Flightrite

I did read about that totally avoidable accident, one has to wonder how the pilot got a drivers license never lone a plane ticket!:-( One avoidable problem turned into another avoidable problem, tragic & so unnecessary:-(

20 hrs sure is low:-( I'd go crazy without a fix a couple of times a week:-) 100 min for me up to around 150 PA. I've not flown as much over winter as the WX in Sth Vic has been bloody awful, Covid never stopped me just the man at the BOM ordering crap WX !:-)😁

That's like all clubs, a small % of drone workers keep the club going whilst the lechers feed off their work! Ive been to some clubs/fields where it's a lawn park & others are just cow paddocks!

That Sapphire for sale deal has been on the market for a while now, kinda says it all about the rocky industry -(

Here jackc this is a good combo if you still have yr Aeropup

Ive never jumped from a plane higher than a couple of feet, that you can have all on ya own! Driving planes like most adventures is about risk, a calculated risk mostly so what one person would see as too risky another would accept the risk. I mitigate my risk/s when driving planes by having well maintained machines, (anal to a degree) suitable WX & avoid (where possible) inhospitable terrain, no longer operate at night or in IMC SE, they are my 'chute':-)

My 3 x offspring where never interested in aviation growing up & whilst I was a little disappointed at the time I'm now kinda grateful as it's a very unstable commercial industry with a rocky future. TAA/ANA days at 55 they took you out in a pine box! GA has been declining for some time, money, reg's & other interests as well as fewer & fewer people see planes other than a mode of transport to the Gold Coast for a holiday! My interest (which some believe I'm not a pilot, love that😁) was due to the fact that I grew up across the paddocks of a major drome and as kids we rode our bikes over there leaving them with the car park attendant as we wandered around the GA planes unchallenged like kids in a lolly shop 🙂 Today there's no kids with their noses pressed hard up against the fence and everything is out of bounds to the curious:-( Way of the future sadly:-(

There's already enuf dopey drivers out on the road suffering from fatigue (especially truckies)so having more automation would only exacerbate the situation! Autonomous man carrying flying machines is scary stuff!

That's pretty good:-) I figure an hour a week at the least. There a few guys I know who barely fly from one year to another, some who own A/C. I know a bloke who used to own an R22 heli, his final annual before he sold it was $12K & he did 12 hrs that year, any wonder he sold it! Sad to see some planes rotting away outside in the elements never/rarely being flown:-(

Curious as to what a typical RA driver does in a year! The current fiasco would have a big bearing on most hours for some no doubt!

Many many moons ago in the 80's I was down on the Southern Vic coast line just outside of Apollo Bay (a place that's commercially stuffed now!) flying a toy R/C glider off the Mariners Lookout site (goat track access way back then) when a large wedgy came cruising on by from behind me to see what species was invading it's territory for food. We both cruised around a while but then in a blink of an eye the wedgy folded his wings & went into a dive heading my way! A few sharp turns I avoided the bird even looping but he followed (although birds don't loop too well as he kinds flicked off at the top) until he swooped past from a side attack, the glider flinched but continued on for a few seconds normally till suddenly the wing folded up! The main fuz went spiraling down towards the black berry bushes below & one wing panel fluttered away in the breeze with the wedgy following it till impact. Bird flew away obviously gloating & I spent the rest of the day trying to find what's left of the toy glider......it's still out there !:-( Some species of birds will shadow a toy plane & even swoop it, seen it many times over many years. Ive killed a few birds over the years, they sure do make a mess!

unable to view the Vid, hope it was memorable:-)

many 1000's of hours (some think I'm not a pilot, I love that😂) I've just crabbed & kicked it straight just prior to touchdown, heavy metal or toy planes:-) Like conventional U/C machines, some fear them & the boogey man that goes with them😂 99% of my Ldg's are on grass (if possible) regardless of the x-wind.

You are starting a collection there jackc, what's next?😉

at 2 kts it's a sloooooooow trip😂 At 2 kts GS I hope you ain't planning to fly beyond your own Rwy length😁

When you drive a plane with under slung pod mounted donks you crab, I keep the same principle in basic stuff.

That sadly is so true! Mr & Mrs Joe Public couldn't care less about what us rich folk do, pilots are rich & arrogant, to them! They only think about pilots when they hear our/their voices on the PA during a flight to YBCG!

Been into YEDE (and most other strips of the same caliber) a few times over the years, good to see the council/community get their airfield up to spec for the EMS crowd:-)

GOOGLE, you could be born yesterday & still have the same knowledge, it' ain't rocket science:-):-)

Come on Jackc this guy is amusing he gets upset at everything if it's diff which is entertaining, let him rant on:-)

Remember we are talking about politicians here, not known to be anything other than obstructive! Their tenure is short so decisions made now mean zip after a few years! Look at the Badgerys Creek debacle, another major drome SE of the rat race Melb is pie in the sky stuff for a very long time!

The C170 was/is a classic looking machine, much improved with the lethargic Conty adding a Lyc 360, a common mood in the states:-)

Christ there's some ugly planes around!

spoil sports😂