Mike Gearon

1. I've been flying Tooradin and Tyabb. Hope my accent is Strayan. Might have been a yank flying..In the states and particularly away from east or west coast I have to be understood by speaking with hard r's and full words where we generally clip them here. I've struggled a bit flying. Seems the year away after an intense 6 months in the Cessna followed by ultralights in the Philippines with almost all rudder has brought some bad habits. Quite shocked to find the instructor telling me I'd made a few skidding turns in pattern. I'd say couldn't have happened in Cessna. Still, very grateful to be under instruction and corrected. I've found a great article in bold method on coordinated turns. Big topic of course and main new info I guess I should have already had is the skid turn has inside wing shielded by fuselage. Add that to the deadly mix and you're really screwed. I've been flying different aircraft and will just settle in with Foxbat now at Tyabb and finish FAA to RAA covid interrupted conversion. Foxbat is similar to the Skyranger to fly so this makes sense prior to going to Inverell to pickup. 2. Current topic. I was flying paragliders in Taiwan and that certainly helps with understanding thermals. Cut grass for really good lift. At Tooradin we also had massive lift over a fresh plowed sun baked black soil paddock. Almost impossible to descend.

Mine are quiet like pets. Actually quite hard to move and normally a gate is opened and they look up when you call comeonnnnnn. They file through to the new grass. Not sure about wild bush cattle. I suspect they would spook fairly easily and all run for a bit. No big deal even here unless are bunched in a corner. At 500 or 600 ft seems too high. Yes, 50 ft you'd get their attention. Mine would probably spook as well.

I’ve enjoyed coming on this journey with you. Great post. I’m flying out of Tyabb Friday morning for first time in pushing toward a year. Just completed my 14 days stay at the pleasure of the NSW government in Sydney Hilton. It’ll be interesting to fly again.

Agreed. 2 of the best pieces of advice from my CFI. 1. Stay ahead of the plane. 2. In circuit if things start to pile up and you’re feeling pressured just leave the circuit. Fly away and rejoin when you’ve regrouped. Looking forward to your next post. Just noticed your comment on Taiwan... haven’t flown a light aircraft here so no idea on ATC. I’d say with fair certainty it’s English at the larger airports and Chinese would be spoken at the uncontrolled airfields which are bugger all. Paragliding is challenging with the language barrier and with the mountains. No gentle slopes. Just about 10 to 20 feet of run from the top and you’re out there. It’s all very strange. Cracked 2 ribs with tandem flight. We were climbing the mountain and I was watching the black clouds and going... no, I’d not fly a light plane in this. Turns out we definitely shouldn’t have been flying a paraglider. just had qantas cancel my Australia flight yet again. Now 13th December and another maybe flight. Hopefully corona free Taiwan and Australia will establish a traffic bubble like New Zealand.

All good. Just to clarify. I’m only talking not looking at ASI after let’s say a wings length or 2 above ground.

Wow, right there is experience I’d have been caught by. I’d have trusted a much more experienced pilot and followed. Lesson learned! I tracked back to incidents part of forum via research on Brumby via RFguy and then seeing these planes made in China. They must be assembled in Australia as final stage. Correct me if I’m wrong. Just going in the Chinese characters in factory pic. So, seeing China I thought about quality. I’m in Taiwan where quality is much closer to Japan standards. Just ask somebody about machine tool purchase. Taiwan or China... Taiwan every time and granted china’s quality is always increasing. It’s still to be avoided if possible unless very well controlled and this must be the case with Brumby. So, research sends me back to the dreaded incidents section that sent me packing last time. So difficult to respect the pilot, passenger, friends and family and also provide us all with more experience. That story is a gotcha moment. Amazing. At that point if they’d not had lock cutting I’d expect you’d just ram your car through the gates. Well done by all involved. Your experience sits in my back pocket now. Cheers.

I was nearly going to post this earlier in response to Facthunter discussing landing lights. The landing lights are almost a distraction. When you’ve spent endless hours learning to look down the runway for landing perspective and then at night you’re presented with a beam aimed at your landing point it’s distracting. I was warned about it and still managed to fixate on the beam first landing and was given the not too gentle reminder to look up the runway. If the lights were more car headlight style maybe. This was a fairly old Cessna 172 with what seemed to be spotlights.

Nice to meet you RFguy. I’ve been quiet for a while holed up in Taiwan and looking forward to Australia and flying. just getting back a little into reading this forum. Enjoyed reading your detailed discussion. You’re way ahead of where I was for hours. Impressed! Also makes me think about what Facthunter says... fly the plane.| Saying this because I can get caught up in all the tech and at the end of the day it’s still seat of the pants on controls with an eye on airspeed. Then, as mentioned above somewhere near the runway it’s all seat of the pants. Can’t have an eye on airspeed indicator. I’m just about up to solo in Mandarin. It’s the same challenge as flying in a way. Learning characters and tones and trying to stay ahead of the plane or in this case the bad tempered teacher. I’m 30 hours a week improving language skills while stuck here. By solo I’m about to solo paragliding and the radio control is in mandarin. Could be English but I’m thinking my communication with instructor will be clearer in Chinese. We will test both. If it doesn’t go well you won’t hear from me again.

I’d not swap the tinnitus for lights. Bugger! Sorry to hear this. I was just thinking about the sounds of tinnitus. Whooshing etc. When it’s really quiet I have mosquitoes. No idea if they are real or not. Used a lot of bug spray and now I just go “have at it”.

Mine looks like this. It’s an iPad Pro. Seems way too spread out and to be honest I can’t be stuffed looking for how to fix. By the time you move between email, website searches, Facebook, Amazon and some other stuff you really get sick of clicking shit. Just need to be simple.

They ate my motorbike seat when I was 12 years old. Seems fitting we both work our way up to larger and more expensive items. Enjoying the discussion on crosswind. Not enjoying the idea of zero forward velocity/ kinetic energy and the wind just disappears as RF discussed. That dropping sensation would be annoying.

I thought the higher speed was more related to extra command of the control surfaces. I guess the dipped wing and crab angle are bleeding speed. Also set up to float longer with the speed when you’d really like the ground and at least one wheel in contact with runway. Are any of us here good enough to run the plane down the runway on a single wheel? I’m not. That’d be a nice skill set for cross wind capability (IMO) Giving up grain space for runway is relative to total planted. If it’s .001% and the farmer isn’t an x orchardist it’s probably ok.

Guess it depends if you farm grain or cattle. Cattle aren’t a problem for whole paddock landing and productivity. Except I guess keeping the runway short. Cattle also love new grass the best. Must be tastier when new shoots so they’ll intensively graze the mowed area anyway. I guess what I’m saying is keep your main runway to prevailing wind direction mowed and otherwise just land in between the cattle on the less rough stuff. That’s my plan.

Bugger. I saw this posted above. A peculiarly Australian response perhaps. It was my first response as well... I was bloody annoyed about my knees deteriorating, my shoulder in constant pain, feeling tired all the time and I see this. I have bugger all to feel bad about. So sorry you have this. I have tinnitus. Constant ringing that can drive people mad. I ignore it. Harder to ignore lights with closed eyes. Hard to deal with not being able to fly and do other things you have a passion for. Bugger! You look just have to replace the bits missing with other things you’ll be passionate about!

The only certainty I’d have is that pulling the stick back kills you. That’s not an option. Only level or descending flight scenarios and 30 degree scan looking for the clearspot/ the softest friendliest looking spot (between the softest looking tree trunks).../ the spot that’s not putting other lives at risk. My paragliding instructor is telling me Taiwan trees are softer so I’m big on soft spots at the moment. These without power obviously or not much point. What was air speed reduction I’m going to practice these. Good idea. With and without power. Will do with CFI as plan.

Another test pilot. I just know I’m not flying it until somebody else does. Hadn’t thought of mud or pumping air.

I’m keeping the Nynja as latest plan. Been a difficult journey for all of us through the covid crisis. Well, still of course going through it. Haven’t seen my wife in 8 months now and never been away so long. Good part has been how safe Taiwan is. Bad part not getting a dose of Australia. Started watching Rake on Netflix in desperation for some Australian accents. Bloody surprised how good it is. Well written and acted. Bloody stupid of course and that’s part of the fun. Early in the year the plan involved monthly or even weekly trips to the Phillipines from Taiwan and flying quicksilver aircraft with a fun bunch of expats and locals at Angeles. Nights at the Clarkton hotel with pool, quality food and a sleazy nightlife on tap right out the hotel door. I’m pretty boring so tended to swim then work by the pool and finish up with great food and booze served to the pool side tables....happy wife, happy life! Every few months back to Australia. That didn’t happen. Just worked in Taiwan in the 2 companies I’m associated with and improving mandarin with 16 contact hours a week and 5 different Chinese teachers. Sort of saved my sanity and some female contact time.. each teacher is a character in her own way. Rounded out with foot and back massages by the gym lap pool. Happy wife, happy life as mentioned earlier. The good part is my main business activities of exercise equipment and vinyl records are booked out into next year and both businesses right now getting capacity expansion by 50%. Mandarin is a bugger of a language. Always had get around Chinese but not fluent. Still not fluent, barely fluent in English. Written and spoken is haltingly improving. So, can’t complain too much or st all really compared to so much However, looking forward to end October back to French island for 3 months. Back the the Nynja. Was always convinced this was the right plane. Just unsure about everything else...Might upgrade to an A32 fuel injected Foxbat at some stage. We will see how the 3 planes settle on French Island. Will purchase the greenhouse mentioned elsewhere and minimal runway infrastructure to test all this. Vince is happy I’m keeping his plane. Looking forward to catching up and meeting others from the forum.

So, we have a test pilot. Excellent.

I’m not sure. I think it’s just the legs out instead of in as the point of concern. I have same concern. The quicksilver just seems safe because I’ve flown them. Like an armchair that slowly makes its way across the sky. This does look precarious. No copilot either. Solo is really solo from the get go.

I managed this once at 15 years old. Remember jumping on the clutch at a fair angle. 3 point linkage was in the up position. I could even take you to the spot it happened. Clyde north Victoria. It’ll have houses on it one day soon so I’ll have to show the house it happened at.

You’re my guy then :) I’m daily in our record plant tinkering with automated plant. Grew up on a farm with the little grey fergie. Can’t remember how many times nearly killed by it. Favourite method was the tie something to rear 3 point linkage and be surprised when tractor started to turn over. Makes sense of course. If the wheel can’t turn the tractor does!

I’ll ask Pat :) Pat has 2 lake houses “as you do” and flew the quicksilver with floats between them. Cool guy. Same height as me and 60lb heavier so,the aircraft will work with my lanky frame. I think,the answer is that they wanted to push the limits a bit. Still, this aircraft gets along at a fairly leisurely 55 knots. The quicksilver has almost 90hp. I was flying the, in Phillipines with 50hp. That’s going to be interesting. Still, I think around 50 knots. It’s all about open air and no rush.

I’ve reviewed YouTube videos on these aircraft. The designer was all about minimalism. KISS principle. I design product and I was watching video with one of the original guys talking about how hard it is to do simple. It’s way harder to design for simplicity. I’ve made a living trying always to blend simplicity with functionality. Most engineers I’ve worked with just keep adding bits. So, yeah, I think it’s the simplicity deal. I was also talking with the owner today. He said that for the USA they have to keep ultralights under 65 knots. So, that’s also saying a bit less streamlining is a good thing.

I purchased this. My new buddy Pat is already putting the quicksilver in container. Can’t think of anything else that’ll fit in with a plane nicely other than another plane. Anyone own one of these? I did a search and noticed somebody managed to crash one... This is I’m told the best if the airbikes in USA. It didn’t sell at auction and Pat and I reached agreement at 10k. Not something I planned on. We will see. Will need tail dragged endorsement as well as finish LSA conversion when I eventually get back to Australia. End October booked and hope I can return and quarantine on French island.