fly_tornado

what is the accident rate for ambulances?

Ambulances crash at a much higher rate than passenger vehicles, its just the nature of being alive everything has risk

online drone training ie a multiple choice quiz in which the answers to all the questions will be available 30 minutes after the site goes live

From CASA's perspective, the big problem now is the ever increasing masses of drones flying about that could cause a GA plane to crash, occam's razor suggests that grounding every nonessential GA plane is the simplest way to achieve that safety rating. Imagine how dangerous rural airports are going to be for GA aircraft when you have hundreds autonomous agricultural drones coming and going on a 24/7 basis. CASA will be held responsible for this situation.

Originally Mathew and I disagreed about whether or not Wellcamp was a good idea, my original concern was that the Newman or Abbott govt was going to buy it off the Wagner family for $200m. This thread helped me to influence journalists I follow on facebook to write about Wellcamp. I don't care what Matthew thinks of me as a troll because he's jacked off because he's wrong about wellcamp, I know Mathew's ego will recover over time because he can't wrong forever. Sycophants are the worst though. But back to Wellcamp, I contacted some APN, WIN and ABC journos last year about doing a story on Wellcamp after the ABS released the traffic figures, not a single one of them followed up. I guess after 5 years no one is interested anymore.

you always seem to have the wrong take on everything. CASA response to these 2 pilot error accidents is wrong as usual

Oldest F-35B Could Hit Service Life Limit In 2026 Jan 30, 2019Steve Trimble | Aerospace Daily & Defense Report F-35B: USMC Structural defects mean the earliest F-35Bs delivered by Lockheed Martin could reach a service life limit by 2026 after 2,100 flight hours, according to the Pentagon’s director for weapons testing. The design specification of the F-35B called for a service life of 8,000 flight hours, but early production models fall “well under” the durability requirement, Robert Behler, director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E,) wrote in his latest annual report to Congress. The new DOT&E assessment comes after several years of durability testing that exposed multiple structural cracks. Lockheed completed two service lifetime cycles of durability testing on a static F-35B airframe called BH-1, but canceled a plan in February 2017 to perform a third series. Structural redesigns, including a new approach for the wing-carry-through, had made BH-1 unrepresentative of the final production standard, the DOT&E report states. The F-35 program has obtained funding to acquire a new structural test article, but it was not yet on contract, the report adds. Bloomberg first reported the DOT&E’s findings on the F-35 program. “Items identified in the Annual DOT&E report are well understood and have been resolved in partnership with the F-35 Joint Program Office or have an agreed path forward to resolution,” Lockheed said in a statement to Aerospace DAILY. Planned design changes should allow the early F-35Bs to meet the service life requirement of 8,000 flight hours, a program source says. Lockheed also discontinued durability testing on a static test article for the F-35C last September instead of beginning a third life cycle assessment, the DOT&E said. The F-35A completed three full life cycles of durability testing, by contrast. Behler’s office also remains skeptical about the F-35 program’s decision to reorganize parts of the Block 4 modernization plan. Instead of rolling out large increments every two years, the Continuous Capability Development and Delivery plan adopted a year ago calls for releasing smaller software updates adding new features every six months. The six-month release cycle for the aircraft’s mission systems is not matched with the upgrade schedule for the F-35’s support systems, such as the Autonomic Logistics Information System, mission data and training simulators, Behler’s report states. The DOT&E is also critical about the readiness of the F-35’s Block 3F software a month after the program entered a critical testing phase. Software updates and fixes rolled out by Lockheed reduced the number of Category 1 deficiencies to 13 in December from more than 100 last May. The program later added two more Category 1 deficiencies to the list after the F-35 entered the initial operational test and evaluation phase on Dec. 5, the report states.

I don't quite see the correlation between the crashes and the response? Neither plane suffered an engine failure

time to get on the smokes and laxettes

Angel Flight, Aircraft Owners Assn fighting CASA regulation plan Sally Cripps@sallyQCL 31 Jan 2019, 8 p.m. News Baby Lotus and her mother Sarah ready for their flight in Angel Flight board chairman, Bill Bristow's Pilatus jet. Picture - Geoff Marsh. Aa Rural communities around Australia are outraged at a proposal by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to introduce a new minimum safety standard for community service flights that have the potential to ground Angel Flight Australia. The charity coordinates non-emergency flights to assist country people to access specialist medical treatment that would otherwise be unavailable because of vast distance and high travel costs, utilising volunteer pilots. Angel Flight’s CEO, Marjorie Pagani, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia, Queensland’s opposition spokesman for volunteers, Lachlan Millar, and Kennedy MP, Bob Katter, have all condemned the proposal, which they say is a gross discrimination against rural people. All have demanded that the federal government intervene to prevent the new standards from coming into being. “What CASA is saying is that I can fly you to Toowoomba any day of the week to go shopping but as soon as you say you’re going there for medical purposes, I’m not qualified to fly you,” Ms Pagani said. “It defies belief.” She said the proposal, which related to licensing requirements, minimum pilot experience and maintenance-related enhancements, showed CASA had lost confidence in its own licencing system, under which the charity’s pilots and aircraft operated. “Why else would they place these restrictions on lawfully licenced pilots,” she said. “The long and short of it is, why are we suddenly unsafe if we want to help a rural person? “There is no nation in the world that restricts a pilot’s licence according to the needs of their passengers.” Related: CASA wants to clip Angel Flight wings Angel Flight free to fly Further unleashing her dismay at the potential the changes would have on what has become an essential service, conducting 4000 trips a year, Ms Pagani was critical of the way CASA had apparently circumvented the usual regulatory process, and what she said was the “invention” of a community service flight category. She described the standards as a “grab bag” of restrictions that were unrelated to the two fatal accidents, in 2011 and 2017, that are understood to be at the crux of the changes. She said any improvement to the service would come from safety education, which she had been working with CASA on for 18 months, not aircraft standards. One of the changes proposed would increase minimum pilot hour requirements, which would preclude some of the volunteers with lower hours. Another requires aircraft engines to be maintained to commercial charter standards, which could cost $85,000 or more. In outlining its need for consultation, CASA said a regulatory baseline would provide clarity regarding an appropriate minimum safety standard. It anticipated most pilots currently conducting community safety flights would meet the proposed new standards. While CASA said Angel Flight pilots didn’t operate under the safety umbrella of an Air Operator’s Certificate, which commercial operators work under, Ms Pagani said users were comprehensively briefed on procedures and made aware of all aspects, including watching a video, before they were introduced to a pilot. Benjamin Morgan, the executive director of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia, accused CASA of highlighting two tragic accidents, both found to have been the result of pilot error, from over 46,000 successful flights, to manipulate public perception of the service. “The elephant in the room is aviation safety, which should be addressed by communication, collaboration and education, not by ramming enforcement regulations through that only cover the backside of a bureaucrat if something happens,” he said. “We have to not overreact to a situation in a way that means we can no longer provide a service.” Calls for intervention Mr Morgan called on every Australian to contact their local MP and demand they oppose the changes, saying the next group to be affected could be private individuals transporting people to doctor’s appointments in their cars. “Will they demand they have motor car engine overhauls or a higher degree of driver training?” One politician who has called on the federal government, particularly transport minister Michael McCormack. to intervene is Queensland opposition spokesman on emergency services and volunteers, Lachlan Millar. “I am outraged that an unelected bureaucrat can ground the charity, Angel Flight, with a flick of a pen and no federal parliamentary scrutiny,” he said. “The Civil Aviation Authority’s plan will ground 80 per cent of the volunteer pilots who take rural and remote patients for non-emergency treatments such as dialysis. “This plan will cause real pain to rural people. Angel Flight pilots are everyday heroes. They make a major difference and actually help governments by reducing the cost of delivering health care in the bush. “I am publicly asking the deputy Prime Minister and federal transport minister, Michael McCormack, to intervene and fix this.” He was joined by KAP leader and federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, in calling out the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for what he called their latest show of incompetence, which he said could kill Angel Flight. “One of Dick Smith’s finest moments was his attack upon CASA; CASA has downed more planes than the Red Baron,” Mr Katter said, adding the authority had repeatedly displayed its ineptitude. “To take Angel Flight out of the skies is to remove the mantle of safety put there by Reverend John Flynn and his Royal Flying Doctor Service, and I speak with great passion because both my father and his brother died at the hands of that Australian tyrant – the tyranny of distance. “When you protect your precious statistics, that conciliatory is costing us lives. “It is quite clear to me these very generous self-sacrificing pilot-owners cannot afford to take the risks of CASA prosecutions – the safety Nazis – and we will lose this wonderful service.” Mr Katter said he had contacted the minister for transport and demanded his immediate intervention and asked rural chambers of commerce, flyers, clubs and councils to join the fight on this issue. The public consultation period, launched after federal parliament rose in December, closed on Thursday. CASA and transport minister, Michael McCormack, were contacted for comment.

that will go down well

you can just imagine the amount of sewerage a cruise ship produces every day with everyone eating and drinking themselves stupid

shipping things by ship is always the most efficient method of transport, especially if you ship from west to east

how hard is it to organise a vote to increase members fees? can't be that hard, all the other decisions are made by the CEO

wow Mathew, we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot.

you have to wait for the page to parse the text when you post

Mathew won't disclose his holding in the Wagners group but that sweet 1.83% yield is a game changer

one for @mnewbery from $4.89 to $2.82

F-111D Cockpit Crew Module USAF serial 68-0125. Completely restored to perfection. This is the only restored F-111D cockpit in existence and is truly exotic. The cockpit has all real flight instruments. 100% complete. Cockpit is currently owned by a former F-111 pilot. Send us a message with questions... Delivered to the USAF on 18 September 1972. Whilst with the 524th TFS, 27th TFW, crashed at 14:15 hours MST, on September 11, 1987 at Cannon AFB, New Mexico The jet impacted about one-and-three-quarter miles from the end of runway 22 at Cannon AFB. The crew were practicing single engine approaches and the engine that was providing thrust flamed out. A well known fact about the F-111 is that the engines don't have very good response to rapid throttle movements. The aircraft wallowed around for several seconds before the capsule separated. The ejection was initiated at about 200 feet and the parachute barely opened before impact. The airframe impacted on the right wing and cartwheeled several times before coming to a rest upside down. The vertical tail broke off in the ground. Crew ejected safely: PILOT Maj John Sides and WSO Maj. Russell Striker. Call sign Captor 11. The aircraft had accumilated 1,444 flights and 3,494.2 flight hours at the time of loss. USA SALE ONLY TO A US CITIZEN ONLY https://www.ebay.com/itm/F-111-Aardvark-Cockpit-Crew-Module/254054932151?hash=item3b26da9eb7:g:fToAAOSwmPlcMTeS

Oregon has no sales tax, that's why shopmate is one of dozens of package/freight forwarders based there. The sale to an Oregon address avoid those taxes

UAV using avgas?

being in Perth, deal with a Perth based company. It pays to shop around, freight companies are sketchy as heck.

the 2017/2018 report is here https://issuu.com/raaus/docs/annual_report_2017-18_pages_small_i only reporting a 1/2 year 262,184

@mnewbery excellent points

you can see the live power production on this site, solar is making an impact but QLD gov needs to keep exporting power to pay down the gov's deficit. https://opennem.org.au/#/regions/qld