Chris Tarran

I have a simple mantra. Buy cheap. Buy twice.

On the quad bike thing it is interesting to note that the SA State Emergency Service have removed ALL quad bikes from service and disposed of them. Units doing land search operations are now supplied with side by side vehicles like the Polaris, Can Am et al. Cheers Chris

Got to say I really enjoy looking at your videos. The effort these builders put into their aircraft is amazing. Thanks Dominic. Chris

Happy days. Finally got to do some flying. Last time was May 2015 so very rusty and BFR out of date. Went up to Port Augusta Monday a week ago after a couple of cancelled attempts. Weather was a bit ordinary so did some ground based revision on daily and preflight inspections and finally got airborne in the early afternoon. Spent some time on basic manoeuvring, stalls and forced landings and then straight into the BFR. For the first half of the flight I was as nervous as a kitten but it all came back and by the end I was happy with my flying, and more importantly, so was my instructor. Had a break after the BFR and did some more theory stuff and then took off solo for an hour or so. Did some circuits to get my solo take off and landings done for my pax endorsement and then a joy flight down the gulf for a bit more air work. Returned to the circuit for a couple more laps and having pretty much greased landings all day the last one was bloody awful so a bit more practice needed. I don't know what it is but it seems every time I start circuits I end up,playing dodge the RPT traffic. Still it's good practice. Need to do it more often. Cheers Chris

Not sure it is CASA issue. Radios need ACMA approval. I thought this was the problem. Cheers Chris

Hi Poteroo, I'd suggest in here. It's your thread. I would also be very interested to read your stories about your aviation career. I think Nev could tell us a few beauties too. How about it? Chris

The coronial document shows that the pilot reduced power on the right engine which caused a yaw to the right at that time but NOT that it stopped. The coroner concludes that the aircraft wouldn't be able to maintain the airspeed it did (remember it's still on ATC radar) on one engine. The first engine failure was the left one. The right engine failed shortly after. The document is readily available for download and makes interesting reading. Teckair I also know people involved in the incident, both the operator's and the family of some of the victims. Interesting no-one round here bears any ill will toward Whyalla Airlines.

Judging from the ATC and other records included in the coronial enquiry MZK would have been more than half way over Spencer Gulf when the Mayday call was made. In that case the only other option would have been a 90 degree right turn to Port Pirie which was probably as far but with the last bit over land. Either way they were going to be in water on a horrible evening in ordinary weather.

Accepted. Perhaps I should have said "failures causing injury or". Remiss on my part.

I agree absolutely. Google Whyalla Airlines Flight 904. Multiple engine failures and 8 fatalities in 2000. ATSB blamed the operator and CASA pursued them and put them out of business to the detriment of this area. A later coronial enquiry overturned the finding and placed the blame squarely on the engine manufacturer who subsequently grounded some 1000 aircraft for repair at a cost of $66M So Jabiru are not the only aircraft engine manufacturer to experience failures costing lives. Despite all the huffing and puffing I've read about how bad Jabiru engines are supposed to be no-one (including CASA) has shown me any statistics that prove anything conclusively. In my view if CASA wish to impose the conditions that they have an Jabiru powered aircraft they should be made to prove why, publicly. Most of the problems reported on this site are anecdotal and therefore suspect from the start. The fact remains that in RAAUs we all fly single engined piston aircraft and our safety dictates that we should plan and fly as if the fan can stop at any time. Cheers Chris

Sorry. Ozzie beat me by a couple of minutes.

At about 2:30pm today a Cessna (yes it is actually a Cessna) skydiving aircraft made a forced landing in Victoria Park (where Clipsal is held) on the eastern fringe of the Adelaide CBD. Looks like all OK but taken to hospital for observation. Good outcome. Glad everybody is safe.

Interesting that the locality Hawson is west of Port Lincoln and there are a couple of private strips very near. In fact if you search for Hawson in Google Earth the pin is on the road exactly opposite one of them.

After a couple of hours in the air my bladder has a fair range.

Hi Kasper, Don't see why not. If an aircraft has been tested and certified in a country you would trust to have the engineering reputably and properly done and it meets the weight/stall numbers required for registration why should the local authorities impose a lower limit. I have no experience or knowledge of weight shift aircraft so I am not really qualified to comment. I am just talking about 3 axis where some cannot be flown 2 up with full fuel because of a weight restriction lower than the aircraft is designed to. By the way at 9.5 hours endurance I reckon your trike has way more range than your bladder. Cheers Chris