Tango

It was being built in Scotts Road next door to the Sheraton Hotel when I was living (and working) in Singapore. Makes sense when you consider the scarcity of land on the island. I lived in the next road (Orchard) initially, but moved to serviced apartments in Bukit Timah Road which had normal parking in the basement level. However, we only had two floors of apartments so basement parking wasn't a problem, but the Scotts Hamilton building has 30 stories on not that big a footprint, so I guess skyparking was the only option. Bad enough trying to get a car in Singapore as it is necessary to acquire a COE (certificate of entitlement) before being able to get one, and they are strictly limited to avoid over congestion (it's bad enough anyway, so if they didn't operate the COE no one would move). The cost of a COE is quite high, and was over £40,000 when I was last there in 2012, but I understand it's only about £30,000 now for cars over 1600 cc (COE lasts 10 years).

Just glad the superglue on the soles of his shoes held! .

As Tony may remember I sized my Pirelli Sotto Zero winter tyres on my original 17" IS250 Rims to fit the Lexus IS200 Sport, but also to fit a Rav4 which I intended to replace the IS200 with. Original plan now scuppered as, although my wife now as a AWD Rav4, my son has snatched the IS200. Just hope the RAV copes with all wheel drive on all weather tyres. The ISF doesn't move from the garage if the temperature goes much below 7 degrees C.

Didn't stop you putting a yellow set on my 250 did it?

Brilliant news, welcome back Barbs...Guess I won't be changing my next set of tyres at MK then

Why do they claim this wheel will last the life of a vehicle as whatever outer tread it has must continue to wear in use?

I notice the cost of a set of lenses for the X-Pro are slightly more than the basic camera, but guess it's always been the case that the better quality doesn't come cheap.

I think people are disturbed that it actually looks like a gun, but as you say, the reality is that it's a one shot and throwaway device. The type of plastic used in the printers has a fairly low melting point and is low strength so it would probably be more of a risk to the firer. Just found this which appears to prove the point: http://hereisthecity.com/2013/05/09/3d-printed-guns-expert-warns-of-threat-to-user/ .

Hardly. The 3D printer in the vid was bought second hand for $8K, whereas I could make something in plastic just as effective at firing a .22 cartridge from bits and pieces in my workshop. Just scaremongering by the US media.

Don't know why the media think it's a big deal as .22 calibre 'zip' guns have been around for a long time, made from a basic piece of pipe, a spring and firing pin. It wouldn't take much imagination to construct similar out of non-metallic materials either, so the 3D printer isn't at all necessary.

I had a similar problem with my daughters Corsa. First thought was the battery, so as I had a spare I switched it. She didn't use the car over a period of 4-5 days and then found it was as flat as the original had been. Next step was to disconnect the positive lead and connect my multimeter across the + and earth. It showed a continuous 0.3 amp drain, so removed the glovebox and boot bulbs with no effect. Then pulled and replaced each fuse in turn until I found the circuit causing the drain. It was the circuit for the radio/dashboard comp/hazard warning lights, and further investigation showed that a crap installation of the aftermarket radio was to blame. I didn't have the time to take the dash apart before she wanted to use the car so as a temporary measure, she just pulled the fuse when the car wasn't being used. A few weeks later I had a similar problem with the IS200 Sport, so went through the same routine without finding a fault. Took the battery to the local battery shop, and after the drop test they pronounced it well and truly knackered, Unfortunately it was out of warranty so bought a new one.

Quite a few of those were much modified Piper Cubs. Without modification the original Cub had a stalling speed of only 38 mph (33 knots), which is similar to the WW2 Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. Looking at that footage, modifications have been made to further lighten the airframe, change the flap configuration and add slats to further reduce the stall speed. Another major consideration is the propellor, which is basically a rotating wing. In a high angle of attack the prop generates lift and the backwash provides additional lift to the mainplane which, as you can see in the footage, allows at least one aircraft to almost hang on the prop with minimal forward motion.

Air speed is unrelated to an aircrafts forward progress as observed from the ground. An aircraft with a stalling speed of say 40 knots would appear almost stationary to the ground when flying near stall speed in a headwind of 40 knots. Turn around and fly downwind in the same conditions and speed in relation to the ground would be 80 knots, except you probably stall out and head for the ground in the turn. Fly in headwinds exceeding stalling speed and in theory you could fly and land whilst moving backwards, but I've only ever seen it performed with R/C models with a very light wing loading. We were flying a few weeks ago in head winds gusting to 40 knots and gliders on winch tow were leaving the ground with hardly any ground run at all.

Interesting vid on how they shot the keel walking pic for Hugo Boss

From personal experience I can vouch for Christians prices, but what really impressed me was his after sales service. In bright sunshine my bonnet showed slight hologramming which Christian sorted with a 180 mile round trip to my home address. That was two years ago....needs a stage one treatment now Christian, I'll need to arrange a visit.

I use the same 35 psi tyre pressure all round on the IS200 for both the summer and winter tyres. My wife drives the IS200 every day and I like the peace of mind I have due to having winter tyres on her car as the difference in grip when the temperatures are below -7 degrees C is very noticable on a rear wheel drive. When we have low temperatures, snow and/or ice I share the IS200 and my IS-F stays in the garage. 417 bhp and reduced grip is more excitement than I need at my age .

Could have been far worse as it looks like the tank stayed intact and only the gas in the boot ignited.

Seems to handle OK, but don't think I'll attempt to emulate this idiot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlmGDT7HM1s

The Leopards markings are pretty effective camouflage,at least until you actually locate it.

You use the same feeders as I do, but unfortunately mine are hung from apple trees in the garden and the grey squirrels have developed the technique of wrapping themselves around them whilst upside down and chewing holes in the clear plastic. . You're correct on the goldfinches, they sit on the either side of the nyger seed feeders like pairs of bookends for ages. The nyger feeders have only narrow slits in the clear plastic to allow feeding, but for some reason the squirrels leave them alone. The wire mesh peanut feeder also has regular visits from Green and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and I've positioned the feeder on a metal pole with a disc under the feeder similar to those used on the rat lines of ships, but the squirrels climb up the trees and launch themselves at the peanut feeder even though it's 3 to 4 feet away.

Cous3 and myself explored this nearly two years ago to change the wood trim in the IS250 SE-L. The only company we found at that time was in Liverpool, and they were not interested in doing one-offs or very short batch work. If the owner of those wheels has found a company that would do short batches it would be good to know. Also considered diy but again the suppliers of the hydrographic films would only supply to the trade in quantity.

Where's the finished pics Christian?

My Pirelli Sotto Zeros are very soft in comparison to the Mitchelin Super Sports I have on the IS-F. Can hear the Sotto Zeros unstick from the garage vinyl tyres when it moves off. Don't think they'd last too long on warm summer roads.

Surprised it hasn't happened before as it's obvious from the first white car's failure to stop that the road markings are not effective. Still amazed that the driver didn't see the approach of the aircraft though, must have been distracted at the time I guess.