FlyingVizsla

With all the euphoria about Temora and now Monto, what about our Western membership (SA, NT, WA)? Could a RAAus have a fly-in somewhere west? As Basscheffers points out in the thread on RAA membership at 11 Jan 2010 - SA has the best ratio of pilots per population, followed by NT. I remember at one Natfly hearing the Board saying that WA was the fastest growing sector just after the magazine went on newstands.

So where would it be held? Any suggestions? Any support for it?

Sue

RAAus Northern Fly-in at Monto 12-13-14 June (Queens Birthday weekend). See my post in Navigation - Trip Planning and in Events Calendar. It will be in the May RAA magazine and also has its own website. Will see you there.

Sue

Hi Jim,

Welcome on board! We have a couple of 95-10s, a Karasport and a Scout. Bubbleboy on this site is building a Pietenpol Air Camper - I have had a look at his website - he might be able to help you with sourcing parts.

The people here are good friendly types so you should get plenty of help.

Sue

Nothing on the RAAus site yet so this is what I got in the mail -

Weather averages for Monto Airport in June high 22.5 to low 5.7 degrees C, wind speed 9am 4.4km/h, 3pm 7.5km/h, mean rainfall 24.9mm, 2.9 rainy days.

Monto also has its Monto Festival on at the same time (that's why accommodation is booked out), Rodeo, Street parade, Craft & art markets - surrounding towns have events on too. Airstrip is about 4.5km out of town, it does get below zero on some nights.

Sue

Got a slip with my membership renewal - its official - There will be a Queen's Birthday RAAus fly-in at Monto Qld 12-14 June 2010.

We are packed and ready - just have to decide how many of our fleet we can get there. Down side is that the nights get really cold in June.

Who else is coming?

Sue

Hi Rotaryman,

Welcome to the site! My cousin Steve who was born a week after me and grew 2ft taller is a chopper pilot and source of some ribbing (fixed Vs rotary). There are a number of chopper pilots on this site and it is good to get some diversity. Your experience and knowledge will be very valuable. If you look around the site there are discussions going on about radio procedures, circuits, reporting incidents, navigation technique, airmanship, legislation etc - all of which you would know off the top of your head and could really help out those starting out.

There's heaps on here and they are a friendly lot.

Sue

Radio procedures in AIP

• Go to Tomo's link (to Airservices AIP on line)
   
   
  
• select Enroute
   
   
  
• Scroll down the Table of Contents to 21.Radio Communications ..
   
   
  
• Click on this - it takes you to the body of the AIP
   
   
  
• Make a cuppa and settle back for a big read.
   
   
  
• Summarise it and post it here for all the time poor aviators..
   
   
  

Regards

Sue

RAAus aircraft - I have seen a number of trip reports on the forum where RAAus registered planes were cruising above 5,000 ft amsl (eg 8,500). My understanding of the following (taken from the RAAus website) is that above 5,000 is only for crossing the range or real tiger country - not simply for travelling above the bumps and getting better fuel economy. There are a good number of RAAus aircraft that are suited to above 5,000 operations and this is why there is some celebration in the ranks about the mooted lifting of the restriction.

QUOTE

# RA-Aus aircraft operations should be confined to airspace below 5000 feet amsl. CAO 95.55 paragraph 5.1 (a) states that "the aeroplane may be flown 5 000 feet above mean sea level or higher:

"(i) only if it is flying over an area of land, or water, the condition, and location, of which is such that, during the flight, the aeroplane would be unable to land with a reasonable expectation of avoiding injury to persons on board the aeroplane; and (ii) only if it is equipped with a radiocommunication system"

CAO 95.10 and CAO 95.32 contain the same wording.

# All aircraft, including ultralights, operating above 5000 feet amsl, must be equipped with a serviceable VHF radio; and the pilot, with an appropriate radio endorsement, must make the broadcasts specified in AIP Book.

The upper limit for unpressurised GA registered aircraft is 10,000ft.

Feel free to correct me or add some wisdom.

Sue

Hi Dave,

Welcome! I know what you mean - owning more planes means less flying - certainly does for us as we have one in the trailer waiting on a refurbishment, one on the plans and one finished a couple of years ago that still gets tinkered with more than flown.

Thrusters are great little machines - I never flew one, but was a passenger out at Longreach and Barcaldine when I was with the various aero clubs out there. My first time with the head in the wind I nearly lost the headset, you really get the feeling of going somewhere as compared to my closed cockpit on the C152. We did flour bombing, spot landings, toilet paper cutting - heaps of fun we don't do any more. Where did it all go?

You'll enjoy it here - they are a great bunch.

Sue

The boss has his Karasport (single seater 95-10) which he wants me to fly because it is such fun. I was sorting out his filing and discovered he also owned a Wheeler Scout in the 1980's. He deregistered it and stored it in a shed so I have asked if it is restorable - we will look next time we go there. We need to make the effort to get our 95-10's to fly-ins to show we are still there. It might be because new pilots just don't see anything but the Jab they learned in and simply don't know about the cheaper options.

Sue

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,

To all who have posted photos, especially Mr H. My better half has decided to go next year although his work means he will be coming off night shift the day before we have to leave. He liked the tradition of Narromine and prefers the bottom end of RAAus and thought both were lost in Temora (so decided to boycott). Now he has seen the photos and read the reports, he is keen to go. A win! We are now thinking of bringing a couple of our planes to shore up the rag & tube brigade. We will also be at the Northern fly-in Queens Birthday weekend wherever it is held (Gayndah or Monto last I heard on the forum).

Ta

Sue

Hi All,

I hate talking about the ugly side but I have noticed the rise in scams targeting aircraft owners and pilots. It seems "Nigeria" has recently discovered us. Some pilots and a couple of other Clubs and forums I am involved with have been contacted. It works like this:

• General request for help to buy something with an untraceable email (@yahoo, @hotmail etc).
   
   
  
• Your email goes on a list of gullible people which is sold to other scammers
   
   
  
• A reply which (for all sorts of reasons, corruption, secrecy, urgency etc) asks you to help by transferring money - they need your bank account details
   
   
  
• The money starts arriving in your account and you are requested to transfer it electronically or wire it to an overseas or untraceable person.
   
   
  
• The Australian police charge you with money laundering.
   
   
  

The scammers rely on some form of synergy, and if they are good at it, appear to be "just like you", a keen pilot intent on building a small charter business, or trying to get a decent plane for themselves (and then another, and another). The more sophisticated scams will string you along, talk pilot jargon, send pictures of me and my plane (really someone else lifted off the internet), then eventually start the money transfer scam. By that time you are thinking this is a nice guy from overseas for whom you will bend over backwards to help.

It may also work where they convince you to "loan" some money to get them out of strife (their entire fleet just went up in smoke and they need to hire replacements - don't worry we will pay you back when we get the new planes and the charter money comes in).

Be careful out there ...

Sue

Hurry up and post some photos please - my better half has been hassling me for news from Natfly since Thursday and I can only pass on a couple of old blogs from Flying Tigers and Temora Aero Club. I have to justify all this time I spend on the computer!

Sue (wish I was there but it was too far)

I had a look at the Multimodal safety article (supposedly by Steve Tizzard) posted by Woodduck - I am somewhat appalled at the research - quoting a appocrophal speech by Bill Gates - a quick check on any Urban legends page would show Bill had nothing to do with it. And quoting something from spam email ... totally unreferenced. Any academic article should be substantiated by reference to authorative literature - no anecdotal comments from heaven knows where ... And a reference to fatalities in a "recent 10 year period" What/when? I just hope it was not supposed to be taken seriously. Any of my lecturers would have given me a fail if I had submitted that.

I think the ultralight people are in for some pain as the emphasis turns to hours and more rigorous training regimes and administration, that someone has to pay for, and less fun and freedom.

Oh dear.

We can't make it - it is a bit too far this year which means we would only get there for Sat and then have to leave for the 2 days back (we would be in a "proper" aircraft). Hoping the Northern Fly-in happens in Qld on Queens Birthday weekend.

I had a fly in one of Jabiru's exhibits some Natfly ago - couldn't see out, couldn't reach anything but got measured up for a tailor made job - they are pretty accommodating with that kind of thing. Unfortunately it would be divorce if I got one now as my Chief Pilot & PIC doesn't like them - jealousy I think - I can stand under the wings while he can only look over them.

Best wishes to all who get there - only wish I could too.

Sue

See Dogs in aeroplanes by Kaz in Gen Discussion forum (don't know how to link to it) as this is a good discussion on the issues of taking your dog. Requires CASA permit & $$s. Also be kind to your best friend - use muttmuffs to protect their sensitive hearing. That big brown Vizsla flew everywhere with me and seemed to lay down and "sleep" until I discovered this was his way of coping with uncomfortable noise levels - I had my gel seal David Clarks and I still ended up with ringing in the ears. Some airports won't let you take the dog airside, even in a harness and leash for fear that they will get loose and trip up something expensive.

The big boy loved flying and would load himself way before it was time to go even in heat over 45 C, so I got smart, preflighted, parked at the gate and then got him. If he knew the plane might go out he got all excited. He went to doggie heaven in August, but I would have another Vizsla (pronounced Veesh-la) any time, but the boss is still grieving over his labrador who went 16 days before mine and can't face having another one we might lose. The three died of old age in under 5 months - was not a happy house for a while.

When I have a pup I take it out to the strip (back before all this security stuff) and teach him what to do around planes. Never to approach the front where the prop might be moving, not to fang the twitching fuel line, always approach and load from the rear of the aircraft, not to go away from me no matter what the antics of friends or hares & roos (that was the hard part - they are hunters and curious). All this paid off in a well behaved passenger.

Good luck with your dog

Sue

Whisky IV plans are on their way from the States. The adventure begins....

Sue

I just got the RAAus mag and read the article - where is this big crash of membership numbers due to non renewers? There's a 23% growth over 12 months in members and 8.3% growth in aircraft registrations. From 2007 - 2009 there was an average 18.8% growth, so it has actually gone up, not down.

So where is our problem? I know people who have not renewed - so I guess we are growing much faster than 23%, and retaining membership.

Sue

Regarding people unhappy and not renewing membership - Part II

Another issue which runs deeper - People don't like change - seems the older you get the more so (you can shoot me now... I'm over 50)

RAAus is changing, and the way they do business is too. I went through this in an earlier post regarding RAAus and should their representatives have management training etc.

When the organisation was small and young, everyone was a volunteer and there were few rules. There were few enough that most knew each other. Fatalities and accidents were high but AUF fought for advances that made the sport safer (2 seat trainers, higher cruise levels etc). Some look back at this as the golden age - minimum rules, great friendships, lots of innovation and experiementation (and they were in their prime).

Then the world moved on - not just aviation - workplace rules, plans, safety, regulation etc. I have pictures from 30 yrs ago with our workforce in singlet & shorts, sandals, no hat, with cigarette. Same workplace now steel capped boots, hard hat with leigonairs flaps, long strides, orange reflective shirts, leather gloves, safety specs, hearing protection, blue, pink & ID cards hanging round the neck, safety site induction or you can't work and the first half hour of every day is spent going through the safety assessment, then the next is record keeping and reporting against key indicators and doing staff communications and assessments.

Its not surprising that aviation has gone the same way. By increasing the weight limit in order to improve safety (carry 2 and plenty of fuel etc) it opened the door to more aircraft. The organisation got bigger and it could no longer be run by part time volunteers - paid staff started to arrive. Then the world's love affair with paperwork, safety regulation etc meant more staff, but we also gained more members and aircraft as the RAAus was seen as being less bogged down in this stuff than GA. We are a little to blame for our own success.

The way RAAus does business changed too - as a result Natfly is no longer synonymous with Narromine - some are not happy. It hasn't been forgiven for changing from AUF (which rolled off the tongue) to Ah-Ray-Oss (which doesn't).

Has the magazine changed? I grabbed the first "old" AUF mag I laid my hands on - Aug 1992 B&W 40 shiny pages, ads on nearly every page (3,000 members). Surprisingly the content isn't much different - the airworthiness guy getting up pilots who don't put in defect reports, a rant on illegal low flying, articles on flying techniques, trip reports, reports by AUF reps, over 2 pages on HORSCOTS/CAA/AUF regs and policy, A page on FAI/AUF relationship, classifieds, events etc. The biggest change is colour and photographs, more press release stuff and a more professional image.

For those looking for historical prices Tocumwal was offering $69/dual, Spring Creek $85/dual, Holbrook $78 trike dual, $42 solo, Thruster $15,990, Quicksilver from $23,800, Aerochute $12,500.

I have complaints at home about RAAus getting away from the grassroots - but same gentleman owns 2 aircraft he wouldn't have in his ideal AUF. And I am GA and wishing and hoping I can get my tinnie into the fold.

So the issue is complex (why people are not renewing) given the aspirations I hear around me. Some don't like the way the world is going and would like their organisation to stop and not follow, some miss the camaraderie, feel lost in a larger organisation, miss the chance to do what you feel like and be responsible for your own safety (although an adverse outcome impacts on all members), resent over regulation and more paperwork from HQ. And some have moved on in life and have other priorities - how many did we lose in the 1970's to work and committment to young families? Remember we are now seeing the baby boomers moving past retirement and possibly reassessing their ability to continue flying.

That's my second depressive moment for today. Maybe we can start a thread on Then & Now to compare prices etc.? I fear we were getting a little off topic. I have confidence that RAAus will come out of this the better for the experience.

Sue

I too have heard rumblings from members about how RAA is now all about the plastic fantastics and GA. This is mostly from people who came up from the rag and string single seat era. I know some people who are not renewing, or reluctantly renewing, or wishing they could be their own small group again.

This is what I am hearing:

• Too much info required at renewal (hours flown etc) usually from people who are not into form filling or resent having to report anything to anyone, or are suspicious as to what CASA/RAA are going to do with the info (is someone going to compare your log book with annual statement).
   
   
  
• The need for the Human Factors exam by September - can't see why they need this rubbish, been flying safely for years, long way from any flying instructor (inconvenience & cost), text book is too hard to understand, no idea what HF is - only heard it is a load of hogwash - don't know where to start and have no motivation to do so.
   
   
  
• They resent what they see as restrictions on their freedom and fear further over regulation. They perceive a shift in AUF/RAA as moving more towards CASA and away from their grassroots/members.
   
   
  
• Feeling disengaged from the organisation (I certainly was until I found this forum), no longer knowing or meeting our reps. I remember meeting Middo & Myles at least once a year at the aero club, now I don't see anyone because we don't have a school at our strip.
   
   
  
• Ancillary to these issues - their aircraft is not flyable or for sale, they have not flown for a while and the above is the catalyst for a non renewal.
   
   
  
• Frustrated and angry about non RAA issues - ASIC, alcohol testing (not the test itself but the rules - worried or annoyed that you can't take your hangover to the strip and polish the plane and other scenarios)
   
   
  

Surprisingly no one has said "I can't afford it" as the cost has not risen that much compared with other fees & charges (car rego etc). I have seen Aero club fees rise due to Councils/strip owners wanting higher public liability. Ours rose from $60 to $500 last year with more to come when the lease is renewed this year. There was some complaining but the members renewed - the club was small enough to be transparent, responsive to members, executive enthusiastic and good communicators.

While I do not condone rude or aggressive behaviour towards RAA staff, I think this is showing people frustrated with the organisation and not having an outlet for it. Perhaps an analysis of their complaints might give more insight into the problems. I suspect a tick box will end up with people ticking the easy answer (Cost?) rather than have to explain the real reason and maybe deal with some uncomfortable emotions.

The usual disclaimer - hope things can improve.

Sue

The pilots before Houdini

From the book "Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men" Peter Fitzsimons Published by Harper Collins 2009.

Page 48 "In fact, Englishman Colin Defries briefly left the ground in a Wright Flyer three months earlier in Sydney, as did L.J.R. 'Jack' Jones at Emu Plains, while two South Australians, Bill Wittber and Fred Custance, also fleetingly lifted off the ground near the town of Bolivar in a Bleriot aeroplane, the latter, reportely, just the day before Houdini - although there is no doubt Custance crashed the machine. But it would be some time before these feats became widely known, and it is certain that the man who captured the public imagination as the first man to fly in Australia was Harry Houdini."

Page 45 Refering to Houdini's attempt "Nigh on three weeks earlier, on this very field, in his eagerness to be the first man aloft in Australia, an American by the name of Ralph C. Banks had ignored that rule [too windy] and promptly crashed straight after take-off ..."

Houdini saw the financial opportunities of flying when Bleriot flew the Channel and was awarded a 1,000 pounds and feted by nobility and thousands of people. He then looked for a country in which he could be the first to fly and settled on Australia, right when Australia was looking for a flyer. He brought his magic show to Australia and signed a contract for 20,000 pounds with promotor Harry Rickards provided he made ten flights in Australia each of more than five minutes duration. He did this in front of reporters and public - it was a show.

He announced (and was reported in the press) "I am the first man to have flown in Australia ..." page 47 He and the promotor moved the show to Rosehill Racetrack in Sydney and charged the public one shilling each to watch. After a week he returned to the USA a rich man and never flew again.

More on Jack Jones in "Australia's First Aviator" Peter Finlay, Aero Australia Issue No.14, 2007.

The debate on who was first to fly in Australia will rage on...

Sue

Thanks - it is May - I have changed the original post. This is what night shift does to you. We can't get there as I have Scout training and the Springsure Show starts the week after (I'm Treasurer - getting prizes, trophies, sponsors, together) and husband is working. Good little Club who are trying hard to make a go of it in the face of rising costs - their lease with Council is up for renewal soon and it looks like Public Liability insurance may have to rise substantially. They also maintain the strip & surrounds and clean the toilets etc. A top job.

All the best for Sunday 16th May from 7:30am.

Sue

As listed in the Events calendar - Childers Qld is having an Entertaining Breakfast Sunday 16th MAY (not March as in my earlier post) 2010. Breakfast, bush poets, music and more $10 a head.

See Events for details on times, RSVP & contacts for the Isis Flying Club Inc (who recently had their hangars broken into - see Theft from Childers). Last I heard the breakfast & entertainment would be held in hangars, although they have a good al fresco BBQ area in bushland. Bike tracks, old pony club, cricket grounds etc adjoin the airstrip, short trip to town. Good grass strip, plenty of parking, toilets, seating etc. Promoted as a family day.

Did mine and got the certificate - looks good, no rubbish. The materials need a spell checker and I got one question wrong - a bit of a cryptic clue and not the answer I would be expecting (I would not leave a placard stating 80% on the filler and then expect 50/50% mix - but this is the US). Videos are good - you only watch one each frame - don't worry about the playlist that appears after it runs, these are picked up one at a time through the lessons. You can actually do it all just by reading the notes below (particularly useful if you have a slow connection).

The mutterings from the peanut gallery suggested a much more indepth interpretation of the finer points of Rotax 912 operation beyond this basic course, but I now have THE PIECE OF PAPER and that makes me the EXPERT!!! So There! .... Marital bliss returns ....

Sue

Might be getting it confused with the mooted RAAus Northern Fly-in for Queens Birthday 2010 either Monto or Gayndah. See the posts under Governing Bodies, RAA, on the forum.

Sue