cscotthendry

'On yer Kev! Life is not a dress rehearsal for something else. Make the most of it.

Andy: No, we don't consider the board to be idiots, but we DO consider CASA to be evil bureaucrats with an intense aversion to risk. The board will likely not GIVE away anything, but I for one am not confident that CASA won't TAKE away some of our privileges if we start to show an increase in incidents/accidents. The situation with the Jabiru powered fleet stands as a stark reminder of how capricious bureaucrats can be. Yes, there are well maintained old airplanes in the GA fleet that would fit into the 750kg category, but they would be in the minority. I believe the weight increase, coupled with lower maintenance and medical requirements would attract a large number of airplanes and owners that maybe shouldn't be flying. Then, the whole recreational fleet would be penalised for the failings of the few. You and I both know that this happens again and again that the many suffer for the misdeeds of the few. This is always the result of bureaucratic and political aversion to risk and also to be seen to be doing something about the latest incident.

Andy:No, we don't consider the board to be idiots, but we DO consider CASA to be evil bureaucrats with an intense aversion to risk. The board will likely not GIVE away anything, but I for one am not confident that CASA won't TAKE away some of our privileges if we start to show an increase in incidents/accidents. The situation with the Jabiru powered fleet stands as a stark reminder of how capricious bureaucrats can be. Yes, there are well maintained old airplanes in the GA fleet that would fit into the 750kg category, but they would be in the minority. I believe the weight increase, coupled with lower maintenance and medical requirements would attract a large number of airplanes and owners that maybe shouldn't be flying. Then, the whole recreational fleet would be penalised for the failings of the few. You and I both know that this happens again and again that the many suffer for the misdeeds of the few. This is always the result of bureaucratic and political aversion to risk and also to be seen to be doing something about the latest incident.

Steve: We have an iPad mini with OzRunways. Flight planning with it is a breeze and it connects to the weather via NAIPS so that you get the winds etc. Also, if you want to, it can file your flight plan for you with Air Services, although I've never tried that. If you buy an iPad for this, get one with at least 32GBytes of memory. Also I would reccommend the mini rather than the full sized iPad. The Nynja will fly at 90 knots, but I always used to do my flight planning at 85 knots to allow for slower speed during the climb or slowing a bit for turbulence. I'm not sure what features ColJones says are missing from OzRunways. It has about three times as many features as I ever use, but then I don't fly GA so there may be stuff that GA pilots need that Rec pilots don't use.

Yup, but you'd be flying backwards!

Agree! RAAus would inherit a fleet of aging aircraft that are uneconomical to maintain under GA regs and would possibly be at greater risk of structural failure because of the less rigid maintenance requirements. That would likely translate into an increased number of accidents and the attendant extra scrutiny from CASA. I have mixed feelings about increasing the MTOW for rec aircraft to 750Kg, but I'm definitely against translating some of the old metal clunkers into our fleet.

Agree! RAAus would inherit a fleet of aging aircraft that are uneconomical to maintain under GA regs and would possibly be at greater risk of structural failure because of the less rigid maintenance requirements. That would likely translate into an increased number of accidents and the attendant extra scrutiny from CASA. I have mixed feelings about increasing the MTOW for rec aircraft to 750Kg, but I'm definitely against translating some of the old metal clunkers into our fleet.

Marty: What you say s quite true in regard to military industrial companis plundering overseas taxpayers. I think it is done by applying political pressure between governments. The companies have an inordinate amount of clout with politicians in the US by virtue of how much money they can throw at the politicians. Interestingly, Dwight Eisenhower warned about the rise of the military industrial influence with politicians in his final speech. Everything he warned of has come to pass, and then some.

Check this out! This video is interactive. You can look around in all directions while its playing. Awesome! I want to know how they did it!

Nah, CASA are fine with people in airplanes ... As long as the airplanes don't leave the ground ... Or start their engines.

Especially if you're inclined to try looping a trike!

So the question remains about "Who is getting the money?". The ongoing whinge we hear from the business sector is that "it's all the employees' fault because we have to pay them too much." But I don't think that accounts for as much markup as we see here in Oz.

G: Wow! That was quick! :-) Thanks for the feedback. I'm not a good enough pilot to know how the Legend rates, so your comments are much appreciated. I'm really glad you enjoyed the flight. Happy to have you aboard.

I would go even further with the sentiment of don't let others dictate what to do. When you are PIC, make your own choices and decisions, no matter how experienced the other pilot is. What is right for them may not be right for you. I followed another pilot into a situation on the basis that he was a very experienced pilot. Everything turned out just fine, but it could have ended in tragedy just as easily. I learned from that, to make my own choices based on my knowledge and experience.

Mike: I know how you are feeling right now. It is the top of the pops to build your own plane and then fly it. You know every nut and bolt and your experience will stand you in good stead and keep you safe in the air. When (if) the time comes and you move to another airplane, you will be so much more involved and knowledgeable about what is good and what is not so good in an airplane. Building the Nynja taught me so much about aircraft ways and techniques. I think that anyone who aspires to own an airplane should build at least one. Anyone who has built their own airplane will be a better maintainer and possibly a better pilot for it.

Luxury! When I were lad we had to play wi ourselves in middle of 'road! Couldn't afford 'ouse, nor window.

No, I think he means businesses that are oriented towards what they do rather than how much profit they make. When I was growing up, shoe companies strived to make better shoes, now they strive to make more profitable shoes. There's a world of difference between the two.

Well isn't that interesting. Just about every ad for every retail business spruiks that they provide all three. And BTW, we customers have as many horror stories about retailers as you do about customers. The difference is, we CAN shop elsewhere if we're badly treated and we DO. It's the golden rule, He with the gold, makes the rules and as customers, we're the ones with the gold.

Shafs: Staying away from the caffein before flying is a good move. Caffein is a diuretic (makes you want to pee) and is imcompatible with long flights unless you're flying something with onboard toilets! Drink water in moderation on any flight to keep yourself hydrated. Dehydration, even in a mild form reduces your mental acuity and reaction time.

Which is a very strong argument for owning your own airplane. It doesn't have to be a million dollar machine, but having your own means that you can choose when to fly and how long to fly for. It also has the advantage that you can go to overnight or multi day fly ins. People who rent out aircraft are reluctant to let you rent them for overnight trips as they lose the availability of the plane for more hours than you will put on it eg, it costs them money.

That IS a seriously sexy design. I'd love to see that on the track!

I deleted the other video and re-edited it to improve the sound. It's best at the highest resolution your internet connection will accomodate.

I soloed in the trike at 12 hours. Was I ready? I thought so at the time, but as time went on, I realised that a few more hours under instruction would have better prepared me, especially for the turbulence. I remember that my instructor asked me the night before whether I thought I could get the trike safely on the ground if something happened to him and I answered "yes". Landing has always been strongest part of my flying so I had no fear that I could get the trike back down safely. The next day, my instructor took me up for three circuits, then he got out and I did two solo circuits. It was a bit of an anti-climax. I was already aware of the existing conditions and the only thing that was different was that the trike climbed faster and wanted to float more on approach. My confidence in my landings was put to the test the day after my solo when we flew our respective trikes to a nearby airfield that had trees very close to the runway and there was a 10-12KT direct crosswind. When I got to the tops of the trees, the rotor off the trees hit and slewed the trike smartly sideways. I hit the noise pedal and went around, but I was shaking like a leaf all through the second circuit and for a while after the landing ... but I DID get it back down safely.

Absolutely agree but it takes time to get confident enough with the bumps to let go of the controls. Yes, bike racing IS a lot more dangerous than flying, but we're not dealing with rational fear here. We're not riding a motorcycle 3,000 feet up in the air. The fear of falling is a powerful one and can only be overcome with time and experience. It CAN be done and the key is not giving up or letting it beat you.

Shafs: I'd rather be a live chicken than a dead duck.