Flytec
Wills Wing

Oz Report

Volume 16, Number 230
Friday, November 16 2012
Davis' sisters' house, Alameda, Oakland, San Francisco, California, USA
https://OzReport.com
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

to Table of Contentsto next topic Flytec Tip of the Week - End of the Season

Thu, Nov 15 2012, 9:43:03 am PST
Flytec Tip of the Week
Batteries

Steve Kroop

Steve Kroop at Flytec «info» writes:

Besides user-inflicted damage, the most common cause of instrument problems that I see is from leaky single-use batteries.  The fluid that leaks from these batteries is highly corrosive and if allowed to remain on circuit board, will cause irreparable damage.  Generally speaking if the instrument (or similar electronic device) is face up (battery compartment down) when the batteries leak, the damage is limited to the battery terminals and battery leads.  However, if the instrument is face down (battery compartment up) then the battery fluid can get on and damage the circuit board, LCD and keypad, etc.  If you are lucky enough to discover a leak before significant corrosion begins you can follow the steps in last week's Tip of the Week for contact with salt water to prevent or minimize damage to the instrument.

In the winter, as the flying season winds down for much of the northern hemisphere, pilots tend to forget about their gear for several months only to discover in the Spring that the batteries in their instrument, GPS or radio have leaked during the winter hiatus.  For this reason, I recommend that pilots remove the batteries in these devices for the winter hibernation and thereby eliminate the chance of a battery leak damaging their electronics.  All of our instruments use static memory so flights, waypoints and user-settings will not be lost when the batteries are removed, even for an extended period.

I have also observed when pilots are flying regularly they tend to live with minor instrument problems and defects such as broken housings, blemished LCDs, intermittent keypad, etc.  However, when winter sets in they forget about these issues, then, when they get horny to get back in the air in the Spring, they say "oh shit I meant to get that fixed over the winter." For this reason, before you ignore your gear for the winter, send your defective stuff to its repair center and get any issues resolved now rather then in the Spring when you are itching to fly.  In the case of Flytec instruments, here in the Americas, that would be us (pleases see our support page: http://flytec.com/support.html), outside the Americas you can contact the factory: http://www.flytec.ch/de/contact/e-mail.html and for other manufacturer's products, visit their website for service instructions.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Finding out more about dust devils

Thu, Nov 15 2012, 9:43:37 am PST
A nice video

dust devil|Peter Holloway|video

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2012/11/dust-devils.html

So far, the team has found that dust devils move forward faster than previously thought and that large ones can move just as quickly as smaller ones.  Unlike the spiral-like trajectories of Martian dust devils, most of the Earthly ones appear to move in straight lines.

Thanks to Peter Holloway.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Flying in Ireland

Thu, Nov 15 2012, 9:43:53 am PST
On the west coast

video

Shaun O'Neill «oneill.shaunr» writes:

Ancient Celtic folklore speaks of a wonderful mythical land, a place many dream of but, alas, so few will have the chance to visit.  A land where eagles soar free and the people are content.  A land of wild mountains surrounded by deep blue sea.

A remote and rugged island on the west coast of Ireland was recently witness to a well planned but underfinanced search for such a place.  Armed with nothing more than vivid imagination, some musical instruments and some gliders, the carefully selected team were left to follow the myth.  It was indeed, and of course remains, a wonderful place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNheamAKlyE

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The Oz Report, a near-daily, world wide hang gliding news ezine, with reports on competitions, pilot rankings, political issues, fly-ins, the latest technology, ultralight sailplanes, reader feedback and anything else from within the global HG community worthy of coverage. Hang gliding, paragliding, hang gliders, paragliders, aerotowing, hang glide, paraglide, platform towing, competitions, fly-ins. Hang gliding and paragliding news from around the world, by Davis Straub.

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