youngster

A Toll Metro visits Coffs every day on a run up the coast.

Air gets caught in the little dimples, so you have air flowing smoothly over little pockets of air, instead of air flowing over fabric/paint/aluminium which creates more drag. I have wondered before why someone hasn't done it for aircraft. I suppose cost is an issue, although surely it would be relatively simple to produce pressed dimpled aluminium sheeting?

I'm training at Coffs Aviation Centre in the Foxbat. Coffs is a beautiful spot and the airport has two sealed runways. The breeze can get up in the afternoon sometimes, but generally it's a pretty good place to fly. There's plenty to do here while you're not flying as well. The only issue in Coffs is that the field is controlled most of the time, so you have to go solo outside tower hours. I have nothing but good things to say about the CFI as well.

On a slightly off-topic note, I am reading De Havilland's autobiography at the moment. Very interesting stuff.

I work in Federal politics. No vested interest in Qantas or private equity firms, not that I'm opposed to any gifts of a few million shares in Macquarie Bank if anyone is offering! I get a bit frustrated with this whole 'poor shareholders' argument, because no one is required to buy Qantas shares. If fact, I dont own any, because I don't think it is a good business. I also agree that offering massive pay rises and incentives to either management, or engineers, or pilots, or any other staff, is not going to turn it into a good business. How Alan Joyce can take a multi-million dollar salary from a business that is barely turning a profit is beyond me. At the same, the pay rises and other conditions demanded by Sheldon and his mates were similarly outrageous. I just know that centuries of experience in a range of highly competitive industries shows the highly unionised companies will eventually lose out to more efficient and productive competitors (think steel in the 1800s and the auto industry in the 1990-2000s).

On the political side of things, I work right in the thick of it, and I have no doubts at all that the Hon Senator is using this issue to boost his profile. He did the same thing by naming that priest in SA, despite having no credible evidence to support his claims, which would have been defamatory if made outside the protection of Parliament.

Or, the management could be fulfilling their duty to bring Qantas into the 21st century by reforming unproductive and inefficient work practices, and Senator Xenophon is using this as a great publicity tool - after all, who doesn't want their local pollie standing up for an "Aussie Icon"? Of course, if this information was genuine, the good Senator would not have to hide behind Parliamentary Privilege to make his anonymously sourced allegations. Never let the truth get in the way of a good publicity opportunity. Qantas service staff are rubbish in general (I have no idea about maintenance, pilots etc), and I support Joyce trying to shake things up a bit. I fly about 100 flights a year with Qantas, and the flight attendents, gate staff, and Qantas Club staff generally seem to have forgotten that they work in the service industry, and that they rely on me and my continued patronage for a job. Based on reports in the media, Qantas has a massively bloated workforce, paid at the highest rates in the world. In the globally competitive airline market, you cannot compete on those terms. The company has to change to remain competitive.

The problem as I see it is not weight. If you are 6'10", you are going to weigh 110kg naturally, so it seems unfair to charge extra. The problem is people who encroach into your paid-for seat. I sat next to a woman last year on a Qantas flight who could not even lower the tray table she was so fat. Needless to say, I spent the whole flight squished against the window and I certainly didn't get the whole seat I paid for.

I was flying with Qantas a couple of years ago when we hit some pretty severe turbulence in a Q400. I'm glad I had my seatbelt on. The drinks cart was 18 inches off the ground, my book ended up in the lap of the lady across the aisle, and the passengers tea and coffee hit the ceiling. I think a couple of passengers has minor injuries. There is nothing you can do about it unfortunately. I managed to hold on to a couple of bottles of wine from the drinks cart so they didn't smash at my feet, but the plane was a complete mess with food and drink everywhere.

The website for Air Fraser Island, the company involved, says it operates GA8 Airvans. So I suspect it was an Airvan.

My flying school has just put a Jabiru LSA55 on line, along with the Foxbat A22LS that I have been training in. The Jab will be available for private hire once I have my licence. I enjoy flying the Foxbat, but I suspect I will end up flying the Jab once I have my licence. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether I should stick with the Foxbat, train on both, or train on the Jab, since I will probably end up flying that anyway?

Pfffffft to the weather! I am not flying this morning, due to Coffs Harbour's all-too-frequent rain. Oh well.

Now that work has slowed down a little, I've finally managed to get a few training flights in. I've got just over 3 hours in my log book now! This morning, we practised some climbing and descending over the Bellinger Valley, which was a lot of fun. We cruised out to the training area at about 2500' with the air perfectly smooth and bump-free. As I was looking around at the mountains, ocean, a distant waterfall, and beautiful forest and farmland, I could not help but think: "This is why I am doing this!" It was one of those moments of clarity where every problem and stress waiting back on the ground was gone, and for just a few moments, it was absolute bliss. Hence, I shall be back in the air tomorrow morning! Safe flying everyone and a Merry Christmas!

Flying is expensive. End of story. $185 for a magazine, insurance, and all the administration etc is not that bad in the scheme of things. As for the website, it is pretty ordinary, but it provides access to all the necessary stuff, so I don't think it's as big a deal some people make out. It must be very difficult for RAA's leadership, when some people are wanting a return to the "good old days" so they can fly from their back paddock whenever they want, and some people want whiz-bang websites and streamlined interfaces and programmatic specificity and all that expensive professional stuff. You can't really have it both ways.

Flying is expensive. End of story. $185 for a magazine, insurance, and all the administration etc is not that bad in the scheme of things. As for the website, it is pretty ordinary, but it provides access to all the necessary stuff, so I don't think it's as big a deal some people make out. It must be very difficult for RAA's leadership, when some people are wanting a return to the "good old days" so they can fly from their back paddock whenever they want, and some people want whiz-bang websites and streamlined interfaces and programmatic specificity and all that expensive professional stuff. You can't really have it both ways.

If you are used to living at 5000 feet, I wonder if that makes a difference? There are people in the world who live at high altitude, and presumably they adapt to their surroundings over time.

Anyone know anything about a landing incident at Taree earlier today? It was reported with very scant detail by national press outlets.

Maybe one day, a long time down the track. BTW Fly_T, it's not all PNG. MAF does Africa, Asia, and Remote Australia as well.

Good on ya Carl! I still haven't done anything since the radio course we did together, but hopefully will get to some flying soon. I was wondering what that green monster was doing laps today. Never linked it with all those parachutists!

It may seem unnecessary to suggest it, but make sure you have good travel insurance! One trip to the doctor, an x-ray, and some complementary antibiotics cost me about $500, which I could then recoup from my insurer. Get run over by a run away B17 and you could be up for zillions in hospital bills over there. If you have access to a corporate plan somehow, it's worth picking up Qantas Club membership for the long journey, plus you get extra baggage and access to American Airlines Lounges.

Most of this stuff is just to create the illusion of safety. Politicians seem to find it hard to say "these things happen", so they legislate! A couple of well placed explosives on major bridges could bring any major city to a standstill, with practically no risk to the terrorist. Aircraft-based terrorism is not the biggest threat, but it is the one place where pollies can actually have some control in a democracy, so they legislate.

You also need an electronic travel authorisation to enter Australia, even if you are an American. It's not that big of a hassle, although it would be nice if their border guards would smile, instead of treating you, even if you are traveling with a wife, and two little kids, like a definite terrorist.

In any event, airports are huge places, and anyone who really wanted to sneak in and do something nefarious would need only a pair of cheap wire cutters.

Sorry Turbo, transport is not my field, although I have had a quiet word in the ear of the appropriate people about the wonders of Rec Aviation. There are a few MPs who fly, but I don't think they make too much of it due to fear of being labelled a rich so and so.

Policy Advisor for a Federal Shadow Minister (please don't hold that against me - we need a couple of sensible people in politics!), just started some theory toward RAA cert.