Recent content by StraightnLevel

First solo flight today.

The car was absolutely terrible. User interface, the way it drives, seats, etc. Just not good.

Typical rental car. When you press the accelerator it doesn't change the speed, just the pitch.

I think that's a Dodge/Chrysler product. Agreed that it's a terrible design from an ergonomics perspective. In general, the move to touch screens rather than physical buttons is not good, IMO. It requires you to remove your eyes from the road and look at the screen, rather than using tactile...

Completed 6 full-stop night landings last night. The first was a bit shaky - I wasn't really prepared for the perspective difference. By the end, it wasn't much different from a daytime landing. Now I just need to complete my nighttime XC ples a couple more landings, and that will more than...

You are assuming that the pilot uses their regular PCP. Nothing prevents them from using a "doc-in-a-box" for a one-off visit. I did that a number of times for my annual racing exams, because for a couple of decades that was the only time I ever saw or talked with a doctor. I literally went...

That's not true of the newer approaches that use renewables to power the ethanol and bio-diesel production processes. https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2023/sustainability/porsche-perspectives-sustainability-interview-karl-dums-31632.html...

A lot. The daylight hours in sunny environments are when energy usage is highest (A/C loads). Energy storage systems effectively double the cost of solar. QED. In the end, rooftop solar with backup battery is the single most expensive energy source per kWh. In contrast, the cheapest power...

Yeah, better cancel your life insurance before takeoff!

Absolutely. Over the weekend I rented from National. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra, as the only other options were large pickup trucks. The only thing I learned from it is to never buy a Nissan.

It's a shame to lose a nice helicopter like that....

Wouldn't that be up to Canada to make it legal?

Absolutely. https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel-basics#:~:text=Biodiesel%20is%20a%20renewable%2C%20biodegradable,of%20the%20Renewable%20Fuel%20Standard. https://www.lincolntech.edu/news/automotive/automotive-technology/synthetic-fuels-can-give-world-clean-gasoline...

Hmmm.....bucket list extended.....

No, of course not. It was not a suitable envronment for humans, however. Regardless, the global political environment leaves us at a point where we must play the game. That means finding and forcibly implementing better solutions than battery-powered toy cars, trucks, and planes. I, for one...