rdarby

...very little. He dare not, not with that expression on his face. Now this wasn't the type of expression on got from sitting on a hard chair in a hanger at a bored meeting. No, this was the type of expression that was last seen by Nobu back in '41, when the last of the curry had just been eaten in the officers mess, and the major had gotten up to turn on the wireless, and learned of the impending dunny roll shortage. This sudden flashback gave the major his own expression, one on his face to only his, and it was with purpose that he set out to find that old man last seen in '41...

...after a slap up meal of eggs and beans on toast. Now Elrato was someone who could use a convoy load of dunny roll, thought the major and the major at the same time, showing that despite a difference of opinion in khaki they shared an affinity for spotting a fly in their soup. Pulling out a ratpack and getting it open just in time, the major (the real major) settled down for a peaceful time, and letting his mind wonder, thought "I might just give the major a call, and have a talk about that business back in '41, maybe he knows something. So fishing out his mobile, he dialled the number and...

...that Nobu was in fact behind the great Dunny Roll Debacle of '41, when the airforce was embroiled in a scandal that is still being felt by stubble hoppers everywhere, where a fleet of toilet paper was intercepted by the Japanese Navy and sold on the black market. It lead to a lot of unpleasantness back then, and went a long way to explaining why the major (not the real major) seemed to have a cultural bias against sailors from Hawai'i, and why the major (the real major)...

...feel his gout, and reaches for the port for a little of the hair of the dog that bit him. Guess I'll call Tubby while I'm at it thought the Major (not the real major),since he can come around and help me with this little problem of grey showing through khaki that I seem to be having. It's really important that I get it sorted out before Thursday, when I meet the major, so we can settle this issue of...

Pitot tube of a 737 that happened to be parked nearby. That aught to keep my pencil safe. Fits well too. I'm off home since it's 3pm. That night there was something on the news about a 737 needing to divert to Mildura and a lumberjack getting confused when a ready made pencil fell on him, but his feet were under the table so he didn't pay it any attention. Hang on thought the lumberjack, I'm talking to the union about this. We cut trees here, someone else is meant to make the pencils out of them. I mean if we start getting our jobs mixed up, it's likely as eggs on Sunday to lead to...

Is it worth staying further out and hiring a car? Is car parking a realistic option at the airshow?

You fill in an electronic thing and pay about $14 and that sorts the visa. You don't need to take your passport in to an office or anything. Just do that a week before, I did it months before, and it registers you on whatever system and you are good to go. That is with an Australian passport, no idea about others.

Hi Neil I'm not but they are in the hangar just along from ours. I will be working then unfortunately, but will definately catch up at Oshkosh! Ryan

How did I get here, I was in an estate agent a second ago? But no matter, Loxie, you low wing taildragger, I want a word with you! Now put down the trollope and slide it over smooth, we don't want any trouble now do we?

...The Hat. Now that was a cat who didn't take the type of nonsense they were dishing out in Gumley Gumley thought Ahlot, as he gunned the stolen taxi down the Bruce Highway. Pulling up outside the estate agents office at Gumley Gumley, he jumped out of the taxi, and kicked in the door. He then opened the estate agents door, and stepping purposefully into the reception area, said in a clear, loud voice, "now listen here..."

...Sue on wash day. "What are you doing in my hangar" asked the sparkly one, "and why am I thinking of trees all of a sudden?". Getting up, he shook his head and then stopped while the world settled down. Looking over at Sue, he decided against it and walked into the sunlight. And there he spied the taxi he took home from the BoB night. This time he made sure there was no driver in it before he took it, and with a pounding head and a rueful smile at Sue, he floored it down the runway and through the hole in the fence. Well at this rate, he thought, I should catch up with the old...

Has anyone been? I did Sun n Fun last year, and the next airshow on my bucket list is Oshkosh. I'll do it next year, need to save up first. And I like to take my time planning, and the anticipation is half the fun! Can anyone recommend a good place to stay there? There is a Hilton right on the airfield there but when I emailed them they said they would be full, just like that, no interest in discussion. Cheers Ryan

To me having more than one share would just increase your costs. You only have so much free time to fly, so why pay for the plane when it's just sitting there? More than one share defeats the purpose of a syndicate a bit. It could also lead to discussions on how much each person is entitled to fly, and that could be messy. Much better if your syndicate naturally flies an equal amount, owns an equal amount and works an equal amount.

Good breakdown Matt. The only part you haven't included, but what I did in my original figures to decide if I should buy or not, is factor in the cost of the plane. Or the cost of the syndicate in this case. Either you include a figure for lost interest or to pay yourself back the money, or you don't if you have saved up for it or just don't care about it. You have to spend on something! I worked it the other way. I started with $500 a month being available, and then worked out how to get the most flying for the money. The syndicate did it, as the costs you have above are shared, and I still fly the same. If you own the plane yourself you pay for it to sit in the hangar. This way I get someone else to help with that! But it's not always exactly as I left it, and it gets consumed quicker, but with a great bunch of syndicate members it works out well.

I used the same sums as Yenn did to work out if I could fly for more or less for my set monthly budget. I have x per month to spend on flying, and I worked out that the $70 a month we pay, plus paying back myself for the cost of the share over 5 years, gave me y left over, and y at $70 an hour gave me slightly more flying time. Once the 5 years are up, I get a lot more flying time for the monthly budget. But yes you do now need to clean it, help out with maintenance etc. But it's actually quite fun to do some of the ownership chores, and I have learned a lot. But I think that what makes our syndicate work is that there are some strong leaders that in fact do more than their share. It should be equal, but in reality I think you need someone to be a driver. That is just how humans work. I am very grateful for those drivers as they are the glue holding things together.

Thanks Frank. In that case it's not for me. I don't want the cost of a VH plane, and the CTA endorsement isn't something I really need.

So this still only applies to VH planes? Can I get the RPL and drop my RAAus Pilot Certificate and still fly my 24 registeted plane? I doubt it but wanted to make sure. If no this is nice if you want to move to bigger and more expensive and away from the spirit of what an RAAus plane is.

I belong to a good syndicate, and it's costing me half what it did to hire. However I had to front up $8,000 to buy into the syndicate. Over 5 years I will break even in the savings from my hiring days. If you find the right syndicate, and each share is cheap enough, and it's really the right group of people with some unofficial leaders in it, it can be a lot cheaper. You can't stop flying so easily once in a syndicate, but you can if you just hire, as you have no skin in the game, and that is worth something to me.

Thanks Doug. How far is it in reality? It looked really far from Caboolture on a map. Landing on an island is really attractive. How long does it take to get there, given I cruise at a pacey 85kts!

I've been to Orchid Beach a couple of times just to land, have a coffee and fly home. But I want to do a weekend stop with a friend. I figure it's a relatively short flight so easy to arrange and something that I can make happen. My long trips keep getting interrupted by weather or work! Does anyone know of close accommodation that is suitable (affordable) for an overnight stay? I've done a Google search and it's all large holiday houses with minimum 3 to 7 night stays. I don't want to camp, but would love a rustic cottage type of thing with 2 rooms. Any ideas? Cheers Ryan

That made me laugh! In the latest Sport Pilot there is an article from a student pilot who runs on somewhere, and wants to put an airfield on it.

Australian Flying arrived in the same week for me, and I got a good days flying in yesterday! I am overloaded with aviation right now :)

Mine arrived today, along with Plane and Pilot, so I have some enjoyable reading ahead of me this week.

A tip for anyone going - get fuel early, as they would only refuel when the airshow was not on, and each time they restarted at the start of the flight line. Your takeoff to go home is also determined by when the airshow is not on, so be flexible, as the airshow times shifted a bit last time.

Ignore what I said, I see you are in the USA, and I gave you an Australian answer.