Paul Willett

Yes Carl, In fact I have an e-version of the data I need and take it on my PDA, which also doubles as a number of other useful tools like Moving Map GPS, MP3 Player for the Intercom etc. I 'believe' one method may be to copy the data from the ERSA electronic pages and paste in to Excel. Then apply a conversion formula to get the decimal Lat Lon, and convert in to a .csv file which some GPS will import (Lowrance definitely). What format do Garmins need to import waypoints? There are some examples 'floating' around out there - I believe. Apparently ERS-A .pdf's are not encrypted as such, but they are password protected. This has either to do with legal liability or intellectual property. I can see no argument for it being IP as it is safety related. Legal liability - I will leave that to the bush lawyers to argue out. How secure is a .pdf password? (A: Apparently not very)

I have discvered a way to take the data from online ERSA and convert to Excel if anyone is interested - if I can just remember how I did it! But I did then put them in to my own private database on my GPS (in fact on reflection it was the VFR Waypoint data)

I have some space to rent at Redcliffe. Will also have a hangar for sale in October, also at YRED. PM if you want more info.

Ironically, if you did not have a transponder it wouldn't have mattered - but if you do have a transponder fitted it should be squawking. If you suspect it is out of tolerance you can always select Mode A only (usually marked as 'ON') - if you get queried by ATC you can advise it is out of tolerance and advise your actual altitude. On a TCAS display you will be shown without a relative altitude and may cause some concern for the other aircraft, but will not generate a resolution alert. This is a common occurence in the Brisbane area. A lot of the time I think it is a lack of education about the diffence between the various Transponder Settings: OFF / SBY / ON / ALT / TEST and IDENT. In normal circumstances ALT (Mode C) should be selected in flight, not ON. (But don't expect an ATC clearance without Mode C, unless you are a one off flight inbound for Transponder Maintenance.)

Is that a one-way strip?

wow! That is great performance - what is the BEW of the aircraft?

Sounds like the 'door brakes' when taxiing a float plane! 130KIAS is impressive on 18lph

From what I hear, the CT has more room in the cockpit, but I havent flown one yet - looking forward to it some day however. I weigh 75kg and my wife only 54kg so we never have a weight problem when loading for a trip, normally we 'cube' out first, although the Tecnam has plenty of space if you know how to pack properly. We never want to be airborne for 4 hours anyway, although it is nice ot have lots of reserves - generally 2.5 hours is the most we will stay airborne before stopping for a stretch. The high wing is great for comfort in terms of shade, and taxiiing through gates on properties. It also allows you somewhere to sit and stay dry / in the shade when on the ground, as well as allowing the doors to be opened on the ground if it is raining.

Yes, I have spoken to the other RG owner about this mishap also - the day it happened and during the 'discovery' process afterwards. RG is ok under RAA reg - currently LSA doesn't permit RG land-only airplanes. Loading details for my RG: BEW: 300.5 KG OW (Cross Country, including Headsets, Fire Extinguisher, First Aid Kit,Documents, Tools,Aircraft Tie Downs and Covers): 312.5 KG Pilot 80kg Pax 80kg Extra Luggage 5 kg -------------- ZFW: 477.5kg -------------- MTOW: 544kg -------------- tf. Max Flight Fuel: 66.5 kg Max @ SG 0.72 = 92litres (Max Fuel Capacity 96l) FPL Fuel Burn @ 20l/hr = ~ 4.6 hr including reserves.

Correct - YSHR. This was end of Day 1 YRED-YCAB-YGLA-YSHR. The other aircraft in frame continued on to Cape York and Tindal.

Hi Camo. Well the book says 124 KIAS, but frankly this is a bit optimistic unless you want to run at Max continuous RPM all the time. But 110-115 is achieveable at reasonable power setting / fuel burn. There is a definite drag reduction with the gear up compared to a fixed gear version. This was actually the original design of the Echo Super before they put the fixed gear version to market - so it has a wider fuselage giving more interior room. I have flown this aircraft on some long sorties, including BN - ML and BN - SHR. My short-ish frame is happy in there for up to 3 hours.

The Tecnam:

A picture of the Tecnam

Have been running a Tecnam P92RG for the last couple of months. Interested to hear from other owners of Tecnams their experiences with their aircraft, including tips for maintenance whilst touring, issues that have come up, etc. etc. Very happy with the aircraft so far - especially the fuel economy. Originally planned to syndicate the aircraft and have set up a website in anticipation ( at http://www.p92rg.blogspot.com ) - but to be honest enjoying it too much myself at the moment!

Arthur - I think what you are saying is that the intangilble is just that - not tangible. It does not translate well to the world of competency based training - and I think you have actually identified the reasons, perceptions of personality/character/whatever you want to call it entering the decision process. Personally, I think this is only natural as we are all human (most of the time). Competency assessment seems to remove all scope for promoting real talent whilst at the same time rewarding mediocrity. Oops - Am I getting off the topic?

I had an assymetric flap deployment in a (heavy) C206 - the nature of the operation meant flap was usually deployed in the turn. What I found was that I did not notice the assy flap until I lined up for final - the aircraft was rolling and yawing all over the place (much of it thanks to my instinctive inputs to counter the roll). The touchdown point got shortened pretty smartly - after landing the problem was apparent. As a result I now always visually check 'even' deployment with each stage of flap (where possible).

My 2c worth - if I am below gliding range to my departure field, and in Normal Ops, I touch nothing (v.v. engine configuration) until I am. This includes my Aux fuel pump - and may mean that it is not switched off until at sufficient altitude on late x-wind or even start of downwind leg.

One thing I have noticed is that aircraft taxiing along the centreline when there are centreline marking are harder to see compared to an aircraft offset - the longitudnal axis of the aircraft (especially a small aircraft, which may be predominantly white) tends to blend in to the centreline markings when viewed from a distance. This is not normally an issue on a grass or dirt strip, just those big bitumen ones with centrelines. About 12 years I had to review an accident report where a Twin Jet landed on top of a twin turboprop - and part of the problem was that the crew did not see the turboprop aligned with the centreline lights.

I was surprised also when I got sent this photo of a departure from a 300m farm strip where the powerlines came well and truly in to play with the wind on the day. If you know where to look you can seem them, but the camera hardly registers them (basically in the treeline).

Interesting feature in the latest CASA Air Saftey Magazine on ditching - in the deep stuff, vs. unfavourable land. In a previous life I used to land aircraft regularly on the beach - but they were surf beaches with generally hard sand. Picking a suitable landing area with the luxury of a powered inspection run and approach can be tricky - what looks flat from 100 Ft can be enough to break the gear off - and these were heavier aircraft with higher prop clearances. So picking a suitable bit of beach from low level loss of power is going to contain a lot of luck. Generally the sand close to the water will be firmer on a surf beach, but not always the case. Wash outs are going to be hard to pick in a hurry as well. Estuarine or bay type beaches will tend to be softer nearer the waters edge and possibly boggy or muddy. On a surf beach the sand near the top of the beach is probably dry enough that you may end up sticking the nose gear in and nosing over. Having said all that, I think most times I would go for the beach over a water landing. I hope I never have to find out.