Aircraft General Discussion

Curious minds will find facts and I am curious, I look for reasons and answers to things and have the ability to, 'Think'. This function seems to have been wiped out of our present day children who are not curious and only satisfied with presented media presentations and canned music. I often wonder why people spend vast sums of money and travel hundreds of miles to see some loud musician perform, pure adulation?

Unfortunately this crosses over in later life as they seek work, young man comes in looks at the instrument in pieces and walks out as he cannot comprehend the amount of hand and brain interface required. Another one knows all about football and is so boring it becomes impossible to work close to him, but his application to the work is very low. A 3 year apprenticeship and then he left and works on Southern rail on signalling because his Father got him a job! I fear for my life on Southern trains.

It is well known that children cannot relate food and stuff to the origin, as a child I would go around the farm and I saw all of rural/farm life. Pigs being born and bulls mating. Horses being shooed and watched the Blacksmith working metals and see how things are done in real life.

I also lived through the war, did not see my father for 7 years until it was over, endured rationing but knew where all the best apple trees were and could almost live off the land. Groped for flatfish in the river creeks, snared rabbits etc.

Now, they are cossetted and prevented from contact by H & S rules. They are taken for walks wearing bright yellow jackets because of 3rd party effect. ie Schools being sued etc. At 5 years of age I walked a mile to school and back 4 times a day and in country lanes I saw all the wild life and endured the seasonal weather and I learnt how to deal with life. I try hard to teach my Grand children about nature, naming trees and showing seeds and naming birds but they seem oblivious of all these things and will rather look on FB or some other strange interface item. Two at the moment are besotted with Love Island and their 'Cooings' over the contestants is sickening.

I do not know where this will lead as I am sure in a catastrophe they will not be able to provide for themselves or even know where to look for food etc. They would want to be herded and fed with hands out and provided with luxuries they now live with. I despair!

Clive,did I mention Bees, they will not come near them but want the honey !

Edited By Clive Hartland on 11/07/2017 09:01:58

Edited By Clive Hartland on 11/07/2017 09:02:38

Absolutely Clive.

I was not saying that ignorance was a good thing but just that it was understandable.

I think you have described the problem well. I don't see it as a new problem either. Human beings have been learning and specialising since we stood upright. In one sense individual specialisation has allowed society as a whole to develop to a far higher degree than common ability and knowledge would allow, The down side is that we become increasingly dependent on specialists (apart from our own particular specialisation) and because everyone wants to have an opinion on most things we form opinions regarding things of which we are not fully aware. In a sense ignorance proliferates as total knowledge increases purely because we have got more to be ingorant about and beacause there is so much we don't "have" to know.

As you say the only hope is curiosity which leads to the broadest possible education for the widest group of people.

regards Martin

PS thanks for reducing the general ignorance level regarding Bees, at least in our little community.

Two at the moment are besotted with Love Island

I call it shaggle rock.

Using human muppets instead of foam ones

Looks like it's going to be the next 'big brother'

(and No. I don't watch any of these things)

Edited By Ady1 on 11/07/2017 09:39:35

If you want to see how modern folks really cope there's a program called Bear Grylls "The Island"

He dumps them on a pacific island for up to 6 weeks and you watch some of them slowly starving to death while others get it together and struggle by

At times it's pretty difficult to guess who's going to make it and who isn't

In the last one with oldies up to 60+ and youngsters the superfit rugby guy had to get rescued because he was literally wasting away, no body fat all muscle was a serious handicap to survival in a starvation situation

(end of diversion topic, sorry)

Edited By Ady1 on 11/07/2017 10:10:40

Mods - any possibility of much of the above being moved to a relevant thread, please? It's undoubtedly jolly good, valid discussion but seems not to have much to do with aircraft, plank or fling wing!!

rgds

Bill

Maybe Philosophical General Discussion ?

:0)

Martin

I went fishing in the Murray River yesterday and whilst trying to concentrate on the trout rises I heard a familiar radial engine howl.

The local Fw 190 was being given a workout above Lake Hume (there is a photograph earlier in this thread).

Loops, slow rolls and stall turns, a full repertoire of aerobatics. What was surprising was the (perceived) 'slowness' of the aircraft during the manoeuvers.

I also wondered why so many aircraft practice aerobatics over the lake (a Yak is a regular visitor) and have concluded that CASA prefer such activities away from populated areas.

I did not catch any fish btw but hooked a few including a spectacular leap by a large rainbow as it threw the hook which was ok by my standards as getting out of the workshop and a bit of exercise was the plan.

Catching a fish is a bonus.

* Danny M *

As far as I'm aware its illegal to carry out aerobatics over built up area's, in the uk, but over the years there have been aircraft practicing over the village. I've rung local airfields with descriptions, colour and where possible the registration code to be told that the aircraft doesn't live here, on the odd occasion the cynic in me has seen the plane disapear as if he has just been told to move after ive made the call.

Martin P

The USAF at Mildenhall usually fly all their stuff round our village after they have been fixed to see if they work!

Martin

Martin

Aerobatics should only be carried out over designated low flying areas, they used to be strictly enforced as I remember from my Air Force days, great treat as ground crew to go for a jolly and be indulged with really hair raising aerobatics. It seems that nowadays with cutbacks in manpower etc. standards have become very sloppy, a sign of the unfortunate detiorioration of society's values and standards. It's not until there is a horrendous accident such as Shoreham or a civil disaster as in the Grenfell tower that the establishment is woken up and refocuses on what the focus really should be.

Dave

I should add that Aviation has been a major interest of mine as far back as I can remember but I do complain when somebody either forgets or ignores the rules.

Martin P

the sky's have been busy the last couple of days over my abode, in the mornings we've had a lone Chinook pass over West to East and then return late afternoon and today this afternoon we had an Apache come from the West heading I assume to its base, Wattisham in Suffolk, then this evening I spied three, I think, Chipmunks in line astern over towards Sandy.

Martin P

Graeme Frew(one of our war bird pilots/owners) is taking his Yak 3 to the Reno races, his number is 35 as a tribute to Burt Monroe(fastest Indian). This is the first Kiwi team to the Reno Air Races.

Ian S C

And I thought kiwis couldn't fly...

Judging by the sound we've had a Harvard flying around this morning. However, the sound of something more interesting got me out of the workshop this afternoon. I only saw it for a few seconds, at about a 1000ft and heading for Duxford, but I'm pretty sure it was a Hurricane.

The pilot must have been desperate, as it is as black as yer hat here, and we're surrounded by heavy showers this afternoon. Which is why I'm in the workshop and not flying the glider.

Andrew

Edit: Looks like the gliding club have put the toys away and headed for the club house.

Edited By Andrew Johnston on 22/07/2017 14:54:29

It's a triple woohoo moment! First, the gliding club 'phoned to say flying this afternoon is cancelled due to continual heavy showers. So no need to sit around at the club as a redundant tug pilot, equals workshop time. Second, they called literally a minute before I stepped out of the door, so no wasted journey. And third, since I was at home, I've just seen the B17 fly over, can't have been more than 600ft, superb.

Andrew

Edited By martin perman on 23/07/2017 13:49:22

East Fortune airshow was a washout on Saturday, some of the worst weather I've seen in 5 years of going to Dunbar every Saturday

Never heard a single engine all afternoon, that's how bad it was, I felt sorry for all the people who spend all year getting it organised

It's wall to wall blue sky today, 2 days later...

Just had two Bristol Mercury radials fly over in close formation, assume heading from Duxford to Midlands area, with the fuselage of a Blenheim attached. Sounded lovely at a couple of thousand feet.

Martin P

That's a nice machine martin, I see it was built in Canada as a Bolingbroke for the RCAF. It sounds ok on the vidio I found.

Ian S C