onetrack

The part that staggers me is, he was flying a helicopter, for Gods sake! He could've put down anywhere - even if he did cop some flak for an outlanding where a chopper landing wasn't approved. 

Too focused on the importance of the destination, and too overconfident in his own ability to fly after last light. And the worst part is taking 4 innocent pax with him, who entrusted their lives to him.

The ATSB have released their final report today, on the crash of Bell UH-1, VH-UVC into the sea off Port Stephens on 6th Sept 2019, with the resultant death of all 5 on board.

Incredibly, the ATSB report shows the pilot committed the classic piloting error of continuing to fly after the published time of last light. Spatial disorientation followed, ending by the inevitable crash into the sea.

https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5779863/ao-2019-050-final.pdf

I'm surprised that little has been mentioned by way of supercapacitor and ultracapacitor development in recent times - with what seems a concentration on battery development.

But the newer capacitor developments offer a great way of providing an energy boost to batteries, for when there's a need for a burst of power (vehicle acceleration and takeoff), and for storing energy when it's being regenerated.

I personally think we'll soon see a new line of very competent supercapacitors and ultracapacitors installed with more potent batteries, to provide a very good supply of power that meets the varying power requirements of transportation systems. Tesla invested into ultracapacitor manufacturing in 2018, but have been rather quiet on developments in that area, since then.

https://interestingengineering.com/could-ultracapacitors-replace-batteries-in-future-electric-vehicles

There's nothing like a written basic preflight checklist where you cross off the critical items as you check them. Relying 100% on memory cells to check critical items, is not a 100% foolproof system.

I've seen this on large engine reconditioning processes. One company had reconditioned engine failure, after reconditioned engine failure, shortly after installation.

The problem was pinned down to an assembly system that was totally dependent on individual memory, as mechanics installed, and then secured components.

But it ended up that components were not being fastened correctly or fully, due to rushed work, faulty memory, distractions (phone calls are a classic), and failure to keep any written records on installation of components.

A new manager went through the engine reconditioning facility with a dose of salts, and introduced a new system where every component installation and tightening procedure was recorded - both in writing, and also marked on the component.

The reconditioned engine failure rate went to virtually zero overnight, once this system was initiated.

The electric revolution is coming fast, and the Japanese car makers are heading it, along several fronts. New batteries (including swappable batteries), power packs, and hydrogen fuel cells are all part of the equation, according to their thoughts and development directions.

Honda are really firing up in these areas, with their swappable battery pack, designed as a power source for multiple transport devices, as a power source to replace smaller IC engines, and for equipment.

Honda are currently experimenting with their swappable battery pack in Indian rickshaws, and have drawn up an agreement with Komatsu to utilise these batteries in mini-excavators.

The company also has a portable power unit, designed to fit in a Honda EV car boot, and which can be lifted out and wheeled around to provide substantial amounts of power on worksites, or in emergency situations such as disasters, where the EV car and powerpack can supply power to keep a house going for up to 7 days (I bet some storm-affected Gippsland families would relish an outfit like this, right at present!).

There's little doubt that the electric power R&D area is getting multiple billions poured into it at present, and I think we are going to be pleasantly surprised shortly at the appearance of some major advances in battery and EV power, with battery development and power density improvements starting to offer worthwhile increases in energy and lifespan.

The Japanese Govt started up a major publicly-funded energy R&D operation, called NEDO (New Energy Development Organisation) in 1980, in response to the OPEC oil crisis.

NEDO has now developed into a massive global operation, intent on developing alternative energy sources that are clean and renewable, and which address concerns associated with every level of energy production and use.

The Japanese are unique in that their companies and corporations work fairly harmoniously together, and with common aims, on R&D, without a lot of the destructive competitive policies and personal greed methods of Western (and particularly American) companies and corporations.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/511592/honda-mobile-power-pack-testing-india/

https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/33598951.html

https://www.internationalrentalnews.com/news/Honda-and-Komatsu-team-up-for-electric-mini-excavator/8012907.article?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=World-Construction-Week-22nd-June-2021

https://global.honda/innovation/FuelCell/PowerExporter9000-picturebook.html

https://www.nedo.go.jp/english/introducing/introducing_message_c.html

.......check out the State Govt Offices building, and its unbelievable style of architecture. "How could anyone design a monstrosity like this, and dump it right in the centre of town?", cried bull.

"It looks like the Mafia combined with the Concreters Union to purloin 100,000 cu metres of concrete from the largest corporate building sites, and cast this thing in the darkness in the country, somewhere away from prying eyes - then picked it up with a C-5 Galaxy (avref) and threw it out over Geelong Central, without a parachute! It's an abomination, right out of.........

With a 1978 build aircraft with Bendix fuel injection, you'd have to have a good guess at a fuel supply fault in the injection system, being high on the list of places to look for the cause of the engine failure.

One would hope it wasn't a case of simply running out of fuel - but it has happened plenty of times in the past, and no doubt, it will (and does) continue to happen.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2021/06/fuel-starvation-cessna-182e-skylane.html

Glen, the specs say 55kts flaps down full (40°), 62 kts flaps up. The main problem is, they're a heavy beast, probably close on 1000kgs with one POB and some fuel - that makes for ground effect having little input, when you're coming down hard.

http://www.airmart.com/sites/default/files/Piper Cherokee 6-260 AND 6-300 Performance and Specs.pdf

.....something from the Changeling (1980 film), a grotesque and shadowy presence, threatening all who enter his domain.

Suddenly, bull snapped out of his irrational, fear-driven trance, and realised the black UFO was only a dark thundercloud in a saucer shape, and he wasn't really being drawn upward, he was simply riding a thermal.

At that, he went into a shallow dive and turn to get back to his regular altitude, and to avoid the threatening thundercloud. Within a few minutes, as the haze cleared, he could recognise the coastline again, and he found he was right on course for Geelong. 

As he turned into the landing circuit, however, he spotted........

The ABC is reporting an EFATO for the Piper PA-32-300 Six.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/light-plane-crash-at-heatherton/100234442

Here she is in better days - https://www.airhistory.net/photo/61428/VH-CWK

I'd have to opine she won't ever fly again. I trust the pilot makes a good recovery, it must have been very traumatic for him.

.....get stuck into rectifying his engine troubles, rather than end up with even bigger problems, trying to deal with a harem of women, who sound like a cackling hen house, when they're arguing over the one solitary man available.

It wasn't long before he found the reason for the fuel blockage - a stray tuft of Tassie Tiger fur - and he soon had the Tyro roaring and set for takeoff. He took off into a stiff Sou-Wester that saw him airborne before any of the women could make a grab for him.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he set course for Geelong again - yet something seemed different about the coastline. It seemed to look totally different to what it looked like before. Then the black saucer shaped UFO appeared above him, and he felt himself being sucked upwards towards it, despite him keeping the stick central for level flight. A feeling of utter terror started to overcome him, as he realised.......

The simple fact remains that CASA is a monstrous bureaucracy, answerable to no-one, with multiple depts and divisions (I mean to say "Stakeholder Engagement Division"?? - how many more gravy trains are there, like this?), ruthless in its decisions, which are unchallengeable. This entire arm of Govt goes against every aspect of fair treatment, justice, and accountability under our so-called democracy. It is more like the Gestapo than any other authority in the Western world.

It has powers far beyond anything that is needed, and the entire authority is never reviewed for cost-effectiveness, staffing levels, nor fairness in its decision-making. It is high time it was gone through with a dose of salts and cleaned out.

Since the aviation industry has shrunk to 25% of its size since the COVID-19 virus decimated the industry, I wonder how many desk-pushers in this organisation have had so little to do, that paper-plane making has flourished in their offices?

If aviation activity has declined by 75% in the last 15 months, then there should have been mass sackings in CASA in the same time frame, because of vastly-reduced requirements for the staff numbers, thanks to minimal aircraft operations and movements. But I'll wager it's still the same size as it was in 2019. I guess they've been exceptionally busy drawing up a raft of new regulations for stored aircraft, and why they could present a major risk factor to the public.

This paramotor bloke is going to do time, nothing surer. It's bad enough that interfered with a European football game (a capital offence, no doubt in the EU) - but he overflew many people, against regulations, damaged camera equipment, and injured some spectators. Talk about the ultimate in idiocy, and an inability to do even basic flight planning.

It's very hard to see in the fast video - but yes, he did have a tiny motor and prop strapped to him.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/greenpeace-apologizes-paraglide-protester-euro-2020-1.6067790

I bet he turned a greener shade of green when he found out police snipers had him in their sights, and were prepared to shoot him if it was deemed a terrorism attack. 

He can probably thank his lucky stars that it was German police who had him in their sights. If it was America, he'd have been riddled like a colander before he even dropped inside the stadium!

Molybdenum Disulphide has been around since WW1 and its superior lubricant properties, particularly under "dry lubrication" conditions, were noted by the 1920's.

You can still readily buy MoS2 in powder form and in oil-based formulas as a lubricant additive. A number greases used on construction equipment contain MoS2, as it continues to lubricate when the grease is getting hammered out of pins and bushings, or dust, dirt and mud are destroying the contained oil and soaps lubricating abilities. Liebherr make a special semi-fluid lubricant for their excavator gearboxes, that is about 50% MoS2.

A bloke used to sell a product called "Krause" in the Modern Motor magazine for decades, from the 1950's to the 1990's, for fixing whines in gearboxes and diffs. It was simply concentrated MoS2 in a heavy oil base.

It did work to a certain extent, I can remember buying some to fix a whining Holden diff (Holden diffs were terrors for losing bottom drain plugs on rough roads, and you only found out when the diff started to whine with no oil left in it!)

As far as fuel additives go, they're all pretty much based on the same style of additives. Solvents to clean out combustion deposit, combustion-promoting hydrocarbons, such as 1,2,4 trimethylbenzine and naptha hydrocarbons, and lubricant additives such as polybutenes that also prevent deposit buildups in combustion chambers.

A lot of these fuel additive products contain Stoddard solvent, also known as White spirit, and which is used in paint thinners, as a parts cleaning fluid, and in drycleaning fluids. There are also a number of essential oils added to fuel additives, as a large number of essential oils contain volatile hydrocarbons that provide improved fuel burn, and which also act as potent solvents for petroleum and combustion deposits.

You would need to have a seriously dirty fuel system for a fuel additive to release deposits that would clog your fuel system. All of the fuel additives are exceptionally pricey (around $30-$60 a litre bottle) and they are used in very small quantities, such as 50 or 100ml to a tankful of fuel. Thus their concentration is pretty low, and their action on deposits is relatively slow, it's not like they would release huge globs of fuel tank deposits in one go - that's if you had major deposits in your fuel tank or fuel system, anyway.

Where they do operate, is in removing thin deposits of gums and varnishes in fuel systems, in pumps, and combustion byproducts buildup in combustion chambers themselves.

If you have major combustion chamber deposits, you're well on the way to engine trouble with hotspots and detonation and pre-ignition, anyway. Many older engines throw out small hot particles of combustion deposits, without any major drama.

Dr Benny Peiser of the Global Warming Policy Forum is not exactly a leading world expert on climate science - he's a social anthropologist, with a record of bouncing around with his views on GW.

His written English ability isn't a great deal better than the Binghi's, either. Writing "unfaced" for "unfazed" makes it look like the Binghi is his contract journalist.

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

.....envy. But Shades was more envious of CT's ability to coax huge power out of little engines - which of course, was all started when he found he didn't have enough power, when climbing up out of Victorian gullies, after taking random potshots at rabbits from the cockpit.

Shades was keen to acquire some of CT's engine-building knowledge - but CT was very protective and secretive as regards his engine-building skills, and wasn't about to let any Taswegian acquire them. After all, it had taken him years to find enough Morris Minor engines, and more years of experimentation and fine tuning, to reach the required level of performance and durability.

"I tell ya what", said Shades, as he and CT sucked on some rough red wines and chewed on some Tassie oysters. "If I give ya some pointers as to how you.........

.....keep the media tuned up on breaking news stories - particularly ones involving aviation near-misses, air crashes, and unauthorised low-flying that frightened old ladies and horse teams).

But bull was intrigued with the Moth Minor. He said to Shades, "How did this thing get its name, anyway?". And Shades replied, "Well, it's built by the Moth factory, and it's powered by a Morris Minor engine!".

"You're kidding me?",  said bull in amazement.

"No, it's true!", said Shades. "There's a bloke who lives just due North of Melbourne, on Deep Creek, on the edge of the Macedon Ranges - and he does wonders with old Morris Minor engines. He goes around and picks up any old abandoned and wrecked Morris Minor engines, takes them back to his workshop, and goes to town on them, like a modern day Vic Edelbrock!"

"He can make an 803cc Morris Minor engine produce a reliable 120HP, and you ought to see the staggering power output he gets out of a 1000cc Morris Minor engine! Of course, this aircraft only has the 803cc engine, it would be overpowered with a 1000cc MM engine!" 

"Of course, they're really an Austin engine, that's the part of the power secret behind them!", he went on.

"This is just amazing, this things purrs like a turbine!", said bull in amazement. "But what's the secret behind his power output technique?"

"Well, said Shades, "It's reportedly something to do with the highly secret engine rebuild materials, he gets from a former speedway King in Moorabbin! Apparently, this bloke has access to...........

Trust CASA to make simple things like a medical, as obtuse, confusing, and difficult as possible!    Is this what Carmody got a gong for?

It's Snoopy!! Is that the Red Baron I see approaching? 

True. The Russians declared war on Japan on the 8th August 1945, after the Hiroshima bomb was dropped, and a day before the Nagasaki bomb was dropped.

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

There's one simple basic reason that Japan lost the South Pacific Air War. The Japanese built 30,000 aircraft in total - and the Americans built 90,000 aircraft in total.

The Japanese were simply overwhelmed by the industrial might of America, and I don't think any individual differences in aircraft designs, had any major bearing on the outcome.

Both sides had equally brave pilots, and individual war actions demonstrated that. 

What is probably not well known, is that the Allies were stunned to find upon entering Japan, that the Japanese had approximately 2,500 operational aircraft in hiding, all prepared for Kamikaze attacks on Allied troops carrying out the expected invasion of Japan.

The toll on Allied troops would have been tremendous if an Allied sea/ground invasion of Japan had been carried out - and this led to the eventual acceptance of the belief, that even though the two A-bombs were ghastly, the use of the A-bombs saved possibly more than a couple of million lives. The Americans already knew that the Japanese would fight to the bitter end, if Japans islands were invaded - but they had no idea the Japanese were so well prepared for an Allied invasion.

Trump is the master of the "corrosive falsehood", which he continues to promote, even after he has left the White House.

His disingenuous lies, constantly repeated, have seen him banned from the largest social media sites - including the one he loved most, Twitter.

If that's not a sign that a very large number of important people and leading lights of the media believe that Trump is a danger to democracy with his lying and abusive behaviour, then I don't know what is.

https://theconversation.com/trumps-lies-about-the-election-show-how-disinformation-erodes-democracy-150603

Meantime, Cappy, after his outstanding career as a decorated WW2 Spitfire pilot, has returned home to find he's regarded as "just another pilot" (serious avref), and has taken to tramping the empty streets of Darraweit Guim in gloom, pondering where his life path will take him now. 

Suddenly a shot rings out, and Cappy hits the ground in abject terror, thinking the Huns are after him again. But then he realises it's only CT9000 popping bunnies - with CT9000 pleased that he's now got the right again, to place another rabbit "kill" symbol on his 4x4 mudguards - just as Cappy did with his Spitfire, after nailing 46 Huns, and topping the Squadron list of WW2 fighter aces.

But CT9000 feels that something is lacking in his life now, too, seeing as the only "kill" symbols he can rightfully claim, belong to furry, cuddly little rabbits. And CT9000's girlfriend is a rabbit lover, and knows nothing of CT9000's regular murderous rampages on the poor innocent rabbits of Darraweit Guim - who now make up the majority of the town population. 

CT9000 is greatly worried that one day, his girlfriend will find out about his rabbit-murdering rampages, and he will end up sleeping in the........

The blokes who really do earn and deserve AO's, are typified by the bloke in the link below. The public servants like Carmody deserve bugger-all awards, they're just overpaid desk-pushers.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/awards/leading-melanoma-researcher-appointed-ac-c-3101163