Climate Change

[spacesailor]

There's one "Lone tree" in the Simpson, the only tree for men to wee behind.

 

If ecosia plants too many there, we will run-out of wee !, don't you think.

 

will try this site out later.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Bruce]

Did you hear about the company making explosive prayer mats? Prophets are going through the roof.

 

 

[facthunter]

There are others hanging around thinking they may get a head. Nev

 

 

[willedoo]

There's one "Lone tree" in the Simpson, the only tree for men to wee behind.If ecosia plants too many there, we will run-out of wee !, don't you think.

 

will try this site out later.

 

spacesailor

 

I only ever did one job in the Simpson, I'd guess about 2009 or 10 from memory. It was a good season after a lot of rain and it was covered in a carpet of grasses apart from the spinifex, but I don't recall seeing trees, and very few shrubs.

 

 

[Bruce]

What about desert oaks willedoo? There are some nice ones on sandy country to the west along the Stuart highway.

 

 

[spacesailor]

Fraser island has a "Rain Forest" on it's sandy floor, and the streams are so clear the camera's thinks there's no water there.

 

Best viewed personally.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[nomadpete]

Simpson desert has gnarly ancient stunted gidyea trees. Don't recall seeing much desert Oaks though.

 

 

[willedoo]

What about desert oaks willedoo? There are some nice ones on sandy country to the west along the Stuart highway.

Bruce, we were only in a small part of the Simpson, on the Western side about half way up. It was very sandy country with no real clay pan type dune corridors. Just sand dunes with more sand in between. I don't recall seeing any oaks there. All the dune tops were active blown sand which doesn't breed a lot of trees.

 

But I do remember a couple of aeroplane trips across the Simpson in the 80's and recall seeing a few trees down below. One trip was in a Cherokee 6 transiting from Windorah to Ringwood Station (destination was supposed to be Alice Springs, but that's another story about how not to fly across the Simpson), and the other from Hall's Creek, WA to somewhere in the Moomba area in SA, in a 206 Cessna. That took us on a diagonal route from the NW to the SE of the Simpson. I remember in the northern section seeing some of the old French exploration lines from the early 60's still visible. That flight in the 206 was one of those memorable flights that you remember all your life.

 

In most of the flights through country like that, we were loaded to the max with full pax + gear and whatever machinery parts we could squeeze on board.

 

Long slow heavy uncomfortable flights. But that day in the 206 over the Simpson, it was April with the weather cooling down a bit, postcard blue skies where you can see from horizon to horizon, and not a hint of wind or turbulence. I doubt you could ever get better flying conditions, one of those days where you look around and feel you are on top of the world. Plus there was only the pilot and myself plus our bags and swags, so the Cessna was light and responsive. It was the first time I had ever flown in an aircraft that wasn't loaded to almost breaking point.

 

In those conditions that country is picture perfect. It's hard to reconcile it with sandstorms in January blasting 30 knot sand in your face with the mercury edging towards 60 degrees C. I guess when it's good, it's beautiful, and when it's bad it's rather unpleasant.

 

Edit: The way I look at it, if thread drift involves aviation it should have special status and be considered virtual non thread drift. Or overlooked so to speak.

 

 

[storchy neil]

space that tree was still there2003 /4

 

when we started on that track going from the western side and got near that turn the gps that I was using failed at the turn the other driver said which way I replied theres at tree up the road if you don't pass it your gone the wrong way and you will wind up in a salt pan he laughed did a lttle bit of work out there neill

 

 

[spacesailor]

Storchy, I always have a backup GPS, as I no longer carry a Sextant.

 

That blasted salt-pan is a bit bogey, some like to do their donuts on it.

 

Just to let the sky drivers see, we are down here.

 

I see they'r advertising the Birdsville Bash for 2019 already, & the Mudgee Balloons Aloft.

 

Have two grand daughters booked for Mudgee flights already.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[storchy neil]

seen a u bute ute with an unbreakable record fall through the crust rescued by 1947 jeep only thing that could get near it ops neil

 

 

[nomadpete]

They advertise those beaut utes as "unbreakable" . And charge an extra ten grand for the reputation that their tough old 4WD Billy carts earned.

 

Pity that they don't really make them so tough anymore. And they sure bend in the middle pretty easily.

 

 

[spacesailor]

The GP's of the war era, that I had seen, were all small engine'd, most two wheel drive only and couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

 

But that was in England, so maybe we didn't get the biggies or 4X4, or even ones with good axles & gearbox's. CRASH gears Don't miss that change going down hill.

 

They say he Landie was bad, But I only drove (unlicensed & underage) for fun. loved the powered trailers on the landrover, just needed a bigger, Stronger tube for the power takeoff.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[nomadpete]

The jeeps that we got in Aus, were low powered primitive lightweight 4wd vehicles that were equipped with carry handles on the corners to allow manual unbogging -just lift and carry to high ground. Designed to be cheap and disposable.

 

 

[facthunter]

A Willy's side valve four cylinder motor as well.. Built under licence by Ford sometimes. I found them dreadful on a rough road. Too short a wheel base. Lot's of unsprung weight. I worked on them as amphibious DUCK's . Slightest sea and they sank. The bigger GMC 6x6 based one was responsible for numerous drownings of Army personnel even post war. Nev

 

 

[spacesailor]

FC

 

Wrong on that one!.

 

Willys was the F-head motor. ford side valve motor's were used in the JP.

 

Willys also had the slide-valve engine.

 

"In 1913, Willys acquired a license to build the Charles Knight's sleeve-valve engine which it used in cars bearing the Willys–Knight "

 

My father had a couple of them in the sixties. (NZ). so we looked the origin.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[facthunter]

Would you like to bet?. The Rover had the F head motor (sidevalve exhaust and the gasket face was on a slant making it hard to rebore by the conventional method of setting the boring bar up..The first ones only, from the Rover 75.( Not made during the war.) replaced later by a 4 cyl OHV which was an improvement. The US Jeep is Post 36 Willy's 4 cylinder sidevalve.. About as simple an engine as one could devise. I think the Ford built ones had interchangeable parts. There was a bit of a tender /contest to build an army light vehicle and that had something to do with the name "JEEP".. Ford also built Liberator bombers in great numbers. ( and some Lycoming motors). Packard had also built aero motors (Radials) and built some Merlins. . Nev

 

 

[storchy neil]

yep nev light it nearly walked on water neil

 

 

[spacesailor]

It was Willys own adverts & paperwork that I read.

 

They said the Willys motor was rejected as too complicated, and Ford's was simpler, That simple !.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Yenn]

I worked on Jeeps while I was in the army. They had flat head Ford engines, and were made either by Ford or Willys. The main difference between the makes was the front cross member, which was either circular or rectangular in cross section depending upon who built it. I cannot remember which was which.

 

They were great all purpose vehicles, very tough and could even stand me going through the gears and forgetting they were 3 speed so I selected rev instead of first. Double de clutching still wouldn't allow me to do that without crunching the gears. They were called Jeeps as they were vehicles GP for general purpose.

 

The amphibious vehicles were Ducks with the name derived from the makers Detroit Universal Kar Works or DUKW. I never got to drive them on rough water, but theywere OK in calm conditions. You could inflate and deflate the tyres on the run and I have never seen that done on any other vehicle. The view from the drivers seat was not much better than that from a taildragger aircraft and nothing at all was visible on the right hand side of the vehicle unless it was 2 m high.