Matt

The most freaky experience I've had was in the Sportstar at Goulburn. Was on very short final when a willy-willy started up just by the threshold and caught us when we were at about 50'. Other than going to full throttle I can't recall what control inputs I used but we flew out of it having been through some very severe attitudes (lateral and longtitudanal), we actually gained some altitude and at some point felt like we were going sideways. It all happened very quickly (within a few seconds), scared the you-know-what out of me...for whatever reason Kaz didn't seem too fussed and thought I had it all under control...which I did of course...sure I did :)

While we're doing photos of commercial operations, here's a couple from Monday afternoon at Canberra. Afternoon weather was CAVOK but wind was 270 degrees 20-35 knots - all crosswind on runway 35...made for some very interesting approaches and landings! Photos were taken from a new double story carpark built as part of the business park at the airport, has a great view of the 35 threshold - above the security fence, so it's great for photos. Cheers, Matt.

Our turn to add to the trip report and photo collection from the 2007 Narromine Air Pageant. Kaz and I were up bright and early this morning for a planned 8.00 departure for Narromine. Thankfully the wind had dropped from the 25-35 knots we had yesterday and were a much calmer 15-20 knots. The met report indicated a 15 knot headwind, the wind was 45kts at 6500'. Thankfully this didn't materialise and we actually had a bit of tail wind once north of Yass. Planned flight time was 1 hour 49 minutes as a result of the forecast wind, actual flight time ended up as 1 hour 36 minutes and we were on the ground at Narromine just after 9.30. First task (after the standard comfort stop) was to find the two characters who started this thread. We found Disperse hobbling around in front of the club building and were then joined by Darren who'd just been taken for a scenic flight of the area in an R44. We also met a few other forum folks today including Rodney and Mick...can't remember forum usernames...struggle with real ones sometimes! We spent most of the day wandering around looking at the few displays and checking out the few 'interesting' aircraft that were there. I must admit to being somewhat underwhelmed by the event, the number and type of aircraft on display was a bit disappointing for an event organised by Airshows Downunder. I was also very surprised at the few number aircraft that flew into the event, there were only 4 or 5 rows of aircraft in the tie down area. The camping area was pretty full though and the locals seemed to come out in force to support the event. We went for a walk into town to get some lunch (there's only so much 'carnival food' you can eat). I'll give a bit plug to Buxees cafe, they make great food and very nice coffee. The trip home was pretty uneventful...except for the 20 minute delay in departure due to the show running over time. We managed to find another tailwind on the way home of about 10kts until we neared Canberra where the wind was still quite strong and on approach for a right downwind to runway 30 we were clocking 160kts ground speed! Flight time for the trip home, 1.4 hours. Anyhow, attached are some pics from the day, enjoy. Cheers, Matt.

Hi Ian - you mention there's a "warbird" flying display on the Sunday morning. What aircraft do you have involved...as a fellow warbird flyer I'd be keen to catch up with them before the event and maybe see if we can get involved. Cheers, Matt.

Kaz and I will be there Saturday, aiming to be there around 9.30 and will be heading home around 4. For those who are going and want to catch up / meet, my mobile number is 0409 850 154. Look forward to meeting some more of you guys. Cheers, Matt.

Hey Mazda, not formation endorsed yet but it's on the list of things to do...along with aerobatics of course :). There's a few comments about formation endorsement in another thread talking about the cost if you're getting it by yourself - paying for 2 aircraft and instructors. Might see if the local training establishment has any students interested in getting this endorsement. Might have to make the trip to Camden one day and catch up, for whatever reason we've never been there. Any good food / coffee providers at Camden?

Merimbula is one of our regular trips, it's a nice 10-15 minute walk into the main street (or short taxi ride) or the beach. The cafe at the airport terminal also has a great selection of food and drinks - they make great toasted sandwiches. Other regular destinations for us: Wagga - cafe at the terminal is reasonably good. The Oaks - on a Saturday one of the many lovely folks there will normally run us into the main street for a feed. Nowra - there's the Naval Aviation Museum which has also has a cafe. Wollongong - there's the great restaurant plus the HARS museum. Temora - brilliant musuem and a short taxi ride into town. There's food and drinks available on flying days. Like Mazda we're always on the lookout for new destinations, keen to hear if there's any other great places to drop in.

Apply the KISS principle for non aviation types - how to fasten & undo their seatbelt, how to operate door / canopy and if wearing life vests (for whatever reason) how these operate. Sound familiar to your last QANTAS/Virgin/Jetstart etc. flight? There's a CASA regulation (will edit later with link...can't seem to find it at the moment...haven't had my coffee yet!) which defines the minimum information to be given for a "passenger brief" and what they tell you on an RPT flight is just that - the minimum information required to meet the most likely scenario as determined by risk management planning. In my experience, those not familiar with light aircraft are generally overwhelmed by the whole experience. Keep it simple for them coz they probably won't remember half of what you tell them anyway. Cheers, Matt.

Hi Dave, check with Peter Harlow at Silverwing Aviation (http://www.silverwing.com.au). He's a reseller for the thermostats and I believe has had some experience with either installing them or having them installed through his LAME. Cheers, Matt.

Different aircraft different results indeed - had a session of EFATO and Forced Landing (engine out) practice at Goulburn a few weeks ago in the CT4, from these training experiences and the very bold statements made in the flight and training manuals I am in no doubt that any deviation from the prescribed emergency procedure for any situation will end in a crumpled orange and white mess. The glide speed in the CT4 is 80kts which will give a 'glide' (if it can be called that) with a descent rate of around 1000fpm. This compares with our last aircraft (Sportstar) which was 55kts/400fpm - there's now a lot less time to think about things in a power out situation! EFATO and glide approach training in the Sportstar was comparitively comfortable given the low airspeed, descent rate and aircraft attitude. The CT4 is the complete opposite, the attitude to maintain 80kts without power requires about 25-30 degree nose down (the windscreen is effectively full of ground)...this sight has a reasonable psychological impact in a 'power out' emergency situation and takes a little getting used to. Regarding JL's point about "turns with reduced or no power should be more shallow to minimise height loss" I've not heard that one. The normal teachings relate to angle of bank and it's impact on stall speed i.e. greater angle of bank = greater stall speed and turns should be limited to 60 degree AOB in a power out situation.

Back to the original post for a minute... Ian, happy to pay whatever it is requires to cover the costs of putting on the event. Do you have a good idea of anticipated costs based on expected attendance? We'll probably be camping "under the wing"...well next to it at least, not much head room under the CT4 wings...although far more than the Sportstar! Following our camping experience at Bundy we've splurged on a heap of new camping gear...thankfully the CT4 will swallow it all comfortably :) Cheers, Matt.

Probably not a good comparison but at Canberra Airport the fee structure is based on a MTOW charge (pro rata) depending on whether you park on the grass, on the tarmac or in a hangar. There's hangar 'lease' charges based on area (m2) for those fortunate enough to have a hangar. The fees include all landing and airways charges. When we had the Sportstar we paid somewhere around $1700 per year to keep it on the tarmac, we pay a little more now (somewhere around $1800 I think) for the CT4 and keep it on the grass.

You couldn't have ordered a more perfect day for flying around Canberra today, light wind, nil cloud and temp in the high teens. Today's destination was Temora...as it seemed to be for half the GA fleet at Canberra...must've been something to do with the special visitors that would be there today. As happens a reasonably regularly, the Temora Aviation Museum had some special visitors from the RAAF, this weekend it was 3 Hornets from 2OCU at RAAF Williamtown...and we weren't going to miss that! We departed Canberra at about 9.45 and were the last of about 10 aircraft heading Canberra-Temora this morning. Lifting off into the clear blue sky, we climbed to 6500' for the 45 minute flight. As we approach Burrinjuck there's a bit of low cloud around but it's below us and patchy, after 5 minutes we're past it and back to clear skies all the way to Temora. At 15nm we commence our descent into Temora, ATC advise a traffic alert to all aircraft inbound to Temora as there's 6 aircraft due in the circuit area at about the same time. As we approach and join circuit the other pilots are all displaying great airmanship and we all manage to get into circuit and on the ground without any dramas and are guided to parking by some of the many friendly and helpful volunteers that make the Temora flying days so great. After chatting to those parked around us (we were parked between a couple of RVs) it's off to the museum to eat, drink, view all the aircraft on display and talk the ears off those Hornet pilots. Despite pilots at this level having being percieved as arrogant etc. these guys are pretty down to earth and happy to chat to anyone about anything, this was my experience today and most other occasions. So after hours of walking, talking, eating and drinking it's time to head home. The weather is not that different for the trip home, light wind and no cloud. We depart and climb to 7500' where we pick up a nice tailwind which will make the trip home about 40 minutes. It's very quiet on the radio as we approach Canberra and get our clearance. As we track inbound there's the odd RPT flight taking off or landing but not as much traffic as you'd expect on such a perfect day. As we approach the field we track overhead Black Mountain Tower then overhead Old Parliament House positioning for a left base to RWY35. We touch down with possibly one of the smoothest landings I've done in the CT4 - Kaz didn't even realise we were on the ground ;). Attached are some pics from the day, might put a few more in the competition thread...there's a few really good ones.

Hey Mazda - you stole my idea...there's definitely a market for aviation schools in Australia targetting the 'growth' aviation markets of India, China etc. - just look at Adelaide, Jandakot, Point Cook, Maryborough.... Goulburn would be a great location - in uncontrolled airspace which is good for ab-initio training but it also has quick access to controlled airspace, GAAP aerodromes etc etc. Now, where's my business plan template......

"The theme of the 2 people who have written in and are supporting the sale (and the theme of Council) is that the community is supporting a hobby or leisure activity and that is all." Funny...in a sad way...how many parks, sporting ovals and buildings, golf courses, community halls etc. does the council support which are nothing more than facilities for hobby or liesure activities. Interesting attitude of "I don't use it so why should I pay for it"...love to apply that to everything in life that some of these folks would take for granted i.e. public hospitals, schools etc. - I don't use them but I pay for them.

Nothing else in the calendar for that weekend so count us in, no doubt there'll be a few other warbirds with us...the local Nanchangers usually go up to any fly-in up there. Cheers, Matt.

First things - thanks Tim for bringing some public attention to the situation with the Goulburn Airport. The turnout today at Goulburn was great - the first time we've ever visited and seen more than a handful of people. We met a heap of flyers and curious locals today...including some forum members. Here's some pics from the day, as you can see there's a large variety of aircraft that operate out of Goulburn...you normally don't see them as they're either flying away somewhere or hiding behind closed doors, hopefully more days like today will prompt more folks to visit more regularly and convince the council that there is value in supporting aviation. Cheers, Matt.

Ian - would you be able to add a small message and the link to the scrolly bar in the top frame...that's a technical term for all you non-IT folk out there :) Cheers, Matt.

My vote cast...hopefully the results keep at their current pace, over 90% to keep it. Anyone got Dick Smith involved? As a local private airfield owner and recreational flyer I'm sure he'd get on board...or maybe he's keen to buy it, surely 2 airfields are better than one :)

My apologies...forgot how late in August it is...this weekend is the 1st of September!!! how time flies. See you Saturday then. Cheers, Matt.

Understand completely and it all sounds very disappointing. Just want to confirm whether the BBQ will be this weekend or Saturday the 1st? Either way, count us in. Cheers, Matt.

Hi Tim, Is the council's expectation to sell it and have it continue as an airport with a private owner/operator? What impact would this have on those who have purchased land lots for hangars etc. and has this been addressed / raised? How much do they reckon it's worth? What do they expect the land will be used for if sold - farming / warehouses / housing / continue as an airport? Not sure if you can answer all of these but just asking in the hope you might. As a regular visitor to Goulburn it would be very sad to see this airfield lost. Regarding what can be done to improve the perception / viability etc. this is as much up to the operators at the airfield and aviation community in and around Goulburn to generate interest and activity at the airfield. For example, although we get up there pretty regularly I wasn't even aware of the aero club, most days we go up there (Saturday's and Sundays') it's like a ghost town with not too many people around (if any). Always thought that a bit odd given the number of aircraft and hangars up there, expected there to be a bit more of an active group of flyers up there...maybe we're just going on the wrong days. Now that we know there's an aero club we'll get involved. We're also considering relocating the CT4 from Canberra up to Goulburn to take advantage of the hangarage opportunities up there (given none in Canberra). It'd also be worth having a look at the recent work being done by the owners of the Polo Flat airfield, they're marketing to people from Canberra and the Cooma surrounds to 'come to Polo Flat, build a hangar' etc. etc. Anyway, just my thoughts for now. Happy to get behind the push to keep it running and improving it. Cheers, Matt.

A great story and a very entertaining read Troy, keep it coming. As Chris said, you've managed to capture what we've all been through and (while having a good giggle at your expense) I can recall very similar moments in my flying history - you'll never forget those feelings and experiences. Cheers, Matt.

Does anyone use the AirNav VFR program and, if so, can you tell us what format the map files are in. Wondering whether their map packs (which are very reasonably priced) can be used with OziExplorer. Cheers, Matt.

G'day Milton, welcome aboard there's plenty of interesting reading and great people to chat with here. BTW - by 'ex RAAF' and 'still have the flying bug' were you a pilot in the Air Force? Cheers, Matt.