rdarby

I remember at Avalon the Post Office stall was selling a book on clouds that was from the Bureau of Meteorology (I think). Does anyone know what it is? Searching for "book on clouds" isn't getting me the Xmas present I want!

Christmas will be made for the kid that gets that engine bolted onto a kids peddle plane and left under the tree!

Does Cherabah have an airfield? I couldn't see anything on their site.

I don't think a focus on landing on teh centre early on is a problem. In fact it forces you to learn how to control the airplane near the ground, else you tend to accept an okay landing without actually ever learning precise control. When I first did my solo XC I went to a narrow runway with a centreline, and I had to go around three times before I could get it down, as it was only with a centreline that I was aware of how I was drifting left and right. It makes it precise early on, instead of just on the runway.

You can walk to a food place, a hotel I think, near Caboolture. What about The Trading Post at Orchid Beach? They do coffee, not sure about food.

Okay I'm booked and staying at the Ramada Motel. Still need to buy entry tickets though, not that cheap! Anyone going and want to meet up? I will be found either climbing on aeroplanes or at the nearest BBQ rib joint.

I started in gliders, did it for about 3 years but never solo. Purest form of flying, I found moving to an engine to be easy as you didn't need to tow it, wash it and keep using the rudders in flight! But I miss having a parachute to lie back on, it was comfy! In South Africa gliders use parachutes. Ryan

I left Redcliffe at 8am and got as far as Spring Mountain and had to turn back, there was unbroken cloud at 1800ft and I could harly see the ground it was so murky. So I went to Caboolture and then to Dunwich and had a chat and cup of tea, then went inland to try get home via Heck Field and TV Towers but had to turn back, as I couldn't see more than a few miles, so went coastal home. Quite glad to be on the ground, it was pretty opaque today! Ryan

I'm going to give it a go if the weather holds.

Just seen these, they are awesome photos. Thanks very much. I am so printing these off and showing them to everyone. Ryan

I don't think it's resistance to change. Actually I think resistance to change stops a lot of good ideas, but in this case are we not really talking about us becoming more than recreational again? If you do FBW, why not get something to control you in controlled airspace, and then go above 10000ft, and while you are at it, register you new plane as GA. I want to keep the little home mades alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEYYIWdaYyEI'm now back from the trip, and this is what I learned: It's a great spot, well worth a visit. It gives you a bush experience on the island, and you can easily get a lift into town from the airfield. Very friendly people. You can camp and they have nice facilities there. The runway is all grassed over, it's not anywhere near as bad as expected. Some bumps but no worse than anywhere else with a grass runway in the area. You can't get bogged unless you go right off the runway, and it's clearly marked with cones, and into areas where you wouldn't even drive let alone take an airplane. The photo's on the club website are very old and show the runway in much worse condition than it actually is. It's very scenic going there, I was impressed. Keep the speed up, approach a little faster than usual incase you hit windsheer, but I didn't experience any. We had wind of 15 to 20 kts and I did hit sink but nothing bad. In the video you can see me winding on the power right at the end! Taking off on 15, the ground comes up to meet you, I turned left before I reached my usual 500ft. But then stay away from the radar tower on the nearby hill, apparantly we are meant to be 1500m from it. All up it was a great three days away. Here is the landing. I find I land well on grass as I always get the nose up properly! This is the scenery on the way there: This is the runway: Pulling the plane to the hangar: The clubhouse:

Thanks for the great info. So should I aim to land on the grass only, or is the runway just grass over sand and in some cases just sand, so I should just run over it all? Cheers Ryan

Hi Has anyone landed there? I'm booked to stay on the island to camp next week, and am flying in. But when I look at it on Google Earth I see a lot of white patches on what I assume the runway is. Is that the bit you land on, are they just worn by airplane wheels? Any experience you can impart would be appreciated! Cheers Ryan

I am with OnePath (owned by ANZ). When I took the insurance out I wasn't flying. When I started flying they said that it didn't matter. There must be policies out there else how would pilots get any insurance at all? This is not advice in any way at all. Ryan

I've just tried the same circuit in XPlane. And I can't do it! Real life is a lot easier!

This is my first flying video. My brother was the passenger, and it's the first time I've taken him for a flight. The video is of the base and final legs, and the landing, on runway 25 at Redcliffe. The airplane is a Sportstar SL. The base leg was a little curved, I was too far out. It was meant to be a glide appoach but I had to apply some power though as I encountered sink just before the threshold and was a bit flat coming in. It was fairly gusty, with conditions of no wind to gusts. Taxi'ing in the windsock was hanging limp which annoyed me as it didn't feel limp coming in! Ryan

On the Sportstar SL there are tanks in each wing. On the end of the wing is a little tube for venting overflow. How does this work? If I park on a slope with a full tank, will it drain out? I am planning an overnight trip and want to fill up that night for an early morning start, but I'm worried I'm going to vent all the fuel. Does anyone know the intracisies of the vent? Thanks Ryan

It turned out to be a great day. The runway was dry, and actually a little softer than usual which was good! You had to watch where you walked though, lots of mud. No wind, and I nailed the landing, which is always a bonus when you land in front of a crowd! Some guy was taking pictures of the planes landing, and I would love to find out who and how I can get a copy of the picture he took of me. At least I think that was what he was doing. Good selection of warbirds, cars, tanks, all sorts. All in all worth it. A colleague from work bumped into me there, so I got him to put his little son in the plane and chat to each other on the wireless headsets and fiddle with the controls. They wern't keen on going up, but at least he has something to tell the kids at school about. Neil, I went round to hangar 10, but you wernt there. Maybe next time. Ryan

Going to try fly 8am to 9am around Redcliffe and maybe do a circuit at YCAB if it's not busy. Then I'm going to drive there. I'll come find you after 10am, in hangar 10 or 72.

Anyone there? I'm planning on spending Sunday there, are any planes actually there, the weather is pretty thick!

Orchid Beach on Fraser Island. It's a grass strip about 650m long, right by a servo and coffee place/little shop called The Trading Post. You pay a $20 landing fee to them. It's right by the sea. Fly at legal hight up the East coast of Fraser and as you get to the top, it's there on your left. Great for a picnic, and there is accomodation nearby.

Just my brother. But I haven't seen him in 10 years, he is still back in the old country, and coming here permanently on the 31st August. This is big news for me, and I want to show him around and go for a fly too. I haven't seen an outback pub before myself! I called the pub again, and some bloke at the bar says there is premium fuel there. The backpacker doesn't have a car so just shouted out to anyone who was there. I'm trying to find a number for the servo itself. But seriously, we do need a thread like that. Pubs with airfields, as it's actually hard to plan cross country without knowing someone who has been there, like you guys!

Booked the Dirran Pub. $70 a night for 2 people. The hotel there is full of roadworkers. The pub had an English girl on the phone and sounded busy. I suspect this really will be an Australian pub experience! Ryan

Yeah, I'm surprised I passed my nav's. You should see me with left and right too!