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Student Pilot

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Everything posted by Student Pilot

  1. Student Pilot
    Edenhope is a good runway, I use it in the summer on fires. We used it 3 days and about 10 loads last summer, how do you work out cost recovery of that sort of work? If Edenhope wasn't available then nearest strips would have been 45 minutes to an hour turnaround. No doubt the fires we worked on would have spread more and cost a lot more in lost assets if we couldn't load in Edenhope. As quoted before, travellers don't pay to use parks, toilets, parking or roads driving through towns. Why should flying be any different? Little wonder GA is on it's knees, from CASA, Federal government, Air Services Australia and local council all gouging what they can from those rich bastards that fly. I no longer have a private aircraft because of the costs.
  2. Student Pilot
    I have been trying to sell a disassembled aircraft for ages. A 172D in pieces. The aircraft has an STC to fit a 180HP engine. The aircraft is complete without an engine. The STC includes new prop and engine mount. I was asking 15K (the STC is worth more than that) all I got was tyre kickers, time wasters. While not a kit aircraft it's cheaper than any kit.
  3. Student Pilot
    The NSW Gov has made it clear they do not (With the insistence of Feds) want to have a State wide lockdown. Glady's quote "I fear for Victoria and worry about what their government may do. I hope we have demonstrated to other states it is possible to manage an outbreak and not shut down a city" She feels pretty foolish now I bet.
  4. Student Pilot
    Yes but.................if vaccinated you won't get as sick and it hopefully won't kill you
  5. Student Pilot
    I am trying to do better.......
  6. Student Pilot
    At 30 million a piece!!!!!!
  7. Student Pilot
    Give it some time, after a while you should start to relax. I suffered from airsickness when maneuvering, got used to it and have been flying for a while now.
  8. Student Pilot
    Funny how any Trump criticism is "Vitriol" yet he can lie, cheat and try and steal the democratic election and that's just politics. The US is broken while ever Trump is touting his own version of "Demockracy"
  9. Student Pilot
    Found it funny today that The Beetrooter was complaining about the Chinese not wanting American ships in the South Chins Sea then the next breath complaining about a Chinese spy ship off the coast of Oz! Do as I say don't do as I do.
  10. Student Pilot
    Bit gamey
  11. Student Pilot
    Done for a reason to stop drifters from parking up and staying in areas. I can see why some get a bit uppity about it. They pay exorbitant rates to live somewhere only to have some one pull up in their rusted out Varargo and dreadlocks blocking the view
  12. Student Pilot
    I'm not saying what I do is "THE" way, it's just what I do and have done the last 40+ of AG flying. 30 years of that was Topdressing off all sorts of AG strips with all sorts of aircraft. I use full flap and slowest landing speed including very steep uphill strips.
  13. Student Pilot
    All strips Bob
  14. Student Pilot
    I've always used full flap on landing, turbine/nosewheel/piston/tailwheel, never understood landing without flap. If the surface of the strip is that bad with rocks that it does damage you shouldn't be working off it. Full flap gives you a lot lower landing speed. Different pilots use different techniques. I'd rather land slower and just roll up to the dumpsite, easier on the gear. I think it's quicker too, you can land further up the airstrip because of the less braking distance. Yes you can use reverse but it's not nessacery, maybe just click into no thrust but not reverse.
  15. Student Pilot
    The days of aerial spraying in England and pilots working in North Africa are long gone. Now Oz pilots go to North America in our winter season, I do a fire season here and now go to Canada for 5 months in our winter. The US and Canada never have enough pilots, except maybe this year where the drought has decimated agriculture. Col Pay or David Reid bought a few Fletchers from Pakistan. Tom Watson used to buy Beavers from all around the world.
  16. Student Pilot
    The Fletcher was designed as a topdressing aircraft for NZ. In my humble opinion the best machine (With it's derivatives) for the job. John Thorpe also had a big hand in the Piper series aircraft, full flying tailplane and similar design to the Flitch. Turbines have made a big difference to AG work. But as usual if you give an AG aircraft more power the hopper size goes up till the advantage gained is negated. The Dromader is an example, 2500 litre hopper for bulky products like seed and some fert. They stuck a turbine on it and blew the hopper out to over 3000 litres then filled it with retardant for fire work. Not only that with the radial you were working at around 100 kts, the VNE is (from foggy memory) 125 kts. With the turbine they were cruising at 145+ kts and spraying cotton at 130 kts, little wonder the wings fell off. If I had a choice between turbine and radial (if earning capability didn't come into it) I would choose a radial/piston. Every piston has quirks, an individual. Turbines seem to be bland, lots of power but bland. Switch them on and off. Pratt 985 or Lyc 720's all had personality, both at idle stirred the soul
  17. Student Pilot
    We had a TriPacer, converted it to a PA22-20. It did look better, if I had the chance again I would not do it again. The Tri is a very capable aircraft, the tailwheel version has no real advantage whatever people say. It is no faster, the short field operation is no better, the only advantage is the tailwheel does look pretty. The 20k+ it cost to convert would pay for a lot of fuel.
  18. Student Pilot
    Some nice flying there Captain Gazza
  19. Student Pilot
    There are those that think they are special because they fly a tailwheel aircraft, they're not. For 99.9% of short strip operations a trike flown well will handle it. The "Big wheels little dick" brigade has become popular in Australia, most of the strips they post flying into you could do it in a 140hp Piper Cherokee. You don't need a 250K flimsy slow Cub Crafters machine with massive wheels to land in a paddock or a short strip.
  20. Student Pilot
    If you are not comfortable Bruce you are doing the right thing.
  21. Student Pilot
    CASA motto, "We're not happy till your not happy". The way GA has gone in the last 30 years there will be no flying to make safe soon. Anybody in GA (Apart from those with a vested interest in CASA) know how hard it it is to work with CASA.
  22. Student Pilot
    Is that what they cost? Seems the latest lot of lighter aircraft are well beyond the reaches of the common man. Aviation has never been so expensive, the realm of the very well off. Good news is very basic flying is still cheap, you can buy the likes of a Thruster for 10K?
  23. Student Pilot
    I stand corrected. I have never found Williamtown easy to negotiate, I have never been given a clearance to track coastal at any height immediately. Been held for over half an hour with no explanation then allowed to track coastal. I never had a plan and contacted them direct. Even with no traffic Williamtown/Tamworth/Coffs Harbour were always hard to get on with when trying to get a clearance, busy traffic or not.
  24. Student Pilot
    Yes he shouldn't have been flying. An added risk was going out over the water, he was forced to because of no clearance available. The was buggar all traffic at Williamtown but he was forced to fly out over the water and remain clear of airspace. Flying over water (Dark night no horizon) without reference to instruments and no visible lights from houses or traffic is impossible. I have had trouble in shit weather trying to get through Williamtown where there was no other traffic. With restricted airspace and CASA's drive to rid Australia of GA there won't be a problem for much longer, nobody will be flying.
  25. Student Pilot
    200K?
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