onetrack

Congratulations on having the determination and persistence to see the build through to completion. That's an uncommon trait that will ensure success in all that you do. ㊗️

You can also get small (1-1/2" or 38mm) cut-off wheels that fit the Dremel electric rotary tool, or that fit air-operated cut-off tools (they're like a pencil grinder, but have a cut-off disc and guard fitted instead).

The small air-operated cut-off tools normally use a 3" (75mm) disc, but you can use the 38mm cut-off wheels on them for close-quarter work.

However - for a hose distance of 30-40mm, you wouldn't need spiral-wire reinforced hose. Fuel-resistant, un-reinforced hose would be quite adequate. I'd look at using a length of silicone intake hose - it's very durable.

https://autopro.com.au/ap/Autopro-Category/Performance-Parts/Induction-%26-Fuel/Silicone-Hose/c/524

Your ability and level of skills as a pilot, is directly related to how rapidly you can speak in acronyms. Rattle off a pile of aviation acronyms during discussion, and watch just how awed your audience will be!  😄

The bank angle is difficult to gauge from many shots, due to camera angles, lens distortion, and viewers position - but the A400M bank certainly does appear to be more than 60°.

I'm surprised there isn't more wing flex visible on the steep banking turns, the A400M must have a pretty stiff wing. Get a look at the numbers of people standing on the steep slopes, to get their own particular, "outstanding photo"!

.....if you can picture the Turtle Man from Kentucky, and the way he grabbed snapping turtles, and held them up in the air victoriously, you can get some idea of what was about to happen to Doughtfire.

But Doughtfire was made of sterner stuff than the average fishing inspector. He also had longer legs than the average fishing inspector, and this gave him a major advantage over his pursuers, who by now, were just............

(for the NES readers who came in late, here is Turtle Man.......)

........78 turtles, all starting to dig a hole to lay their eggs. Then it got worse, when the green turtle nest-watching groups arrived. Doughtfire knew it was time to make tracks, and big ones at that.

He burst out of his sand hide with a spray of sand, which terrified most of the turtle nest watchers. Most took to their heels, but some hung back to see what monster it was, that had burst up out of the sand. When one of them recognised Doughtfire, he yelled out, "Hey, it's that f^$&#** WAFISH Inspector again!! Let's..............

.....hit, this sounds like another Agent Orange story, where the Americans told us a bit of deforestation of the jungle would improve lighting on the jungle floor, and assist the birdlife in finding their way around. Of course, we all know that the Agent Orange dioxins ended up in the Mekong River, and that's the reason our whitebait today have 4 heads, 2 tails and taste like..........

I don't understand the logic of not using a washer on the sump plug. A sealing washer (either copper or nylon) is designed to accommodate imperfections in the mating surfaces - and it also makes removal easier.

Any sump plug installed without a sealing washer will run into the problem of the plug becoming locked onto the sump.

I've owned multiple hundreds of engines of all types, makes and applications, and never had a sump plug come undone yet - in 59 years of owning and operation of engines.

The only instances I know where a sump plug came undone with engine vibration, was where the person who installed it, forgot to tighten it properly.

Well Skippy, running a petrol engine on diesel, or a diesel engine on petrol is certainly not going to make them "run happily", they are vastly different fuels for each engine, and serious damage results in each case.

Diesel has a cetane rating, petrol has an octane rating, and the ratings are the polar opposites of each other. Octane rating is the fuels resistance to detonation, cetane rating is how easily diesel burns. When I said, "run happily", I meant within the context of the fuel type used in the correct engine.

My brother ran short of diesel on our minesite once, and needed to go to Kalgoorlie in his Landcruiser (HJ60 diesel turbo). He found a drum of lighting kerosene, nearly filled the Landcruiser with it, and then mixed in about 10% engine lubricating oil.

The Landcruiser ran like a dream on that mix, so he continued to use up all the lighting kero in the same manner, as we had no need of it any more anyway (the kero fridge we had blew up and caught fire, and burnt a cabin to the ground, but that's another story!)

The PLASTIC is called HDPE, High Density Polyethylene. It's a very durable polymer, UV resistant and fuel resistant. However, as with all PLASTICS, it doesn't last forever, and petroleum fuels contain many potent chemicals that are well-known as solvents.

These solvent-type components of petrol will eventually migrate into the HDPE and make it brittle and more prone to cracking and leaks. However, it would take at least around three decades or more for the effects to become visible, by which time one would expect to be starting to look at replacing the HDPE tank.

The article below is from 1996, when manufacturers were still tossing up the "pros and cons" of plastic fuel tanks. Since the early 2000's, the vast majority of cars produced have had plastic fuel tanks, and I can't recall too many downsides. At least internal corrosion is eliminated.

Steel VS Plastic for automotive fuel tanks - https://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9607/alvarado-9607.html#:~:text=High-density polyethylene (HDPE),has been on the increase.

1 hour ago, skippydiesel said:

Onetrack,

I have to call you out on this statement:

 

"................fuel and refining standards are vastly different between the U.S. and Australia.

 

You are clearly the expert on Australian fuel BUT  "vastly diffrent" ???  if this is correct, how can the same engine run equally happily on either Australian or US petrol??😈
 

I've never claimed to be an expert on fuels, I merely summarise what I know, have used, and have read. Engines will run happily on a wide range of fuels, as evidenced by the old "petrol-kero" engines.

When I say refining standards are vastly different between the U.S. and Australia, I'm talking about fuel standards specifications, additives allowed, and octane ratings determined.

U.S. fuels vary more widely in constituents as compared to Australian fuels, and many chemical additives were added to U.S. fuels that would not be approved in Australia.

For many decades, there were no controls whatsoever on what went into U.S. gasoline. Only diesel in the U.S. had a fuel standard, ASTM D975, introduced in 1931.

Gasoline in the U.S. did not receive a specific ASTM fuel standard until 1988 (ASTM-D4814). The first attempts to regulate gasoline in the U.S. came with the Clean Air Act of 1970, and gasoline fuel conformity standards were not formulated until a Motor Fuels Task Force was appointed in 1984, which task force brought in set fuel standards, several years later.

Basic Australian fuel standards were in place by the 1950's, and have been regularly updated since that time. But fuel grade wasn't included in those historical standards, and lower octane ratings than the U.S. were acceptable. The biggest change to Australian Fuel Standards came in 1986 with the elimination of lead in petrol - and the total revision of the Australian Fuel Standards in 2000 set the tone for improved fuel quality.

83% of our refined petrol and diesel comes from overseas. South Korea is our biggest supplier of refined fuels. I seem to recall Singapore is our biggest refined petrol supplier, and South Korea is our biggest refined diesel supplier.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/674596/australia-petroleum-import-volume-by-country-of-origin/#:~:text=In 2024%2C South Korea was,12 thousand megaliters in imports.

As Turboplanner correctly states, fuel and refining standards are vastly different between the U.S. and Australia. As a general guide, Australia tends to follow European fuel standards more than anything.

The Americans use "octane rating" for their bowser fuels. Their bowser "octane ratings" are 87, 89, and 93 octane.

But U.S. "octane ratings" are calculated by averaging the RON (Research Octane Number) test result, and the MON (Motor Octane Number) test result. Some U.S. refiners even use another test called the AKI (Anti-Knock Index), and average the AKI and MON to get their octane rating.

Australian petrol comes in 91, 95 and 98 "octane". These grades are measured by using the RON test, ONLY - the same as the Europeans. Australian fuel standards are dictated by the Australian "Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000" legislation - which standards are regularly updated to reflect improved fuels, and lowered levels of toxic compounds. The accent in recent years has been on reducing the levels of aromatics in petrol, as well as lead reduction (since 1986).

The aromatics combined are referred to as BTEX - benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylene. These compounds are all regarded as toxic and carcinogenic. Benzene in particular is nasty stuff, it contaminates groundwater all too easily.

Benzene always has been a natural major constituent of petrol/gasoline, but the Australian legislation is intent on making sure refiners keep the BTEX levels down to around 25%-28%.

Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) was added to petrol/gasoline for decades as an oxygenation compound, designed to ensure complete combustion of the fuel. It was started to be removed from fuels in the 1990's, and the U.S. legislated for its eventual removal from 2005, but it is still being used as an additive in some U.S. gasolines at modest percentages.

In Australia, the level of MTBE in our petrol is only allowed to be a maximum of 1%.

U.S. Gasoline explained - https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/octane-in-depth.php

Regulating Australian fuel quality - https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction/regulating-fuel-quality#:~:text=for compliance purposes.-,Petrol,mg/kg sulfur to 2025.

"Mogas" is a slang term description devised by Americans to describe their petrol fuels, which are correctly termed "Motor Gasoline" in the U.S. The slang word has seeped into some areas of Australian culture.

The word "Mogas" as shown in RossK's photo is the trade name of an Australian fuel distributor, who operates in several Australian States.

Well, a bloke wished Franco Happy Birthday on Farcebook, on 31st Dec last - and Frank replied, so he's still around!

Drifter Aircraft Appreciation Society | Happy birthday to this...

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM

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Happy birthday to this amazing Drifter pilot Franco Arri

This Welsh bloke has found some great spots for military aircraft spotting, as they zoom through the valleys below him. Some good footage here, even though it's Winter there.

Mach Loop - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Sacrilege!! He cut up a MERLIN engine, to make a V-twin for a drag bike!? He should be hung, drawn and quartered, and his remains fed to the wolves!! 😬

What did you think about the $328 fee for activating the landing lights!! Gee, have they got to crank up a 250Kva Cat genset to operate the lights??

Moneybox, it's quite likely the Cue Shire Council will set an annual lease fee for the hangar site, plus you'll be charged annual rates as a "land owner" in the Shire. Then, to erect a hangar, you'll be up for application fees, building permit fees, building services levy, and building licence administration fee. They get you coming and going.

Below is the Council fees list, but the annual rates charges are not listed. There's a minimum annual rates charge for any property, usually $500-$600 on average. Then they'll want to know what other facilities you're going to install, and how they'll be serviced or operated.

I see where Cue Airport is also an ASIC-card controlled airport. That's another unnecessary hassle. 

https://www.cue.wa.gov.au/documents/39/2023-2024-fees-and-charges

EDIT - I just found the Cue airport information, as below. They also charge a fee of $9.70 per passenger, outgoing and incoming.

When I was gold mining in the Kalgoorlie region in the early 1970's, I was in the Kalgoorlie State Battery one day, when a prospector wheeled in a wheelbarrow full of specimen stone, mostly quartz. There was highly visible gold in every piece of stone you looked at.

The stone was too rich to put through the stamps and over the table in the battery, so they just put it through the big Berdan pan, until it was well ground. I recall that he recovered something like 280 ozs of gold, from just that one wheelbarrow full!

I got 600 ozs of gold out my small open pit mine at Higginsville, but it took 8 years of Norseman State Battery crushing, and the hauling of 13,000 tonnes of ore 60 kms to Norseman for treatment, to get it!

The ore haulage was mostly done with a '68 Perkins-powered, tandem-drive "Butterbox" International ACCO, DF-1840 tipper! - an ex-council truck!

The East-West truckies used to curse me, holding them up on the hills, while the old 120HP Perkins ground her way over them loaded, in 2nd or 3rd gear!!

The Norseman State Battery manager, "Dick" Della (a top bloke) used to tell me stories of when he worked at the Lake Darlot State Battery as a young bloke - and there were 3 mines in the area that brought in their ore to be crushed, and Dick told me you could see visible gold in every shovelful he picked up. Those 3 mines regularly produced multiple ounces of gold, to the ton of ore.

In those early days, there was no hopper at the stamper, the ore was dropped onto a big flat plate alongside the stamps, and the employees picked up the ore with shovels, and shovelled it straight into the stamper boxes!

A Kalgoorlie woman, Moya Sharp, has an excellent website (link below) covering the early Goldfields towns and families histories.

Darlot - ghost town - Outback Family History

WWW.OUTBACKFAMILYHISTORYBLOG.COM

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Mr L A Wells, a member of the ‘Elder Exploring Expedition of 1891’ discovered Lake Darlot on the 6th March 1892. The Lake was named after Leonard Hawthorn Darlot, pastoralist, one of the three sons of H...

The article came from a post on "X" by a user named FL360aero. They have a large Aviation news website at www.fl360aero.com.

It's not a conspiracy, the company Wealth Creation, obviously hasn't been paid for a debt owing and due - so, they've used a standard corporate technique by applying for the winding up of the company that owes them money, just to try and determine their true financial position. Many a time, the winding-up application is dropped when the creditor is paid.

Koala Airlines faces winding-up application – Australian Aviation

AUSTRALIANAVIATION.COM.AU

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Wealth Creation Pty Ltd has lodged the application against Koala, which gained some press last year as a potential new competitor in domestic aviation following the collapse of Bonza. A hearing in the Supreme...

Always use Google search when you're trying to find something, Google's search algorithms are world-leading, 1000% better than any website search engine. You just type "recreational flying: failure terms", and the thread will come up within a few hits in the search results. If you can recall the key words such as "status of a thing" in your original post title, it will come up faster in the search results.

https://www.recreationalflying.com/forums/topic/39545-help-with-terms-used-to-describe-the-status-of-a-thing/

I've worked in bitter cold and worked in Darwin heat, and I know what I prefer - give me the heat any day. But the humidity during the "buildup" in October can definitely send you "troppo". 

However the "big biteys" hiding in the water everywhere in the NT is a bit off-putting.

Funny, they didn't bother too many people during WW2, plenty of photos of soldiers swimming in the NT during the War - might have been because they learnt quickly that getting anywhere near those humans saw plenty of .303 bullets coming their way. Used to be a regular sport for a long long time, going out "spotlighting" for crocs with a few .303's. Wasn't anywhere near the numbers, or the number of attacks, back then. We've let them run riot, they have no predators apart from humans.

I guess Dan could be rated as premium instructor, as regards avoiding crashing, because he's crashed so many aircraft himself! Maybe he should start educating aviation people about the foolhardiness of threatening to run over police with a DC-3? And I wonder if he's found the money to pay that US$1M defamation judgement? I think there's much better aviation instructors around, than Dan Gryder.