onetrack

I think I'll have to call for a photo on this one - there's no definite indication at this stage, as to whether the horse won, or the aircraft won!!

The Peace and Tranquility people also get very upset, when aircraft fly low over their carefully-hidden cash crops ....

They know then, the next visit is from a squad of people in blue clothing, intent on ripping up their cash crops ....

It's alright - the horse was just putting the bite on the aircraft, for landing fees, for his paddock.

There's been no news on Q's 2nd academy since the end of Sept 2018, after a big flurry of news articles between June and Sept that year.

Q was supposed to have announced their 2nd academy location by the end of 2018, looks like it's still being mulled over in the boardroom, as to which location can offer the biggest carrot?

Did the lady on the M6 frightened by the low-flying aircraft state what colour it was and whether it had any markings?? Didn't happen to have camo colouring and WW2 markings, by any chance??

Not the first time people have had the s**t scared out of them with ghost WW2 aircraft, or even ghost civvy aircraft.

I can recall one lady visiting a WW2 aircraft crash site in broad daylight, who sighted a laddie in WW2 flying gear walking towards her. She was surprised at his out-of-date outfit, he smiled at her - and then he vanished into thin air!

Never had any experience like it yet, myself, but the reports from reliable people about ghost aircraft are too numerous to say that they are literally, "flights of fancy".

The Bizarre World of Phantom Plane Crashes | Mysterious Universe

That brings back memories of "Flight into Hell" - the forced landing, and struggle for survival, in the remote North-West of Western Australia, by pioneer aviators Bertram and Klausmann, in their W33, in 1932.

1932 Kimberley rescue - Wikipedia

Nobody has stated yet, whether the OP got his info, straight from the horses mouth??

If he didn't, then the whole story just might be a big load of horses**t??

I'm so pleased to see that delightful Mrs Ruth Elder Camp, wearing good, sensible shoes, when she went gliding!

She must have been a bit of a tiger on the husbands! - she was married 6 times! Or is that just the norm for actresses??

Ruth Elder - Wikipedia

Great little film, W3stie - that Scouts glider looks like it needs an air suspension seat! Some of the ground contacts must have been a real PIA!

Doesn't the whole of Russia run on Vodka??

Agreeg, Phil , lots more info required yet before one can pass judgement. I still place a great deal of the burden of the loss on the firies, with their "leisurely" response.

Any other Western country airport with an incoming Mayday would have the firetrucks lined up and warmed up prior to landing, and gunning it down the edges of runway, right behind the sliding aircraft.

I'm staggered at the volume and intensity of the black smoke pouring from the inside of the aircraft after landing.

I was under the impression there was a lot of effort put into fire-resistant and low-toxin-levels materials inside todays commercial aircraft. Maybe Sukhoi haven't got to that level of improved design yet?

The largest percentage of the fatalities would have been as a result of ingesting toxic smoke. It just reinforces the importance of getting down low as a snakes belly in a fire, and crawling along the floor.

There are RV-12's and RV-14's on the list. Not sure why there are no other Vans models. Maybe because those other kits haven't been evaluated yet by the NKET?

G'day all - I accidentally stumbled across this FAA list of "Evaluated Aircraft Kit Builders" whilst looking for something else on Transportation. It may be useful to those wanting to research aircraft kit suppliers.

The list is populated by companies who have been evaluated by an FAA "National Kit Evaluation Team" ("NKET"). The evaluation covers the manufacturers Fabrication and Assembly Checklists .

This team inspects the companies kits at their manufacturing premises to see if they meet the "major portion" build requirements for amateur-built aircraft under the relevant American legislation.

Every section of every kit is awarded points for their Assembly Checklist, to enable the team (and any purchaser) to come to a conclusion on whether that particular section of the kit meets build requirements.

The evaluation team is careful to outline the fact that the evaluation is not a guarantee that the aircraft design is "certified, certificated, or approved" - merely that the team has inspected the kits and they've come to the conclusion that the builder seems to know what they're doing. I'm guessing this evaluation is to ensure any "fly-by-nighters" or "backyard" operators are uncovered, and potential buyers warned off these style of operators.

The team issue a letter on the evaluation to the company, which the company can obviously use to verify their kits meet the "major portion" requirements of the legislation.

It is also noted in each evaluation letter, that any change of company ownership, or change in the kit materials or design, must be notified to the NKET - otherwise the kit may be removed from the evaluated list.

The list is useful for those researching suppliers of kits, because it gives current information on the companies and their kit models offered.

Amateur-Built Kits Checklists and Approval Letters Evaluated by National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET)

Maybe fly tornado is a nom-de-plume for Alan Jones?

I doubt very much whether the Nissen hut cladding was rusty, it's only been coloured that drab brown, as a guess - because the person doing the colouring did no research.

The galvanising of WW2 was exceptionally durable - to the extent that many of the Nissen huts still survive admirably today.

Post-war pre-fabs are hut property

Actually, the bloke can probably thank his good luck, that he didn't land in a paddock full of goats! He would've come back to the aircraft, and only found a skeletal frame!

The story of W.A.'s first aircraft builders is featured in the ABC article below. But the article has left out a huge amount of detail.

After the pilot crashed in the scrub near Coolgardie, when the intrepid builders returned to pick it up, they found the wing fabric had been chewed to pieces by feral goats!

Flight of the outback daredevils created aviation history

Phil, there is no RAAF 342 Squadron, OME has put you right. The AWM is the final authoritative source of all things war-related, and here is the list of RAAF Squadron numbers used during WW2 - along with their codes.

RAAF: Squadron Codes | The Australian War Memorial

Perhaps the aircraft owner can now name his aircraft, "Air Horse One"?

I'll wager ingesting all that paint and gel coat made him a little hoarse.

Well, the aircraft was still flyable, so why wouldn't the pilots move away from the city area and dump fuel? Landing with what appears to be a barely controllable aircraft, and full fuel tanks seems like a perfect recipe for a disaster to me.

It's not just the fuel risk, it's the landing which would possibly be overweight, that would make the landing doubly risky, due to potential undercarriage failure.

All the indications to me, are that the PIC and his offsider made some pretty bad decisions. Even the control of the evacuation seems to have been badly managed.

Poor buggers, a lot of people on there didn't stand a chance. Did anyone notice how long it took them to get to the aircraft with the fire trucks?

In any other airport, with an emergency landing declared, I would have expected the fire trucks to be hovering and right on the scene within seconds of the aircraft stopping sliding.

There's also the question to be answered of why the pilots didn't dump fuel, seeing as the aircraft was still flyable?

Hey, I've got a suggestion. Skippy could just let it all go, until the finish has developed a "patina", that makes it an outstanding aircraft - you know, "Hey, what's that rustbucket doing here?? Does he actually fly that thing??"

Well, if it's good enough for the hot-rodders, so they can stand out amongst the candy-apple paint jobs - why not your aircraft??

Both the basic diesel and petrol fuels from all the oil companies is "generic". The very largest proportion of our diesel and petrol used in Australia is refined overseas, in South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore.

Less than 40% of our petroleum fuels are refined in Australia, and Kwinana in W.A. is the biggest local refinery, because it is the newest (1954) and largest of all the Australian refineries.

The refined product is produced to meet Australian fuel specifications, and from overseas, it is shipped in bulk and stored in bulk tanks at fuel farms that are mostly located close to ports. These bulk tanks also hold the locally-refined products.

The petrol and diesel is then trucked in bulk from fuel farms to distribution centres and service stations.

The oil companies supply each other with generic fuel in cases of shortage or other distribution problems, and several oil companies will draw fuel from the one bulk tank at the ports.

Where an oil company has a distinctive "premium" fuel with a brand name, a price increase, or an octane/cetane increase, it is because the particular oil company has added an "additive" package to the generic refined fuel at the point of tanker truck fill.

These additive packages are commercially secret, but we know from research they contain a range of somewhat exotic (mostly petroleum) chemicals, that all provide a power boost, improved economy, and fuel system cleaning advantages.

Not surprisingly, there are also some "oddball" chemicals in the additives. Selected essential oils from organic sources are a surprisingly effective fuel additive, and commonly used as a fuel improver additive.

The oil companies have done extensive testing with their premium fuels and have the figures and testing to back up their claims for improved economy, improved performance, and cleaner fuel systems when using their premium products.

I would have to opine the additives in the fuel additive packages are the source of the staining. If these chemicals are impregnating themselves in the paint, it is a chemical reaction taking place between the additives and the paint, and no amount of cleaning will remove the marking.

I'd suggest the vinyl wrap is probably the most effective method of curing the problem. However, be aware that vinyl products and the adhesives they utilise, also react with paint coatings, effectively bonding and impregnating the vinyl into the paintwork after a number of years and weather exposure.

Try removing vinyl decals from vehicle bodies after they have been in place for several years, and you will find it is virtually impossible to remove them, without damaging the paint.

The 2015 AOPA article below gives extensive test flight information on the Continental CD-135 diesel in the Cessna.

It appears that Mercedes no longer supply the diesel engines, ready-built from the factory - Continental now build the diesel themselves, but utilise a range of Mercedes components in the build.

What is also interesting is that there is no engine overhaul, once time-expired - you are up for a new replacement engine. That must throw the economics of these engines out the window.

Little diesel, big fuel savings

Skipy, I'm a diesel man as well, I cut my teeth on them 55 years ago, and they provided me with income nearly all my working life.

Our family owned 55 major items of earthmoving equipment at one stage (all between 30 and 103 tonnes in weight), all powered with diesels, and I still love them.

However, we have to face the fact that major disruption occurs in technological advancements on a regular basis. The 21st Century will be the Electric Century.

These people below, are the ones we will need to look to. Their team is impressive, to say the least.

magniX | Electric Propulsion of Tomorrow

All these Continental diesels are merely rebranded and reworked Thielert-Centurion diesel engines, which are all based on Mercedes car engines, although they are heavily reworked for aviation use.

The CD-300 is the reworked Thielert-Centurion 3.0 engine, which is based on the Mercedes OM642 automotive engine, which is fitted to a range of Jeeps, Dodge and Chrysler products, and a wide range of Mercedes cars and vans.

Thielert Centurion - Wikipedia

Mercedes-Benz OM642 engine - Wikipedia

I'm not entirely convinced these engines are the way forward, for light aviation power. I feel that they're merely a "fill-in", until electric power makes another surge forward, and becomes a very viable power option.

The sheer weight of the Mercedes aviation diesels is a definite drawback, it's a retrograde step, and merely gives the electric power option a better footing.

After all, an electric motor is superbly matched for aviation use, it requires no reduction gearbox, it provides rotary movement to the propellor directly with no reciprocating action power loss, very little noise, and would have a major extension in TBO, as compared to any reciprocating IC engine. Plus the recharge cost for batteries is only a fraction of liquid fuel costs.

There's an article in todays news about how Elon Musk is stating he will have electric cars with 1000km range, very shortly.

He's already tuned current models to be 10% more efficient, and the oil industry and IC engine manufacturers are in the same position today, as horse breeders and buggy builders were, in 1904.

Tesla's next-gen Roadster will exceed 1,000 km of battery range, says Elon Musk

I've also seen a figure of 89,000 Euros quoted for the CD-300. Not exactly a huge saving on overall engine costs, even if they are 2000 hr TBO engines.