crazy diamond

HI All, I'm interested in doing my trike rating and keen to purchase something to get me airborne. I am reading with interest though posts about requirements to overhaul engines every three hundred hours, and replaces masts etc every however long, realistically what is an average hourly operating cost taking all the things that need to be overhauled/replaced/repaired into account, I'd be looking at flying quite regularly, thanks.

There's no option for 6 minute markers :devil: Was always taught by my instructors 6 minute markers, I still remember Bill Whitworth giving me the rounds on 6 minute marker's over everything else. If it was good enough for Bill and the boys to pass on and have the reputation for IFR training they do then it's good enough for me ;).

Steve please pm me with some contact info, I would be keen to help Rod and you guys out up there if I can. Have a strong background in sales and marketing. I am not currently flying but keen to try to assist any way I can.

Hey guys how is Katoomba fairing these days?? With YHOX gone I would think YKAT would become slightly more popular?

G'Day Tomo, mate photography is all about perception in my opinion. Sure is the Temora Meteor. It is hard in there but just gotta slog it out mate, different angles gives different lighting etc etc. Just shoot as much as you can and you'll get one worth keeping. INGHAM ENTERPRISES CITATION C650.

Sorry not everyone likes em in Sepia, so here's one in full colour, B58 used by a Gentleman to take kids up on Fun Flight Day.

Hey there Skykid, I get into a bit from time to time, actually did the photography for Fun Flight 2008 in Sydney recently. I have a Flickr gallery but will post two of my fav's here first.

Some very nice machines you blokes have! My hangar has been expanding and decreasing for the past few months, as it stands right now I have a Phoenix Classic with a 46AX in it, Excelleron with a 55AX in it, profile foam Edge 540 that I use to 3d in the house, and an unbuilt Yak 54 electric which I am trying to sell!

Hey mate well done, you are lucky! That is my favourite place in the world up that way! Did you find the strip up there?

Thanks Darren, I first met him when I sold him some Basic Gas Turbine books on eBay a few years back, I offered to drop them off to him and as he lived not far from me at the time it was convenient, I thought it'd be a five minute trip, we ended up chatting for over an hour, the passion in is voice when telling me how he started out, the "fun" he'd have flying the Mojaves etc at Airtex without wx radar and chattering to the blokes in the big jet's for a look at weather...

Darren, Thanks for posting this, quite upsetting as I knew John, he was a top bloke, and I know he will be missed by many. Do you have any of the transmissions prior to him going off air?

Aww shucks thanks guys! Darren you wouldn't believe it, I only last mth paid up for a 3 year subscription!!! Doh!

IanR had the best comment I think, just let it go... Or you could fly an Aerostar, she just powers through it, bang bang bang no floating around in the PA60, actually it's a lot like driving over a bunch of speed humps at speed, I hated flying stuff like Warriors etc that seem to get caught and float around for ages....

There's a bloke who owns an Aztec VH PFD who I think will be pondering this right now "Getting busted at Jandakot in the Aztec with 77 MILLIONS BUCKS worth of drugs....".

Hi Ian, who won February?

Geez if anyone is interested I have most of the Australian Aviation mags except for the very first issues, missing a couple of the last year or so, and most Australian Flying dating back to mid 70's I wanna get rid of aswell as AOPA from mid eighties to now, drop me a line if you want them!

Mate as a regular of that OTHER site PPrUne, I would strongly advise you to go peek around there at the cadetships, there is a lot of info there, some good, some great, some not so good and other useless info but read it all and be informed, they're not all what they're cracked up to be, the way things are you could be better off doing your commercial and going off to the bush for 6 mths.

I've made waaaay too many to list and am still here go figure but this guy sounds luckier than some! http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/Videos/flightassist.mp3

Oz, good resource mate, anyone looking at buying and rebuilding Nathan Fergusons lancair should read that first!

Daz, Mate it's nothing personal, please and I beg you please keep up the stories on your own flights, they are great reads. I must admit I did read your commercial trip report, found it quite engaging, when I got to the end I sorta thought "hang on that was like reading about going for a ride on a bus, but with wings." But I still read it so I'm a goose. I know you o or used to frequent the YSSY Message Boards, they might find it more interesting.

Thanks Darren, I'm proud of them, not as good as some of the stuff on Airliners etc but I like em :-) How's ya been by the way? Your pics of the SY-OOL flight look quite nice too, I went up there last Friday morning came back Saturday night, Jetstar not VB unfortunately. My uncles flight before ours got sh1t canned, they had to leave at 0430 Sunday morning, what a bugger.

I really am a sicko aren't I, can I see more pictures of the hangar? Looks like Bonanza graveyard in there!!! Oh well, I always use "Trim set for T/O" and check it before every departure. On another note when some aircraft I flew had come out of maintenance I'd insist the engineer who'd worked on it come with me if it was a post maint. flight.

Someone mentioned bus trips, totally agree with whoever it was. Unless there was a mid air disaster and you (Not you Darren :-) but the writer) managed to survive and write about it maybe, but otherwise passenger trip reports on airliners are about as fun as watching paint dry. I mean it is different if you're sitting up the front perhaps but yeah.

My efforts... The Lockheed Hudson starting up at Temora on my visit in 2005. And Citation X VH-TEN at Mudgee in 2006. I don't know how to upload these as thumbnails so this size is the best I can get to fit the screen at the moment, original is about twice this size.

I've noticed a Ramphos in the hangar at Maitland, not from up there is it?