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This site is considered a large one in the forum software industry, not a huge one but still a large one and has been going for some 18 years. It is my passion and for most of it I have spent every waking hour trying to make it better for every one and to maintain its initial objectives. In a software forum that I frequent for help and advice, I was asked for my story of the Recreational Flying site by the management of IPS software for them to add to their own site but now that we are back with XF I didn't think it was appropriate so I just posted it in the general forums of that site for Forum Administrators as I was also asked there why I went back to XF. I am reproducing that post here in the hope that it helps the users of this site understand the reasoning for this site's existence, its objectives and the history this site has seen. My apologies for its length but it may also explain why I believe we need a single repository of everything in recreational aviation to help each other and keep us all safe...hope it helps: Well, I suppose I should put this whole story to bed, but it may be a long story which I hope may help other site owners to learn from my experience, although as we know not all sites are the same. I started Recreational Flying some 18 years ago as many pilots were killing themselves from stupid mistakes and there wasn’t any opportunity for them to learn from each other’s experiences. So, my thought was to try and replicate the flying club clubrooms as an Australia wide clubroom for pilots to learn from each other…Increase their flying skills, learn about proper aircraft maintenance and to be safer in the air. I tried to create an overall single repository of information to help pilots in one single location. It worked, in fact it worked so well that the site grew faster than I could keep up. Being a VB developer and ICT Project Manager I developed my first site myself using of all things a JET backend. I thought that if I got 30 or so pilots and I was able to save at least 1 life it would be a success. But within a couple of months the growth was too much so for speed I went for a COTS product called MegaBB (if my memory serves me). Within a year or so my site outgrew that as pilots from all around Australia were hearing about my site, at the time called Ultralight.net. I then moved to another more featured COTS solution which for the life of me I can’t recall its name (I think it had 2 words both starting with S) but again my user base was growing so fast and needed “more” than just forums. At this point there had been an unprecedented 65% drop in fatal recreational aviation accidents with many pilots crediting the reduction in the ability to at any time of the day or night, and from any location, learn from each other’s flying experiences, good and bad. At this point I needed more from my site, users were demanding more, so it was time to get serious. I moved over to VB v3 and threw all kinds of addons in and the users were lapping it up. I developed myself and paid other developers to create very specific addons, pages, features and functions to build the site up into one hell of an extreme comprehensive single repository of everything to do with recreational aviation. There were all the standard features like forums, gallery etc but also aircraft registration lookups, a weather converter into plain English, an aviation news reader mined the internet on anything to do with recreational aviation etc etc etc. The site had and was costing me thousands and thousands of dollars so the wife said “NO MORE MONEY”…doh? So, as I was now contracting as a PMO Director I had my own private company which I used to set up an online Pilot Supplies shop on the side of my site. For this I used CS-Cart after trying different forum integrated cart addons which were all big problems. I only put small margins on products to offset the costs of my aviation site now called Recreational Flying. The shop is by no means any kind of commercial interest and the time it takes to administer the shop is completely not worth it as there is no personal gain, but it pays for the hosting costs. Vbulletin v4 came out so I upgraded to that however some of my extra site features were dropped due them not being ported to VB v4 by their developers. Remember VBClassifieds and VBGallery? The biggest and greatest addon I used in VB was VBCMS and VBDynamics…they were great addons especially Dynamics as I could create many different instances of it for many different features of my site for pilots. Everything started to go downhill from here as Dynamics had too many issues under VB v4 plus the same for many other addons. I got ripped off a lot of money by developers, but I stayed with VB as long as I could. Then the whole VB v5 fiasco, which I didn’t go to, was the end of the line of vb for me. So, at this stage I had a very troublesome site with less features and functions for the users than before. The question here is if I had just remained default with VB v4 then perhaps I wouldn’t have had so many headaches however if I had not turbo charged my site with so many extras, functions and features for my users would my site had been so successful? Along came Xenforo. WOW, this promised to be something phenomenal and I was in right at the get go. I migrated over to XF even in BETA stage as it was looking so promising with all the posts and talk of what developers were working on and remember this was even before XF’s formal release. Before I go any further, I must stress one extremely important consideration. The average age of my userbase is in the low 60s. At this age people often buy a caravan and travel around or they buy a light aircraft and fly around. Many people of this age were not really introduced to technology so using a site can be very hard and confusing. Even though there are buttons saying Create Thread or Create Post I still continually get asked how to create a post. I get many users saying my site doesn’t work as they get timed out after 15mins even though they are just trying to type a three-line post (it is now 30min time out). Every few days I get an email from a registered user simply saying “Your site doesn’t work”…then we have to go through a long process to resolve the issue like their caps are on trying to put their password in. The one thing the spurred me on was the fact that I was continually getting emails from users saying they would have been killed if not for something they had read on my site…my site was saving lives, it was working. These are extremely important considerations in what follows. The one thing that I found was great with XF was that it was so simple, not just for users but for an Admin to create anything by in many cases simple HTML. The Search function was brilliant so to was the Admin Control Panel, the Template system and most importantly the speed of it. Addons started coming thick and fast and soon some very big addons that I could use. Bob’s great Showcase, Chris’s Media addon and many others. Sure, my XF site started from scratch again with just forums but it wasn’t long before I was building the site back up to its previous glory. Then, it all started falling apart again. The addons were starting to show their true colours with some very good ones and some very bad ones so you didn’t know who to trust other than by wasting money on the bad ones just to find out. The next thing was the VB/XF Court Case. Everything seem to stop, and I was again left with a troublesome and very much incomplete site. Users were starting to baulk saying when are the Classifieds coming back, when is this or that going to be added to the site. I didn’t know what to do other than sit on my hands and become very frustrated and let down by XF. No coms, no advice, no information…do I spend thousands of dollars on a platform that will not eventuate, do I go back to the problems of VB, do I do this or that. The legal issues went on and on and I became very bitter, so much so that I began to hate even looking at my site. I was going to close it so many times but thinking of the lives it was saving I just couldn’t do it. Also, at this time the Light Aircraft Governing Body here in Australia tried everything the could to close me down. Many legal actions against me for the site having posts by users the body didn’t like, they didn’t like the fact that I was giving the industry a voice. They even disallowed my membership, which you must legally have to fly a light aircraft, saying I was “Bringing the Industry into disrepute” by allowing pilots a voice by allowing them to post. The site survived through all the XF/VB legal action, my own legal troubles against me however the site had stagnated. It was getting over 4,000 unique visitors per day, over 600 registered users logging in per day but there was no growth, so I had to do something. With the XF/VB case over I desperately tried to get the site back to its powerful single repository of everything in recreational aviation with addons, features and functionality. The problem of quality yet again rose it ugly head and a lot of money was wasted with no immediate positive outcomes. I kept waiting for XF to grow to the phenomenon that I knew it could grow to but that wasn’t happening. Sure, there was a Resources addon which I believe was driven by XF’s own needs and then XF purchased/took over Chris’s Media addon (which I already had) but it stopped there. XF’s focus, I felt, was purely on a forum solution only solution and developers. I had already felt the wrath of bad developers and had been taken for a ride so many times by them, addon I even paid to be developed were not developed to my specs and were released to the public leaving me without exactly what I paid for but allowed developers to make money off my money. There were developers like 2 shoes with Classifieds (very buggy), Michael with the shop (very buggy and ripped people off on VB then left, moved to XF and ripped people off and left) and many many others. BUT I MUST SAY THERE ARE ALSO SOME VERY GOOD DEVELOPERS LIKE BOB etc. At this time my site had been stagnant for some time and there were many users popping up that seemed heel bent on causing trouble. Armed with a hefty amount of keyboard courage and alpha male attitudes they trolled the site antagonising other users driving many people away or simply scared them out of posting. I took a hard-line approach to drive these troublemakers away however it is very much a “Damned if you do, and Damned if you don’t” scenario. My site became divided plus I couldn’t satisfy my userbase with all the features they once had. Now in comes Facebook. A couple of users from my site started a Facebook Group and with my userbase being of the older generation found Facebook much more convenient as they used Facebook to stay in touch with family and friends anyway. This Facebook Group grew and grew rapidly. I noticed my site’s stats began to drop and saw many of the prolific posters on my site were no longer visiting my site but were posting in the Facebook Group. I have found that users are also divided and that there is still a small amount of those that don’t like Facebook, but they are in the minority. Now in comes all the hype of XF v2. I am stuck between a rock and a hard post, what do I do. I chose to wait for XF2…wrong move. I waited, and waited, and waited and in the end XF v2 was simply all about developers and very little, very little at all for end users. Gone also was the simplicity of XF v1 where you could do just about anything with just a little knowledge of HTML and CSS. When XF v2 was finally released it seemed all the addon developers ran for the life and only little whoopy do addons were created however there was some little core components that were very nice to have. I felt I now had no choice but to go to XF v2 and wait for those addons that I needed to come back…but again I was wrong. Again I had to wait and wait and wait only to see that the addons were not going to eventuate…what was I to do…My site was dying, the Facebook Group was screaming ahead, I hated my site because I was frustrated and after 15 years of putting everything I had into it to help others had nowhere to go but down. Site stats were now under half of what the site once was, I couldn’t do what I wanted to do due to the complexity of XF v2 unless I embarked on a massive learning curve, and at 60 years of age perhaps I was beyond that now. Now in comes IPS. Everything indicated that it promised to be a quick saviour with all that it offered and integrated to boot, WOW. So, I purchased the complete package of all IPS had to offer plus many very well built and looking addons like Classifieds, Suppliers, Clubs, Databases and Pages for anything I wanted to create (like my old VBDynamics). I migrated over to IPS as quick as I could (bad move) but I felt pressured into doing something quickly before my site dived any further. I didn’t take the age group of my user base into consideration and their less acceptance of change but also IPS was more complicated to the user simply because of the great number of features and functionality that it has…it has so much. After a couple of weeks, I found my stats were dropping fast with registered users not even logging in to site…I panicked and quickly went back to XF, wiped the sweat from my brow and started some soul searching. Was I wrong in trying to go back to the success of yesterday by having an all in all comprehensive single repository of everything to do in recreational aviation for my users to help each other? Or, is the time of my site now gone and everything is now Facebook as that Facebook Group was still growing with many users that had over the years before left my site? Determined that I can still help other pilots, help to keep them safe, help them to learn by other pilot’s experiences and in well and properly maintained aircraft I decided to give IPS another try, after all I think I panicked. I engaged a fantastic IPS developer to help me to change the IPS look and feel to XF as much as possible to minimise the “change” to users. I embarked on a big communication program to the site users, took my time getting IPS right, even having IPS example setup for the users to try and advise. The stupid thing is only a couple of users even looked at IPS site. I created videos on the XF now to the IPS change to help show and educate users on the benefits of IPS and much more. When I felt it was ready, I migrated again across to IPS and this time I was at the end anyway so it was a do or die scenario and I promised myself I would give it 6 months. I must say here that one big contributing factor in my decision making was that the XF forums had become so extremely toxic with opinionated trolls who seemed to know more about my site by a couple of lines in a post than I did…it is so toxic that even one moderator I wouldn’t pea on him if he was on fire Anyway, I began with just the same components of XF i.e. Forums, Media (Gallery), Resources (Downloads) etc for a couple of weeks. I then began to turn on some of the other great features and after a few months my site stats were back to what they previously were however still over 50% less than what they were years ago. Over this time users were telling me in private conversations how much they liked the extra features of the site and a poll, even with a small amount of respondents said they preferred IPS to XF, I was also taking note of other stats like users that found the site more complicated. I turned some of the IPS things off like parts of What’s New, the Search function was one area they did complain about as the usage of Search dropped dramatically and many other things. The site still wasn’t growing again though. During the 6 months I thought to expand the site Internationally after all flying a plane is the same in every country. I moved servers to the US LA location and up spec’d the server to counteract some of the latency. This failure for two reasons, one that my site was predominately Australian based users (85%) which deterred the international population and two, even though my new server was extremely powerful IPS still suffered to the existing Australian userbase. The interesting thing is my “Off Topic” XF v2 site didn’t suffer that much. Through server stats I found IPS very resource hungry. I tried to get the server optimised by approaching two IPS server gurus however they declined. After 6 months of IPS use I found many weaknesses in the Admin side of site management which became very frustrating every time you went to do something at the level of my knowledge. Things that I could do so easily in XF I couldn’t do in IPS. I accidentally deleted a whole forum by simply trying to delete all guest posts in that forum (IPS named Guests differently). This was the straw that broke the camels back and at this time BOB had finally released his great Showcase and Articles addons. I then started to look at how I could create what I needed in XF by thinking outside the box. I found that I could create a “On this day in Aviation” section using Andy’s Calendar addon, I could create a better menu system that could single out components of Resources into separate sections like a Clubs and Schools section (this was a big impact to me which previously couldn’t be done) and create a powerful Classifieds section by using mostly core functions with a little extra development. As a final solution I would also pay to get developed all the extra functionality and features that I need to hopefully get aviators back to having and using a comprehensive repository of all the information they need in a single location so they don’t miss some little thing that may save their life. So, that’s my story of my site, it has some half a million posts, 11,000 registered users although that would be around 25,000 if I didn’t cull old users over the last 18 years. Some issues that I need to consider: Facebook is toxic to forum sites and will destroy them unless forum software developers realise that a forum site needs to offer more than a Facebook Group by creating so much more functionality for a site’s users, a “whole web site” like IPS offers and not just a “forum” site (note some subjects are ok in just forums but others are not) The toxic environment at XF needs to be fixed. I am not thick skinned, but no one should be subjected to being attacked for having a different opinion than others and no one knows more about a site than the owner of that site, drop the keyboard courage and alpha male attitudes and HELP each other, that’s why it is called a community Addons are evil but in some cases a necessary evil. You can get robbed, you can get crap addons, and you can as in most cases be left high and dry with a damaged site. Greed has to go, and we have to start helping each other because you never know what damage you are doing to a persons site with your addon an in my case it can cost people their lives by not having a good working resource available to them IPS and XF both have some fantastic advantages and it is very very hard to choose between the two so think about if your site is successful what will the users want and what will protect your site from the vulture of Facebook Sorry for this being so long and I could even add much more to help others, if my story has helped anyone and yes, I have made some mistakes but I have made some good decisions after all I had an incredible site that helped thousands and I wish I could find the answer to get back to that, but thank you for reading it and I wish you and your site great success

For all First Class Members (and Moderators) you can now create your very own web address to your profile page. For example I have created a web address to my very own profile as in [iCODE]https://www.recreationalflying.com/ibaker[/iCODE] You can create your very own "vanity URL" to your own profile page by using [iCODE]https://www.recreationalflying.com/your_vanity_name[/iCODE] using a vanity name you want in the link like your username or real name or funny name or ??? what ever you like. This is the beginning of createding a complete, comprehensive and powerful personal aviation home page for yourself. I will be adding some great features that you can use on your profile page very soon although currently it has your own conversations, list of posts you have made, media items you have added, resources you have added, your own banner across the top of your profile page and more. The objective is to provide you with a Facebook page type of experience on the site. Your aviation interests and interactions are in a hub of aviation with other like minded individuals keeping it all together. To access/create your own web address simply click on Vanity URL in the drop down box when you click on your avatar at the top of the main menu column. Just one thing though, if you use a vanity name that is already in use by the site like forums or media or resources etc, it will clash with the site's own addresses so best to stay away from these...hope you make use of it and enjoy your own web address link to your profile page

Events can be made private to the club members only or can be made public i.e. open to all site visitors, users and guests. The reason why I haven't turned the clubs section on yet or the Event system is for this very reason. Currently they are two systems and I need to develop a way to have the Groups calendar and the general events calendar integrated. The Media component has been integrated with the Media section of the site already.

Thanks @Old Koreelah it is already built except for some more minor enhancements like having a booking system included in the Group calendar that can be used to book club aircraft or for schools a complete training session booking system and linked to a Google calendar etc, I would also like to have the ability to link the forum entries in a Club/School to a Facebook Group and vice-a-versa (2 way)...the development of this is already half completed. As no one, apart from yourself, has helped me in deciding the best way to go I think I will use both. A Clubs and Schools section in Resources that has an extra field where the user can add the link to their Group here on Recreational Flying

It's coming very very soon. The developer I got to do the final bits has been busy and got back on to it today so very very soon

Instruments Drones MOS made The Manual of Standards for Part 101 Unmanned Aircraft and Rockets – commonly known as drones – was made 9 April 2019. It details the safety and regulatory oversight of remotely piloted aircraft, including training and competency standards for remote pilot licences, and standing approvals for certain kinds of operations near aerodromes and beyond visual line of sight provided they meet conditions and requirements prescribed by the MOS. Definitions for flight operations regulations made Definitions to support the suite of Flight Operations Regulations (Part 91, 119, 121, 133, 135, 138) have been made. View the associated amendment regulation on the Federal Register of Legislation website. Consultations Changes to air traffic control standards for parallel runway operations Consultation on a proposal to change air traffic control (ATC) standards for parallel runway operations (including those in use at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) aerodrome, and in the near future, Brisbane aerodrome, closed on 1 May 2019. We are now reviewing the feedback. Update to aeroplane flight simulator standards – Part 60 MOS Consultation on a proposal to amend the Part 60 MOS to directly reference the latest ICAO, FAA and EASA standards for flight simulators closed on 10 April 2019. We have completed analysis – which was largely positive – and are developing a detailed response to constructive input received during the consultation period. Resources New eLearning course on Class G airspace radio procedures We have published a new eLearning course designed to help pilots operate safely in non-controlled airspace. The Class G Airspace Radio Procedures module is available through AviationWorx on the CASA website. Also see the related resource booklet, Be heard, be seen, be safe, available in hard copy via the CASA Online Store, or viewed on the CASA website.

There are several ways we can have Clubs, Schools and Clubs/Schools on the site for everyone and I am unsure which way would be the cleanest yet most functional for everyone. I believe we need to meet 2 functions in Clubs and Schools: 1. Enable a Club or School to create a presence here on Recreational Flying 2. Be able to provide a list of ALL Clubs and Schools for users and perspective students to be able to look up and find out about each one Firstly we will have Groups (yet to be turned on) and this can have categories for Clubs, Schools and General Groups(for aircraft types, etc). It can function as a presence for the club or school here on Recreational Flying and is quite powerful in that each one can have their own Forum, Gallery, Event Calendar etc: Owners/Admins of the Group can set its permissions as Public, Private, Invite Only etc. The issue in just using the Groups function for Clubs and Schools is that not all Clubs and Schools will want a presence here or even be bothered to maintain their Group features The second option is to provide a list of ALL Clubs and Schools in the Resource section of the site. This would simply be a listing of them all with basic information on each one: I would enter the information that I can find about each one however that information could go out of date in due course without a representative of the Club or School here to maintain their entry So, either way maintaining the accuracy of the information is a hard one. I wonder about having just either one as each one has different benefits but is using both with say a link in the Resource List one to their Group one would be the way to go or is that too much to have and perhaps may be a little confusing to a user who is looking for Clubs or Schools, finds one of the options here on Recreational Flying and doesn't know about the other. What do you think???

Blogs are coming back very soon...there is so much to turn on but I want to do it one at a time, get it working perfectly right before I turn the next feature on etc etc etc

For everyone, especially @BirdDog and @FlyingVizsla and @Downunder please note that the error you received when changing your Alert preferences has now been fixed. It was caused by some extra code that I had placed in there which I have now removed and will need to check what I was doing wrong but all fixed now...sorry about that

The Alerts error that some are experiencing is not happening for me so I have to look further into it for you

Sorry, please bare with me...I have moved back home from Sydney and are building a new PC...will be back and focused on the site again real soon

In regards to not staying logged in, try clearing all cookies from Recreational Flying in your browser

Hi @BirdDog can you advise more detail on what you were doing to get that error...thanks

Hi Bernie, as Red says but are you not seeing that "Filters" drop down link at all and if not what version of Windows and Browser are you using?

hi @FlyingVizsla are you referring to the weekly Sunday email or to All as in "Receive news and update emails"...also can you advise what the entire error message is...thanks

That's interesting...I have a Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.3 inch tablet that I use for testing and have no problem. Are you saying that you can't slide the screen up to access the post reply box or ??? I can't exactly picture in my head what the problem is...any more info may help...thanks

Have you tried simply clicking the Like button again...that should remove it

CEO and Director of Aviation Safety Shane Carmody comments: Key steps are being taken in the ongoing transformation of CASA’s service delivery. Work has been underway for some time on making significant improvements in service delivery, with the focus on streamlining processes, moving them online and having a single-entry point to engage with CASA online - myCASA. The aviation community should have confidence that we are striving to make dealing with CASA less complex. We must have simpler processes and faster turnaround times to make it easier to deal with CASA. Of course, there are important benefits for CASA too in making service delivery improvements like less paperwork, less double handling, data being in one place and having time more to focus on complex cases. This month there were several achievements in the work to deliver better regulatory services. The chief pilots of remotely piloted aircraft training organisations can now lodge remote pilot licence applications online and remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificates without changes can be renewed online. This means drone training organisations no longer need to scan paper forms and send them to CASA, instead managing the remote pilot licence process through CASA’s online portal. Once these services are operating smoothly we plan to expand our online capabilities to cover other services. You should recall that the application process for aviation reference numbers has been available online since last year, significantly speeding up the issuing process. Similarly, aviation medical applications have been online for some time. Please find the self-service portal and more information on remotely piloted aircraft online services. Best wishes Shane Carmody Latest news Update on Part 135 Work to finalise the manual of standards to support the new Part 135 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations is making good progress. Part 135 sets out the rules covering smaller aeroplanes used in air transport operations and comes into effect in March 2021. The new regulations were made in December 2018. The manual of standards will cover a range of issues including the rules related to document carriage, flights to remote islands, fuel carriage, aeroplane performance, equipment carriage and crew training and checking. It will be finalised in 2019. CASA is also developing explanatory and guidance material to assist the aviation community transition to and comply with the new regulations, including sample manuals for operators. This material will be provided well in advance of the March 2021 commencement date for Part 135. The new regulations introduce common rules for all air transport operations – doing away with the current distinction between charter and regular public transport. There are safety enhancements such as crew training and checking requirements, human factors training and safety management systems. The implementation of new requirements will be scaled to fit the size and complexity of operations to keep the regulatory burden to a minimum. Keep up-to-date with Part 135 and other operational developments by subscribing to the flight operations mailing list. Risk profile for GA maintenance CASA is developing a safety risk profile for the general aviation maintenance sector. To assist in the development of the risk profile a survey of relevant maintenance organisations will be conducted in May 2019 and CASA is encouraging participation. The survey will collect valuable data to accurately inform risk analysis and should only take 20 to 30 minutes to complete. Sector risk profiles are an important tool in understanding the safety challenges and issues for different segments of the aviation community. They present a picture of the current key safety risks facing a sector and assist in developing a deeper understanding of the effects of these risks. The profiles look at how the level of risks can be reduced and managed by the participants in each sector and CASA, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of risk treatments through a set of safety performance indicators. CASA is also reviewing previous safety risk profiles for aerial mustering and aerodromes, with updated reports to be issued later in 2019. Read sector risk profile reports. R22 maintenance warning The investigation into a fatal Robinson R22 crash has led to the issue of an important safety notice. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau issued the notice in relation to the replacement of self-locking nuts on Robinson helicopters. Although the issue has not yet been identified as a contributing factor in the R22 crash near Cloncurry in 2017, it was highlighted by post-crash evidence. A standard maintenance practice of re-using self-locking nuts on Robinson helicopters may inadvertently result in a failure to install corrosion resistant nuts on critical fasteners. The investigation of the Cloncurry crash found a missing fastener in the helicopter’s flight control system. The fastener attached the cyclic bell crank to the push-pull rod. The bolt was found but the nut was missing and heat damage on the end of the bell crank with the missing nut was different to elsewhere. This indicated the bolt was not in-situ at the time of the post-impact fire. The ATSB concluded the nut came off due to hydrogen embrittlement. In the course of interviewing personnel employed by the maintenance organisation of the crashed helicopter, the ATSB noted a low level of awareness of the need to replace nuts when critical fasteners were reassembled. Read the ATSB safety advisory notice. Change to parallel runway standards CASA is proposing an amendment to the safety standards covering parallel runway operations. These standards are contained in the Part 172 manual of standards. Part 172 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations provides the regulatory framework for air traffic service providers, including standards for air traffic facilities, safety management and the provision of air traffic services. The Australian standards for parallel runway operations are based on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards originally introduced in 1995 and only allow the use of an instrument landing system for final approach guidance during parallel runway operations. Air traffic control is required to manually vector all arriving aircraft onto final approach. In 2018 ICAO updated its standards for parallel runway operations to allow for the use of a number of other systems including approach procedures with vertical guidance. CASA is proposing to adopt the new ICAO standards for use in Australia. The new standards will initially apply to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and in the future Brisbane or other aerodromes with parallel runway operations. Find out more about the parallel runway proposals. Cabin safety – training and minimum equipment Cabin safety bulletins about crew training facilities and devices and minimum equipment lists have been released. The cabin crew training bulletin covers issues such as classroom facilities, instructional aids, training device types, firefighting and water survival and touch drills. When using training devices operators should have a documented procedure to ensure they are representative of aircraft types, particularly in relation to door operating forces. Components should be representative of those found on an aircraft. These can include dials, handles, switches and restraint brackets and the force required for their operation. A simulated firefighting exercise should be conducted in a confined area to simulate cabin fire. This should include aircraft furnishings, such as seating, galley units, lavatories, panels, overhead bins and waste bins. The cabin safety minimum equipment list bulletin explains how CASA evaluates a minimum equipment list, as well as providing information on warning signs, placarding and training. Find out more about cabin crew training facilities and minimum equipment lists. Drone detection action CASA has been using drone detection surveillance equipment at major events at various locations to monitor drone operations and support enforcement of the safety rules. In recent weeks drone surveillance was undertaken at events in Canberra and the Gold Coast. A number of drones were detected potentially operating in breach of the regulations and enforcement action is being pursued where appropriate. CASA is also using the equipment for surveillance at major aerodromes and around Sydney Harbour, a known drone hot spot. The data collected about drone operations will be used to inform education and information strategies, which is important in the lead up to the introduction of mandatory drone registration and accreditation in the second half of 2019. The portable surveillance equipment detects drones inflight and provides the location on the ground of the controller. CASA continues to issue penalties where there is evidence of drone safety regulation breaches, with recent penalties in excess of $1000. A man was recently convicted in the Victorian Magistrates court of three drone offences - commercial operations without holding a remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificate and for two instances of operating over a populous area at a height from which the drone would not have been able to safely clear the area in the event of a component failure. Fines and costs totalled more than $1500. In brief Pilots need to be aware from 23 May 2019 there will be a difference in air traffic control radio transmissions. The change will see transmissions of flight levels that include whole hundred numbers made with the word “hundred”, rather than “zero zero”. For example, an instruction to “climb to flight level two zero zero” will become “climb to flight level two hundred”. Other flight level assignments, headings, wind direction and speed, and runway identifiers will continue to be transmitted by pronouncing each digit separately. The instrument setting conditions on the flight crew licences of pilots conducting community service flights has been amended to allow helicopters to operate these flights. This follows feedback from the aviation community. This extension will allow a greater number of pilots to volunteer their aircraft, time and skills to the community service flights sector. Find out more about community service flight conditions. Pilots can refresh their knowledge of radio procedures in non-controlled airspace by reading the ‘Be heard, be seen, be safe’ booklet. A PDF can be downloaded from the CASA website. Or a hard copy can be ordered from the CASA online store. Minor updates have been made to the advisory publication on pilot maintenance. This includes updates about who can carry out a schedule 8 maintenance and clarified information about inspections and checks. CASA is running a survey to find out views on the flight planning kit. The kit is designed to assist low-hour VFR pilots with good flight planning habits. It contains a handbook outlining eight stages of a flight, a flight planning notepad, personal minimums card, time in your tanks card, non-controlled airport procedures, be heard be seen be safe booklet, and a number of Bureau of Meteorology cards. Have your say on the kit. New drone technical requirements have been released in the just released manual of standards for Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. The new requirements mainly apply to commercial and professional drone pilots and operators. Several of new requirements apply immediately while the rest do not take effect until 2020. Changes taking effect now relate to on-going approval of extended visual line of sight operations and ensuring there is a buffer between drones and any controlled airspace. Safety seminars for pilots Pilots in 14 regional locations around Australia are invited to attend an AvSafety seminar in May 2019. The seminars will help pilots develop skills in three key areas – communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. A practical scenario will be used to explain the concepts of threat and error management. Pilots will work through relevant defensive flying behaviours aimed at addressing human factors challenges encountered in single pilot operations. Pilots will be given special cards with key information on communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. The cards can be kept in a new AvSafety resource folder to build a library of critical safety information. Cards and folders are only available to people who attend AvSafety seminars. In May 2019 seminars are being held at: Armidale Alice Springs Burnie Bunbury Cessnock Geraldton Inverell Jandakot Kyneton Launceston Port Pirie Scone Townsville Yulara Don’t miss out by booking a pilot seminar now. Five engineering seminars CASA is holding five engineering safety seminars in May 2019. The seminars will cover a range of topics including leadership and mentoring for aviation maintenance engineers, specialist maintenance certification, Flight Safety Australia maintenance articles and a regulation review update. Engineers, heads of airworthiness and maintenance, other people from airworthiness organisations and maintenance training personnel will all benefit from attending the seminars. These are great professional development opportunities, allowing people to talk with CASA maintenance experts and ask questions. Engineering seminars in May 2019 are being held at: Alice Springs Gold Coast Gove Southport Toowoomba. Book a place now at an engineering seminar.

Thanks @ClintonB where is the &amp showing up for you...it could be something with your browser as It is ok on my end

Hi, the Classifieds will be back very soon. There was one component that was beyond my development capabilities so I am getting that developed by a 3rd party (costing $500 USD) and is half done so far. It should be ready in the next 2 weeks. In the mean time you can see what has already been created and will be getting switched on over the next week or 2: https://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/site-update.63856/#post-457450 First Class Members can change that label to anything they like however the whole standard labeling system will change in the coming days as it will be linked to the whole Trophy System...watch this space, there is a huge amount coming that will make the site the best it has ever been...I am hell bent on that now

https://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/site-update.63856/#post-457438 Although, if you want to be the "King" of the Aircraft Section and populate that then it comes with a permanent First Class Membership

Simple... To make a particular What's New page your default please follow these instructions 1. Go to the What's New page 2. Click "Filters" that is displayed in the bar at the top of the posts list 3. Select what you want (for example for all posts read and unread unclick the "Unread threads check box) 4. Click the "Save as default" check box 5. Click the "Filter" button

Thought you might like to see what I have been working really really hard on and is about done...exciting times with such a vast array of resources available to all...not only will you see this: (click to see a bigger view of all the options) But you will also have in there: Under Classifieds there are Suppliers Under Articles there are flying Tutorials and Aviation News Under Resources you will get all your old resources back including Google Earth Airfields Under Groups there are Clubs and Schools ...and much more...it is all just about completed with the final development currently being done in the Classifieds section Recreational flying (.com) is going back to being a powerful and complete comprehensive resource for all aviators You will be really happy with the What's New section, much easier Search function and an overall much smoother user interface...It has taken 6 months of bloody hard work developing it all but I know you are going to like it as I most certainly do

AvSafety seminars for pilots and engineers May 2019 Enhancing pilot skills in a dynamic environment In 2019, CASA’s Aviation Safety Advisors (ASAs) will run a series of AvSafety seminars—Enhancing pilot skills in a Dynamic Environment. This seminar will discuss how knowledge of human factors in three essential pilot skills will enhance aviation safety. communication situational awareness threat and error management Using practical examples, the seminar will look at enhancing the skills involved with radio communications around aerodromes and maintaining situational awareness in a dynamic and changing environment. The seminar will also introduce the role of threat and error management and discuss techniques to complement the technical aspects of flying an aircraft. The seminars are an ideal opportunity for you to interact with your ASA, discuss local issues and ask questions of the regulator. Register now via Eventbrite. Attendance is free. Locations and dates are as follows: Inverell Tuesday 7 May Register Now Armidale Wednesday 8 May Register Now Townsville Thursday 9 May Register Now Geraldton Sunday 12 May Register Now Burnie Tuesday 14 May Register Now Alice Springs Wednesday 15 May Register Now Yulara Thursday 16 May Register Now Launceston Thursday 16 May Register Now Jandakot Thursday 16 May Register Now Kyneton Monday 20 May Register Now Scone Tuesday 21 May Register Now Cessnock Wednesday 22 May Register Now Chinchilla Tuesday 28 May Register Now Bunbury Wednesday 29 May Register Now Port Pirie Thursday 30 May Register Now The presentation includes references to the CASA website. Please feel free to bring your tablet or smartphone to follow the information live. New Engineering knowledge development—awareness through education If you work in airworthiness and aircraft engineering, we want to keep you up to date with changes, advances and the high level of safety knowledge you require. This is a complex discipline, so if you’re an engineer, operator, trainer, HAAMC or CAMO, we want to help you have access to the latest best practice, information and resources. You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with CASA and ask us questions. Some of the topics that this series of seminars will focus on are: leadership and Mentoring for AMEs specialist maintenance certification flight Safety Australia maintenance articles regulation review update. Your Aviation Safety Advisor will be available to discuss Part 66 license questions and issues both during and after the presentation if required. Register now via Eventbrite. Locations and dates are as follows: Toowoomba Wednesday 1 May Register Now Gove Wednesday 1 May Register Now Alice Springs Tuesday 14 May Register Now Southport Wednesday 15 May Register Now Gold Coast Thursday 16 May Register Now A list of all seminars and more information is available on the CASA website. Help make the skies safe for all, attend a CASA AvSafety seminar in 2019.

From CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Shane Carmody I am sure everyone is aware of the issues relating to the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft following the two fatal accidents in the last six months. In the aftermath of the most recent accident in Ethiopia regulators around the globe were faced with serious questions to consider. At the heart of the questions was a simple proposition: in the absence of data confirming the cause of the Ethiopian accident was it safe to allow the 737 MAX to continue to operate? After consideration of the available information and consultation with colleagues at other regulatory authorities, I made the decision to temporarily suspend 737 MAX operations to or from Australia. Subsequent actions by other countries and authorities including the United Kingdom, European Aviation Safety Agency, Canada, the Federal Aviation Administration and New Zealand confirms to me the right decision was made at the right time to ensure the safety of the travelling public. This event highlights the fact that regulators such as CASA are faced with challenging decisions to make on safety issues right across the spectrum of aviation operations – from sport and general aviation right up to large air transport. In Australia the approach we take to these challenges is to gather as much relevant data as possible and then make an informed risk assessment in accordance with CASA’s risk assessment processes that guide our activities and decision making. When we make decisions it is likely not everyone will always agree with them, but I hope there is a realisation that when we act it is done for sound and well considered reasons, without fear or favour. Best wishes Shane Carmody Latest news North Australian helicopter engine initiative Engine data monitoring systems are the latest initiative in the effort to find solutions to the valve and cylinder problems affecting a number of northern Australian R22 and R44 helicopters. CASA and engine manufacturer Lycoming are working with four north Australian helicopter operators who volunteered to fit the engine monitoring systems. The data collected by the devices will provide detailed information on engine performance to allow a more comprehensive analysis of the issues. There are two distinct but interrelated failure modes affecting engine reliability: intake valve and valve seat wear due to oil coking, and exhaust valve and valve guide wear due to valve guide bell-mouthing. Investigations to date have indicated both issues may be impacted by hot climate engine shutdown/cool down procedures. An updated airworthiness bulletin has been issued on the intake valve issue, which includes advice from Robinson on a hot climate cool down procedure. Lycoming says the intake valve issues are aggravated by ‘hot loading’ and inadequate engine cool down prior to shutdown in ambient temperatures above 38°C. Read the updated Robinson R22/R44 engine intake valve and valve seat distress airworthiness bulletin. Pilot resources for radio use A suite of resources for pilots on correct radio procedures in non-controlled airspace is now available. There are two relevant civil aviation advisory publications, new procedures in the Aeronautical Information Package, a resource booklet and the rules themselves in Civil Aviation Regulation 166. In addition, a CASA video on radio calls in and around non-controlled aerodromes has a wealth of practical information. It is important to be clear on the right radio calls to make in non-controlled airspace following the clarification of the appropriate VHF frequencies to use in the vicinity of aerodromes in class G airspace. In many situations in non-controlled airspace, CASA recommends using the area frequency. However, in the vicinity of uncharted aerodromes, pilots have discretion to use the most appropriate frequency that ensures safe operation. This can be MULTICOM 126.7MHz. The civil aviation advisory publication on operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes covers hazards, standard traffic circuit procedures and radio broadcasts. Watch the radio calls video. Get these resources: Civil Aviation Advisory Publication on operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes Civil Aviation Advisory Publication on collision avoidance in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes Civil Aviation Regulation 166 The latest Aeronautical Information Package The updated radio procedures booklet Air traffic control radio call change Pilots will soon hear a difference in air traffic control radio transmissions. From 23 May 2019, a small change to the way numbers are announced by air traffic control will take effect in Australian airspace. This is in line with International Civil Aviation Organization recommendations. The change will see transmissions of flight levels that include whole hundred numbers made with the word “hundred”, rather than “zero zero”. For example, an instruction to “climb to flight level two zero zero” will become “climb to flight level two hundred”. Pilots should read this back as “flight level two hundred”. Other flight level assignments, headings, wind direction and speed, and runway identifiers will continue to be transmitted by pronouncing each digit separately. Transmissions relating to altitude, cloud height, visibility and runway visual range also remain unchanged. Full details will be published in the May 2019 amendment of the Aeronautical Information Package. Advice on cabin safety investigations A wealth of guidance material to support cabin safety investigations is now available. CASA has published two cabin safety bulletins on the important topic. The goal of a cabin safety investigation is to analyse all aspects of an incident, looking at the actions of cabin crew members and passengers, as well as the cabin environment, relevant systems and equipment. The investigation should identify safety deficiencies and lessons learned from the event. Cabin safety investigations may result in the development of recommendations related to operator procedures, fatigue, training, safety and emergency equipment and aircraft systems. As part of a safety management system air operators should have documented policies, procedures and guidelines for conducting accident and incident investigations. One cabin safety bulletin looks at the role of cabin safety investigators, the types of events that should be investigated, crew member interviews, questioning of passengers and fire, smoke or fume events. The second bulletin provides information to assist investigators with information analysis when building a report following a fire, smoke or fumes occurrence. Go to the cabin safety investigation bulletin and the cabin safety incident analysis bulletin. Drone milestones highlighted The remotely piloted aircraft sector is reaching significant milestones. There have now been more than 11,000 remote pilot licences issued by CASA and more than 1500 remotely piloted aircraft operator certificates. This year the number of remotely piloted aircraft operator certificates is likely to double the number of current air operator certificates. These milestones were highlighted in a speech by CASA’s Luke Gumley, the branch manager Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. Luke told the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems conference in Melbourne the concrete steps CASA is taking to manage and promote the safety of unmanned aviation in Australia. “Integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems into the system of aviation safety, particularly into Australia's airspace, should provide sufficient flexibility for innovation in the remotely piloted aircraft systems industry, without adversely affecting other airspace users, the travelling public, or posing unacceptable risks to people or property on the ground,” Luke said. “The pace of technological change in the remotely piloted aircraft systems sector means CASA must continue to adapt its more traditional approach to aviation safety. Our clients are not only the professionals, but all remotely piloted aircraft systems operators, including recreational flyers and hobbyists. CASA must use a combination of safety information, persuasion, technology and regulation to appropriately manage safety. We balance the need to develop policies and regulations responsively, with appropriate research and consultation. The speed of change and the growing remotely piloted aircraft systems user base necessitates a different way of thinking for a regulator.” The speech highlighted the work CASA is doing on remotely piloted aircraft registration and accreditation, remotely piloted aircraft surveillance and digital transactions. Read the remotely piloted aircraft speech. In brief Chief pilots of remotely piloted aircraft training organisations will soon be able to lodge remote pilot licence applications online. This means remotely piloted aircraft training organisations won’t need to scan paper forms and send them to CASA. The remote aircraft licensing process will be managed through CASA’s online portal, with exceptions for students who are also applying for an Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate or who need to undertake English language proficiency assessments. Remotely piloted aircraft operator certificate renewals that don’t require any variations will also move online in the near future. Have your say on proposed changes to the Part 60 Manual of Standards. Part 60 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations covers flight simulators and synthetic trainers. Proposed changes to the manual of standards relate to the qualification standards and specifications for synthetic training devices. They will replace unique Australian standards with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Consultation closes on 10 April 2019. CASA has published a proposed airworthiness directive for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation S-76 series helicopters. The proposed directive relates to the main landing gear positioning rod assembly and expands the applicability of a current directive. The issue is potential landing gear collapse caused by corrosion due to dissimilar metals in the landing gear rod end. Comment by 10 April 2019. The updated and improved safety behaviours kit for pilots is now available. The kit has booklets, videos and worksheets. Order your safety behaviours kit from the online store. An alert has been issued on critical freewheel unit lubrication issues in Bell 206 Jet Ranger and Long Ranger series helicopters. Action should be considered to reduce the possibility of torsional main rotor mast yielding and in-flight separation of the main rotor head from the mast. In an airworthiness bulletin CASA recommends clutch oil filter inspections. Applications for CASA sponsorships opened on Monday 25 March 2019 and will close on Friday 19 April. Organisations applying for sponsorship are required to complete a safety promotion sponsorship application form. The sponsorship program is open to community and not-for-profit organisations that promote and raise awareness of aviation safety. Seventeen pilot safety seminars Pilots in 17 regional locations around Australia have the chance to attend an AvSafety seminar in April 2019. The seminars will help pilots develop skills in three key areas – communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. A practical scenario will be used to explain the concepts of threat and error management. Pilots will work through relevant defensive flying behaviours aimed at addressing human factors challenges encountered in single pilot operations. Pilots will be given special cards with key information on communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. The cards can be kept in a new AvSafety resource folder to build a library of critical safety information. Cards and folders are only available to people who attend AvSafety seminars. Extracts from the new plain English guide to the Part 91 operating and flight rules will be available for review and comment. In April 2019 seminars are being held at: Port Hedland* Ballina Lismore Grafton Karratha* Mudgee Hamilton Island Dubbo Kununurra Airlie Beach Broome Mackay Jabiru Maitland Clifton Warracknabeal Gove Book a place at a pilot safety seminar. *Subject to cyclone recovery.