Paul Willett

I am looking at various options, but am planning on mounting a 360 degree tail fin 12-14V strobe light. What experience has anyone had in choosing a good strobe system for this purpose? Looking for no more than 500ma draw, and low aerodynamic profile.

Related to this thread, and for my own interest and benefit, what is involved in balancing the carburettors on a 912?

Nice looking plane - what are the specs?

CPL (Frozen ATPL)/ GA Instructor (lapsed) / MECIR (lapsed) 1200 Hours 100 hours UL C340 C310 PA30 BE76 C337 Various time on Singles, mainly C206 My UL ride is a Tecnam which is a lot of fun - just need more spare time to fly it. No experience in building anything that flies but it is starting to take my interest as a future project. Looking forward to getting to fly a Trike. Paul Willett

I think OJB is back in normal livery now. -OEB is now the new Wunala Dreaming.

I think it is actually VH-EBU, a -300, EAB from memory was the second -SP. (and before that a 707, and before that a Connie!) 3500 is a difficult level over an airport, better to be higher (6000+) or lower (1500 AGL) - and preferably at a track that is perpendicular to the duty Runway (it helps the tower obtain visual separation through azimuth, and the conflict period is quicker). The manner in which you plan, request and respond to your clearance will also determine if the controller wants to 'take you on' through their airspace if their is a bit of a fray going on. If you have your procedures squared away and know where the relevant points to track to are immediately, you will fair a better chance. If it is an Emergency and you need the clearance, the word 'require' will part the seas ahead - but be prepared to justify it after the fact if required (especially if you limit other operations). Paul Willett

I think they are sold through Boss (?) products on the gold coast. I dont have one (I went for a different brand, just this week in fact) but have heard that you have to ensure the transducer is of good quality - my understanding is that these were originally designed for Marine applications. There appears to be many of them out there in use however, so that must say something.

Thanks Clem. By close I guess it depends on your interpretation of close. My guess is 3 years minimum, 5 years maybe affordable. ADS-B has been turned on its head of late. Interesting times.

Has anyone had any success obtaining a second hand transponder from the US? There seems to be some good 'bargains' but woulld like to hear from anyone who has been through the experience.

Well, the reason I ask is that I was thinking along the lines of: If the wind is strong enough to get lift the aircraft off the ground, then Lift is probably greater than weight - if weight is a maximum of say 400kg (no persons on board), and you want the rope to hold the plane in the even of 1 of the 3 tie down points coming loose / failing, then the breaking strain of the rope should be at least 200kg - but I am not sure of this reasoning is correct. Colour? Hmmm, my rope is Orange and the plane is Blue! (I chose it so people dont walk in to the rope)

Hi All, I was thinking ot might be useful to get an idea of various AVGAS and PULP prices from around the traps. I know from my point of view, I am planning a trip up to the Cape and Gulf country in August, and would be interested to find out what other have paid recently, or are currently paying for AVGAS at the various airports in that area. Here at Redcliffe, AVGAS is around $1.51 at the slef serve BP Bowser this week, and around $1.30-$1.40 for PULP down the road at the various servos, depending on what Brand you like - I like BP Ultimate for my machine.

123.45 - or 'go to the numbers' is well used but of course unofficial, so only word of mouth for the uninititated will spread it's use. But it is for chat, not operational broadcasts. One frequency that is not commonly known (and therefore of questionable usefullness!) is the TIBA frequency for operations below FL200, which is 126.35. AIP specifies that TIBA procedures are" .Now funnily enough, I think this is exactly how 126.7 gets used - and generally quite effectively, when below 5000FT. Comparitively TIBA gets used above FL200 quite regulalry, however at thoselevels the frequency is 128.95. Hmmm, I have forgotten where I was going with this.....?

For those who have made their own, what calculation did you make on determining the breaking strain of the actual rope?

Just did the same exercise, and ended up buying an MT310 EPIRB for $238 (PP delivered) from Johnny Appleseed in Brisbane. I needed something now for a planned trip through some very remote areas next month, and as has been suggested elsewhere I think the analog monitoring will continue beyond the planned shutoff - even if it doesnt I will keep the MT310 until the battery is expired as a backup because I think airline aircraft will still be monitoring 121.5 in the cruise. The money I have spent will hopefully be more than made up for by the cost reduction come time that I require the 406mhz unit - hopefully enough to include a unit with GPS locator included. Waiting and not getting anything didnt make for a sound option in my personal view.

I am still using 2 pairs of David Clarks that I bought 16 years ago in Hawaii - never had a problem with either, but compared to todays technology they are old and heavy and of course are not ANR. Recently a friend gave me a lift in her aircraft fitted with Sennheiser ANR headsets. Wow! Remarkable difference in audio levels, and of course, weight. I have been scanning the various websites keeping an eye out for a bargain on these.

As mentioned a couple of posts up, what would be the problem with simply gaining endorsement for each type?

Being fairly new to the RAA scene I can't comment so much on transitioning from smaller slower types, but as one who has transitioned from much bigger faster types I can attest that a reasonable percentage of the growth in the RAA numbers have done exactly the same thing. Therefore there is a growing collective experience level of PPL's , CPL's and ATPL's who are also RAAus Certificate holders. This has responsibilites for the new RAAus members for sure, but the point is that most who are flying these faster types (from what I have seen anyway) tend to have a reasonable amount of previous experience. Admittedly my observations may be completely different to the majorty view out there - what do you think? When deciding on remaining with GA flying or coming to RAAus, one of the things that actually convinced me was the very professional approach taken by the school where I did my RAA training. It is indeed true that a few bad apples can spoil it for the majority, and our conduct needs to be seen to be the equal or better of the GA fraternity. Most of what I see suggest that so far it is. Paul Willett

See thread on E Airspace: http://www.ultralight.net.au/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=212 Paul Willett

Reference: AIP GEN 1.5, 6.2.2 Paul Willett

Generally A085 is the Lower Limit of E in East Coast Australia - this means at 8500 you are in G airspace, but above in E requiring Transponder. (Radio required above 5000 anyway, so it's a moot point). However, there are some exceptions to Lower limits - around Mildura and Dubbo are two examples (from memory). E is generally promulgated where Radar Coverage exists, and around high performance RPT routes in to regional areas. The lowering of E airspace is being considered if low level surveillance improves. One way of doing this is through ADS-B, however, this is a lot further off than is often 'talked up'. Paul Willett

A lot of what I think has been said here one way or another already. But I think the reported death of GA is a bit premature - it still has an important function, and it is not at all in RAAus' interest for it to decline. Fuel is a widely debated issue. Putting aside global supply issues (the peak oil argument etc.), the cost rise we are currenlty experiencing is caused by globaly petro-politics (Bush sabre rattling everywhere he turns), and of course Iran - [Nuclear ambition? I think not - more likely the US fear that Iran is intending to trade their Fuel in Euros instead of USD, making the USD even more worthless.]. And of course, there is some real profit taking happening with the fuel suppliers at the moment. Check the rises in the fuel compnay profits. The collusion between the refiners in Australia (not to mention the bounty for the Commonwealth through GST and excsie increase) is pushing up the price more than current supply / refining capacity issues would suggest it should be. It is of course total corruption, but the ACCC appears powerless to act. However, I sense that the price has met a resistance level now (around $1.20-1.30 in Brisbane) where demand has dropped. A slow down in economic activity will probably hold it in this range for a while, if the peaking in resource demands suggest. Wow - what a rant! But as has been said, if you are flying say 100 hours a year at 18l/hour your total fuel price for the year is $2340 or $45/week, or $23.40 per hour. (based on $1.30 PULP). If fuel rises 10% it is another 23 c per hour. I dont think this is enough to deter fliers. It is of course going to have much bigger effect on the GA fleet, and that will probably see a continuation of 'trickle down' pilots from GA to RA. ASIC - it is an ineffective waste of money as we all know. I don't think it will stop people flying, but it is strange that even the USA does not require such a draconian identification requirement. Paul Willett

Well, not being one it's a bit hard to say! I know of plenty of large people who fly them however - I have had plenty of 6'+ passengers who seem ok. Best bet - find one locally and jump in.

Regarding the 'timestamping' of the waypoints - I am not sure if you get an actual time with the Garmin, however the Lowrance records your actual track made good if you select it on. I think each trail is up to 2000 points, number of trails I think is memory limited to your card size you put in there. Each point interval is up to you when you record it, every second to every 5 minutes or something like that.

I do not have muc experience with the Garmins. However, I do own a Lowrance 500 Airmap, and find it great for my type of flying. I have a Jeppeson Database, and it also comes with some good software for designing, keeping routes etc. Easy to read - easy to program - and big buttons with an intuitive menu system. However Garmin users may well say the same thing. Mine is mono and I find that is just fine for my use, and means the costs is a lot less. Alongside I am now trialling a PDA with a GPS using Oziexploer software with WAC / VNC / VTC charts. It is fiddly but if you get it setup properly where you dont need to interact much it is a good aid to visual navigation.

The .pdf file posted above, converted to .csv format (in decimal lat/lon) and zipped - attached. uploads/20060528_074742_vfr_waypoints.zip