Jerry_Atrick

With respect to Europe moving away from coal, as part of the energy it produces, the following should give you some stats: Shedding light on energy on the EU: What do we produce in the EU? An interesting article on the distortions of the marlet that have led to over investment in coal generation in China is here: China overinvested in coal power: Here’s why | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal Global use of renewables is inceasing: Wind & Solar Share in Electricity Production Data | Enerdata One of the plethora of articles I can't be fully bothered to list if you search China Coal Power Generation (using google): China coal-fired power capacity still rising, bucking global trend: study in which it states, "The increase followed a 2014-2016 “permitting surge” by local governments aiming to boost growth while formerly suspended projects have also been restarted, Global Energy Monitor said. In the rest of the world, coal-fired power capacity fell 8.1 GW over the same period. " Admittedly, not a dramatic fall, but given China is funding a lot of the new global plants.. oh and they have vast reserves of coal.. I wonder why they would want to do that in the face of a slowing economy? Even in the US, which seems to take prode in polluting the earth, the proportion of renewables is expanding as part of its total energy mix: Electricity in the U.S. - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) The articles you have offered are about how cheap and reliable coal is.. yes.. I do not disagree.. My statement is basically, because China is doing something, does not make it right... Nor does it mean that coal is increasing on a global scale (or probably better put, globally, there is a push to use renewables over ofssil). I think I also said there will always be a demand for coal (and other fossils).. The aritcles you have offered up have stated the obvious - it is still cheaper and more reliable. Tell me though.. as economies of scale kick in, how do unit costs not fall? Let's also not forget the other things at play... Rnrgry production requires massive investment and it will take time before businesses and governments will decomission something before they have seen a return from it. My guess is that is also distorting the speed of transition. BTW - you may think the ABC is biased as it doesn' report in accordance with your views.. I believe James Murdoch is distaincing himself from his father's empire because of the bias and manipulative reporting it uses to support it and its advertisers' agendas.. I'll take the ABC any day (as well as the BBC for that matter) over their carp.. Now I am happy for you to debunk what I have said... I am also happy to concede investment in ESG sectors has been a bumpr ride for investors - as any emerging industrys are... But the CFA are intorducing ESG principles into their syllabus as it is a growing "sector" where there is demand. People, including investors, are startting to vote (and was it instituional shareholders who protested to BHP to remove themselves from coal lobbys?? Can't recall)... Needless to say, the trend is away from fossil fuels.. Those not entrenched are responding.. As for recreational flying, it is a small footprint, but agile companies are responding to the challenge. Pipestrel being one encument.. bit even up the GA food chain, they are working on alternative energy sources: ZeroAvia flies hydrogen fuel cell Piper Matrix - FLYER

My sentiments, exactly,,

I think if you check other articles from the same source, the FT. Rueters and the Washington post, you will find the info you need. I did say it was cheaper than renewables... but gave the reasons they cited.. Remember, coal has been used to power industry for a very long time.. renewables less so and it will require investment to get it reliable - yes; it will require a mass take up to get it to the economies of scale to bring down the price... Just search Chin Coal Power Generation and you should be able to find plenty of non-ABC (or BBC) articles on the matter. Thanks for illustrating my point.. Let me reiterate.. New fangled technology always is more expensive when it first comes out.. As further investment progresses coupled with econcomies of scale take effect, the init prices are cheaper. But I think you know this as the India article you cite below is behing a BBG paywall.. and most people won't subscribe to BBG unless they are in the financial services industry. Ford didn't invent the car; he invented mass production of the car.. driving prices down and making it affordable to more of the affluent class before it became affordable to the rest of the population - but thanks for reiterating my point for me. Yes.. I was in the industry when they were building the vast amount if these in western Europe as well..Designed to last 15 years with no maintence and then decommission - which most have largely done (it was more than 15 years ago). Some were life extended because gas is still cheaper than coal. I think I addressed the personal barb - I prefer to go for the argument than then person... Also, not sure where my info has been inaccurate.. Is Europe moving further to coal or other ossil fuels (Well Germany has in the short term because of their short-sighed decison to close nukes). Unfortunately, the people who control resources and governements are not very visisionary... I don't think I have ever said coal or other fssil fuels are more expensve or less reliable than renewables.. In fact I have said the opposite. However, like nuclear, maybe we are only couting the existing direct costs and the real costs are deferred... They will be picked up by future generations and will be far more expensive than the costs of getting it right now. In fact,without beng arsed doing the research, I would say insurance is the first area it will be noticed and food production in the UK will certainly be down in the following season as farmers can't plough their fields it is so wet giving less time for the crops to grow. Frankly I would rather kick in an extra few pence/cents in tax to subsidise the renewal energy industry and getting it to a point where it has critical mass, and even 10% more per KW/h for it than kill our kids future... I recall smoking used to be cool...

China's demand for powerand the infrastructure as well as trade wars, etc are causing it to reduce its renewables agenda.. However, one or two countries doing something does not mean it is the right thing to do. Especially China, which manipulates and has an authoritarian system of government. In the UK and Europe, the picture is vastly different... The move to renewables is real and after the investment in infrastructure, the price of generating renewable electricity is reducing. There are RECs (Retail Electricity Companies, I think) that are sprining up that provide renewable energy. Obviously, they can't guarantee every unit of electricity that comes down the wire is generated from renewables. but for every unit we consume, they buy futures from renewable energy is I think how it works. The main producers are coming on stream as well. These are growing rapidly, so the consumer is voting. Yes, renewable energy isn't cheap at the moment.. Economies of scale are a big thing here.. But, using the argument that it aint cheap, then little technolgical progress would be made at all.. We could still get around with a horse and cart... not too many around now. Electric cars are expensive at the minute compared to their ICE counterparts, but I am betting in 20 years or so, ICE based cars will be relics and out great grandkids will be asking why it took so long to make the change on a mass scale. Also, of you are going to claim world comparison - compare the world - not just China and India. Even the US are shying away from coal. China has or is funding the vast majority of new coal power - it is not new power from all sources of which the rest of the world are moving to. Also, the IMF and world bank are forecasting Aussie coal prices to decline or hold steady in to the future.. Coal Prices Forecast: Long Term, 2018 to 2030 | Data and Charts - knoema.com. The underlying price (smoothed for short term volatility) seems to have remained much the same since about 2005.. There has been a drop recenlty, but this is attributeed to COVIT-19. The point is, like oil, there will always be a need, but people are moving away from it for better alternatives.

The mob that Ross Perot owned (COmputer somethingorother) managed to take arojnd £5bn form the NHS (public health) and produced absolutely nothing... This sums up government using private enterprise: Government wastes £31bn on 'rip off' contracts. Its behind a paywall, but you can guess what has happened.. Yhe thing to remember is that these companies are often foreign owned, so the unretauined profits are exported to the parent and that country reaps the rewards... I wold rather the government stuff it up and at least the employees and money stays in Australia (or the UK from my perspective). HMRC (equivalent of the ATO + Customes/Excise) has engaged one of the big computer software consultancies to develop making tax digital.. simply put, the ability to submit 10 fields that comprise the VAT (GST) return throughb software rather than online over the web. Hm.. as an ex developer, I think it should be able to be done in, say six months as the software is already doing it over the web (convert to an API call, add credentials, tokens and approprriate authorisations/tax payer management and one is done).. They completely stuffed it up.. Took something like 2 years - built a whole new system and they are hiring a bunch of monkeys to hand key everything... As I understand, HMRC are paying much more for it than originally tendered. Of course, some will be the HMRC itself not being able to make up its mind about what it wants... but surely, it is a quiestion of replicate what is there and then build on it...

I feel for those where water is running low... It is the opposite here - we have had more or less non stop rain over the last couple of months... Unf, there is no way to redirect it to Aus and SAF. But, I bet they declare London in drought yet again as they don't have the infrastructure (or more accurately, the infrastructure has been allowed to decay for want of a better word) under private ownership. Out here, I think most water resevours are underground and the system leaks like a seive.

Although I don't need to be more than a few minutes drive from anywhere to feel comfortable, I definitely agree with the sentiment. I moved from London, which, if you consider the area inside the M25 (about 103 mile circular road that more or less defines greater London these days, albeit containing Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex and Kent). We moved probably further out than we should have, but my wife, who thought she was a city dweller really enjoys the open space and remarked that she didn't know she was subliminally feeling claustrophobic.. Being able to see beyond the endless rows of houses to fields and a skyscape, even if one lives in a village is liberating for her. Ignore the mess, as the house is a WIP, but the view I have from my home office is below... Even living in the village where the road is narrow and when walking to the pub (not visible but at the far end of the village) gives that sense of being hemmed in, a short stoll and one is in rambling country side... That is good enough for me and far healthier than cramped living that overpopulation, albeit potentially sustainable (or at least deferring the inevitable through technology) will bring.. The question is, what sort of quality of life do we want?

Buggah! My son picked up the conundrum - if the pilot dies with a lot of people on board, he is not confrontung his fear od dying alone! I feel a little sheepish now!

This may have been posted before - if so, sorry! But.. worth it...

My partner asked after my loud exclamation of "Hoo-bloody-ray" if we had won the lottery.. Nope.. The TB20 is finally re-assembled after a locally sourced antenna was found. It has been so long since I have flown it, I have decided to bleedin well do a checkout on it with the syndicate instructor again.. I vaguely remember the speeds and will re-read them tonight... But, I can't wait to get it into the air for a spin... I'll get some photos of the beast and post them soon-ish..

It is now officially on my bucket list to fly too! And a visit to the old Corunna Fields secret WWII air base seems a worthy trip...

I am echoing what people are saying as I am in a position of ignorance, but Flybe are claimed to have succumbed more to mismanagement than anything else. There were already in crisis talks and looking for relief on passenger duties to keep it afloat. The drop in bookings seems to have merely brought forward what appeared to be the inevitable. It seemed strange to me that it was backed/rescured by three (or thereabouts) billionaires who appealed direct to the giovernment to provide relief on £100m of passenger duty rather than simply kick it in themselves if they thought it was merely a blip. These people don't generally throw good money after bad. My concern (apart from the employees) is the regional airports they operate from. Exeter - my closest (though Bristol is not too far away) has 80% of their movements attributed to Flybe. No doubt, another operator (most likely Logan Air at this stage) will partially fill the gap, but the question remains - is there enough demand to cover the loss enough for Exeter to say, well, time's up and its far more profitable to turn the thing into a housing estate, despite clean-up costs. The UK already loses airfields - many historic WWI and WWII - to the developer... Exeter without a decent amoutn of airline traffic will also go under as GA does not pay the exhorbitant costs of running a licensed field like that.

Wish I was there.. Haven't been to Tyabb and the Peninsula Aero Club for years... Looks not a bad day, though.. better than here today...

Yeah - I am not so sure.. The ripples in the water seem consistent and one won't see the wash because of the angle of the camera... Not sure it is entirely fake... Also, clearly, the human is bening lifted across the water and one can see the disturbance of both the water and the human ;-).. Although, in my defence, I am with my best mate, Wolfie B.. from the Barossa..

Somehow, I would not equate these fellas to your stereotypical RC flyer. And while I have a warped sense of perception, I doubt very much too may people will, too. In fact, as a member of the suffering public who was put to great inconvenience because of drone flyers flying their drones too close to Gatwick, I would welcome this sort of RC Flyer.. The drone flyers have a small minority that stuff it up for the rest of them.. these guys aren't in that league. I understand why CASA had to go for them.. it's a shame as they were only endangering themselves and showed ingenuity.. HOw many pioneers have suffered an early end so we can fly safely today? Without them, where would we be? (I know, I know.. but you get my drift).

Do you know.. I think I was ahead of myself when I stated Europe's airpspace has beome more dangerous.. Last email today from our maitenance guy... in response to a question of whether it is due back this coming week: "No, it has been ‘delayed’ pending the arrival of a new localiser / glass slope antenna from the US (that was broken during the respray). Rudder can’t be put back on without fixing this antenna. " Flipper knows when that beastie of an antenna will be back.. At least the paint is complete! I guess it's not all bad.. The UK has been battered with storms normally reserved for th Atlantic ocean.. so at least it has been snug in a hangar rather than being snowed, p!$$ed, sleeted and ratted on..

Rwy 2/29 is over 1,000m long.. Not the longest, but suitable for most, aircraft... The structure is a few hundred metres from the end of the runway and as an ex RAF airfield, I am guessing that the strcuture was built then - the road layout suggests it.. However, looking at google maps there is a holdiay part just off the eastern end of the 55/07 runway..

Travel safe on the trip, Marty - sounds like it will be a cracker.. The WA post from John could have been read for the UK.. Exmouth, Carnarvon (misspelt, of course).. @John Robert, I may nick that and send it to one of our blokes in HK, who is German and wants to move to WA... I have suggested a road trip around Aus to SWMBO a few times.. Unf, she still has memories of a dash from Melb to Lightening Ridge by car, and eating a pubs all the way - there was only so much chicken schnitzel and kiev she could take.. So post all the cullinary delights your family partake in and I may convince her of the idea!

Yeah, but they are a handy landmark... Once this carp weather passes, I may take the TB20 (if it gets out of the paint shop alive) up to Caernavon..

PTSD right now...

Blimey - I must be a virtual hermit - never even heard of the movie.. But then, maybe, "Honey, I shrunk the kids" was the last movie I saw... Anyway, back to our bad habits.. I have to admit - with the tech on the LAA/RAA side of things compared to Contipolis and Lycosauras tech, I am tempted to go to the dark side...

FFS! The shop was ready to turn it over to the mechanics to put togeher and they noticed the "forgot" to paint the undercarriage wells and fairings... The whole effin reason it went into the shop.. On my way home yesterday (Friday), I thought I would pop in.. abot 3pm... They were shut and had gone booine, I guess... 5 months + now and counting. I haven't flown in that time.. Decided last weekend I would rent a club PA28.. Of course, Storm Ciara decided to pitch up.. So thougth I would do it this weekend.. Storm Dennis! I tell ya, I was never religious or really believed in the big fella upstairs... But I am changing my mind. My father.. who passed away about 8 years ago, hated me flying... hated anything that may have resulted in his children being injured or worse.. from a sensationalistic point of view.. Well, since his passing, and given his resolute stubborness, there have been countless challenges thrown up - mainly wx realted that has restricted my ability to get out and take to the blue yonder. My guess is somehow, he got through the pearly gates and looks down, has a sqizz at my booking sheet and then cajoules the bog fella into throwing wx events to stop me flying... Either that, or the guy that looks after the lower regions of spiritual life has more control than we think. (p.s. I am not religious.. .I am frustrated)

I used to fly from YCEM when RVAC were there..... Nice little airfield...