 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Ford XA Superbird....
  Page 2 of 2 |
|||||
| Author | Message | ||||
| Boppa Guru  Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Interestingly the only young people I know who have any idea of imperial are in the trades, that actually have a throwback to older measurements, like mechanics (I still have full sets of both metric and imperial in my toolchest, spanners of all types, sockets etc- that toolchest cost me more than two grand, like most tradies, it has one of everything, and a few I made myself lol) Even there tho, they literally only know the imperial measurements actually required, mechanics know inches and fractions of an inch, but most younger ones would have no idea of a mile, gallons (imperial or US), yards etc- they will know for eg a 9/16 and visually how big it is, but thats all Car tyres are another mix, a r15/235 is a mix of imperial and metric, but for many young guys, the r15 is more like a 'brand name' for a certain size rather than an actual measurement- they literally in many cases have no idea of what an inch is...or why it is/was used |
||||
| Paul_L Guru Joined: 03/03/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 769 |
Yep, aviation is strictly FPS. Altitude is in feet, barometric pressure in inches of mercury, speed in knots. The fact that the major aircraft manufacturers are from the states is only part of it. The controlling fact is that air traffic control standards have to be the same from country to country if aircraft are to be able to safely cross national borders. That's why pilots and controllers world wide speak English. Altimeters (and air data computers) are not very accurate. They try to measure altitude by measuring the air pressure. First of all, sea level pressure varies with weather influenced air pressure. A standard sea level pressure is defined as a pressure of 29.9213 in Hg at a temperature of 59°F. While pressure can be measured with an uncertainty of +/- 0.0015 In Hg with a standard manometer (see www.schwien.com) the best accuracy you can hope for in an aircraft installation is +/- 0.01 in Hg. Here's a tabulation of altitude, pressure, pressure change per foot and the expected altimeter error in feet. 0.01 In Hg Altitude Pressure Pres Change Altimeter Feet In Hg per ft Error feet 0000 29.92126 1000 28.85570 0.00106556 9.4 10000 20.57690 11000 19.79090 0.00078600 12.7 20000 13.75010 21000 13.18370 0.00056640 17.7 40000 5.53803 41000 5.27815 0.00025988 38.5 With an altimeter using a clock face dial where the big hand rotates 360° for every 1000 foot change it is easiest for pilots to fly at even 1000 foot altitudes where the big hand points straight up to 12 o'clock. So, if aircraft are assigned even 1000 foot altitudes where the even thousands are heading east (or north) and the odd altitudes are heading west (or south) there should be enough separation for safety, right? If the altimeter in the eastbound aircraft is reading .01 in hg low, and the altimeter in the westbound aircraft is reading .01 in hg high the separation distance between 40000 feet and 41000 feet will be reduced by 77 feet to 923 feet instead of 1000 feet and both altimeters are operating within their specified accuracy. Even if both altimeters were out of spec by twice their rating we would still have 846 feet of separation. So, it seems that having a uniform separation of 1000 feet between flight levels will work pretty well. If we were to attempt using meters to describe flight levels and 1000 feet or 304.8 meters is a good separation distance would you please describe to me an altimeter dial face which could display an interval of 304.8 meters with the big hand pointing to 12 o'clock. The closest obvious choice would be to have the big hand rotate 360° for every 333.3 meters or 1093.5 feet. Most commercial aircraft have a service ceiling of 44,000 feet which gives the traffic controllers 44 possible flight levels 1000 feet apart. If the flight levels were 1093.5 feet apart the number of possible flight levels would be reduced to 41 or 7% fewer flight levels. That would cram 9.75% more aircraft into each flight level. I keep finding things that make you go hmmmmmmm .... Paul in NY |
||||
Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5119 |
It is a good video, I found time today to watch it. I've noticed in the last couple of years, with the end to car manufacturing in Australia, there has been a strong growth in interest in these 60's 70's and even 80's Australian cars. If you ever get a chance watch a Lloyds online auction when they have some classic Australian muscle cars, the prices will amaze you. Its not unusual to see Australian muscle cars from the 70's go for over $100,000. Even some of the old imports who earned a racing reputation have sky rocketed in price. I've had Datsun 1600's ( 510 ) when I was young, but cant afford to buy one now as they go for over $10,000. My Dad bought a brand new HQ GST Monaro back in 1973 when I was a kid, I still remember the first time I saw it. He was supposed to be buying a HQ station wagon, but instead arrived home in the Monaro, I still remember the fight between Mum and Dad as I snuck down stairs to look at the new car. In my 20's I finally got to own that car, and still do. Today these old muscle cars are nothing special performance wise, a modern family car could out perform them in most ways. But no one looks at you when you drive a modern family car, and those old cars have a feel about them, like a living creature. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
||||
| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Lil sis's car 'Daisy' 351/5.8 clevo, fmx, 9" disc brake diff, dual carby 78 XC GS   (had to trim no plate) loud and fast and fun  |
||||
| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Holy mackerals.... "The price of Australia's most expensive Ford Falcon just doubled to $2 million" XA Ford Falcon for $2 million The relatively unknown Phase 4 XA (my ltd motor was made to the same specs as the P4) WOW- thats higher than I have seen Phase 3's go for.... and they are much more well known (a P4 could go around and most people wouldnt even notice it- very 'sleeper') |
||||
| Malibu Senior Member  Joined: 07/07/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 260 |
For a trip down memory lane and a good look at what these old cars were pushed to do - Bathurst 1970 There's nothing wrong with a little bit of body roll when driving a 2-ton car at 150mph running leaf springs, is there?!  and the good ol' days of the 'Hardie Ferodo 1000' at Bathurst in 1978... Bathurst 1978 About halfway through... NO self-respecting race mechanic should ever leave home without an axe to do repairs!  Ya gotta love those crazy days!  John |
||||
| Paul_L Guru Joined: 03/03/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 769 |
They all look like small cars to me! The answer to body roll was what Packard did with their last design in 1954. They hooked a torsion bar from the right front wheel to the left rear wheel, and a second torsion bar from the left front wheel to the right rear wheel. When a bump pushed the right front wheel up it would push the left rear wheel down and the body would rise up diagonally from right front to left rear. Then they hooked up a geared down electric motor to the torsion bar to change the preload tension which would change the ride height under the driver's control. It wasn't quite as good as the Citroen DS19 with the independent hydraulic suspension but it was a close second. Paul in NY |
||||
| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
The Falcon isnt a small car- unless you compare it to a caddy or something... Ford Falcon (XY) - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(XY) Width, 1,869 mm (73.6 in). Height, 1,417 mm (55.8 in). Curb weight, 1,348 kg (2,971.8 lb). It's opponents were the Torana, which was considered a small (well its a medium actually and some Valiants (Chrysler to the yanks) Holden_Torana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Torana Wheelbase 2,430 mm (96 in) 2,540 mm (100 in) Length 4,120 mm (162 in)4,380 mm (172 in) Width 1,600 mm (63 in) Curb weight 805–835 kg (1,775–1,841 lb) (Torana 4)[1] 950–1,010 kg (2,090–2,230 lb) (Torana 6)[1] Chrysler Valiant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Valiant_(VF) Wheelbase 108.0 inches (2743 mm) (sedan) [2] Length 192.3 inches (4885 mm) (sedan) [2] Width 69.7 inches (1770 mm) (sedan) [2] Height 55.0 inches (1397 mm) (sedan) [2] Curb weight 2950 lb (1338 kg) (sedan) Although they are all small against my old LTD lol (not mine, but identical car, even the same colour)  |
||||
| Phil23 Guru Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1667 |
Wow, I had to think twice about the 45 year bit. Then age kicked in. I thought they made pretty cool Highway Patrol cars; That was until I got the view on one in the rear view mirror with the lights flashing a few weeks before I turned 18...... Always wanted a 2 door XA-XC in my 20's when they were around a 10+ year old car. That day never came, but did get close in the late 90's with a Brand Spanking new Sporty Falcon 6 Pack with all the extra kW of the pre-hair dryer models. Also hard to believe that that daily drive was bought 20 years ago & when not parked on the ramps in the shed, it's clocking up it's annual 3km. Last look I think it was getting up near the 110,000km mark. |
||||
bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2950 |
Interesting thread, I watched the clip with interest.. A fantastic resurrection and well worth the cost although it looked to me that the boot (trunk for the US blokes) doesnt look like it fits perfectly. As to dual measuring systems I started in FPS and changed to metric in I guess mid 70's now so I understand both.. When my father (RiP) helped me lay the flooring in our hallway he measured, I cut, the dimensions were often given as 1.2m + 1/8" which I took perfectly well and the hallway turned out well. Even the metric ONLY people here still quote weight in Pounds and length in cm when a baby is born (ie 7lbs 10oz, 49 cm as in my daughter when she was born) I could not understand why they couldn't just say 3.46kg and 49cm. As to decametres.. Who ever uses that measurement..?? its mm or m generally. Also we spell m as metRE not metER (which is a measurement gauge) Regards, Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
||||
| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Possibly the baby weight thing is only some people/ hospitals Mick? I know that a mates daughter (who I used to babysit when she was only a baby!- god that makes me feel old now lol) has just had her second kid, and they definitely gave her weight in grams - which seems a bit silly as they gave it as 3200g- most people would use kg by that weight... Definitely, decametres is never used in general- mm, cm then metres then km (again wiki and manufacturers seem out of step with general public use, I would never look at something and say "oh thats 2200mm..." by that distance it would be in metres- "how high is that fence""oh about two metres" and if I used a tape measure it would be 2.2m (I actually hate that unless you add it, spellcheck chucks a wobbly at metres and wants to autocorrect it to meters- like you said, I measure voltage on a METER, and measure a length of wire in METRES... grr stupid autocarrot) |
||||
| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3378 |
>autocarrot  PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
||||
| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
|
||||
Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1097 |
This is how us Aussies will start the trial for driving on the other side of the road. ChopperP |
||||
| Paul_L Guru Joined: 03/03/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 769 |
What the *#^%^@( is that! Is that some method of confusing joeys? Driving in the right lane in a car with the wheel on the right is not a good idea! Paul in NY |
||||
Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9610 |
@ ChopperP - What the......    Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
||||
| Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1097 |
@G. One of my FB friends put it up wondering what it was about. I've really no idea either. @Paul. We do see the occasional LH drive car over here. Followed a LHD BMW sports car for a bit a few months ago. I visited Exmouth in NW W Aust many years ago. Joint Aust / US Comms Base there. All the yanks had their cars (yank tanks) flown in. Took a while when driving around the town to get used to kids sitting in the drivers seat with an adult in the passenger seat. I think we will stay on the LHS of the road for a good while yet. I did hear of a report with open cut mines, that they had fewer accidents involving the large trucks when they drove with the cabin on the outside of the mine roads. Probably see the edges better. ChopperP |
||||
| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Which funnily enough- would put you back on driving on the LHS of the road again, just as we already do here- as nearly all actually have their cabin on the left... (BTW- I haven't actually 'driven' one, but I have worked in the cabin of many, and ridden in one many times as a passenger, lots of cameras and proximity detectors, but even then, the actual visibility is quite poor, you can see forward and left relatively well, right ok(ish) but you could park a dozen cars on the RHS close up and not be able to see them directly The water truck I last rode in (has a big water tank on it instead of a tipping body- also carries a relatively small refueling tank on it too) I went down with the driver into an large opencut pit- and they actually had flags showing where the pit road is, approaching it is scary as as you seriously look like you are going to drive off into open space until you get close) |
||||
| Page 2 of 2 |
|||||
 Print this page |
 |
The Back Shed's forum code is written, and hosted, in Australia. | © JAQ Software 2025 |
