Hildy

how about "anywhere but canberra"?

Warnervale is the closest RA strip to about half of Sydney. From the CBD I can get there in about the same time or less, than the Oaks.

how do I get a spare ballot paper?

Don I do have to agree with you there regarding Williamtown.I agree absolutely a clearance should be available to any aircraft for the Willy coastal lane, especially in bad weather. In fact I would encourage any of you to request that clearance, RA-Aus or not, if you believe you would be safer flying coastal. Don't let them bully you to fly a mile offshore either.

Have just heard from reliable source that Phil's back is broken in 3 places & is in John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle. (Though I'd be surprised if he isn't in the Spinal Unit at RNS Sydney) It also appears correct that the Pitts is totalled as per news story in MM's post above.Let's hope he has a speedy & full recovery.

Are you invited to see your progress sheets (training records) and to sign after each flight lesson which is your certification that you have received the training per the syllabus? Some flight lessons have long briefings associated with them - take a look at the syllabus sometime.

Is it a requirement that you receive the ground theory training as per the syllabus, or just that you are taught / know enough to pass the exams?

Theory is identical to an aeroplane with a tail - but more simple as there are fewer parameters to consider - distance between cg and aerodynamic centre (or c.p.); elevator (perhaps called an elevon) on the wing trailing edge. I once saw a neat aerobatic display by a plank at an airshow in the UK.

what I don't understand is, on an airplane with a tail, these usually form a couple that needs to be balanced by the tail. what happens with a plank? what provides the balance?

You know what's a bit sad? I don't think I've ever had a theory brief, at three different flying schools.

can someone tell me more about the theory of flying wings? is it possible to have a symmetric flying wing that is longitudinally stable? can you do aerobatics in a trike?

flytornado: I moved cities and my new club is a combined GA/RA club. I told the CFI about my plans to convert and we came up with a schedule.

iran lost two planes in 2009, that caspian airlines plane (a tupolev) and an il76 military one. the vid is mislabelled.

the thing is, I have! I'm doing my NAVs at the new school, in the new plane, and not really getting any comments about my circuits... but they're not as perfect as they were.

mind you, my training consisted of 250 circuits at the same airfield in the same plane, so you'd think I'd get good at it.

I think in both cases here, becoming a doctor or a pilot conditions have changed. However, the public still believes that pilots are overpaid and under-worked when 'all' they do is turn on the autopilot, and also it is still believed that doctors are all millionaires and get paid way too much (This is kind of the case with current specialists to a point who are in private practice, but new doctors spend up to 8 or 9 years at uni (minimum of 5 depending on the uni) and do not earn the 'typical' 6 figure doctor salary till 3 or 4 years from uni, so it could be 12 years till they earn that much whereas someone could go do a 3-year business degree and if they played their cards right be earning over 100k in 3 years, half the time of a doctor (Maybe even working for Qantas management...) )

I realise that my current job doesn't pay as much as I could have been earning if I had chosen a different career path -- eg business -- but I love what I do, I am happy at work everyday, and I smile for most of the day. I don't earn enough to buy a house, but I do earn enough to fly whenever I want to.

Isn't that what it's all about?

my school is not insisting that I do the GFPT. I don't have my XC yet, though, so I am going to do XC in a variety of planes, and only the later / more advanced NAVs in a 172.

also: I did the GA BAK and got a higher score than on the RAA BAK. (GA BAK was using the ATC Industry test. RAA BAK was using the standard Test 1.)

now, if only I had some nice weather for NAVs.

poteroo: would you allow a XC endorsement from another school to count towards NAVs 1-5?

right after I got my certificate I changed planes and I've been struggling with my circuits. I am at a new airfield, different plane, different prevailing meteorology... I wonder what going back will be like.

redcliffe aero club has an official conversion syllabus:

http://www.redcliffeaeroclub.com.au/files/conversion_ra_aus_ppl.pdf

how many men haven't visited the doctor in thirty years except to get a sick note for work?

Hildy,I think you may have overlooked the benefit of the RAA category in that no CASA medical is required. A significant number of aircraft would be sold if the owner pilots were required to renter the GA field if not for the medical reasons alone.

At the moment we have self-certification which is problematic because there are a lot of people who don't realise that they're sick.

Might seem like a simple question , but it isn't. How far do you want to go? We have people who want all approaches to be power off, and in THAT situation, the only control you have is elevator and it will control your airspeed. If you hold the airspeed constant, the ROD is determined by your aircrafts lift/drag performance.( efficiency ). Any power added will enable you to adjust the elevators to maintain the airspeed constant and the ROD will reduce. If the power added is enough eventually you reach something like level flight. (again holding the airspeed constant). More power will result in a climb (again with airspeed constant).What we have then is the essential concept of power enabling you to climb, or descend at varying rates. Nev

i was taught to have all approaches to be power off at my initial school, and at my new school (a GA school) they teach airspeed/ROD. the problem I have with it is that it doesn't control for aimpoint so I struggle to actually land at the right spot.

david: if you are travelling toward your aimpoint in a stabilised approach, your rate of descent isn't interesting. you might have a very steep approach or a very shallow one, but as long as it is stabilised and your aircraft's line of motion points toward the aimpoint, you will make it.

I'll say it one more time i do not wish to belong to the RAAus as it does not represent the aircraft i have been flying since 1976 IE the original ANO95:10 aircraft.I find it undemocratic and unconstitutional that i am forced to comply under the threat of jail to support what i believe to be a corrupt management.

throttle for rate of descent.

why is rate of descent even a variable? I can't see how it matters what your rate of descent is, other than that it should be close to zero at 0ft AGL. otherwise, it is solely a proxy for glideslope - but that means that each particular approach speed needs to have its own rate of descent calculated (eg 500fpm at 60kt is the same (8%) as 1000fpm at 120kt).

a complaint: if your RAA membership runs out before january, and you decide not to renew, you don't get one of the issues you paid for.

bubble, I'd love to build a PO2. will take a trip your way as soon as I get my navex.

the gazelle and some jabs have such a useless trim setting though.

the gazelle is the plane that gave me confidence in slipping.

the POH describes cruise speeds on both sides of 80kt. what is the true speed for the purposes of whether it is a HP or LP aircraft?

how many cross do you want the wheels?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

if you don't have them built in 8 weeks, I'll come and give you a hand.