Some passing curiosities from Down Under

By Vic Midyett

Sunday, just before lunch time, the largest plane in the world landed at the Perth International airport, delivering a small generator weighing 117 metric tonnes for a coal mine South of here. It was the first time this plane has ever landed on Australian soil. The news reported that 25,000 people took up vantage points near the airport to watch it land. Ukrainian built, the airplane has a payload capacity of 240 metric tonnes, or 92 full-grown Asian elephants. Total take-off weight is 640 tonnes. [Read more about it: “Antonov An-225 Mriya: World’s largest plane touches down in Perth,” Rebecca Trigger, ABC News.]

Going from air to water…Shirley and I went to have coffee on the Swan River the next morning and saw this rather different looking “house boat” docked nearby. You’ll notice its “door’ at the slanted front, but the main entry is at the rear by the small motor. I can’t decide how much of this design was on purpose and how much was by accident.

And on to fire...When we traveled across the vast expanse of the Nullabor Desert between here and the states to the east, we stopped at a roadhouse that had this heating stove made out of truck rims on their large porch. I thought it was a great idea and took a picture of it.
    The bottom had only a wire mesh welded to it to allow the ashes to go through. Such a cool, simple thing to make, I thought. The guts of the rims were cut out, leaving only the outer bit the tire goes on. If we end up on a property with a shed or workshop, I’m gonna build it.
    Let me know if you build one first!

Copyright © 2016 by Vic Midyett