Piet Fil

Congrats DJ, Must be a good feeling.. Enjoy the freedom Phil

Congrats , You are now one who knows how it feels to be alone on finals, a rare and valuable feeling. It only gets to be more fun from here on in. Enjoy, Phil

Heather, Welcome to a good site with some good info, what do you fly and where? Are you a plane owner? Phil

There are a few shown on www.ourairports.com that could prove a good starting point. ie: Tjukayirla Roadhouse Airstrip, Cosmo Newberry, Tjirrkarli Airport, Warburton etc. Then give them a call and make sure they still exist and have the fuel you want. I did the drive along the outback highway west to east in 2009, long, but well worth it as you see things that the average aussie doesn't see. Would love to do it in the air sometime so I am envious of your trip. Please post and let us know how it goes (take piccies)

Welcome Bacon, There are a fair few drifter fanatics here so you're in good company. Enjoy the learning and flying. Phil

Mal, Good work on the Nav endo. I am just about to start down that journey myself and looking forward to it. Pity the job didn't work out, WA is a nice place to live. Phil

RK, Can you tell me why you shifted from the 170 to the 160?? What were the pros and cons involved. I am just curious as to your thoughts seeing as you have owned both. Ta in advance

A bumpy days flying at Cooma today, but passed the Pax Endo. Was actually good fun babying a CFI into and out of a plane. But go figure ...... we had only been going for a lttle while and he claimed he was feeling sick! :na na:So much for his 1,000s of hours in the air (or was that just him checking my passenger management? ha ha) Happy day (now to offer my wife veto on first pax status and then pick a super nice day!!)

For me its simple: one I could possibly afford, the other is a pipe dream. And if your talking the Lotto dream of unlimited funds you'll find me in a nice little sopwith camel replica (Snoopy eat your heart out!)

Welcome Paul, There are really good people here with a wealth of knowledge to share. I'm envious of your ownership, they're nice aircraft I had a sit in one at Natfly this year. Fire away with the questions and you'll get lots of answers. Phil

Congrats Munners, It is one flight that will always stay with you. Enjoy the journey Phil

Glint, Well done! its an awesome effort and one feeling you'll never forget. Enjoy

Great News Red, Good to see you made it. An awesome feeling isn't it. Enjoy Phil

Congrats, It's one you'll never forget. Enjoy it just keeps getting better

Great News TW, Well Done on the test. I'm only 1.1 hours in front of you and found that my first flight, licensed, and as PIC was a great, relaxed, fun flight exploring the bounds of my 25nm radius. Next is passenger endo and then into the X-country training. Thanks for the tip on the flight sim.

P.S. I did pass, in case you were wondering

I like it a lot, gotta love the grease monkeys for without them nothing happens.

TW, On the day of my practical, I went out by myself first and ran through a flight practicing most of the things that were going to be in the test (normal/steep turns, stalls, Emergencies, landings(flapped, half flapped, flappless, glide) etc). Then, after a break and a cuppa, The instructor asked if I was ready to do the test. My answer was "Yeah, either I'll pass or I'm going to identify things I need to practise". This took the pressure off me and let my instructor know that it wouldn't shatter me if I didn't perform to standard. My motto for flying has been I have the rest of my life to get it right. SO good luck and take the pressure off yourself. Phil

good work Jim, You get to pass the gift forward, a wonderful thing.

Tomo, Good stuff, that smile of his says it all.

Mine turned up today (ACT) and now I understand the float plane post in another thread!

I'll side with my wife, I'll live longer and happier that way. (Although I'll need to keep my daughter on side as she will be choosing the nursing home eventually)

Peter, Right you are, PAX endorsement next (just under four hours solo to go and the assessment) and then pursue the X-Country. Although, it should be interesting once the PAX endorsement is gained as my wife even said she would consider being Pax #1. She'll just have to fight off my daughter for the privelege (and thats one discussion I don't wish to be a part of! ).

Pud, One potential source could be that the vibrations of the tail wheel at that speed are close to the natural frequency of the tail wheel springs. This could lead to an increase in oscillation and the closer it gets to the natural frequency it will increase the severity. The springs you have installed may look very similar to other thruster spring sets, but there will be small variations in the natural frequencies between springs unless manufactured to strict tolerances. If you can beg, borrow or steal another set of springs and change them over, it will either confirm or rule out this cause. Alternatively you need to change their natural frequency by damping them somehow. One interesting page on castor angle is http://mybearhawk.com/flying/shimmy.html Also an excerpt from a Cessna page "We have had some reports on Scott pneumatic tailwheels shimmying. The Scott 8" pneumatic tailwheel is designed with a friction type shimmy dampenenr. This friction is regulated by 3 small compression springs inside the upper casting. If the main king pin nut becomes too loose the shimmy dampener effect will be lost. When the shimmy occurs, it is recommended that the large nut be tightened in increments of 1/6 of a turn until the tailwheel starts to bind when rotated by hand. Then back off 1/6 of a turn for correct tension on the shimmy dampener. The king pin nut is on the underneath side of the lower housing directly above the tire. This procedure will definitely assure that compression springs in the dampener are acting against the friction dampener disc. We recommend a tire pressure of 30 pounds on both the 140 and 170 for the 8" pneumatic tailwheel. When connecting the springs and chains on this assembly, it is recommended that the stretch in the springs be from 1/8 to 1/4". The springs used with the 3200 assembly have a high tension rate and if stretched to any extent on assembly the mechanism may not release easily. No slack should be left in the chain and spring hook-up when both sides are connected." Just some thoughts and I hope they help Phil

Pud, Good vid, I am envoius of the joy you will have owning your own plane. One day I'll follow this path. Enjoy and be proud (PS: Gret editing GayGirl) Phil