Nid_Noi

Taylor's Aerocar 1949

Remember when we were supposed to be flying our personal Taylorcraft vehicle or helicopter. The technology is here and many have built such machines through the Experimental Aircraft Association in the US. I used to own my own plane since the late 60s, single engine and twin engines when general aviation was still "affordable". Many people left the sky due to costs and regulations. After 35 years of flying (several thousand hours of IFR and VFR flights) I had to stop at the turn of the century for the one and only reason I could not get an insurance even with a flawless logbook. When over 60 years old insurance companies consider that general aviation pilots are a risk for others or themselves. They would accept to insure me when a copilot is in the plane or flying only VFR in daytime. I did not even consider an insurance for my aircraft, just a liability insurance in order to cover third parties (passengers, buildings and airports staff and mechanics). Aviation is expensive for many reasons (taxes, landing fees, maintenance, storage, insurance and proficiency training for licence renewals) and most of the clientele with means is among the seniors, the ones who are "killed" by insurance premiums. A few aircraft manufacturer (like Cirrus) have installed a parachute in case of emergency but this did not lower the insurance cost because these single engine aircraft (either piston, turbo or jet) are quite expensive to buy and fly.

Also make sure you have more than 15 days before your visa expiry date. You can still get the COR (one year validity after issued date) but DLT won’t accept to renew your licence. Also make sure your health certificate is still valid (one month only after issued date).

Does it mean longer flights will be done by single aisle aircraft. Recently an Airbus 321neo flew non-stop from Lima to Toronto (6194 km). All the far-east, south Asian and middle-east countries could be served from Bangkok by this Airbus 321neo. Not a joyful perspective because this is a trend across the Atlantic…

My alternatives would be : Thailand then the ASEAN countries. They have money for their military goons but not for the refugees on their soil.

May I propose “Napoléon Bonaparte”. St.Helena has been his final residence from 1815 to 1821. Just to revive the “Cordial Agreement” signed in 1904. I am sure I’ll get a lot of support from British expats.🤫

There would be a few goat herders living like bedouins or it would have been another Beyrouth where Christians, Sunni, Chiites and Hezbollah would fight each other and turned (like the former “Switzerland of the Middle East” ) into a constant war zone. Palestinians’ motto: “From the river to the sea” does not need any explanation. It’s part of the Jihad. Maybe if the western nations (including Russia) had not persecuted the Jews for centuries there would not be the state of Israel.

No mention of the name of the real estate agency while personal details of the buyers were reported in this article. So instead of putting the blame on the fraudster, it insinuates that the wrong doing is on the foreigner. Nothing new in the LOT (Land of Tears).

Remember going to the land office with my lawyers to check the cadastre 2 weeks before New Year. During our one hour stay we witnessed a constant stream of deliveries of huge gift baskets to each office. Then came a Mercedes with a Thai couple followed by a van with 4 women. Came out of the van the 4 women dressed appropriately carrying big boxes with ribbons. Each of these boxes went to specific offices with closed doors. I can imagine the same ceremonial happening everyday of the week before New Year. Then there is what people cannot witness….

Just for fun. https://youtu.be/IInTanHjnK0?si=sneg4mgKAxlTO5Sw https://youtu.be/xcv9Tk-jON8?si=9frRIaWNRviuZRmY https://youtu.be/ni6Aq_oOJHs?si=Nsd3iUhwo_oN9oFi

I must admit in the last year EV charging stations have been installed in many gas stations. Bangchak is the leader by installing at least 4 charging posts in each gas stations. Of course they have attracted coffee shops, food stalls and other convenient stores for "while you charge" customers. Now driving away from the main roads is more challenging in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. My EV neighbour admits he never drives more than 150 kilometers from home in poorly equipped areas and avoid night driving in those areas. Too many of the few available charging posts are out of commissioning. I think he drives an MG he bought last winter.

Made a return trip from Phetchaburi to Surat Thani with a full tank of diesel (76 liters) with my 2011 Toyota Hilux Vigo. Over 1,000 kms with full A/C, lights on for 40% of the trip and windshield wipers for 25% of the trip. The truck goes for oil change and filters twice a year, 1 set of new tires at 65,000 kms. Never got stuck in flooded roads (had water over the footboard several times). I have no preconceived ideas against EVs but if I make the switch it will be with for a proven all-weather hybrid. At this time I see EVs as urban vehicles or commutes in metro areas with small loads of passengers and freight.

Thais would find a way to avoid the spikes as they do with the speed bumps. They drive on the side walks or even remove part of the speed bump. I am sure they would find a way to block the spikes in the retracted position. Best solution is to seize the vehicle or motorbike. The proceeds would finance the police (which would motivate the police). I know police has the following argument: if you seize the vehicle people would not be able to go to work and kids would not go to school. So what is the solution when people don’t respect traffic lights, stop signs, railway crossings red light blinking and thousand others infractions. The same is true with construction site safety rules, lack of administrative enforcement, court rulings never enforced, etc… Thailand like many other countries shows signs of failed state.

I drink Archa when available. I prefer it to other Thai brands unless I can get San Miguel Pilsner or Tiger. But I am not a real beer drinker (hardly a couple of bottles a week).

Yes it’s a fact but I don’t understand why the traffic is allowed over the eastern shore of the Potomac when runway 33 is active. Also in case of an imminent collision ATC instructions should have been: « PAT 25 turn heading 90 degrees NOW » or « PAT 25 hold position NOW » but you don’t ask the pilot if he has the CRJ700 in sight when both are flying on a collision course. Flying in a busy class B airspace at night in rush hours is very challenging even when cleared by ATC. Hundreds of lights of different colours are blinking (aircrafts, buildings, monuments, transmission towers, emergency vehicles, etc…) so what distinguishes an aircraft from other obstacles, the starboard green light and the port red light at the wing tip added to the mandatory landing lights. So based on trajectories the helicopter pilot should have recognized the green light and the landing lights. I don’t know if military helicopters are TCAS equipped but flying in class B airspace they should.

Do you expect all these DC VIPs to crawl with the traffic among the populace at rush hours to get to their private or chartered jets?

Maybe Hegseth should have grounded all military operations until a total review of the aircrews qualifications. Then he would have been accused of putting the nation in danger due to lack of readiness. In this kind of debate you never win.

Based on the ADS-B data and the tracking of the commercial airliner his flight path was perfect according to the RNAV approach plate to runway 33. Approaches to runway 01 and 33 are very similar until reaching Final Approach Fix NADSE then the aircraft alters his course for runway to start its approach at IDTEK for runway 33. Whe data transmission stopped aircraft was at 400 ft with a speed of 139 knots which matches the plate instructions. He had already passed the MDA (Minimum descent Altitude). The NTSB should confirm the position of the Blackhawk as instructed by ATC or on the wrong flight path.

Stray dogs become the best companions you can have in Thailand. Never disappointed by their devotion.

Many expats have taken the task to take care of this problem: - Pay for having the dogs neutered - Pay for having the dogs vaccinated against rabies and other canine diseases - Pay for food to have the dogs in good shape and ready for adoption - Pay for dog shelters, etc… Meanwhile most locals have no consideration for the stray dogs as well as the different levels of government. I say most locals because some take the time to feed them and leave buckets of water on site. So don’t hit me with the argument of affordability and lack of resources. Resources are available for cell phone plans, beer and hong thong.

France is no exception to what’s happening in many countries around the world. Presidents and Prime Ministers are the Roman emperors of the « modern » ages. They watch their cities burning to the ground while having a total lack of empathy for anybody: « Après moi le déluge « . Then they wonder why right wing parties are surging and gaining votes. France and Canada same incompetent politicians: Recycling old politicians after washing, rinsing and expecting different results. Anyway policies and decisions are the privileges of the unelected members of the EU Commission. Elected politicians will soon be a dying breed (Schwab, Davos 2025).

Did the money was already into Wise account? My banks would never transfer the funds to Wise the same day giving me a «cooling » period until midnight to cancel my order if I change my mind. Even domestic transfers have this « cooling » period.

I have been using Wise for many years and never had a transfer in less than 5 days (not counting the weekends). I have never been able to find out if it’s my bank which debits my account and wait a few days before transferring the funds or Wise which notifies me of receiving the money after a few days. Once the money is « officially » in Wise account, the credit to my Thai bank account is less than 6 hours after, sometimes less. My observations are: Sending money from a European bank is faster with euros than with US dollars. The path is different as Wise account for euros is in Brussels while Wise account in US dollars is in London. Both are IBAN accounts. Never been able to get an explanation from Wise about the additional cost for sending US dollars from a European bank. Wise seems to assume that US dollars are always sent from the US. The amounts sent are between 5k and 10k either in euros or US dollars.

I know exactly what you mean. Many trade unionists who lost their jobs in the 70s emigrated to the dominions (Australia, NZ and Canada). They were very active in implementing the socialist policies in the Crown corporations then in the private sector. Our actual problems derived from these policies. Canada (9th) and Australia (5th) are among the 10 countries with the most labour strikes. Http://chartsbin.com/view/42129

The successive devaluations of the peso have been planned to reduce the fiscal deficit and increase exports. The major one was in December 2023 followed by scheduled monthly 2% devaluations. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_peso It seems to have worked pretty well for the public finances.