M61A1

Exactly....From the moment I used my work email address to send stuff to RAAus, I started receiving all manner of spam/scam emails. Something I hadn't had previously.

If you want to go fast, buy something else. The X-Air is good for dawdling around, they can be fun (not as much as a Drifter of course). They are just too draggy to go fast, so a bigger engine will increase climb rate a little but not much else. Drag increases at the square of the velocity, so the amount of energy required to make it go a bit faster is a lot. How they have held up will depend on who has owned it. I've seen nicely maintained ones and some shockers. As far as I know parts are still available for them. The biggest expenses if they have been poorly treated will be a set of skins/sails and or an engine. The 582 can be run on condition for way longer than the Rotax TBO of 300 hrs as long as it is looked after.

One would expect that the pilot might just copy the page/s that has the necessary details on it and forward it to RAAus. I don't think it says it's the instructors job anywhere. In regards to your other point about access to pilot files......I have had an instructor in the past that I wouldn't let near my data. While most may do the right thing, as unfortunate as it may be, there will always be some making problems.

Yep, as any conversation does it drifts around quite a bit. I think that is one of the reasons this site is successful. Imagine going to the pub and being told you can only discuss certain topic in certain areas. They'd be out of business very quickly. In regard to the actual topic, If I had an incident, the last place I would mention it is here. Not to cover up, but I have seen the armchair investigators at work and the downright nasty accusations that get thrown around. From the comments I've seen, most of the interest is just a nasty kind of schadenfreude and vindictiveness which is typical of most of Australia, not the interest in "safety" often claimed. Go back through the accidents and you will see that almost without fail, there will accusations of incompetence, recklessness, lawbreaking and outright stupidity. Granted, at times these comments may be warranted, but most of the time they start even before the investigation has. I wouldn't tell them anything.

I could never understand the outcry over that...They're footballers, it's what they do. You can't expect more from them. Why anyone would elevate them to "hero" status in beyond me. It just says we have very low standards for heroes. When was the last time you saw a party of cancer researchers videoing each other urinating in their own mouth? They are smart enough to not do it or smart enough to keep it private...either way they're smarter.

Try it while facing into a stiff breeze and the report back to us on the outcome.....

Careful....some might think it's drug related reference.

A lot of council in Qld have minimum sizes for subdivision in certain zones. Around here the council won’t let you subdivide a rural property in lots less than 100 acres/40 hectares.

You really do need to get out in the real world Turbo. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/piss+in+the+wind Wet shoes would be the result of pissing in the wind, not drunkenness or drugs. He’s right in that it’s futile thinking that we can change the stupid way stuff is done in this country, but the progression of stupidity can be slowed by not doing things that you don’t have to. If youmake your own restrictive rules without being forced to then you are to blame when it becomes the norm or law.

The reason it came up was the claim that the club had good numbers. I would suggest that it's numbers would not be nearly as good if being in the club was not a necessity for many firearm owners. I suspect the same would be true of recreational pilots and RAA. Copy and paste from the SSAA site. You will need a genuine reason to obtain a Category A & B Firearms Licence. If you become a Member of S.S.A.A. you can then list your genuine reason as Sports & Target Shooting and Recreation & Hunting, as we are an approved body prescribed under the law. While what I said about SSAA and licences was inaccurate, once again, you've completely missed the point Turbo.

As far as the "self policing" goes....I have seen it in industry and in clubs. A gliding club I know of is a good example. They have made more rules at club level than CASA requires so that their Ops manual exceeds the requirements. Then if there's an incident they make some more rules to be seen to have done something to prevent another incident. Insurers also add their own requirements or add incentives for cheaper policies if certain rules are applied. The result.....incidents still occur and a good portion of the membership gives it up because they can have more fun doing something else with less hassle.

You are right, KC has spelled it out better....the point being that the member numbers are only high due to legal requirements.

Leave your head in the sand...you’re happy there.

Here's some information that reflects the harsh reality.... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-09/australias-lost-speedway-tracks-and-the-families-who-made-them/11928022 We need to make sure the same sort of thing doesn't happen to rec flying. People already think it's a rich mans hobby, but I can tell you that I spend less money flying than other family members spend racing cars, and I do it more often. I like flying and will do it for as long as I can afford to, and if someone wants to make it more expensive ( as regs tend to do), then I think we need to stand up to that.

The only reason Sporting Shooters is as big as it is, is because of Howard's gun laws, and like RAA, you have to be a member to exercise your right to have a firearm. Most local football and athletics are struggling because of PL costs, and not just the financial side, the rules, which we get so that the insurance will cover the event are so restrictive, that fewer people are interested in a watered down version of their sport. Every second week there's an article about a club with numbers down and unsure of survival. You keep telling yourself that speedway and other motorsports are thriving, I know many people in that world, and their story is completely different. I have no problem with people being responsible for damage they cause, but as I've said in the past, quite a few of the cases you have linked to are what the average Joe would consider to have utterly ridiculous outcomes. Not because the law has changed, but because the "reasonable" goalposts have moved a mile. The cost to the public has been more than the taxpayers know. They've given up freedoms for perceived safety.

We've had this discussion countless times. While the law is the same, the criteria for what is reasonable has been steadily tightening. You claim that speedway was a good example and you are correct there.....In my opinion and that of many others, a good sport has been left a shell of it's former self, but you believe that you've improved it. Most sporting bodies in this country are in decline due tightening rules, but you believe differently. The biggest problem here is that Rec flying is treated a a sport and it's not. It's no different to riding you trailbike or road bike for that matter or even the family Hyundai. Sporting bodies compete, rec flyers are a group of individuals doing their own thing. There are no "innocent" parties to incidents like the one in question. I know I'm not going to change your mind, and while I accept that PL cases occur, it will we a cold day in hell before I believe that we've made this country a better place by by stifling everything just in case someone wants to sue.

The laws of physics make flying possible. Flying is still possible without CASA or RAAus. Before you start on the "see a PL lawyer" line again, I understand exactly what you are saying, but we're heading down a dangerous path of self policing that will not end well for those that enjoy flying or much else for that matter. Dictators control their population by getting them to self police, and gradually they tighten the noose around their own neck. The whole idea that we ought to be grateful for the crumbs we are given is silly and we should demand much more than that.

Are you sure you forgot?.......When I rebuilt a Drifter a few years ago, I installed a Verner 80hp engine with a Sweetapple prop under an existing engineering order done by a CAR35 engineer. I included copies of everything, but when I got my rego in the mail they still had it listed as a 582 with a Brolga. It worked in the long run, as I didn't leave the Verner in long.

I would have been more surprised if it didn't break up. The video has a lot of data. Note also the comments about the non-western airlines later on. No doubt the tin-foil hat brigade will still be looking for a conspiracy.

I really like the Panther specs. What engine will you be using?

Section 2.07-4 of the ops manual says this..... e. If a Pilot Certificate holder has within a period of two years immediately preceding the proposed flight, passed a flight test for the issue of a CASA Recreational Pilot Licence or higher, or the initial issue of a single engine CASA licence, rating or endorsement, then the pilot is taken to have satisfactorily completed a recreational aeroplane flight review on the date of the flight test. Evidence of logbook or Licence entries detailing successful completion of training must be provided to RAAus. f. CASA issued endorsements accepted as meeting the requirements of Paragraph 5 (e) are: (i) MPPC propeller (formally CSU), (ii) Tail wheel undercarriage, (iii) Retractable undercarriage, (iv) Float alighting gear, (v) Floating hull, (vi) Controlled airspace g. A flight review or flight instructor review conducted in a single engine aeroplane with a MTOW less than 1500 KG under Day VFR, is accepted as meeting the requirements of paragraph 5 (e). A copy of the flight review statement from the pilot’s logbook or Part 61 Licence is to be provided to RAAus. The statement should include the pilot’s name, type of flight conducted, name and signature of the examiner and the date of the flight review.

I would love to see it happen, but judging by the responses to the last "consultation", even if they can get past the irrational emotive blinkered viewpoints of those that believe the world would end, I can't see any of our regulators having the balls reduce requirements down to RA levels rather more likely to regulate RA up to GA then pat themselves on the back for it. I hope you are right and that the changes are positive.

The answer is in the third paragraph of the link you supplied...... "The current proposal is for the establishment of a new operating classification within an ASAO's safety system Just imagine we were smart enough to separate all private flying from commercial ops......Leave commercial and RPT regulated for the paying public and reduce the regs on private flying down to rec flying level. Similar sort of regulation to road transport. Taking the wife and kids out in the Cessna is no different to using the Commodore or Landcruiser. Not going to happen here I know, but there's no good reason it's not feasible.

Immigration cuts are the least of their worries, the woke crowd in the US are claiming that Asians are over represented in uni selections (because they generally score higher) and are wanting forced diversity, overlooking ability and competence in favour of race and gender. We'll be going that way soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB4gQRhE6bM