GDL Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 I'm a Canadian, been flying ultralights in western Canada for about 20 years, own a Rans S6S, and will be coming to Australia in 2012 for holiday and hopefully to take an Australia ultralight licence. Looking forward to flying at a time when when have few opportunities (right now it just finished snowing and the rains have come back with a vengeance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William de Riecroft Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 Welcome GDL. Your last three lines prompt the reply "Tell us about it" I have been in Australia since 1974 and I cannot recall a spell of bad weather such as we have been experiencing of late. I live in a retirement village and an old and quirky neighbour has just told me that it is all because the World has tilted on its N/S axis!! perhaps he's right Regards and have a very happy Christmas.William de Riecroft (fireproof) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farri Posted December 21, 2010 Share Posted December 21, 2010 GDL, I`ve been flying Ultralights since the early eighties,started flying by building my own.I`ve flown quite a few different types over the years. Go here http://www.recreationalflying.com/entry.php/23-Our-Piece-Of-Paradise. and you will see my area. Cheers, Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Welcome GDL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hi William, I have been watching the weather in Australia (since I expect to be there next February 2012) and hoping that the Brisbane area will not be flooded when I finally get there. Bad enough that I can't fly much right now in Canada (plane is being rebuilt and weather has been terrible) but then it is winter here. What ultralights have you flown? Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hi Frank. my dad was a commercial (bush) pilot so I have flown all my life, but I really became interested when ultralights in Canada evolved beyond the original Lazairs and others. I like my Rans although sometimes I would prefer a go fast CT or Tecnam or something like that. And at other times, perhaps a Savannah to get into short and tight spots. That is beautiful country you fly in. Where I live, on Vancouver Island, we live surrounded by water, with high mountains behind, and high mountains across on the mainland. Nice in our summer. Terrible (wet, windy, miserable) in the winter. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushcaddy105 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Gooday Geoff. If you get homesick when in Oz next year, come by us and fly my BushCaddy R80, a great Canadian STOL aircraft in my opinion. We spent a week on Vancouver island in 2009 and went to an open day/flyin at Qualicum Beach Aero Club. Really friendly, laid-back people- just like Australians! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hi John. I am not completely sure of my schedule in Australia yet, but if I get the chance I will come & visit. I have not flown a Bush Caddy (the plane is mostly found in eastern Canada where it is made) and know very little about it (never seen one). I actually live 100 km north of Qualicum and have flown in there many times. I was a flight instructor and used it as part of my cross-country work. Nice airport, beautiful place. I think roughly equivalent to your Gold Coast in terms of retirement/beach environment. Very expensive area, very trendy. Who did you meet at the fly-in? I am just finishing up rebuilding my Rans (with a partner) after 4 years in storage. It has served me well over the years (used for training) but needed refreshing. Debating whether to sell & get another or keep it flying. Not sure yet. If I do keep it, I would like to put a new engine in and change the wing to the new Sport version. Take care. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William de Riecroft Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 william (fireproof) Hi William, I have been watching the weather in Australia (since I expect to be there next February 2012) and hoping that the Brisbane area will not be flooded when I finally get there. Bad enough that I can't fly much right now in Canada (plane is being rebuilt and weather has been terrible) but then it is winter here.What ultralights have you flown? Geoff None at all I'm afraid,never had the opportunity. Apart from my years in the RAF as aircrew I have flown Piper Cherokees and Cessna products, also Airtourer and Shiebe Falk powered glider and Chipimunk. Getting a bit old to add much to that list. Oh, by the way I was not a pilot in the RAF. All the best for 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Hi David. You must have seen Courtenay Airpark then (little airport by the estuary). If so, that is close (50km) from where I live. I used that airstrip for training students and loved every minute. My students used to freak when they first saw it (my airport is 1500 m - Courtenay is 500m) but then realized that 500 m in an ultralight is so much overkill. My dad died in a plane crash when I was young but I also had an uncle who was a bush pilot and a cousin my age who now flies for Air Canada. 3 of the best people to learn to fly from. But I love ultralights the best. Not the early ones, I was never interested, but what they have become. This is a beautiful place (I am one of the few born & raised in BC) but Vancouver is not. Just talking to a friend and saying again how much I dislike the big city - too crowded, too noisy. I have lived there off and on all my life and don't even like going back (but family forces one). And becoming a difficult place to fly around with the restricted airspace. Not like Campbell River. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Greetings Geoff, Have to clarify David's post re: my working/flying out of Campbell River in the '70s. In actual fact, I was incompetant ballast in the RH seat of a float-rigged Luscombe 8E based @ Dawsons Landing in Rivers Inlet in the sixties (not sure how much I've learned since then but at least I've changed seats). I harbour many pleasant memories of inlet-hopping with Ray Salo (oldtime hand-logger and ex lighthouse keeper on Addenbrooke Island) whenever both the weather and his wife would allow. I'd reckon your father & uncle may well have known Ray & his machine some 50 odd years ago. I share your thoughts on big city living - gimme the bush anytime! All the very best to you for 2011. Cheers, Riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest skidmark1975 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 the World has tilted on its N/S axis!! Do we need to get new charts with the magnetic variation changed???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Hi Riley. My dad is no longer around but I will ask my uncle and a cousin if they remember Ray Salo. You would find that the bush flying world of Campbell River has changed a lot. Campbell River no longer has a pulp mill, logging is a fraction of what it once was, and bush flying has been reduced drastically as a result. My dad flew out of Ocean Falls, Port Hardy, Campbell River, Vancouver, Powell River during that period. I got to see much of the BC coast as a kid. My uncle flew out of Port Hardy, Kyuquot, and Powell River between 1965 and 1990. My cousin out of Tahsis and Tofino from 1975 to 1980 before he joined Canadian Airlines. Did you manage to see many of those places. Rivers Inlet. My dad went there many times but I never saw it. I can't stand big city life. Too crowded. Vancouver has grown so much in the last 25 years that flying over it is an adventure if you have any problems. And too many restrictions on where you can go. Flying at 1200 feet (because of Vancouver airport flight path restrictions) in densely packed suburbs is not safe in my mind. Campbell River (now 30,000 people) is so much more comfortable, and still not crowded in the area to fly. Did you ever get down to Chilco Lake? Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 Hi Skidmark. I guess my VFR charts for the coast of BC won't work when I get over to the Brisbane area! Especially considering the magnetic variation is a little different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Greetings Geoff Worked for DOT out of Price Rupert in a maintenance/relief light keeper capacity prior to wandering off to NZ. Was assigned to Dryad Point, Egg Island and Addenbrooke Island lighthouses but no further south. During a three month stint on Egg Island, I did get across to Port Hardy on the DOT S-61 chopper for a 1/2 day on one occasion - it was like a trip to the big smoke after the rock. Working with Ray on Addenbrooke was by far the most enjoyable posting. Assuming that I ever got organized enough to compile a bucket list, a summer-long trundle up the Inland Passage in a 30 foot motor sailer would be very close to the top! Keep well. Cheers Riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William de Riecroft Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 W F de R fireproof Do we need to get new charts with the magnetic variation changed???? Being an ex Nav I felt that I should explain about Variation (Stupid me). He immediately told me" thats a load ofBULL it's all those rockets and space ships that they keep firing off into outer space,that fellow Newton explained it all its to do with equal and opposite forces,they are the things that push the earth off level. At that point I gave in and agreed,it was easier. I shall avoid him in future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William de Riecroft Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 see reply to Skidmark re Rockets spaceships and variation wow.I realise that I live in a retirement village ,but but Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 make sure that there is a large label on the back of your coat showing where you should be returned to. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudestcon Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 see reply to Skidmark re Rockets spaceships and variation wow.I realise that I live in a retirement village ,but but Hey William, Message for you... Your village called - their idiot is missing:wave::big_grin: Yours in Jest, Pud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Hi Riley. I forgot to add that my dad also flew out of Prince Rupert for a year (1966) for Pacific Western Airlines (which eventually became Canadian Airlines). I liked a lot of places we lived in, but Rupert was not one of them. Too wet all the time. Bad weather in the winter. You were isolated. Most of my friends would have considered Prince Rupert (much less Port Hardy where I also spent a summer) a pimple on the world. Too small, too isolated. Where you were would be isolation extreme. Incidentally DOT is now Transport Canada. And they still have their helicopters although I think they retired the S-61. Most have gone to the heli-logging companies. Yours would have been a neat adventure. Prince Rupert has hardly changed at all. About the same population, about the same look. And you are right. The inland passage is considered a great place for sail and power boats. A huge tourist attraction, although many less Americans these days because of the recession in the US. And some of the gorgeous area to fly over in a plane. With caution of course. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Hi Factfinder. I like to stamp my return address on my forehead. Just like the ambulances - backwards so people know where I have to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDL Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Hi William. Preaching to the unreachable is a waste of time I have found (i.e. with some it is better to tell them that a plane flies because it is held up by long strings attached to angels guiding us). As a question, what is your magnetic variation in general in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William de Riecroft Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Hi GDL, b-ggered if I know, its 15 years since I last flew in anything other than in a flying bus/coach. By the way,you have just managed to destroy a long held illusion of mine.Are you sure that it's not angels holding it up? Why do you think that my nickname in the RAF was fireproof?.Anyway one day,if it's not too late fireproof will once again be up there looking for those angels. Regards fireproof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidh10 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 ... As a question, what is your magnetic variation in general in Australia? Off the top of my head it varies between 9 and 13.5 degrees in Victoria and southern New South Wales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William de Riecroft Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Thanks Davidh10.. Nice to know that. fireproof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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