antzx6r

Hi, just a quick note on 6 min marks. The confusion hear is that the 6min marks are placed on your map at planning stage. You don't set the stopwatch and at 6mins look out the window and see where you are. Not very accurate and just too hard. You track to the first mark and check your time to get there. It actually took 7 mins...? ok now your original 6min marks are infact 7 min marks. change your times and you have an updated eta. simple. thats what i was led to believe. Someone correct me if i'm wrong. Oh and on the subject of time, this is the most important part. Time gives your fuel consumption. You find that your eta blows out to an unacceptable time based on your fuel reserves then you must divert. I can't see the argument. You either make it or you don't. (with reserve of coarse)

From what I read of pilots moving up to slipery higher stall speed aircraft, the biggest danger is alowing the aoa to get too high when lining up on final or turning xwind on T/O or just when bad weather closes in trying to find the field. So I think for those looking at aircraft like the Lancair, this could be the instrument that saves lives. However with the 45kn stall restriction on raa, I think this instrument would be helpfull in getting nice flat approaches but if you are slow enough to get a warning from this instrument, your almost falling out of the sky. I could be wrong tho. I've never seen them working.

Very true Yenn, and I think this is the real problem. CASA is the safety authority for all aviation in Australia and (IMHO) should stick to that and hand over the governing responsibilities to a seperate organization. Isn't that how all other countries are running things? I guess its hard for any organization to down size. But they have a monopoly and a vested interest. Much like Telsra had. I don't really care how big CASA are really but it is killing general aviation and giving us rec flyers a complex.

...or a nail in the coffin.

But we have digressed off topic a bit. Reading the presentation it does feel like we are being manouvered into a place of control. Like a chess match. A few of you have been saying you have feared this for while like we have had a choice, but I think it may have been inevidable. When it was a small organization with limited technology CASA sort of ignored it. But growing numbers and faster aircraft mean that a safety organization must sit up and take notice. It would be negligent not to.

yeah of coarse. If the CTR endorsement came in, i'd be jumping then too. Thats what I'm getting at. We do the training and its only deemed half of what a GA pilot would achieve with the same hoops. Like we're not flying real planes or something. But I don't want to go to GA to fly "real planes". With my PPL I will be able to fly my RAA regoed Tecnam right on into CTA.

I'd like some restrictions removed. More than one pax, transiting controled airspace and if the need arised, land in a CTR airport. It seems that CTAFs are moving further from the cities. Its looking like the CTR endorsement is a fizzer so off to GA. I would also like to do some mild aero training and maybe even build an RV or similar.

True, but what about $/hour or better yet $/smile? I think you'll agree RA comes out way on top there. I've just been browsing thru the two and I have to say that appart from what i've mentioned, I can't see the extra hoops. I can see that training in a C172 is complex compared to a Drifter, but so is a Tecnam Golf. You wouldn't have tracked a VOR in the Drifter but I did in the Golf. You've just gone from one extreme to the other. Can you give me some examples of where the syllabus differs? I am actually interested in a conversion opposite to yourself. RA to GA. So I genuinely would like to know.

I read it that you enter at any of the normal entry points (midfield, down, 45 or base) at 500ft. And overfly at 500ft right thru the pattern. I'm guessing they feel that at <55kt you should be able to putter on up, shake hands and sort yourselves out as to who will land first. 4.6.4 in the CAAP 166 states that pretty clearly. 5.6 also goes into more detail on the matter. I particularly love the way 5.6.4 says that Ultralight pilots should consult AIP, ERSA, relevent charts and NOTAMS. As if that hasn't been the case in the past. It also stated that those who chose to use an overfly method should remember that faster aircraft may be around. This raised a question in my mind. When overflying previously, if an aerodrome rarely or never recieved 150kn + traffic, the overfly was at 1500ft. Does that still apply or is the overfly now 2000ft for all? If this does still apply, does that go for <55kt traffic as well? i.e. 500ft circuits with 1000ft overfly? Watch out for those 250kt RPT!

Thats because you did GA training and the convertion was a formality to see that you can handle the other. If you did them both as from ab initio the only differences would be (a) no dame medical and (b) no instrument hood time or CTA. The 20hrs is really only equivelent to GFPT. With x-country, radio, and pax endorsements, the time taken is easely more than 40hrs (usually 50-60+). And I believe some instructors also prefer to use the CASA BAK, Pre Solo, Pre Area Solo and GFPT, PPL online exams. Something I wish I did, now that i'm looking at the conversion to PPL.

Great doco. The americans love to dramatize but those guys have balls of steel.

Bill, you are quite right. Firstly, I apologize for my attempt at humour. My sarcasm tends to run away with me when I get riled. And there is no class in making lite of ones close call with the great beyond. I'm glad that all came down safely. As for the frequency of these types of disregard for rules of the air, and more importantly, safety, I have to say I am relatively young in the industry and I guess to the less young it must make your heart sink. The book does indeed need to be thrown at times.

Right on the money(so to speak). And Dick does have the passion, however I think his vision for aviation is a little bigger than the RAAus.

Hi Bill, Contrary to what you may believe of us "chaps and chapesses" we all know that the display in question was without a doubt in "violation of regulations". None of us here approve of such behaviour. (as you will have noticed) If you are refering to the way are are not all rushing off to CASA to get this guy's ticket pulled and while we are at it slag each other off for how unprofessional everyone else is but me (because I am the god of aviation), well... you see, this site is about making the skies safer thru education, comunication and fellowship as opposed to rules, regulations and politics. Oooh my engine quite, i'll have to make a glid approach... wait is that in the regulations? Yes, but I need written permission in triplicate. Well I'll just have to stall it in then. Not all of GA is like that but sir, your post is giving it a bad name. ps. what was the emergency, your third GPS fail?

This is what I love about this site. You would never hear such open honesty and straight talking views on that other pp site! Eveyone seems intent on displaying how "professional" they think they are. I was planning on flying in a couple of years ago (the wet one) and i must admit I was a bit worried about the traffic, being a low time pilot. Due to weather I never got to find out how it was. This year I was planning on riding down from Brisy but a mate convinced me to do a run to the three corners(Haddon, Poppel and Cameron). Turns out the whole place is under water so we got to Haddon and then Birdsville(just) but no big red or any other sand hills for us. Met a young family who flew in from Canberra in a freshly built RV10. 180kn, aircon, glass cockpit...(Ineed more money) Anyhoo, they were also going to drop in to ytem on the way but thought there would only be too many low time hotshots and not enough control in the circuit. He was also over the flyin thing a bit. Prefered to go and see new destinations with a few good friends. I know its not really the ultralight thing, but maybe the time has come to get a tower to help flyers in and out and maybe control the "displays" a bit. Sorry Capt. On the original questions, I think we've just witnessed that sometimes a quiet word to the offender can be the best way. Tact is needed tho. No-one likes being told what a tool they've been. But with the right words people can see that they may not have acted all that wisely. The skys are then safer, everyone is still up there, and CASA has no need to shut down perfectly good flyins. Everybody wins! I know things don't always go that well but I find its often better to take the diplomatic route first and if that doesn't work then tell them straight out that you are going to have to call the dogs.

This is what I don't get... RA Aus pilots jump thru the same hoops spend the same time training(only less money), have the same restrictions on what we can fly until checked out by cfi, yet because its a certificate and not a licence, we are not properly trained. It seems as if casa think all we do is the min 20 hrs in a scout and then jump into a 150kn pocket rocket. You know I honestly think this is the same thing as the reason car drivers get so agro with bikers. They just can't stand to see someone slip thru traffic when they're stuck. GA pilots get snotty because it dosn't cost the same as they had to spend. So they sell the public on how dangerous we are.

Was that a flat spin about 5 mins in? Never seen a glider spin. impressive. (if intentional that is)

PNG maybe?

Umm. Don't quote me on this but I believe the Vic - Tas leg is possible on the technicality that there are "islands" (really only surfacing rocks) scattered within gliding distance. Thats what i've heard anyway. I don't think Lord Howe has the same luxury for this reason. Even tho it is still part of NSW. Maybe some of our apple isl members can confirm this???

I agree with that observation Bass. I found that even just in my own circle of friends. But you can't deny that drugs in schools is becoming a bigger problem. There have been reports of children as young as 13 dealing. I can remember that getting up to no good at that age was when a friend found his dads old Playboy mags.

Same experience. I was truthfull. (I alway felt it was foolish to lie to a doctor) Anyhow, being that it was a case of never being a "user" per say but just trying a joint being passed around the camp fire a few times, the doc said if I put anything else but no on this, it will be very difficult to convince casa you're not a paranoia patient waiting to happen. I've also heard the same view is taken if you've ever had a prostate problem. Even if just slightly enlarged. Any experiences with that? ps. I think that the youth experimentation thing has been accelerating in recent years. When I was at school in late 80s there were a few kids that you know were smoking but it was rare. Probably half a doz in each school. (I went to about ten throughout my schooling. Family moved between NSW and TAS a few times.) My younger brother finished about 5 years ago in western NSW and he recons its more like 50/50 or more now. That together with current news reports and the way schools actually have to put up signs that the school is a drug free zone , lets just say I would not like to be trying to raise kids these days.

I just watched the 60 minutes report on the norfolk island ditch. Seems clear from the report that the pilot made quite a few bad decisions in the planning and the actual flight. The only thing he did manage to get right was the ditch itself. They did mention however that acording to PEL-AIR, the flight had no need for the usual safety precautions like an alternate. Can you believe that? Can anyone here confirm that? What about 45min reserve? Anyhow, surely this flight was under IFR. Or should have become so. It seems the rules don't always make rotten conditions impossible to encounter.

Thanks destiny, I just read about it in the other cheap GPS thread. Guess I should do more reading and less posting silly questions.:hittinghead:

Quick question on waypoints. The VNC from Maptrax came with what looks like a list of all ADs and ALAs in Australia (I think. 563 of them). It's a txt file and contains Name, Lat, Long, ID, State and type. Is there a quick way to import those to a waypoint file(.wpt)? And for if there isn't, has anyone taken the time to set up waypoints for at least the eastern seaboard or southeast QLD to sydney basin?

I've just done a bit of an upgrade. I wanted to be able to use FSX to its full capacity graphics wise. I went from XP to win7 (64bit) lured by the dream of directx 10. I'm happy with it for the fact that I can now turn everything right up and still have decent frames BUT appart from helping the frame rates, directx 10 is a flop. (It actually makes the water effects worse. And there is a major flicker problem.) Windows 7: Seems quite good. It automates alot of things that used to take for ever when setting up a machine. Finally taking a leaf out of apples book. (wow there's some puns in that!!!) I highly recomend it. Especially if you've been avoiding vista. Its basiclly a vista that actualy works. FSX: If your going to get it, go all out. You'll need: - Gold edition (FSX with accelorator and the service packs) flightsim.com have it for around $50) - Yoke and pedals. I think Logitec do a good set now. $450ish - TrackIR makes a HUGE difference to the situational awareness. (iWear VR920 looks like a step in the right direction too. Can't wait to try it. 4 times the price tho) - Addons to get are: *Orbx scenery(not free but worth it) I only got Blue and Gold for the entire east coast. *Ants Aussie Airports (free) *OZx Aus (free) HOWEVER: After all this I asure you, you will still have a buring desire to go feel the real thing. It's not even in the ballpark. The setup above will let you practice proceedures, get your circuits right, practice navex training etc. Basiclly everything but the hand eye coordination stuff like landings. You can practice landings but it will only teach you the basic timing of the flare and such. (prob not even that, really) If all you want it for is to get you landings right. The money is much better spent on 5 or 6 hours in the circuit.