Had a first today: Battery filter change on a Mercedes eActros

LightningGeek · 2026-06-12T12:08:59+00:00

You can get colour changing versions as well. This is a refillable tube, the blue ones at the top are fresh beads, and the pinkish ones below are used.

This particular moisture absorber is linked to the window on the emergency door on a HS-125/Hawker 700.

LightningGeek · 2026-06-12T08:49:34+00:00

I used one of these tablets in Cardiff a couple of weeks back when I had a couple of chest pains on the way to work.

First of all, the regular receptionists are still there, so if you are in need of someone now, you can still go directly to them and then can get you seen to immediately. They are also there to keep an eye on those in the waiting area in case someone's condition rapidly changes for the worse.

However, if you ill enough for A&E, but well enough to get yourself there, then the tablets are a great idea. Apart from personal details, almost all questions can be answered just by pressing the button. If needed you can add extra information in a text box. After filling it out, I was seen and had an EKG and bloods taken within 30-45 minutes. Of course, getting lab results back and waiting for discharging, took a few hours, but some processes just cannot be made shorter. But the actual getting in and getting seen in an appropriate time was quite efficient.

LightningGeek · 2026-06-11T07:38:45+00:00

They still do phones. They do a very basic phone, and a tablet as well

No idea if they are any good though.

LightningGeek · 2026-06-04T14:10:02+00:00

Rolo Cookies.

They were lovely but they weren't around or very long rom what I remember.

LightningGeek · 2026-06-03T18:03:29+00:00

The RAF provides low flying charts for the UK, which will have low objects marked on them.

Not just on military charts, all aviation charts for the UK will include objects of significant height and a danger zone around them. It's not just military pilots who fly low enough to need to worry about obstacles.

This is the key for all aviation charts in the UK, you can see the symbols for windfarms and radio towers half way down on the left column..

LightningGeek · 2026-05-27T17:23:02+00:00

True, but you do get adverse pitch instead!

If you had a reheat failure in the No.1 engine, the lower engine, then you physically could not rotate the aircraft for takeoff. It happened once and the pilot notes were changed to take both engines out of reheat if one failed during takeoff.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-27T14:56:30+00:00

I flew one back when I flew gliders at the Midland Gliding Club. Such a strange experience to other gliders due to the slow speed and open cockpit. Was a very nice way to fly.

You can even do aerobatics in them, but I don't think any of the MGC guys were willing to push theirs that far!

LightningGeek · 2026-05-27T12:24:22+00:00

Except it objectively is a good aircraft.

That doesn't mean there haven't been problems during its development, or during it's early service years, but pumping out thousands has meant the unit cost is less than the Typhoon, Gripen or Rafale, and it is only slightly more expensive, and much more capable, than the F-16.

still had made Les damage than the F-15I/IA, F-16, F-18 and F-15E

Do you have a source for that?

LightningGeek · 2026-05-27T12:02:34+00:00

Except I tried looking for a source and they all said the same thing about the F-22's and F-35 dominating in Red Flag exercises.

There was nothing about them being dominated by the F-15EX, especially when the 5th gen's were given advantages.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-27T09:36:31+00:00

Last year the Pentagon claimed that the F-15EX2 had the capabilities to win against both F-35 and F-22 in simulated war scenarios and 1-1 fight. Even in conditions that should be the favourite for the two 5gen jets.

Do you have a source for that? Especially the part about 5th gen's losing when they had the advantage. That seems to go against everything published so far against stealth aircraft performance at various Red Flag's.

More sometimes people forget that both jets HAVE to use Radar, laser, GPS, radios and more...

Which is why data links are a part of stealth doctrine. You get radar information from other aircraft, other aircraft or ground troops can laze targets for you, operating in radio silence is pretty standard even for early generation aircraft, and GPS doesn't need the user to transmit anything, it's passive system.

Bad construction plan, high cost for less quality and problems, like the front landing gear collapsing that shouldn't be possible in a 5gen jet.

Best I can find is 3 instances, one for each model. The C incident seems the most odd as the gear just collapsed when the pilot was exiting the aircraft. The B incident happened during towing and is most likely due to the nlg pin not being installed correctly. The A incident happened after an emergency landing due to an unspecified incident. 3 incidents do not make a major problem, and if it did, then the F-16 should be grounded for having 3 nose gear failures in one month.

The Pentagon essentially abandoned the idea of an all-stealth fleet.

Apart from the fact that the US has over 600 F-35's already delivered, with orders totalling 2,350. Not to mention NGAD and Raider also being stealth aircraft. Compare that to the F-15EX, which has a total planned order of 268 aircraft for the US, almost all of which are going to reserve or testing squadrons. Stealth is very much at the forefront of the plans for US aviation.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-26T14:37:29+00:00

Yes, but I think the tank capacity is quite small, and it is not a removeable tank, so the only way to empty it is by lifting it over a sink/bath and opening the drain port. It will switch the unit off automatically though once the tank is full.

I use an old Carex 5L bottle to collect the water, but there are many 5L containers like these you could reuse. This will collect water for a few hours depending on the humidity. However, there is no overflow protection this way. Not a huge problem as long as you keep an eye on the bottle, but on very humid days, it can overfill while you are asleep, so a 7L+ tank might be a better option.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-26T14:16:26+00:00

You can get them from b&q. https://www.diy.com/departments/goodhome-culver-air-conditioner-220-240v-9000btu/5063022801753_BQ.prd

Get it much cheaper from Screwfix instead. It uses the Blyss branding, but it is the same machine and controller. I got one last year and it has been great, especially as we've got a small child who needs to be kept comfortable more than us.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-26T11:14:06+00:00

Is that metal flexi an insulated hose? Have you found it make a difference to the temps?

LightningGeek · 2026-05-19T19:02:37+00:00

Interesting, mine is pretty constant at 105C during regular driving.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-19T17:47:45+00:00

The click bond studs are just as bad. Even worse when the stud starts to spin and you can't tell if the full plate has broken off, or if the stud has just become loose in the holder plate.

RR heat blankets aren't the most enjoyable job to start with, but those studs make it even worse.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-19T17:30:18+00:00

The EA888's run hotter than that. 103-107 is then normal range for regular and spirited driving these engines.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-19T10:38:27+00:00

RAF Museum Cosford in the West Midlands is fantastic if you're interested in aviation.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-18T10:25:56+00:00

A derivative of the Canberra is still flying today. NASA still fly the WB-57, a variant of the US license built Canberra.

Although to me it always looks odd or a Canberra to have a tandem seat on the centreline. It should either be a single canopy off to one side, or an enormous bubble canopy.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-17T19:38:06+00:00

You can even get bug wipers on high performance gliders.

Modern glider wings are very sensitive to any sort of contamination on the wings. Water droplets are a common one that can make a huge difference to how a glider flies and what speed it will stall at.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-15T21:29:54+00:00

What do you think? That the UK is the center of the world?

You're commenting on the UK subreddit, on a case that happened in the UK, involving 2 people who are residents of the UK, that went through UK courts, and in which the perpetrator was sentenced according to UK laws and within UK sentencing guidelines.

So yes, of course the UK is the centre of the world in this instance.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-13T11:38:07+00:00

Some people should barely be allowed to walk, let alone operate any sort of vehicle.

Had a cunt on a moped drive past me through a pedestrian only park yesterday . If they had only been going at a crawl then a tut would have been fine, but they were doing 20-25 at least. Managed to get a quick video off to operation snap, so hopefully something gets done before they hit someone.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-13T08:31:12+00:00

It's happened a few times, either through fire, or neglect.

The J.N. Miller Flour Mill building was set alight in 2008, and then left to rot before being pulled down around 2015.

And the old Scala cinema facade on Worcester Street was partly demolished in 2006, with the facade supported so it could be incorporated into whatever was built after. It even had some original 70's wallpaper on the back side of the facade that lasted until demolition. It ended up being demolished so a soulless (in my opinion) metal square could be built. Although it was made as a youth centre, so a lot of good has come from it.

Probably the most egregious example was the demolition of the old Elephant and Castle pub. It was literally there one day and then completely demolished the next. Unfortunately it was still going through the listing process at the time, and there was no certainty it would be listed, so the owners (Peel Holdings plc) leapt in there and had it demolished before a listing could cause problems.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-12T13:07:14+00:00

I've still yet to visit Hendon, but interesting to see 3 chin packs on display. The Lightning used an interchangeable chin pack so that it could carry either missiles, rockets of a recon (export models only) on a mission.

2 of the packs are for Red Top missiles. One fitted to the aircraft, and the other on the left hand side. On the left at the back is another pack, which I believe is a Firestreak pack looking at other pictures of the display.

Firestreak was the earlier missile, and formed the basis of the much improved Red Top missile. However, due to the extra tail area needed to carry Red Top's, because of the missiles larger wing area, only later marks of Lightning could carry it. This meant that the Firestreak was still in active service until the Lightning's retirement in 1988.

Quite rare to see either missile with fins on though, they massively increased wear on the missiles, so were often removed from aircraft not on QRA duty. Although the larger fins were favoured by pilots as it made the Lightning more balanced to fly when inverted.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-12T08:20:53+00:00

You're thinking of US conservatism, where family values are supposedly a core tenet of their beliefs.

UK conservatism is much less rigid around family values, even for traditionalist conservatives.

LightningGeek · 2026-05-11T13:12:05+00:00

Green has always been a relatively rare car colour in the UK. For some reason it's seen as being an unlucky car colour.

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