Ned Gravel

Canadian exchange officer to 1st Armd Div Sig Regt (1 ADSR), Verden an der Aller- ‘83 to ‘85. First heard the term when one of my young Sgts gave his report following a last lite perimeter patrol on the Deister where we had established our Comcen. He was a Scouse and was referring to a person they had engaged halfway through the patrol and was using unflattering language to describe the hapless TA soldier who had been sent to test us. Apparently, “bimbling” is not a desirable skill in soldiers. When I asked him what “bimbling” meant, that is how he defined it for me. Still chuckle when I remember that exchange in our little CP close to a midnight in September ‘84.

Bimbling? Haven’t heard that term since my time in BAOR in the mid 80’s. “Moving without apparent purpose.” Is that what you were doing above the deck over Normandy?

Yup. Simple, easy and safe way way to lose altitude when VFR to enter the pattern without gaining the speed that can create havoc with other aircraft in the pattern. Sometimes a forward slip on final to stay lined up on the centreline. I fly a short body - so no longbody issues.

Exactly what I did last year. Works good.

@Browncbr1 and @chriscalandro: thanks guys for the offers. Spun the knobs. Flew the test fight. All good.

Hank: Don’t know if you folks in the US have an equivalent, but I just got my backup iPad (Gen 4 mini) back from Ubreakifix for not being able to connect to any wifi. Two days and $120.00 Cdn later it is back. They have replaced screens and batteries for me in iPhones and iPads over the years. They know their stuff. Never had any issues with their work.

Got mine when we were at AirVenture last week. Used it twice since.

Hank: Isn’t that what the Master Switch is for?

Thanks guys. I will take that knob for a dance, spin it around a couple times, enter our local Class E space in Gatineau for a few circuits and see if it has resolved itself. I will let you know how it went.

Today, while flying home from Waterloo, ON to Rockcliffe, Toronto Centre informed me that my transponder was putting out two separate signals - the code they gave and one that was up by four on the last digit. My own ADSB in (Foreflight/UAvionix Sentry) also warned me that an aircraft was within 25 feet of me at the same altitude. I know it is an old tech device, but I am not yet ready to shell out $5000 for a full ADSB-in/out head to put in the panel. I have a Tail Beacon to meet the US ADSB out mandate and that works fine. Before anyone asks, I checked with the controllers after cutting the power to the Tail Beacon and the problem continued anyway. Cheapest solution is probably to get my old Narco repaired and have the antennae all checked - but I thought I would ask. Any ideas on what to look for?

Poll is incomplete. Second question should include the option of the incident being discussed (investigated) by the experts. The three year caveat for the report is a red herring.

+1

I agree with Mike. Best of the GA airports in the Chicago area. Dupage is OK, but PWK is more accessible when flying in from the East.

IFR means I get to worry primarily about what I am doing. VFR means I have to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about what others are doing. Much less stressful for me to plan, file, and fly IFR. Even when flying a lot in the clag. Today’s weather tools allow us to make better decisions before departure, so the probability of running headlong into a cell while in the clag is much reduced from what it used to be. Remember Scott Crossfield? My last three flights in serious clag combined my watching stuff develop (considering significant deviations) with ATC pre-emptively diverting me anyway. What a team!!! Typical IFR is the same as the lost comms rule - fly predictably. Typical VFR allows folks to make it up as they go along. Don’t mind that, so long as it is not happening where I am flying. All of my unexpected “close encounters” have been under VFR. Then it scares the living beegees out of me. Training and flying in the Mooney caravan puts a bunch of us close together as well, but it is entirely predictable for the most part. Not the same as: “FSWR, 12 o’clock, 3 miles, northwest bound, type and altitude unknown.” ie: no transponder and no contact with ATC. IFR for me, please.

+1 for the same kit. Clarence had me cut it down from the “near prepper” kit I had created six years ago with a roll-up carrying case. I had to realise that being AOG still meant only a professional would actually do the work and sign off. Hard lesson for an engineer (and retired soldier) to learn.

Two pumps on final before the FAF. That configures the aircraft for the missed approach. 80 mph and slowing. Full flaps rarely, but only when visual. And only when needing to keep the ground roll short. More than two pumps does not increase lift, only drag.

Says my AME.

That sentiment is exactly why you did my PPI and saved me $14,000 in repair bills. When the seller showed up to argue, you showed them all the impacted items. They already knew I was walking because of the results of the PPI. The fact that they arranged for the required repair, based on the evidence, is a testament to the validity of your findings. This is also why you do all my annuals. The cost of conformance in aircraft maintenance is mostly money. The cost of non-conformance is much, much more than money. Continue doing please, whether or not some damn you. More than one life depends on it, mine included.

I keep a class 1 at the 24 month renewal which automatically drops to a class 3 in month 12 of that cycle. The following year I re-up with another class 1. And I am a Canadian in my 69th year.

Just passed my IPC this morning. Martinsburg - here I come!!

That is how he treats our aircraft too.

Since I got the Mini 6 to replace my Mini 4 (that was having trouble keeping up with things), I had to find a way to mount it back to my yoke. Mini 6 is thicker than Mini 4 so I had to invest in some new Ram mounting hardware - and I made some mistakes. In essence, I bought almost two separate systems, when all I had to do was wait for Ram to bring back the same holder as before, but for the Mini 6. I had wanted to buy one that allowed the Mini 6 to be used with its soft rubber cover (in order to prevent stressing the screen whenever I removed it from my office cover to use in the aircraft. Turns out, this is a waste of time because the thicker form of the Mini 6 does not bend at all compared to the Mini 4. Result is I have these parts for sale. Original cost to me, excluding shipping, was over $200.00 USD. See the cost of new parts for yourself at https://www.rammount.com/. I am looking for $100.00 plus shipping for anyone who wants it. If it has not sold in 2 weeks, I will probably give them away to our local flying club to give to new underprivileged (:)) student pilots looking for similar gear for themselves. E-mail me at egravel03@rogers.com See the photos and captions below. The plate shown below is not included. This is the mount I finally used to replace the one shown above.

In US airspace, only fly IFR. Wx makes no difference. I want the guarantee of a second set of eyes to provide traffic separation. More than one instance of a cowboy not talking to anyone but more than willing to trade paint with me. Last time was in 2011 on our way to the FISK arrival. Tfc was picked up by Green Bay Approach but almost too late. Never again. Not saying it will not happen in Canadian airspace, but with more space and fewer a/c, it is much less likely. In local controlled airspace, I have filed VFR, but that is a rare exception. Even in Canada, normally only fly IFR.

Maybe it is just me, but competence beats both low cost and obsequiousness any day of the week. I don’t understand some of these arguments. Why not use only mechanics that eat their own cooking? Lives are at stake here. Blow a cylinder in a car and it can be convinced to roll to the shoulder of the road. Non event. Have that happen in a Mooney at 7000’ and the excitement is just starting. What am I missing?

In my E model, I normally land with T/O flaps. I only need to retract flaps to fly faster than the white arc (100 mph). Prop and mixture are already full forward. So…power up, pitch for positive rate, 95 mph and trim, gear up, flaps up, trim down, head for the missed approach fix. Then prop back to 2500, MAP to 20”, 120 mph or so, fly the hold.