Fingers Crossed...

The gearbox arrived this morning, it is brand new as it was supposed to be and appears to be the correct model. Phew. They are fitting it now and if all goes according to plan I will be on the road again by late afternoon.

Differences in Advertising Standards

I'm hoping to get out of Innisfail tomorrow, my gearbox has still not arrived, but should be here this afternoon or tomorrow.
One of the big differences I notice between QLD and WA is the nature of the advertising. They have a lot of very questionable stuff here. Tony Robins is probably only moderately evil, sure he takes your money, but he makes you feel good about it. But stuff like the Hiclone is just plain wrong, it prays on people who believe the impossible marketing lies that they perpetrate. Just about every single mechanic I have been past here sells them, they must be a great winner for those selling them, cheap to manufacture, easy to install and you can charge the customer heaps based on the flawed assumption they are going to get an improvement in fuel economy, oh, and power of course. Its an evil lie, I had the great misfortune to deal with a dodgy car mechanic in Perth once, he had a dyno and the local TV stations car show came down to do an Advertorial style piece on the Hiclone, they dynoed a car without it, then fitted it and dynoed it again. The results were actually that the Hiclone reduced power very slightly, but it was so little that it was probably more due to the rise in air temperature as the day went on. But of course when the spot aired they had amazing results and it was well worth the money. I can't express how little respect I have for the media when they do stuff like this.
There is also a fair bit of religious advertising and the type of ads that pray on the fearful, inviting them to take out death insurance so that their surviving family won't have to deal with the nightmare of paying for the funeral, in the ad they invite you to call now with a credit card, no paperwork required. Then they tell you how easy it is to claim, you just have to properly complete the relevant paperwork and send it in to us and we often pay within a few days.....

Here is the science as to why Hiclones and all the other names for it are a load of rubbish.

http://www.fuelsaving.info/turbulence.htm

Tony Robbins makes fire-walking a big part of his act, of course its only possible if you are correctly motivated. What a load of crap, my favourite story is of the sceptical journalist who turned up to one of his events and told everyone it was a load of rubbish then walked across the coals chanting "Burn feet, Burn" of course nothing happened, ash is one of the best insulators we know of. I want to see Tony Robbins walk across red hot rocks, that would be entertaining.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/firewalking.htm

I want to be writing about how great the flying was today, not about things that I see and hear that piss me off.

Here is that link to the Google Earth File. If you have google earth installed it should open right up.

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=639544

When it rains...

I'm trapped inside and so I am re-reading all the material that Scott gave me, at some point I might collate it all and put it up here somewhere just to make it easier to find.
I've also been looking at the track logs from the easiest flight of my life, that would be the one in that magnificent stemme. If you have a decent vario or GPS that records height with your track logs you should invest in a copy of CompeGPS, the current version is able to get all the free Hi-Res maps from Google earth and Google maps and is an awesome route planning tool. Its hard to really show how powerful the 3D environment is but here are some 2D pics anyway. Also if you use google earth, here is a link to the 3D track log, but with only a fraction of the information and options you get from CompeGPS.

Here is the Height Versus Time Graph..


Here is the same thing for speed...



Here is an idea of the kind of 2D view you get:
(the red circles show thermals)

Innisfail

I've been demoted to just a tourist at the moment. The RAC came through and are paying for my accommodation and a hire car, unfortunately it is a daewoo matiz and I have not figured out how to carry a hang glider and power harness in it yet. I went looking for flying sites this afternoon, if it wasn't raining and cloud base was not at 800ft and the wind wasn't 25knots and I actually found somewhere to T/O with the fun, then  using gaffa tape to secure the fun to the roof of a hire car would no doubt seem like a good idea....

Car update

I found a brand new gearbox from a 2005 model outback at a crazy price, it is already in QLD and Toll should have it here within a few days. Realistically my car should be on the road again by Tuesday. This really does mess up my plans to get down to Newcastle. Sorry Scott. Once I get to Canungra I will still make a dash south if I can be there for at least a couple of days before Canungra starts. In the meanwhile I am stuck in Innisfail for the weekend, I might see if I can hire a car and go and see the sights, the weather here is terrible so I can't even go for a fly with the power harness. Doh.Doh. Doh.

Damn Damn Damn

Seems I was premature with my earlier post. I arrived in time to watch them drive the car off the hoist, they were revving the crap out of it to get it over the ramp, that did not look good. One large bang later and it looks like most of the teeth from the input shaft are missing. Now I need a new gearbox. $!$%&#^
I'm not going anywhere with this car for at least a week. I am ringing the RAC to see if they can help me somehow. #$%^@#

Leaving Innisfail

In about an hour, it is a lovely place and it would be nice to stay longer but I have allot of driving to do, er, like about 18hrs straight I think.
It turned out to be the thrust bearing that had exploded and jammed the clutch in the disengaged position. I need to have words with the last idiot that worked on it ;-)
The wet season has arrived, its been raining non stop for nearly 24hrs here. This place used to be called Geraldton and it figures from the amount of wind and rain I have experienced. Its the first rain I have seen since I left Geraldton a few months ago, so even though I am dripping wet as I type this, I don't mind. I'm not stopping again until Canungra where I drop the caravan off.

Car update

The place that has the car seem to be pretty sure that it is the clutch, they have ordered a new one that will be here in the morning. They are pulling the engine out at the moment and they will know for sure this evening. I have been quoted 2.5hrs to remove the engine and another 2.5 to replace it, that's reasonable and a sign of confidence on their part, I hope. I am very curious to see what the clutch/flywheel look like as I never noticed it slipping until a few minutes before I stopped here in Innisfail and it felt like a catastrophic failure of something like the pressure plate to me, but hey, I'm no gearbox expert. I've checked into a nice cheap motel as the backpackers are full. I am actually happy it happened here, when I was spending my money in Burketown it felt much better to be leaving it in a small town where it makes a difference than in a big city somewhere, now here I am in Innisfail where every building has storm damage and I guess they can use the money too.
If they are correct and a clutch kit and flywheel skim fix the problem I should be out of here tomorrow afternoon. I am going to get some extra sleep now and then drive 18hrs straight to make up the lost time, I should still be in Newcastle on Thursday.....

Gearbox Trouble....

Things were going really well with the car, right up to the point that I slowed down as I was entering Innisfail. As I changed down a gear the gearbox started making unhappy noises and I lost drive to the wheels. First gear no longer seems to be connected, but second gear now works again, but the sounds that it makes suggest that metal is rubbing against metal somewhere. Luckily before I left perth I realised that such an event was a possibility so I took out the highest level of RAC cover i could get and now the car is with the local RACQ agent. They are trying to identify the cause of the problem at the moment. Hopefully in a couple of hours I will have a better idea of what is wrong and what my options are. This does mess up my plans of being in Newcastle on Thurday, unless they find that it is the universal joint on the driveshaft or something easy like that I am guessing they are going to have to remove the gearbox and then rebuild it or something, that takes days even when everything goes well. There is a possibility that the RAC might give me a hire car for a week whilst mine is repaired, if I can get one with roof racks I can leave everything here and still make a dash for Newcastle to meet Scott.
As soon as I have more info I will update things here. Doh. Doh. Doh.

Cairns

I left Burketown at 11.30am and arrived in Cairns at 2.30am the next morning. A long drive. Big ranges to cross too. After a few hours sleep I flew the Rex this afternoon, getting good height and some nice photos. I landed so that Bill could have a fly. It was lovely smooth coastal air and well worth the effort. In the morning I start the long drive to Canungra, I plan to leave the caravan there and head down to Newcastle with just the car, the southerly winds mean I am going to be averaging around 70kph on the way down with the caravan so I need to lose it if I am to meet Scott near Sydney on Friday as planned. I definitely want to get back to Cairns soon though, some awesome flying sites and great people around this neck of the woods.

Bye Bye Burketown

The Glory howled through at 3.30am. There would have been enough moisture then but no doubt the strong Northerlies played a part in getting it through so fast and early. So much for the luck of the Irish, woke him up anyway and with his dual fuel tanks he is still up at cloud base around 1200ft. I am sure that the pilot of the twin must have see him when he was trying to penetrate into an 18knot headwind over the airport.... Bill and I are off to Cairns, ETA about 10pm hopefully.

Only Just ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yWstXElyU0

Glory Cycle Starting again

Last night the humidity increased and stayed up around 70% all night, It was not enough for a dew on the ground, but better than we have been getting for the last few weeks. Sure enough a MG was visible at first light, but still 50 miles away. It had a very messy top which is usually a sign of a dying cloud. Sure enough the motor glider boys had to fly out 30 miles to intercept it and then found no lift and came home quickly. The cloud was being pushed along on a Northerly front that suddenly arrived with 15/20 knot winds on the ground, increasing to 30/35knots at height. Before the Northerly arrived it was absolutely nil wind on the ground and Bill had another unsuccessful take-off in the challenging conditions. He did just get up eventually though, because it was so close I feel compelled to post it to youtube, so check later.
Even though the Northerly might be bringing in moisture, in my heart I doubt that the high winds are going to be conducive to a stable roll cloud forming tomorrow, also Bill had to use his motor to avoid landing backwards when he came in, a nice trick if you have an electric start, not something I can do with my pull start though..
I am packing the car and caravan ready for tomorrow. The gliders/harnesses are still in our hangar ready for the morning just in case we get one last chance...
An Irishman with a power harness and an Arab friendly bio diesel van is here to try his luck, his timing is looking pretty good...

Still no sign of a Glory

Yesterday, or today. At least today Bill & I took off together and flew around for 90mins. Bill had his first unsuccessful Nil wind take-off with his sting today, wheels really do save you when this happens. It was Northerly winds in the first few thousand feet switching to strong Easterlies higher up, there were also 2 inversions on the way up. Every morning it is dry, it is not looking good. The general consensus seems to suggest Tuesday as the next likely Glory, but that will be too late...

Long drive ahead...

Again, no Glory today. Dry Ground, no humidity, no seabreeze. Doh. Doh. Doh.

It's a good thing that I don't particularly mind driving.
It's about 2700km from here in Burketown to Canungra. I am dropping Bill the kiwi off in Cairns on the way. We are going to stay an extra couple of days in the faint hope that another Glory might come through, Bill is the one person who has travelled further than me to get here and so it would be a real shame for him to go home empty handed. Today saw a mass exodus of pilots, the forecast is not looking good. The legendary BillO and posse are having one more try in the morning and then may also leave unsatisfied. It has been a tough year, I feel especially fortunate to have lucked out as I did.
I am planning to be in Cairns on Saturday and I will spend a couple of days there, heading south again on Tuesday.
I have to be in Canungra by the 12th and will leave my caravan there whilst I head down to meet ScottB at a training camp starting on the 14th in the Hunter Valley, another 1000kms south. Then after a week it's back to Canungra where the Comps start. 

No Glory

This says it all. Not good flying weather for Hang Gliders...But if I had a Sapphire I could still go thermalling....

Area Forecasts: AREA 45

14:28 UTC, 02/10/2006 AMEND AREA FORECAST 021425 TO 030800 AREA 45
AMD OVERVIEW: EAST COAST RIDGE. ISOLATED SHOWERS EAST SEA, COAST AND ADJACENT RANGES.
 ISOLATED SHOWERS GULF SEA N OF YMTI TILL 24Z AND AFTER 07Z.
ISOLATED AREAS OF SMOKE BELOW 8000FT.
ISOLATED FOGS NEAR EAST COAST FROM 18Z TILL 21Z.
   SUBDIVISIONS: A: N OF 14S. B: S OF 14S. 
AMD WIND:    2000    5000    7000    10000        14000        18500
A: 110/20  120/25  120/35  VRB/15 PS08  340/15 PS03  310/15 MS04
B: 140/20  130/25  120/35  140/25 PS07  VRB/10 PS02  280/15 MS06
REMARK: WIND SW GUGUK YGTN BELOW 7000 070/20  AMD CLOUD: BKN ST 0800/2500 IN SHRA.
 SCT CU 1800/9000 SEA COAST RANGES, 4000/10000 INLAND.
SCT SC 4000/9000 NE YVLG TO KERIN, LOCALLY BKN GULF SEA TILL 24.
       WEATHER: SHRA, SMOKE.                                                                                 VISIBILITY: 3000M SHRA, 7KM IN SMOKE REDUCING TO 1000M IN THICK SMOKE.  FREEZING LEVEL: 15500FT.     ICING: NIL.          TURBULENCE: OCNL MOD BELOW 8000FT. MOD IN THERMALS TO 10000FT LAND DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS. 

Very Early Dry Glory

Today the Glory came through at a very inconsiderate time, about 3am. It was very dark and hard to see anything, but the gust fronts shook my caravan. The ground was bone dry again, the winds whipping up dust. We were hoping to go XC today, but we had 15knot NE on the ground and 30knot SE from 2000ft up to 10,000ft which would have made it hard not to get blown into tiger country. Another non-flying day, thank god for the internet.
It's not looking terribly promising for the next few days, we can only wait and hope.

Early Glory

Just a few minutes after my alarm woke me this morning I heard the trees start to rustle outside. Sure enough a powerful Glory and several secondaries rolled overhead, in the dark. Doh. Bill and I set up and went for a fly anyway, it was great to have 2 power harnesses up at the same time. The big surprise of the day was that the fun 160 left his big sting for dead, well at least as far as the climb rate was concerned anyway. His engine is running sweetly and sounds like it is making as much or more power than mine and we are both weigh about the same in our harness. You would think the big sting would be running rings around the fun 160 but not so. He has a folding prop and I have a fixed CF version, so that is one possibility, the other would be his thrust line I guess. Tomorrow we might swap Props and see if that makes a difference....

Simple Languange Translation

Perhaps English is not your first language, or perhaps like me you have family and their first language is German. For years I struggled with trying to write in German, its tricky because the grammar is so different and things are usually spelt in a different way. For several years Altavista has provided their babelfish service and that did a pretty good job of translating words, but when you gave it complex sentences things just got funny and difficult to understand.
Once again proving how cool they are, the mighty Google has almost perfected their translation service and its very good indeed.

Here you can read my blog in German!

http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Frolf.id.au&langpair=en%7Cde&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Countless other languages are available, just go to the Google Translation Page and tell it what you want.