sseeker

I hardly see how obtaining an AOC to conduct scenic flights has anything to do with aviation safety. I can take myself on a scenic flight and not be bothered by CASA... I can take a passenger on a scenic flight and still not be bothered by CASA however as soon as I start advertising my flights or wanting more than a 50% share CASA will get me. Now tell me what that has to do with aviation safety. I can appreciate having a CPL as a minimum for this, as it's an operation that would require a professional pilot, but AOC, that's asking a bit to much.

I praise CASA for what they're doing in the way of aviation safety, but c'mon in this particular situation what I said was relevant.

-Andrew

Fair enough, just making sure. RA-Aus FTFs have an exemption which exempts them from various CARs in regards to advertising flight training and conducting flight training. It is illegal to advertise your flight if you're not exempt from those particular orders. Being a basic instructor is fine for TIFs.

It's good you ask these questions, a lot of people would just assume and go ahead with their plan and often end up in a lot of trouble. CASA certainly doesn't take lightly to people making money where there's some to be made for themselves.

FYI, I started one topic on advertising your flight (I was pretty confused with this as well) here: http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/advertising-your-flight.16771/ - this thread contains a mixed amount of info on Advertising and Charging your PAX.

http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/charging-your-pax.26858/#post-153886 - This one was created more recently and contains solely information on charging your passenger (cost sharing)

I'm not Nev, but I hope I answered your question.

-Andrew

Now, I'm pretty sure that I am going to get a few comments here along the lines of, "it's not legal for RA aircraft to do so", which I could understand, except...so many seem to be doing it. However, (at the risk of answering my own question), is this just done by a somewhat cheeky means..ie, taking passengers up technically for a TIF

As said above, you need to be an instructor and belong to a FTF. You CAN take passengers on scenic flights and have them pay 50% of the cost, you can't advertise this though. I.e putting posters up at your local aerodrome/newspaper saying you're doing scenic flights for say $40.

-Andrew

Helicopters can give off dangerous amounts of wake turbulence as well.

-Andrew

G'day from another young flyer. I got into aviation from my brother in 2006, started the aviation programme at my high school in Year 8 2008 and progressed onto my pilot certificate in 2010. It's an awesome passion to have and I don't regret it one bit. You've been bitten by the aviation bug as they say... If you need a hand with your aviation study or have any questions to ask don't hesitate to post on the forum, a large group of friendly and very informative members are always willing to help.

-Andrew

I've spoken to the technical manager about this. You CAN tow GFA Gliders on an RA-Aus certificate, in an RA-Aus aircraft. RA-Aus and GFA have an agreement to let this take place. You must hold the RA-Aus glider towing endorsement on your recreational certificate in order to tow in an RA-Aus plane (this is just a case of sending your paperwork through for it to be issued onto your certificate).

The GFA documentation is out of date and doesn't depict this.

-Andrew

lol yeah was intended for Exadios. Btw I'd be more than happy to help at the club for half the day but a full day from 7AM till 6PM and it's a 2hour drive from my house, I mean c'mon.... It's on weekends. Might take it up, Exadios made a point of flying the single seaters the majority of the time. It's kinda like an instruction/solo rate.

-Andrew

Ahhh shit, what a set back :\ sorry to hear Pud. Keep us updated

-Andrew

Lack of a PPL. Tried to get the RA-Aus tow endorsement but that means I have to do the GA training for towing permit then send paperwork to RA-Aus.

By the way, your name wouldn't be Hugh would it?

-Andrew

Congratulations Pud, really great to see her complete. Can't wait to see the stills/video.

-Andrew

One reason why I'm not a member at Beverley Soaring Society. They want you up there for the whole day (0700-1800). I could only do that if I was towing, launching and gliding. That's why I want to get a tow endorsement.

-Andrew

Then when you complete the project it'll all be worth it! The only avionics you'd want to put in this aeroplane is a radio and a handheld transceiver wired to an external aerial and some headset jacks will be suffecient. I'd personally only install the four primary instruments (ASI, ALT, Compass, Clock) - it's all you need to fly and the clock can be a watch on your wrist. You can even get second hand refurbished instruments. There's a guy on eBay (USA) that sells Rotax motors out of aircraft and snowmobiles, he has identical models to what you'd want in the A-Plane and they're totally refurbished. Rotax 447 with gearbox and no exhaust/carb for $1269 and has 124hrs TT (this one wasn't refurbished)

You can find excellent deals on just about anything on the web. Just have to remember that safety comes first and don't be so cheap that it will endanger your life and others.

-Andrew

Gribble if you have the tools and workshop to build it in then yes it can probably be built for under 10k, you'd be getting a second hand Rotax though.

-Andrew

I have 70 hours in powered aeroplanes, I would've thought the solo would take me no time, but it took a lot longer than expected. Although 7 tows seems like a lot because of the effort, it's not really. BSS charges 90c a min for the DG1000, 0.90*60=$54/hr + 4,000ft tow $55 = $109/hr or 3,000ft tow is $44 so $88/hr.

-Andrew

^^What David said!

This issue was dicussed in my post here: http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/advertising-your-flight.16771/ (along with ADVERTISING your flight, I suggest you have a read.)

-Andrew

So probably a good idea to reduce power below 2400rpm in rain? (Possibly below 2200??)

-Andrew

It took me 7 flights to go solo in a glider. (I did a lot of messing about in the T/A with my instructor like aerobatics and thermalling) I did about 5 circuits and was sent circuit solo, might not seem like much but in a glider on a 37C day you get exhausted very fast. Each circuit includes a tow to 1000ft and my first solo was to 1500ft (both AGL). I then had the option to go solo in the single seater for a thermalling flight but the weather turned crap and I decided to do my last two flights as aerobatic flights. Gliding is great fun and I considered taking it up after that 3 day camp however it isn't much cheaper than RA-Aus flying (~$90/hr with a tow to 3500ft in a DG1000, the Jabiru is $125/hr with a tow to where ever I like ;))

My camp consisted of 3 days gliding, food, accomodation, membership fees, tow costs, glider costs. ~$760. If you just wanna try it, do a TIF. A lot of powered pilots don't like gliding because believe it or not, it IS harder. There's a lot more skill involved with flying a glider than there is small powered plane. It will take you a while to get used to it.

-Andrew

Hi all,

It's been a question in my head for a long time. Does rain damage wooden propellors that have a fibreglass coating with polyurethane leading edge? (The Jab props, not sure about others) I've never flown a Jabiru in the rain so I've never really asked any of the instructors at my school. I've heard stories about having to reduce the power below 2000rpm, is this true? What's the story with the Carbon Fibre props? They feel weaker than the wooden props.

And I'm talking about inflight when the properllor is spinning, not when it's on the ground with the engine off

-Andrew

Bullcreek Aviation Museum here in Perth. A real lancester is on display with a plethora of other wartime aircraft (Spitfire, Catalina, DC3 & weedhoppers!) and you have a number of RAAF retirees that are willing to show you around and give you info on the history.

Visit here for more: http://www.raafawa.org.au/museum/index.html

-Andrew

You preflight your car

You give your car passengers a "pre takeoff safety brief" before a trip

When you misunderstand what someone's said to you, you say, "Say again?"

Your wife/girlfriend has underwear with "remove before flight" printed on them

You wear your David Clark headset plugged into your MP3 player while jogging

You installed a quick drain valve on your cars fuel tank.

There's a whole bunch of these on facebook!

-Andrew

Destiny I think auto conversions are a no no... Might be wrong though. I've heard similar stories about 2 strokes...

-Andrew

For WA I highly recommend TopFun Aviation at Bindoon. It's 100km North of Perth and probably the closest RA-Aus school. The instructors are excellent and very experienced. I did all of my training through these guys and I've been a member of the airfield for almost 2 years now. They have 2 J160s, a Gazelle and a Skyfox CA25 taildragger. They're also much better than some GA schools I've been to at Jandakot. Info @ http://www.topfun.net.au

Regards,

Andrew

Hi Mike,

Got this email from the CFI at my flying school,

Hi Andrew,The aircraft has not flown for 2 - 3 years, has damage history and needs someone with a strong engineering capability to bring it back into service, and also satisfy themselves of the repairs made after it groundlooped.

 

I dont know what the asking price is - sorry.

 

Jack

Regards,

Andrew

David, I never said it was odd but it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the CFI to test the pilot for their nav capabilities. What if they plain suck at navigating and just scraped through the PPL exam? If you're being signed off for the endorsement the CFI has every right to test your competency (even if it's just a verbal quiz) you can't just assume someone's competent, while they should be and chances are most will be EVERYONE forgets basic things especially if they haven't done dual flying in a while. GA schools may teach a form of log keeping that a particular RA-Aus school might not think is sufficient which could mean they don't log something and if something bad did happen, the insurance company would ask questions. Unlikely but everything in aviation is 'what if' - I'd say most CFIs would go on the safe side and assess you with a short nav (or verbal quiz), especially if you're coming from overseas.

jwt101 - So you don't have to fly 5 hours but just be prepared to possibly do a short nav (maybe just a 1hour flight to a local airfield) or be prepared to answer some questions on navigation. It's an endorsment that you'll automatically be issued with since you're converting from a PPL.

-Andrew

Are you sure the 5 hours is only for low performance? I thought it was for the certificate regardless of aircraft type. It doesn't say anything about that in the ops manual...

If you're converting from GA the CFI will probably want to do a short nav (1-2 hours) then test your stalling, PFL, steep turning etc... That'll probably be at least 3 hours so not far off 5.

Regards,

Andrew