Al B

Hi Cralis, Glad you liked it. >Con - The Tecnam seems a lot older and basic compared to the Jab170 I went in last time. I suggest you get endorsed on the Sierra as soon as you cab. I like the Echo, but the Sierra is far more sexy. >Con - The Technam doesn't have an artificial horizon! (Strange?) Personally I wish it did. If I ever owned a plane I'd feel much more comfortable having one. I have zero experience at instrument flight, but I'd like to think one would give me a better chance if I somehow ended up in mild IMC. >Pro - The Technam flies at a much high forward/nose down pitch compared to the Jab (Is that more Cessena like?) The Tecnam has a very nose-down atitude compared to a Cessna 172 - it's almost like flying downhill. My first attempts at straight and level had me climbing at 500fpm! >Con - There was no GPS in the Technam. The Jab170 had. The echo DOES have a gps. Just don't expect to be allowed to use it during your training. >Con - There was no way we could get full left to right aileron movement because my knee was always in the way. I have the same issue but it's never been a problem. If you need full aileron you're probably doing something seriously wrong. Your instructor would have been keeping a very good lookout for other aircraft at all times. Obviously certain places are more dangerous to be then others - you'd be pretty unlucky to have a midair in the middle of nowhere. Personally I'd say the instructor is far, far more important then the aircraft. If you get along well and like his teaching style, that's fantastic. Keep in mind you can't really compare instructors based on a single landing each, in different aircraft, in different weather conditions :) Have fun learning. If you want to go for a burn in the Sierra one weekend let me know! Cheers, Al

Cralis, I did my power training at Prosky Caboolture, and I highly recommend it. Keep your wits about you, as Zane has a gift for distracting you before simulating engine failures :-) The Echo is nice, but when you get your license the Sierra is a lot more fun to fly. By the way, has anyone ever flown with Avalon @ YCAB? I'm seriously thinking of doing a PPL with them. Cheers Al

What if the RAA managed gliders? Hi All, Let's suppose that for some reason, the RAA managed gliders instead of the GFA. Suppose there was no extra GFA fee, you wouldn't need to be a member of a gliding club, and you were actually considered a pilot once you finished your training (the GFA doesn't have a pilots license and seems to consider most people as either students requiring supervision, or instructors). While you could join a dedicated gliding club and spend all day at the field, you wouldn't have to. You could buy a fairly cheap 2nd hand glider and get a mate to tow you up in a jabiru. In this strange new world, would the ex-glider pilots here consider going gliding again? Cheers, Al

Sain, I'm pretty handy with a C compiler. Do you have MSN or something? Cheers, Al

Personally, I think it'd be great to be a member of an RAA motorglider syndicate. It'd be fantastic to avoid the whole "have to spend all day at the airfield" thing and still go gliding. If it was RAA rego'd then we'd avoid all the GFA nonsense like compulsory club membership, having to have 200 gliding hours and a silver C, etc. I really should find out who operates the RAA motorgliders at YCAB :) Cheers, Al

Can the first person who gets it please shoot me a copy? Thanks, Al

Hi all, As the title suggests, are we getting a copy of the new Ops manual this month? Does anyone already have it? cheers, Al

Spare seats @ YCAB? Hi all, I've just found out about this fly-in. I'd love to have flown in, but it sounds like every rental I can fly is already going! I'm literally 10 minutes from YCAB. If anyone has a spare seat, I'd love to tag along (and help subsidize the cost, naturally) Cheers, Al

If anyone wants to send me a copy, I promise I won't ask any questions or annoy anyone ;) Cheers, Al

Be thankful you don't fly gliders Just to offer some perspective: I used to be a glider pilot. Glider pilots generally have to be members of the Gliding Federation of Australai (GFA). I paid $195 per year to be a member of the GFA (as opposed to $160 with the RAA). The GFA requires all glider pilots to be members of GFA-affiliated clubs. In my case, that cost another $264 per year. So we're up to $460pa, and we haven't set foot in a glider yet. With the RAA, once you've passed your flight test, you are Pilot In Command. If you make a mistake, it's your fault. You have the freedom to be responsible for your own actions. Not so in the GFA. According to their ops manual, your club is responsible for your operations. Well, you can gain something called L2 independant operator status - this only takes 200(!) glider hours, and one of your flights must be at least 5 hours long, solo. Strictly speaking, without this rating, if an instructor is present at the field then they're in charge. This includes asking for permission to take passengers and undertake cross countries So, maybe you're thinking to yourself "that's OK, some of my mates are qualified pilots,we'll buy our own motorglider and operate it as a club"? Nope. Each club must have a CFI, who must keep current by training new students. I'm pretty sure each club has to pay a GFA fee as well. For some reason the GFA has a major retention problem. I don't think they've figured out why yet. The RAA in contrast seems to be doing a fantastic job. Al

Hi all, I know this is something everyone already knows, but please, remember to keep a good lookout! I was flying today just before midday. It was a fairly busy day at the field, and I was flying S&L roughly NW. I caught the end of a radio call: "do you have the Jabiru to the right sighted?". I couldn't see anyone, but thought I'd have a good look just to make sure. I ducked, so I could see past the wing, and oh there was a Jabiru sitting right in the blind spot. A dive and turn was promptly commenced. If he hadn't had me sighted, would there have been an accident? No. The Jab was higher then me, but it would have been too close for comfort. I guess the lesson is, always a good lookout and be aware of your blind spots. I'd like to apologise to that pilot, if he's reading this. I simply didn't see you. Thanks, Al

Hi Sean, I fly out of caboolture as well (and my first power solo was in that Tecnam). Let me know if you want to share costs sometime. Cheers, Al