fly_tornado

AS I write this I am pondering the thoughts of directors aired at a board meeting on the weekend just gone. Many topics were discussed, ranging from the history of RAAus, the current standing of our organisation and where we are going. It’s been said to me that if we keep talking about the good old days then chances are our best days are behind us. I believe this statement to be true, but we do need to consider where we have come from and what has happened in the years gone by, in order to understand how we can successfully move into the future. For many years we had been in a position which allowed us to grow as an organisation and gain access to new rights and privileges. We went from short hops across paddocks in some fairly rudimentary aircraft, to being able to access machines which can comfortably fly across the entire country. And somewhere along the way we got a little lost. While we were busy entering into new markets, we forgot to meet some of our existing obligations. We took our eye off the ball and the regulator started to take a closer look at us. In 2011 there was a series of adverse findings against us in CASA audits, which resulted in a significant safety alert being issued in late 2012. On top of this, we had a number of members facing off against the old system of disciplinary panels. We seemed to be at war with ourselves and others. It wasn’t working. Today, I am in the privileged position of being able to say we have corrected this lack of attention to detail. We have been working hard to steady the ship and have all but finished a three year period of stabilisation. While some detractors would point out we have not gained anything new in recent times, I would argue we have made progress. We had aircraft groundings, the inability to renew registrations and a host of other problems related to both flying operations and airworthiness activities. In contrast, we are now looking at a modest surplus in this financial year, compared to the almost half a million dollar losses of years gone by. Our people can go flying whenever they want to and we no longer have members facing potential expulsion from RAAus, which was the default reaction some years ago. What’s more, in the past year or so, we have added about 750 members to our ranks. We managed this significant change of direction in just the past three years. We have moved from a path of almost self-destruction to one of positivity and solid growth, backed by hard evidence. The next three years will build on this as we begin planning for a robust future. With the organisation now stabilised, we can start to solidify our performance. During this time we will strengthen our position, both in the market as well as in financial terms. We will make some modest changes to the RAAus product offering and start to expand the way we offer value to members. At the moment we are pretty much doing the sorts of jobs we have always done. We have always handed out pilot and maintenance qualifications and we have always set the standards in each of these areas. Sure, we have represented pilots and maintainers and lobbied for their rights along the way. But, in essence, that’s all we have ever really done. For a while we got distracted and had to fight to get back to where we were and today we are able to keep doing what we do. The question is – is it enough to just keep doing what we have always done? During the next three years we will set ourselves up to strategically invest in the future of RAAus. It will be a period of solidification, where we constantly improve our current operations and the way we deliver on our promises. More importantly though, it is setting us up to go into a phase where we add even more value for members and ultimately provide more security for the organisation. We will start to consider how we invest in aviation in the country. This might consist of asset acquisitions to protect ourselves against closing airports and other aviation related facilities. It might consist of investing in future pilots and maintainers. We could even invest in people who are well placed to influence aviation policy in Australia. The truth is we don’t know what all this looks like yet, we are only starting the conversation. We also need to continue with our collective industry efforts in forums such as the Australian Aviation Associations Forum, which has a solid reputation, and make sure events such as AirVenture Australia keep bringing the industry together. Over the past 50 years or so, aviation has gone from being well regarded in this country to something of a sideshow. Many airports have been abandoned and ended up in the hands of local councils which don’t know what to do with them, which has created access problems. In the past we had favourable tax treatment for investment in aviation assets, including aircraft, but this no longer exists and now we have an ageing aircraft problem. For the most part we have had transport ministers more interested in roads and railways than aviation, so we are like the poor relation of other modes of transport. RAAus is well placed to play a role in changing all of these things. We are the largest group of private aviators in the country and the fastest growing. We have a relatively young fleet of aircraft which is attractive to new entrants in the sector. And we have the respect of many stakeholders across different parts of our industry. I believe we owe it to aviation and the next generation of aviators to make sure we are here for the long haul and working collectively to protect the interests of aviation in general. It is incumbent on us to work with the broader industry to further the cause and make sure we get noticed for the right reasons. For the jobs we create and the contribution we make to society. Right now we are a stable organisation and we need to solidify that. Then we can do even more work on building some security for aviation. Stability. Solidity. Security. It’s in our best interests How accurate are the RAA stats though? There seems to be a lot of hours being recorded post 2017 750 members = $176,250 increase in ongoing revenues with a one off income of $16500

The rumours of the RAA going bust are comical at best, no other organisation can punch out 5%pa increases indefinitely

the coal in the ground is worth nothing if there is no market for it, especially the brown coal.

There are better dust control measures out there now.

sump oil is no longer sitting around service stations, its used as fuel for marine diesel engines

Two dead after small plane collision at an Indiana airport By: Renee Ruth Posted: Apr 2, 2018 7:27 PM EST FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL MARION, Ind. – Two are dead after a single-engine Cessna 150 plane and a Cessna 525 Citation Jet collided on the ground Monday. According to preliminary information, the Cessna 150 attempted to take off around 5:09 p.m. at Marion Municipal Airport. When the Cessna took off it struck the tail of the jet, which had just landed. According to reports, the Cessna was carrying two people and the Citation carrying five. The Grant County Coroner confirmed that two people died. The Marion Airport does not have an air traffic control tower, and pilots using the field are supposed to announce their intentions on the common radio frequency. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the case, while the National Transportation Safety Board is involved as well.

mud all over your plane?

or an air trikes conversion Air Trikes SPG4 gearbox conversion kit Subaru engines EA-81 82 EJ-18 20 22 25 | eBay

aero momentum sell gearboxes and bits and pieces PSRU Aircraft Gear Box fits Suzuki Geo G10 G13 G15 G16 Subaru Honda and others | eBay

go for a drive around the neighbourhood and you'll work out what grows locally

buy a Landrover phil

pull it apart and find where you messed up

A couple of years ago google street view cars got into trouble for scraping SSIDs as they were photographing the street

this is useful to work out what does what in a rotax harness http://www.titanaircraft.com/manuals/tornado/92-DT-0248-C.pdf http://www.titanaircraft.com/manuals/tornado/96-INS-0788-C.pdf

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has amended its 2015-16 financial disclosure to declare $30,375 for the use of James Ashby's plane, which has been the subject of Australian Electoral Commission investigation Bumpy ride in One Nation aircraft saga - 9News

I'd really be more worried about all the mowing, 4000M2 is a lot of grass to maintain.

The only reason I suggested couch is, it runs along the ground and also its designed to be a lawn so doesn't grow very high, its not intended to be food for livestock.

Very easy to maintain

This is what 20 years of premix from steel fuel cans leaves behind

No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron - Wikipedia Movie about Polish WWII pilots coming soon

No state or federal government is going to spend big bucks in Katterstan

QLD blue couch

Most state governments don't want B-Doubles driving over flooded roads because they churn them up pretty quick, easier to leave them closed

so, showing no reason to increase membership fees?

1@kasper[/uSER] From your reading of the report, Does this make a case for increasing fees? ie $10 for members and another $20 for planes?