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Old 11-03-2018, 03:39 PM   #321
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Continuing my farmer and flyer series.

Bob Watters.

Bob farms in Northern Victoria and was one of the four whom I invited for the luncheon (mentioned in the Rick story yesterday). He and his attractive wife Dawn. A farm leader and has sat on many government advisory panels including the one that made recommendations on genetically modified foodstuffs - the green leftie radicals had been opposing.
One extremely wet winter Bob asked I spread fertilizer on his Canola crop. I sort of scoffed as I asked him just where would I fly from. “oh from my Canola crop”he responded. I sort of scoffed yet again. Well you think it will be soft Gary?. Well yes of course Bob.
Bob said if I would arrive he would drive his heavy truck through the canola. I agreed but was most sceptical. Well I arrived and Bob did just what he said. Drove his truck through the crop. I landed, gingerly I might add. The crop surface was ashard as it could be. He had an excellent crop and he hadn’t cultivated for several years. Bob has introduced a new management technique to farming. Minimum tillage.
Hats off to you and your farm practices Bob.
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Old 11-04-2018, 12:50 PM   #322
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The names are phoney.
Only ever known hard work.


My client and friend Mike was perhaps the hardest working bloke I have ever known. In the days when pilots used markers who waved flags, Mike marked in the centre of the paddock and counted the rows to measure the distance to the next swath. I’d find him asleep as I flew over him. The noisy radial engine woke him and he moved to the next mark. Poor Mike was always exhausted.
He was adventurous in farming but his problem was he took on too much. He had sheep, grew tomatoes and rice. The more he expanded the more capital he needed and the more crop he’d need to grow until it couldn’t be reconciled. Mike went bust. He had two children involved and very seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents (one a school bus), both passengers. It seemed like he and his wife Lucy could never get a winner. They took it all on the chin, stood up again and worked - every time. Today they are in business serving a farming community and they, the farming community, admire them both.
Mike told another farmer it matters not how fast one travels if one is on the wrong road.
Mike worked for me when he left the farm. Once he came across another of my loading trucks which had lost the drive shaft universal. He walked back and found all but one component, one being up a small tree, assembled it and sent the driver “Humpty” on his way. Initiative, improvising, honesty and work are just some of his personal characteristics.
I lift my hat to both you Mike and Lucy.
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Old 11-04-2018, 01:13 PM   #323
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

History of some of my former employees.

Two had gone broke, they were the most honest, sincere and hard working people. Being too ambitious and poor management was part to blame. Drought didn’t help one.

One had gone broke. Again the most decent, honest and hard working fellow. He had never told a lie in his life. A big national retailer arrived in competition to his small business. Today he is 90 and still works. He is a skilled engineer.

One went broke because he is a poor manager. He borrowed from the bank to pay back his debts and it took years for him to repay the bank. Again a decent fellow.

The four remain my good friends today.

One went broke because he was simply a messer. A personable bloke who was given his farm by his parents. Worked hard but just couldn’t manage. Can’t be friends because he has passed.

Going broke should not be a disincentive to hire. How they manage after defines their character.
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Old 11-04-2018, 01:16 PM   #324
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Two stories today. See below.
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Old 11-05-2018, 02:50 PM   #325
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Pilots.

This story has been difficult. I have started it and then deleted it several times. I could speak of pilots I admire and the very few I don’t. We are a diverse group of people but have several things in common. An industry of individuals who enjoy great camaraderie, have strong character and sometimes strong personalities. We are all heritosexual.
Of those who choose to become an ag pilot, one third turn out well. Very skilled and very professional. One third are okay and one third warm the seat on which they sit. Blokes are more suited but the girls who make it are equally skilled as the blokes. Almost the entirety of ag pilots I know have come off farms but a few have a parent who is or was an ag pilot. And I guess there are exceptions to my thoughts.
It is a rewarding job because at the end of the day or end or the season one can look back and feel satisfied for having achieved and contributed.
However it is a dangerous job and I have had friends and workmates die on the job. Earlier many topdressing pilots were caught in blind gullies and couldn’t out climb the terrain or turn around because aeroplanes were under powered. Many have been caught in power wires. Just a few with a component failure. Some failed to become airborne and some to climb away. And I guess some other reasons too. My parents weren’t delighted I choose this field of flying and lived out their lives worrying about me. I was pleased that my two sons choose to fly airliners.
I have had greater difficulty writing this story than any other. It is not a great story, sorry.
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Old 11-06-2018, 12:56 PM   #326
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Look, it’s a Model A, No is a T, No it’s a Buick.

My friend was asking about my A and the conversation was overheard by another fellow whose family I have had some contact with. This fellow and I’ll call him Steptoe, said he had a Model A at his place and asked if I could make use of it otherwise it was going to the tip.
I called my friend Dave who is a good Model A rebuilder as compared to myself who is mechanically incompetent. Dave called Steptoe who told him it could even be a Model T. It was valuable Steptoe said, because many components could be reused. Yes, Steptoe invited him to inspect and discuss it’s usefulness. I think payment had entered his mind. Dave asked if he could run it up and onto a long trailer but no, so Dave turned up with a box trailer and we drove to the site.
It was a chassis with what was once an engine still mounted and was standing on 4 steel farm implement wheels. In another location some body scraps. No, it wasn’t an A, nor was it a T but it was a Buick, a 1926 model.
The only useful component it presented, and only to a Buick rebuilder, would have been the chassis. Nothing else.

Don’t some people have an inflated idea of what is valuable and useful.
Things were worse for Dave than what I’ve described. You see Australia’s big horse race, the Melbourne Cub ( in the state of Victoria), is held on the first Tuesday in November. In addition to a public holiday on Tuesday, Monday is also a public holiday which gives everyone a long weekend and today is Monday. Dave drove to the Victorian regional city of Shepparton to purchase some motor car components and everything was closed. This proceeded the drive to Steptoe’s to find the A was a heap of worthless junk.
However it was a nice spring day for a drive. He and his friend John had lunch with myself and my wife Patsy and we enjoyed that. I do hope Dave and John enjoyed it too. I did learn something. From Dave that is. How to be diplomatic, it was never one of my strengths.
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Old 11-07-2018, 12:58 PM   #327
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Runaway Trains.

In Central Queensland farmers grow thousands of acres of cotton and much is sprayed at night. Spray planes are fitted with retractable night lights, on each wing towards the tip. If I recall correctly they are about 1000w each. Awfully powerful I remember.
There are some awful long coal trains in Central Queensland pulled by multiple locomotives.
Well one pilot by the name of Rob was a wag. One night, returning to base, he descended in the darkness to the railway line, flying towards an oncoming train. Then he turned on only one spray light. Both drivers left the engine.
Yes, that got Rob into alot of trouble. I don’t know just how much because I hadn’t seen Rob for years and sadly won’t be seeing him ever again.
I decided I wanted to be a pilot since about the age of 6. Prior to that I wanted to be an engine driver (locomotive) and still have a liking to them. I have occasionally had a ride with the driver and enjoyed that. On both occasions I have observed and enquired about a large brass knob they pushed very frequently. It’s called “an operator present switch” and sometimes a dead man’s switch. It advises the engine the driver is still with it. Failure to push brings the train to a stop. I have just assumed that is how the big coal train was brought under control.
A news item this week contradicts that. An iron ore train in the Pilbara, West Australia, ran away. Driver left the stationary engine to check a carriage and the train rolled off without him onboard. It ran 90km at a speed of up to110 kph where it was intentionally derailed from a control room in Perth (WA). The train was pulling 268 carriages, 3km in length. -1km is 0.6 statue miles. It is reported the cost is going to run at $55 million each day.
What a mess of loco and carriages and two kilometres of line. Twisted steel and ironore every where. I betcha the miner, BHP, will have auto stoppers fitted to their locos now.
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Old 11-08-2018, 11:04 AM   #328
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

It's in the way it is said.

A story about my candid or undiplomatic demeanour as compared to that of my loader driver’s.
In the early 80’s I spread a rather large paddock with urea. A conola crop. Driving my loader was a bloke by the name ofJohn McNaught. John worked hard loading 50kg bags into the bucket then the aeroplane hopper. The turn around times were quick. John fairly sweated and never kept me waiting.
A semi arrived with another 35 ton and the driver was impatient to unload. He told me so. I responded by saying he wouldn’t be getting away before 4 in the afternoon. Well that made him most unhappy. He approached John and John told him “we’ll do our very best”. Well that made him happy. Not happy enough to help John lift these bags, but he was happy.
He departed after 4 that afternoon, but was happy.
Today Gary is just an old cropduster and John owns 35 trucks, all B doubles.
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Old 11-09-2018, 12:45 PM   #329
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Good Advise from Jim Watt.

When I was younger and in business I attended and enjoyed the annual conference of our national ag operators association. An informative and social event and sort of an annual holiday which you Americans would call an annual vacation. Holiday is a word derived when all would have time off for a holy day. A biblical word.
One frequent speaker at these conferences was a Bayer Chemicals rep by the name of Jim Watt. One year he spoke of litigation. He had a skit projected on a screen of a dispute between a pilot and farmer. The farmer pulling a cow by the horns and the pilot by the tail. Opposing each other. Each wanting the beast. Sitting about midway, on a stool with a bucket between his knees was a bloke in a black gown and white wig on his head and milking like mad. He was of course a lawyer.
Jim Watt gave us all some advise. Three things he said, you all should know about litigation. 1.Avoid it. 2.Avoid it. 3.Avoid it. I never forgot those words.
Years later I carried forward a herbicide that damaged a canola crop. Wiped it out. Farmer came to town to discuss it. I admitted error, accepted responsibility and asked him not to see a lawyer. I sent him home with a 5K deposit and later payed him an additional 27K. There's no insurance for negligence. The cost would have been considerably more had I not taken advice. It would have been more too had I not shown good will for he responded by replanted with a short season cereal crop which offset the loss somewhat.
I continued to do the farmers aerial work and he and I remain good friends. What was expensive enough would have been more so without Jim Watt’s wise council. Thankyou Jim.
Different skit, same principle.
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Old 11-10-2018, 02:51 PM   #330
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Wastage and Stupidity ?

I always said it is a shame communism ended in the west because radicals had to find another cause, any cause they did not care which one. Many found conservation and act stupidly. Others object to genetic modification of plants, many found aspects of global warming and immigration support to name just some. Uni professors who call themselves elites (what a narcissistic self opinionated title) found social justice causes of any kind. Without a cause their authority was waning. These radicals have become costly,irritating and a nuisance in society.
After saying that I think we all are conservative without being stupid about it and we all deplore wastage.
I made the following observation on a flight from Malaysia to Darwin- Australia. There were more than 1000 Indonesian fishing boats operating in the Timor Sea nor nor west of Darwin. Operating in twos and threes they had these very big fish tethered, up to 6. I couldn’t quite figure why.
After landing Darwin and completing all the immigration and customs documentation and refuelling the aeroplane I took a cab to town. I was telling the driver of the sighting. He said he had been a fisherman and said the big fish were sharks. The fishermen would cut the fins off the beasts (for an Asian delicacy, shark fin soup) and discard the bodies. Now I deplore that, the wastage that is. Why don’t they take the bodies as well. Indonesians I’m sure would use the meat.
Don’t you agree? Your opinion is welcomed.




Web results

Shark Fin Soup

Millions of sharks around the world suffer a prolonged and painful death for a mere bowl of soupshark fin soup. With the fins being the only 'valuable' parts of their bodies, fishermen are often known to cut off sharks' fins while the animals are still alive and then dump their bodies overboard.









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Old 11-11-2018, 01:52 PM   #331
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Farmers. Love them, but some do mess up.

My job was to spray crop, sow crop, or fertilize crop. Sometimes spread rodenticide. Farmers used to stand at each end of the paddock and wave a flag (now it’s all GPS marking). We would fly a straight line between both. It was great to work with farmers marking (Australian term) or flagging (American term). Well most of the time it was. There were occasional times when some of them frustrated me.
Here are two incidences that I well recall.
Les here at Tocumwal. Can’t mention his surname simply because I don’t remember it. Les had a small rice paddy to spray, it ran N-S. Les stood on the SW corner to mark and the other marker diagonally opposite on the NE corner. If I had have sprayed it would be grossly overdosed in the center and be underdosed everywhere else. The tracking would have resembled the union jack. Well I chose to run from the one marker on the NE side and eye-balled the square bank on the east to remain somewhat parallel. Well Les got angrier and angrier, lost his temper and stomped off because I wouldn’t mark off him too. He wasn’t happy either when I caught up with him later and explained why. He just couldn’t see it.

Boree Creekis a Fertile Farming Area South of the Murrumbidgee River. Two brothers, both new to farming had bought a farm there. Aerial work was new to them and they were to spray cereal for weeds. Both were briefed well but messed it up. Two loads only. A simple rectangle paddock. After the first load one marker was about half way through the paddock, just where he should have been and the other had got nearly to the end, just where we were to finish the second load. We had this big angle. When I returned to pick up the second load I sent a farmer to help the fellow. When he got there he found them parallel. A big triangle was thus formed and was sprayed a second time. Yes they did comprehend my explanation that followed the job.

So with GPS now we no longer get these sort of frustrations. The job order is computer generated so we no longer have contact with the farmer. The friendships that were formed, the camaraderie, the morning teas and lunches the girls brought for us are now all things of the past. I miss this. It’s become a bit of a lonely job. And we need to take our own lunch to work!
The picture is self spraying sorghum on the Darling Downs about '76. Insecticide for midge at 6oz per acre. Ultra Low Volume (ULV). Such a low dose you cannot see it. You can see the marker - farmer in the bottom rhs of the picture. He's small.

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Old 11-12-2018, 02:38 PM   #332
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Advise from Russ.

When I bought an aeroplane with a PT6 turbine engine, myself and 2 others attended a gas turbine engine course in Sydney. We stayed with a friend, Russ, who had flown big airliners most of his working life. Russ questioned why we attended such a course, for he could have told us how they worked thus saving us both the time and money. The air entered the front he said, turned a big wheel and blew out the rear.
Well poor old Russ could not have been more wrong. The PT6 the air enters the rear, turns a big wheel and exits the front. Go to the bottom of the class Russ.
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Old 11-13-2018, 03:13 PM   #333
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this follows on from yesterdays story about Russ.

My observation of aero engines.


Yesterday I wrote on the PT6. Today I will speak about some aspects of them and other aeroplane engines.
The PT6 comes in varying sizes, the smallest that I’ve flown is 550hp and the biggest is the 1400hp variant, all Airtractors. I do read the Fokker 50 runs out at 5000hp.
The engine is known as a free turbine. The shaft that runs the compressor turbines is not connected to the power turbine wheel. (two shafts) It is possible and indeed a practice to hold the propeller on start-up. In very cold weather it allows oil to warm prior to lubricating the gearbox which is a planetary system. It is however not possible to catch it once you let it loose, without injury that is.
The other type of popular gas turbine is the Garratt. The turbines, compressor and power are on two shafts, one within the other. They cannot run independently as does the PT6. I can’t tell you alot because I am not familiar with them. They do have an advantage on the PT6 in the fact they are slightly more fuel efficient. Popular with computer and executive planes because better fuel efficiency gives more range. Power is instant because thrust is achieved by prop pitch. Need more power, increase the pitch. They are terribly noisy and most uncomfortable to work around. Surprisingly they are quieter in flight.
All American piston aero engines rotate clockwise unlike the motor car engines. The PT6 likewise. The Garratt, like your motor car, clockwise. English aero pistons turnclockwise. Some aeroplanes swing left (anti clockwise) and others swing right (clockwise rotating). Swing is corrected by rudder and if one runs out of rudder the break will hold straight. However one runs out of correction as cross wind reaches max and coincides with torque then it is not possible to hold straight.
If you are interested in reading all about the PT6 the link below will take you to the engine manual. If you read and understand you will know more about it than I. What matters to me is – more power, the trees get smaller. Close throttle and the trees get bigger.
http://mautone.eng.br/apostilas/propulsao1/PT6%20Training%20Manual.pdf

The schematic drawings are of both PT6 and Garrett. The PT6 has numerous axel compressors,depending on the engine size plus one centrifugal compressor. The Garrett has 2 centrifugal compressors and I guess this is what make them very noisy.
Hope you enjoyed reading what was not intended to be so detailed. The schematics are, from left to right are PT6 airflow, PT6 shafts and the Garratt.
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File Type: jpg garret engine.jpg (18.3 KB, 3 views)
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Old 11-13-2018, 04:26 PM   #334
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The pure jet and bypass jet engine.


Now I have never flown one infact don't even know how to spool one up.


so why don't you jet pilots and ex jet pilots tell us all about them. tomorrow perhaps? please.


Thanking you in anticipation.
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Old 11-14-2018, 07:51 AM   #335
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One thing I shall never forget about Japan.

I had never been to Japan and really had no need or desire to. That is not intended to degrade nor demean the country or it's people. I like their motor cars and electronic stuff and I have liked the few Japanese individuals I have met. However there simply was nothing that Japan and I have in common.
Out of the blue my son said “want to come to Singapore for an overnight dad?” That was okay because I had been there several times but only in transit. I’d never seen the outside of the terminal building except once had a jump seat arrival on a Malaysian flight. A big runway especially for a pilot who was accustomed only to farm airstrips.
Early in the afternoon son says Singapore is off, would you care to come to Japan. So off we go Cairns to Osaka. It was a big airliner and most characteristics were the same as my ag planes. Except turning around at the threshold of the runway. Now that surprised me. I didn’t know how we were going to do it but the turning radius was much smaller than I expected. I thought about this for a while then I realised the nose wheel was positioned aft of where the pilot sits. An enjoyable flight and particularly good service from the flight attendants. This is standard when your son is the captain.
I had no preconceived ideas of what to expect but I got no surprises. An upmarket hotel, crowded trains and city and a pebble beach. And the people? Well I couldn’t converse with them so learned very little.
I have spent 40 years aerial sowing rice in Australia. Paddock size varied from small to 400 acres. Well those who had even small back yards were growing. Maybe one/eighth of an acre although I did see two paddocks of about fifty acres.
One thing I shall never forget. The dunny. Asians do like to wash following nature calls. Mostly they use a hose and direct it by hand where it is needed. Nothing elaborate. Frequently they squat on western toilets and leave foot marks and water on the seat. But not at this hotel where we stayed. When one was ready one could have a wash and dry. For as long or as short a time as one desired. Temperature to ones choosing. It must have had an eye in the bowl because the warm jet of water hit exactly where it was wanted. There were several control functions on the control panel but I don't recall if one dialled the gender of the user. Maybe one could have an unintentional wash behind the scrotum aswell.
Other thingsI recall was the orderly manner of people and crowds. And no graffiti. People sleeping on the train to town, even short sectors. Sky was grey but not smoggy like Hong Kong and eastern China. Everything urban, mind you it is in Melbourne too. The immigration officer on my return was curious as to why I should spend less than 24 hours in Japan. I let him stew for quite a while before divulging.
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Old 11-15-2018, 01:51 PM   #336
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Low skilled engineer shifts the blame to pilot.

This story is about how one can acquire a name. In my case it is about ‘being a hard man on aeroplanes’.
In1982 I purchased the ‘latest, biggest and best’ ag plane on the market. An Airtractor 301- 600hp. In addition I purchased a new solids loader.
The total cost of these purchases was exactly K100. Now that may not sound a great deal but it was in 1982. The lease interest was 22% and on my overdraft I payed 24% because it was overdrawn.These interest rates compounded the fact we were experiencing drought. Difficulty in meeting debt obligation is the biggest stress factor I have experienced in my lifetime.
For the Airtractor I traded my Piper Brave which had a fuel burn of 60 litres per hour. This new Airtractor burned 120 litres per hour. This was making menervous. I had had no previous experience on radial engines.
Well the Airtractor came with a newly overhauled engine, by a quality workshop, Aeroengines in Los Angeles. At various times in the first 100 hours it experienced leakage between the cylinders and the heads. Cylinders being steel and the heads aluminium. Each manufactured separately and then the heads screwed to the cylinders. Well 5 of them leaked. Fieldair’s chief engineer, an ex military man said they were to be changed which they were. Gary got a name for being a hard man on engines.Openly stated. This covered the engineers lack of skill and experience on type.
Eric Noonan, an engineer who had many years experience overhauling radials for Beavers (450hp) later advised it was not abnormal and cylinders should only be changedit they failed to ‘take-up’. The more people I checked with supported Eric. Mean while Gary had acquired a name for being a hard man on aeroplanes. The oil consumption in the engine never settled down and that too was concerning. Fieldair had a visiting engineer / director from Aeroengines, Los Angeles . His name was Vern Truman. A true gentleman. He had me clean out the cylinders with ‘quicksilver engine cleaner’. A product of Mercury made for outboard engines. Further more treat regularly with ‘marvel mystery oil’ Mr Truman advised. The latter being a common practice with American operators. After quizzing me about my power settings I used he said ‘Gary, start using more engine power’. What a contradiction considering the name I had acquired and the reputation stuck for many years.
In my whole flying lifetime I have worked with only a few ex military engineers and almost always found their skill fairly low. This is in contrast to their egos.

Shots of both Beaver and Airtractor 301. Both from internet.
Tomorrow. The story of two competing operators.
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File Type: jpg airtractor 301.jpg (17.0 KB, 9 views)
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Old 11-16-2018, 01:31 PM   #337
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Rival operators.

Tom Watson was the biggest fleet owner of Beavers in the world. 52 in number during the mid ‘70’s when spreading fertilizer was at it’s peak. He stepped up from Tiger moths and it was every ag pilots dream to work for Tom, who traded as Air Ag in NSW, Superspread in Victoria and Robbies in S.A. The Tiger had a 120hp engine and useful load of up to 4 cwt (I think). The Beaver, a 450hp supercharged Pratt and Whitney Wasp junior. It regularly carried 24cwt. Beaver pilots expected all other pilots to salute them. I suspect they mostly were offered the bird.
Ray Mackay was a former manager of Superspread and took up a business opportunity in Western Victoria and traded as Fieldair. One could say without contradiction, there was no love between them. Ray operated Pawnees which couldn’t match Beavers but they were good little spray planes. Superspread bought Callair’s for a spray aeroplane. In 1980 Ray went toTexas and acquired the local and Pacific distribution rights to sell the new Airtractor 301, then he introduced it to the rice sowing season. It is powered by a Pratt and Whitney 600hp wasp. This was in direct competition to the Beaver.
Ray delighted in telling everyone about his new “Beaver eater”. Superspread retaliatedby calling the Airtractor the “Scaretractor”. Superspread had never upgraded a single piece of machinery and were about to be left behind. Furthermore Fieldair were early in introducing the GPS. At the time $25k a piece and quite unreliable but they improved to end up a good product.
The story continues on but I have told what I was intending. My competitor was infact Fieldair and I sold to them in ’95. They had been good competitors and helpful with spare parts for my Airtractor (purchased from them in 1982) even considering I had taken considerable work from them.
I always thought it important to acknowledge gentlemanly conduct with business competitors. I also acknowledged I made my living from farmers and thanked them for their business. Even today and long out of business I will ask them if they like the paint job on my Model A’s and when they say “yes” I point out to them that it was they who paid for it. One piece of prudent advice given to me by friend Bob Caldwell of Williams California was never to drive a better car than your clients. Good advise Bob but I was never able to afford an upgrade. The restoration of the Tourer, pictured, cost the equivalent of 2 new motor cars.
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Old 11-17-2018, 03:49 PM   #338
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Khartoum International Airport.

In 1977 we had a drought in Queensland so I worked a cotton season in Sudan, Africa. When an aeroplane service was required we flew into Khartoum, the capital. On arrival it was customary to circle the tower before landing. Don’t know why but that’s what we did. We weren't radio equipped.
One day I didn’t and it wasn’t long before this big black man came and spoke to me. Couldn’t understand a word but when I pointed to the tower I figured I was in trouble.
Yes, I was told, I was a very dangerous pilot. Landed without getting a green verri light. I told the tower man, who spoke good English, that in all the times I landed at Khartoum I had never being given a green verri light and asked if he would show me. Well he messed around in a cupboard for a while and pulled out a mains powered torch with a red light. Please will you show me a green light I ask. Fiddles in the cupboard again and produces a green lens. Screws out the red and inserts it. But that’s not a green light, that’s half a green light (the lens was broken in about half). He couldn’t produce the other half and more than 10 minutes had elapsed. I would have exhausted fuel before he had one. Then I was instructed to write a report on why I was such a dangerous pilot.
To depart Khartoum one would taxi to the front of the tower and the controller would step outside and give a wave. One could then depart. One of the pilots was a hard case, a Dutchman but the name of Gerard Post. He lied to the controller and said as it was difficult to see him, and he, the controller should wave his handkerchief. The controllers had hankies infact they were upmarket blokes trained in England and had house servants. It reminded us all of the movie ‘the magnificent men in their flying machines.
To depart we were required to have a flight plan lodged the day before, and before midday otherwise we had to wait an additional day. This was so the military had time to digest a departing aeroplane and wouldn’t shoot us down or so we were told. Remember Khartoum is an international airport.
One learned not to have high expectations and not to become anxious about anything. At least I had a job whereas back at home hardly anyone else did. We were still in drought.
Footnote.The farmers in Sudan were given 20 acres which they called fidans. They were compelled to grow 10 acres of cotton from which the government charges generated income and could grow any other crop they chose on the other 10. I remember one was peanuts which they called groundnuts and we had soup made from these groundnuts. Farmers there, like everywhere were in the world were hard workers, innovators and knew their business. The capital, Khartoum is where the two Nile rivers, white on the west and blue on the east, join and make their way onwards through Egypt into the Mediterranean north of Cairo. The irrigated farm land is on the Blue Nile. I have photos but they are hard prints and not on computer. sorry. especially since they show a 30 year old Gary who was good looking in those days. The picture is from the internet. Note Australian registration, VH
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Old 11-18-2018, 09:51 AM   #339
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Quote:
I have photos but they are hard prints and not on computer
Wot, no scanner?
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Old 11-18-2018, 12:10 PM   #340
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Quote:
Originally Posted by katy View Post
Wot, no scanner?
Hi Katy. I'm pleased to hear from you. Drop me an email and lets know how you are going. yeh, no scanner. I'm not a hi tech person. Patsy has one so I'll get her to scan, but it won't be for a couple of days.
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