rgmwa

Leaving your log book at home and taking the photocopy would be safer. Or maybe scan it and put it on a memory stick?

rgmwa

Don't stress out too much Darky. You'll get there soon enough. Even if you finish everything, you're still at the mercy of the bureacracy. After I had done all my navs and the PPL exam, I still had to wait three weeks to get a booking with the testing officer, but you might be luckier. The only downside of going on holiday, is that you'll need to do a bit more practice when you get back. It's amazing how fast you can forget stuff when your mind is on other things.

rgmwa

I'm GA, and the misuse of the radio by those two irresponsible instructors would never be tolerated by the school (or the tower) where I did my training. That kind of behaviour is both unprofessional and potentially dangerous.

rgmwa

Andrew,

I haven't flown that particular leg heading all the way north past the city, but I'd stay just in from the coast on your way back at 1,500, and report your height and transiting intentions to Jandakot Tower on 118.1 while still south of Boatyard. That will also alert other pilots in the area who might be heading for Jandakot via Boatyard or Powerhouse or leaving via Freo Golf Course. Also call up Perth Radar on 135.25, tell them what you're doing and request traffic in your area. Lastly, keep a sharp lookout for other aircraft. The likely trouble spots will be aircraft coming in from your left at Boatyard and Powerhouse, and aircraft coming up from your right rear from Freo Golf Course. If you have a transponder, switch it on (1200).

rgmwa

Congratulations. That's a major milestone.

rgmwa

The main thing I wonder about is the cockpit design and size. Obviously, the RV7 isn't quite a wide as the SportStar, but I can live with that; I wasn't uncomfortable. Is the 6 cockpit any different, or smaller than the 7? (Not according to the numbers on the website, but numbers don't mean much is my experience.)

http://www.vansairforce.net/

rgmwa

Darky,

Plot the initial weight/CG point with no baggage. It should fall inside the envelope. Then pick a baggage weight that you know will be too heavy for the back seat or wherever, - say 100kg, and plot the new weight/CG point. This should now fall outside the envelope. Then join the two points with a straight line, and read off the total weight where that line crosses the envelope. Subtract that from your initial weight and that will give you the maximum baggage load that you can carry. I'm writing this from memory, so I hope I've explained it properly, but if not I'm sure someone will pick me up.

rgmwa

Hope you guys may be able to help me. I have a friend who is colour blind and is desperate to get up in the air. Medically he is fit and fine but has trouble discerning Green and Red.

rgmwa

It's good fun when you know where you are. Not so good when the place you're aiming for is not there when you arrive, if you know what I mean. A few tips that may help, although you probably know them already, and I'm sure there are plenty of others:

1. Leave it as long as you can to get the weather forecast so you have the most current wind speeds and direction

2. Plot the route and identify all the features you expect to see on the way well before you take off. And not just the ones close to the planned track, but also others you should be able to see from the air.

3. Set your heading promptly after you take off. A relatively small error or delay at the start can put you a long way off course later (speaking from experience).

4. Try to get a check on your drift, and make a course correction if required (1 in 60 preferably).

5. If all else fails, fly IFR (I Follow Roads/Railways). Not recommended by any VFR navigation instructor, but it may give you a clue if you get lost, which is remarkably easy to do when there aren't too many features around.

6. It's a great feeling when it all comes together, so have fun.

rgmwa

Engine fails in IMC over mountains on rainy overcast day after taking off from Redmond airport in the US. Pilot declares an emergency and flies the high performance light plane to an emergency landing.

Aircraft Engine Fail Part 1 and 2

rgmwa<HR style="WIDTH: 33%; COLOR: #ffffff; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" align=left SIZE=1>

Just be careful with the airline sickbags as after about 10 mins they go all soggy and the bum falls out of them (another story) so have a good plastic bag handy!

Oh well, back to Woolies then.

rgmwa

Warmbrak

PhotoMaps by NearMap[/url]

rgmwa

RV120346

Hey Warmbrak, rgmwa should have started building his RV-12 over west - that so rgmwa? I had the privilege to visit crashley's build last weekend. He will be flying in a month or two I reckon. He's done a great job with it, and his panel will be a cracker with a Dynon Skyview EFIS replacing the D180, a Garmin AERA replacing the 495 and an Icom IC-A210 comms/intercom. He's ditched the automotive fuse panel too.Seeing the aeroplane "in the flesh" and so close to completion gave me a real spurt to get on with mine. Thanks crashley.

 

Cheers, denmit

I'd like to have a panel that replaced fuses with circuit breakers, and I'm hoping that by the time I get to the avionics, VAN's will have upgraded the system. I'm not too fussy though. All the aircraft I've flown had steam gauges, so any kind of glass panel is new to me. However, I'm very happy with the quality of the kit, and with the choice of aircraft.

Warmbrak: The SAAA is organising a fly-in at Serpentine on 29 September. I'm driving down there to have a look, as there should be lots of RV's and other homebuilds there. Serpentine seems to be the local Mecca for builders, and there are all types of planes under construction or being restored. My RV-12 is still a collection of parts in crates at the moment, so there's very little to see. If you're interested in catching up at the fly-in, send me a PM.

rgmwa

RV120346

My aero club has them, so if there's a decent sized club or flying school near you, you may be able get some there. The snaplock bags are probably just as good if not better anyway, although the sick passenger would probably prefer a non-transparent bag. I carry a couple of sick bags in my headset bag kindly 'donated' by Qantas. Or was it Virgin?

rgmwa

Bob Tait (link below) publishes a series of text books that are widely used in flight schools. John Brandon also had a series of very good tutorials on the RA-Aus website, but when I checked just now, they have been taken off the site. Anyone know the reason?

rgmwa

Welcome to Bob Tait's Aviation Theory School

PS. here's an on-line reference I came across that may be useful:

http://www.av8n.com/how/

Stinson and Langley Park

What's the story with that centre photo? Not often you see a plane taxiing next to what looks like major roads.

As sseeker said, the centre photo was take at Langley Park in Perth during a fly-in organised late last year to commemorate the life of Nancy Bird-Walton. It's a beautifully restored 1935 Stinson coming in to land. Langley Park is on the north bank of the Swan River, just in front of the city buildings, and it's a spectacular location for an airstrip. It's only used on special occasions these days, and is where the Red Bull aircraft take off from (or did, until they decided to cancel the event for the time being).

It's also where Sir Norman Brearley based his aircraft when he started the first commercial air service operating from the Perth in the early 20's. Kingsford Smith was one of his pilots for a time, until he got the sack for being too unreliable.

rgmwa

Hi and welcome from another West Australian. I haven't been here that long either, but it's a great site. Sounds like you've already got a runway, so I'm sure you'll get that aircraft before too long. Good luck to both of you with your flying.

rgmwa

Here's a few

[ATTACH]11679.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]11678.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]11677.vB[/ATTACH]

Can't figure out how to make them bigger in this post, so thumbnails will have to do.

rgmwa

PS: Ah, double clicking works

A real 'the ride of your life'. was it ever used operationally?

rgmwa

Sure is Tomo. And what the hell is that in image number 32. volunteer for that one would you?

rgmwa

Here's an impressive display of aviation history:

http://www.cdsg.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=320

rgmwa

Congratulations Mick. It's a real buzz. I did the same trip last year. Even better than first solo, which left me with a big grin too. Better still is when they let you fly off by yourself on your first solo nav down to Boddington and Bunbury and back via Boatyard. Not to mention taking up your first victim, err passenger.

rgmwa

Plenty of good choices but for what it's worth:

A. RV12

B- RV8 or Tiger Moth

C- RV10 (does only 4 seats count as a people mover?. If not, then the TC320 looks good)

rgmwa

Andrew

Hi,Intersting that you use the WAC in the cockpit. I would've thought the next best thing from the VTC would be the VNC? Do you find the WAC more useful?

 

-Andrew

Making a composite map takes a bit of time initially, but you end up with a lot of useful information in one place. The down side is that reading fine detail on a small scale map in an unsteady cockpit is not easy.

I'm still working on that one!

rgmwa

Rudi is a well known contributor to the VAF Forums website, and is regularly updating his post on the group who are building the RV12. It's generating quite a bit of interest. South African RV-12 Enthusiasts Build Group - VAF Forums

There is also an article in one of the recent RVator magazine's on VAN's website that explains how the ownership and responsibilities of one group were handled. This may be of interest to anyone contemplating this approach: http://vansaircraft.com/RVator/2010/2-2010-RVator.pdf The RV-12 seems to be a good candidate for a group build due to its completeness as a kit. Engine, FF and avionics are all included, and it doesn't take 2000+ hours to build.

My understanding is that you need at least a PPL, a suitably equiped plane (radio and transponder), and Controlled Airspace endorsement to fly into CTA. I don't think it matters whether it's VH or RAA registered.

rgmwa

RV120346