J170 Owner

I'm impressed with your diary - I wish some of the reports I read at work were as detailed!

I have a Contour camera and made a bracket from aluminium. Used cable ties to strap that to the wing strut and a bit of mouse pad to prevent the thing scratching the plane. Next time you see me, I'll show you the video (if I remember).

Have a read of this.... http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/royal-flying-doctor-service-pilot-passed-out-at-controls-later-tests-positive-for-drugs/story-fndo1qgd-1226520737157 If this story is true the pilot should be named and shamed and given a length of rope and a chair. I simply cannot believe that somebody would be so stupid. (Then again, maybe it's normal and I'm too old to understand?)

I was there, pity I missed you, could have got my plane washed. Glad you enjoyed the flight and have heaps more. Daz is a fun guy, dry sense of humour....

Yea, being a woose I tend to avoid flying when it's hot, hot with gusty winds is even worse. I once landed my Jabiru J170 (high wing plane) on a day when it was over 30 degrees C and windy and the wing tip almost scraped the runway. It was quite hard to control and I was glad to be on the ground. The other thing that scares the jibblets out of me is those 'pot holes' in the sky. You're flying along, some turbulence then BANG!. You drop into a hole and everything flys up all over the place. I can't help thinking that a wing bolt is going to break. Having said that, enjoy your flying, it's still the best thing you can do with your pants on.....

You'll almost certainly do the TIF in a J170 as they have three available. Those of us not flying can be found sitting outside the club house judging every take off and landing. After a TIF it is usual for prospective pilots to learn how to wash a plane, so I'll bring my J170 around for you to use during that lesson.

One of my first instructors thirty years ago was a girly, I think it's great because you cannot cry when it gets rough as guts and scary. Hello Melanie if you're out there...

Never, ever, ever, never use the term ascending. It sounds too much like descending. Always use climbing and descending. Keep up the training, it only gets better.

Yep, I had a transceiver (144Mhz) that had an adjustable timeout from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. If the button was held down past this timeout period, the warning warble sounded then the radio dropped back to receive. Yes, many of us have done it but a stuck button can (and has in the past) lasted for hours. It is amusing though to hear folks calling the person with a stuck button - forgetting that that person is in transmit and will not hear jack.

Some well designed radios go beep-boop-beep after a timeout period of (say) 30 seconds to several minutes to let you know. Not seen any on the aircraft bands yet.

http://users.adam.com.au/kleb/ASC/welcome.html

Nope (by the way, that's 'too old to fly'). Go for it, great fun, keeps you out of the pubs and off the streets....

hedradyme??!! Heterodyne - when two signals of nearly the same frequency interfere causing a signal equal to the difference between the interfering signals to be produced, or is it somebody who wears the clothing of the opposite sex? Been so long I cannot remember this stuff...

A hangar fee of more than about $25 to $30 a week would require that the hangar have power, water, gas, a band that plays requests, a bar, dance floor and air conditioning. Perhaps pole dancers as well. I loathe greed.

I guess you're aware that under section 'zed-zed-plural-zed-alpha-A (Aussie Rules)' you need to be sure that other pilots can use your proposed strip for visits, wine tasting, beer drinking and sausage sizzling.

Hangar costs, insurance, rego, licence, maintenance etc costs me about $4200 per year averaged over the last three years. That does NOT include flying, that's just owning the thing. I understand children cost far more so I guess I cannot complain. (Donations are welcome for those who are so inclined!)

I use a Garmin Nuvi 255W in off road mode. Probably less then $200 now. It is NOT an aviation GPS, but you can select a destination and way points and it draws a pink line indicating your track. As you fly, you leave a blue track and it is easy to see how well you are maintaining track. It shows all the towns, roads etc. on a moving map. You can upload your track to Google Earth and view it there. If you want you can put in a point to indicate airspace boundary etc. Personally I think a map and compass with the electronics as a BACKUP is the way to go. It is easy to read and sunlight friendly.

Rudder is too short.

Once you get a passport sorted out, come and visit Gawler in South Australia.

“You’re right son. We didn't have those things when we were young, so we invented them. Now, you arrogant child what are you doing for the next generation?” It took a lot of convincing to get my niece to realize the internet was invented in the 60s.

I'd check with the airport operator as well because they may have their own regulations.

Fuchi capesta!

Try a 5/8th or even better, a jpole. Lower radiation angle hence greater gain. I'm starting on a small yagi for the fun of it.

I may be wrong but the Dragon was used by the RFDS until quite recently, 1970s?

My first logbook has my Trial Introductory Flight (TIF) as the first entry, way back in 1980. Enjoy...