tail numbers and countries of registration

On 2008-02-27, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
A-ha.. I'd say there would be a market for that. Private flying is nutso
expensive in Europe.

The other reason is that the N-reg is falling out of favour: aircraft
with the N reg are finding themselves unwelcome in more places these
days, especially in Africa and the middle East. So jet owners not US
based but who used the N reg are starting to convert.

If you have a Manx based plane you can register it whatever it is, so
long as it has a CofA. I went to the meeting they had at Ronaldsway. I
had to pinch myself to convince myself I wasn't dreaming - aviation
regulators who were actually trying to make things easier, and make
things happen, and make things less expensive. For example, *ALL* of my
FAA ratings are valid in M-reg planes, all I have to do is fill out a
form and that's it. In Europe, at most your basic day VFR PPL is all
you'll get from a foreign license (UK and Eire), and most of Europe not
even that - you have to take a bunch of tests to validate a foreign
license. The guy who was in charge of airworthiness and maintenance was
extremely enthusiastic - not some bureaucrat, but someone who loved
aviation, breathed aviation, understood things like wooden planes and
the like. What a refreshing change!

As for independence, the Isle of Man has quite a bit of it already - I
have a Manx passport, for instance. We raise our own taxes, make our own
legislation etc., print our own banknotes, but it's still British territory.

They have another cool rule. No speed limits except in towns.
Nutcase bikers form all over converge on the place just to drive as fast
as they can.

Don't forget the Isle of Man TT. My Dad still races sidecars in that. A
37 3/4 mile long race circuit, with races from 3 to 6 laps. Also, the
Isle of Man Grand Prix (same circuit), the Southern 100 (on the Billown
circuit in the south, 4 and a bit miles per lap) and the Jurby Road Race
in the north.

Last year was the 100th anniversary of the TT races, we got something
like 25000 bikes come over, and something like 50,000 visitors (our
normal population is 80,000).

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.

On Feb 28, 12:08 pm, Dylan Smith wrote:
--
From the sunny Isle of Man.

You had me until you said that

Is it really sunny there in the Irish sea? It sure isn't in the nearby
landmasses. I have a friend who lives there and I've never heard him
say it's sunny (windy, yes).

On 2008-02-28, xyzzy wrote:
On Feb 28, 12:08 pm, Dylan Smith wrote:
--
From the sunny Isle of Man.

You had me until you said that

Is it really sunny there in the Irish sea? It sure isn't in the nearby
landmasses. I have a friend who lives there and I've never heard him
say it's sunny (windy, yes).

You don't need to be near a large landmass for the sun to come out.

While it might not be as sunny as, say, the California central valley,
in a normal summer we do get plenty of sunshine - generally more
sunshine than the north west UK.

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.

On Feb 29, 8:41 am, Dylan Smith wrote:
On 2008-02-28, xyzzy wrote:

On Feb 28, 12:08 pm, Dylan Smith wrote:
--
From the sunny Isle of Man.

You had me until you said that

Is it really sunny there in the Irish sea? It sure isn't in the nearby
landmasses. I have a friend who lives there and I've never heard him
say it's sunny (windy, yes).

You don't need to be near a large landmass for the sun to come out.

While it might not be as sunny as, say, the California central valley,
in a normal summer we do get plenty of sunshine - generally more
sunshine than the north west UK.

Well that's a tough comparison to win

Is this wiki entry incorrect?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geograp...of_Man#Climate

"The Isle of Man is known for its overcast skies and low levels of
sunshine."

I'm really curious about that, not looking to win a contest with you.

On 2008-02-29, xyzzy wrote:
"The Isle of Man is known for its overcast skies and low levels of
sunshine."

I'm really curious about that, not looking to win a contest with you.

Sure, in the winter it's overcast most of the time - ironically, it's
one of the reasons that the palm trees in my garden are viable (I have
four species of palm) - because the overcast winters mean we get very
few frosts. But we get sunshine in the summer, we tend to be under the
same blocking high that the rest of the British Isles is under. Well,
apart from last summer which was awful.

The Isle of Man used to be summer tourist destination for the UK and
Ireland. Cheap flights to the Med put an end to that, though.

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.

Dylan Smith wrote:

While it might not be as sunny as, say, the California central valley,
in a normal summer we do get plenty of sunshine - generally more
sunshine than the north west UK.

I was startled to find after last year's move that the same thing is
true in the Pacific Northwest, here across the pond (and also across the
continent). Last summer my friends from an entire lifetime in the
Midwest kept asking "Tired of the rain yet?"

And I'd answer, "Actually in the summer it hardly ever rains and it's
amazingly beautishshshshSHSHSHSHHH..." because by that point I'd be
surrounded by a crowd of Oregonians shushing me and whispering, "Don't
TELL them! They'll ALL want to move here!"

Ssshhhtella

Peter wrote in
:


generally more
sunshine than the north west UK.

Yes but that's true for most places

People who live in the NW UK have done so knowing they will have the
nonstop convenyor belt of frontal weather coming from the U.S. east
coast.

Actually, it forms mid atlantic.



In return for that, they have lower property prices, so lower
mortgages, leaving them with much more disposable income to spend on
their "weekend and night activities" and their holidays


According to them it's because people in the south have screwed them at
every turn!



Bertie

Dylan Smith wrote in
:

On 2008-02-27, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
A-ha.. I'd say there would be a market for that. Private flying is
nutso expensive in Europe.

The other reason is that the N-reg is falling out of favour: aircraft
with the N reg are finding themselves unwelcome in more places these
days, especially in Africa and the middle East. So jet owners not US
based but who used the N reg are starting to convert.

If you have a Manx based plane you can register it whatever it is, so
long as it has a CofA. I went to the meeting they had at Ronaldsway. I
had to pinch myself to convince myself I wasn't dreaming - aviation
regulators who were actually trying to make things easier, and make
things happen, and make things less expensive. For example, *ALL* of
my FAA ratings are valid in M-reg planes, all I have to do is fill out
a form and that's it. In Europe, at most your basic day VFR PPL is all
you'll get from a foreign license (UK and Eire), and most of Europe
not even that - you have to take a bunch of tests to validate a
foreign license. The guy who was in charge of airworthiness and
maintenance was extremely enthusiastic - not some bureaucrat, but
someone who loved aviation, breathed aviation, understood things like
wooden planes and the like. What a refreshing change!

That does sound excellent..

As for independence, the Isle of Man has quite a bit of it already - I
have a Manx passport, for instance. We raise our own taxes, make our
own legislation etc., print our own banknotes, but it's still British
territory.

Yes, I knew a lot of that already. I beleive your language is making a
comeback as well.

They have another cool rule. No speed limits except in towns.
Nutcase bikers form all over converge on the place just to drive as
fast as they can.

Don't forget the Isle of Man TT. My Dad still races sidecars in that.
A 37 3/4 mile long race circuit, with races from 3 to 6 laps. Also,
the Isle of Man Grand Prix (same circuit), the Southern 100 (on the
Billown circuit in the south, 4 and a bit miles per lap) and the Jurby
Road Race in the north.

Cool. He must be mad, though! The walls...

Last year was the 100th anniversary of the TT races, we got something
like 25000 bikes come over, and something like 50,000 visitors (our
normal population is 80,000).



I've been there! I ride as well, but my bike won't fit in the airplane.

Bertie

On 2008-02-28, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Don't forget the Isle of Man TT. My Dad still races sidecars in that.
A 37 3/4 mile long race circuit, with races from 3 to 6 laps. Also,
the Isle of Man Grand Prix (same circuit), the Southern 100 (on the
Billown circuit in the south, 4 and a bit miles per lap) and the Jurby
Road Race in the north.

Cool. He must be mad, though! The walls...

He crashed into one, once - broke his right hand and wrist and arm very
badly (lots of steel pins sticking out, that kind of thing), destroyed
his helmet and got the free helicopter ride.

Didn't stop him though. He had a new outfit the next year, and crashed
again - no injury that time, straighened the outfit, and raced.

He's not crashed since.

I don't have video of the TT (it's too long for my video equipment) but
I do have some video of the Southern 100 which is also a road race (and
personally, I much prefer the Southern to the TT - it's a much
friendlier meeting, even if the course is more dangerous). Here's the
video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVdXdGSxnwY

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.

Dylan Smith wrote:
Don't forget the Isle of Man TT. My Dad still races sidecars in that. A
37 3/4 mile long race circuit, with races from 3 to 6 laps. Also, the
Isle of Man Grand Prix (same circuit), the Southern 100 (on the Billown
circuit in the south, 4 and a bit miles per lap) and the Jurby Road Race
in the north.

Last year was the 100th anniversary of the TT races, we got something
like 25000 bikes come over, and something like 50,000 visitors (our
normal population is 80,000).


Wow, what a coincidence, earlier this week I was asking in r.a.s.f1 if
anybody had suggestion regarding a possible trip I wanted to take to the
IoM TT this summer, and now I find something regarding it in r.a.p

Could I contact you by email for a few questions, like best way to get
there (plane, ferry), motorcycle rentals, possibility of renting an
apartment for the week instead of going to an hotel? If you have info
regarding these type of things of course, or know where to point me toward.

Thanks.