So What did you do Today?

[mutley 4,498]

I am no-where near your level of expertise Bri! 

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

Today I sold 5 sets of decals to customers both home and abroad, All stemming from a brief comment on Facebook yesterday where I posted a photo of my massive stash of spare decals for various model.

[hifly 925]

Ripped down a ceiling in a 222 year old house today, (not mine). Despite being suited, booted, hard hatted, masked and goggled still managed to get 222 years of sh.. er... stuff rain down on me. Treated timbers for woodworm. Said house is grade 2 listed, you need premission to change a lightbulb, hampered by slow bureaucracy.

 

It has been in the same family, the Whites, since it was built in 1791. New owner is a Ms Gray! The last inhabitant was born and died there so you can imagine all the, er hum, 'modifications' over the years. Also removed boards from a  boarded up fireplace 1/2 ton of soot to bag up along with the ceiling debris. Insulated plasterboard ceiling goes up tomorrow, not my favourite job on a warm day but hey! I'm not complaining. It's a great project, doing the whole place up, trying to restore it to it's more or less original self. 

 

Happy days!

[britfrog 180]

Happily it wasnt a female thingy, well I dont really know what it was, a few pokes and off it all went, still we have got two females staying from the 5th for 2 weeks , no I dont know if they are, no believe it or not I didnt ask! still we shall see what happens after they leave

 

Today replaced the fishpond pump which has gone u/s  more expense!!!!

[brett 2,316]

Ripped down a ceiling in a 222 year old house today, (not mine). Despite being suited, booted, hard hatted, masked and goggled still managed to get 222 years of sh.. er... stuff rain down on me. Treated timbers for woodworm. Said house is grade 2 listed, you need premission to change a lightbulb, hampered by slow bureaucracy.

 

It has been in the same family, the Whites, since it was built in 1791. New owner is a Ms Gray! The last inhabitant was born and died there so you can imagine all the, er hum, 'modifications' over the years. Also removed boards from a  boarded up fireplace 1/2 ton of soot to bag up along with the ceiling debris. Insulated plasterboard ceiling goes up tomorrow, not my favourite job on a warm day but hey! I'm not complaining. It's a great project, doing the whole place up, trying to restore it to it's more or less original self. 

 

Happy days!

I'm sure future owners Mr & Mrs Black will also appreciate all your work too.

[brett 2,316]

Today I sold 5 sets of decals to customers both home and abroad, All stemming from a brief comment on Facebook yesterday where I posted a photo of my massive stash of spare decals for various model.

 

Looks like you might have a gold mine there Alan.

[hifly 925]

I'm sure future owners Mr & Mrs Black will also appreciate all your work too.

So hifly replies.

 

Yes they'll either be Green with envy or Brown ed off.

 

There was some pretty colourful language putting up the ceiling today. The head up position doing ceilings has countered the head down position when going through the low doorways in this place.

 

[britfrog 180]

Well for the last little while, like over a year my VW multivan has not had its usual ooomph but as I havent been on motorways , and the main roads here are 70 mph it has not been an issue really. However when the temps soared to 36 or 38 degrees since July 1 it has hardly been able to limp along with a struggle it would get up to 80mph so looked into changing the mass air sensor. VW here in France wanted 250 euros plus fitting , vw in the UK £199 plus fitting , looked on ebay and hello I could get a chinese one for £36, what the hell I thought if it breaks twice a year i am quids in. Ordered it ,3 days later it arrives 10 minutes of fitting and Va Va Voom all 174 HP are restored. Gave it a try today with a burn up with a 2 litre laguna and he didnt see me for dust, but I still backed it off at 120mph , so tomorrow am refitting the adjustable chip which gives me 240HP

Life is good!

[hifly 925]

Ah V Dubs. Back in the 1970s you could pick up Beetles for £25-£50. If one had good bodywork but bad motor and another vice versa we'd just jack up the back, drop the engine out and swop em around. Appy daze.

 

Tiled a bathroom today. ZZZZZ

[Andrew Godden 945]

Five days and no posts...people must be resting.  Oh, well, the life of a flight sim addict knows no rest.

 

So, it all started when someone said let's do a flight around the Hawaiian Islands.  Great idea and a fantastic location the group replies.  Ah, but says I, to make it more interesting, I decided to fly my aircraft of choice, the Socata TBM 850, from my home airport of Avalon (YMAV) to Hilo (PHTO), the start point of our adventure.  With my next few days planned out, all I had to do was my flight planning and then the flying.

 

Now, with a range of approximately 1500 nm for the TBM 850, some judicious flight planning and fuel management was going to be necessary due to the expected prevailing winds.  Whilst I will be flying below typical jet stream altitudes for the region, I still expect some impact, but more so on the return journey.

 

With the flight planning complete, my route was Avalon (YMAV), Norfolk Island (YSNF), Nadi, Fiji (NFFN), Faleolo, Samoa (NSFA), Cassidy, Kiribati (PLCH), Honolulu (PHNL), and Hilo (PHTO) at a cruising altitude of FL250.  Each intermediate stop was a "tech stop" for fuel, with an overnight in Nadi.  Other than some rain on descent into YSNF, the weather was kind and with good tail winds.  With a dawn departure, I arrived at NFFN late that evening to be followed by another dawn departure the next day.  Finally, after two days and just under 25 hours of flying time, I finally arrived at PHTO in the evening of the second day, and just in time for the early dawn departure for the islands flight the next morning.  The three hour scenic tour of the Hawaiian Islands was spectacular to say the least, finishing at PHNL.

 

I still have the return journey ahead of me, but that is for my next report in a few days time.

 

Cheers

Andrew

 

Somewhere over the South Pacific

 

The group on the ramp at PHNL at the end of the Hawaiin Islands tour.

[brett 2,316]

Sounds like fun, see any ocean along the way?  That was a loooooong trip, bless your pilot heart.  I gather those Lancair's were local boy's.

[britfrog 180]

well swmbo prepared the gite for our new arrivals today and I cut the grass and ddi some general tidying , and took it all down to the tip, then went and watched the water bombers.

[allardjd 1,853]

Mowed some, finished a home-made tool for adjusting carburetor mixture screws that are not meant to be adjusted, did four airport diagrams and worked on my presentation for the flight sim club meeting tomorrow night (flight planning and adding missing waypoints to FSX). Just another lazy day in the country.

John

[hifly 925]

I spend my working hours humping building materials around, ripping down and putting up walls and ceilings, sanding and oiling floorboards, paintin an decoratin etc etc. Yesterday me and the missus moved an empty sideboard two feet and I did my blimmin back in!   

 

Still, last night flew 146 Jersey to London City, downloaded Jeppesens "real world" weather, beautiful evening. Must get a good WX after upgrade. 

 

As today might be summers' last hurrah here, me and Kate and the 'kids', (two boys aged 23 & 26) are going to the beach with a picnic like we did when they really were kids.

 

Simple pleasures.

[mutley 4,498]

Today..I mostly installed FTX Southampton and basked in all it's glory.

 

Tomorrow will be more severe, builders are in to finish odd jobs in our conservatory but I know they won't finish it..grrr On the plus side it got me out of shopping for soft furnishings for said conservatory. What sort of job is that for a rough and tumble bush pilot like me?!   

 

What? yes dear I am coming ...

[brett 2,316]

Time to turn in your bush wings.

[hifly 925]

Brett, did I see you have the Islander? You folks may or may not know this but the Islander flys the shortest commercial route in the world between the Scotish Orkney Islands of Westray and Papa Westray. Scheduled at 2 minutes, with a following wind can make it in 47 seconds. After that anything must feel like a long haul.

 

I also remember seeing the Supermarine S.5 on display at the Southampton Isle of Wight ferry terminal.

[Andrew Godden 945]

This self confessed flight sim addict flies again.  As you may recall, I flew the Socata TBM 850 from Avalon (YMAV) up to Hilo (PHTO) and then for a tour of the Hawaiin Islands, finishing at Honolulu (PHNL).  So the last few days has been the return journey home.

 

Knowing the wind patterns, this was going to take some careful flight planning and fuel management.  For the return journey, flight legs were kept to a maximum of approx 1,200 nm except for the last one which provided better alternate options.  

 

With the flight planning complete, my route was Honolulu (PHNL), Cassidy, Kiribati (PLCH), Pago Pago, American Samoa (NSTU), Fua'amotu, Tonga (NFTF), Tontouta, Noumea (NWWW), and Avalon (YMAV), at a cruising altitude of FL240, and with Sydney (YSSY), Canberra (YSCB) and Essendon (YMEN) as alternates on the last leg.  This time the overnight stop was in Tonga. 

 

The weather was good and winds were reasonable until the last flight leg, where I was plagued by a headwind averaging 57 kts .  Fuel consumption was still looking good though and I was still hopeful of a clear run all the way into YMAV.  Oops, spoke too soon!!!  About 50 nm southwest of YSSY the headwind picked up to 76 kts and sucked the reserves out of my fuel.  With a divert into YMEN for a mere "splash and dash", I was a frustrating 28 nm short of home. 

 

Finally, after another two days and just under 26.5 hours of flying time, I arrived at YMAV.

 

Now, where and what to fly next!!! 

 

Cheers

Andrew

[hifly 925]

Andrew, Southampton's nice this time of year. You can buzz Mutley and his builders from there.

[brett 2,316]

Brett, did I see you have the Islander? You folks may or may not know this but the Islander flys the shortest commercial route in the world between the Scotish Orkney Islands of Westray and Papa Westray. Scheduled at 2 minutes, with a following wind can make it in 47 seconds. After that anything must feel like a long haul.

 

I should try that again in the Islander. I did fly that once before, in another aircraft, when I first heard of it. You do not have time to hardly check anything in flight. I wonder if they fly it straight out and in or do they at least do a circuit. You would think they would have put in a ferry service instead.

[brett 2,316]

Now, where and what to fly next!!! 

 

Cheers

Andrew

 

Have you ever thought of flying the solo journey from Australia to Shantou, China made by the legendary Australian "Flying Doctor" Clyde Fenton in a DH60G Gipsy Moth? I have made parts of the flight using Ant's Tiger Moth, I had found the flight information for it at another "flightsim" location. It was quite a feat considering the time period. Some of the airports have of course changed considerably. I wonder if I still have the flight plan, I should try it again using my newly acquired RW weather, should make it more interesting. 

 

Nice flying and planning on your Hawaiian adventure by the way, impressive.   I would have seat sores.      

[Andrew Godden 945]

 

Now, where and what to fly next!!! 

 

Cheers

Andrew

 

Have you ever thought of flying the solo journey from Australia to Shantou, China made by the legendary Australian "Flying Doctor" Clyde Fenton in a DH60G Gipsy Moth?.....

 

 

Brett,

 

I have flown a number of recreated historical flights, particularly between England and Australia and those of Bert Hinkler and Charles Kingsford-Smith.  The de Havilland DH.80 "Puss Moth" is one I flew from England to Australia, recreating Hinkler's ill-fated record attempt of 1933.  Fortunately for me though, I made it.

 

Cheers

Andrew

[brett 2,316]

Hustling Hinkler up in the sky fair or windy
He’s flying high peerless fearless knows every cloud
The kind of a son makes a mother feel proud
Bustling Hinkler rides all alone in a little plane all his own
Hustling Hinkler showed them the way
And he’s the hero of the day.

 

I guess they won't be singing songs about Brett today, trimming the lawn, garbage run to the transfer station, install towel rack and put up a repaired wooden bird feeder.  
 

[allardjd 1,853]

Created three new and one updated airport diagram.

Pumped 3" of rainwater out of the pool and attended to the pool chemistry.

Removed the battery from the tractor in preparation for a replacement after the charger failed to resuscitate it.

Mixed and sprayed a gallon of Round-Up on the weeds on the south fence line.

Added some FSX waypoints and created a MH File Library posting for them - and thus is born yet another bottomless project.

Mounted a hanger on the back of one of my wife's painting projects.

Finished the last chapter of a book.

...and more to do before I sleep. Life is good.

John

[britfrog 180]

As it was pissing down most of the day (technical term)  i decided to try to "fix" one of my hard drives that I use for vfr flying in fsx. I have had the problem before, ie if I remove/delete progs the amount of useable space reduces, the opposite of what should happen. I started out with only 110 gb free when i had finished binning most of ftx , i had 80gb free. So used checkdisk etc and after an hour or two I was back to 145 gb free. Still by the time I had gone to bed I was back down to 135 gb.   norton cant find a virus or malware nor can spybot, so as this is the second time I have to presume there is some corruption in windows, especially as I could not adjust the page file settings last night but could this morning. So as it is my smallest disk I think I will soldier on with loading fsx onto win 8 and format the small drive.

Looking on the bright side at least there is formula yawn on the goggle box today and having watched the practice yesterday it seems to have improved slightly so may put my feet up with a guinness or three