RobiNZ Personal Blog

The Cessna, The Sky ... and the Cartoonist at North Shore Aero Club

John Ewing has written a humorous story of his journey to become a pilot from novice to solo and illustrated it with wonderful cartoons. It also covers all the basic principles of flight. AVweb have a few chapters online and you can buy the book from John’s own website ~ www.john-ewing.com The Cessna, The Sky ... and the Cartoonist All pilots once were student pilots, a situation rife for guffaws around the flight club. John Ewing is a story-teller, former Disney animator, artist, and American now living in New Zealand. John documented his flight training in words and cartoons, and... Read more →

Bamboo Biking

This is neat, a bamboo mountain bike! Bamboo MTB Frame - Brano Meres This is my second home-made frame. This time I used bamboo instead of carbon composite tubes… Read more →

Fernando Alonso and the Airbus A380 Super-Jumbo...

Searching my feeds for Fernando Alonso found this article. I was expecting an F1 story but this Fernando Alonso, test pilot and engineer, will be looking after the Airbus A380 Super-Jumbo. Size does matter The biggest passenger plane ever is taking to the sky. John Carlin tells the inside story of the A380 - and the men who have made it fly. Fernando Alonso looks out of his office windows at the brand new airplanes on the tarmac, freshly painted in the colours of their airlines, ready for delivery … There are now lots of photos and videos on the... Read more →

Schumacher praises Alonso

Michael Schumacher commenting on the San Marino Grand Prix… Schumacher said. "But he didn't even allow the most minimal chance. He didn't make any errors. It was impossible to pass him." Full article: ThatsRacin.com | 04/28/2005 | Spain's Fernando Alonso saving F1 from Schumacher, Ferrari's dominance Read more →

Airbus A380 takes off for maiden flight

The world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, is on its long-awaited maiden flight. Will this aircraft have the same impact on the aviation world as the Boeing 747? The 747 was a “bet the company” risk for Boeing that paid off and gave them dominance of the industry that only Airbus has managed to rival. The A380 is a huge investment and will be the plane that makes, or kills, Airbus. If it performs as promised it may change aviation as the 747 did. If Boeing’s claims that smaller faster aircraft like the 787 "Dreamliner" (was 7E7) are the... Read more →

Holden = Buick

Holden V8 Supercars will be sponsored by Buick for the Shanghai race. Buick racing? - Autoblog - www.autoblog.com Read more →

GTO derailed

Ouch, Want to buy a cheap Monaro, GTO… Train full of 2005 GTOs derails - Autoblog - www.autoblog.com Read more →

Kiwi wins a top job at Microsoft

Lots of finance to manage! Kiwi wins a top job at Microsoft | BUSINESS | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz “Chris Liddell was chief executive at Carter Holt Harvey before he moved to the United States…” “Liddell's job at Microsoft, where he will also be chief financial officer, will involve accounting, strategic planning and investor relations…” “He will be responsible for a business worth more than $NZ400 billion - more than three times New Zealand's gross domestic product.” Read more →

San Marino Grand Prix - Ferrari is back!

Massive effort from the entire team, stunning drive from Michael, Ferrari is back in the race! Alonso showed he can cope with immense pressure and had a well deserved win. Not sure I like the new 2005 F1 rules & qualifying but if they mean races like this then perhaps they aren’t so bad. Time difference means the race was on here from midnight Sunday until 2:00am Monday. I always tape the races in case I nod off but no problem staying awake for this one! After the finish I watched from the first pit-stop to the finish again, off... Read more →

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day, 25 April, is the anniversary of the landings that began the Australia and New Zealand Army Corp Gallipoli campaign in World War One. This does not commemorate a victory or even the worst battle in terms of loss of life. More New Zealanders were lost in battles on the Western Front (including my great grandfather) but ANZAC Day has gained special significance. Initially a commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign it’s evolved to become the day when we honour all who served, both returned and dead, in all wars. The day has similar importance in Australia, New Zealand's partner... Read more →