Mt Merapi, Java

Mt Merapi, Java
Mt Merapi, Java early one morning in May 2011

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Forty Something And Over It .....

I have been out of full-time employment for 14 months. It's a long time. I have enjoyed the freedom that time affords me as I no longer work full-time. And I enjoy the process of completing my avaition career.

Kasey Edwards' book "Thirty something and over it" sounds like an interesting book. I want to read what experience she has had dealing with her "thrisis".....

Here's an excerpt of her Q&A on the top 5 signs to look for in someone going through a similar crisis as she went through in the book.

You wake up one morning and realize you don’t want to go to work. Ever again. And you’re terrified of spending the next thirty years of your life in Cubical Hell.
You realize that your boss and most people you work with are faking it. They know just us much or even less than you do.
It starts to bother you that you haven’t had a hobby or an interest outside work since you gave up piano lessons.
You spend stupid amounts of money on shoes, handbags, soft furnishings and cocktails trying to fill the void in your life.
Everything you do at work seems meaningless and pointless. The news that your company achieved double-digit growth in the previous quarter fails to excite you as it once did.


Here's an article on The Age by Kasey.


Monday, April 20, 2009

Breakfast And Lunch In The City

Yesterday Darren, Linda, SM and I went to the City for a day out. First of all we wanted to have breakfast in Flinders Lane so we got to the city around 9am and found our way to our favourite joint The Quarter Cafe.

The Quarter Cafe

Old pictures of Melbourne on the wall

Eggs Salmon, Works Breakfast, Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine

Darren with his pose

Darren and Linda

Happy couples

Happy couple

The bill ....

The Quarter Cafe is at 27 Degraves St, Melbourne.


It is a small french style cafe off Flinders St serving excellent breakfasts with very friendly and attentive staff, Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine were well presented and charming @ $10.90 each, their ‘works’ breakfast platter was fair dinkum, hearty and satisfying fare @ $13.90 and Eggs Salmon was fresh @ $13.90. Ambiance 8 of 10; food and coffee 8 of 10; service 9 of 10.










Walking around in Chinatown

Lt Bourke St

After brekkie we took a gentle stroll from The Quarter Cafe to Southbank. Darren and Linda went to a home exhibition whilst SM and I went to Crown Casino to take a look and walk about. We caught up for lunch at 1.3opm at Shark Fin Inn, 50 Lt Bourke St, for yum cha. We really enjoyed the meal there ..... The dim sums were excellent. Something we always enjoy when we want a hearty Chinese meal with lots of varieties.


Collins St

The "Paris End" of Collins St

St Kilda

Darren's new apartment as seen from Wesley College, St Kilda Rd

Wesley College

Driving along St Kilda beach. See that Chevy?

Darren suggested we take a drive to St Kilda after lunch. They showed us their new apartment on St Kilda Rd and Darren shouted us for a Belgian beer at The Belgian Beer Cafe, 557 St Kilda Rd, 03 9529 2899 (next to the Alfred Hospital). Darren had a Stella Artois and I had a Hoegaarden, both on the tap. The ladies had bitter ginger. I found the Hoegaarden easy to drink, low on alcohol so it suited me. Alcohols were about $6.50 each. It was a cool but sunny day and drinking beautiful beers in a relaxing garden set up was an appropriate end to a fine day in the city area and St Kilda.....


Belgian Beer Cafe next to Wesley College on St Kilda Rd


Monday, April 13, 2009

Finding Magnetic Track (Course)

FIRST: Convert Flight Planned Track to Mag.

SECOND: Convert Wind to Mag. (Wind is given in True in ARFOR)

i.e.Work both variables in Magnetic.






Eg YMEN to DNS:-

Heading is 104 (T), Mag variation is 12; FPT is therefore 092 M.

Wind is 220/25 Kts (T) or from 208 M.

TAS 105 Kts


- Place "circle" on 160 on the wind computer.
- Rotate azimuth scale to place wind of 208 M on the 208 index and mark "cross" of 25 ie 160+25=185 on the glass and call it the wind dot.
- Rotate azimuth scale again to place FPT of 092 under the index 092.
- Move the slide to place the 105 under the wind dot "cross".
- Read off the new Track and ground speed. If the "cross" is to the right then add to FPT. If the "cross" is to the left then minus from FPT.

Answer is 092+12=104 M and GS is 114 Kts.

So,

- FPT is 092M (This is also TMG or the path over the map or ground)
- TMG is also 092M
- HDG is 104M (Heading to adopt to make good a track of 092M)
- Drift is 12 deg LEFT

Wind Computer

Finding TAS given IAS, altitude and OAT:-
Use calculator side of the computer.

1. Align altitude and air temp in the small window "FOR TAS AND DENSITY ALTITUDE"

2. Locate the IAS on the "B"scale (inside scale) . The "B" scale is labeled as "CAS" which for practical reasons is the same as IAS.

3. Find the TAS on the "A" scale (outside scale) immediately above the IAS.

EXAMPLE:

What is the TAS under the following conditions: altitude 10,000 ft, temp -10 C; IAS 130 Kts?

Answer: 150 Kts

Finding True Altitude given indicated altitude and pressure altitude.

EXAMPLE:

Pressure altitude is 7000 ft, Indicated altitude is 6500 ft (on the altimeter), temp is -10C, what is the true altitude?

Locate -10C and Pressure Altitude of 7000 ft on the "FOR ALTITUDE COMPUTATIONS" window. From the "B" scale and locate the Indicated Altitude of 6500 ft. Look directly over this value and find the true altitude is 6250 ft.

At a Pressure Altitude of 7000 ft, and an indicated altitude of 6500 ft the TRUE ALTITUDE is actually 6250 ft ie the aircraft is actually flying 750 ft lower than the altitude indicated on the altimeter.

Note: Pressure Altitude is indicated on the altimeter when the barometric scale is set to the atmospheric standard of 1013 MPa or 29.92 inches of Mercury. (ie air pressure at MSL on an ISA day). If aircraft is flying at 12500 ft @ OAT of -20C and altimeter set at 30.42 inches of mercury. Rotate the barometric scale on the altimeter to 29.92 you will note a pressure altitude of only 12000 ft.

Pressure Altitude ft Static Pressure kPa
0 101.325
1000 97.715
2500 92.500
5000 84.306
10000 69.681
20000 46.563
30000 30.089
36090 22.631


Finding Density Altitude given pressure altitude and OAT.
EXAMPLE:

Flying at 10000 ft pressure altitude with OAT of -20C; what is the density altitude?

1. Place -20C over 10000 ft pressure altitude on the "FOR TAS AND DENSITY ALTITUDE" window.

2. Refer to the density altitude window and find the answer of 8000 ft. Therefore density altitude is LOWER than pressure altitude.

Note: Density altitude is the altitude in the International Standard Atmosphere at which the air density would be equal to the actual air density at the place of observation. "Density Altitude" is the pressure altitude adjusted for non-standard temperature.
Both an increase in temperature and humidity will cause a reduction in air density. Thus, in hot and humid conditions, the density altitude at a particular location may be significantly higher than the true altitude.


Performance Of A PIPER Arrow IV

Piper Arrow IV Check List



VH-HAB Performance & Notes




Require B.E.W. and Arm Aft Of Datum for HAB and SGE.


SUMMARY OF Critical Performance Data:-

Theoretical & The Practical (Easier to remember)

Vx 77 Kts

Vy 87 Kts ..... V climb 90 Kts (Best Rate Of Climb)

Vr 65 - 75 Kts ..... V rotate 70 Kts

Vgup 108 Kts ..... V U/C retract BEFORE reaching 109 Kts
Vlo 130 Kts ..... Gear Extension Speed. Do not exceed 130 Kts Before extending the U/C
Vle 130 Kts ..... Gear Extended Speed. Do not exceed 130 Kts with U/C extended
Vfe 108 Kts ..... V flaps extended - Extend flaps BELOW 108 Kts
Vfo 108 Kts ..... Do not exceed 108 Kts with flaps extended
Vs1 58 Kts ..... Clean Stall
Vso 53 Kts ..... Dirty Stall

Stall speed with 2 stages of flaps or more - 55 Kts. Clean stall speed 60 Kts

V Glide 79 Kts ..... V best glide same as Vx of approximately 80 Kts
Va 121 Kts ..... V maneuvering 120 Kts (in turbulence with full control deflections)
Vno 149 Kts ..... V structural cruising 150 Kts (ONLY in smooth air)

Vne 190 Kts ..... V not to exceed 190 Kts

Vxw 17 Kts ..... V max cross wind 17 Kts

FLIGHT PLANNING DATA

TAS 125 Kts

Fuel Flow 11.6 US Gal Per Hour (44 Liters per hour)
(including climb and descend)

CIRCUITS

BASE - 85 Kts

FINAL - 80 Kts

Approach - 75 Kts

CLIMB 25"/2500 rpm

CRUISE 24"/2400 rpm

CIRCUIT DOWNWIND 21"/2300 rpm

BASE 15" to 17"/2300 rpm

WEIGHTS & FUEL

MAUW 2750 LBS (1250 Kg)

Max Fuel On Board 77 US Gal (293 Liters)

Usable Fuel 72 US Gal (274 Liters)

Unusable Fuel 5 US Gal (19 Liters)

Convert US Gal to Liters x 3.8

Convert US Gal to Kg x 2.72

Convert US Gal to LB x 6.0

Convert Liters to Kg x 0.72

ASI DATA

WHITE ARC 53 KTS TO 108 KTS

GREEN ARC 58 KTS TO 149 KTS

YELLOW ARC 149 KTS TO 190 KTS

RED RADIAL LINE (never exceed) 190 KTS


AVGAS Conversion Tabl
e


ASI

- The ASI is an instrument that measures how much is the KE of a parcel of moving air.

- It's a pressure instrument.

- The PITOT tube collects a sample of the passing airstream and guides it into a capsule which is a dead end. Thus the air comes to a full stop and so KE is released as a build up of pressure within this capsule. This dynamic pressure is simply the pressure caused by wind.

- A STATIC vent is plaved so that its face is parallel to the airflow, it is exposed only to the static pressure of the airstream. This static pressure is trasmitted to the interior of the instrument case which contains the capsule.

Total pressure = dynamic pressure + static pressure is thus acting on the interior surfaces of the capsule and the static pressure alone is acting on the exterior surfaces. The capsule therefore expands due to the pressure difference. This is the dynamic pressure of the outside airflow.

So the ASI measures dynamic pressure of the airstream INDIRECTLY by subtracting static pressure from total pressure there are some errors as a reult of positional errors due to the static pressure at the static port being different at different a/c attitudes. There maybe small instrument errors due to internal components of the ASI.

Calibrated Air Speed CAS is the indicated air speed IAS corrected for these errors.

For VFR general aviation a/c the IAS is taken as the same as CAS.

TAS is the air speed of the a/c at altitude taking into account the ambient density of the airflow which is lower than standard Sea Level density. Lower density at height means the velocity of airflow will be higher and therefore a higher actual airspeed. hence the TAS is higher than CAS. The ASI has been calibrated for S.L. standard conditions.


PRESSURE HEIGHT & DENSITY HEIGHT

All performance data for a/c is given in relation to the standard atmosphere. We must be able to convert ambient conditions prevailing at a particular aerodrome to an equivalent height in ISA.

Pressure Ht= Ht in the standard atmosphere where the pressure is the same as the sample of air being considered. (It is a measure of PRESSURE, not Height!)

At a lower QNH the field elevation must be higher than Sea Level as the air density is lower.

Example:

Field elevation of an aerodrome is 1500 Ft. Atm pressure at S.L. on that day is 1000 hPa. At what level in the std atm would the air be the same pressure as the air in the field?

We are asked to find the PRESSURE HEIGHT of the field.

Want to know the height of the field, not above the sea (on that day the QNH is 1000 hPa) , but above the 1013 hPa pressure level which is the starting point for the std atm.

1013 is greater than the QNH of the day, 1000 hPa; therefore it must be further down than S.L. since pressure in the atm can only increase with decreased ht (1013 is > 1000).

1013 must be (1013-1000)=13 x 30 Ft = 390 Ft below the sea on that day.

Hence the ht of the field above the 1013 pressure level is 1500+390=1890 Ft. This is the Press Ht. of the field. The airplane will behave and perform according to the 1890 Ft figures and not the 1500 figures.



PRESSURE HT= ELEVATION + (1013-QNH) X 30

PRESSURE HT INDICATES THE HEIGHT IN THE STANDARD ATMOSPHERE WHERE THE PRESSURE IS THE SAME AS THAT AT THE LOCATION BEING CONSIDERED.


Density Height

is the height in the std atm (ISA) where the air has the same density as the sample of air being considered. (It is a measure of density, not height!)

Press Ht concerns with air density changes due to atm pressure. We need to consider air density changes due to temp also.

ISA Temp - What is the behavior of temp in the std atm? SL std temp is 15 C. As temp drops at a std rate of 2 C per 1000' of height increase we can then calculate the std temp in ISA at any level.

E.g. at 4,000 Ft in the std atm the temp must be 15 - 2 x 4 = 15 - 8 = 7 C

This is called ISA Temp.

Temp Deviation - As air temp increases, air density decreases. Since density also decreases with increased ht, increases in air temp have a similar effect on density as an increase in ht ie an a/c will perform on a HOT day as though it is operated at a higher level in the std atm. Conversely it will operate on a cold day as though it is at a lower level.

Each deg C of temp rise = density decrease equiv to a ht increase of 120 Ft

E.g. on a hot day when the temp is 10 C hotter than ISA the a/c feels like it is operating at 10 x 120' = 1200 Ft higher.

Each deg C of temp drop = density increase equiv to a ht decrease of 120 Ft.

To calculate Density Ht we need pressure (i.e. Pressure Ht) and temp deviation from std atm:-

Example:

Find the density ht of an aerodrome which has an elevation of 2100 Ft if the QNH is 1000 hPa and the temp at the field at the time is +25C.

1) Given elevation and QNH we can find Pressure Height.

1013-1000=13

13 x 30 = 390 Ft

Press Ht is then 2100 + 390 = 2490 Ft

2) Temp drops at a std rate of 2 C per 1000 Ft rise.

Use Press Ht of approximately 2500 rounded off to nearest 500 Ft. So temp at a pressure ht of 2500 Ft must be colder than ISA:

ISA temp is 15 - (2 x 2.5) = +10C

Actual temp at the field is 25 C, therefore ISA Temp is COLDER than OAT hence PLUS.

ISA deviation is PLUS 25-10=+15 C

3) Multiply ISA deviation by 120 to obtain the correction that must be applied to the Pressure Ht to allow for the non std temp.

120 x ISA deviation = 1800 Ft

Density Height is then 2490 + 1800 = 4290 Ft//



Good Friday ..... Easter Monday

Last year Good Friday long weekend Samuel and I flew up to Temora for our first ever Temora Airshow.


It's been a year since then. This year Good Friday/Easter I did not plan to have an "air holiday" with my feet firmly planted on terra firma. It turned out to be a busy weekend as well.

Friday: Introduced Boon to Khai Yip. We went for yum cha @ Imperial Kingdom, cnr of Blackburn and Waverley Roads. Whilst they talked business I was happy to be there helping them get to know each other.

Saturday: My sister Pat invited us over for supper and met her friends Kin Fong and Ivy, friends of ours also. Kin Fong and I went to school together. We had 皮蛋瘦肉粥 cooked by David. Whilst the ladies chatted away David and I and the kids were watching some movies.

Sunday: Sister Irene and Lee came over for afternoon tea. I made fresh juice of orange, apple, and celery. Friends David and Linda invited us over to their Vermont South home for dinner. They also invited Lily and her children over for the occasion. SM baked a cake and we brought chocolate ice cream and a bottle of Chianti Rose.

The dinner was steam-boat 火锅 fair. Nice to have hot steam-boat dinner when the air is chilled. The wines were great and the company was good. The food as usual was great too.....

We have spent many a night having meals with Linda and Darren in the last couple of years. Darren let us in on their selling the house in May and moving to a the Marquise Apartments on St Kilda Road in the city. They are also planning to move back to KL in August. Darren has got his PR renewed for another 5 years and he wanted to get into some business in KL with his friends. To him there are more activities he can get into in KL. Linda has had some troubles with the hay fever here during Spring and Summer. Going to live in KL again will do her some good.

It's going to be a very busy period for them, packing up, saying good-byes, making arrangements for their living back in KL for the next few years ..... We are going to miss them.






SM, Lily and Linda



Lily's youngest


Linda's youngest