No gladstone flight training !!

[freefallin]

I work in mining - construction in Gladstone but have a property in the sunshine coast. My 10 hour ordeal driving back & forth on the atrocious h/way & covert speed cameras promted me to the realization that it may be feesable to fly by light aircraft as there is no direct commercial flight & QANTAS has regained it's preditory monopoly now stategic had to pull out..So why not learn to fly ? ( had done lessons years ago ) and get the hours up flying home ?..makes sense i thought, until a quick search revealed NO flight training in Gladstone ! So there's an opening for someone who may see the potential considering the $$ people make around here.. Does anyone want to get some hours up plus costs & fly me to the sunny coast & back ?..Cheers

 

 

[mnewbery]

Does Redcliffe or Caboolture qualify? I'm thinking pplz at those clubs would like to spread the word on your behalf.

 

Further, I travelled from Canberra to Brisbane to get my hours because there was no flying school at either Canberra or Goulburn.

 

I'm going to qualify that by saying "no flying school that suited my needs at the time".

 

If you have the aptitude and circumstances, you can contact a flying school that will not only train you in a particular type but it will be the aircraft you buy and fly home. Cessna have this option in Qld but you will need to search for the details *cough, cough, google Authorized Cessna Pilot Center* of the school on the sunshine coast. I did an intensive training, loved it and got a long way to a private licence. I'd give it five weeks though, expecially in a Qld summer. Four (not five) weeks only amounts to 40 hours with weekends off. Five weeks gives you extra time and some no-flying days to sit cyber exams or sit out weather. Flying more than 2 hours a day, well you'd be a better person than me, I was wrecked.

 

So rather than learn to fly in Gladstone, it may be better to learn at your 'other' home.

 

Of course, you'd want to fly a Cessna for this to be an option. I'm not a student there nor do I endorse the training etc etc.

 

Another option is to look at someone who flies RA-Aus. Its possible to have an RA licence and fly privately into controlled airspace with the right training and equipment. Happens all the time in Canberra.

 

Doing flying lessons on the weekends ... Well, it can be fun and help you through the working week but after two years I have 100+ hours on many types and no full licence. I had to do it all again, many times and I have had way too many instructors. I loved them all ;-)

 

If you want to fly for transport (as I do), intensive training is the way to go and it doesn't matter where that happens really as long as you get what you want.

 

 

[freefallin]

Hey thnx for the advice, ..abit to consider there..My problem is that i usually get only 1 long w/end per month (3days) to make it feesable to go home anyway. I would pay for the pilots accom for the fri/sat & a ride home sunday if i could find someone & if it went towards flying hours, all the better. Still can't believe there's no training school here but it is what it is..

 

I always look skyward anyways, cheers

 

 

[Teckair]

Hey thnx for the advice, ..abit to consider there..My problem is that i usually get only 1 long w/end per month (3days) to make it feesable to go home anyway. I would pay for the pilots accom for the fri/sat & a ride home sunday if i could find someone & if it went towards flying hours, all the better. Still can't believe there's no training school here but it is what it is..I always look skyward anyways, cheers

I looked into starting a RAAus flying school at Gladstone and was given many reasons why not to do so. Someone else had already tried to do so. After being approved by the council that person was then told he could not go ahead with the idea because they needed the area he was going to use for fly in fly out car parking. Apparently, so I was told Gladstone is to become a control zone eliminating RAAus operations anyway. Apart from that I was told accommodation, where can get it, is unaffordable and real estate is over priced. The end result is you are unlikely to have a flying school.

 

Regards Richard.

 

 

[Guest Michael Coates]

if you want to learn to fly try John Gordon in Emerald.... he is only about one hour away by plane and he probably has a few customers down there anyway. A lot of the flying schools will actually go one direction with a student on a navigation exercise, land, do some training was somebody like yourself for three or four hours and then depart back to where they came from as part of the navigation training. This way you should get at least two or three hours up each time without costing you a fortune. If the weather was behaving you could always encourage them to do an overnight in Gladstone and try and get up four or five hours each day as a suggestion. Sent John an e-mail to the following address [email protected] or you can try his phone number which is.... Sorry I just looked in my phone and don't have it so please do a search yourself or contact him via e-mail. Nice guy and I am sure you could work out something!

 

 

[Powerin]

Another option is to look at someone who flies RA-Aus. Its possible to have an RA licence and fly privately into controlled airspace with the right training and equipment. Happens all the time in Canberra.

That's not quite correct. You can't fly into CTA holding only an RAAus pilots certificate. As I understand it you can only fly an RAAus registered aircraft into CTA under the following conditions:

 

• The RAAus registered aircraft has appropriate equipment (including certified engine, radio and transponder)
   
   
  
• You hold a PPL which allows you to fly in CTA
   
   
  
• and of course you hold a RAAus pilots certificate with appropriate endorsements to be able to fly that aircraft.
   
   
  

 

 

The actual rules are a bit more convoluted than that, but that's the gist of it I think.

 

 

[mnewbery]

http://www.recreationalflying.net/tutorials/navigation/airspace.html

 

http://www.recreationalflying.net/tutorials/regulations/regulations.html#airspace

 

Extract of section 1.1 (first URL)

 

Recreational Pilot Certificate holders flying an aircraft operating under the CAO 95.55, CAO 95.32, CAO 95.12 and CAO 95.10 exemption orders may only enter and fly in Class C and D airspace if they meet specified requirements; see '

 

[/url]Operating airspace allowed, pilot qualifications and equipment required

 

' (2nd URL above). For flight in Class A airspace, a recreational pilot must seek and receive written permission from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for the flight.

 

Comment and opinion

 

A recreational aircraft isn't getting into Class A airspace unless its really really special (or being air freighted in a box) because Class A starts at FL180 (e.g. about 18,000 feet). A recreational pilot would then be seeking written permission for a lot of things I think. Also, since I went down the GA path first, I already have the medical (mine was class one) I just forgot about it and the $360 price tag. So the statement becomes "GA Licence or equivalent training, an equipped aircraft and a medical (or a written exemption for any/all of the above, specific to the aerodrome)". This agrees with the previous post. Finally, I have only ever heard of pilots with full GA licences flying RA registered aircraft into Canberra and I should have mentioned that at the time. 'They' seem to know who has a GA licence and I'm not surprised because you need to lodge a flight plan with your ARN and registration number in order to fly back out (of controlled airspace) again!

 

It is a bit crap for the RA flyer. Also when flying into a certified airfield (like Gladstone) you need an ASIC or a RA-Aus equivalent. Since I have a GA student licence and I did my TIF up to first solo in Class C, I'm all sweet. I'm not getting into the merits of whether or not a class 2 or better medical is a good thing for private flight into controlled airspace. AOPA USA is having that discussion with FAA right now and it may be worth watching.

 

As for Gladstone becoming a CTA:

 

http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/lib100008/gladstone_study.pdf

 

 

 

[/url]http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/lib100008/gladstone_study_final.pdf

 

 

 

Summary and opinion

 

 

 

CASA want to permanently dis-establish D704 and it should be cancelled in the June 2010 ERSA/DAH onwards (available online at Airservices publications). This is due to ... no flying training (they say)!

 

 

 

CASA plan to keep Gladstone Class G CTAF® and therefore you can fly RA-Aus into there with the usual caveats, including mandatory radio use. The aerodrome is under the Rockhampton Class C airspace similar to Redcliffe being under Brisbane CTA. Redcliffe has one VH- and two RA- registered Tecnams. Mmph! They look like the same type! Also Redcliffe isn't certified any more most likely due to ahem an issue with their fence.

 

 

 

The 'final' PDF above is worth a read if flying around Gladstone is of interest.

 

 

 

Looking at the report, I would say that if I was to fly out of Gladstone regularly, a GA PPL and a GA aircraft (or GA eligible) would be of benefit due to the demands of navigating in a CTAF® with a huge variety of other fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Plus, the GA style of aircraft (I'm thinking SkyFox, Tecnam and Cessna 150, even a J230) will have been built and equipped for electrics like radio, transponder and nav/anti-collision/strobe/landing lights which is going to be useful for the other aircraft in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[metalman]

I work in mining - construction in Gladstone but have a property in the sunshine coast. My 10 hour ordeal driving back & forth on the atrocious h/way & covert speed cameras promted me to the realization that it may be feesable to fly by light aircraft as there is no direct commercial flight & QANTAS has regained it's preditory monopoly now stategic had to pull out..So why not learn to fly ? ( had done lessons years ago ) and get the hours up flying home ?..makes sense i thought, until a quick search revealed NO flight training in Gladstone ! So there's an opening for someone who may see the potential considering the $$ people make around here.. Does anyone want to get some hours up plus costs & fly me to the sunny coast & back ?..Cheers

Maybe have a look at bundaberg/childers or Maryborough, a mate of mine instructs at YMYB and another guy I know is at Childers, Russell Middleton is the YMYB FI and is a top bloke ,they're using GS700 Ibis aircraft , not sure about YBUD but they knock up Jabirus there , I'd guess they'd have some training units on the field. If your going GA there's a school at Hervey Bay as well .

good luck Mat

 

 

[TAA Azza]

Hi ,,freefallin.. i live in emerald and have property on the sunny coast also ..i work a 5n4 4n5 roster with 2 long weekends off a month ..id love u to help cover some of the assosiated costs of flying down ,,cant say itd be gauranteed all the time but im sure we could organise it here and there ..only a 2 seater as i only have a rec license atm ..email me at [email protected] if its of any interest.

 

 

[Physio]

Gday all

 

I've been looking at trying to get a flight school (or at least get someone to teach flying) started for some time now in Gladstone and it appears the airport has no prioritisation of this. John Green (local pilot - owns a hangar) has repeatedly struck deals with the airport who have renegged on him, rather rudely at times. They have given him all sorts of excuses - some mentioned above, some even more preposterous.

 

There was an instructor from Gympie (Peter Rosenthal I think is his name) who was interested in teaching and has contacted the airport several times but keeps getting knocked back with poor excuses. And hasn't really pushed the issue. I'm not sure what the real issues here are - but the way I see it, if there is an instructor out there who would like to teach us (in or at least close to Gladstone) - can you contact me (0409762353). I am thinking perhaps we could use one of the private local strips to start our training. If this is possible.

 

I have 6 or 7 people who would be interested in learning to fly now - and by the sounds of this website there could be a few more. Plus with a little bit of advertising I would have no doubt there would be plenty more people around who would be interested also.

 

Cheers

 

Nathan

 

 

[dazza 38]

Good Luck with it Nathan and Welcome.

 

 

[Physio]

If anyone is interested, Gladstone Aero Club has now officially been setup. If anyone would like to join (and we need as many as we can in order to lobby the authorities in order to get a flight school up and running) please fill in the attached form and return email to the secretary's email at the top of the form. Cost is only $1 to join. There is a good chance that if we get enough numbers we could have a real shot at getting this flight school going.

 

IMG.pdf

 

IMG.pdf

 

IMG.pdf

[Tomas]

Hello there

 

I am in the same boat, work here in Gladstone and my plan was to get lessons on the weekend.

 

Is there any other optons like Rockhampton?

 

Cheers

 

Tomas

 

 

[Physio]

Yeh, Rockys price were a lot more expensive than Bundy's when I first looked into it, bout a year ago. But you save an hour in travel time.