tell a Model A related story

[radiation]

After 25 years in the glass business I can tell you from first hand experience that it can't be cut!

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by radiation

After 25 years in the glass business I can tell you from first hand experience that it can't be cut!

thankyou Mr Radiation. That has saved me from a pointless task and maybe an accident with splintering slithers. Plan B to be put into action.
And thankyou too Katy and Hi

[woofa.express]

My son is a generous guy. He bought me a recent model Mercedes in pristine condition. Mind you I have given my kids many motorcars. Mainly, but not entirely, our discards.
This Mercedes runs beautifully and is great to drive but when I lift the bonnet I see a nightmare. I have sometimes wondered if that is to force the owners to seek repairs and maintenance of an authorised dealer only. But sometimes these dealers are good only for oil changes and windscreen cleaning.
When I lift the bonnet on my A models I see a simple well-designed engine and systems and I ask myself, has man advanced since the early 1930’s. I know this Mercedes is unlikely to be around when it is half the age of my Model A’s. I reckon you know the answer. Even my 28 year old Toyota ute is simple and I like to drive it for that reason. No bells or whistles. It doesn’t tell me I have been driving for 2 hours and I should take a rest. It doesn’t squeal in my ear when I fail to don a seat belt. Owners of new model cars and tractors have told me the difficulties, the costs and loss of use or production they have experienced when their computer or mother board failed. I ask you have designs improved?
I said in a previous story, man landed on the moon 53 years ago but can’t make a shopping trolley that tracks where it is pushed.

However after venting my displeasure of some aspects of modern machinery I am grateful to my son for buying me a motorcar and say “thankyou Dennis”.

The pictures show the fate of a 40 year old motorcar and a still operating 92 year old motor car. A mechanic repairing a 1920's motorcar and mechanic repairing modern motorcar.

A QUESION TO Radiation. Following your explanation in story 1082. Do tell me please what be the difference between windscreen safety glass and safety glass used in my bathroom shower? I am assuming windscreen glass can be cut?

[woofa.express]

Aeroplane instruments can be an ego driven requirement.

Many years back I figured my Cessna could do with an upgrade of both radios and navigation equipment so I talked to the radio guru at the Melbourne light aircraft airport: Moorabbin. Les Coleman is his name.
And what would you like Les asked. Well I know there is a marine nav system that acquires a fix from the satellites. That sort of thing. Les looks at me with disbelief and points to a photo on his wall and asks, “do you know who they are?” Yes I replied, Yeager and Rutan, they flew around the world non-stop about 3 months ago. Les asked do you know who this is and points to himself in the picture. “yes yourself Les”.
Les explains he has only recently returned from America (where radio and nav development occurs) and is current with the very latest. There is nothing of the sort he says and views me like some sort of Walter Mitty. Well I spent a lot of money and upgraded including an international DME (distance measuring equipment).
You know what happened of course, very shortly afterwards. Well then I had the DME removed and installed the very latest: a GPS. I advertised the DME for sale at half price and was nearly overrun by aircraft owners who “just had to have it”. I asked each of them why they would want it when GPS was now available and several answered it by saying it would look just great on the panel of my aeroplane, especially since it had a fluro readout.
This clearly shows the egos of some pilots and aeroplane owners. This contradicts my choice which is to have the least you require.

[woofa.express]

[SIZE="3"][I]
Mr Moffett’s foresight.

It was in 1974. I was spreading fertilizer near Guyra which is in the New England region of NSW. Guyra in 4,300 feet above sea level and has particularly cold winters. On this winter’s day I was to top-dress a farm to the east. I arrived at the farm airstrip early followed by the farmer, Mr Moffett in a Model A. It had been a tourer and the back seat, tub and doors removed and replaced with a wooden tray. I was more interested in the motorcar than the job and Mr Moffett didn’t seem to mind. It wasn’t long before his son arrived at the airstrip and he too was in a Model A: same deal, a tourer converted to a tray top. Then a second son arrived and yet again driving a converted Model A. I was sort of overwhelmed: since I was a kid I loved Model A’s.
Just how many do you have I asked. Twelve he replied. How come I asked. Mr Moffett said he had figured one day they maybe a collector’s item so when they came up at a farmers clearing sale he purchased them. About 10 pounds each which was prior to decimal currency of course. He took me to a shed where he had a 2-door town sedan. The only apparent things that needed repair was a dent in a rear mudguard and the hood lining which had collapsed. I asked if he would sell me one but he declined which was just as well because I had no money. The job took 2 days and I had difficulty in keeping my mind on the job. It was on Model A’s of course. I commend Mr Moffett because he had them all shedded.

And for the farmers in our club. Fertilizer was $40 per ton to the farmer for the purchase, delivery to the farmer’s airstrip and aerial spreading. Today the cost of spreading alone is $130. In 1974 I spread 12,000 ton and in 1975 my employer spread 18 ton. Yes you read correct 18 ton. The group plan of $40 doubled to $80 but more drastically the price of cattle collapsed. The best prime bullocks in a sale yard bought only $50. I also remember prime lambs bought $15 and about the early 90’s the same animals bought $7. Today a Model A is worth considerably more and farmers are receive good prices for their animals.
And for the engine gurus the piston aeroplane engine delivered 400hp at sea-level where the air pressure is 30 inches of mercury. At Guyra, 4,300 feet above sea-level and at 24.5 inches the engine would deliver only 320hp. The supercharged aeroplanes would out perform mine, the one I was flying (as a hired pilot).

[Chris in WNC]

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Have you kept in touch with this farmer and his dozen Model As?
what became of them in the last 47 years?

[woofa.express]

Chris in WMC. Here is the answer to your question.

I’ve been endeavouring to find any of the Moffitt family for several years now. I’ve called people and frequently looked in directory assistance.
Well at last I found the grandson on the internet. I had been spelling the name incorrectly. It is not Moffitt but Moffatt. This grandson is a contractor to farmers doing my old job. Spreading fertilizer, he by ground which is less than half the price of air spread.
Howard was the owner of these Model A’s and he has long passed. The two sons are Peter and Bruce. It was Peter’s son Mal, I spoke to. He gave me some information and his uncle Bruce’s phone number. Bruce is retired and lives in Armidale. I have been trying to make contact with him for several days now without success. Maybe he has gone to Queensland to the warm weather as the grey nomads tend to do.
While Mal didn’t know a great deal about the A’s he believes there is only one left belonging to Bruce. It’s known as the limo and Bruce uses it for weddings and the like. He also said it was only a year back since many spare parts were auctioned at a clearing sale.
So now Chris in WMC, I too have had my curiosity partly answered. This incident is 47 years ago and as my signature says,
Sometimes I forget things.
And there are times when I have a long memory

[woofa.express]

A new scam to me.
I wrote this for another thread but will include it here incase you miss it. Plus one day I will compile all these stories in a book and this forum/thread is a good record.

A scammer is pretty evident, they always offer help in one direction or another. They usually have a heavy speech accent mostly Pakistani or the likes of. My usual tactic is to ask questions of them and converse as long as they are willing to continue. Simply, I like to waste their time and it mostly ends when they hang up on me or get angry with me. Sometimes I indicate interest but when they ask if I'd like their product I respond with “not really”. Sometimes they ask my address and I ask why. So I can send it to you. I say I don't want it. I know that's quite rude but never the less.
Sometimes I conclude by saying “the Gary you want is my dad and he was killed in a motor accident last week”.
It is possible to have some fun with these thieves.
Only this week I received a new approach. New to me that is. We can recover losses you have made on the stock exchange. When I questioned the fellow he said it was his job to help me. He appeared most helpful but I gave him there run around too.
A frequent call I get is from the tax department saying I have an outstanding account. I say “that is okay, just put a bill in the post and I’ll pay it”. Never get the bill of course.
Or my internet has been compromised and will be switched off if I don’t respond to this call (it's automated). I tell them to cut it off because I’m tired of it. It still continues to operate. Sometimes when a long discussion concludes I say “I think there has been an error”. They ask why and I tell them I don’t have the internet. That makes them very angry because I have wasted their time.
One caller asked if I would care to renew my prescription for Viagra. I explain to them just how much libido I have and how virile I am. I tell them I'll review their offer when I turn 90.
Could I speak to Mr Taylor please. No, he is on the floor and has been shot in the chest and there’s blood everywhere. I can hear approaching police sirens and it’s time for me to be out of here and I hang up.
A friend asks them to hold the line for a moment and he puts the receiver down not to return.
My wife Patsy gives them a reprimand. I enjoy irritating them. It’s fun. Try it.

On my email I have received notification from Eye Tech (whom I don’t know) to say my pay pal payment was successful. Another was from Mary to say she hadn’t heard from me for such a long time. I never respond to those emails and neither should you.

[woofa.express]

The Great White Mouse Hunter.

John Lynch was a hermit who lived on the north side of Tocumwal. He owned 2 gliders and an aeroplane and had an airstrip close to his hanger-house. A very talented fellow whose background is a little grey because he was a private fellow and didn’t mix with many people. His entrance gate was always padlocked; he didn’t welcome visitors. I got along well with John and would visit him by landing on his airstrip.
When John first came to Tocumwal he lived in one of the war-time hangers. During a mice plague he would shoot the little creatures and once bragged he could get them from the hip, even at 20 paces. He was probably using rat/bird shot. Christine Riley named him the ‘great white mouse hunter’ which I shortened to ‘mouse hunter and eventually to mouse’. He was a brilliant engineer and made aeroplane and glider canopies, he built a tail-less glider, put a tightly cowled engine on another. He once won the bird-man contest with a glider he made from polystyrene and plastic food covering. He did well by buying and or swapping aeroplanes and ended up with an RV4; a tandem 2-seater that was both fast and aerobatic. He flew well.
John’s health deteriorated. Towards the end of his life he sold his aeroplane and his MG motorcar which he restored from what would almost be called scrap metal. He hung out for the last dollar he could squeeze from the buyers. These toys bought $110k and it was in cash. His wealth was considerable and was inherited by his brother along with his now featherless galah which John had saved (with feathers) from the roadside with a broken wing. This galah would get quite jealous if John chatted too long with me or other visitors.
Eventually John succumbed to cancer. He had a small, public invited funeral service at his hanger. Small because not many knew him. His body ashes were dropped from an aeroplane but unfortunately most ended up on his shed roof. Now John spends his RIP time in the rain-water tank which holds the water that runs off the shed roof.
A private person, very mechanically talented and I did not know it at the time, but a banjo playing muso.
There was one thing that had us all confused, amused and thinking. Financially all seemed in order except for the $110k cash he received for this motorcar and aeroplane. It couldn’t be found. It was said many holes were dug around his house and vegie garden in hope. Nil yield.

[woofa.express]

This follows story number 1090 which you should read before this.

PS. One little treasure John had was a Le Rhone aeroplane engine. It worked by fixing the crankshaft to the airframe and the whole engine rotated along with the propellor which was of course fixed to the engine. Just imagine the torque when the pilot opened the throttle.
And from Wikipedia I have copied the details of this engine below.
Le Rhône was the name given to a series of popular rotary aircraft engines produced in France by Société des Moteurs Le Rhône and the successor company of Gnome et Rhône. They powered a number of military aircraft types of the First World War. Le Rhône engines were also produced under license worldwide.
Although not powerful (the largest wartime version produced 130 horsepower (97 kW)), they were dependable rotary engines.[1] The Le Rhône 9 was a development of the Le Rhône 7, a seven-cylinder design. Examples of nine-cylinder Le Rhône rotary engines are on public display in aviation museums with several remaining airworthy, powering vintage aircraft types
Go to Wikipedia for more information on this engine.

[katy]

IIRC, the Le Rhone was a fixed speed engine, that's why, when one is coming in for a landing you hear the buuurp, buuurp, buuuurp

[woofa.express]

Hello Katy. Your comment below was most welcome but has made me curious. If the Le Rhone runs only full power does it lean the mixture for reduced power which it requires for landing, taxing and after start to warm up?. Surely it can’t start on full power?
Do fill me in on the above, likewise any other reader’s explanation is most welcome. I can’t ask Mouse Hunter for he rests in the bottom of his rain water tank (story number 1090).

[katy]

According to: https://www.flightmuseum.com/explore/le-rhone/ the engine runs at 500 at idle to 1,300 at full throttle
I don't know a whole lot about aircraft engines, rotary or otherwise, just enough to be dangerous.
The "buuurp, buuurp, buuuurp" part one hears on short final is something I heard or read about at one time.
Hopefully others w/more information will contribute.

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by katy

According to: https://www.flightmuseum.com/explore/le-rhone/ the engine runs at 500 at idle to 1,300 at full throttle
I don't know a whole lot about aircraft engines, rotary or otherwise, just enough to be dangerous.
The "buuurp, buuurp, buuuurp" part one hears on short final is something I heard or read about at one time.
Hopefully others w/more information will contribute.

Hi again Katy. That was interesting. Thankyou. Now I know why Biggles wore goggles and white scarf.
Anyone with an interest in unusual engines should log on to this link (which is short) and take a gander.

[woofa.express]

Parrots are Pests.

Our small rural town has a problem: parrots. Sounds strange doesn’t it? In our case maybe 50,000 and at times more. The species are Corellas. For them we provide paradise: grain and water. Many other rural towns and farms also share that same problem.
But so what is the problem you may ask? Well they are destructive birds because they destroy trees by nipping off the new growth which will kill the tree with time, whether they be eucalyptus trees (gum trees) along the river or the deciduous trees in town. They are noisy creatures with their raucous squawking and when I say noisy I mean noisy. Plus their messy shit, feathers and soft tree debris which they have nipped off make a mess everywhere. So why do they like roosting in town? It is said there are several reasons but the one that makes sense to me is the town lighting at night albeit dull.

Of the 14 different species (says Wikipedia) another species is starting to become a nuisance but thankfully not here. It’s the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and they are in the state capital of Sydney. They have learned to open rubbish bin lids for waste food scraps and their skill is apparently spreading fast. Sounds incredible doesn’t it, but it’s true. I read this in the newspaper and looked it up on YouTube. I have been able to copy and post some pictures for you

[Jim Brierley]

Protecting parrots is just one of man's foibles! It is usually best to leave mother nature alone. Men meddling often just leads to another problem, often worse than the original.

[ETAModel]

Originally Posted by katy

According to: https://www.flightmuseum.com/explore/le-rhone/ the engine runs at 500 at idle to 1,300 at full throttle
I don't know a whole lot about aircraft engines, rotary or otherwise, just enough to be dangerous.
The "buuurp, buuurp, buuuurp" part one hears on short final is something I heard or read about at one time.
Hopefully others w/more information will contribute.

A few years ago I saw a documentary on aviation. It discussed how the early planes, (WWI era) indeed didn't have a throttle per say, but operated at max RPMs and the ignition switch was toggled on and off to land the beast. That explained the unique sound as they made their approach. I'm certain it kept the mortality rate high as well.

[woofa.express]

Originally Posted by ETAModel

A few years ago I saw a documentary on aviation. It discussed how the early planes, (WWI era) indeed didn't have a throttle per say, but operated at max RPMs and the ignition switch was toggled on and off to land the beast. That explained the unique sound as they made their approach. I'm certain it kept the mortality rate high as well.

Hello ETA. Now that explains what KATY said and what I had been wondering. Thankyou, Gary.

[woofa.express]

This is a story from three years ago which is still pertinent to some at times. It could be useful to you too.


GOOD ADVISE BILL

CASA is our Civil Aviation and Safety Authority. It is deception that they be called safety authority because their pilots have had nearly as many crashes as I have had hot breakfasts. Many had come from the military and they were impractical and authoritive. At 73 and retired I can bag CASA without fear of reprisal from any nasty little upstart.

Bill Scott was a CASA ag pilot examiner and an ex-military man. I must commend him because he never had crashed an aeroplane. Not a popular fellow in our industry however I got along with him well. He was man enough that one could speak bluntly with him. Bill gave me a piece of information that turned out useful and I enjoy passing it onto others.

Public servants and bureaucrats may write and demand explanations. They are expecting a reply in writing and if you respond they’ve gotcha. What they can’t deal with is those who don’t reply says Bill.

I received a letter from a high-ranking authority. A powerful government department . They enquired as to which contractors erected a substantial building on my property. I didn’t answer. My accountant said I wouldn’t get away with it. Well they wrote a second, a third, a forth, a fifth and a sixth and then they went away. They didn’t bother me anymore.

Another pilot I know received a letter from a lowly government official demanding an explanation. At my advice (originating from Bill) I advised him not to respond. He didn’t. Following yet another demand he received a phone call asking him to respond. He said he had no intention of writing but invited the bureaucrat to come and talk to him. Of course the bureaucrat didn’t and the whole matter faded into the thin air.

Good advice. Thankyou Bill.

[katy]

Originally Posted by woofa.express

Good advice. Thankyou Bill.

Ditto