BrendAn

3 minutes ago, facthunter said:

I wouldn't give you a "Guarantee"  on the weather ANYWHERE.. If you ask the locals (You have some here) and watch BOM for a while you should be able to get a good indication of developing systems and plan accordingly. "Ordinary" but flyable with a good instructor is fine. He well earn his "Meagre" money and you will get an EXPERIENCE. I recall one time at Lethbridge,I was UP with a pretty good student and it was his OWN aircraft. He said "I don't seem to be getting the Hang of it so well TODAY. I said WELL LOOK...  WE are the ONLY ones flying. All the OTHERS are in the clubhouse.  so obviously the conditions are NOT ideal. so don't expect too much. Nev

believe me . when you live in gippsland the weather up at cowra is a lot more reliable than ours. we have runs of good weather but a lot of ordinary stuff in between. 

21 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Get your 4 hours off and be able to fly local then sort it out from there when you feel like it and circumstances permit. 3-4 days in Cowra isn't too hard to put up with. to knock that off.  Nev

I agree. I think that's a good plan. 

Up there you can rely on the weather too.

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

 I've never seen anyone showing their log book to an eager crowd. 57.? There was a bloke at Newcastle STARTED on tiger moths at age 60. In those days 60 was Old Today it's not. if you're fit and well.. If you are a thinking being you may reconsider the  NEED to fly at many stages. None of my Kids wanted to and I didn't push it with them.  They are non the worse off and have no trouble keeping busy.  Nev

I am a bit undecided. I do love flying. It's just getting me down taking so long to get my RPC. When I started I had a great instructor and I was flying 2 or 3 times a week. He moved away. The next instructor was good but he goes up north for half the year.  Now I still have good instructors but they are booked out all the time. Running a business makes it hard to book ahead because I never know how busy I am going to be .

That one in the zenith has passed 50 hrs now and seems to be performing really well. Nothing has fallen to bits yet.

Just now, facthunter said:

IF you stay local more of your errors will be noticed. HA HA. Doing just local is risky. You are limiting your experience to the Familiar getting cues in the circuit you don't have when away.. Sharing fuel cost with someone further along the cross country Path You don't need to actually fly. You still get the exposure to different places . Nev

I am 57 years old. I don't think I will be making a career out of it.😁

9 minutes ago, Blueadventures said:

Be good to do those 4 hours asap; then you can build more hours in the XAir until you sell it.  A good selling point is a plane being currently flown.  You may change your mind and keep the Xair a bit longer.  They are great to fly; I have fond memories of my Xair flights.

Yes. The xair gets flown. I jump in the right seat and drive with a licensed pilot in the left seat. Great fun to fly. Very stable.

20 minutes ago, RFguy said:

OK, so you are up to crosswind landings, steep turns, emergency proceedures ?

Done the emergency procedures. Not much xwind yet. 8 knots is as strong as I have landed in myself.

Steep turns I think we're earlier in the syllabus.

31 minutes ago, RFguy said:

Also, for the cross country work- that is what will take time, allow at least 20 to 30 hours to get that done. 

 

For the  base RAaus  PC, realistically, you can fly two sessions a day. Three if you are really fit and sleeping well. Might take 20-40hours to complete that depending on your age and brain

I think you need a day off for skills and mind  soak . The next day, not flying,  you think about stuff....

Maybe two days in a row then at least a day off etc.  Well, depends on the person.   more than 3 days in a row is unrealistic I think- weather, other instructor committments, airplane servicability etc.

I am already solo and have completed all the exams for RPC. Only 4 hrs solo left to go.

Not bothered about xcountry for the next couple of years. Just happy to fly around local area.

13 minutes ago, BurnieM said:

Also $240/hr for Evektor Sportstar (912ULS with 6 pack) or $260/hr Evektor Harmony (912IS with EFIS)

Those 3 prices are RAAus.

 

He did mention it was time to review pricing so I am expecting maybe $20? bump shortly

.

Still good prices, even if they add 20.  It's good to know from all the replies there are some options out there.

23 minutes ago, Area-51 said:

Have you tried Gawler in SA? should be somebody instructing in Ra there.

Bit far away for me. I did think about it.

27 minutes ago, sfGnome said:

Too far away for you, but by way of comparison, Fly Illawarra at Shell Harbour charge $240/hr for instruction on a J160. The prices you’re paying at Sale seem a little(?) on the pricey side. 🫤

I train at Latrobe valley aero club. Traralgon.  Your right ,it's not cheap.

23 minutes ago, djpacro said:

You spoke to them, not me. I guess that he simply answered the question that you asked.

I asked about raaus but he may have not heard me . Now I think about it he asked if I had a casa medical, I just assumed it was because training was in controlled airspace. 

20 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

But those ' lower ' educated wan-a-be's .

Will still have big problems getting through their test's. 

Not just a safe pilot . Pass that " basic " then more & more ,tests keep coming. 

Is the ads-b .proficiency test on the cards yet . We can't have uneducated usage.

Like radio , must pass a stringent test . Even tho you have other radio transmitting licenses.  & still not from ground to air .

Like my CFI told me " I'm wasting his time " .

' netflix ' cheaper than a couple of hours gasoline.  And I don't upset the CFI .LoL

spacesailor

 

I have passed all the raaus exams but I imagine they are pretty easy compared to GA.

12 minutes ago, djpacro said:

NOPE. At Moorabbin a Sling 2 is $364 to 368 dual.  Foxbat $328 dual. Also a Jabiru and Gazelle for training there.

I rang a flying school at Moorabbin and that's the price I got. It was oasis. Do you think he gave me a GA rate.

4 minutes ago, RFguy said:

RA, and not for profit.

Thanks. Just looked up Cowra aero club. Would be good weather too. Down here the weather can be pretty ordinary.

Just now, RFguy said:

Cowra is about $230/hour with instructor.

Is that ra or ga

Just now, RFguy said:

Cowra is about $230/hour with instructor.

That is a bargain

3 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

Sounds to me like the live-in/intensive training might be your most cost effective option.

Don't know if it's done anywhere now. That's why I first mentioned ga. I can do that here in another school that is not so busy. I have listed the ultralight. If it sells I will go back to RC models. I have enjoyed the training in raaus but after nearly 3 years and no ticket I am over it.

18 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Holbrook was very Interesting. A four stroke was fairly rare. Some of the engines were in worse condition that a Lawnmower should be. the 2 cyl Victa was Junk. AUF was a bit like you needed to know the right people in Canberra to stay out of trouble but they ALL flew for the right reason.. You can't pretend to fly a thruster or a drifter. It's fairly obvious if you aren't on top of it.  But they ALL are Just another aeroplane. Just fly more often and Pick the conditions .Flying those things all the way to the national meet was a pretty  REAL thing to take on..   . There was a middle aged Instructor from eastern Europe who really impressed me. People like HE was will teach you ALL that you need to know. I hope someone knows the Man I mean. Nev

Not real sure we are on the same page here. I was talking about Holbrook flying school which had some thrusters and you could book your course which includes onsite accommodation.

8 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

$320/hr for RAA training? That seems a bit steep to me - My last GA training,  18 months ago, cost $300/hr

Ga at our club is over $400p/h. 

If you do raaus at Moorabbin you are paying around $420 p/h.

It's expensive when you can't do regular lessons. 

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

Brendon It was far more interesting earlier on Any open Hangar was a just walk in thing, You saw how things broke Bullshitters were less numerous but never entirely absent.  Nev

I understand there is a need for a lot of training for people flying further and in faster aircraft. But the auf was what got me interested years ago and I was silly enough to think it was still like that.  Remember when you could go to Holbrook for  2 weeks ,stay on the airfield and go home with your certificate. As quite a few have mentioned before ,it would be great to have something like the auf so people can still learn and fly in rag and tube.  I think raaus mean well, they want everyone to be safe but they are ga now not ultralight. As good as anyway.

On 05/04/2024 at 3:35 PM, Area-51 said:

Well you are going to have to do the additional training for big pants aviation either way. "Pay money, gain access", same all over the planet except for dogs cats birds fish and anything else non human except politicians.

I have no interest in flying in controlled airspace or even long trips for that matter. I have an xair rag and tube for burning around my local area. The reason I thought of changing to GA is purely because it is so hard to finish my raaus certificate here.  The club is booked out all the time and because I have weeks in between lessons I go back to square one each time.  I am thinking of selling the plane and sticking to ground based hobbies. 

There is far too much bullsh#t to go through when you just want to fly around the local area at 60 knots in good weather.  Those head tracking setups in rc are really appealing, I flew rc for a long time and loved it. I can understand pilot training has to cover a lot of scenarios but do I keep paying $320 p/h trying to get a certificate I may never receive.

It seems odd to me 

 To have an aircraft and worry about a one off purchase of a power lead for $50. Just buy it.

They look like full lotus floats .

They have been around for years and have a good reputation.

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

Looks like a blue ringed Octopus. Nev

It does too now that mention it.