discussion News Of The World (Or This Is Life As We Know It)

[Guest]

A week of wild wintery weather. The top 650 Metres of the hills have had snow, white then patchy all week. A great deal of rain, at the "Glen" flying site Saturday past I checked the Electric fence in case the wind had blown it down. With a lot less wind I think my water planes would have left a wake down the strip. Could not find an excuse any longer not to start stripping paint. The rest of this week looks like being more of same:-(

 

[Guest]

Hello all, well a weekend of virtually no computer ! We had a visit from my mother-in-law or should I say the dragon-in-law. I'm always thankful when she departs and we get back to the nomal state of domesticity. It was my daughters' 5th birthday party on Sunday and a great time was had by all 13 kids who turned up out of the 16 invited. This turnout makes the wallet a little lighter but hey ho it is only twice a year that the kids have a birthday party each where they are free to invite whoever they want. Unfortunately this has left me with yet another weekend of no modelling, this is becoming a bad habit. I really must get some done this coming weekend as it should be a good bit of relaxation after my trade show days on Wednesday & Thursday. Now to catch up with all of the e-mails and forum postings since I was last on

cheers

Jim

 

[Guest]

I should have stayed in bed this morning !

Alarm didn't go off so we were running late. Wife eventually went for the bus and was an hour late getting there due to traffic.

New suit and rush to that customer meeting ....

Car wouldn't start so I asked a neighbour for a jump start. He suggested we turn the car around and bump start it instead (did not like to life the bonnet of his WRX). In the process I managed to slip and end up with my leg between the tyre and the tarmac.

Did not start the car or make the meeting and wrote off the new suit!

Perhaps I will not go to the dentist this afternoon .....

UPDATE - Dentist was not too bad

 

[Guest]

I should have stayed in bed this morning !Alarm didn't go off so we were running late. Wife eventually went for the bus and was an hour late getting there due to traffic.

New suit and rush to that customer meeting ....

Car wouldn't start so I asked a neighbour for a jump start. He suggested we turn the car around and bump start it instead (did not like to life the bonnet of his WRX). In the process I managed to slip and end up with my leg between the tyre and the tarmac.

Did not start the car or make the meeting and wrote off the new suit!

Perhaps I will not go to the dentist this afternoon .....

UPDATE - Dentist was not too bad

Every now and then we have one of those days where we wish we had stayed in bed.

On the positive side it can only go one way from there!!!

 

[Guest]

That is bad james hope you havent broke it.

 

[Guest]

Not broken but it will probably be scarred for life. Now I am not sure what is worse - the pain or the humiliation.

 

[Guest]

well today we had the electrician turn up to re wire are lighting. Then i went to college and haing everyone saying sorry to me and had loads of work that i have missed. Got 10 essays to do. Well at least ive got loads of time to do it.

 

[Guest]

I spent most of my Day at work making some example mechanical Toys for the year 9 students.

It went rather well - I now have a wooden Crocodile that snaps it's jaw and wags it's tail up and down as you turn the handle. I was also planning to make a small bird which could hop up and down on it's back - but the additional complexity might have pushed it a little beyond most yr 9 pupils!

I must admit the time did go by quite fast as I was enjoying making it!

I think i'll make another couple of examples - possibly a little fishing boat which can roll around in the waves and then I have plans to use the cnc machine to cutout a little spitfire model which will pitch and roll a little bit as you turn the handle to look like it's in flight.

Fun stuff!

 

[Guest]

:thinking: Change that crocodile to a whale as the next project. Crocs dont wag tails up and down so not very scale.:nono:

Long time since I tried home brew wooden mobiles. If I ever get over model planes, wood thingies could be something for some fun.

Herself indoors has the Carpet man appearing tommorow with samples. Told her I will be away flying, get on with it. I am not quite so popular now:smile11: The painting has not yet been done so she better be nice I said.:smile11:

 

[Guest]

Winter was not just "up the hills" today, as it has been all week. We got the white stuff. Had it not been a bit wet we would have perhaps a couple of inch of it (5 Cms). More is forecast so flying a model or two is looking iffy for the weekend. S'pose I shall have to keep rubbing down the paintwork as starting a new model build would not go well with her indoors.

 

[wonwinglo]

What has happened to the good old users manual ?

Years ago when you purchased anything ity had a manual,a car manual would tell you exactly what to grease,oil and attend to in weekly,monthly and yearly order,Shell even supplied excellent workshop wallcharts in order that you could easily locate grease nipples,lubrication points and where exactly to jack up the vehicle.

When you purchased any domestic item it had with it a booklet or manual which explained everything from opening the box to what not to do and also a guide to assembly,you were then told to ut the manual in a safe place just in case you ever needed it for reference.

That was how life used to be but has been replaced by,wait for it.....the 'pdf file' so until you can have access to a computer,that is assuming you have one ? (well there are a few dinosaurs around still) you fumble around trying to get things to work or get them assembled.

So what does all of this mean ? well for a start without access to any manual at the beginning damage could and will be done,very few people will look for the details first via their computer,now as much as I think the computer is the beezneez,I do mourn the passing of the workshop manual,it seems that manufacturers are cutting back on paperwork and referring us to their sales sites to get information on the products that they sell,and before I go there is another gripe in the system,what happened to written words,you know good old English/Foreign written instructions ? all we get now is a series of hydroglyphics,funny little drawings and symbols that denote things internationally,well that is the theory but sadly they do not work !

Do the manufacturers assume we are all illiterate and cannot read or write ? so instead they label everything with silly symbols,our cars are full of them,not a word in sight?

All of this would not be too bad if anyone was capable of understanding them.

So it looks as if the written word or manual is a thing of the past,without our computers to decipher the products that we purchase we will be totally and utterly lost.

It really makes you think ?

 

[Guest]

There was no flying, although the forecast snow stayed high on the hills tho it was wild, wet and cold. More paint rubbed.

 

[Guest]

My day was alright today. It was quite nice down here in lodon. but it rained in the evening. I need a new keyboard, and a stand for my guitar. all the keys on my keyboard got trashed. and im typing this with the slow onsreen keyboard.

I Love Sunday.

Euan

 

[Guest]

Seldom do I dissagree with Barry. I think the statement made by many, It was ahead of it's time to be nonsensical. If an item is made and works as intended then it was made in it's time. A lot of ideas are not picked up on by the target audience which is a different thing.

As the winter and weather has given us mild depression, how many things do YOU think, WAS AHEAD OF IT'S TIME.

 

[wonwinglo]

Well to really understand things we need a little history lesson,lets go back to Germany 1946,nobody can doubt the brilliance of the countrys designers in the war years,Lippisch,Kurt Tank,Fiesler,Ugo Junkers all deeply immersed in producing aircraft for the Luftwaffe,sadly they failed in the end because the technology being applied was pushing the boundaries of basic materials,that is the reason the Me.262's engines would blow up after a mere 3 hours running as the turbines shed due to inferior metal technology,on one hand the drive to win the war was being hampered by technology and on the other hand by a shortage of resources,hundreds of aircraft grounded due to a lack of aviatian spirit,designs shelved unable to take to the skies for the reasons stated,as we now know the American government were quick to use these same designers to go on to design those very same machines,hidden away as back room designers they helped shape the future of Americas leadership in the skies,but what happened to the rest ? well they too were quickly snapped up but this time by the Russians who also set to work producing some remarkable design studies which formed the basis of the cold war products that were feared,did they have those cherished metals so much desired by the German aircraft industry ? yes they did,when the Mig 15 went to war it took everyone by surprise and was a mean contender for the F-86 Sabre's used in Korea,the advances made in a mere five years were sufficent to place what was previously unknown technology to the forefront,no longer were the fan blades disintigrating but now holding together.

But deep behind the scenes a whole new industry was building bigger and better aircraft,very little information was known of these types,a mere shadowy out of focus picture taken at the Tushino air show by a spy was scrutinised by our scientists,how the air force had grown so large in such a short period of time ? but what was also happening was that they were thinking of better days,mass transport across nations as large as Russia was an important issue,to this end small jet airliners and large helicopters were being built still relatively unknown to many,glimpses of these designs appeared in a remarkable publication called 'Flying Review' the magazine published the very first pictures of Russian design technology,this access to such rare information was probably due to the magazines early associations with the Royal Air Force,in fact it was named 'Royal Air Force Flying Review' in the early days of publication,what I am saying is that the material gathered was probably from official sources,yes spies !

What Yakolev are proud of is the fact that the Yak 40 was to the forefront of the executive jet/small airliner technology,it was never even heard of until it had been in service for several years plying Aeroflots business across vast Russian areas,a lot of its technology was copied into todays business jets,so what does that make it ? well we can use words such as 'Pioneer' 'New Technology' or why not ahead of its time ? if someone invents something that is so new in concept,and that concept exceeds its growth because it is hampered by technology then it surely fits that criteria,it is a bit like someone today designing and building a VTOL airliner that will bridge nations,we all know that the task is virtually impossible at this time because the fuel burn on lift off would be astronomical thus rendering the machine useless,now if only someone could get around that problem then things would be much different,you see what I mean ?

 

[Guest]

Another question for you all to ponder on, in a similar vein to Barries question om manuuals. A large number of motor vehicles in New Zealand are 2nd hand Japanese imports, thats fine, recent cars, low prices. The question is, if these are only built for the Japanese domestic market how come the gauges are labelled in English? I have a Mazda, all the labels, instruction panels etc are all in Japanese characters except the gauges and warning lights which are labelled fuel, km/h, brake, rpm, etc, why is that. Do Japanese automatically become fluent in English when they get into the drivers seat? The rest of the labels on the sun visor, seat rears, glove box etc are all in squiggle. Why is this???

 

[wonwinglo]

The worls smallest screw drops on the floor !!

Having received delivery of some of the worlds smallest servo's a mere 4 grams each,I decided to revamp my old Pico Stick and fit it with a outrunner motor,well the motor is on its way but decided to fit the servos,they are so light and tiny decided to dispense with the long heavy control rods and mount them near the tail,advantages being smoother short rods,all went well until after setting up the servo arms I dropped the worlds 'smallest screw' onto the floor and do not have a replacement either,so the only thing to do was to rob one of the other servo screws.

Despite an intensive search so far the said screw has not surfaced,looked along the floor,tried to work out the tragetory to no avail,how can a screw vanish into thin air like that ? dont even ask me what size they are,roughly the size of a small dressmakers pin,never seen anything quite like them,you need to position them and use a knife blade to screw them up.

Anyway the good news in the servo's are now in place thankfully all set up waiting for the motor and esc to arrive from China which usually takes 12 days,this is my first outrunner and I am looking forward to seeing what they perform like,hence the Pico Stick will make a good test bed,if it flew on the bog standard GWS motor then it should climb away with the new motor nicely,I need that performance to fly from my tiny cabbage patch field with only one approach in and one way out,if I get things wrong then it is in the canal,cemetry,road above field level,allotment,childrens swings etc ! after hundreds of flights never ever landed out,with the reliability of electric you can do amazing things.

 

[Guest]

Another question for you all to ponder on' date=' in a similar vein to Barries question om manuuals. A large number of motor vehicles in New Zealand are 2nd hand Japanese imports, thats fine, recent cars, low prices. The question is, if these are only built for the Japanese domestic market how come the gauges are labelled in English? I have a Mazda, all the labels, instruction panels etc are all in Japanese characters except the gauges and warning lights which are labelled fuel, km/h, brake, rpm, etc, why is that. Do Japanese automatically become fluent in English when they get into the drivers seat? The rest of the labels on the sun visor, seat rears, glove box etc are all in squiggle. Why is this???[/quote'] we looked at buying a japanese import when we were looking for our people carrier, one of our local garages psecialises in japanese imported vehicles- we looked at the toyota previa that were all japanense domestic market vehicles in origin, all were about 3 years old, keenly priced, high specification but all were built originally to japanese specifications, however before these vehicles can legally hit the roads here in the UK the dials including speedo and similar all have to be replaced and recalibrated to comply with our Ministry Of Transport regulations- all the vehicles had UK style speedos fitted with text not squiggle- same with fuel and oil gauges.....

this allows them with the correct inspection papers to be classed as UK road legal vehicles. i dont think the sun visors matter !!!

i am pretty sure it will be something similar for you kiwi hence half the vehicle has sqiggles and the other dials and stuff are in text format....

needless to say we did not buy an import after reading articles about the added difficulties in insuring these jap spec vehicles and the corrosion protection and similar that are applied to them at manufacture, deemed ok for japan but not adequate for the UK !- it seems they rot fairly quick here in the UK where we salt the roads in winter time.....unless you buy a beast of a car like the 4x4 land cruiser or the mitsubushi pajero......

apparently the japenese MOT test is one of the most stringent in the world hence these vehicles are readily available, rather that fix them to pass the high standards the japanese vehicle inspectorate set they sell them on to us brits ( and kiwi's it seems !)- any non standard modificiations immediately means the vehicle fail the test- only factory fitted modifications are passed straight off, - all non standard modifications are seroiously scrutinised.......

 

[Guest]

we looked at buying a japanese import when we were looking for our people carrier' date=' one of our local garages psecialises in japanese imported vehicles- we looked at the toyota previa that were all japanense domestic market vehicles in origin, all were about 3 years old, keenly priced, high specification but all were built originally to japanese specifications, however before these vehicles can legally hit the roads here in the UK the dials including speedo and similar all have to be replaced and recalibrated to comply with our Ministry Of Transport regulations- all the vehicles had UK style speedos fitted with text not squiggle- same with fuel and oil gauges.....[/quote']I believe there are other minor changes such as the fuel filler cap has to be changed as the nozzles in the UK do not fit the apanese holes.

Insurance difficulties are for details such as paint and upholstery. In the event of an accident it is not always possible to get the fabric or the paint colour in the UK. I know someone who ended up with the driver's seat a different colour because replacing all seats was too much for the insurance company

 

[Guest]

Well. Had my first day at my new job today. Finally got a full time job after 5 months of only weekend work!

Went very well and thoroughly enjoyed it! Only doing 3 days a week whilst i serve out my notice at my current job but full 39-40 hours start on the 6th December. Can’t wait!

It’s called the Lemon Tree and is regarded as the best restaurant in my area.

Take a look at the website if you want:

(Sorry Richard I had to delete the link it contained suspicious spyware,Wonwing )