bilby54

That's worrying to say the least!!!! If the damned thing is going to smack the bitumen with a highly trained crew, why are they flying?i_dunnoi_dunno

A bad day with 50 or so passengers can be a real bad daythumb_down I was questioning the professionalism of the crew to continue the approach beyond the touchdown area and force the nose wheel on first. Every pilot knows how to go round.:):)

A couple of us were idling watching a few aircraft land when we were impressed by the landing skills of the RPT. The Dash 8 landed fairly long and casually touched down nose wheel first just micro seconds in front of the main wheels. It took a while for it to register and both of us remarked about it at the same time so it wasn't just my imagination. Probably training a new F/O but it should really have been a go round. No, I won't say who the operator was in the white aircraft with the red tail:cool:

Hi Monty, I've owned a Drifter for ten years and tried all sorts of combinations after the original intercom let the smoke out. The best solution was an Xcom that has inbuilt intercom and loads of flexibility - just be cautious about the supplier but they do offer reasonable back up with quick turn around on faults. As for headsets, go for the blue one's on Clear Prop. Just brlliant. Get an extension to the face shield on the helmet to stop wind noise from constantly opening the mic. If all else fails, just enjoy the Drifter experience!

I was wondering if anyone has a bunch of airframe hours on the Foxbat as I'm interested to see how they last. I occaisionally fly one in western Qld and think that their design and configuration is great but just wonder how long they would last. Cheers

I haven't seen the details but there is now a temporary change to airspace around Amberley. There is a Danger Area from surface to 10,000 that can be changed to restricted so you will need to check Notams regularly. The airspace that is affected will extend to around Dalby, the north coast and into Northern NSW... Watch out for low flying Super Hornets and B737 tankers!!

Ah, the Drifter! Sold mine last year because I thought 'I was over it' Stupid, stupid, stupid

A woman has died in an ultralight plane crash in central Queensland. The crash occurred at the Tartrus Station airfield, Marlborough, northwest of Rockhampton, about 2.45pm (AEST) on Sunday, a Department of Community Safety spokesman said. The plane's female passenger, whose age is not yet known, died before emergency services arrived on the scene, he said. The 19-year-old male pilot, who was the only other person onboard, managed to walk away from the wreckage. The plane's female passenger, whose age is not yet known, died before emergency services arrived on the scene, he said. He has been transported to Rockhampton Base Hospital to be treated for an arm laceration. Police said the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had been advised and investigations were continuing.

There was an old saying of "don't shoot the piano player" I think that the RAA staff do great job and are always open for a joke or bit of a chat. Be nice or go away!!

Hey FD, Interesting how these threads get off topic but make really intersting reading. History and training in history, plays a big part in what we have today. The early years of flying and motoring were all based around mechanical devices and when Mr Bourdon invented the pressure gauge, everyone wanted one fitted to their car. Indicator lamps were just not practical as they were big, required a big battery, big switches and mostly powered by acetylene!! Tradition dictates why a lot of things happen. If you were a struggling post war car maker then the new indicator lights were the in thing and car instrumentation took off from there. Aircraft on the other hand, had a lot of ex military jocks who needed the cockpit to look like a B17 or Lancaster and nothing elase would do so that had abig influence on how systems developed - pass the cucumber sandwiches please...... Modern aircraft systems were initially designed to meet the needs of the buyer and the purse string holders reckoned that the more gauges, the better the value for money they were getting. In reality, the less complicated systems work better and the modern electronic EFIS are just a breeze for construction, reliability and operation. With the low oil pressure discussion that I raised, I think that you may have inadvertently answered that for me - see quote. Most vehicle oil pressure switches are set around 5 - 7 PSI falling to allow for various engine conditions so that even when the light comes on, the engine is not going to suffer much harm - (at 5 -7 psi, it is pretty well stuffed anyway!). I think that aircraft systems are set at much higher pressures for safety reasons but as always, lights tend to cause some degree of panic when they come on. The reason that aircraft engines are certified to run without oil is so as they will not cause a fire, even if they can 'stick legs out of bed' or blow pots. Aero engines, unlike car engines, are designed to operate at high loads for long periods of time at high altitudes so it is highly desirable to avoid fires or catostrophic failures. Sudden loss of oil pressure is usually due to a major failure with oil all over the place and no gauge or light is going to help. It might also come down to a bit of ego?? How many times have you been in a discussion and someone says "I've got the Flybit 235 with the digital cloud recogniser that answers the phone and makes coffee" but someone else has the shot blaster 2150 with more lights than you can poke a stick at!! In the end it is up to either you or the manufacturer as to what system that you want for monitoring of your aircraft.

I am not having a go at Lee or anyone else but this bothers me as to how RAAus works when the ex CEO does not know how the AN was written. There would appear to be something going on in the background that we don't know about. Poorly written regulations are what governments do so well and keep lawyers employed for years and this could well go down that track if not carefull. The AN does not state what condition the aircraft has to be in, ie parked, flying, pulled to bits or taxying and has the possibility of leaving a lot of people open to legal action of some sort. Maybe we should employ Darky to write the regulations in future!!:)

I don't understand how they can say that as the AN clearly says that it MUST be visible from the wing tip: "The owner of any aircraft registered with RA-Aus must place the card in a position where it can be read FROM OUTSIDE of the aircraft, in fact from the aircraft’s left wing tip." :confused::confused::confused: Why bother ...... unless it is by the air police on their cloud cycles!!

Thanks for picking me up there Nev, suffered from a large dose of oops!! A bit of topic but part of the engine certification process is that the engine must maintain output for for a stated minimum time with no oil pressure. I have seen the results of a particular aircraft engine that was run to destruction in this way and it lasted better than most would think. I'll try not to let my mind wander again - it gets lonely

I would be very careful about using a single sender to operate both a gauge and warning light. If the sender / wiring / gauge fails then you are left with nothing. The most reliable way is for 2 separate circuits for redundancy and with an LED as the light. An oil pressure lamp will usually start to flash on and off as the oil pump tries to scavenge what oil is available so is usually a fairly reliable indicator. Most aero engines are designed to operate at high power for about an hour after the oil runs out so there is also some mechanical redundancy - completely stuffed when you get it on the ground though! Temperature senders located in the water jacket are great while imersed in water but as handy as a wheel on a walking stick when the water runs out. The most reliable way is to have a sender inserted into the engine head for water cooled engines. A simple test button can be put in the panel to test lights at anytime similar to those in Gazelle's. If you are trying to protect a $20,000 engine then a $180 gauge and $20 lamp is fairly cheap

To those interested, I emailed a SE Qld board member with the concerns raised here. He advised that there is a lot of confusion surrounding the implementation of this AN and it will be discussed at the board meeting this weekend. I appreciated his quick response and look forward to the outcome

My T300 resto is a work in progress that started in 3 BC and should be completed well and truly after the world runs out of oil!! It was the last Thruster used in the mobile flying school and should really have been put in a museum to show how dangerous an aircraft can be but still fly. Tony Hayes convinced me to restore it and gave more help than I could ever have asked for as was his nature. I have become more serious about it now and will probably do an article for the TOSG bulletin when completed. How far off is the T500 from flying?

Hi Pud, You may have already designed a panel to suit your aircraft but there is a photo of a really clean panel on the front page of the last TOSG bulletin. I am restoring a T300 and thought that this design looked really clean and well laid out - what you can see of it.

So it is going to cost someone, somewhere some cost to police it! The 'airport managers' are only really interested in landing fees and other airport charges. A cost to them in time and phone calls for a possible unregistered aircraft is probably not going to happen especially if it chases business away. I own an airworthy aircraft that, for reasons that I will not go into here, is unregistered and hangared on field. Occaisionally it might be on the tarmac for cleaning or to get another aircraft out of the hanger or whatever. Is that breaking the law under this new rule?:ah_oh: If someone reports it to RAA, what will they do about it? The aircraft is not flown but it will take a bunch of time and effort for the authorities to determine and I may have to answer a charge that will require my time and effort to defend. How many aircraft are around the place in the same situation that could all face whatever prosecution measures are dreamed up and all have to be defended. :raise_eyebrow: Is the above situation going to apply to aircraft parked at your own farm strip or to aircraft that have rego numbers, are unregistered but are being restored? Australia has way to many regulations that need pruning not more of the things, especially as it 'might only get a few'

I think that the big problem with issue is the word COMPULSORY. Everytime that word is used then we usually have to fork out money to comply albeit that this won't cost us personally but will cost the organisation as a whole. I appreciate that RAA is "embarrased" every time that an unregistered aircraft is detected but it is not their fault and what is CASA doing to assist with the problem? CASA does not have a problem with unregistered aircraft as they do have annual rego fees and are financed by the Australian taxpayer. I do not know how organisations such as the Gliding Federation operate with VH registrations but maybe this is what is required - just a suggestion Andy has put up some good points regarding alternatives so I would suggest that everyone writes to their board member about it before the next COMPUSORY item, designed to stop chickens roosting in the shed or whatever, is formulated;)

Hey Andy, Just wondering if you wander around Woolies car park and check all the rego stickers? If a sun cover is on an aircraft while it is parked and you lift it, unbutton it or whatever to look inside, then it is regarded as interference to an aircraft. That is why those signs are printed on the sun shields. Putting rego stickers outside or wherever will not stop the problem and there really is no workable solution. If the aircraft is not registered then it does not fall under the duristiction of the RAA, only CASA and the police. As for the open cockpit ultralights, they are bound by this same rule and it is going to be a real gem to watch where the rego stickers are put :big_grin:

Interesting that in an earlier part of the RAA history, you could request a particular registration. I could not find anything after a quick search, so it would seem that this is no longer the case - maybe others might have better luck

Where will I fit it on the Scout??? :ah_oh: If it does not stick on the 'tested' surface and blows off outside of the town dump, will we get fined for littering? Visible at 15' to whom? It is only just possible to read a number plate at 15'!! Quote Heon Since we must fit throttle locks, it is assumed an "inspector" would have to get close to see if one was fitted. In doing so the current rego card would be clearly visable. Or is the next requirement to fit a throttle lock that is clearly visable from the left wing tip??? end quote If the aircraft is fitted with a security lock that is obscured by a sun blanket or window blind, then it only has to have a sign saying that a security lock is fitted whether one is or not. Why don't we just get rid of the rego numbers and get letters as it would appear that that is where Casa / Raa are headed and they will never run out of rego... :big_grin: The bit about the "Freedoms we enjoy today and the freedom we enjoy tomorrow" are becoming a little blurred.

How do I get a place on that committee? Imagine the places you visit.... Paris, London, Tahiti!! All in the name of banning knitting needles. Sorry, I digress:black_eye:

You are right about the illusion RK. I was on a flight from Alice Springs a little while ago when a little old lady (yeh, I know!) sat beside me in a confused and distressed state saying "they took my knitting needles, why did they do that?" She cried a bit during the trip while the pollys in Canberra got XXXXed at our expense. I was disgusted at the way the average Australian citizen was treated when flying domestic RPT and all the politicians that knee jerked their way into this illusion are not worth two bob. CASA on the other hand has had its hands tied behind their backs when issuing licences and the people in CLARC should be commended for the work that they do.