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 Last time was May 2015 so very rusty and BFR out of date.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

You are correct there is only one handheld approved, but the reason has noting to do with safety, it is the usual CASA stupidity.Over the years there have been many radios advertised for sale in Australia, bought also, but it is only in the last year or so they have been declared not legal. I havn't heard of any accidents caused by an illegal radio. but some were contributed to by bad radio operation.

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

Chris you are quite correct but the Mayday call wasn't made in till the loss of the second engine. The first in my opinion was lost around 15min after departure when the groundspeed significantly reduces on radar and a move off track as well.

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.

Over York Peninsular, I was told by a commercial pilot there were 3 options on York Peninsular all much closer than Whyalla. I will have to check which they most likely were.

That is just it. It is assumed that failures of Jabiru engines have cost lives but that is in fact incorrect. There have been no fatalities attributable to an engine failure in a Jabiru. That can be attributed to the strength of the airframe and its ability to absorb the impact protecting the occupants and good airmanship on the part of the pilot putting the aircraft down safely.

I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!!!Putting sh|t on Australian companies like Jabiru is the bloody reason every consumer product we buy in Australia is made overseas, and our own people are scratching around for work.

 

Jabiru might not be the best engine manufacturer in the world, but I can take you to a cairn at Camden Airport that is a memorial to a group of people who lost their lives because a big American aero engine manufacturer failed to pass on critical engine build specification to the aviation world.

 

If you hate Jabirus, please, for the sake of Australia's future economic sovereignty, refrain from puttin sh|t on them.

 

Old Man Emu

 

PS: ASMOL is the commercial name for a brand of asthma control drug. So I suppose you could say that the person on this forum using that screen name is a whinging wheezer - OME

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.

Endurance maybe. Range has an airspeed component. Sorry kasper I'm only kidding. Nev

So on that basis my UK trike which has been tested to BCARS at 472.5kg (both wing and trike) should be allowed to use all of that even though the type certificate says its limited to 415kg?Because the UK that has stall speed that is an arbitrary number lower than 45kts that applies in Australia your logic says I should, in the name of safety, ignore the MTOW stated and be allowed to fly to the structural limits?

Trust me 1 up and with the second fuel tank I already hold 9.5hrs of petrol under the certiifed 415kg - allow me an extra 57.5kg of tank/fuel and I am toting around 17 hours of fuel ...

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

In my one-off experience as PIC flying into a controlled airport (Tamworth) I was so impressed as to how much safer it was than flying into non-towered aerodromes especially unfamiliar ones. While it was quite stressful as a first timer in CTA, looking back on it, it was not rocket surgery and I think an endorsement would not be a challenge for anyone who has their XC endo. Being able to avoid Tiger country will be a huge boost to our safe access up and down the coast. After going in and out of Canberra (on RPT) in the last few days and seeing lots of light aircraft mixing it with the big stuff with no issues, I am convinced that having access to airports like that would add a lot to what you can do with an LSA. My Sling is as well or better equipped than most light GA aircraft and certainly a lot younger. There is no safety argument I can accept for keeping a trained and tested pilot flying over tiger country and denied access to very useful airports.

With regard to MTOW, I have no desire to do more than what my Pilot Certificate entitles me to do fly day VFR with max 2 pob. Essentially, I'd just like to fly my aircraft at its designed MTOW (700 kg) rather than the artificial, bureaucratic 600 kg. Limiting my strong aircraft to 600 kg just forces fuel management and range issues on me that I need not have. Allowing the Euro 750 kg MTOW in Australia would, over time, see a progressive improvement in the design strength and fuel capacity of two-seat light aircraft flying under RAAus without breaching the 45 Kt stall requirement. My aircraft at 600 kg has a stall of 39 knots and exactly the same aircraft at 700 kg is just one knot higher at 40 knots - what's the big deal?

 

Chris, you don't need a PPL to get CTA or even 1,500 kg MTOW, you can get all that on an RPL with the CTA endorsements. So, if it is available on an RPL why not then on CASA's declared equivalent qualification the RPC? I'm not about to trade my beautiful Sling in on an old clunker Piper/Cessna/ etc. to have two empty seats and a killer fuel bill but others might like to go that way and that should be their right.

I agree with your sentiment. Your aircraft (and many others) are designed for a higher MTOW than 600kg. The Tecnam Sierra is available as a certified aircraft with a 620kg MTOW for example. I doubt the actual aircraft differs physically at all from the non-certified version. Jab 230/430 from memory are designed to 750kg. Therefore a moderate increase to the upper limit for the class would have some benefit for those with capable aircraft not the least the ability to fly 2 up with a full fuel load. Has to be an improvement in safety.

Regards

Chris

Fascinating and touching to read the stories above about our shared passion.My parents were big fans of the legends of flying - Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm and many, many more. But, none of my family ever flew other than as an RPT pax. I built plenty of Airfix models but never got into RC. These days I wonder why but it was probably down to money and lack of initiative.

 

As a kid, I used to walk through the Royal Newcastle Aero Club (where Nev was although I didn't know that at the time) on the way to the adjoining sports fields. The smell of the hangars, the Chipmunks and Tiger Moths were larger than life.

 

I read Reach for the Sky (saw the film) loved Biggles and Blackhawk and any movie about aeroplanes. For some, never to be understood reason, it never occurred to me that I should learn to fly. Just seemed to be something that legends did.

 

When the penny finally did drop, I firstly went to two GA schools and came across arrogant GA CFI's who looked down their noses at me like I was a pimply faced kid. As I had turned 60 by then I wasn't going to cop that crap. Then, by chance, I discovered the Esqual and that it could be flown with an RAA pilot cert and it'd take just 20 hours!

 

Anyhow, despite a bit of a setback on Lesson 1 (got a bit queasy - never have since) I persisted right through the stage where I wondered if I'd ever be able to land an aeroplane. Now all I wonder is if I'll ever have another really good landing.

 

I've pushed to the top end of RAAus aircraft and am keen to get some more restrictions lifted particularly MTOW and CTA. I don't think of the CAOs etc. as giving us "privileges" but the reverse they just raise some of the restrictions that have no basis in being there.

 

I took an interest in the organisation only because it was then so badly run there was a real chance, a probability even, that it was not going to last much longer. It has taken nearly 5 years but I am confident we are now on the right path to a robust future. I believe CTA (only for those who want it, have the required equipment and are prepared to do the training) is within our reach and safer MTOWs are similarly achievable. Not going to happen overnight but it must happen.

I like the idea of being allowed in CTA, the aircraft I fly is equipped to do it and it opens up some options. Not so fussed about MTOW. If I wanted to fly heavier aircraft I'd do my PPL.

Cheers

Chris

I have always had an interest in flying and can remember as a youngster cycling to the Whyalla airport to watch the army aircraft when they were doing exercises at Cultana. I actually got to sit in a Caribou and Huey which was pretty exciting for a 9 year old. Learning to fly was never a consideration. In those days it was simply unaffordable.

When we moved here we did a couple of flights with some friends in a Piper out of Port Lincoln. I got my hands in the controls and really enjoyed it. The opportunity came up to attend a fly in nearby and do a TIF in an RAAus aircraft. I got hooked and as doing an RAAus ticket was affordable I signed up for lessons. 5 years down the track I still don't get many opportunities to fly but when they do come up I still enjoy the experience.

I can't ever envisage owning an aircraft as it does not make financial sense given the hours I would fly. But while I can hire one for a couple of hours here and there I'll keep flying. I have also considered transition to an RPL or PPL but again the investment in time and money doesn't add up.

I guess I am a classic recreational pilot in that I just do it for the fun. If I had discovered flying, and been able to afford it, earlier who knows what might have happened.

Cheers

Chris

Think Nev is right.

What is this?[ATTACH=full]37625[/ATTACH]

When I did my RPC I decided that one lesson infrequently wouldn't cut it and lead to a two steps forward one back situation so we settled on a 2 day session every 2 to 4 weeks or so. Standard practice was a couple of 1 hour sessions of structured training on each of 2 days interspersed with book sessions and the CFI and I would play golf on the second afternoon. It seemed to strike the right balance (for me anyway) of work and relaxation. I seemed to retain what I'd learned and be ready for the next stage on the next visit.

That said after I got the basic certificate and was onto navs etc there were a few big gaps. I always (and still do) ask the CFI to come up with me for a few circuits if I have had a gap of 3 months or more.

Cheers

Chris

This is an old video.

I soloed at 14.5 hours which was my total flying time from the get go. I probably should have soloed the session before but while I had been flying pretty well my landings were inconsistent and the CFI made the call that a solid session of circuits was needed to get the landings right. So it took a few hours longer than I should have. On reflection I probably wouldn't have gone earlier as my personal confidence wasn't quite there.

When I came back for next session I started to nail the landings so after a half a dozen circuits or so my CFI hopped out. I remember clearly (don't you always remember your first solo) I had no butterflies at all despite having a couple of curve balls thrown in by opting to extend downwind to let an RPT in and having the RFDS miss my final call and enter the runway while I was on final (I simpy aborted and went round again). I simply did what I had been taught to do. When I got back to the hangar after (effectively) only 2 circuits my CFI was surprised to see me so soon. He never did say how many I was allowed to do and thought I'd go around and around until dark or I needed fuel, whichever came first.

Cheers

Chris

Chris never say there is 'no chance of ground looping a nose wheel' it's been done before and no doubt may happen again:yes:.

I can't say I was affected by billy cart syndrome, but I guess growing up with tractors and using differential brakes since a youngster probably set me up well for plane steering.

Yes I know I'm probably tempting fate.

Some time ago, straight after qualifying, I tried to hire a Sportstar. Obviously I did a flight test with the owner but it didn't go very well. The flight characteristics were quite different to the Tecnam I'd trained in and it took me a while to adjust. One of the key ones was the toe brakes (the Tecnam has the normal central lever). I was OK on the ground and taxiing but using the rudder on landing was a pain as I kept jabbing the brakes as I steered which led to the Sportstar hopping all over the place.

Cheers

Chris