitt made several flights in the Silver Centenary.

However, Selby Ford came unstuck when he went to register the Silver Centenary in 1930, as he couldn't provide any plans, calculations, or even basic drawings to the CAA, to support his registration request!

Strangely enough, no-one has ever found any concerning flaws in Selby Fords aircraft, and it was totally stripped and rebuilt after 76 years of being on display, and it did eventually receive airworthiness certification and permission to fly as an experimental.

The most incredible part of the entire Silver Centenary saga, is that Capt C. H. Nesbitt and his two passengers were killed, when the less-than-a-month old De Havilland DH80A Puss Moth Capt Nesbitt was piloting, suffered an in-flight wing separation, and crashed!

The Puss Moth was a fully-engineered aircraft, designed by so-called "highly skilled" aviation designers!! The Puss Moth had a terrible flight record, with the major problem being identified as a major structural weakness at the root of the wing spar!

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/153451

At the end of the day, all single-designer aircraft are only as good as the cleverness and capabilities of the designer, no matter how extensive their written qualifications are.

I've come across qualified mechanical engineers who didn't even understand that mens shavers needed to be regularly emptied.

.....convoluted the instructions were. The overwhelming success of this programme led Turbo to acquire the nickname of the Cat Whisperer - because of his technique of grabbing a cat by the scruff of its neck, and whispering softly into its ear, "If you don't do exactly what I say, pussycat, you'll be turned into a floor rug".

The national acclaim that raised Turbo to daily prominence in the local media didn't go unnoticed in those countries large with cat numbers - especially Japan, where cats are held in high esteem, and where they even have their own island. So the people of Cat Island got in touch with Turbo, and asked him if he would like to..........

....tails through the chastity belts and then have the straps tightened around their middles. In fact, it was like trying to bath cats - and the copycats soon went out of business as they couldn't find enough employees willing to handle scratching, fighting, biting cats.

But Turbo, being an experienced manager of cats - and rats - from way back, when he was instrumental in starting up Victoristans main Cat Farm, felt that there was some mileage in the idea of cat chastity belts, an item that must appeal to the groups such as PETA, Cat Lovers, Cat .......

Most moisture-absorbing crystals are the chemical known as "Silica gel". This product is an amorphous and porous form of Silicon Dioxide. Silicon Dioxide is seen in its most common form as quartz.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silica_gel

Damprid is a combination of chemical crystals that have moisture-absorbent properties. The main ingedient in Damprid is anhydrous (meaning "no water") calcium chloride, with trace amounts of sodium chloride (salt) and potassium chloride.

These chemicals are called deliquescent compounds, as they have the ability to absorb large amounts of water from humid air, often turning mushy as they do so, due to the amount of water absorbed.

If you heat them, you can evaporate the water and use them again. However, the heating must be gentle, or you risk destroying the chemical bonds of the compounds.

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Who is Izaac Flanagan?

He's owner/director and Chief Pilot of FAST Aviation, as a quick Google search shows ....

https://fastaviation.com.au/about-us/

....Selden, a fear-instilling creature of the hills and hidden caves above the 5 rivers of DG. The mere mention that CT was on the prowl was enough reason for strong men to lock up their wives and daughters, and keep the dogs close to the house.

Then, one night, as CT went on the prowl for wombats, he was sighted by none other than.......

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When you can be arrested for planning a protest, yet alone actually participating in one, we have serious  problems with Governance in this Country.

I don't see anything wrong with people being arrested for planning a protest, when that planned protest poses a serious threat to the health of the community, whereby any number of the protestors could be carrying COVID-19 - and potentially initiating a virus super-spreader event.

In addition, the planned protest would be in direct contravention of legally-issued laws and regulations, designed to protect the health of the community. What part of all this, is so hard to understand??

There's a few people on this forum who have taken their logic directly from Donald Trumps view of the world. Logic that works backwards from unproven conclusions, looking to manufacture the "facts" to produce the conclusions they had already decided on, before any facts were identified.

Pete, I think Skippy probably meant to write, "Am I dreaming when I suggest that most owners would have fairly good records?"

And I would reply, that if you find someone selling any type of aircraft, and they can't provide detailed records, I would consider that persons attitude towards flying and aircraft maintenance, falls well short of what is required by any interested reasonable aviator.

Don't get me started on about the number of imbeciles who drive around after dark with their lights off! They certainly must be part of the same group who performed the anti-vax, anti-COVID-19 demonstrations!!

Wow! One of the things that most impressed me about that crash was the way the aircraft pilot and pax treated those Troopers when they were taking down details!

No eye contact, offhand behaviour, treating the troopers like they were the scum of society!! What is it about U.S. Troopers that makes so much of the U.S. population not respect them?

I know they can be heavy-handed and abrasive (and I've encountered police with that attitude here in Australia) - but this performance is quite eye-opening!

There's another simple reason why Toyota is the worlds most profitable manufacturer - with $50B cash in the bank - and why their sales went up 50% in the COVID-19 downturn, when nearly every other manufacturers sales fell. That reason is resale value - as well as reliability and long life.

Good luck with getting rid of your Haval or Great Wally when you want to quit it - as we all have to quit out vehicles sometime - unless you just drive it into the ground, and scrap it.

When I sell my Toyotas, I have to knock buyers back with a stick - and they are keen and willing buyers, and they pay top money for them.

But if you own a Haval or Great Wally, they are virtually unsaleable in used condition, you will virtually have to give them away.

If you own a Mitsubishi, a Nissan, or a Mazda, you have to work hard to sell them, and get a reasonable price for them. It takes weeks and weeks to sell a used Nissan, Mitsubishi or Mazda.

People have great trust in Toyota to deliver long-lasting reliable vehicles, that retain their value at high levels, for a long period of time.

I have yet to see what EV's are like for holding their resale value. I have a suspicion they will hold their resale value like used toasters do.

......"Oh, bother! I knew I should've gone to SpecSavers!  But never mind, there's only a minor difference in size, the physiology is very similar - and we're here today to examine the workings of........

....proboscis into the soft areas of unwitting mammals, mostly homo sapiens, but other mammalian species, including mammaries, as well - which are, as you should know.....

....cumulonimbus cloud - which we must watch, as it could get very interesting! - seeing as this top-level predator, cumulonimbus, has been known to eat Jabirus in a few seconds, and spit the remains out from their.......

The speed of circulation through a cooler or radiator, of the liquid being cooled, is critical. If the hot liquid passes through the cooler or radiator too rapidly, the cooling effect is inadequate, as the hot liquid doesn't have enough time exposed to the air flow through the cooler or radiator, to release the heat it's carrying. The seemingly too-small diameter piping may be the engineers method of restricting the flow rate, to ensure maximum cooling effect.

....was the most amazing thing anyone in the group had ever seen. As Salty pulled the four legs from the camp oven, and put them on a plate; four large rabbit amputees hopped up to Salty on three legs, knocked the plate from his hands; and then each rabbit grabbed a leg in their respective mouths, and made off with them.

Everyone was astonished. None more so than Salty, who exclaimed, "Well, blow me down!! Rabbits stealing and eating chicken legs? What next??"

But Cappy was right onto the situation. He could see what had happened. The rabbits had rightly reclaimed their legs. The situation was out of Saltys hands now, and Cappy would never again.......

Re the comparisons with Norway - it's all too easy to compare apples to oranges. Norway has a very substantial amount of hydropower generation, supported financially and legislatively, by their Govt.

Norway has 1690 hydro power plants producing 88% of their electric power production. They have mountainous terrain with waterfalls pouring out of every crevice - and landowners are encouraged to harvest this power via hydro installations.

In addition, Norways Govt is taking an extreme position in relation to EV vehicles, banning ICE vehicles and offering major tax incentives to go with EV vehicles.

These incentives are enormous - everything from no import taxes, no road taxes, free parking, half-cost toll road and ferry trips, 50% tax rate reduction for company EV's - the list goes on and on.

https://energifaktanorge.no/en/norsk-energiforsyning/kraftproduksjon/

https://elbil.no/english/norwegian-ev-policy/

The policies of the Norwegian Govt and the power generation sources of Norway can't be easily translated to many other countries - particularly Australia.

In addition, Australia's terrain and temperatures are at the opposite end of Norways terrain and temperatures.

So it's easy to say Norway is leading the world, and showing the way in EV's - but they have many peculiarly-specific conditions and laws in Norway, that make that so.

The problems will come when increasing taxes on "polluting fuels" will make it unviable to own an ICE-powered machine of any type.

In Europe, the EU is already setting the stage for vastly increased taxes on aviation fuels. We are bound to follow.

https://www.euronews.com/2021/07/14/carbon-tax-alternative-fuels-brussels-unveils-drastic-measures-to-slash-emissions-by-2030

....usually great plagiarism. But before he could copy too much down from his favourite author, Cappy sniffed the air. "What have you got cooking"?, he asked Salty.

"Well, it's my Claypot Chicken on the bubble in the camp oven", said Salty, proudly lifting the lid, and peering in, and giving the mix a stir.

"Great!", said Cappy, starting to drool a little at the corners of his mouth, with the expectation of a good feed.

He rushed over and peered into the camp oven, while Salty was still holding the lid up. "That's not chicken, you baitlayer!!", Cappy exclaimed. "That's RABBIT!! You're conning us with food fraud!!"

"No, no no, no!!", said Salty. "I swear on a stack of Bibles, this is the finest Australian sourced, free-range chicken! And it comes with Australian rice, too", he added as an afterthought.

"I've eaten a pile of rabbit, and I know what cooked RABBIT looks like, and smells like, and tastes like!!", said Cappy angrily. "Don't try to con me!! You've been running a Baitlayers Lunch Bar and Kebab shop on the side with this stuff, haven't you? I ought to dob you in to the Health Dept for food type misrepresentation!!"

"I tell you! - this is CHICKEN!!", said Salty in exasperation. "What else do I have to do, to convince you, that this is CHICKEN!!"

Cappy replied, "You're going to have to show me the.........

I know swans will fly at night, on clear moonlit nights. There have been numerous stories of swans slamming into CGI roofs in the outback, on homestead and pub roofs, when the reflected moonlight off the roofs obviously tricked the swans into thinking the roofs were sheets of water. I understand geese and ducks will also fly at night on migratory trips.

An interesting article I read recently, stated that 'roos have a very acute sense of smell - and they avoid plants with strong essential oils in them - such as ti-tree and other native plants that yield valuable, anti-bacterial essential oils.

Apparently, if 'roos eat plants containing strong essential oils, the essential oils kill the bacteria in their gut that they need to digest their regular choice of native vegetation. So they then get sick, and can die.

They apparently have the ability to smell the strong essential oils in plants such as ti-tree, and they give those plants a wide berth.

What is more interesting, even if their favourite native vegetation is nearby to the essential-oil bearing plants, they will give the whole area a wide berth, even avoiding the plants they like to feed on.

So the message is - plant lots of essential-oil vegetation along the edges of airstrips, and the 'roos won't come near the strip.

One of the better articles states the aircraft ran into the hailstorm over the Alps at 15,000' on their way to their planned FL of 32,000'.

That's not trying to "beat" anything, that's simply failing to avoid what would have shown up as a storm cell on their weather radar.

There must have been a suitable storm avoidance path available - although if it was a particularly large thunderstorm, and they were constrained by some other flight path limitations, which meant they couldn't go around it, and had to try and select the best path through it, that may explain the damage.