Chapter 39 - The day before

Nearly ready to go.

Before we leave the USA, a photo of the aircraft at Torrance, with our young LAME assistant, who did a lot of the work on VH-EXS. He honed out the valve guides when Ray & Lyn had the rough running before their planned pre-flight test.

After the guides had been honed, Lyn and I had taken it out for a great trip around Catalina Island but found that the position indicator needle on the elevator trim had become disconnected. This was supposedly rectified later.



On the same flight we noticed that the magnetic compass was not giving the same reading as the HSI. We had an approximate 25 degree difference. We assumed, as it turns out, incorrectly, that the magnetic compass was being affected by the temporary HF radio gear on top the front panel console. We decided to check the magnetic compass against the runway heading when we returned but we neglected to do so.



Going tomorrow. The three aircraft are fully loaded and fueled, parked in the same hangar and ready to be pulled out and depart.

For those who fly in Australia and who are aware of the excessively costly stupidity of the Government security policy for airmen, aircraft and airports, have a look at the photographs and take note of the cars inside the airport and beside the aircraft. Private cars are allowed onto the airports and can drive up and down the taxiways in Class D airports. Pilots don't need security passes. Yes there is security. I recall seeing one of the security personnel when the gate stuck closed and he came down and opened it for us. When you consider that it was the USA, not Australia, which was attacked by terrorists and compare their level of security with ours, it just shows what a great political stunt John Howard and the Liberal Party pulled over the ignorant Australian public.


Ridiculous airport security costing hundreds of millions of dollars and achieving nothing that couldn't be breached with a pair of cheap bolt cutters or a short walk around the fence. Maybe the Australian Government thinks that a terrorist wouldn't think of that or wouldn't be able to use bolt cutters.

On the weekend before our departure, we were treated to police practicing their technique to be able to spin and stop a car being pursued in a car chase. Two practice cars going around a circuit which was laid out on a taxiway right at the end of the active runways. Cars accelerating,  nudging the tail of the lead car, wheels screeching, cars spinning, rubber burning and smoking. That's right. All inside the active Class D airport just
a couple of miles south of one of the largest cities in the USA in a country which sees itself as being under attack from international terrorists. Look what our politicians do to us - just to scare people so they can get a few extra votes from the ignorant.

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