onetrack

As a former earthmover, I often wonder how so many of those remote airstrips were built?

I guess quite a number were built during WW2, when the US Air Force had air-droppable small engineering equipment such as the Clark CA-1 Tractor.

But I also wondered if a lot were simply carved out by hand, by the local natives, utilising natural flat features?

Fournales still produce a lot of shock absorbers - was it just that particular model of Fournales that is no longer available? The Fournales can be rebuilt, couldn't he get any rebuild components?

http://www.mawsolutions.com/html/fournales_shock_absorbers.html

Heavy landings will produce a very substantial increase in loading on suspensions, due to the shock component.

If you operate a loaded crane, and drop the load just 50mm, then stop it again, the loading on the crane and components increases by 100%.

.....themselves, at the expense of the flying fraternity - and producing objections to anything affecting aviation and pilots, is their forte. However, they were over-ruled by the Statue Committee, and the plan was approved.

Then the Public Transport Users Group objected to the location of the Statue, as they claimed it impeded orderly progress of the hundreds of thousands of commuters who used FSS every day.

Right after that, the Local Govts Association claimed the Brilliant Red colour chosen for the statue wasn't in accordance with the planning rules for the FSS area.

All this was over-ruled, too, as the Statue was deemed "Artwork" and the planning rules were designed to apply to buildings, not Artworks.

Furthermore, the Statue Committee decreed that the Statue had great appeal to the Chinese-Australians, who now made up 51% of Melbournes population, and who also owned 67% of the metro area property.

It was deemed to be extremely comforting for the majority Chinese-Australians to see a large statue of a Dear Leader on their way to their work in the factories, so this fitted in well with........

You should've used "Fredbloodyfrustratedbear", then we'd understand better. Welcome to the forum.

Atlas C4M Kudu - the Aermacchi AL60C, built under licence in Seff Efrica by the Atlas Aircraft Corp. Served in the SAF between 1974 and 1991. Exact number built is unclear, but it is reported as "more than 40".

The survivors are popular as a skydive aircraft today. Originally powered with an O-470, some have received a turbine repower.

You need to figure out a soft-start arrangement for the starter. Leece-Neville are producing new 12V and 24V starters for truck and industrial diesels that contain an inbuilt soft-starter.

There must be some smart electronics whizz who can design up an electronic "black box" that feeds in the electric current on a "current ramp-up" basis, to prevent the bang you get now, with full current supply upon starter initiation.

Many hoses produced today have interchangeable metric and imperial dimensions listed on their sizing, as the differences in dimensions are minimal, when it comes to something like flexible rubber hose.

It's not like thread specifications, or engineering fit of metal components, where dimensions are critical.

"Handling charge" - $655. Don't you just love "non-specific" charges? Talk about "nickel and dime ya".

And $147 for PARKING? They're not operating an airport, they're operating a superbly profitable carpark, with an airport as a sideline.

I'll go for Maule. Brush a thin coat of paint stripper onto the aluminium tag, then wash it off with water, and see if the writing becomes visible on the tag.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Maule-Tail-Wheel-Control-Arms-for-Swiveling-Tailwheel-/323733284313

.....utilise one of OT's flying cars to carry out the making of a viral video, involving some sinister-looking Middle East types (who were just your normal dinky-di naturalised Aussies), who would fly into a gathering of rich Jews celebrating the '67, 6-Day War - and then have them jump out of the flying car, armed to the hilt, before it even stopped rolling.

The idea was to make the video look like an Arab version of Entebbe - but with a twist, as there'd be no hostages, and the Middle-Eastern looking blokes would all promptly break out with, "G'Day!!

However, before anything could be put in place, there came news from ....

I've spent nearly all my life looking for spares and replacements at reasonable prices and trying to beat the sales ripoff. Google is the greatest asset ever given to us, as long as you know how to use it, for searching out deals and prices.

I buy nothing now, without researching the item I'm looking for, and finding new sources and better prices. It works without fail about 99% of the time, unless an item is "hot", in major demand, and in short supply.

One of the major problems is having to deal with suppliers who largely deal with large corporate customers, and where those customers care little about pricing.

These suppliers couldn't care less about a $40 sale, when they're selling $40,000 worth of products an hour, to large clients.

You need to hunt down the keen, hungry, and efficient suppliers, who see a dollar in every sale, no matter how small, and who know the benefits of highly competitive pricing.

I wanted 10 genuine Nitto male 3/8" air coupling adaptors yesterday. The pricing ranges from about $4 to $18 each. Then there's the cheap Chinese copies that don't last 5 mins because the ball groove wears severely in them within a month.

I got onto eBay and found a range of suppliers. One large engineering supply company in Victoria had reasonable pricing, about $4.50 each. But they had no postage costs.

They had a postage calculator on their eBay page - and it didn't work. So I loaded 10 adaptors into the shopping cart and the postage calculator still didn't work. Annoyed, I contacted them and asked why their postage calculator didn't work.

I get a reply about 3 hrs later, with the seller saying, "I can't tell you the postage cost until you place an order, then I can calculate the postage cost and let you know!" Give me a break!! What century do these businesses live in?

They go to the trouble of setting up a postage calculator on their webpage that doesn't work - then when I ask why, they tell me they still have to calculate postage manually!!

Then they expect me to actually place an order - without knowing the postage cost - then hang around for hours waiting for their reply. I could place an order for $40 worth of adaptors, only to find they want $50 in postage!!

I found another seller on eBay with the same item (genuine Nitto adaptor), he was selling them at $4.11 each - with free postage. 20 seconds later, I had them bought and paid for. I wonder how long it will take the engineering crowd to wake up.

He sells "Medical equipment"?? Say no more. The stuff makes aircraft spares look like the bargain bin.

103 lbs is 46 kgs. What are they planning on using for pilots? 14 yr old girls?? A male adult who weighs only 46 kgs would make a Biafran refugee look overfed.

....a sudden horde of Japanese engineers swarmed over OT's invention, seeking out the fine details and taking notes and surreptitious photos, whereby they could copy it precisely, and then label it a genuine Toyota invention.

Then suddenly, there was Turbo, taking to the stage, claiming major patent infringements in OT's flying car design, and stating loudly that Turbine Enterprises Aviation & Testing Services (TEATS for short), had a nearly identical product on the drawing boards (well, in 3D computer programmes, anyway), and it was obvious there was industrial espionage involved on the part of OT and the West Aussie team.

"This is positively outrageous", claimed Turbo loudly. "This is taking food from the mouths of suckling babes (hence the TEATS acronym), and Turbine Enterprises won't stand for this! We'll be launching a lawsuit tomorrow, claiming major intellectual theft ("if that's even remotely possible, given the combined intellectual capacity of Victoria", said OT under his breath), numerous patent infringements, loss of income, and anything else the lawyers can think up!"

So, the stage was set. It was going to become War between East and West of the country. OT set about finding a top QC with extensive Aviation knowledge (avref). It wasn't going to be easy, seeing as Gina had all the top Australian lawyers on speed dial, but OT wasn't dismayed. He set about calling on some old friends who......

Meantimes, it seems the NES has completely derailed in the last 50 posts, as regards Avref. Onetrack set about correcting the problem by wheeling out his latest version of the flying car.

With both the automotive industry and the aviation industry in the greatest sales and activity slump since 1903, it was obvious there was a need for a huge boost to make a vastly increased number of people turn to the skies (avref).

Onetracks flying car was outrageous in its styling, and exceptionally advanced in its engineering - particularly the power plant.

OT had taken a Turbine Enterprises Turboencabulator and had crossed it with a 1.2L Miller cycle engine from Nissan, and added the latest Li-ion battery packs, to produce a power unit that was staggering in its output and performance.

Best of all, due to OT's cunning use of finite analysis, he was able to pare the weight of the entire unit to less than 100 kgs. The motoring and aviation media were ecstatic.

Here was what was needed, a shot in the arm for both industries, a huge increase in travelling by air (avref), and low-cost to boot. OT was lauded by the media as a combination of Henry Ford and the Wright Bros, of the 21st Century.

"It has been a long time coming", said OT in a national media interview - and he went on to graciously explain - "But I can't take all the credit, there has been a huge team effort here, apart from a couple of persistent knockers who......

This following article may be enlightening.

https://www.motorpunk.co.uk/features/eurotunnel-blues-lets-fly-our-cars-to-the-continent-again/

He must have gone from F16 driver straight to Wall St banker, to be able to buy and run all his expensive toys.

Facthunter - Ahh, yes, my apologies, I misread the manual late last night and mixed up the hydraulic tappet and solid lifter engines.

The solid lifter O-235-C1 engines have adjustable screws for valve clearances and the hydraulic tappet models are the ones requiring pushrod changes for valve clearance adjustment.

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/O-235%26O-290%20Operator%20Manual%2060297-9.pdf

I presume it's this aircraft?

https://www.planesales.com.au/details/Listing/Single-Engine-Propeller/6041/2009-Zenith-CH200-Aircraft

Paul, if you look under "Sales" on the Europa website, and select the Europa XS model for purchase, you'll find the Europa models now have listed, a Hi-Top fuselage which offers increased headroom, for pilots up to 6' 3".

With rubber springs planned, I have this minds-eye picture of Geoff H doing a Wiley Coyote act through the sky, with ACME springs attached to his feet.

Don't forget that even though the O-235-C1 has adjustable valve clearances, there's no screw adjusters on the rockers, as in most other engines.

The clearances are adjusted by purchasing longer or shorter pushrods - another added hidden cost, just to simply get correct valve clearances.

The compression pressures are marginal - but they are not the best indicator of engine condition. I'd suggest a leakdown test is a better indicator of condition.

The O-235-C1 only runs a 6.75:1 compression ratio, but 60psi is regarded as the point where overhaul should be considered.

https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/Cylinder%20Compression.pdf

But the Wiki page categorically denies the story that Ilyushin was the first man in space - and backs its view with experts evidence.

Tim the everyday astronaut gives us an hour long talk (link below) on how rocket engines actually work. I learnt quite a bit from his very educational talk.

I never thought much before, about how rocket engines actually work, but he's very clear in his explanations of the principles behind the designs of the bell nozzles and aerospikes.

It appears Space X are going for combustion chamber pressures substantially higher than anyone has tried before.

Could be a reason for the disastrous explosion, someone miscalculated the strength required in the chamber, for the much higher pressures.