Australian Red Bull air racer, Matt Hall’s near crash in Canada earlier this month had everyone’s heart in their mouth, with footage appearing all over YouTube. His amazing recovery – down entirely to his immense skill and RAAF training has been captured in full HD quality in the official film, complete with an interview with the man himself:
This is HD video, so press the embedded ‘expand’ button to watch it fullscreen.
All this week, the STC is performing Molière’s The Hypochondriac, at Abingdon’s Unicorn Theatre. Possibly to the delight of many, I’m not in this one, although I am performing my somewhat more usual role as Stage Manager. The adaptation/translation is by noted Liverpool poet, Roger McGough (probably best known for the song, Lilly the Pink - suitably apropos for this play).
It’s a cracking play, with excellent performances. If you’re anywhere near Abingdon over the next few days, I heartily recommend it. But don’t just take my word for it – here’s what Oxford’s Daily Info had to say:
Jamie Crowther directs a contemporary performance that happily murders stuffy Greek and Latin waffle, throwing ‘Lesbos’ and ‘Souvlaki’ into its speeches, features multi-lingual puns, and retains Molière’s sexual innuendos in a manner that pillows can’t always cover.
Front Cover
Back Cover
Two old friends and one elderly single-engine aeroplane in a quest to fly across Outback Australia from A-Z
Another aviation podcast, this time devoted to GA flying in the Pacific North West. Hangar49 (named for the 49th Parallel, which denotes the boundary between Canada and the USA) is presented in a 25 minute aiudio format, by Jim Leighty, Al Gilson and Tony Roberts, private pilots from boths sides of the 49. In their own words:
We talk about different airstrips to visit, the ups and downs of flying in the Pacific Northwest, and all the fun events you can find here! Basically we are just a bunch of fun loving pilots that have a passion for aviation just like you!
Get if from iTunes or your favourite podcatcher. Show notes and direct mp3 downloads can be found at http://www.hangar49.info
Check it out… 
I’ve made a test run with all the gauges fitted (see pic 1). The gauges are all working fine, although mounting it all up has shown that 3mm MDF is just not man enough for the panel faceplate – under the weight of eight gauges it’s very bendy and wobbly. So I’m going to have the faceplate made up from CNC routed aluminium. There’s a firm in Germany will do the job from supplied artwork for about £45. If I like the results, I’ll get them to make the other two faceplates as well. Read the rest of this entry »
Just a quick update, now that it’s dark and I’ve had a chance to fit the lighting. This is how it looks in situ. Rather smart, I think
Floodlighting: Night test
Of course, it’ll look even better once the gauges go in…
It’s all excitement here today at Plan-G Towers. The postman has been delivering lots of goodies, and — just like Christmas — I don’t know where to start. For the cockpit, a big box has arrived from The Netherlands, containing a big stack of Simkits gauges – three ’specific’ gauges – artificial horizon, Direction Indicator and ADF, plus a four-pack of ‘generic’ gauges, whch can be configured for a host of different things. I shall be configuring them as VSI, ASI, RPM and Manifold pressure gauges (they provide something like 74 preprinted faceplate cards, and of course you can make up your own.
The second thing that arrived was an Electroliminescent Wire lighting kit, from Surelight http://www.surelight.com/ EL wire and tape is the ‘big thing’ in lighting, and is often attached to the underside of aircraft glare shields for instrument flood lighting. It’s actually not very expensive, and so I wasn’t going to miss out! They sell a ‘PC modding kit’, which consists of a 1.2m length of EL wire (choice of colours), inverter and USB power supply, for £15 + p&p. They have other options as well, including ‘roll your own’, but since my panel is 1.2m wide, this seemed the ideal choice. I’ll have to wait till tonight though, to see how it looks in the dark…
The third thing that arrived, was a book, from Amazon. “The Art of Flying Crooked” by Robin Liston. I’ll save that though for its own post, once I’ve read it.
As I mentioned last time, what I’m building is not any kind of replica cockpit. Rather it’s a generic instrument panel-cum-monitor stand. Since that time, me, MDF, and the Black & Decker Workmate have spent some quality time together, and the basic framework — or carcass, if you will — is now coming together quite nicely.
Initial Assembly
The panel is split into three sections, each section having its own front plate. On the left will be most of the existing GoFlight stack (less one GF-166, since the GarSim GPS530 will have a NAV/COM built in). The centre section will contain the Simkits SixPack + VOR and ADF, and on the right, RPM and MP gauges, plus the GPS unit. Each panel can be separately detached for ease of maintenance. The lid at the moment is not fixed down. I’m debating whether to have it hinged at the back (it’d require pivot hinges, which are not easy to find), screw it down, or just leave it free. Top access is certainly a bonus though.
The first in situ test fitting
Now I’m off to the haberdashers to find some black leatherette material for the covering…