onetrack

Skippy, the only modest amount of information I can find about Corowa Airport, is in an archival webpage snapshot from the Wayback Machine, from 2022-2024. It seems to be a reasonable size sealed airstrip, a former military airstrip, and it is used by several groups.

However, it also appears that the Amber Aviation Academy was preparing to take up a lease from Federation Council over the airstrip a few years ago - with the aim of running a training facility there - but all that planning appears to have, "bitten the dust".

It looks to me like Amber Aviation Academy started out with ambitious plans at the start of the pandemic, but the pandemic destroyed all those plans, and the airport is still under Federation Council control, and there is only a small amount of aviation activity there.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240324194954/https://countryairstrips.com.au/listing/corowa-airport-nsw/

https://www.federationcouncil.nsw.gov.au/News-Media/Council-and-Amber-Aviation-close-to-finalising-Corowa-Aerodrome-lease-negotiations

It seems that the webpage below, is the only online information that you'll find, about Corowa Airport and its facilities. There is a contact number there for the council employee managing the facility.

https://airports.asn.au/airport_members/federation-council/

.....it's like, being a screwed mandrel". At that, the girl from the National Bank ran away, screaming, "He's off his mandrel!! He's out of control! Call the Police! Call the Police!"

Cappy was quite nonplussed at her reaction, as he really thought he was easing himself smoothly into her...........

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These old airstrips have been in service for generations and are meant to be maintained by the Shire of Cue. They will get there eventually but some of the best staff we've had in recent times have moved on or retired. I'll just do enough maintenance for my own purposes

It's a sad state of affairs today where good machine operators - and even operators of almost any kind - are impossible to find. When the brother and I were earthmoving contractors, we trained up a lot of operators at our own cost to try and alleviate the lack of operators. But few other contractors did, and the pool of trained operators continued to get smaller and smaller.

The Shire of Mundaring has a  brand new motor grader sitting on its bum, not being used. The reason? No matter how much they advertise, they can't get a suitably-qualified operator for it.

Of course, they're not offering top dollar, and they have to compete with mining companies offering $150K to $200K a year for operators - so everyone knows where all the operators are, but no-one seems to be putting much effort into training up a supply of new operators.

Moneybox, your airstrip cross-slope is all wrong. It should be high in the middle, and low at the edges, not the other way around.

This is sad news for the warbirds fans, but it appears Warbirds Downunder has gone the same way as many other "vintage" displays - a major shortfall of volunteers, ever-increasing event and insurance costs, and possibly an inadequate number of attendees to meet the costs of putting on the display.

Warbirds Downunder 2026 cancelled as Temora Aviation Museum shifts to showcase days | Region Canberra

REGION.COM.AU

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After more than two decades as a biennial highlight of the Australian aviation calendar, Warbirds Downunder will not return in…

In my experience, unless the electronic unit contains genuine Toshiba mosfets, you will not get satisfactory performance from it. Be aware there are plenty of Chinese-made mosfets that can't cut it when it comes to a decent workload.

There is a Japanese company called ShinDengen, who specialise in small regulators for motorcycles, amongst a range of other electronic products. They make a Ducati/Rotax replacement regulator. Unfortunately, you cannot deal directly with ShinDengan, they are purely a manufacturer and wholesaler. It appears they have contracts with some of the motorcycle companies.

I can find no reviews on ShinDengan regulators, and I can only get feedback from Ducati and Laverda motorcycle forums. They make two styles of regulator, a shunt-type regulator and a mosfet-type regulator.

This is the shunt-type regulator, for sale on eBay (AU) from a German seller. I reckon you could find it cheaper than buying from Germany. The ShinDengen P/No is SH673-12. The ShinDengen mosfet-type P/No is FH020AA.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/152821133639

Now, the Chinese do many copies of the ShinDengen FH020AA - here's one, for just $18.09, on AliExpress. It says nothing about Toshiba mosfets, and I suspect you get exactly what you pay for, at $18.09.

https://www.aliexpress.com/p/tesla-landing/index.html?scenario=c_ppc_item_bridge&productId=1005010318099135

You can acquire a similar Chinese regulator off eBay, which may or may not be the same as the one from AliExpress. But note, in the eBay listing below, how the seller claims they sell only "ShinDengan quality" in their marketing spiel.

They state their regulator is made in China - but then they have "5 yrs warranty" in one section of the listing, and "2 yrs warranty" in another, leading one to be suspicious of all their claims.

The feedback I get, is nearly all the Chinese versions are all the cheap-ar$e variety, with epoxy potting mix on the rear of the Chinese regulator - but the genuine ShinDengan regulators have metal backs.

The Chinese seller above claims their regulator is superior quality, and has a metal back. The seller still says nothing about the origin of the mosfets in their unit.

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I bought the battery new so about a year old but until completely flattened over several days it remained fully charged. It recharged fully after that so I'm hopeful the battery is ok. It may even improve with constant use.

I've had near-new batteries that were flattened to a very low voltage, and which showed full charge after extended charging - but they would not sustain substantial starter cranking effort - in effect, they were stuffed from being totally drained, and they showed all the signs of being sulphated.

However, the AGM batteries are recognised as being much more capable of handling deep discharge, than the regular flooded cell batteries. But a battery load test is the best way to tell a batterys health.

A damaged, sulphated battery with low voltage can damage an alternator. The alternator will run at maximum output continuously, trying to recharge the battery, which is in effect, shorting out the alternator output.

The alternator will overheat, and more than likely suffer from damaged stator windings, or suffer from damaged rectifier diodes, or suffer voltage regulator damage.

New replacement alternators often come with a warning to ensure your battery is in good condition, otherwise the alternator warranty may be voided.

You need to do a load test on the battery. A pulse charger can be used to recover a sulphated battery, but if the battery doesn't pass a load test after charging, it's stuffed. How long did you leave the Master on for? A slow steady drain to a couple of volts will generally seriously damage a lead acid battery, and even pulse charging will often not make it recover. How old is the battery?

Here's a good instructive article -

What is Manifold Pressure? | Angle of Attack

WWW.ANGLEOFATTACK.COM

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The manifold pressure gauge is staring you in the face every time you reach for the power and you have no clue what it means.

Use a dedicated stainless steel or heavy polyurethane water container - a 2L milk bottle would have little survivability in a crash, and the lids are notorious for leaking and popping off in regular shopping use. Plus the material they're made from, will fracture just from buckling.

The ones in the link below are insulated, and you can even buy a handy neoprene cover for them, which also has a carry strap. They come in 2L and 3.8L sizes.

https://www.drifta.com.au/product/drifta-stockton-2l-stainless-steel-water-bottle/?attribute_pa_colour=black

The important part of being stranded in a remote hot region is that you minimise exertion, and maximise the shade. Mrs Peabody did neither. There are substantial numbers of stories of tragedy in the Kalgoorlie Goldfields in the early Goldrush days (late 1800's onwards), where people went on trips on foot in 40°C heat with inadequate amounts of water, improper clothing and footwear and exerting themselves at a time of maximum heat during the day. And of course, leaving your aircraft or vehicle, is a guaranteed way of not ever being found. 

More than one aircraft has crashed due to their load of newspapers shifting in flight, or by erroneous calculations of newspaper weight or copies carried. Multiple numbers of sheets of paper are bloody heavy!

Danny - Today, we have a vast range of industrial chemicals and products that didn't exist in the early industrial age - and we have vastly improved medical knowledge and some amazing medical technology. 

But most importantly, we also have MDS's, and they yield important information gained from research and studies, and you ignore the recommendations in the MDS's at the peril of your long-term health.

And yes, people do live a lot longer today, and I'd have to opine that is because of better medical knowledge and intervention and the efforts of OH&S trying to ensure people don't do stupid things.

I have a spray painter mate, of Southern Italian ancestry, and he has been notorious for shrugging off paint manufacturers paint-spraying advice - to the point of just using a dust mask for spraying 2-pack paint.

As you might likely know, 2-pack paints contain iso-cyanates, amongst the more deadly of the manufactured chemical products today. The MDS warns of the risk of kidney tumours if you fail to use breathing apparatus that can catch iso-cyanate compounds.

At 70, he developed a major kidney tumour, and had to have it removed. He didn't even know it was there, but left untouched, it would've killed him within a few years. I believe his kidney tumour was almost certainly a result of his casual attitude towards masking up.

The important thing with cutting open an oil filter is to know what you're looking for, and identifying what you find. Pour the oil in the filter through a funnel lined with paper towel and let it drain for an extended period to see with better clarity, what was in the oil.

Check the bottom of the filter can and spray it with some carburettor and throttle body cleaner, to separate the carbon and other deposits from the heavy metal components. Scrape the bottom of the can onto more paper towelling and let it drain.

Spread the filter element treated paper out on paper towelling and let it drain. Run a magnet on an extension wand over the gunk to see what sticks to the magnet.

Aluminium particles are bright and easily seen. Iron particles attach to the magnet. Copper particles are ... well, coppery colour. Rubbery bits are pieces of gasket material. Chrome (from ring faces) is harder to identify, because it can look a bit like aluminium. Chrome, of course, is largely non-magnetic, but it depends on the alloy, and whether what it was plated onto, is still attached.

But the important thing is, the size of particles. Very small particles shouldn't be concerning, they are part of normal wear patterns, but chunks of metal, and substantial amounts of coloured metals, or serious amounts of iron particles on magnets should raise concerns.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of my mates and associates who aren't still alive, Moneybox. A lot died in their 60's and early 70's. It is true, a number of people seem to be "unkillable", and just keep going into their 90's, and even 100 or more.

But for every one of those "unkillable" people, there's a dozen who developed some terrible forms of cancer, and who failed to make their allotted lifespan.

I do tend to agree, a lot of the current OH&S regulations and rules are lawyer-driven, not driven by sensible approaches - especially in the mining area. But there's nothing wrong with being prudent with sensible personal protection.

As with you, I did all the same stuff, and have survived so far to 76 without incurring any major tumours. Hopefully, I'm one of the "unkillable" ones, but at least I've got excuses now, for all my sub-standard brain cells. 

He should be wearing good quality nitrile disposable gloves. You don't want to paddle in used oil with bare hands, it is one of the most carcinogenic products in existence, full of toxic by-products of combustion.

It's been proven that full time mechanics have a 5 year shorter lifespan than office workers, and paddling in used oil with bare hands, is a big factor in that figure.

On oldie, but still a goody. That blokes smooth delivery of the turbo-encabulator description, equals Ronnie Barkers smooth delivery of tongue twisting sentences, any day.

I've flown into Perth airport from the SE Wheatbelt of W.A. with a mate in his Piper Dakota - over the extensive Jarrah/Marri woodlands of the Darling Range. It made me bit uncomfortable thinking about our chances of survival in that heavily-timbered country, if ever that O-540 sputtered and quit. That heavily timbered forest country covers a big area of SW W.A. and those closely-spaced big hardwoods give you little choice, when it comes to a smooth emergency landing area.

Well, you learn something new every day. Thanks, Blue. I've used mercury in gold extraction, I know virtually all its attributes, but never knew it corroded aluminium.

Ouch, those Swiftlift clutches would have set you back a pretty penny. Couldn't you have used something a little simpler and cheaper?

Use a couple of these wheel restraint straps, with a ratchet strap, to tie your wheels down ...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1990961098467569

I can't see where an oil filter cutter can be declared "aviation grade". An oil filter cutter is an oil filter cutter, regardless. Those prices are stupid for a simple workshop tool that never leaves terra firma.

I've always had good success with nickel-based anti-seize, but I have also had good results in low-temperature positions using urethane or silicone (silastic) sealants on the threads. Use plenty of sealant so there are no gaps.

If in a high temperature location (over about 70°C), use the nickel anti-seize, or use high temperature RTV gasket maker. Permatex Ultimate Red can withstand 399°C intermittently, and at least 200°C constantly.

Aluminium corrodes badly where it meets dissimilar metals, and is aided by moisture, corrosive dust and chemicals in the air. This is well known and well understood.

Aluminium is a highly reactive metal that needs a passive coating, or it will immediately start to develop a coating of aluminium oxide, just with contact with moist air. That aluminium oxide is what we recognise as aluminium corrosion. 

Dear NES-er's, we have developed a terrifying situation in the NES world, where it has become obvious that Cappy has been kidnapped by fake AI kidnappers, and is now living in a parallel universe,  where he runs thread continuations from a different position to the right one, this creating mayhem and monstrous confusion amongst the dedicated NES readers. We shall shortly launch the new turbo-prop Drifter to try to rescue Cappy from his predicament. Stand by...........