Matthew 25’s Neighborhood

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

It's been around since 2002 (I think) but it never gets old.....

William Kamkwamba was only 14 years old when he built a windmill that could power 4 light bulbs and a radio in his village in Malawi.  Watch his story here.

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Random Geekiness

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