DarkSarcasm

I saw it again tonight and kept an eye out for the rego - VH-7JL. I assumed they'd just rip off some random rego for the movie but it seems they decided to make one up instead?

Perhaps because women in aviation are still comparatively rare?

My friend learnt to fly (and I took one lesson there on holiday) at Aldinga near McLaren Vale, they seemed to be a good and professional bunch and the SportStars are nice aircraft.

Well, my SPL arrived in the post today (following the medical which arrived last week). So, what do I put this piece of paper in? Do Crasha send me a folder or do I have to buy one? (and if I have to buy one, anyone got any suggestions where?)

Does anyone know where you can buy those chicken bags?

haha yes, but I'm not using it for that! I'm not sure how my phone would enjoy a dousing in vomit... I considered those but the top doesn't seal so I wondered if it could still be slightly messy That's mean....but worth remembering for emergencies *snicker* I'll have to check that out, thanks.

Yes I know this is probably a rather odd topic for a thread but anyway... I'm going to have my passenger endorsement soon and, after hearing stories of people having to use jackets and things for sick passengers, I've decided it might be good to be prepared. I had a look at clear prop but it doesn't seem to stock sick bags (unless I'm looking in the wrong part of the site?) I was wondering about those glad snaplock bags (not the sandwhich size, the lunch size), would they work? Or any other ideas?

...banana... C'mon McGuyvers, what can ya do with a banana?

As turbo stated above in post #41, Essendon is a major airport in Melbourne. I've been staying out of this entire discussion, but I have to admit I agree with Bill (post #42) on this one. We can't just say 'oh we can't fly our aircraft there so it doesn't matter if they close it'. I think that if they succeed in closing some, sooner or later they'll come knocking on the door of the field you fly out of and say that they're closing that one too. We need to try and save all the airports, not just the ones that RA-Aus can fly out of, otherwise I can see things snowballing and then when we start kicking up a fuss when they're closing ones we can fly out of, they'll just sit back and say 'well you didn't care all the other times we've closed airports'. Perhaps I'm more concerned about potential airport closures because I can see it affecting my (and others of course) flying future. I've only started flying comparatively recently to many of you and (hopefully) have an awful lot more years of flying left to go, but if they start closing airports then perhaps that future (and the future of other newbies/young-uns) will be curtailed, and I definitely don't want that to happen.

I spotted it :)

That is misleading and deceptive conduct because it is wrong, wrong and more wrong. Lots of people, not just me, have bought Desires from overseas and put them on other carrier's. There's whole threads about it on Whirlpool forums, plus my own experience. Unlocked Desires do work on other carrier's sims in Australia right now.

Do you work for Telstra? It sounds like it. I simply said that it had programs added by Telstra that I didn't feel I needed, simple as that. I was merely pointing out that (1) Telstra adds applications etc to their phones and (2) there was an alternative. Each to their own on app requirements/likes etc. Perhaps surprisingly, I am not a fool and I am not inexperienced with buying electronic products from overseas. I do research (horrifying isn't it) to ensure that the warranty will be valid here in Australia and I will still be able to access support and service facilities and I assumed others considering buying from overseas would do their own research before purchasing.

I absolutely HATE how people bash airports and aviation and dont' think about the good that comes out of it. Ignoring the training of future pilots for the airlines and flying for fun etc, what about the Westpac Chopper, RFDS, Police chopper, Ambulance Chopper, Search & Rescue etc etc etc. All services that those people take for granted of being there if they need them, but don't think about where those services come from. I HATE it! Sometimes I think they should force people buying houses next to/near an existing airport to sign some sort of legally binding document saying that they agree that the airport was there first and that they are buying the house with the knowledge that there is an airport there and what it means for them. But I don't know how to raise awareness of the fact that these services that people take for granted require/come from airports, the media is too busy trying to slag aviation to do anything about supporting it. It doesn't seem like writing letters is enough, even if we all write to our MPs, they're not going to listen to us, they're going to listen to the main public who are probably sitting there saying airports are noisy and dirty and smelly and dangerous etc...

Well, the results are in and unfortunately I wasn't elected. I'd like to thank everyone who supported me, I sincerely appreciate it. :)

Yup. I bought an unlocked phone from the UK then put in a sim card from TPG. 'Bloatware' is a term commonly used to describe extra programs installed by companies before sale - davidh10 defined it well. I didn't want a Telstra 'branded' phone with extra Telstra additions that I didn't really feel I needed - extra price, less memory on phone, not for me. If I wanted a phone that had been messed with and locked in by a company/carrier I would've looked at an iphone :stirring pot: I did check that - there is information on the whirlpool site (which Col has copied above) which describes the different sorts of phones and networks etc. The UK ones use the right sort of network for Aus. You could consider looking at buying an unlocked phone from overseas and putting it on one of the carrier's 'BYO' plans - it might work out cheaper (although I didn't look into this too closely, since I live in the city so it isn't really an issue). It might be worth looking into though.

Or buy it unlocked from overseas. I got mine for $620 including shipping from the UK, completely unlocked and no Telstra bloatware. Must cheaper overall plus no hassle of unlocking.

This is a good suggestion, I did this exact thing (except I did it going around and around the rectangular lawn in my backyard). I'm sure the neighbours thought I was a nutter but it definitely helped. My piece of advice is to not decide to learn all of the information for your BAK test in one week. It is doable (I did it) but I spent pretty much all of my time during that week studying it and I'd definitely suggest that you learn it all slower over a longer period of time, if only for your own stress-levels

Cheers Graeme :) It was in 5231 too, throttle is still a bit weird (my heart sank when I realised that, but I worked around it) How are you going?

Got some family friends in Echuca so I'll definitely be dropping in there at some point :)

Haha I wish!

I need a little more solo time to get the passenger endorsement and then the rides start. Are you planning to join the queue?

Thanks everyone :) I'm still in shock, I totally can't believe it. More than I'd like but it's all good experience and I'm sure I'm a safer pilot because of it

This afternoon I passed my flight test and became a certified RA-Aus pilot. Life dream of holding a pilot's licence achieved, still can't believe it :big_grin:

haha, yes there's a fairly large puddle at the end of 36L

I don't know for certain, but I heard that they prefer you to not have any prior flight training because then you already have habits that they mightn't like and they then have to untrain/retrain you. As I said, I don't know for certain, but it might be worth checking before you do too much flight training. :)