ayavner

Great job Nick, its the best feeling isn't it? Yes I think that would be my instinct if I spotted another aircraft coming towards me on my first solo!! Cheers! Adam

Hah, that is where i go - about the same distance away.. what area do you live in? I'm in Winston Hills, just outside Sydney. do you rent from Bruce down there?

Nope Sue, syndicate is what I meant and I really value your thoughts here! its been a long time since I opened this thread, but lots has happened since then - I've passed my pilot test, navs, and Pax, and am starting on my PPL. I am inclined to agree with you. Right now my thoughts are either rent when needed as you suggest, or buy an inexpensive plane just to flog up for hours. Still a ways off yet, once I get my PPL I can fly an RAA aircraft out of Bankstown which is very close to me, which may really kinda solve all problems.

Nice one, yup you nailed it! Next?

OK I'll throw one out there:

Thanks for all that info Paddy and btw, welcome to the forum!!

Hi there - FYI the cafe listed for Wollongong (YWOL) burned to the ground last year and there are no plans to rebuild last I heard. Real shame that...

Thanks for that! Might do that soon then - I've landed on the dirt strips at Bathurst as well as Goulburn, good idea about doing a PSL first though just to get the feel for it. Question - how is it situated in terms of the local attractions - is there a bus or other transport to get into town? Doesn't look walking distance as far as I can tell?

Cool Paddy, I have always wanted to visit that strip. I hear its a challenge. Have you been there? cheers adam

From a practical sense I understand (and definitely adhere to) the hemi rule when doing any sort of trip, however not sure how to apply it when i am just buzzing up and down the coast at 2500 feet between Kiama and sea-cliff bridge? Seems like by the time i got up to 3500 feet, it would be time to turn around and descend again? i'll have a think on that, but in the meantime i keep very close tabs on the radio, and my passenger briefing includes the phrase "if you see something, say something!"

I always fly just over the water with the land to my left if I am going north (within gliding distance of course). There are a lot of ridges and escarpments on the land side of Wollongong that make it pretty rocky at times. But yeah, seems to be pretty open. I generally let down to 1000 a few miles out then approach early downwind from a 45 degree angle out, that seems to give me pretty good awareness - that's if I already know the circuit direction. But if I'm unsure, yeah overfly at 1500 to the dead side, then let down and join cross wind of whatever direction looks best. I'll have a look at that doco as well Andy, to make sure I'm not forgetting anything. Another thing I've noticed out there, probably similar elsewhere is people tend to just do what the last person did, even if the windsock is clearly blowing the wrong way. Don't be afraid to take the lead and change runway if more appropriate, just make the right radio calls.

yeah those came in right as i posted mine haha. When will you be out there next? I am thinking weekend of the 8th.

I know what you mean - I was out at Wollongong on Monday going up and down the coast - I was on the ocean side of Lake Illawara heading south towards Kiama at 2500 feet when suddenly directly ahead I see an aerobatic plane of some sort shooting up nearly vertically in front of me (albeit some distance away), followed by some neat maneuvres, after which point I lost him. I just made a radio call with my position and that I could see him, and he responded that he had me sighted so all was well. i still turned around and went back the other way, to give him his space. It is fun to be up there and see another plane, but can be scary at times too when you see them suddenly and wonder then how long had you been unaware. i think my situational awareness is probably better than average for my experience level, but those little buggers can zoom by in the time it takes to set your QNH!! Is it at the tip of that little inlet?

... and as predicted, my letter arrived in the mail today requesting info from a sleep study (which I haven't done in probably 5 years), but didn't really say what it is they are hoping to find out from the sleep study - so I guess i need to call and talk with someone so that I know I'll be getting the correct thing done and the correct info provided (and hopefully avoid paying for an expensive test only to be told I need something else or whatever). oh well, i am sure its for the best, for this very reason. But I know myself, and falling asleep while flying won't happen unless someone slips me a mickey before hand...

barnstorming?

thanks for sharing those photos, love the creative thinking on your niece's headset! Looks like you've been a great ambassador for the sport, as I aspire to be. As soon as she uploads the photos, I'll post a few of the scenic shots. We didn't get too low, as I figured her comfort level would be better up in the smoother air. Next time if she's game we can do some low n slow and get some really great shots. I now feel like I have the confidence to open the offer to workmates or the other rellies.

Took up my first passenger today, and who was the brave soul? None other than my wife Rebecca! We drove down to Wollongong first thing in the morning, and after waiting a bit for the weather to clear, fueled up the J170 and did some sight-seeing. I worked a bit on my "patter" and briefings. I think I was more nervous than she was, as I really knew I had to get it right. But she said she'd do it again, so that was a plus! We went up and down the coast line, saw the big P&O cruise ship docked just off of Kiama, then followed the coastline north to look at the sea-cliff bridge - always wanted to do that! She brought her nikon D90 along, so hopefully got some good piccies and will post a couple. I wish I had thought to take a picture of her as well, but got pretty wrapped up in everything. Hopefully with more practice I'll free up some brain cells for the finer points of the experience. On short final, I did say "well I guess now its time to see if the lessons were worth the cost" which got a chuckle, then followed by a beautiful greaser landing. What a great day!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Spelling matters!

lets see... blah blah blah... GEAR UP. blah blah blah hatches something blah blah

meanwhile the original post on the Jeep forum is up to 11 pages, doesn't look like the OP wanted to jump back in...

hehe of course i was just kidding.

Mile high club.

congrats and well-done, its a great feeling!! it is amazing how quickly it gets ahead of you when you add nerves, my first one I could barely remember even right after it was done!

Great..... so this comes as I am awaiting results of my class 2 application. on the form, i ticked the box for sleep apnea, so with stuff like this going on who would blame CASA for either denying my app or putting me through endless hoops to avoid making a decision. I can't imagine it myself, every time I even sit in a plane my adrenaline goes through the roof.