rdarby

I have an RA-Aus Piot Certificate with cross country endorsement, so passed all the Ra-Aus exams. I find my knowledge of theory is diminishing over time, and I like studying, and I might one day want a PPL, so want to do the PPL exams. I understand I need to pass a BAK exam and a PPL exam? I have been looking at books for home study but there are a lot out there. Specifically I have looked at the Dyson-Holland ones as I used those for RA-Aus, but there are multiple volumes and they all look the same to me. Does anyone know which are recommended books, or which are the DH ones actually needed? Thanks for the help Ryan

First you talk slower. Then you talk louder. Then you wave your hands as you talk. If they still can't understand, they arn't worth talking to. And that is how you communicate with anyone South of Queensland. Says Ryan who only came here for the weather!

anything that moved, thereby missing out on the real reason for being at the movies. Nana had taken the kids to the movies to make sure they saw "Airplanes", due out in 2013. She knew it would be more relevant than "Cars" but wasn't quite sure about which year it was. Since "Airplanes" wasn't actually showing, she decided to let the kids see...

Awesome landing. You have now joined a very small part of the population who has solo'd a plane. Well done. Also you have inspired me to make sure I go flying this weekend!

I've got a booking for Sunday morning. Does anyone know of anything going on on Sunday in SE Queensland? Cheers Ryan

Teckair, he probably went for what was flat and straight, that may have been the best option. No one is going to to aim for a built up area on purpose, but in a glider you don't have much choice, and that country road looked pretty good until he hit a pole. I think he did well.

Something else to consider is the seat loading allowed by the manufacturer. Some seats are only built to withstand a certain weight. I once had a 130kg passenger, and since I am a lot lighter we were well within the MTOW for the overall aircraft. But on checking the manual, the seat was not designed to handle anyone over a lower weight. So you may take off but break something, or find in an accident it comes loose. Ryan

For me it's what you don't find. I have found loose spats before. First what I didn't find was that the flaps didn't work. I selected full flaps and gave them a wiggle. All good. At the holding point before taking off I select first stage of flap and this time the lever is just loose like it's not connected to anything. A spring had come loose in it. The preflight didn't detect this, and couldn't. Second was years ago flying an Avid Flyer. Part of the prefligth was to push on the metal frame and see if it moved, to see if a strut or spar etc. had come loose. I did that and didnt' detect anything. Taxing out the instructor asked if I felt the plane was bouncing like a boat? We got out and he cut some fabric away with his pocket knife, and there was an old repair on one of the four fuselage spars that had been SPOT WELDED to join it again, and had now come loose. My preflight should have picked that up if it was broken at the time. As a result I have the fuz of the SportStar a good hard shove on my first preflight with it, much to the horror of the instructor! Ryan

I've got the SportStar booked for Ausfly. I'm going to go down with the dealer. Come buy a SportStar! Now to get accomodation. Anything I should avoid, I've never even been to that part of the country. Does anyone know if you can hire cars in Narromine? Cheers Ryan

Or so Planedriver hoped, as the recent feelings of good will on the forum had lead him to think of Christmas, what with it being almost July and all, and he really hoped that Santa's slay would not be infested with termites, but more importantly that when Santa took off his run was clear of anyone protesting against his not using the new Rotax greener meaner fuel injected hippie friendly engine. Santa hoped so too, as he just couldn't afford to carry that extra 4kg, as he had to get his load of...

Thanks. I managed to get hold of them. It's a great spot.

I am pretty sure the distance you can go without needing a forecast is in the sylabus. I say that because I remember getting the question in the exam. I will go look up the answer tonight.

This really seems to have been a case of "hold my beer and watch this". Such nice planes too.

To get a full load of people taking part in a bad idea is, well, bad. http://www.smh.com.au/world/russian-plane-missing-after-being-stolen-by-police-chief-for-drunken-joyride-20120615-20duj.html It really should be 0 alchohol allowed.

You can get lost within 25nm. I have been. It depends on terrain as TP said, and also on weather. If the weather changes and you can no longer see your way home, you can get mixed up. It stops being a case of "go to x and turn left" and more one of working out a heading and avoiding controlled airspace and not panicking. Navigation training taught me to think more than anything. There is a lot to the navigation endorsement, and it's well worth it. Ryan

Well see what is close by. Then have a look at the school and the instructors. Will you like them? Look at how they maintain the aircraft, and how organised their teaching is. They are providing a service that you need to trust and learn from. Will it work for you? Ask how they teach, and discuss your way of learning and see if they can answer your needs. If so, then enquire about price last. But also, go for it! The sooner you take a lesson the sooner you will be hooked! In terms of finding a school, on the RA-Aus site there is a list of them. http://www.auf.asn.au/ For non recreational, a magazine or just a trip to the closest airport may be good. Good luck Ryan

It costs me $162 to hire a SportStar wet. One problem with the RA aircraft is the scarcity of them. There are 172's all over. I love RA but I fear one day having to have retrain in another type if I cant hire the SportStar anymore

Why does it cost less to maintain your PPL than the Pilot Certificate? You pay more per hour for a GA plane. The only way it can cost less is if you fly less hours. Is GA easier so you don't lose the skill over more weeks? I don't know and I don't think so, and I see some silly mistakes made by GA planes who you know are only being flown every second month.

I'm running it on my iPhone and have the local charts and about 5 WAC's and it's hardly dented my space. Anyone know how to get it to show the direction your are going as up?

Thanks Peteroo I may have to try the phone. I'm just worried that I won't have a signal where I am actually flying to, which is Comeroo. Else I will call up Flightwatch and ask. Thanks Ryan

Hi I'm planning a long trip from Redcliffe to Comeroo Camel Station, and it has made me go back to the books for on route weather forecasts! Passing the nav exam doesn't mean you remember it all! I am trying to understand how to get weather such as wind and specifically a QNH for Redcliffe and the area Comeroo is in. For Redcliffe I am thinking that I can listen in on Brisbane ATIS on 113.2 or 125.5. Has anyone used it? I'm going to test it on Sunday. Do you just tune in and listen? Then for Comeroo, which is near Bourke, I am thinking AERIS is the way to go? But it's available at 20,000ft. Will I get it at say 5000ft? How else do I get a QNH and general area forecast? Do i just listen in on it? I've tried that in the Redcliffe area and nothing. I know these are fundamental questions, but they have taken me back to my training days and are making me think, and also making me realise how unsafe not being current in your knowledge can be! Thanks for any help Ryan

Look at the comments below the article. What a weird bunch!

It's a nice strip. Phone the Trading Post to get details. It's grass, about 650m long if I remember right. I can't remember the runway directions but they are on the other post. 126.7 would be the frequency as they don't have their own. There are wind socks. It's nice and soft I found. Watch out not to take off into the hill, or do downwind into it. I had to turn a lot earlier but it is an easy strip.

No, not this year. I'm going to Comeroo in June so saving up for then. Have fun though!

Thanks guys. I've got a Shell and BP aero card, I hope they work there!