tell a Model A related story

[woofa.express]

I wrote this story for our local aviation followers. it is applicable to any petrol burning vehicle when being refuelled.

Static electricity. It is a hazard and it’s serious.

One evening in October 1979 we were alerted of a petrol fire at the Finley airstrip which is 10 miles north of us here at Tocumwal. It was 80 drums (44gal) of Avgas exploding and had some resemblance to the Melbourne Moomba festival. Fortunately no one was burned. Miraculous. Six drums went through the back wall of a hanger about 70 feet away. Ignited by static electricity. I’ve included a photo of the hanger and whilst it may not look too bad do keep in mind it has faded in the 46 years since it happened and when I shot this photo.

About 1971 a helicopter and drums of avgas were burned at Bedford Downs in the Kimberlies. So was the pilot and engineer who were refuelling it. Both severely. I made a visit to them in the Kununurra hospital. They had refuelled one side fuel tank of the helicopter and then passed the hose back over the Perspex bubble. Again static electricity.

I once saw a poster at a service station of a massive fire. They were asking customers to ground all fuel containers whilst filling them and that included plastic ones. The customer who caused this fire had filled a container while holding it in their hand off the ground. Static electricity again.

I also had an incident. I was refuelling my trustee ol Agcat from a 44 and I felt electricity run through my body. An employee had fitted a composite camloc coupling to the hand pump which was acting as an insulator and thus not earthing it as a metal one would. We fuelled for the remainder of the day using jumper leads to earth aeroplane and truck. It was also my practice to purchase the proper fuel hose that has a copper wire running through it and earth it to the pump camloc at the source end and the delivery camloc at the delivery end.

Now, there is a very important lesson to be learned from all those incidents and one in particular from the fire at Finley. When I was learning to fly my instructor told me never to park an aeroplane in a hanger with breaks on for a fireman will not know how to release them and pull an aeroplane clear. Well there were 3 aeroplanes in the Finley hanger at this time. Fortunately one firemen by the name of John Hand was the owner of one and John attended this fire and had the hanger keys in his pocket. I spoke to him today whilst preparing this paper. He told me there were three aeroplanes in the hanger and they were pulled out before six drums started to become airborne and penetrated the hanger rear wall. He said in addition to parking them breaks free, one should also leave the pull bar/handle attached to facilitate pulling them clear.
This is a picture of the back wall of the hanger now in December 23. You may think the scars are not that badly because it’s now 45 years since it happened and they have faded. What was new replacement sheets of iron does not show in this picture.

[woofa.express]

Has any reader not had FOOD POISONING? If not, read this.
Flying and Health.

Food poisoning in flight. It’s not nice.
Departing Tawau (Borneo) for Adelaide, Darwin being the first leg (or league ??; what ever). With a very heavy fuel load for the long flight and allowing for extra endurance with massive tropical thunderstorms enroute. It had to be a daylight only flight- 11 hours if I incurred no diversions or delays so one must leave at first light. There was no fresh food available prior to departure and no refrigeration in our hotel rooms so I purchased cooked chicken from the market place prior to departure. You, the reader know where this story is going don’t you?

Only a little over an hour into the flight I knew why my tummy was rumbling and it wasn’t goodo time. Shortly afterwards and it was very shortly afterwards was my very first chuck followed by a liquid shit in the plastic carry bag provided with the chicken. It was more vomit and more shit for another eight hours and this continued until I was about 90 minutes from Darwin and boy it was on the nose. I wasn’t able to competently able to fly. I couldn’t hold an altitude nor a heading. I really didn’t know which way to point the aeroplane and I really didn’t care, infact I wouldn’t have cared if I had have died. I am quite serious. And being an ag plane it was all hand flying; there is no auto pilot.
The only place to land was the Indonesian island of Celebes but on a previous occasion two of our crew had landed there waiting for weather to clear and were met by military youths with automatic guns who followed them demanding money.

After arrival at Darwin I found accommodation with great difficulty as the military had booked the town out for their takeover of East Timor. I found a restaurant for a meal and when the waitress presented it I nearly chucked across the table and I left. About 2 in the morning I took a cab to the hospital and asked for help. Following a lengthy delay I was given a few pills which they assured me would clear my problem. I asked if they should give me a drink of charcoal and they figured that would be a good idea. Following that drink I never shit for 6 days and that was as bad as the condition as the illness I have described.
I departed Darwin about midday feeling poorly and tired. Without planning Birdsville came up on the horizon so I stayed there. Still couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep so at 2.30 in the morning departed for my destination of Leeton. Arrived at the pre-organised time of 7 in the morning. My friend John Haynes picked me up to take me home to Tocumwal and although I had showered on the previous two nights and dressed in clean clothes both mornings he said he could smell me and it wasn’t like roses in the morning dew. That smell stuck with me for another two days. Whether flying or not, be cautious with what goes down your neck; the consequences can be quite horrible.

[31 Woody]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

It's been nearly 4 months since this article was written. I've gone back and re read it. What a wonderful upbringing Mr Knapp had. What a great article Mr Knapp.

LOL, well, hopefully Dad (Dknapp) doesn’t see my reply! Preston does want the Business Coupe and no, he won’t be putting a hot V-8 in it. The problem is, I sold a Mustang, but then ‘accidentally’ bought a 68B Cabriolet. We are back in garage peril. There are two neighbor widows on the block that we are going to see if there is storage. But, to tell a Model A story, here goes:

I was almost 5 years old. We lived in Washington DC and my Dad bought a 68C that was completely disassembled/in pieces just two weeks before we were to move from WashDC to Omaha Nebraska…in the middle of winter. Amazingly, nearly 2 weeks later there was a running Cabriolet in our driveway. The moving truck showed up and took most of our stuff. The rest was loaded into our pop-up camper and back of our Matador Wagon. As the Matador was packed with stuff, the front seat had to accommodate a driver and two small passengers. That meant that one of my two sisters or I would have to ride in the Cabriolet for segments of the trip to Nebraska.

A few miles into the trip, my Mom stopped the Matador and refused to go further. The tail was wagging the dog—too many heavy Model A parts were in the trailer. Dad shifted stuff around and we were on our way. Until, one of us kids threw up. All of us kids had the flu (or something like it)! So dealing with sick kids, on we went.

Somewhere in West Virginia (I think, I was only 5 years old)—the Model A decided it wanted some serious attention. The timing gear decided to go south. Dad used his Model A roster to find a friendly person to host us while he repaired it and got us moving again. Shortly later, we were on our way—kids trading spaces from warm Matador to questionable Model A. On we went westward. Via Wisconsin, we eventually arrived in Omaha. Model A friends took us in while Mom and Dad looked for a place to live.

The Cabriolet is still part of the family—Dad eventually restored it and my oldest sister and her husband have it. It would be interesting to hear her account as she is about 5 years older than me.

The funny part of this story for me is, over the years, Dad purchased many questionable cars with ‘issues’. He would try driving them home dying here, not starting there, etc; or having Mom tow him to pull start them. Dad certainly has a pattern. Many years later, I bought an old Mustang in Downey California and tried to drive it home with my wife and two young sons following along in a modern car. The car died, was repaired, died again, got repaired, then died again…I pulled off to the side of the road and contemplated the situation for a few minutes. I realized I had to break the cycle. I called a tow truck—it was 40 miles to the house, it was dark out, and the issue the car had wasn’t going to get fixed on the side of the road, so I had it towed to my office (12 miles). My wife and kids got home without hating me. The boys don’t even remember it and my wonderful wife hasn’t mentioned it, so I think I’m good. Now, I just rent a trailer! But some great memories with Dad watching him figure out how to get his car home or going!!!

[woofa.express]

The story by 31 Woody has bought back memories of my first Model A. Because the purchase price may not be a lot of money it doesn’t necesserily turn out the rebuild will end up inexpensive.

Ever since I was a kid I have wanted a Model A. Bit like a spoiled brat in a toy shop. I loved that horn of course and the owners seemed to have so much fun in them. As I grew older I envied many of them because they owned the motorcar I desired and because they had left school and I couldn’t wait to do so. They were owners of what was discarded family cars.
Some time ago I did a story about a farmer and his sons who also worked on the farm. They each had a Model A which I think were Tourers (phaetons) cut down to Utes (pickups). They had a total of 12 which they had collected at farm clearing sales knowing that one day these motor cars would be valuable; Fortunately they had shedded. I envied them and asked if they would sell me one. They declined which was just as well because I had no money anyway.
Years later I saw a tourer advertised in a city newspaper and it happened to be less than 20 miles from my home. A paddock basher in exceedingly poor condition but I just had to have it.
I had the running gear restored and it was done well but the body only just. I chose the colour “Arabian sands light” which as readers would know is a type of military green and the motorcar became known as “Olive”. The total cost 35k (AUD). The mechanic who did the running gear pointed out to me the cheapest vintage to purchase had already being restored. Yes, the market value of Olive was about half of what the restoration had cost.
Yes, I think I should dig that story up from the archives, I think many of you would enjoy reading it. Picture on left is as I purchased it and on the right is how it appeared in the Victorian (state) Model A calendar 2022.

[Jim Brierley]

My Dad worked for Bach Aircraft in 1928, they built tri-motors that, according to Dad, were better than the Fords. They did have more power and carried more people, but were fabric covered. One of the tri-motors was in for some upgrades, and an electrician was doing some wiring on one of the wings and laid a hot soldering iron on the wing. Well, needless to say, the wing caught fire and soon everything else was also on fire. Dad said the fuel barrels were exploding and shooting up into the air! FYI, that was the end of Bach Aircraft! This took place at the Santa Monica, CA airport.
Not static electricity, but just as dangerous.

[woofa.express]

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That was interesting Jim. I had never heard of Bach Aircraft. There are many things about early aeroplanes I had not known until recently and I still don’t know and probably never likely to. I never had time for research earlier on nor had the internet existed.
So I’ve gone to the internet and found Bach not only made a trimotor but also a four engine 28 seater aeroplane. The Trimotor was introduced by Anthony Fokker who manufactured, in New Jersey, the aeroplanes that Lindberg made his famous Atlantic crossing and Kingsford-Smith made his famous but less known (except Australia) Pacific crossing followed by a global circumnavigation. Fokker’s contribution to aviation was considerable and resulted in the well known and popular North American Mustang or P51. Maybe I should do a story on that but in the interim here below is a couple of drawings of Bach aeroplanes. The four engine one is quite peculiar in so far as it had the two central engines mounted vertically.

[Jim Brierley]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

That was interesting Jim. I had never heard of Bach Aircraft. There are many things about early aeroplanes I had not known until recently and I still don’t know and probably never likely to. I never had time for research earlier on nor had the internet existed.
So I’ve gone to the internet and found Bach not only made a trimotor but also a four engine 28 seater aeroplane. The Trimotor was introduced by Anthony Fokker who manufactured, in New Jersey, the aeroplanes that Lindberg made his famous Atlantic crossing and Kingsford-Smith made his famous but less known (except Australia) Pacific crossing followed by a global circumnavigation. Fokker’s contribution to aviation was considerable and resulted in the well known and popular North American Mustang or P51. Maybe I should do a story on that but in the interim here below is a couple of drawings of Bach aeroplanes. The four engine one is quite peculiar in so far as it had the two central engines mounted vertically.

That is interesting! The tri-motor's center engine had an inertial starter, you wound up a big spring, and when the pilot released that spring, it rotated the engine and it started! The crank snout was visible on the out-side the engine.

[woofa.express]

It’s quite okay to call me Mr Simplicity.
Chapter 1.
It was in 1986 Rutan and Yeager flew non-stop around the world. This is a story about my endeavour to upgrade the Nav gear in my C180. I went to Moorabbin airport and spoke to Mr Radio: Les Colman. I asked for some of that new stuff that navigates from the satellites. Mr Colman said I must be dreaming. Had I read too many flash Gordon comics. I told him I knew the boats used it. He pointed to a large photo on his wall and pointed out to me he was greeting Rutan and Yeager on their arrival back in Edwards Airforce Base. Gary, that’s how recent I’ve been to the U.S. so I’m current on the latest systems.
Well I had Mr Coleman install and new VHF/COM and International DME. That was an expensive exercise.
It was only what seemed like about 4 months later a new piece of nav equipment becomes available. What was it? A GPS of course. Bugger. I had just installed an expensive international DME so I removed it and advertised it for sale. I was nearly over run with enquiry. Now here comes the amazing point. Two aeroplane owners asked if it had a fluro display and when I answered yes they said it would look good on their panel. It’s usefulness didn’t seem to be a consideration.
I would prefer a nice painting or a calendar on my instrument panel. Remember simplicity is my preference.
I just found a quote that appeals to me. It seems like Henry Ford agrees with me. It’s below.
"Primitive technology is not a design flaw"

[woofa.express]

GPS and safety.

So I had a PS fitted. It was marvellous. I’d set it up for a flight from Finley to Tocumwal even though it was only 10 miles and I could see the destination immediately on becoming airborne. It was most useful for long flights and I had the opinion it would contribute to safely as one could pay attention to flying and not checking maps or messing with slide rules. We all agreed it was novel. But some of us didn’t know when to leave it alone.
A very experienced fellow fiddled with it after spreading a load of fertilizer, he was enroute back to the strip for his next load. With his eyes on the dash and not where he was going he flew into a pine plantation. He pulled out but not okay, the leading edges were flattened so badly engineers and other pilots expressed surprise the aeroplane could still fly. Prop strike also necessitated a costly engine rebuild as well. The fellow had passed 30k hours flying time!
Another experienced agricultural pilot fiddled with his GPS on takeoff and ran off the airstrip badly damaging his aeroplane. He too had sufficient experience to have known better.
An airline pilot, closely related to me, started to set the GPS immediately on becoming airborne and not watching what he should have been watching stalled it into the ground. The Flying Doctor retrieved the whole four of them and flew them to hospital.
I would well expect there are many more. Remember a few stories back I said I didn’t like our new motorcar because the electronic dash took too much attention and most of the information and directions it gave was trivia? One must even look at the steering wheel to locate and press the cruise control. To take ones eyes off the road and other traffic increases risk and that’s what I don’t like about it.

The next story is about GPS tracking in agricultural aeroplanes.

[falconedsel]

I've enjoyed reading these stories.

[woofa.express]

Again here is a story I wrote for our local flying club. I know there are both professional and recreational pilots who read this so thus this article. Two more short ones will follow, one of a strange and even funny incident that happened to another pilot and the second on an explanation of bottle trees and baobab trees which I am sure you all will find almost unbelievable. Now to the first Taroom incident.

The Taroom Incident.

I had returned to my regular job on the Darling Downs to fly my regular aeroplane, a Cessna Agwagon. This was following 3 months abroad on a different type.
On the day of this incident I was spraying a crops at Taroom, it was morning and the day was starting to warm so I pulled the fresh air vent. It made little difference so I pulled it right out. It didn’t take but a few seconds for the engine to quit. I was on the upwind side of the paddock.
I pulled up and was successful in doing a 180 degree turn and the moderate headwind repositioned me back in the paddock I was spraying. Lucky. I landed down the slope on moderately wet ground and between the bottle trees, still on my wheels and still had a wing on each side of the fuselage. Lucky again.
On surveying the situation this is what I found. The fresh air vent control was a Bowden cable with black knob and the fuel shut off was a Bowden cable with black knob 2 inches to the left of the fresh air control knob. When you are so close to the ground you feel for the fresh air control and other controls, you don’t take your eyes off what’s coming up in front.
On the same airstrip and aeroplane (another day) I fuelled from drums and did a fuel drain. The drain point was well below the fuel tank even below the engine. No water. I cranked, taxied and commenced takeoff then the engine quit because of water contamination. A considerable amount of liquid had to flow down the fuel line before contamination reached the drain tap.
What can be learned from this incident. For the pilots- very little. For the aeroplane designers- think about safety before company opportunity.

[woofa.express]

Read the previous story before this one, number 1391.

The Bottle tree and the Boab tree.
In a previous story I described fuel starvation at Taroom Queensland) and a forced landing down hill between the bottle trees. This story is to describe a bottle tree, picture on the left. it’s relative in the Kimberlies in North West Australia, centre, and in South Africa on the right where they are known as the Boab or Boabab tree.
The centre tree is an icon in Derby W.A. and is known as the jail tree. It is said some 18 prisoners could be held in it. it would have been most uncomfortable in that hot tropical climate.
Surprisingly they can be dug out (excavator) and transplanted. I saw two in the driveway of my old Kununurra house and I know one was transplanted to Kings Park in Perth some 1,900 miles south.

[woofa.express]

Catch me if you can.

The town north of Taroom is Theodore and Barry based his operation here for the cotton season. Before daylight Barry climbed onboard and cranked his Agwagon then climbed out to give time for his engine and oil to warm. But as he climbed out he slipped and inadvertently kicked the throttle. Of course it was no longer in idle but delivering considerable power. Now Barry was on the ground and unable retrieve the situation; it was hopeless. Well the right hand break failed and aeroplane pivoted on left wheel which remained locked and so went around in circles and more circles and even more circles. No matter how Barry tried it was hopeless and so circle work continued.
Well the cops arrived, then the ambulance and so many lookers Barry reckoned the whole town was there. The aeroplane continued its circle work until it ran out of gas in an hour and forty minutes. Apparently the damage was light and on the right wing tip because it smacked a brigalow bush each time it rotated.

So what is brigalow. It looks a little like eucalypt but is not. Bluish in colour and it is a legume. Traditinly it was pulled but regrew. In my time in Queensland we sprayed it with 245T with diesel as the carrier. About a 70% kill.. A dirty and job and no pilot liked doing it. Today it is destroyed with a big dozer pulling a below ground blade and control is 100%.
Regrowth is pictured and this is what the right wing brushed each turn.

[woofa.express]

I believe Albert was correct.

It’s a relatively new phenomena and it’s got many sucked in and enslaved. ? No, it’s not Taylor Swift, It’s the mobile phone, text, skype, drop box, twitter and face book. Probably more that I don’t know of and not terribly interested in finding out.
A request was made to me by a local service club to man the gate at a local event. After I didn’t turn up I was told that I had been advised by text to my mobile phone.
There was surprise when I replied and said I didn’t use text infact I don’t use my mobile phone unless specifically requested. I advised them that I am not a modern electronic using person and had no intention of becoming one. I went on to say my motorcar had what must have been 150 instructions and reports on the dash, I didn’t know what most of them meant and no intention of finding out. I much preferred my ’93 Landcruiser which advises speed, fuel capacity, oil pressure and battery voltage.
I am much more interested in my agapanthus than becoming a slave to electronics. I need comment no further but will quote Einstein who puts it much more eloquently than I could.

Albert Einstein said technology would one day “surpass our human interaction” and create “a generation of idiots”.

[Jim Brierley]

Woofa, unlike you, I am very up to date on electronic gadgets. I have a flip phone, and I turn it on when I leave the house, well, almost every time, which is maybe once a week? I can make and receive calls, I even text occasionally, and can take photos but can't send them anywhere. If someone sends me a photo, I can't make it out as it is so small. Modernization is great, maybe some day I'll update my brain to take advantage of it, or maybe not!

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by Jim Brierley

Woofa, unlike you, I am very up to date on electronic gadgets. I have a flip phone, and I turn it on when I leave the house, well, almost every time, which is maybe once a week? I can make and receive calls, I even text occasionally, and can take photos but can't send them anywhere. If someone sends me a photo, I can't make it out as it is so small. Modernization is great, maybe some day I'll update my brain to take advantage of it, or maybe not!

You be careful Jim. You are knee deep in the water (at the beach) and the rip may drag you out to the deep which will be well over your head. Swim between the flags where the life guard is able to retrieve you.

[Jim Brierley]

Will do Woofa! Did I tell you that when I got a new card from my credit union, I can now use the ATM! A young friend of mine told me that I am now just like a teenager! ... I don't believe that either!

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by Jim Brierley

Will do Woofa! Did I tell you that when I got a new card from my credit union, I can now use the ATM! A young friend of mine told me that I am now just like a teenager! ... I don't believe that either!

And a word of caution for you Jim. You are now in SHARK INFESTERED WATER.

[woofa.express]

Phenomena Taylor Swift. 2424 Australian Tour.

On her recent Australian tour which ended only in the last few days Ms Swift performed for 7 shows in Australia, had an audience total of some 640,500 with gate takings of 110 million of which her take home pay was 10million (information sourced from the internet). This seems to be chicken feed comparing it to her ERAS tour of 152 shows across 5 continents in 2023 which grossed in excess of 1 billion. I read she has the capacity to pay off Americas debt but that may well have been said with “tongue in cheek”.
This editor has no resentment or envy of her wealth.
I asked my 20yo granddaughter Millie about Ms Swift and was told she was versatile. She composes, has a good voice and plays several instruments. She also said she was a “brand”. Millie had neutral feelings towards her and didn’t go to any of her shows.

[woofa.express]

Tocumwal Flyers and Friends. Complementary subscription.

I am pleased with myself that the main thread I contribute to in this publication, Model A Related Stories, including input from other contributors has passed 300K. Why am I pleased?, because I am moderately dyslexic. At school I couldn’t make a pass of 30% in English. To write the stories that you read takes me 2 or 3 days sometimes longer, but I am now getting faster. To finish a story I remove unrelated material and try to use simple but precise words. And as I say in my profile I never realised I had a adventurous, interesting, and rewarding job until I started writing. I guess I had never thought about it before.
I also write for the local flying club and my own publication of people and things and history of the local aerodrome which was a war time build involving some 7,000 American servicemen. Why am I telling you all this stuff? I am inviting you to subscribe. Cost nil, it is email delivered. You will find some interesting history and happenings but I acknowledge because you won’t know the “personal and professional subjects” some stories will not be of great interest. I would send 1 a week until a backlog is cleared (6 or 8 copies) then it is a monthly periodically.
If any of you wish to receive it send me an email at [email protected]
And if you wish you can cancel as quick as you can subscribe.