numptie

I'm in Canberra too. If you just wanna chat about flying the Canberra Aero Club has drinks on a Friday afternoon, but they're pretty much all GA. Like Airsick said, Goulburn and Cooma for RAAus or you might think about Moruya on the south coast just past Bateman's Bay. And thanks for the tip about Weston, Ross. I didn't know about that .... might have to drop in some time. Bob

Sounds like a pretty good outcome. MM, I wonder whether you've thought of writing an article about this incident and the outcomes for Australian Flying or any other aviation magazine. This has been an issue between a recreational flyer and an airline operator but it is relevant to everyone who flies. For those of us who are in the GA world but aren't subscribers to this wonderful website this incident will never see the light of day. Bob

Excellent, must be great to have your pride and joy back. Jeez you were lucky, at least Rex only chatted for an hour or so. I took JUD down for an oil change a little while ago (during my first solo nav). Flew in at about 8am, got out of there to continue my nav at about lunch time. Lovely bloke Rex, but god he can talk. Many happy hours of flying folks Bob

I'd definitely be reporting it. At least the powers that be will have a record of it should it ever happen to anyone else, and it may aid in any future investigations for ADs etc. We had a similar problem in a Gazelle a few years ago. Ended up instead of using straight Glycol, the L2 used a 50/50 mix with water which was enough to raise the temperature sky high. Bob

Moruya gets a few REX flights in every day and bank runs etc. Most people down there give way to the RPT. Generally they're very appreciative and usually give a 'thanks JUD' even after they've landed. If, for me, the downside of giving wat to RPT is another 5 minutes in the air, then I'm more than happy to let them in. The thing I don't like is the minority of them who are full of attitude and believe that they legally have right of way just because they're bigger and on a straight in approach. Bob

That's fantastic Octave, isn't it such a fantastic feeling to take up your first pax .... especially when it's a family member. I'm glad he enjoyed it (probably not as much as you did though). Good luck and hope to see you next time I'm down there. Bob

I recently joined the Canberra Aero Club. I'm pretty sure their conditions of hire for MUW are that it can be used for training except for ab-initio. As far as I know it is NVFR rated. Have a look on the website, give them a call or come down to the airport on Saturday if you have time. They are doing a whole heap of renewals on a few different aircraft so they will have an independent ATO present. You can have a chat with someone to answer your questions. he other option is to go to Moruya for the NVFR. As for the PIFR .... don't know. Bob

One thing to consider at Moruya is that we now have a skydiving school operating from the aero club so you'll have to dodge free-falling meat bombs dropping through the clouds. But coming from Tooradin, you should be used to that. Bob

I grabbed a copy of the mag after seeing this thread and couldn't stop reading the article once I'd started. Obviously a situation we all hope we never get into. It was good to get the ATC perspective on what happened too. One never really thinks about what's going through their head during an incident and how it affects them. They appear so calm over the radio and organised all of the secondary tasks so the pilot could concentrate on just flying the plane, but afterwards were quite affected by the whole ordeal. Without their cool heads it would have been oh so different. Truly professionals!!!! Bob

Congratulations Octave ...... Brag as much as you like!!!! Such a great place to learn and do your test too. Bob

I know someone who, a number of years ago, had to put his aircraft down in a paddock due to a lack of fuel and bad weather. The paddock was a little boggy and he ended up doing a little bit of damage when he came down so straight away, he went to a farmhouse and made a few phone calls.....one of them to the insurance company. Among the first few questions they asked him were 'is the aircraft in a paddock? are there any cows in the paddock?' and 'have you erected a fence around it?', the answers to which where yes, yes and no. By the time he got back to the aircraft from the farmhouse he was ringing from there were cows everywhere rubbing up against the aircraft and doing about $4500 damage to it. The insurance company advised him to keep a portable electric fence in the aircraft at all times ...... not the sort of thing I would've thought of. Bob

Thanks everyone. Some interesting comments about CASA there. The ironic thing is.....I'm a public servant (obviously not CASA) and I hate Government Departments and the lack of urgency with which they all seem to do things.

My PPL test Just to update everyone on what happened after that solo trip, I didn't manage to get the test done when I wanted to. The weather turned bad on the day I had my test booked and I think CASA and BOM joined forces to stuff me around because every time (3 more times after the initial booking date) I had the ATO booked and ready to go for the PPL flight test, the wind and rain started. Finally I managed to get the test done on Saturday. Left YMRY for a flight through the Nowra GA lane, overflyinging Wollongong on to YSBK for a full stop and quick visit to the pilot shop. I didn't know Bankstown was such a busy place. At one stage we were 4th in line at the holding point with 3 aircraft in the run-up bay and another 9 lined up behind us waiting to go. Anyway, after an upwind departure from RWY 29R it was on to Goulburn and then down to Bateman's Bay and back to YMRY. The end result ..... Pass.....WOOHOO!!!! So now all I have to do is wait for CASA to scrutinise the paperwork, enter it into the database, forget to save the data, find out they've lost the original paperwork, send me a letter via snailmail telling me I have to redo all of the paperwork and send it back in, receive the paperwork only to realise they had it all in the first place, re-enter it in the database, leave it in the 'pending' folder for the mandatory two month rest period, print the license, loose it and re-print it, mail it out via China, Mongolia and the Chad and.......then get it in my mail box ready for me to go flying X-country. If nothing else, hopefully all of these handling inefficiencies and delays in CASA will give me a bit of time to save so I can hire an aircraft for a nice big trip. I can't wait!!!! :) Bob

I'd have to agree with your last comment ..... I come from QLD originally. I wonder whether this could actually be something Ian can set up .... an aviation media board. We could have two categories: one can be the incorrect and completely fabricated and the other (as HPD mentioned) can be the positive aviation stories.

Hi all, I was reading some of the comments in the "Ultralight crashes, bursts into flames at Morwell " thread and have seen many more comments in other threads about how many times the media makes completely stupid and incorrect statements and assumptions about 'ultralights'. Of course I'd have to agree with all of the comments I've seen. I always find it interesting that every single aviation incident that occurs is reported (mostly in a negative way) but never do we see any non-fatal accidents or near misses involving cars, motorbikes, buses etc etc. Perhaps what we should be doing is (as someone suggested) starting up a wall of shame and then maybe we can send some of these idiotic claims by the media into the ABC's Media Watch. I'm sure Monica Attard would have a field day with some of the inaccuracies that have come out in the papers and news. Food for thought!!!! Bob

Actually, I think you are right. 15 hours of dual and 5 hours of solo is the minimum. I end up doing 7 flights so I can go to a controlled airport and a GAAP as well. It'll end up a bit over 20 hours but I'm not too worried ..... time spent flying is time seldom wasted.

Thanks guys. Wish I would've taken photos last weekend when I went over Thredbo and Perisher Blue. Oh well, maybe next time. I'm not sure what the new requirement is Aussie Steve. I'm doing the GA cross country and I just do the 7 flights my CFI has in the schedule for me. One thing I do know is that if the weather holds out this weekend I'll be doing the test, and that will be the PPL over and done with. Then it's time to fly, fly, fly and continue learning.

Thanks. The other trips were longer and they went to Canberra, Goulburn, Wollongong then down through the Nowra GA lane back to Moruya. They were great trips too but I only took photos on the first solo. You're right, you should get the x-country done. It's amazing how different our wonderful country looks from a few thousand feet in the air and also amazing how different it can look from one day to the next. Bob

Hi folks, I've just spent four wonderful days at Moruya doing my cross country training. I managed to do one flight per day. Fantastic weather (most of the time) and absolutely awesome scenery. The photos are from my first solo trip on Tuesday. Moruya to Merimbula for a full stop to get an oil change and a cup of coffee. Then to Jindabyne where I found out there's still snow on the mountain tops. Then an overfly of Cooma and the dry desolate counrtyside around there tracking for Tuross Heads for some track crawling back to Moruya. All up 2.9 hours. Hope you all like the photos.

Sounds like an excellent day Kaz. Don't know what I'm doing wrong though...I've spent many a weekend around Moruya - Narooma and I haven't managed to catch a glimpse of any whales yet. Perhaps on a not-so-bumpy day we can look forward to some good whale photos. Bob

I can only go by what I've been taught. That includes what not to touch, what happens on engine failure on take off, immediately after take off both above and below 500ft, actions in the event of fire, actions on forced landing, actions on ditching in water, location of ALL lifesaving devices including emergency rations, flares etc, the usual harnesses, seat adjustments etc. If I have a passenger who has never been in a small aircraft I give them a bit of a running commentary while we're flying as well, seems to put them at ease a bit more and shows them I know what all the guages and switches means. I must say Ian, I've never thought of what happens if I have a heart attack or anything else that could put me out of action. I think that might freak some people out. Bob

That's great. Make sure you do go down there, the views are excellent. Make your way down the coast to Merrimbula and you may get the chance to spot a whale or two at the right time of year. Bob

I can only go by what my CFI told me I had to do only a couple months ago. I've had my RAAus certificate for a couple years now but before I could go solo in the 172 I had to do the GA BAK exam. Although the test wasn't all that big, it did go into a bit more depth than the RAAus test, e.g. weight and balance (as Ian mentioned) and a few other things. I still have to do the PPL cyber-exam and all of the cross country. It certainly doesn't hurt to do the study and then the GA BAK exam, I found I learned a lot.

Don't worry about how many hours it took, as long as you covered everything and you are confident in what you're doing. I already had my RAAus license and it still took me about 10 hours after that in a GA aircraft to get the GFPT. It's easy to say but try not to get stressed out about the GFPT. I just treated it like any other flight with an instructor on board. All you'll do is go through all of the things you should've been taught thus far. Just remember, 'just fly the plane'. Once you've finished it you'll think "why the hell was I so nervous". Good luck with it, let us all know how you go. Bob

May as well throw in my two bob's worth. In my experience (23 years of electronics and communications) I'd have to say the best way to go for performance is the BNC with the solder on pin. Unfortunately they can be a bit of a pain, a little fiddly and, as Glen mentioned, you have to make sure the insulation and dielectric are stripped back the correct amount. Luckily, Dick Smith electronics (and a number of others like Jaycar, but DSE is probably cheapest) sell coax strippers for about $20 and they'll do RG58, RG59 and a few others. Getting the crimp on type doesn't get around the requirement to strip the correct amount. It does make putting the connector on a little easier though because there's no soldering or screwing. You can buy a crimp tool (again at DSE or many other places) and a cheap one that will "do the job" is around $40. Whichever connector you get, make sure you prepare the cable properly, strip it back the right amount and make sure the cable is the right length. If it's for a radio antenna and it's not the right length, in extreme cases it can create standing waves which is not good for the output of the radio. The other option Knighty is to send it to me, I have all of the tools for the job sitting right here at home. Bob