fly_tornado

CASA will interpret this as a green light for drone operations

1930s viral marketing! back when aviation was full of original thinkers

one for the mechanic https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/caboolture/miscellaneous-goods/lightwing-aircraft-/1178117702?ea=10450367

you can get GPS in cars now, I've heard good things about it

of course

I would have thought that with Bange and King being locals they would have done a meet and greet for the members at the fly in. missed opportunity really

Is Bange not running the RAA anymore?

I was just asking who you thought was paying for his licensing? After all we don't really know who paid for his plane.

no OEM Ducati ignition

who do you reckon is paying for the advancement of Ashby's license?

In the further analysis stage?

Is there an RAA meet and greet? Can you ask about fee rises if you get a chance

I wonder how this would compare to fuel injection, I'm guessing a lot more effecient

Why doesn't the RAA do anything? By the time it gets through management, safety, market research further analysis it's easier just to run meet and greets

reading the report it sounds like he's pitched back without building airspeed, which is very easy thing to do, and then tried to correct the change of direction without reducing the AOA. all happening pretty quickly and the muscles tense up

if you haven't read this month's Sport Pilot MOST people enjoy having a good whinge. It can be therapeutic to have a vent. When we rant, our bodies release endorphins which relieve stress. Getting things off your chest is also a time honoured way of getting problems out in the open. But at the end of the day, having a good whinge does no good to anyone if you don’t actually do anything productive once you are done moaning. Part of my role as the Chair of RAAus is to listen to members venting. My job is to figure out when the problem is real, when the person just feels like they need to be heard and when the whinging is pure and utter rubbish. I feel like I have spent the past few days dealing almost exclusively with the latter sort. It began with a series of posts on an online forum deriding RAAus and our attempts to gain additional privileges for pilots who do not hold a CASA qualification. For a start, the posts completely misrepresented RAAus by intimating that we had recently walked into the CASA offices, banged our fists on the table and demanded a weight increase. Interestingly, we have had conversations in recent days on this topic, but they were much more civilised than this post would have you believe. We actually had a rational discussion with CASA about a transition plan and a potential path to achieving our goal. Our approach has been to develop a path to allow pilots to continue engaging in their passion, even when they no longer want to remain in the CASA system (no matter the reason). Our approach is one of cooperation, not conflict. It does not help our argument when people generate rumours and innuendo. We should be working with each other. It seems ludicrous to me that individuals who purport to be in support of aviation set out to rip it apart by telling lies (yes ‘lies’ is a strong word -but it is also the most correct word to use when describing the things being said). Following on from these online rants, I began to get calls from worried members concerned about the financial state of RAAus. It turns out that yet again, more lies were being told and posted in public places. Another so-called ‘source’ was suggesting RAAus was “on the verge of financial collapse with weeks”. As Chair of the organisation, I feel it is important to maintain a level of transparency so members understand the current state of affairs. RAAus publishes annual audited financial reports which are assessed by qualified accountants. They look at our accounts, bank statements and even the petty cash tin. They sign a legally enforceable document to tell the government that RAAus is trading solvently…that it is in good financial shape. On top of this we publish an annual report each year, outlining all the other things going on in the organisation. As well, I keep members up to date through this column each month, Sport Pilot always has the very latest information from the office and the regular e-news email gets sent out to everyone each month. We also hold regular public forums, our professional development series for flying schools has now begun and so on. But despite all this flood of information, some people take pleasure in saying things which are demonstrably false. I can only imagine some people derive satisfaction from the suffering of others. And when there is no suffering, they feel the need to create some. The Germans have a word for it – schadenfreude. It means taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. The problem for schadenfreude sufferers at the moment is that we have no misfortune, so they don’t get no satisfaction. Thus the need to spread false information. In recent times RAAus has made significant progress streamlining its operations. Our systems have undergone massive improvement and we now have online access to many member and school resources. Our SMS continues to roll out, which will relieve the need for schools and clubs to invest thousands of dollars inventing their own. All in all, a lot of successes. Maybe that is what is attracting the attention? We have spent the past few decades pointing the finger at CASA and telling the world that the demise of aviation is their fault. At the same time, we have run around pointing the finger at other aviation organisations, claiming they’re about to go broke or they’re throwing their weight around demanding things. All the while, aviation is crumbling around us. I think the regulator does have things to answer for, but I also think there are individuals who need to take a good long hard look at themselves and ask themselves a simple question – am I part of the problem? Can they answer themselves honestly? So while I could have been doing something positive and working to advance aviation in Australia this past couple of weeks, some people have been trying to distract me by throwing stones. It’s about time they (and we) grew up and realise we all have to accept some of the responsibility for the state of aviation in this country today. If I was a teenager, trying to decide whether to be a doctor or a pilot, and I saw the ridiculous behaviour of some in the aviation fraternity, I reckon I would choose to be a doctor. Encouraging people into aviation means leading by example, preferably a positive one. So that’s my whinge. I do feel better having got it off my chest. Now I’m off to do something positive for aviation. What about you?

not saying this is political but PHON's vote has collapsed over the last 6 months and Hanson has had another defection, I wonder who leaked this to the ABC? The ABC understands Mr Ashby is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for flying the Jabiru J230 during the 2016 election campaign. CASA has declined to confirm or deny whether any investigation is underway. If found guilty, Mr Ashby faces fines and could lose his licence. The ABC understands Mr Ashby only holds a recreational pilot's licence and the plane is registered as a recreational aircraft. That means it cannot be flown for commercial purposes or in controlled airspace above major airports. Mr Ashby described the investigation as a "political witch-hunt". "I will comply with CASA's request for documents, however this is just a further waste of taxpayers' money where their findings will result in the same outcome as previous investigations," he said. The plane is plastered with a stylised image of Senator Hanson, and Mr Ashby used it to fly the One Nation leader around Queensland in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Mr Ashby boasted in a radio interview about piloting the then-candidate around for her commitments. Ashby investigated for flying Pauline Hanson without proper pilot's licence

Always reckon that is something a board members says

looks good Jim, is Kev still building the DR1?

built = assembled from parts imported from china

I like to think the team at the RAA are very good at the their jobs, they are a team and their is no weakest link the because the buck stops at the boss

There was a big boom in RAA flying hours in 2016/2017, so it seems that the RAA have found that perfect compromise between costs and safety. I can't emphasise enough how big a break through this is in the history of GA in Australia, if not the world. I know of no organisation capable of a 80% increase in flying hours and a drop in fatal incidents.

that pipeline is feeding russian gas

The Russians are building a huge pipeline into China, our gas reserves will be devalued greatly

why not bite the bullet and buy the MARAP certificate?