Spartan Gold: Bonanza G36

pg 119 "I've got you a Bonanza G36, fueled and checked."

The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. As of 2010[update], it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history. More than 17,000 Bonanzas of all variants have been built.

Still built today is the Model 36 Bonanza, a longer-bodied, straight-tail variant of the original design, introduced in 1968.

All Bonanzas share an unusual feature: The yoke and rudder pedals are interconnected by a system of bungee cords that assist in keeping the airplane in coordinated flight during turns. The bungee system allows the pilot to make coordinated turns using the yoke alone, or with minimal rudder input, during cruise flight. Increased right-rudder pressure is still required on takeoff to overcome torque and P-factor. In the landing phase, the bungee system must be overridden by the pilot when making crosswind landings, which require cross-controlled inputs to keep the nose of the airplane aligned with the runway center line without drifting left or right. This feature started with the V-tail and persists on the current production model.

"Pontoons?"

Floats (also called pontoons) are airtight hollow structures, similar to pressure vessels, whose air-filled interior makes them buoyant in water. They are most often used to make up the multipart hulls of trimarans, small open catamarans, and floatplanes (a kind of seaplane).[1] Their main purpose is to supply buoyancy, not storage space. The other principal domain of use for pontoons is in marine engineering and construction—shipbuilding, marine salvage, dredging, port facilities, and so on. In such applications, pontoons are sunk, positioned under objects needing raising (such as sunken ships being recovered for their scrap metal value or to clear channels), and then pumped full of air with air compressors, raising the object. Pontoons are also used to build things like pontoon bridges and floating piers. Such applications make them a useful tool for combat engineers and civilian engineers alike.

Rum Cay

Rum Cay is an island and district of the Bahamas. Lat.: N23 42' 30" - Long.: W 74 50' 00" - Size: 30 Sq. mls

Rum Cay is 20 miles (32 km) southwest of San Salvador Island, has many rolling hills that rises to about 120 feet (37 m). Christopher Columbus called it Santa Maria de la Concepción. The island is believed to have acquired its modern name from a shipwrecked cargo of rum. The main settlement is Port Nelson.

First known as Mamana by the Lucayan Indians, the cay was later renamed Santa María de la Concepción by Columbus. Spanish explorers once found a lone rum keg washed up on a shore and changed the name again to Rum Cay (pop: 53 1990 census). In the north there is a cave containing Lucayan drawings and carvings. Various artifacts from the Arawak period have been found by farmers in the fertile soil, which the Indians enriched with bat guano. In common with other islands, Rum Cay has gone through a series of industry specific economic peaks. Pineapple, salt and sisal have all been important industries, but competition and natural disasters, such as the 1926 hurricane, have all taken their toll and today tourism is the main source of employment. Plantation boundaries known as ‘margins’ can be seen all over the island, which date from the beginning of the 19th century when Loyalists settled here. Nearly everybody lives in Port Nelson where cottages can be rented. Settlements such as Port Boyd, Black Rock and Gin Hill are now deserted and overgrown.

Deep reefs and drop-offs surround this former pirates’ haven. There is staghorn coral at Summer Point Reef and diving at Pinder’s Point. At the Grand Canyon, 60-foot coral walls almost reach the surface. Sumner Point Marina has dockage, fuel, moorings, WiFi, bar and restaurant. There is a small guesthouse available from former Constable Ted Bain. The Last Chance Yacht Supply has groceries. Batelco office for phone calls closes at lunchtime. Yachts wait here before sailing to Mayaguana or the Turks and Caicos Islands, or before returning to Georgetown and points north.

Adventuresome divers can still find the shaft, anchor chains and hawser holes of HMS Conqueror. It sank in 1861 and can still be found in 30 feet of water in a staghorn gully near the breaking reef.