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sfGnome

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Everything posted by sfGnome

  1. sfGnome
    I just booked underwing, so there was at least one spot left (until I took it... )
  2. sfGnome

    Here we go!!

    sfGnome replied to pudestcon's topic in Thruster

    Geez, looks like Grandpa's old axe - just replace the head and handle and it's as good as new! Looking forward to seeing the pics
  3. sfGnome
    Like Dex, I have a ring-around list when I go, but if I'm going to be 'practising my scales' then I don't drag anyone along. When I first got my cert, I had lots of people wanting to come along for a ride so I just told them that I'd be happy to take anyone anywhere in Aus, but they had to pay half costs. Strangely, the requests dried up instantly. Now I just get to take the people I ask, and I haven't asked anyone for a cent yet.
  4. sfGnome
    I reckon the Rex jockeys would have enjoyed that call
  5. sfGnome
    Ok, we've ascertained that it's only a hypothetical question for the reasons that cfi gave, but that aside, DJH has hit the nail on the head. Get down in one piece without endangering others, worry about the paperwork afterwards. On the subject of ATC at a major airport, if you stray into controlled space, they'll start re-routing the RPT away from you immediately (which is why they hate incursions - it costs the airlines a bomb and it screws up the timetables). They aren't the slightest bit worried about your safety, but the safety of the 300 passengers on the bus you're about to blunder into is of far more interest. The pleasing side effect is that you get to live as well...
  6. sfGnome
    It's easy, Darky. Just hit the magneto switches sometime. Hey presto, gliding...
  7. sfGnome
    Cool. Any (publishable) reason for the change of scenery?
  8. sfGnome
    Good on you, Hildy. Now it's time to change the 'Airstrip' and 'Aircraft' entries over there on the left...
  9. sfGnome
    Thanks David. I use the weatherzone pages a lot in planning when to book an a/c, but I'd missed the 24hour graphs up till now (and I've tended to rely only on the BOM forecasts - TAF & Area - for the flying days). One more for the armoury!
  10. sfGnome
    That was the interesting thing about Friday morning. YSCN metar claimed 3kts, taf predicted a little more, and the windsock told a very different story. Pity the windsock isn't available on-line Kicking myself now that I didn't grab the opportunity to do some circuits with an instructor...
  11. sfGnome
    We're intending to fly in and camp under wing, but if the weather doesn't play ball then we'll be driving. It's pretty hard to camp under the wing of a car... To avoid distracting the fine folk at RAA, does anyone know whether you can still camp at the airport if the transport you arrive in never climbs above zero AGL?
  12. sfGnome
    A watched pot never boils Hildy... :nonono: (but geez, the waiting's a bummer, eh?) I drove 1 1/2 hours yesterday to fly, got to the strip only to turn around and go home again (there goes 3 hours I'll never get back). Still, it was the right decision. Strong, gusty wind 90 deg to the strip, and no suggestion that it was going to get any calmer. The joys of having a weather-dependent hobby. Please, please, please have nice weather over Easter...
  13. sfGnome
    Interesting (lack of) forward view from the Pietenpol. You'd think they could have found somewhere else to put the radiator. Beautifully made though, isn't it?
  14. sfGnome
    Thanks!
  15. sfGnome
    Cool Hildy! Was that first solo? And apart from getting to 1000AGL before turning crosswind, did it make a difference to the trim? I've never noticed the presence of a passenger affecting the trim before - climb yes, but not trim.
  16. sfGnome
    Whatever your instructor says, Hildy!
  17. sfGnome
    You last that long? Lucky sod...
  18. sfGnome
    Yep, Hildy. Same plane that I was talking about. As for the glide approaches, I'll bet that most of your approaches are already 'glide'. How much do you fiddle with the power? Probably not much if at all. The best landings come from a nice clean set-up in the first place. The only difference with a glide approach is that you're missing your security blanket.
  19. sfGnome
    As of this morning, I've decided that you can't generalise about models (well, Der! took me a while ). I've been alternating between a J160 and an LSA-55 and found the LSA to be a fairly sweet little thing, but this morning I took out a different one and it was a pain in the backside to fly. So, when someone tells you that one model is better than another, ask 'em which particular plane they're talking about...
  20. sfGnome
    Good stuff Tomo! :thumb_up:
  21. sfGnome
    Yen: Yep, the thread started with a discussion of an extra couple of $ per year, but it pretty quickly degenerated into how everyone is being forced into these newfangled restrictions at great cost, and I just can't see how anyone is begin forced to do anything. I assume that there's something I'm missing because I wasn't around then. Methusala: Again, I don't understand. You do have the freedom to fly without ASIC and ADSB. You can fly without a Radio. What freedom don't we have that you're wanting?
  22. sfGnome
    Can I ask a serious question? I'm not trying to be controversial - I really don't know the answer. If I wanted to fly a minimal a/c at low heights in the back blocks never straying too far from home, then I'd have to pay my RA membership & Rego. I wouldn't have to pay for any radios and transponders, etc. How is this different from the old 300' and never cross a road rules of the old days? How have the costs for minimal a/c increased?
  23. sfGnome
    I can still remember the day I finally remembered to add carby heat without being reminded. Why is that the hard one to remember?? Now you've got me intrigued. What possible job is there that could be better than flying? I've got a great job, but if flying paid the bills then work wouldn't see me for dust! p.s. Back on your gps logging question, I should have mentioned that while gps is remarkably accurate in the horizontal plane, it is much less so in the vertical. Large absolute errors and variations over time are common in the elevation, so even if you wanted to review that aspect, it just isn't worth it. The only value I've found in looking at the elevation trace is to count the number of circuits I did...
  24. sfGnome
    Oops! Sorry. How embarrasment...
  25. sfGnome
    I recall back when I was an apprentice, one of the engineers telling stories of his mini cooper which was tuned for Avgas (he was a keen skydiver, so just filled it up once a week at the airport). Apparently his favourite trick was to take Yank servicemen our here on R&R for a drive through the mountains. Not only had they never seen a car that small, they'd never gone around a corner that fast either...
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