Aussie Steve

and yes Maj.. it is Medlow. YKAT (Katoomba) about 2 years ago now. I,m still flying out of there.

Hey Major... you gotta just love the noise those Pratt & Whitney,s make eh ! We were very lucky to host the Army at our airfield so they could conduct an airdrop exercise from YKAT to YBTH check out the vid we are going to host the army again soon as they do some testing with Blackhawks there something to do with altitude cert for deployment OS

A SYDNEY-based pilot was lucky to escape serious injury after his two-seater plane crashed shortly after take-off at Bathurst airport yesterday.The pilot had flown his Lancair Aircraft from Bankstown and was having a short stop-over in Bathurst before continuing to Mudgee. But as he took off just before 3pm, the plane got just metres off the ground before it came crashing back down. Witnesses said debris from the badly damaged plane was spread over about 30 metres but the pilot was not badly hurt. Four young pilots from Brisbane, who did not wish to be named, were the first men on the scene of the crash. The young men are completing a flying tour of NSW and landed at Bathurst just minutes earlier. They said the plane’s engine had not sounded good before take-off, but the plane got airborne before suddenly banking left and crashing back to earth. “As he took off he lost control of the plane for some reason,” they said. The young men ran to the plane and were the first to help the pilot. “We ran out to the plane and the pilot was still inside,” they said. “We helped him out. “He had some head injuries and there was a fair bit of blood but he able to move OK.” The young men dialled 000 and said an ambulance was on the scene within seven minutes. The young pilots said the plane was a two-seater Lancair - “a very lightweight high power output” aircraft. Inspector Mick Aldridge from Bathurst police said emergency services were called to airport about 3pm. “A 45-year-old Sydney man was the sole occupant of the Lancair Aircraft. He had come from Bankstown and was having a brief stop over before travelling on to Mudgee,” Inspector Aldridge said. “According to witnesses who were at the scene the pilot attempted take-off and climbed six feet into the air. It looks like the engine may have stalled causing the plane to lose altitude and to collide with the runway. “The pilot was conscious and breathing and was helped from the plane by witnesses. “He was taken to Bathurst Hospital with lacerations but he is in a stable condition and will be kept overnight. The Australian Aviation Transport Safety Bureau has also been informed. “The airport reopened at 4.15pm.”

What did you go in Dog? I had to be a pax in a 182 going to NATFLY this year, and we did some very ""exciting"" scud running from Bathurst to Narro. That was bad enough...then we had to dodge cloud and mountains to get only as far as Mudgee. Scared the crap out of me i_dunno Did some nice local flying on Sunday here at Katoomba anyway:thumb_up:

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Good to hear that Pylon. The weather did end up pretty good!! Bloody forecast!! ;)

I,m the same Black rod,coming from an extensive motorcycle background including competition dirt bikes and roadies I,m very aware of ""brain buckets"" and their benefits. And I think in 99 % of cases your headset should help keep it on enough. Except my headset is a Light Speed Mach 1 in the ear style, so I will probably make chin strap for mine. I,ll give you an update when I get it sorted.

Found them in the gallery ok, thx Tomo. Good pics mate. :thumb_up:

Hey Tomo... cant see your pics from Oakey ?? I had a nice visit there in May. My wifes Grandfather who lived at Jandowe died and we went up there for the funeral. Dropped in to Dalby for a quick sticky-beak and then the next day my Bro in-law took me for a tour of Oakey Base. He,s a Warrant Officer/ Regimental Sargent Major there so access was a breeze. The Museum was excellent ! I want to try to get up there for next years event (fly-in)

Was hoping to go to the Gloucester Aero Clubs Annual Fly-in today. Started planning last night for the trip from Katoomba to Gloucester in the Gazelle, but alas this morn the weather and forecast are not conducive to a pleasant weekends flying. TS for the afternoon trip home so we,ve decided to give it a miss. We had been really looking forward to flying up there for some time. The Gazelle has just come back home with a brand new 912 up front and prop after a ground incident with a parked truck trailer (dog trailer) its taken nearly 12 mths to get it repaired down at Camden after probs with insurance. Never mind, hopefully we,ll get up there soon. :thumb_up:

Welcome Pete, My Bro in-law lives just near the Airport at YTWB. I,m hoping to fly up there next year some time for a visit. Will have to meet all you local guys eh?

Must have been a Holden wanker :yuk: lol the stickers idea sounds great Slarti. Here,s one to get the Greenies fired up... I :heart: the smell of burnt AVGAS

Wearing helmets in Rec aircraft has been difficult due to the confined space in which we operate. Looking over your shoulder is hard enough at the best of times. I have often mentioned helmets to my peers etc but have often been met with cries of, "" do you want to be a fighter pilot"" or "" only for flyers of ""patio furniture"" Well I found the perfect solution, and there is no reason now that we don't all get one. Not sure if they,re available here in Oz ? (Clear Prop take note!) The Aero-ist Flight Cap.. PERFECT!! Aero-ist Clothing Limited

I will have my XC by then, so I,ll definitely be there. I have relos who live near to Toowoomba Airfield so I have an easy stay over. I was just up at Dalby 2 weeks ago for my wife's Grandfathers funeral. He actually had a bit to do with getting the airport built many years ago and sat on the airport board I think. His name was Charlie Curd. Lived in Jandowe.

I to was absolutely blown away when I heard of Pips accident. I,ve been following his progress with the Samson for some time now, and after reading a flight review of it in the Australian Aviation mag My wife and I were looking forward to going down to Avalon to see them both do their routine. Condolences to his family and friends. Ben I,ve gotta say mate.. your vid is brilliant and it bought tears to my eyes just watching it. "Thanks man" I,m gonna burn that one. I,m sure you wont mind.

As far as the LSA55 goes, It does ""not"" say in the Pilots Ops Hand Book that its ok to sideslip the aircraft. ! Another one of Jabs silent omissions. The vert stab is very light and almost flimsy,give it a little jiggle next pre flight.You should be looking for cracks around its base especially if other users are sideslipping regulary. I,d hate to have a failure at that critical stage on finals.

Hey dont get me wrong BLA82, as I said, the Skycranes do a fantastic job, as I have seen first hand. In 2006 we had 2 of them operating out of our Airfield at Katoomba along with 18 other bucket choppers, and they were there for 2 weeks. Their abillity to quickly pick up water and return to the scene is their forte. but in the case of the Vic situation its obvious their capabilities were at max. my question was purely to get everyone elses opion on the matter on the table, and I appreiciate everyones input, including yours. :thumb_up: Link below shows Erickson Skycrane Delilah preparing to t/o whilst Shania comes back from the front to refuel at YKAT. "these are seriously noisey birds" DelilahVIDPart2.flv video by Aussie_Steve01 - Photobucket

In this country where bushfires are the norm most summer months (unfortunately) youd think we could organise some serious fire bombers. I know its a money thing, and they,d only be needed for a few months of the season, but they could be leased over to the northern hemi when they need them. Or couldnt we bring some wet heavies out here? There must be dozens of them sitting around in the snow right now! C130,s, Invaders, Mars, hell they even have 747 and Galaxys. (I know I know, they,re too expensive blah blah blah.... tell that to the homeless and worse, down in Vic. I think will have to seriously consider something additional to what we currently have on hand. The skycranes and reg bucket brigade choppers are good but they are CSIRO proven to be ineffectual for the types of open country fires we see out here. All respect to the crews. A couple of water bomber pics http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ontario-Ministry-of/De-Havilland-Canada/1234288/M/ http://www.airliners.net/photo/Conair/De-Havilland-Canada/1005698/M/

Our Jab was bent in a engine fail ( broke a cylinder to block flange and lifted the pushrod out of the rocker) in May 2007 and is only due back to us this week. Metalurgy test proved the metal was crap. This has been a major fight with Jab and has almost ended in court. As the engine is not covered by insurance ( I,ll bet most of you didnt know that-check and see) unless it is damaged in the crash. Which it was not as it had stopped inflight.the prop didnt even get damaged. But the undercarriage was torn off and the bum split open all the windows smashed apart etc. A compromise has been made on Jabs behalf after the replacement engine failed when fitted to the repaired aircraft and test run. The owner insisted that engine be replaced with a "new" engine at Jabs expense. Which did not happen, so eventually they split the cost between them. Maybe we,ll see it this week... we,ll beleive it when we see it. Our other Jab received a new prop and with not even 30 hrs on it we discovered a crack eminating near the hub. Not a strike on it. Lame tested the torque. Its gone back. We,ll see what happens.

F-111 :) The yanks call them "Aardvarks" (even though they never did until they were retired) but the RAAFies call em "Pigs" (they get down low and in the dirt like a Razor-back) hence the razor-back image in the emblem.

You have some great pics yourself Keith. Love those Pig pics and the Temora set :thumb_up:

We went to Bathurst a couple of week-ends ago and did some flying with Fred and Dougie. Wifey,Sandy, had her first flight in a light aircraft, the 4 of us went up in the Cessna 182 Skylane. We just did a scenic around Bathurst, out around the back of Mt Panorama, 30 mins, it was great ! I think Sandy is hooked. She even got to sit up front with Doug.(my plan is working ;)) I went up with Fred in the Shadow and did pretty much the same trip, it was very cramped but most enjoyable. And of course the main attraction was the Beechcraft Staggerwing. What a magnificant machine ! Pity it couldn,t come out to play. It needs a annual inspection at the moment and cant be flown until it has been passed. Looking forward to that. Doug even took the Vampire out for the first time Lots of nice planes at Dougies at the moment. Not all his. Some refugees from Hoxton including Renes Decathalon & Beech Sierra.

Thanks for the interest guys, things are now in the hands of the gods, final decision will come down in March. Local action groups/greenies are trying to deem the place not essential (visiting planes not many) so there fore unneeded, they judge everything by tourist dollars brought into the local industry and if planes were arriving from out of town and staying in local B&Bs etc they would have to look differently at our proposal as a piece of important infastructure. But this is a double edged sword in that , then the local green brigade would see this as a threat to the " World Heritage" local enviroment and lobby the place into the ground. We have some 8 houses 800mtrs up the road from the airfield, (2 are for sale). If we could get pilots to buy them up over time, we would effectively have a defacto airpark. And even up the vote. Anyone looking for such a convinient location ? come up and have a look. Otherwise we have some new tenants from down the hill. 1 x R22 and a brand new 182 Skylane. Another fully rebuilt Jab will arrive in next 2 weeks. We also had a recent visit from VH-KFT a Socata TBM 700. what a weapon :thumb_up: If he can bring a hi-tech bit of gear like that in here all you guys that are scared of the place need to have a good look at your perceptions. sorry post is getting long. Get your backsides in up here befor March, could be your last chance. What did you think of the feature in RAAus mag and two pager in Pacific Flyer ? Cheers Big Ears :thumb_up:

Imagine the dramas CASA would come up with if Jeff needed an ASIC. What with his links to a terrorist and all :)

Point taken Merv. I have done a Met before I did the solo. As part of the old syllabus. But have to still do it for the new final.