The Aviation thread

[aye you]

thought i'd post some pics of my wanderings..

Kunnanarra - Latrobe Valley, 15 hours flying in 2 days at 100kts


in this


before one of you smart @sses have a go at my alt holding, we were chasing the best ground speeds






the missing seats down the right side of the airvan are in the tail, the seat pads are on the floor, with my CFI having a snooze mid flight


i'll upload more when i get onto my other computer

[Jim Goose]

Ugh now that would be fun.. lol

Longest trip I had "planned" was Townsville to Sydney in a brand new C206 (50hrs old) in 2001/2? I think.

I was to drop off the owner in Toowoomba and then fly out the next day.
Next day the magneto had failed (on startup?) so i was stuck there for 2 days while a replacement came up from Sydney.

2hrs from Sydney the weather turned nasty and I was forced to climb to 11000ft, were I just sat with the wheels on top of some very flat cloud.
(My instrument rating had expired as I never used it in NQ!)

The plane had some mods and service bulletins to be done under warranty in sydney.
2 weeks later I picked it up.
I left Sydney late as it wasnt ready in time.
No probs I thought as I was only going to Toowoomba.
An hour after take-off one VHF failed.
Great.
Close to Toowoomba no2 VHF started to fail as well so I didnt know if the airfield lights had got my transmission.
I had mobile phone coverage, so I rang the owner to get him there to make sure the runway lights were on.

While talking on the phone the autopilot decided to go for a dive!
(The autopilot failures and radio failures was part of the problems under warrantly, so glad they fixed it!)

Talk about quality control for something that cost over $300 000 and was only 50 odd hours old.

[aye you]

hahaha gotta love Century 3 autopilots, a 206 i flew tried to barrel roll the plane until i pulled the CB.

The trip in the airvan was the most painful i've ever done. Don't know if you've flown one, but the seat doesn't move very far, and me been 195cm tall it was very cramped. the seat is so hard my **** went numb about a hour into the trip, by the time we got to alice springs for our 2nd fuelling stop i fell outta the cockpit because i couldn't feel my left leg lol

Jim you CPL i take it? where you working?

[Jim Goose]

No never flew the airvan, I sat in one once.. lol

My licence (medical) lapsed in 2006.
Used to work as an AME for 7yrs as well.
Got my CPL in 1991.
Worked on and off until 2005 where I got fed up and left the industry.
There was a glut of pilots and little work in those days.

Now im told its the opposite!

The 206 had all new avionics and the autopilot was a Bendix King unit.
I have flown with the centuary III in the C210s.
Only one ever tried to kill me and no one could ever fix it!

Not being able to move about isnt good !
Why on earth would they design a seat which has so little travel?
Or did someone put the seat stops in wrong?

[aye you]

no its the design of the seat, very little travel, and requires adjustment on the ground.

Theres still a glut of pilots out there and work is scarce, well, at least for those who can't afford to up and move every few months to try another 'mecca'

[Jim Goose]

Well I dunno about outside the NQLD area but apparently they are short here.
And the pay compared to what I was getting per hr has doubled since 2005!

If you want classy, fast and good looking....

Got to fly 3hrs in a TMB700 in 2002. It was a demo plane from Sydney.





In every respect it flew like a dream. Impressive rate of climb, very light controls, 305knot tas at FL200. On one leg we got 390kt ground speed. And to top it off, a landing so soft (trailing link gear!) that made me want to spend its $2.5Mill price tag.

Now im getting all sentimental....

[Spudz27]

1 more week and I will have some new arrivals. Expecting a 1:200 QF 747-400, 767-300, 787-900, a 1:200 TAA A300 in Camel Hump Livery, 1:200 Ansett-ANA DC-9 and a 1:200 Trans Global Airlines 707. It has been an expensive week for me lol. The above models have set me back $428. I will post pics when they land.

[Swordsman88]

Originally Posted by EDfutura25

1 more week and I will have some new arrivals. Expecting a 1:200 QF 747-400, 767-300, 787-900, a 1:200 TAA A300 in Camel Hump Livery, 1:200 Ansett-ANA DC-9 and a 1:200 Trans Global Airlines 707. It has been an expensive week for me lol. The above models have set me back $428. I will post pics when they land.

You need a nice big 767 so good to see youare getting another one of them. Qantas livery i suppose? I know i'm clearly biased but it does irk me sometimes that the 767 (esp in local qantas guise) never gets any credit. Sure the 747 was always the headline grabber, and the 777 is the one with the long range with the 737 being the most popular but really its the 767 that revolutionised long range twin engin transport, ETOPS etc. Not to mention if you are a business person flying on the golden triangle in aus its the plane doing the business every day. Got a pretty damn good reliability and dispatch rate too for an old girld....

They won't be around much longer niether.....

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

You need a nice big 767 so good to see youare getting another one of them. Qantas livery i suppose? I know i'm clearly biased but it does irk me sometimes that the 767 (esp in local qantas guise) never gets any credit. Sure the 747 was always the headline grabber, and the 777 is the one with the long range with the 737 being the most popular but really its the 767 that revolutionised long range twin engin transport, ETOPS etc. Not to mention if you are a business person flying on the golden triangle in aus its the plane doing the business every day. Got a pretty damn good reliability and dispatch rate too for an old girld....

They won't be around much longer niether.....

Yeah my 767 in 1:400 scale is too small lol. Yes it will be in Qantas Livery as is the 787. I have to pack away 35 of my 1:400 scale models, just so I can display the upcoming ones. I have enough room to have 3 on the stands, the 707 and DC-9 are small enough that they will replace the international fleet on the small shelf. My Qantas A380, 330, 747 and 787 will have to be on their stands and the 767 and TAA A300 in between on the shelf. My mrs is not very happy lol. I nned a really good display case, but I am not in a house at the moment that will accomodate one. So it is either display my 1:400 models and a few 1:200 or pack the 1:400 back in their boxes to make room for the 1:200. To give you an idea. The A380 in 1:200 in36.3cm long with a wingspan of 39.9cm

[ltd]

Here's a fun little video of what not to do or rather, what to remember.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K4QH...om=PL&index=11

[EBII Ghia]

Originally Posted by Swordsman88

You need a nice big 767 so good to see youare getting another one of them. Qantas livery i suppose? I know i'm clearly biased but it does irk me sometimes that the 767 (esp in local qantas guise) never gets any credit. Sure the 747 was always the headline grabber, and the 777 is the one with the long range with the 737 being the most popular but really its the 767 that revolutionised long range twin engin transport, ETOPS etc. Not to mention if you are a business person flying on the golden triangle in aus its the plane doing the business every day. Got a pretty damn good reliability and dispatch rate too for an old girld....

They won't be around much longer niether.....

You wont have long to wait till VB get the 767-400!

And for Burnout, the Mirage had a DEFA cannon not ADEN guns, although they are very similar and can use the same ammo.

[cs123]

I think these guys are earning their pay cheque

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X_7Xt2ga-s

[Tavers]

Originally Posted by EBII Ghia

You wont have long to wait till VB get the 767-400!

And for Burnout, the Mirage had a DEFA cannon not ADEN guns, although they are very similar and can use the same ammo.

764? I think if they get them, they'd be 763s. I don't believe they even build the 764 any more.

[aye you]

Jim, your in southern QLD right?

the way i understand the industry at the moment, with the airlines and regionals having started hiring, theres a gap in GA for experienced twin drivers. But theres still not enough experienced SE drivers to fill the gap, meaning that while there is movement in the industry, it hasn't filtered down to the bottom of the food chain just yet, i'm guessing another 6 months at least

[EBII Ghia]

Originally Posted by Tavers

764? I think if they get them, they'd be 763s. I don't believe they even build the 764 any more.

I believe they still build 400s

Boeing 767-400

[aye you]

i thought that VB would be going the 787 route over the 767?

[EBII Ghia]

Originally Posted by aye you

i thought that VB would be going the 787 route over the 767?

I think they are looking sooner rather than later. But I agree 787 should be in the picture.

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by ltd

Here's a fun little video of what not to do or rather, what to remember.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K4QH...om=PL&index=11

Was the alarm in the backround not telling them that the gear was up? Idiots.

[aye you]

im thinking of gear failure, based on the total lack of reaction from either person in the plane

[xbrules]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f06npwZpJJs

[Spudz27]

looking at the IL-76 and the Antonov 225 I can't help but think, the russians need to get better engines.

[Spanrz]

Seen a few C5's in the last few years. Huge mothers!
Though taking photo's of them, I feel like a terrorist, because it was around an Air National Guard base in the States. Everyone over there, is so pedantic of photo's.
See if I can dig up photo's of them.

BTW, think this trumps the powered flight vids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POFQCpOZhIo

I love some of the older stuff too. Awesome, keep it going.

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by EDfutura25

looking at the IL-76 and the Antonov 225 I can't help but think, the russians need to get better engines.

The IL-76 is a 1970s aircraft with very old turbofan engies with a low bypass ratio. The latest version (which was offered but I believe never sold) has modern high bypass turbofan engines and a longer fuselage.

The AN-225 already has high bypass engines and if it was to be re-engined would mean it would more or less have to go through certification all over again. Only ONE of these aircraft was ever built (a 2nd airframe is sitting in the Ukraine) so it would be uneconomical to do so.

I have seen a AN-125 up close and personal as well as a C-5, its hard to believe how old these aircraft are now.

[xbrules]

I remember being an air force cadet and standing on the end of Richmond's runway as a galaxy took off striaght over my head. It was quite spectacular to say the least.

it really does often suprise me just what can be made to stay in the air sometimes. I mean look at that the Transavia Airtruk



How some one said that THAT could fly is beyond me

[Jim Goose]

Also made famous in Mad Max3..
Cant beleive the rear compartment was actually for passengers!

Then again they say its impossible for helicopters to fly, they just beat the air into submission

[aye you]

excuse the quality, from a camera phone
AN124 up close, sort of



and some more randoms







And my chariot for a few weeks of contracted pest control flying







And for those who are intersted, heres a shot of the ATPL theory material, each one represents an exam, about 1100pages in total.

[Spanrz]

Originally Posted by xbrules

How some one said that THAT could fly is beyond me

It's a cropduster / plant seeder. Plenty of these on the Murray River area.
Noisy things, like a big annoying mosquito buzzing your head. Particularly early in the morning when you have a hangover on a camping trip.

I knew a bloke that still lives in the Barham area, that used to fly these. Well known war veteran. He was around 80 when they told him he couldn't fly anymore.

[NC1183]

Stuff me that IL-76 needs some runway to get off the ground. I like the comments by the Tower Crew.

[EBII Ghia]

Originally Posted by xbrules

it really does often suprise me just what can be made to stay in the air sometimes. I mean look at that the Transavia Airtruk



How some one said that THAT could fly is beyond me

I was in NZ recently, and they had one on display at MOTAT. The blurb adjacent to the display raised a few eyebrows.

The Airtruk immediately displayed severe design problems, the worst being stalling without warning and plummeting to the ground. Over eighty modifications were made in New Zealand to turn the Airtruk into a safe and efficient aircraft. ZK-CVB was the prototype for these modifications, which went on to be made on all other Airtruks.

[wrongwaynorris]

it really does often suprise me just what can be made to stay in the air sometimes. I mean look at that the Transavia Airtruk



How some one said that THAT could fly is beyond me[/QUOTE]

I grew up in Winston Hills in the 70's and watched all the test flights from their Seven Hills base . It's initial concept was as a crop duster as conventional airframes became clogged with fine dust facillitating removing all rear fuselage panels and often finding corrosion in the airframe . Hence the Agtruk having twin boom tails to obviate this happening . It copped a lot of bad press it never deserved .