FlyingVizsla

The general meeting 14 May 2016 in Canberra has been on the radar for months - see the RAA email of 1st Feb 2016 - with a promise to circulate special resolutions to members. Since then there has been much discussion on matters coming before it - constitutional reform for example. Keith, you are in the Southern Qld area, but you say about Southern reps "we only get woffle .." this might indicate that regional representation isn't working for you? What you want on the board are good communicators who have time and money to get around the members. I think you would agree that the late Major Millard was a board member who served not only Nth Qld, but the wider membership with his open communication and technical knowledge. Jim Tatlock was an excellent treasurer and I appreciated seeing the finances every month. A few years back some of the Board and even an Executive member didn't want his contact details released to members, so no one could annoy him - effectively cutting off any regional representation for a whole swathe of members. I don't know what the answer is, apart from getting good candidates to stand for election, but at least it is being discussed. Members - Participate 14th May (in person, by proxy, or by video link) and have your say, vote on it, or send it back for a rethink. Sue

Husband and I are both members of AOPA, and have been for MANY years. We are members because AOPA is the only independent voice and lobbyist for all aviation. AOPA have had their ups & downs - true - but so have most other groups. I don't get any anti-RAA sentiment from them. Looking at the Dec/Jan 2016 magazine - on the cover is a RAA registered plane - there are photos of RAA registered planes on pages 4,5,9,39, article 42-45 and in the adverts & classifieds. There are over 15,000 VH registered aircraft vs 3,500 Ultralights so it is no wonder there are more VH pictures. Oct/Nov 2015 (the magazine is two monthly) has a feature article on a new RAA registered plane (p.24-27). A feature on AusFly which was the SAAA & RAA do at Narramine (p.28-31), A Club with 60% home builts - corby, KR-2 etc (p.48-51). A feature on a single seat RAA taildragger & it's female designer, builder & pilot (p56-59). An article on pilot medicals which suggests the RAA model works well. In addition every magazine includes articles of interest to most RAA pilots - products, airmanship, fly-ins, governance, etc. They cover the full range of aviation - Drones, RAA, GA, warbirds, helicopters, gliders, balloons, antique aircraft, medicals, builds, airstrips, travel destinations, Aero Clubs, regulations, and more. AOPA have assisted me with several attempts by Councils to either close, or change an airstrip (perm or temp) to drag racing, infringe the area with buildings or blindly accept a "consultant's" report that it should be closed as unsafe when it actually met CAAP requirements for a non RPT. Moving AvMed when my medical was held up for no apparent reason for months (thank goodness for the RAA driver's medical) Advocating for the freedoms I now enjoy. Reading their letter to the Minister, I was impressed with the level of research and innovative thinking. This won't get tossed to CASA to draft a "standard" reply. This may well be a turning point for aviation in Australia. If not, there will be less flying planes, less pilots (RAA was declining too) and less ALAs. Get with them. Sue

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-28/pilot-injured-in-light-plane-crash-near-stanthorpe/7279440?section=qld A pilot has been injured in a plane crash near Stanthorpe in southern Queensland. Police said he was flying a home-made plane when it came down near Glen Aplin about 11:30am. The man was taken to Stanthorpe Hospital.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-27/82yo-pilot-crashes-helicopter-at-lismore-airport/7278414 An elderly pilot has escaped with minor injuries following a helicopter crash at Lismore Airport in northern NSW. Police said they received reports of a crash at around 10:50am and found a two-seater RotorWay helicopter with significant damage. The 82-year-old man who was flying the helicopter was treated by paramedics for leg injuries. It is thought the man was attempting take-off and landing manoeuvre at low altitude. The incident will be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. ** Take off & landing at LOW ALTITUDE??**

Is Frank "unopposed" or is there an election? Any other candidates? Nominations closed last month and I hadn't heard anything.

Using my monumentally slow internet connection - most of the time the site comes up OK, but I occasionally get "The connection was reset" "Problem loading page" (only once yesterday). Images seem to be loading now, previously it was hit & miss, with the broken image icon being most frequent, but they almost all loaded when I looked at the thread on Silly Signs yesterday. All yesterday because the internet ground to a halt after that and I gave it away. I am on a laptop with ethernet cable to modem on ADSL Win 7 64, Firefox. Comparing this site to other popular sites, I have little trouble getting RecFlying, but other sites treat me as a mobile phone (text menu down the side) or completely fail to load. To load a page (chosen at random from recent): RecFlying "New Posts" - 5 seconds Booktopia - A book "Saving Vegetable Seeds" - 2 mins 10 seconds (not displaying correctly) Realestate.com.au - 8mins 5 secs - loads as text only - search a suburb - fail after about 6 mins (usually fails on home page) ABC.net.au/news/qld - 2 secs Google maps - load 30 secs - find a town in Qld 7 seconds, switch to Earth 35secs (usually longer and fails to fully display) BOM refresh radar - 16 secs BOM forecast - 35 secs CQnews - 35 secs YourTV - 1 min 10 secs - a program 2mins 5sec (opens in new window) Trove.nla.gov - open a newspaper article - 12 mins - failed Sue

Hi Louise, Welcome back. Not far from Clifton? If you haven't been on the forum for a year to two, then it was probably the site. Ian (who owns the site) cleaned out a lot of inactive accounts to free up user names. Sue

Hi Debra, a belated Welcome to the Forum from another flying female about the same vintage. My internet died for 4 weeks so I am just catching up. I had trouble manoeuvring my C152 on the ground - pushing back wasn't a problem, but pushing the tail down to swing it was, as I weighed 42kg (a few years back) and at 4' 7" I couldn't throw my weight over it and still have enough traction to move it. I got stuck in a melon hole at Ilfracombe Qld and had to go get help or I would still be bouncing it up and down wishing I had a long rope or more height and weight. A photo or diagram of the hangar would help explain things. You can attach one to the message by using the icon next to the smiley face on the tool bar. If it is too big (too many kbs) then right click on the image file and choose "send to" then "email .." choose "medium". That will open an email message with the smaller file attached. Click on it and Save As, or double click to open and then Save As. Try attaching again. Alternatively a diagram might help. I could draw one and we can work on getting it right. Then someone will come up with a solution. Blue Skies, Gentle winds Sue

Merry Christmas to all - Santa has fixed my internet after 4 weeks off air, coming just after 2 weeks off a couple of months ago - so I am still catching up! Have also discovered our mobile signal comes from a tower 20km away over two lots of hills - no wonder it is near non-existent. Have written to Santa asking for a reliable ADSL, mobile and a plane that flies for 2016. Thanks to Ian and Corrine for the site and shop. Mr & Mrs Viz will be having a quiet one at home by ourselves. Wishing you all clear skies and light winds for 2016. Sue

We rang up to renew our aircraft by card as the promised password had not arrived. Lady was surprised we hadn't got one as she thought the roll-out had been completed, so she issued a password, so one of us could get on. I opted to wait. One RAA email said to contact them if we had not received anything by 15 November.

I don't know why there are so few women, or why they retire at the same rate as men. I suspect that a number are wives & girlfriends who joined when their man did and either quit when he did, didn't finish their training, or decided to save money on a second membership (I know at least one of each). I was single when I joined, already had a GA licence and plane, had been flying before the AUF started but joined because I became involved (as an office bearer) in an ultralight club in the 1990's and wanted to keep up to date with U/L issues. I subsequently did a conversion, but once married he did all the driving. I suspect that the men tend to grab the toys and the wife decides its a waste of money keeping up membership. I saw flying as an efficient way from A to B (I was based in far Western Qld with a strip on the edge of every town), whereas the blokes were "look at me; I'm a pilot, hey I can throw it around, scare the pants off you, did you see my landing?" The aircraft we trained people in was minimal, grotty and our instructor a smelly guy who got a crush on every female, so I was the only female member and flyer, while we turned a number off the idea completely. RAA needs to highlight young women flying and flying as an attractive way for girls to travel to exciting places with friends. Emphasise how clean, modern, safe and desirable aircraft are now. Partner with Aust Women Pilots' Assoc (AWPA) to increase participation of women in flying. A bit of research on how many RAA members are active pilots and why they trained, would help too. Sue

This figure is not certain, as the information was a bit vague. The Annual Report says "Over the past 5 years ... male membership hovering between 93.5% to 94.1%" therefore females between 6.5% to 5.9%. The membership figures are not published for 5 years, so I took 2010/11 from other sources (the Annual Report for that year overstated membership as 11,079). At the end of 2010, according to John Brandon, membership was 9,674 coming off growth of 13% the previous year and he expected it would reach 10,000 in 2011. Membership 30 June 2015 = 9,117. Not knowing if 6.5% was 2011 or 2015, makes an accurate figure unlikely. Over 5 years RAA has lost far more male members - the Annual Report says 175 per month (2,100) of which (on the percentages) approx 1,970 are male; 130 female. This is offset by new younger members (the average age of pilots is actually going DOWN). As for why females are not renewing membership - there are just as many reasons as the men. The concerning thing is that, all things being equal, there is one female for every male, yet they find RAA & ultralight flying so unattractive there's only one female to every 16 males. Plenty of scope for growth. Sue

Once title is granted, there is little the Council can do. The planning part is there to mitigate future problems. Developers will "tell you anything.." to get the approval at the least cost to them. Then future land owners have to live with it. I suspect the restriction to <600kg recreational had to do with the developer talking his way out of sealing the strip and taxiway by saying they won't fly much and they prefer grass. The land owners (the Body Corp) will have to deal with complaints from Council about GA aircraft and excessive noise, movements etc. and pay the rates, insurance, maintenance etc on the strip and club-house (landing fees anyone?). Then again, as I have seen before, the whole thing could be on-sold to another developer as a potential for $11mil in sales for little outlay, for them to develop. This development is not attractive to me, as firstly we would have to hangar one of our planes elsewhere and never fly home with it, secondly I think the house/hangar build and on-going body corp costs (going into retirement) will be more than we can justify and thirdly, it looks just like suburbia. It might suit someone else with a spare $mil.

Australian Women Pilots Association (AWPA.org.au) have been encouraging women since Nancy Bird started flying. The actual discrimination is mostly gone - the days when the airlines made it impossible for women to fly and the Forces wouldn't take them, are mostly over. Despite offering scholarships and doing great things with girls, the number of female pilots is no where near the percentage in the population. The number of female members in RAA has declined - the Annual report says the % women has remained stable over 5 years (see above) - however the membership total was larger 5 years ago, making that LESS women members. RAA did give their only female board member (Carol Richards) a terrible time, forcing her resignation despite her sterling work on Natfly, GYFTs etc; but the Board and management have changed since then. I am confident that our newest female board member will be treated on her merits. Most of the dinosaurs are gone. There are women flying, instructing, building - just have encourage more girls to give it a go. Sue

That's a much larger development than the one I saw previously. What facilities are the developers providing? Power (underground or overhead), water, sealed roads, kerb & channel, storm water drainage, crossovers, communal septic system, telecoms (NBN ready) etc? Can the blocks back from the strip have hangars (is the road the taxiway) or only those facing the runway? Who maintains/owns the airstrip? RAA is looking at a weight increase, so some of their aircraft (in the future) may be over 600kg. Restricting the aircraft to RAA / ASRA only has taken the gloss off it for me. I would rather be in a community that welcomed all forms of flying; gliders, balloons, gyrocopters, recreational GA and not restricting it to members of two organisations. I have found a photo we took when we flew over last Saturday. The proposed Airpark is on the Right.

Badly worded ... but I think I know what they meant. At the AGM, where they ran through the new website, the membership & aircraft rego area was demonstrated. They explained that you can change most things, but there are some (eg change of name) that requires some backup proof, so a contact form will allow the staff to do the necessary checking and changes for you. Perhaps they should have said "However, for fields that you can't edit, please use the contact form ..."

The ABC have posted 17 colour enhanced photos of the Australian land mass with the challenge to identify their location. I thought I knew where 17 was, but the orientation of the racetrack and cross strip didn't match Google Earth. Some are the sand dunes. Have a go. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-14/scott-kelly-snaps-australia-from-space/6853052

I was talking to Andrew (Assistant Ops) at the AGM. The cross country training is going up to 12 hours of which 10 must be dual. The old Ops took it up to 10 hrs (up from 5) total, but no mention of minimum dual. I didn't ask anything beyond that. Sue

The news on MTOW increase was just that it was being favourably considered, no time or figure. The CTA, on the other hand, was "this summer" with Skidmore "positive". No one asked in question time for clarification. RAA was also looking to future innovations to stay ahead of the game eg new fuels/ propulsion systems - electric / solar etc. Better to have something in place or simmering than get forced to make up the story with the "first of type" wanting rego.

I couldn't find an age break-up in the Annual Report, except for the statement on page 22 that the average age is now 50yrs 3months, down from 51 years (excluding the under 16yr members). If it hasn't remained stagnant (average age now 52yrs), that is an indication that; older members are retiring, or younger members are being recruited, or a combination of both. There are less women, down to 5.9% or 540 members (loss of 144) . The other interesting statistic is the growth in flying per person - from 10.77 hours in 2011 to 24.72 hours in 2014. It was noted that under reporting might be responsible for part of that. Sum total - less members, more aircraft, more flying. If instructors aren't getting older, we should be promoting flying as the Elixir of Youth, bottling it and promoting it. The CFIs might be getting on, but I have met a number of younger people, bitten by the flying bug, and getting into Instructing as a way of passing on the disease, an excuse to fly more and a way to financially assist with that. The last few years have been disruptive, the RPL, Jab restrictions, RAA debacle / CASA audits; which may have influenced membership trends. Despite the 3% drop, the Board are looking at ways of promoting recreational flying which may translate to more and younger members. Some more flying females would be nice too. Sue

The results of the recent survey with the Australian Institute of Business were briefly mentioned at the AGM (a formal statement to come). 1,500 responded, with cost being the biggest issue, 90% live within 200km of a Flight Training Facility; 70% of those who left went to motor cycle clubs. Will have to wait for the formal results, but I thought perhaps the RPL might have had a bigger impact. AGM was good with about 40+ in the room and 50 by live streaming. News on MTOW increase, CTA, discussion on L1 training, Member's Charter, the new constitution etc. An aircraft register will be required under 149, the membership card will be phased out (when you can get your "proof of licence" up on the web, on smart phones etc). The new website launches 21 October where you can manage your details, pay your fees (there are options for 1, 2 & 3 year payments for aircraft and membership). There will be no members forum or discussion area. It is simply a business tool. It was remarked that the one thing that was growing was the age of members. Looking round the room, apart from Board and staff, I was one of the youngest. I met some forumites and got to put names to faces. Sue

I had a look at the RAA information sent with our membership/licence renewals - his is 1988 (when he registered the aircraft, but he was probably a member before that), and mine is 2001; however I have receipts from 1999 & 2000. In my case it might be moving from one category to another (I did a conversion on a Lightwing) however that is a year or so late for 2001. I had another theory about the membership number - that it was the same as the aircraft - but our Scout was 10-0298. The Karasport was 10-033 but was changed to 10-1382 (no idea why). This is probably all due to the early AUF not realising the future popularity of ultralights, not planning for the computer age, and perhaps losing some corporate knowledge and making odd decisions. For example, the number 033 may have been issued for three aircraft eg 10-033, 25-033, 32-033. Today that number is issued once only, allowing aircraft to move between categories. As I work through the old AUF magazines I might find some answers.

Interesting .... His card from 1992 (valid for 2 years) has "Membership No. 101523" and "Pilot Certificate No. 004446". According to John Brandon's history http://www.recreationalflying.com/tutorials/regulations/benchmarks.html there were 2400 members in 1990. I found some handwritten (Kalamazoo system) AUF receipts from the late 1980's - some with no detail apart from date, name and amount. I found one for 1988 for membership renewal and one for aircraft registration. John Brandon reports 1,150 members in 1987. So, at some point the Pilot Certificate number became the Membership number. It also appears that the certificate number exceeds the number of members at the time of issue. I am guessing there was some form of coding in the numbering. Eg 4 for Qld, or 10 to start off, being 95-10 (member number 1,523 seem more reasonable for the time than 101,523). Another theory - after the great Server collapse (when no one did a back-up and all the records had to be re-entered from paper files), perhaps it was easier to use the Pilot number rather than a separate member number? Sue

Add one more to the 70+. As both hubby and I use the same computer and user name we can only vote once. I got in first. Sue

Husband joined in the 1980's and has a membership number in the 4,400 series, I joined in 1999/2000 and have one in 13,000. His number seems a bit high for his join date, but I'll have a look through his early stuff to see what date he joined. I have invoices etc from 1981 - 1986 from Ron Wheeler & others, when he was building the Scout; and the initial registration from June 1988. Sue