Diddy Pilot

Looks like a great restoration. There is a lack of good quality models like this nowadays. Still some good old ones which could be updated though. I keep wondering what the market would be for a simple entry level ultralight nowadays. If I had the funds available, I'd be heading down to Merimbula for a decent look.

Recently bought the Bob Tait Recreational Aircraft BAK and Recreatioanl Aircraft Cross Country Endorsement Text Books and Ebooks to review for my BFR. Don't waste your money on the Ebooks, they are nowhere near as useable as other Ebooks, no search function etc. Get the text book. With a real text book you can also make your own notes in them, flip between pages ( look back to a previous chapter to remind yourself of the meaning of a defined term). I have only studied for a RA Aus Pilot Certificate, not a PPL; but I have used Bob Tait BAK (including the new ones above), good, CFI's have loved and recommended but I personally found it lacking. John Brandon's text on this website, very good Free Delta Recreational Flying Services, easiest to understand but seemed to jump about a bit. Cheaper than Bob Tait or Dyson Holland Dyson Holland, very thorough and technical similar pricing to Bob Tait Fly Better series by Noel Kruse, an excellent follow-up once you have passed your BAK, free on Internet.

Agreed Motzartmerv, also what else has happened if he was meant to be East of the airfield and ended up a long way West after crossing a thumping big lake and our biggest mountain range. Was he lost? Could weather have forced him that far away? has he done something wrong to contribute to this? His actions to put down safely are to be commended, but there are questions still as to why/ how he was in that position to start with.

Four hours after first going solo, many student pilots would not yet have been introduced to a precautionary search and landing (unless maybe only in theory by reading text book). Lucky to have done much more than circuits. Even if they have had a lesson on it, they have not yet practiced or been rated as competent. Had the young fella not made the right call to land when he did, pushed on into bad weather, got lost and panicked or misjudged his landing in an unfamiliar (off airfield) environment, we would all be bowing our heads with shock and despair. The young fella has probably only ever landed on the one runway (how many had any of us used before our fifth hour solo?), he would not yet have his certificate and would not have commenced any XC training. His cool handling of the situation avoided the very bad alternative. I for one read the news story, very quickly saw the word "Jabiru" and thought "oh god, not another one". I am very pleased to hear that this all worked out the way it did. Perhaps there was an alternative a more experienced pilot would have taken but for a very inexperienced flyer, put in the difficult situation he did well. As far as ending up in Khancoban, en-route from Dalgety to Jindabyne, this I cant explain. Unless he became lost avoiding weather, maintained his heading, luckily had visibility to climb over our highest mountains (8000' LSALT) and knowing that Khancoban has an airfield tried to get there. It must have been a very frightening experience. We don't know exactly what he was dealing with, what else he tried or considered (radio assistance - still a student, instructor should have been available, what was weather to the North like to try for Cooma or Polo Flat?) the possibilities for this to have been a tragedy were huge. No doubt his instructors and RA Aus need provide the necessary de-brief, counselling, training, and actions to learn from this experience.

Fourth solo flight, 16 years old, flying in the mountains (read changing weather patterns, winds etc). Full credit to the young fella, he has grown heaps in the last 24 hours, a credit to his instructors who have instilled the skills and confidence to deal with the situation prior to granting him the freedom to fly solo. Guaranteed that this young flyer will pay careful attention to all the meteorology learning in gaining his XC endo. I also reckon this will help make him a better driver when he is old enough to get a drivers licence. I hope the "minor damage" is easily fixed and he goes on to have a long and safe flying life.

I have found this thread very interesting and informative. I would love to add a PPC endorsement to my Pilot’s Certificate. I have never flown in a PPC but have stood earthbound staring up with envy as I have watched others. Being a pilot I have learned a lot about flight and had to demonstrate my competency in the required range of topics for three axis aircraft (BAK, Air Law, Radio, Human Factors, Meteorology, Air Navigation etc). Having completed a parachuting course (many years ago now though) and regularly flying from an airfield shared with parachute ops I understand the principles of managing and steering a canopy. It would therefore be logical for me to assume that it would not be difficult for me to do some sort of abridged or cross-over training. Like many recreational pilots I drool over the classified ads on this website and in Sport Pilot (my wife even refers to it as Aviation Porn). Like most of us I dream of owning my own aircraft or at least finding a way to spend less to fly. When I see powered parachutes coming up for sale with a trailer to transport and store (no hanger fees) and prices lower than most fixed wing, my interest grows even more. I look at the prospect of owning my own aircraft which I can fly from a paddock, not have to drive over a hundred kilometres to my nearest airfields, book an aircraft to hire and pay as much for one hour as I might get a whole morning’s flying my own PPC. So far all dreams look good. So what do I do? The original post whilst sounding extreme, does reasonably explain some of the frustrations. With so few training facilities and the restrictions in place requiring a CFI present seriously hamper dreams. If we only have eight PPC CFIs nationally, does this mean that we might literally only have a handful of students training on any given weekend (assuming all CFIs are working, training in PPC and not following other pursuits, family or aircraft type). At this level a single Flight Training Facility (FTF — Flying School) would struggle to be viable. This would not be sustainable across the entire sport. As each new pilot is finally certified, he/she also represents less training time available in the future for another student. Okay only couple of hours every two years for a BFR but, 100 pilots each booking a BFR in a year with the one CFI, takes that CFI out of action for maybe a quarter of the flying time on a weekend (recognising that many can only commit to training on a weekend). If weather and availability of hired aircraft are factored in then the availability is even less. Aerochute Kev makes a very good suggestion above, that existing CFIs (perhaps even SIs?? After all many SIs are excellent experienced instructors it is only the fact that a FTF only has one CFI that they are not recognised at the higher level) be offered the opportunity to complete some cross training in order to enable them to conduct some PPC training. Even if this is just to enable an owner pilot to take their PPC to the local CFI (maybe only an hour or two away rather than drive interstate or for half a day) in order to hope that the planets align and one of the eight PPC CFIs has good weather at his FTF and he has time available to conduct the BFR. If a CFI is trying to encourage business at his/her FTF, the introduction of PPC training (with the on-sell of a three axis endo afterwards) might be a good business move. The costs would not be as high as having to purchase another 24 registered 3-axis aircraft for training. The Operations Manual needs some review specifically around PPC qualifications and the training requirements. The Manual belongs to the Association, and the Association is us (largely, I do recognise not all members on this site are RA Aus members), so some constructive lobbying and offers of assistance in review/ redrafting might be the best move forward. When you look at the names of the CFI’s for PPCs there are some who have held office with RA Aus, they have previously managed to earn the respect of members in their State to lobby for and represent them. Whether still on the board or not as CFIs they should still hold sway with the Association executive as advocates of the PPC membership; hopefully they can put the best interests of the sport ahead of any perceived personal benefit through the monopoly held by this select group.

Whilst the above is technically correct. Any good CFI should ensure that your theory/knowledge is up to date and of the standard he/she would accept of any other student. Afterall we all forget things over time and new legislation exists (including the rights and obligations of a RA Aus Pilot Certificate, Human Factors was not a requirement back then but is a separate exam nowadays ). Reading the ATSB report into the Ferris Wheel accident at Old Bar, there was criticism of the pilot on the day and the FTF who signed off on his pilot certificate. The pilot had previously completed GFPT about 20 years previous and had not flown for a significant amount of time (sorry don't recall details). Investigations showed that the FTF took this prior experience at face value but did not re-affirm current competency (though obviously the physical act of flying was conducted, ie the quoted approx five hours of cross over training, which is much more suited to a currently flying GA pilot), this was shown up in some of the pilots decisions on the day and not recalling how to conduct a precautionary search and landing. I am sure Marty will remember more than he has lost, and has a good aeronautical knowledge (building his own aircraft requires research and strong contributor on this website) however we should all err on the side of caution and ensure that we don't underestimate the benefit of additional revision training. Much better to do a little extra training down here than try to guess the right answer when up there.

Adam Firstly, good work on the Go Flying Podcasts. A few suggested topics: As you are in Canberra, why not see if you can get some interesting discussion from some of the key RA Aus folk. Michael Linke. As the new CEO he seems very keen to communicate with members (newsletter etc) why not offer the opportunity for him to be heard by members. Perhaps a chance for him discuss his views on the future, how we can grow RA AUS, what members can do to help, interaction with CASA, impact of new RPL etc Jill Bailey. RA AUS Operations Manager. A woman making a big impact in a very male dominated pursuit, what has her path to one of the most senior and important roles been. What are the challenges for RA AUS and its members. What would her key messages to members be, what does she feel are the most frequently or critically misunderstood operational issues. Ian the Site Administrator for Recreational Flying website is also working in Canberra for the next few months. You are both doing great things to help promote flying and keep enthusiasts up to date, there must be some common ground there and a chance to cross promote. I notice that you fly at Polo Flat. Do you think Mike Apps could be interesting? Mike has been flying longer than most have been alive, has flown most aircraft ultralights to jets on aircraft carriers, he is a RA Aus board member. Must have some good stories or advice. Perhaps an invite to other airfield operators, flying clubs, FTFs etc to speak about what might attract aviators to their business. For instance, if someone is planning a good cross country flight what might they see in that area, can they park the plane and stay locally overnight, do they hire out aircraft, do they have plans for expansion or hangar space available. (Somewhere like Holbrook with the Ultralight museum might be a good proposition). Another interesting topic could be The Australian Vintage Aircraft Society (TAVAS). Although I think most of the movers and shakers are in Qld. Being 100 years since air warfare became a reality, these guys are busy with bi-plane builds and re-enactments etc . Given that you are restricted to sound files, you might want to consider packaging a few interviews into a single podcast. For instance is there an issue which could have comment from RA Aus (CEO, Board, Ops or Tech Manager – or bits from all of them) CASA or Air Services, other parties. In this way you might only need a small sound bite from each to explore an issue, make it more interesting or give a balanced view. I mentioned cross promotion before in regards to Recreational Flying website. Have you considered contacting Brian Bigg (Editor of Sport pilot)? Perhaps you could collaborate on an interview? Perhaps an article he can only devote a few pages (with great pictures) to can be supplemented by telling readers that they can hear more of the interview/topic on GoFlying? You then carrying advice that the pictures for that podcast are available in Sport Pilot magazine and to obtain copies or subscribe they should contact……………. Just ideas which might be helpful, do with them as you wish. But it is good to see a young pilot with such enthusiasm getting out there to do something like this off his own bat.

And why would you be looking for a shirt-lifter?

Ian Assuming one first has to move the cursor over the keyword link, then click the mouse to read and then click again to close and return to reading the main text. It would be much better usability if a user just moves the cursor over the word (hover) and the description appears, move cursor off and description disappears. Less keystrokes, easier for the user.

GFTC does not currently have a CFI, RA Aus advises that "GFTC FTF is closed" and an audit is underway. The issue could get messy as RA Aus staff were caught on video going through the desks of GFTC staff in an unoccupied office. Then a letter was sent by RA AUS to all current and former students informing them of the closure and advising that they should contact RA Aus before next BFR and a CFI will be appointed for them to test with. GFTC will probably go on and make more just doing GA and RPL.

You can still hire aircraft from GFTC (the airport operator). They don't have any Jabiru's. Best to give them a call.

Otto Titsling is credited with inventing the modern bra.

Goulburn Airport too, now has the hotel operating, "Three Nautical Mile" cafe and I am sure I saw something on one of the doors about a liqour licence for the cafe (hotel restaurant). Only been operating about a week, but makes Goulburn more of a destination.

"The new plans of the Super Diamond are available. You can also buy as a mostly material kit with a cowl how about 5K. If you build it with a Kolher V twin motor building off plans only, you can get it into the air for $7,100.00 with all new parts and a radio." What am I missing here? $7,100 is not a lot of money to get flying. Has the Kolher V twin been used in a similar aircraft before? 40hp? any details on performance, reliability etc? Any more info on this path, "mostly material kit with a cowl about $5000" this then leaves $2100 for motor and instruments etc. This all sounds too good, it has got me thinking about starting a project.

Let’s start painting a more accurate picture of things at Goulburn. Volksy hasn’t had a good thing to say for ages, honestly the way he bags the flying school which operates out there and the airport operator it sounds like the sort of whinging you get from a jilted lover. All of us here on this forum share a common interest, even love, of flying. We should be supporting each other; safety is a very real concern for all concerned; certainly if there is fact behind any of his insinuations then this should be investigated. I am confident that if there was any basis to his claims then the inspections undertaken by, CASA, RA AUS, Council etc (and yes they have taken place) would have uncovered at least some of them. The facts are, GFTC always have staff at the airport, always have planes flying, always has students and qualified pilots (both trained by GFTC and others) hiring aircraft. GFTC have both RA and GA aircraft and students, operate a successful, safe and growing business, something any operator would be proud of. I have sat quietly for a long time, figuring this is just one bitter individual, but as these incorrect statements are broadcast widely I feel compelled to chime in. I have regularly been out at the airport for the last twelve months, rarely have I seen any activity from the other flying school. The only hanger guaranteed to have activity on a weekend is where GFTC and Adrenalin Skydive operate from. I even went looking for any signs of life at the deserted school to see if I might be able to get a better deal there when the availability of aircraft at GFTC got tight late last year. The other school being locked up and feedback from a few student pilots who had started with that school but then transferred over to GFTC dissuaded me from pursuing further enquiries. I have watched the operations of Goulburn Airport and the businesses operating there; one flying school grow from 2 RA registered aircraft this time last year to 5, one school rarely opening its doors. The parachute ops there has grown tremendously, there would barely be a flight on a weekend out there now when you are not being aware of where one of the jump planes is or timing your approach to ensure all canopies are safe. For those flying in from elsewhere it could look like you have arrived at a special occasion, crowd of people, sausage sizzle, friendly welcoming environment. As for the safety of fuel; I had a conversation with John (airport operator) about fuel last weekend discussing unleaded and maybe even providing a small tanker, similar to diesel ones used on worksite. John is buying the unleaded at retail prices (maybe less a Woollies voucher discount J), the fact that he has made this available to visitors is a positive to the flying community. The costs of having to purchase the quantity of fuel each day and personally transport it to the airport are probably not considered by others. I am not sure what additional risks might be incurred by obtaining fuel in a container at the airport versus obtaining a container to hitch into town and buy the fuel. I trust my life with this fuel and with the aircraft which regularly use it. Last Sunday morning the temperature was freezing and foggy, at 1000 it was up to 6 degrees Celsius, still very high humidity; perfect conditions for carby icing. I delayed my 1000 flight for 40 minutes waiting for fog to lift properly. We discussed the likelihood of similar conditions for the next few months and the necessity for all pilots (particularly students) to be aware of the risks. Having an instructor who is aware is okay whilst he is in the plane but eventually everyone wants to go solo, so instilling awareness early was seen as a benefit. After all we could have had an inexperienced pilot flying solo that morning experience carby icing. So the decision was made to emphasise the requirement to know conditions for carby icing, remind everyone using a GFTC aircraft to be aware and potentially keep the carby heater on when icing conditions exist, once at altitude whilst training/ flying. For my mind this was good thinking and demonstrates a positive safety approach, instilling a safety first culture, rather than leaving the risk un-attended. I have no beef with anyone, but I do feel that a balanced view needs to be considered and other than a few comments from Boingk (Enoch in the yellow Gardan Minicab) most of what I read on here about flying at Goulburn seems to be the negative shots taken by Volksy. Certainly I have a positive experience and have not seen others having any negative experiences.

Volksy, I don’t disagree with the concept of what you are getting at with your case study, but there are a few clarifications required. The TIFs are $49 for 30 minutes $99 for the hour. 10% to Living Social. Who would landing fees be payable to? (As you have pointed out before the school in question is owned by the airport’s operator –collector of fees) At least one of the SFIs is also L2, maintenance on a Gazelle is not too much. Instructors in training now conducting TIFs (they have recently put on 3 young trainee instructors, giving them seven instructors). The school has recently purchased two more Gazelles, one for training (and TIF) purposes the other solely for private hire by the schools graduates they are now turning out(possibly as a result of an earlier TIF). So there must be some $$$ coming in from this exercise. In comparison the rest of the airport has been very quiet, if TIF clients are going next door then there should be a corresponding escalation in activity. My reading of this TIF activity is that it is a promotional and money making focus. As earlier posts identified some schools teach for the love of flying some are run as a profit making business first, flying experience second. I have looked at this and struggled with the maths, in both directions. On one hand doing all the TIFs can’t be making much per hour, but with the volume being put through it covers fixed costs. On the other hand, $200 an hour for dual in a Gazelle must be making money. The Gazelles are not new, one of the ones new to the school was advertised on RA Aus website in December at $23,000. So if this is the purchase price, then even if you need to replace a whole engine you do not need to factor much in per hour. Using your $25 per hour for fuel and $50 per hour for an instructor there is $125 per hour to pay for plane costs, if the plane clocks up 500 hours per year ( less than 10 hours a week, easy at the moment) there is $62,500 to cover insurance, maintenance, advertising, even replacing an engine or whole aircraft. Remember, the landlord does not pay rent, hangarage or landing fees, unless he chooses to. This obviously gets better if more hours are flown.

Many years ago in a past life I worked for BASI (Bureau of Air Safety Investigation), I am not completely familiar with what may have changed since creation of ATSB or RAAus. However back then all accidents and incidents reported were managed to collect the necessary learnings to make flying safer for everyone. We even requested that bird strikes were reported, or via CAIR (Confidential Aviation Incident Reporting) we sought the details of mistakes or errors which when viewed across the whole spectrum might lead to a training need. Our focus was to investigate the factors which may have contributed to an accident, we did not investigate to apportion blame. What is the maintenance history - could this have contributed or detected something, does this type of aircraft require a safety check. Environment - what were the weather conditions, was this near an airfield / traffic which may have impacted on where the craft was etc. Human Factors - what was the pilot doing, experience etc what training have they received, why might they have made certain decisions. Plus of course many other aspects which might be particular to an individual event. Police and coroner reports if they existed were made available to assist. The conclusion of our investigations may involve recommendations which were made publicly available, in some cases this lead to actions by CAA (CASA or AA) implementing mandated requirements. This was done to improve safety. I would hope that this focus on improving safety has transferred across to the ATSB (certainly some of the older hands there have come from BASI). As such RAAus does not need to be intrinsicly involved in investigation, but certainly as a representative body within the aviation industry should be a primary stakeholder when an investigation involves a RAA registered craft or personnel. The relevant conclusions/ recommendations should then be communicated back to members.

Not another one. 4 fatalities from 3 accidents this week. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-08/plane-crashes-on-qld-border/4508176

Whats Diddy mean? I guess it means Daddy. About 10 or so years ago I had one of my teenage daughters say something like “yo Diddy what’s happening” and say to her sister “ask the Diddy- Man”. This sort of stuck and so I ended up riding the Diddy- Bike and driving the Diddy-Car etc. When I told my eldest that I was learning to fly she picked up the theme again and stated that I was going to be Diddy Pilot flying a Diddy-Plane. So when joining this forum and thinking of a name that I would remember, guess what came to mind.

G'day Yes another bloody newbie !!! After reading many posts on here it seems that I am not that unusual. Still very young at heart but a birth certificate that could have some believe that I am a mature adult. Really wanted to learn to fly when I was a teenager, read some good books back then (no such thing as internet), started saving up but then life gets in the way of the best plans. Marriage, mortgage, kids etc soon took over as priorities. That is until my lovely wife treated herself to something (which for the life of me I can't remember what) on the Living Social website. I took a look at the site, saw that the offer that day was a TIF with Goulburn Flight Training Centre and figured, what's good for the goose is good for the gander and bought a one hour TIF. Whilst waiting for the day of my TIF we discussed how I would love to fly and if we could afford it I would love to get a pilots licence. The TIF was awesome, I was hooked before we landed back at the airport. But the best part was, my wife had gone to get a coffee whilst I was in the air and took a flyer from GFTC with her, so when she came back to pick me up she uttered those most romantic of words "so have you booked some more flying lessons yet?" Needless to say within the next few minutes I was completing a RAA membership and booking lessons. I have done six hours now in a Gazelle. Each lesson has been great, covering effects of control, flying straight and level, climbing and descending, turns, stalls and circuits. Looking back I have covered a lot in just a few hours and am thoroughly loving it. I am keen to learn more and can't wait for those coming milestones, first solo, pilot certificate, being able to take up a passenger and cross-country endorsement. At my current rate of only a couple of hours a fortnight it won't be until next year that I am able to say "hey why don't we go out for lunch on Sunday, Moruya or Merimbula" (both seaside towns too far to drive but just a fly over the mountains - for the aske of those who are not familiar with the area). There seems to be so much to learn about Recreational Aviation with the variety of aircraft and opportunities out there.