Come on in for general chat and POLITE banter between LAA members
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:10 am
Hi Ian,
The answers are from another forum!....I have problems trying to get an answer for a windsock on here!
G.
LAA.PRAA.BRA.
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:38 am
Hi Ian,
i have been offered different size windsocks ...but dont know what size to get.. these come with various size rods ..or poles as they are described.. i am looking at getting some of these for my own strip!
Gary
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...
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Bill McCarthy
- Posts: 488
- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:06 pm
- Location: Caithness
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by Bill McCarthy » Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:01 am
If you are going to get a windsock, you'd better order a van load of them. They will get threadbare in no time at all, or end up in the Minch from the Western Isles. Even in Dornoch, if you were visiting, it was "windsock by request" for the same reason !!
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:41 am
Hi Bill,
I was trying to get some info on the windsocks.. there are large sizes and small..i dont know if they are made out of the ripstop material or not ..hearing different things.. and i understand that the rods or poles are fibreglass..and there are some metal..unsure about these as well!
gary
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...
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macconnacher
- Posts: 256
- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:26 am
- Location: Northampton
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by macconnacher » Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:03 am
Windsocks are rated in knots so that a 25knot windsock is one which is horizontal in a 25 knot wind. You need a bearing assembly at the top of the pole (just like the rotor head of a gyro copter) to allow the sock to freely rotate 360 degrees. Scafold poles are ideal for windsocks
In the US: many airfields use the traditional T with a vertical fin; on bearings so that it points in the right direction. It does not give wind speed indication like a windsock does but it has another advantage that it is visible from the air but not from the ground ie local roads. I have seen one made using a stub axle and automotive wheel as the bearing assembly.
Then keep a trad windsock using a pole such that it can be kept lowered and you can raise when needed. The sock end can be kept in a protective enclosure out of the light as the dayglow fades when not in use.
You could make up a 30's Smoke indicator which was used instead of a windsock at major airports such as Croyden. Essentially this was a heated plate in a box that diesel was dripped upon hence producing small puffs of smoke visible from the air.
Obviously a winter homebuilt project
Stuart Macconnacher
002353
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:20 am
Hi Mac,
what is the one they do in the US using a chain! this may be a bit heavy for scotlannd ok for wyoming!...........
gary
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...
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Rob Swain
- Posts: 393
- Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:11 pm
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by Rob Swain » Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:12 pm
Gary Carr wrote:gary,
The only truly reliable way to find underground pipes is to exploit that standard principle of all sciences, Murphy's Law. Get a backhoe and start digging somewhere without permits or site surveys. A power auger or a "Ditch witch" trencher will do equally well; it just needs to be big and destructive, and slow to stop when encountering something breakable underground. You'll be amazed at what you can find -- water pipes, gas lines, electrical utilities -- the possibilities are endless! This works especially well if you have something that makes sparks, too, so that you don't have to wait for the smell to help you detect the gas lines (extra points if you can get an electrical line and a gas line in the same stroke).
It's a good way of locating unexploded shells at ex-military airfields as well.

Rob Swain
If the good Lord had intended man to fly, He would have given him more money.
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:47 pm
Nice one...QUOTE: rob!
It's a good way of locating unexploded shells at ex-military airfields as well.
This is why nobody wants to drive the digger then.........
Gary
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:03 pm
Hi,
This is serious stuff take a look at the prize!...
Now there is a reason for this madness...... i am going to contact John Cooke.. and see if we can arange at a Get.together people who will like to try this....for a small fee..fun intended!!
Now the proccedings will go to the LAA. i am sure they could arrange a prize... but not the ...$1,000,000 just to see if people can find water we could place water under a plastic container and see how many people can get this..........but as i say i will have to get the O.K. from the LAA. and its members! and all interested parties...its just a fund raiser...
Gary
A $1,000,000 prize awaits anyone who can prove that he can find water or anything else with divining sticks or rods.
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...
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Brian Robe
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:27 pm
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by Brian Robe » Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:23 pm
Water divining does work. I have used L shaped bent pieces of coat hanger pivoting in biros with the middle removed. hold the biros in front of you at waist height so that the longer piece of wire is facing forward and stable. Your elbows must be slightly away from your body as the movement of the rods crossing when you walk above water is caused by your elbows moving away from your body. The rods or hazel twig are just there to show the involuntary movement of your arms.I last used dowsing to find a 1" water pipe at Beamish museum where nobody could remember where it was. It saved hours of searching with the digger.
I dont mind what we discuss on this forum. Finding water pipes can be very usefull when deciding where to build a hangar. Not everybody can do it!
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Gary Carr
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Western Isles
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by Gary Carr » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:21 pm
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the post!......There seems to be a lot of people that think this is rubbish....
And there again some say they have tried with this rod method at finding water and got it stright away!.... me i tried and failed even the waterboard guy said that it doesnot work for every body...something about static in the body... so i dont know! out of 100 answers 55 0/0 said its rubbish even gone as far as to say this is some sort of cult!....
gary
Updated
1st aircraft... TST Thruster MK1
Second aircraft... challenger II
Third aircraft .......Gyrocopter 2 place....... And i am still on the ground!...
LAA.PRA.BRA...