Alltrikes

DIARY OF A POMMIE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

August 31
Just got transferred with work from Leeds UK to our new home in Karratha , Western Australia .
Now this is a town that knows how to live!
Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings.
I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday.
It was beautiful.
I've finally found my new home.
I love it here.

September 13
Really heating up now.
It got to 31 today.
No problem though.
Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car.
What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this.
I'm turning into a sun-worshipper - no blasted rain like back in Leeds !!

September 30
Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today.
Lots of palms and rocks.
No more mowing lawns for me!
Another scorcher today, but I love it here.
It's Paradise !

October 10
The temperature hasn't been below 35 all week.
How do people get used to this kind of heat?
At least today it's windy though.
Keeps the flies off a bit.
Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected.

October 15
Fell asleep by the pool yesterday.
Got third degree burns over 60% of my body.
Missed three days off work.
What a dumb thing to do..
Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!

October 20
- Didn't notice Kitty (our cat) sneaking into the car before I left for work this morning.
By the time I got back to the car after work, Kitty had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and stuck to the upholstery.
The car now smells like Whiskettes and cat shit.
I've learned my lesson though: no more pets in this heat.

October 25
- This wind is a bastard.
It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer.
And it's hot as hell!
The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged $200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from fucking Perth .....The wife & the kids are complaining.

October 30
- The temperature's up around 40 and the parts still haven't arrived for the fucking air conditioner.
House is an oven so we've all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now.
Bloody $600,000 house and we can't even go inside.
Why the hell did I ever come here?

November 4
Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost $1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 25 degrees, but the humidity makes it feel about 35.
Stupid repairman.
Fucking thief.

November 8
- If one more smart bastard says 'Hot enough for you today?'
I'm going to fucking throttle him.
Fucking heat!
By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat.
Fucking place is the end of the Earth.

November 9
- Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car.
I thought my fucking arse was on fire.
I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking arse.
Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried arse and baked cat.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

November 10
-- The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording..
Hot and sunny.
Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny.
It never fucking changes!
It's been too hot to do anything for 2 fucking months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week.
Fuck!

November 15
- Doesn't it ever rain in this damn fucking place?
Water restrictions will be next, so my $5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool.
The only things that thrive in this fucking hell-hole are the fucking flies.
You don't dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little bastards!

November 20
- Welcome to HELL!
It got to 45 fuckin' degrees today.
Now the air conditioner gone in my car.
The repair man came to fix it and said, 'Hot enough for you today?'
I wanted to shove the fucking car up his fucking arse.
Anyway, had to spend the $2,500 mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid prick.
Fucking Karratha!
What kind of sick, demented fucking idiot would want to live here!

December 1
- WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me!

Hi All, Have a read. It's just for fun.

As I was lying around, pondering the problems of the world, I realized that at my age I don't really give a rat's ass anymore.

.. If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal.

.. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, but is still fat.

.. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.
.. While a tortoise doesn't run and does mostly nothing, yet it lives for 150 years.

And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so.

Just grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to remember the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Now that I'm older here's what I've discovered:

1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.

2. My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran.

3. I finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart.

4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

5. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

6. If all is not lost, then where the heck is it ?

7. It was a whole lot easier to get older, than to get wiser.

8. Some days, you're the top dog; some days you're the hydrant.

9. I wish the buck really did stop here; I sure could use a few of them.

10. Kids in the back seat cause accidents.

11. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.

12. It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.

13. The world only beats a path to your door when you're in the bathroom.

14. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he'd have put them on my knees.

15. When I'm finally holding all the right cards, everyone wants to play chess.

16. It's not hard to meet expenses . . . they're everywhere.

17. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

18. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter . . .I go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what I'm "here after".

19. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

20. HAVE I SENT THIS MESSAGE TO YOU BEFORE?

I like this site and I think it will help a lot of people. However we must be very careful on give helpful tips. I have up to 25 students at a time. Some of them go on chat sites. This is also fine. But as a CFI this can be very distructive in the training process. I have a way which is tried and true. It works. I am sure that all the other CFI's have the same as I do. When you then get people giving advice with out knowing the reason behind the problem, it will sometimes make it worse for the student and CFI. The instructor may not be the best, but he or she is in your head, and they have a methoed. They know when you should go SOLO and how to make you a good safe pilot. So when you get a lot of information given to you on a Chat site maybe take it on board. But lissen to your CFI, he will know best.
For me, I don't like making training comments on chat sites for these very reason. All the best YFT

Ahoj Peter, my wife said you do not provoke because we come to Australia very quickly:) There is very foggy and wet here. Temperatura about 2°C.
Bye Joz

Hi Henry, I have a question for you. Do you set your Gopro on1080-30 or 960-48?

Hi Jagsy, Thanks for the comments on the U2's I have a photo of them a the old Laverton Airforce Base. I will post it.

YFT. I had an issue with Internet...sorry about that...Merry Christmas to you and family :)

Hi YFT. I can fly about 5 hours in my tank. I know some pilots of Slovenia, but only through web... Problem for me and other Slovakian pilots is other rules. We neednt radar transponder, rocket parachut rescue system, we neednt radio. Yes all of these things are very useable, but they are very expansive. I havent transponder and rescue system. For flying through other countries it is a problem. Not for Czech republic - there we are flying free.

Hi Ken, Riz, Joe, David, & Henry. I am glade you liked the video's if you ask David he will tell you about the Girl i had in the rear seat one day. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and if you are flying today have a good one.

Hi Henry & Joe, Thanks for your comments on "Almost Down" photo. The photograph is taken with a GoPro camera, so you know it's a very wide angle lens. The aircraft in the photo (which is No 2) is ten feet below me and two aircraft lengths behind me. bearing this in mind, there is NO wake turbulence at that level. When No 2's wheels touch down, he is no longer flying, and is also slowing down. When I touch down, I am ahead of him and my wake turbulence is diminishing. We each share the runway but each uses only half of it. This is the way I was trained, and I have been teaching this method for the last 40 years without incident. Safety is paramount , because formation flying is inherently dangerous, but a great discipline for improving your flying skills... but it must be done properly.

Something light hearted
The Difference Between Airplanes and Women:

An airplane will kill you quick . . . a woman takes her time.
Airplanes like to do it inverted.
Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.
An airplane does not get mad if you 'touch and go.'
An airplane does not object to a preflight inspection.
Airplanes come with manuals.
Airplanes have strict weight and balance limits.
You can fly an airplane any time of the month.
Airplanes don't have parents.
Airplanes don't whine unless something really is, Wrong.
Airplanes don't care about how many other airplanes you have flown.
When flying, you and your airplane both arrive at the same time.
Airplanes don't mind if you look at other airplanes, or if you buy airplane magazines.
If your airplane is too loose, you can tighten it.
It's always OK to use tie downs on your airplane.

Wow - that flight radar site is really Great. The only downside I see right off the bat is that the FAA here is putting a 5 minute delay on the returns. 5 min is a heck of a distance when the heavys are moving a few hundred mph or so! Looks like you can download mobile apps there too!

Hi All, has anyone had a look at http://www.flightradar24.com/ I use it over here all the time to see what traffic is coming my way. If you set it up just right you can also get the weather that is coming your way.

Hi Janet, I answer to your question about formation flying. I am one of the very few CFI's that have a full formation endorsment to teach formation flying and I don't mean close proximity flying. Our pilot once completing their formation endorsment can apply to join our formation team X-Ray Tango Flight and fly in shows. However many pilots who do this endorsment do it because it makes them a better pilot and raises their skill level and gives them a much higher situational awarness when flying. I am waiting for my pilot to arrive but todays weather forcast is not so good. this is our ARFOR for the day. (AMD OVERVIEW:
TROUGH NEAR YLOX/YKII 17Z, YROI/YMMB/YFLI 23Z, YHAY/YMNG/YORB/LOLLY
05Z. RAIN AREAS E OF YREN/CAMUS CONTRACT TO E OF 150E BY 05Z.
SCATTERED SHOWERS/ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR/E TROUGH TENDING TO
ISOLATED SHOWERS ON/S DIVIDE W OF TROUGH. THUNDERSTORMS TEND
OCCASIONAL LAND AFTER 01Z WITH ISOLATED HAIL AND POSSIBLY SEVERE.
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ALSO LAND ON/S DIVIDE, W OF TROUGH AFTER 02Z.
LOW CLOUD/HAZE/MIST AREAS SEA/COAST. LOW CLOUD WITH SHRA/TSRA, ALSO
WINDWARD SLOPES OR LAND W OF TROUGH TILL 02Z. SIGMETS FOR SEVERE
ICING AND TURBULENCE.

SUBDIVISIONS:
A: E OF TROUGH.
B: W OF TROUGH.

WIND:
2000 5000 7000 10000 14000 18500
A: 330/35 330/40 330/40 330/45 PS06 320/45 MS02 320/45 MS10
B: 260/25 270/30 270/30 280/35 PS04 280/40 MS03 270/40 MS12
REMARK: WIND FL185 IN B INCREASING 15/25KTS FAR W AFTER 03Z)
All the best
Peter

Hi YFT! I love reading your posts and viewing your pictures - awesome stuff. You obviously run a great flight training program there in Australia, just curious about the formation flying you do. Do students come to you specifically for formation training? Is this something you teach students for purposes of airshows, or do you see these skills being useful when generally flying with friends for fun? Looks like it must take a lot of concentration!

Hi all, Just got down and it's nearly last light, and it's raining, or trying to. We exposed our new Formation student, Ken to his first three aircraft formation this afternoon. The workload is much greater, and he would have liked extra eyes in the back of his head. The flight just completed consisted of VEE, Line Astern, and echelon left formation. The landing was a pitch and recover, (as you see when aircraft land on an aircraft carrier) with five seconds between touchdown and the next aircraft. Ken knew he had worked hard but completed the set task well,...and it all starts again at 0630 hours with a different three aircraft formation lesson.

Hi all, Just landed after another formation training flight. Our new formation student started training yesterday and he said That he felt "comfortable" being four wingspans away, but it took him nearly forty minutes to feel "comfortable" about being only one wingspan away. Ken, our student, is about to be exposed to a three aircraft formation, this afternoon. When he discovered this he said,"Crikey! Three aircraft?? I thought I was good with just one."

Hi All, About the droughts in Australia... This is a normal cycle. Our Anthem says it all... "a land of droughts and flooding rains". we used to live in Yea, a small town in central Victoria, and my wife, Anne gained access to all the weather records (kept by the postmasters since the 1800's). They showed a pretty regular cycle of drought followed by very wet years, with each cycle lasting approximately 11 years. The last drought was just that.

Hi All, Glad you like the photos. I'll post more soon. The aircraft we have now are Airborne XT-912 tundras with the new Arrow wings. We have numbers One, Two and Six of the new wings and our students also own a number of new Arrows. The Arrow is the best wing Airborne have produced to date. I have flown over two hundred hours in the new Arrows, in all weather conditions, until now. It has a great speed range, and handles turbulence much better than any trike wing that I have flown to date.

One of our students left the nest this morning and headed for home and his new aerodrome. Rob has his own aerodrome in a little town called Rochester Victoria Australia. check our website for more details. www.yarrawongaflighttraining.com.au

Hi XT Triker. Sorry but it took me a little wile to find out how to reply to you. I have 2 XT-912 Tundra Trikes and we are waiting for our new Tanarg with the Binoix 13 wing. It will arrive in Australia on the 23rd and we should have it a YFT on the 4th of Jan 2013.

Hey YFT, I love hearing stories from down under. Can't wait to hear what you've got