cazza

Hey Gomer, Last year we had a non-flying ladies tent for the first time. It was a HUGE success, all the non flying gals finally had a program to keep them interested in attending Natfly because there were presentations not to do with flying. However, we will be presenting some "skills for right seater" sessions, probably NOT in the ladies hangar. Trying to meet the needs of everyone. I'll see what I can do. CAz

Hi Heon, No worries, will check it out. I have managed to get a presenter to do a session on the glass cockpit and am working on finding some kit builders, or at least a building session that is going on for people to look in on. Cazza

I guess the answer is that not everyone pays their entrance money. In fact all the aeroclub watchers are freebies so the price of a free show is that you don't get the commentary. Naturally the Museum is reluctant to give all the freebies everything. Caz

Good idea, Yenn. I am on to it. Cazza

Welcome skyspud, I admire anyone who flies a drifter. Looks hard to me. Drifter pilots are pretty famous in this area. Just had a chat with Matt Hall yesterday, Australia's first ever entrant in the Red Bull Race. He was a top gun in the airforce, is a top aerobatic pilot and his FIRST ever solo in a powered aircraft was (you guessed it) in a DRIFTER!!! And he still flies them and he still loves them. Cool eh? Cazza

Welcome Hatter. You have a lot of support in the Wagga Wagga area and on this forum. I am at Temora when you get a chance to fly over here, stop in for a cuppa. Cazza

Welcome, Pete and I hope your dream comes true and you can fly and get the bits you want. Cazza

Ian, what a fabulous idea. Let's put a call out for someone who has a quick build and wants some extra helping hands and who is willing to bring it to Natfly. Slartibartfast, you don't need to bring a piano, we have stacks of keyboards here. Shall I put you down for a number? Cazza

Hello aviation enthusiasts, I am in the thick of organising the program at Temora for Natfly. Wel have the lend of 6 new hangars to fill with activities, so now is your chance to suggest workshops, forums, and non-aviation activities that you would like to see happen. We are planning maintenance workshops, GPS workshops, accessing wx and naips workshops, beginning metalworking workshops (how to cut, bend, rivet, drill metal), perhaps one on composite repair, CASA, Airservices, Bushdance night, music night (bring your guitars and join in), the ladies hangar program with plenty of sessions for the non-flier lady, an antique car display (just for a change)..... These are only the start. I need your help and your ideas and interests. So put your ideas down and I will see what I can do. Cheers, Cazza

Steph, I'll come down to the museum and look you up. I live on the airpark, so coffee is always on for flyers. Cazza

Welcome Steph, lots of glider pilots try powered a/c. We have a lot of cross fertilization here in Temora with glider pilots, RA-Aus pilots, GA pilots and war bird pilots. Great community. Cazza

Welcome muhucks to the forum and to flying. I see you fly a j230, great aircraft. I have just come back from working in Perth. A huge aviation community at Serpentine. Cazza

Welcome steve. Some pics of your progress would be good. I am not a builder, but my hubby is. Took him 11 years to finish his a/c. Cazza

Hi Scott, no worries, I will be in Temora. I live on the airpark, the only house and hangar that has a windsock. Wander up to the hangar and sing out. Cazza

Hi Scott and welcome. Good luck with your study. I see you train at Warnervale. I dont know if their club do many flyouts, but one of the RA=Aus instuctors there, Paul Crowfoot belongs to the Cessnock club and they go all over the place. For example, they frequently fly up to Old bar for breakfast, or Scone. Ten club members from Cessnock flew to the Gulf of Carpentaria last year. I went with them in my Jabiru. Say Good day to Paul. He is an ex-airline pilot and now he's an ultralight instructor. Cazza

Welcome Bikky and good luck with your training. I have a J160 and over the past two years I have flown from Temora in NSW to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Ayres Rock, Kangaroo Island, Byron Bay, Broken Hill, Mildura and so on. Love this country and love flying my jab. Cazza

Welcome to the flying fraternity!. I fly a Jabiru, J160C. Been a lot of places in it over the past two years. Went to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Ayres Rock, Kangaroo Island, Lake Eyre, and lots of trips to Byron Bay, Lismore, Moree, Broken Hill, Cessnock. It's a great big beautiful country. Cazza

I am not sure how you got your 1/4 of a page information. There were 65 motions in the 3 days of the last Board meeting, as well as 10 items of Business tabled. One line gives no useful information, and members would be crying out for the full story - hence another 60 pages. That is why the President, CEO and others write articles in the magazine expanding on the Board discussions and decisions. Cazza

Dear Mike, RA-Aus is available to provide information to members. In fact, the obligation is enshrined in our constitution. " The Records, books and other documents of the Association shall be open to inspection at a place in the ACT, free of charge, by a Member of the Association - on request at any reasonable hour". Additionally, members are invited to the AGM where minutes, audited financial reports, and other business reports are available to anyone who attends in hard copy and available to any other members who wish to get a copy. Members need only to ask. They are not required to come to Canberra for the AGM minutes and reports or other Board reports. The other Board meeting in the year (there are only two, the AGM and one other) is also open to members and copies of documents are made available to them as well. If other members are interested in the minutes, they need to contact the office and ask for a copy. But why do we not put them in the magazine? We could make two issues a year nothing but Board minutes and reports. However, our magazine is sold on newsstands and members may not be happy with a magazine that no one wants to put ads in because there is no interesting content other than dry Board minutes. We would also lose the extra income we get because who would buy them on the newsstand. Do we want to lose our printer and our advertisers? Can we put the Board minutes in as an insert? It would be too bulky (my last Board minutes were 11 pages and another 50 pages of reports and information) so we would have to do a separate print and mail out and it would cost some ten thousands of dollars which cannot be used for the work of the organization. And how many members actually want to read them? How many members (who are not instructors) read the Ops manual when it was printed? So how do we report to the membership? The way we disseminate information about the ongoing business of the organization and the results of the Board meetings is through the articles written by the management EVERY month. Every month, our CEO writes an article for the members outlining the work of the association. Every month our Ops manager and Technical manager write about the issues of concern to the membership. Every month our president informs the membership about the issues we are working on. Every month I write an article on Your RA-Aus as work to outline the projects we are engaging in for the members. The important issues are reported there. We think this is a much more ‘user friendly’ way to pass information on, that putting up the Board minutes that read like this: “The Historian’s report was accepted. Moved, Dave, Seconded John. Carried. The CEO’s report was accepted, etc.” The Board Members of RA-Aus should not be confused with Board Members of big corporations. We are not well paid, suited executives with an agenda to make ourselves more important and earn more money. We are volunteers. We are the flight instructor who trains students, keeps up with the regulations, tries to make a living, feed our families, mow the lawn. We are retired business people or academics who live next door, helping you with your airplane when you need a tool, or advice; who want to contribute and do the best for the members we can. We were elected by the membership. If any member has any concern or wants to know anything that has not been reported in the magazine, they need only to contact their representative. And if they are not happy with their representative, after talking to them, they should nominate for the Board or vote for someone else. It is easy to attack that which we do not understand or know. As a Board member I am there for you – the membership. Talk to me. Talk to your Member. Put in your suggestions. All of the proposals I take to the Board come from the membership. You put me there, now use me for information that you want. I believe we try to be transparent and open. I sincerely believe we are there for the organization and not for our own benefit. Can we do things better? Yes of course and we are working on a huge number of organizational tasks, like a comprehensive review of the Board, roles, responsibilities, processes. We are using expert help with this task. And when we come to a solution, we will put it to the membership as it will probably entail changes to our Constitution to make our organization more efficient and in line with world best practice. Carol Richards, Board Member for NSW

WA workshop Hi, There was one in WA on the 24 and 25 of January and 82 people attended. It was held at Coogley Farm for the two days. Are you sure RA-Aus has your current email address? Cazza, workshop organiser

Dear Forum members, On behalf of RA-Aus, I have organised two workshops that might be of interest to some of you. You don't have to be an RA-Aus member to attend. Beginning Builders Workshop on October 18 and 19th at Cessnock. Covers design, airworthiness issues, metal working, fabric covering, basic wiring, choosing right metals. For more information, contact [email protected]

Dear Forum members, On behalf of RA-Aus, I have organised two workshops that might be of interest to some of you. You don't have to be an RA-Aus member to attend. Beginning Builders Workshop on October 18 and 19th at Cessnock. Covers design, airworthiness issues, metal working, fabric covering, basic wiring, choosing right metals. For more information, contact [email protected] Navigation for Non-Pilot right seaters. This is a one day workshop at Cessnock for wives, partners, or mates that fly with pilots and want to know more about charts, ersa, reading a flight plan and so on. It is on September 13 (sorry about the short notice). For more information, contact [email protected]

Welcome Douglish, Had a look at your sight and am so jealous of your position. I live on an airpark but not near the islands, in the middle of dry country. I liked it until I saw yours. OH>>>> why is the grass always greener? Glad to have you aboard. CAZZA

Welcome Rage. What are you flying and where are you flying from? I fly a jabiru from Temora. CAZZA

Hi enthusiastic builders. Don't know if this is the right place to put this announcement, but a 2-day workshop has been organised for new builders. It will be held at Cessnock, NSW on Oct. 18 and 19th. If you want more information, contact carol richards at bravo.net.au. CAZZA