Chukcha

This is actually an A-20, not A-22. And it was a nice surprise, too - I was pretty sure that there were no A-20's in Australia, at least none was imported into the country through the regular channels.

Philthy, thanks for the comment on A.net It is the only aircraft of this type in Australia. The owner bought it in a secondhand shop somewhere in Asia:

I didn't know it was allowed in recreational aviation to carry a photographer strapped to the wing . Excellent photo, Ultralights! Kinda made my day.

Thanks, guys. It is made to look like a radial; actually, I believe, it is a Rotax inside. With pictures of this sort, I always try to catch a glimpse of the pilot if possible :)

Thanks for choosing my photo! Very nice surprise :) . Cheers, Chukcha

This is also Paul Bennet:

Thanks, Phil :) .

Morning in Strahan, Tasmania

At the Jamestown Fly-In & Air Spectacular 2009, Day One.

Andy, Yes, I've written "a couple of passengers", but I actually meant one at a time :) . There are a couple of guys who would love to go up in the Jabiru, but they are a bit too heavy, and taking them up, even if one at a time , would mean really pushing the MTOW. Considering that my own weight is around 95 kilos, I have to be carefull when I fly with a passenger. Andrei

Well, maybe I am :) . I wanted to do it in the J170, but the only one we have was booked out for three Saturdays ahead, and Saturday morning is the only time when I can do it. Only the J160 was available, and I definitely didn't want to wait another three weeks.

I know, but most of my flight only require up to a couple of hours endurance. As I've written above, it is always a compromise, a trade-off - you gain something, but you lose something instead. Yesterday I had to do my BFR. did it in the J160 - it was so nice to fly after the J170...

That was my point exactly. The J170 is supposed to have better short field performance than the J160, but at high approach speed it goes out the window. One thing I do like about the J170 is the higher MTOW and load capacity. I can take up a couple of passenger that seemed to heavy for the J160.

Thanks, David. I'll try it next time. I personally think that my instructor's recommendations of 60 knots approach speed come from the 'better safe than sorry' principal. We have very long runways at YGAW, and he would rather have me float a little than stall it on the approach :) . Thanks everyone for your input, it was interesting to hear other pilot's opinions. Andrei.