Ninja’s blog

Folks,

Just spent the past week covering a lot of ground in western and central Queensland. Seriously, as crude (perhaps unkind some may say) as some of my descriptions have been of this part of Oz, the landscape is ruggedly beautiful.

But one thing has stayed at the top of my consciousness of this particular part of the country; it is the salty turn of phrase that the locals use to describe anything and everything. Queenslanders are the champions of Oz when it comes to swearing. And not just your bog-standard F/B/Cs mind you. Done with style and wicked wit that you'd have to laugh, even if you're a church-going sort of person.

Consider this: what do you call a truck weighbridge inspector on the highway? You know, those guys who check the heavy haul-trucks to see if they're loaded within legal limits? Mermaids, that's what. Why "mermaids"? Cunts with scales!

Has a ring to it, doesn't it?

Special.

Ninja

http://www.alternet.org/politics/144098/new_right-wing_craze%3A_using_bible_quote_to_pray_that_obama%E2%80%99s_%27days_be_few%27/

Folks,

An old friend told me yesterday that I'm awfully cranky these days.

Then I found this article on AlterNet and it dawned on me why: That there are these total nutjobs out there who are given legitimacy through the vote. Sometimes, democracy is too much of a privilege for some amongst us. Way too much freedom to exercise what little decaying brain cells these mini-gnats have.

Ninja

http://www.relta.org/browse.asp?ContainerID=testforpilotsafter11august

OK folks,

If you have a few minutes to spare and nothing else better to do, try this listening test to see if you can taxi/take-off/fly and land an aircraft safely.

Listening and looking are still the key fundamental skills required in aviation. It's called situational awareness.

Ninja

Silence Twister

Folks,

No, that's not me at the controls - I wish!

Come on, you can't say this isn't a beautiful aircraft - even if the Germans have created this Spitfire-inspired kit plane?

I'm impressed.

Ninja

http://www.pacificaerosport.com/twister.htm

Folks,

My heart's racing a bit after seeing this. Granted it's a single-seater but heck, she flies well (when have the eliptical wings of the Spitty ever faltered?).

And the price is bloody eyebrow-raising, too... in a pleasant way. The performance specs for the price, is serious value for money.

I've gotta keep looking at this as motivation to get my wings! It could be my second kit aircraft.

It's sweet irony, isn't it? That this souped-up aerobatic kit version of the Spitfire would come out of Germany in the 21st century.

Ninja

Folks,

I thought I'd post this to give you an idea of the chatter that goes on as pilots join circuit on approach for landing.

For those who don't know, Oshkosh in Wisconsin is THE biggest aviation show in the world. And each year the Oshkosh airport is like a mecca for general aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. A tonne of these people fly in to the show and that truly makes Oshkosh the world's busiest airport for the one week festival. I'm told that Avalon in Victoria doesn't even come close to matching Oshkosh.

The tower guys have their hands full trying to keep the traffic flowing nice and safe for everyone to come in.

The interesting thing you will hear in the chatter is the ATC guy asking some pilots to "rock your wings" if they understand. And this is really important to pilots everywhere. Language, instructions and airport procedures all have slight variations, plus the fact that every pilot is trained and used to something that's a bit different to others. Good to know that the traffic controllers recognise this and use plain language to guide the planes in as they join the circuit to come in. And if something's not working out, they will not hesitate to ask pilots to go-around.

I'm not sure what "FISK" means - I think it's the US version of what we call ATIS (automatic terminal information service) in Oz. This is a regularly updated generic aerodrome flight condition status that's pre-recorded. Planes can tune into the ground frequency to check for things like wind speed, wind direction, which runways are for inbound-outbound traffic, QNH settings (altimeter setting specific for the airport) etc.

I've got an eye on being at Oshkosh next year and see the fuss for myself.

Ninja

Folks,

It was a good flying day today: low winds, some puffy clouds but otherwise a lovely VMC (visual meteorological conditions) day for VFR flying.

Which meant that the airspace over Jandakot was busy. Coupled with the fact that there was an aviation tribute to the late Aussie aviatrix Nancy Bird-Walton at the Perth foreshore and there were plenty of vintage planes which flew in for that at 11am this morning, it did have an impact at Jandakot. Well, my lesson was at 1pm and by the time I was doing my second circuit, tower told us to do a full stop landing and hold short of Runway 30 while they sequenced a squadron of the oldies for landing. It was quite a sight to see 4-5 bright yellow Tiger Moths plus a few other classics coming in to land at almost standstill airspeed on final. Pity I couldn't grab some footage on my mobile as I was busy holding my position in the takeoff queue behind two other light aircraft.

The Good

Anyway, my pre-flights are getting faster and my taxiing has vastly improved. And being told to do left hand circuits on Runway 30 is actually great because it is a wider runway and the approach is less intimidating compared with Runway 24L. I joked with Min that I therefore had more room to weave since there was more room. She laughed, I did, too but deep down I have been cross with myself all week for not getting rid of this "yip".

So, a shorter flight log today folks.

Take-off roll outs were good. I managed to keep KMB on the centreline before pulling up at 65 knots.

In fact, I'm pleased with my progress up till about short final on the circuit. This is when KMB is about 150ft AGL (above ground level), engine power is down to about 1100-1200rpm and I'm probably 50m just shy of the runway piano keys. This is when the yips start.

The Bad

My final line-up is good but I am somehow just a tad too high or airspeed just that fraction too fast as I power down to idle rpm (about 750rpm on KMB) when I cross the runway threshold. So I go into quick correction mode: pitch down to lose the altitude.

The Ugly

But this means the airspeed picks up a notch. Then my eyes are fixated on the tarmac. Shit!!! Then I pull back on the yoke to flare, but now the attitude of the wings is starting to bank slightly right at 30ft AGL. So I work the left aileron to correct my attitude. All this while KMB is about to touchdown... my head's all in a mess as we have a somewhat heavy landing. Now I'm working the pedals furiously to keep KMB centred on the runway, retract the flaps, two trims forward of the wheel before whacking the throttle up to full power to take-off again on the second circuit.

The Plan

I know what has to be done. Min said I needed to fixate on the horizon more as I get towards short final instead of looking down. She's right. It's target fixation. This is what I learned riding motorcycles; you never fixate on traffic coming in the opposite direction or you'll invariably veer across. The same thing's happening here with me and landing the damn plane. I'm focusing too hard on the threshold and forgetting to prepare for what lies a couple of steps ahead. And this causes my workload to rush at me quickly (literally) and I'm not giving myself enough time to respond immediately on landing. This also explains why I'm having these annoying post-landing weaves on the landing roll-out and pre-takeoff. I reckon if I can improve my short final preps to gain an extra 3 seconds, the weaves will be a thing of the past.

I recall my struggles with Straight and Level Flying back in June, and the same feeling of frustration is too familiar. I know what I've got to do. Time and practice are what's needed; I can't fix this any other way. Flight Sim can get me some of the way there but it can't simulate the updraft turbulence that always happens on final approach. This is what causes the aircraft's attitude to get off the runway's centre, requiring more rudder/aileron/throttle coordination. And this is where time starts to condense and the cockpit workload builds. This is exactly the phase of my circuit session where I have to focus on.

I shared with Min that I was getting angry with myself for not getting rid of my yips, but she's cool with it. A quick Google around and I found that a lot of student pilots did anywhere between 8-25 hours of circuit training before being asked to solo. I checked my log and found that I've only done 3.6 hours of circuit training including today. Maybe I'm being unrealistic to expect miracles. Perhaps there's also a lesson here about safety in wanting to rush things along. Still, I'm just not built to accept something less than good when I know I can do this.

So, I've got a few more circuit sessions to go yet. I'm thinking maybe I should take a few days off work to go flying 3-4 days consecutively to really lock in my lessons. We shall see. 

Till the next instalment, clear prop!

Ninja 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/join-muslim-asia-or-perish-taliban/story-e6frg6nf-1225794873972

Folks,

I'd like to think of myself as a fair-minded bloke who doesn't mind having his eyes opened occasionally to better ideas and ways of living. Lord knows I'm the same dumb shit as I was the day I was born.

But when I hear that there are people out there who'd be arrogant enough to think that I HAVE to choose their way of life or die, that's when the gloves come off.

How dare these SOBs tell me in my own home how I should live or who I choose to worship??! Do I ever want to see Australia darkened by the rubbish we see happening in the backward townships across the Middle East? Do I want the female members of my family to forever be second-class citizens and have their life choices diminished because of their gender? Do I want to always be declaring war on people simply because they might choose to wear normal clothes instead of a maxi-kaftan? Do I want to force people to be carbon-copy fools because some bearded moron said so? And do I want all children to be forced to recite the Koran from sunrise to sunset, and forget what it means to be nice to our neighbours of all persuasions? HELL FRIGGIN' NO!!!

I also think these imbeciles forget that many amongst us left Islamic countries to come to lands like Australia because of that very reason - we DO NOT accept Islam (or any religion for that matter) to be the guiding ideology that underpins the proper running of a fully-functioning democracy. The laws of this land are what makes us tick and gives us the right to pursue everything within our powers to make a decent life for ourselves, our families and our community - without fear or favour, no matter who you are. We accept all comers to this country - even some who really should be booted out without a second glance. But we are fair-minded and decent folk who happen to believe in a fair go. But there is a limit to that compassion, especially when threats are issued such as the one from the Taliban.

So if the Taliban thinks that they can push little ol' me and my mates in Oz around, they're sadly and badly mistaken. Very terribly mistaken. I used to understand why there was so much bitterness in the Middle East. I still do. But that all changed for me in July when I very nearly became a stat to the indiscriminate Islamic-based hatred that we see around the world. No more. Gloves are off.

Ninja

http://youngestround.blogspot.com/

Folks,

Follow young Jess as she makes her way around the world in her tiny boat.

Ninja

Folks,

It's not for the horses that I stop on the first Tuesday of every November. Rather, I stop and enjoy the photos of the aftermath of the race when the beautifully coiffed and dressed ladies on race day display their totally au naturelle look when the alcohol finally takes its toll.

I miss the displaced hats, the unkempt hairdos, the smeared lippy, the vomit-stained dresses and legs akimbo next to the toilet block in drunken stupor. Oh where, where art thou????

Sorry, was I too forthright? Yeah, the blokes are no better, too.

Ninja