tell a Model A related story

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

continued from yesterday.


Ferrying to Malaysia or return wasn’t always easy. It’s in tropical weather. Darwin 12 degrees south and destination Sahabit is 4 degrees north. It’s an area that’s subjected to tropical thunderstorms. These fellows extend up to and sometimes higher than 35k feet. At times even airliners can’t outclimb them. I’d need to cruise at altitudes between sea level and 15k feet. Never enter them. I’d prefer to enter the ring with Mohamed Ali than do that. Our fuel load (1.9 ton, full fuel tanks plus full hopper) made the aeroplane very heavy and our engine full power output was only 740hp. It needed to be flown very delicately.


I remember one departure out of Darwin. For an hour and half I was at sea level and 117 miles (nautical) right of track and in heavy rain. Another time when tracking around thunderstorms I was getting burned in the face from both the sun and reflection off the white cloud. The owner of the operation told me I would be tanned on the other side of the face when I returned home. symmetrical.


Another time on approaching the international airport of Tawau I was over cloud. The controller asked if I was visual but no, I was on top (an official aeronautical term). I was instructed to hold altitude. A friendly Australian voice announced on the radio that the controller wouldn’t permit me to descend until I was visual. Well at that very moment I was visual and given clearance to descend. GPS showed the terrain below, rather crudely but clearly over water. It assured me I'd not find any rocks in the cloud. Where did this voice come from? That’s another story. But when I arrived he gave me 2 cans of cold coke from the airliner he was flying. From arriving tired I felt like I could walk on those clouds.


What would have been more welcome than aircon on ferry would have been auto pilot. This aeroplane, the popular Airtractor, was easy to fly and control loads were light. To achieve this the aeroplane was designed unstable. One had to pay attention at all times. There was no hands off times. No reading, no naps, no diversion of attention and nothing but water to see except the beauty of northern Sulawesi for a short period. I mentioned this earlier.


One time on departing Darwin I mishandled the fuel. I initially selected tanks when I should have selected hopper. After a lengthy climb I levelled out and fuel streamed from the top of the hopper because of a bad rubber seal. All over the windscreen and side windows. Of course I then selected hopper and in time as the fuel was used and the level lowered things returned to normal. It did smell badly of kerosene. Then came lunch. I had sandwiches prepared. Well they were kero impregnated. My next feed was that evening and I was ravenous I tell you.


The picture of Airtractor is from the internet.

How did you prep the hopper to hold fuel, and how much did it hold? Seems like a rather big risk for fuel contamination!

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

How did you prep the hopper to hold fuel, and how much did it hold? Seems like a rather big risk for fuel contamination!

No problems with carrying fuel in the hopper. Hoppers are made of fibreglass and are smooth and shiny especially after many thousands of tons of fertilizer had polished them. A hose out was all that was needed, just have a careful look inside before plumbing it. A filter was placed inline between the hopper and fuel pump but that was really more academic than useful.
The only thing that concerned me was accidental dumping (jettisoning) of fuel and I had the spread/dump lever wired so as this couldn't happen. I carried a pair of side cutters for in the event of engine failure I could cut this securing wire and dump.
It's good you ask questions Deluxe because it prompts my memory and ordinary events in my life are of interest to you and others. So thankyou. gary.

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

That reminds me of what my Dad used to tell about when the Model A came out (he was a teenager then). This may have been part of a popular song, even. Anyway, it's "Henry's made a lady out of Lizzie!".
Just checked the internet. Yep, it was a popular song. neat to listen to!

Hi Deluxe 40. I liked your comment on the music , "Henry's made a lady out of Lizzy". Next week I will give you some additional Model A or Vintage car music. There's some great songs from years ago.

[woofa.express]

Abuse of Authority.

Readers of this forum will have read my thoughts on police. No I don't dislike them, just those of them who flaunt or abuse their authority. I spoke about getting pulled over for reprimanding a speeding cop by wagging my index finger at her as she overtook me at high speed. At first I thought it was the Batmobile closing in as the rate of closure was so rapid her speed grossly exceeding the max legal limit. This is an abuse of authority. Anyway I was pulled over and written an infringement for having "put part of my body outside a moving motor car". I was told the ticket would arrive in the post within 7 days.Well it certainly did. $344 and loss of 3 points (one quarter of the 12 allocated).
I shan't let the policewoman get off free, I shall be going to court and giving a full accountof her behaviour and her pettiness.

As a policeman once told my friend Ken, “not all policemen in highway patrol are pigs but all the pigs in the police force are in highway patrol”. I have substituted the word pigs for a crude word that could have offended some readers.

[woofa.express]

Our son we call Moo is arriving from Honkers today and we are having a family get together. Patsy and I plus 13 kids and grandkids. Next story some days off. Enjoy the break away from gary.

[woofa.express]

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my friends who read my stories give me a ribbing about my spelling but I really have no interest in this technical correctness. I only wanted to be a pilit and I now is one.

[katy]

I used to know an old timer that said he used to be a pilit, he had worked at the stables and shoveled droppings. The boss said "pile it here",and "pile it there".

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by katy

I used to know an old timer that said he used to be a pilit, he had worked at the stables and shoveled droppings. The boss said "pile it here",and "pile it there".

Yeah Katy. I guess I’ve been a pilit since I was a kid. Grew up on a dairy and milked moos and then the left overs I'd pile it over the fence. This greeny stuff flowed into a drain which we crossed by walking over a plank. Well my little brother Michael was following dad down the paddock and went missing. Dad retraced his track and saw two little feet poking up, inverted, through this green stuff. Little brother had walked the plank. Well he was retrieved, hosed down and for 3 days he too had green droppings. Well growing up on a farm does develop ones antibodies so yes that is one of many advantages.

In addition to posting my stories on the Model A forum I email them to a select group of relatives and friends. Brother Michael is one, he will not remember this and if he hasn’t heard it before he can hear it now.

[woofa.express]

Following Deluxe 40’s comment on Music.

I like many olden day things. I particularly like old music. If you know your way around this old music you will discover that much of today’s modern music is old music rehashed but mostly trashed.
I have a small computer with music from the Model A’s era installed. This plays to a blue tooth speaker. If you have difficulty in understanding all this intricate and complex stuff I’ll tell you how its done. Go to a gathering of young people, that is kids aged 4 and upwards and ask for help. If they wear their cap back to front they are better . Rips and tears in their jeans, better still. Ear rings, even better again. Long hair and pimples is the best.They just enjoy showing up oldies and will take over what seems like a daunting and insurmountable task simply to demonstrate the skill they have and we don't. I take this electronic wizardry to vintage car and Model A meets. It’s great music and I’ll list just what songs I have recorded for these events. They are all found on the internet.


Yes Mr Deluxe 40, “Henry’s made a lady out of Lizzy”.
Billy Murray “get out and get under”
Billy Murray and Ada Jones “come Josephine in my flying machine”
Zinfield Folly’s. “Row row row”
Dixieland Crackerjacks “Alexanders Ragtime Band”


The last three have no association with the Model A however Ford did make a 3 engined aeroplane so I have included “come Josephine” in the selection. The last 2 have no relationship at all but are great music of that day. I am missing “the Charleston” but when I find a kid that meets the above criteria I shall have it installed.
All Billy Murray songs are worth a listen. Likewise Mapleleaf Rag too and we shall thank an American negro by the name of Scott Joplin for that. Joplin composed considerable jazz and Dixieland music and died a poor man with an incurable, at the time, disease.
My yard and surrounds have many high and mature eucalypt or gum trees. For this reason both radio and TV signals are weak so we get both off the internet. Our radio is small and is really an inexpensive computer. It receives something like 10,000 stations that broadcast through the internet. That gives us a huge selection of broadcasts of all genres including oldies from all around the world. And on the TV we see Youtube with much information on every topic on earth. I’d recommend them and they can be purchased on ebay. Illustrated in picture. AUD.

[woofa.express]

Differing properties of fuel.

For the first half of my flying life I flew only piston engine aeroplanes, starting with the garden variety of flat horizontally opposed engines then as aeroplanes got bigger, radials engines which delivered more power. I first flew a turbine in ’93. A big step forward and a very expensive step too. Every pilot loves turbines, they start easy, no back firing or under or over priming, not prone to failure and free of vibration. But radials rumble and do have such a pleasing sound.
Turbines are made to burn Avtur or Jet A1 which is really a marketing term for kerosene. All of these 3 have a specific gravity of about 8, which is, in metric terms 0.8 kilograms per litre plus or minus about 4 grams.
Some ag.operators burn diesel which has a higher specific gravity of 0.9 kilograms per litre, plus or minus about 5 gms.
In Malaysia we burned exclusively diesel. Diesel gives off horrid and unpleasant fumes. The burn is, I understand, about 33% efficient (about the same as piston diesel engines) so much of the exhaust is unburned fuel. It’s hard on the eyes and lungs and I sometimes wonder if I and other pilots will succumb to lung cancer. I should mention we climb in and out of the aeroplane many times each day with engine running. Kerosene too is unpleasant but not as bad as diesel.
For takeoff we apply full power which is determined by going to the max of permitable torque or max permitted temperature or max engine rpm, which ever gets to the red line first. On a good engine this is torque. Now this is the interesting aspect. Full power on diesel burns less volume than kerosene. Here’s why. Diesel is heavier thus has more energy.
The reason for diesel being harder on the eyes is said to be the sulphur content. And this depends of course the location it is sourced and refined. It is also more corrosive on the engine. I once heard it said that if kero is more than 6c per litre more expensive than diesel, burn diesel.
As I said pilots climb in and out of an aeroplane many times each day. It is practice to shut down if a stop is to exceed 20 minutes. Here is the reasoning. The substantial part of wearing of a turbine is from rapid temperature changes. On start the temp climbs from ambient to about 400c and on final light up to about 650c very rapidly, about 12 seconds. On shutdown from 550c to about 150 even more rapidly. A startup/shutdown is what is known as a cycle and this along with running time determines the time/life of an engine so shut downs are kept to a minimum.
Now this is of interest to motorists with diesel burning motor cars. Here in Australia one fuel company sells high performance diesel. It is lighter specific gravity and I guess it would contain some kero or lighter fuel. This gives more power or performance but is not really necessary because most diesels have sufficient of both. I believe it is simply a marketing tool. Fuel is extracted from the earth and performance fuel is an extraction from my wallet. Most Model A readers who read this forum are in America and pay considerably less for you fuel than us down. For this reason we down under are more conscientious of fuel costs.
I acknowledge that lighter fuels are added to diesel during the winter months so as to stop waxing. I might also mention that those aeroplane operators who burn diesel must, in winter, fill with kero on the last refuelling of the day because a cold morning start fails or "hangs up" on this heavier fuel.

If any reader wishes to add to this or correct my figuring I will not be offended.

[kooljunkguy]

Last year was my senior year in high school, and for home-coming I wanted to have a Model A in the parade.
My dad and I didn't have a Model A in running condition yet so our good friend Phil Mino let me borrow his for the parade and football game. It's a 1931 commercial wide-bed that he used as a daily runner.
I drove it to school early on the Friday morning of homecoming. I drove up to the practice field where all the floats were being decorated and all my friends from the marching band were eagerly waiting to decorate the float. We spent the entire day decorating that thing, we had a stand up sign on the bed and made it look like a car from the movie "Cars" and put a ranger hat made of cardboard to represent our mascot, the Redwood Ranger.
Then came the parade early in the afternoon. Students weren't allowed to drive the floats and I had to march with the band at the front of the parade anyway, so my dad came and was in charge of driving. We were so proud of our work and excited for everyone to see.
I left all up to him and I joined the band and the parade begun, it went around the school, down Main Street and back to school. As soon as the band stopped playing I ran to to see our float!
Down passed the floats one by one with no sign of our truck. I wondered if I had missed it because the parade was about to end? Then in the distance I hear distant "oogah"s from the horn of the truck as everyone was leaving... My dad had missed the parade!! All that work!!
He came putting by while everyone was leaving... I turned to my friends who were all rightfully glaring at me for enlisting an old car that was so slow it missed the parade...
What had actually happened was my dad choked it a little too much and flooded the engine, leaving him stranded as the parade was moving on until it started... He felt SOOO bad, and still does to this day when he tells people about it...

This year hopefully my family will get redemption now that I'm not a student I can drive a Model A for my sister who's a sophomore... hopefully I don't miss it!!!

[katy]

When I last worked in the Arctic, about 15-18 years ago, the Canadian military had stopped using diesel fuel. They used jet fuel for everything that didn't need gasoline, this included all the furnaces, diesel powered equipment and power plants. All the fuel came in on sealift and it made a lot of sense to bring in only one fuel instead of 2. The "diesel" engines ran fine on jet fuel with no modifications.

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by katy

When I last worked in the Arctic, about 15-18 years ago, the Canadian military had stopped using diesel fuel. They used jet fuel for everything that didn't need gasoline, this included all the furnaces, diesel powered equipment and power plants. All the fuel came in on sealift and it made a lot of sense to bring in only one fuel instead of 2. The "diesel" engines ran fine on jet fuel with no modifications.

So the extreme cold temps affected diesel piston engines too. Maybe it was waxing. I do know that years ago, in winter, diesel motor cars would hold less and less fuel because of a build up in wax in the fuel tank. This was overcome by making fuels lighter.
That was interesting Katy. cheers, gary

[woofa.express]

Perfect landing by student pilot on first instruction flight.

It was yesterday in Perth West Australia a flight instructor fainted and slumped over the student. The student was on his first flight and made a perfect landing. He needs complementing and so does the instructor who provided guidance on the radio.
Several pilots have asked me for instruction or conversion onto a tail wheeled aeroplane. One was a fellow who had towed gliders with a tail wheeled tug and was off to Spain to tow in a Piper Cub. I had the same type and he asked if he could fly with me. Of course he could. His name is Tim Cook. Well Tim and I flew to an agricultural airstrip and did several quick landings. I asked Tim to stop and climb out. Then I questioned him just who taught him to land like that. Tim said no one. He just figured that was the best way to make a good landing. Well he was the first pilot I ever flew with who did it properly and every time. First pilot that I hadn’t taught that is.
I ask all those who come to me just how they land an aeroplane. Because they have done it many times they would become indignant at being questioned. But they could not explain because they didn’t have a positive procedure. Most pilots let the aeroplane fly them around the sky and don’t have command of it at all times.
Well that student pilot in Perth did it well using the correct technique. The media complemented the air traffic control but it is the student pilot and instructor on the radio that deserves the accolade.
The picture below is the same type as the fellow in Perth landed. Picture from the internet.

[katy]

In the Arctic they use winter or Arctic grade diesel fuel to prevent gelling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_diesel_fuel

[woofa.express]

Today is trivia and futility day.

A Perth vegan massage therapist has taken her neighbour to court because she smells their barbecue cooking. The court declared it was not unreasonable for neighbour to cook on barbecue so the vegan massage therapist' is taking it to the supreme court.

The second case is of a skilled engineer who turned a single engine aeroplane to a twin engine aeroplane. Was this an exercise of futility? I couldn't figure out how it was done but after reading the explanation I see it was quite simple. Can you figure how it was done. Article sent to me by Katy.

[woofa.express]

And more trivia for aeroplane buffs.

Here is a ‘Fairy Gannet’, designed as a torpedo delivery aeroplane. The two propellers are contra rotating which would eliminate torque which requires considerable rudder to correct.
The Poms are excellent engineers but simplicity was never a word in their vocabulary. Imagine the additional burden with complexities and extra weight this aeroplane would carry.

[woofa.express]

Karl Hunt.

It was some years ago I was selling my excess equipment after the sale of my business. This included a Dromader aeroplane which I wrote about some time back. It is the only aeroplane I’ve flown that I have disliked. Heavy, unresponsive, oil guzzling, always over heating and boy could it burn fuel.
I had a call from Karl Hunt enquiring about it. I gave him, and honestly too, all the answers to every question he asked. I concluded by asking him who he was for I had never come across him. Those ag operators I didn’t know I had at least heard of. Well Karl tells me it was years ago that he was an ag pilot and for the last 40 he had flown for Malaysian and Cathay Pacific. Well that made me wonder why he’d want to go back to ag and he must be getting on the older side. Karl tells me that for many years he flew big aeroplanes that carried 500 people and he wants one with just one only seat to fly just himself alone. I was honest and told Karl they were infact quite horrible to fly and all the other unattractive aspects it provided the person who was unfortunate to fly it. That didn’t seem to deter him so I suggested he go and see Barry Foster who was an agent for these beasts and perhaps Barry would let him fly one just to access it. I suggested other planes that may interest him including a Stearman, Piper Pawnee, Cessna Agwagon, Airtractor and AgCat which were all much more agreeable. Well Karl went and flew a Dromader with Barry Foster and was quickly convinced they were a nightmare.
He and his attractive Chinese wife came to Finley where I was living at the time and spent a weekend with us. He convinced my son we call Moo to apply to Cathay Pacific, which he did and is now a captain. Michael has been with Cathay now 24 years and regrettably we lost contact with Karl. I have not forgotten Karl but neither have I forgotten the horrid and troublesome Dromader.
Picture from the internet.

[woofa.express]

help from readers please.
somehow I have requested my stories are sent to me via email. I have no need for this and wish to delete this service. I have gone to 'userCP' but don't know what to tick or untick. Could some helpful reader advise please. gary

[Bill's Auto Works]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

help from readers please.
somehow I have requested my stories are sent to me via email. I have no need for this and wish to delete this service. I have gone to 'userCP' but don't know what to tick or untick. Could some helpful reader advise please. gary

Hello Gary,

Click on the User CP, then you will see "Your Control Panel" on the left side. Go down to "Edit Options" click on it & then you will see a section called "Messaging & Notifications" Clikc on it & then go to Default Thread Sub. Mode. Click the down arrow & it will give you the choice you are looking for!

Mine is set on "Do Not Subscribe"

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...closed.614419/