Mazda

Regulators in general want to protect fare paying passengers and people on the ground. Niether of these were injured in the ditching. As far as members of the public are concerned, Victor 1 is pretty safe. As a pilot, the choice is up to you. Keep in mind the importance of addressing risk. V1 has been in place for over 20 years and due to the stunning scenery and ease of transit for aircraft travelling north/south, it is busy airspace. Thousands of V1 flights occur every year. An accident involving sport aviation and no members of the public is unlikely to stop it, unless pilots want it closed, and why would we, when we have the choice? No one forces you to fly that route. By the way, V1 for 20 odd years has been south of the harbour only, at 500'. I note that the CTAF has now extended north, but there is no 500' requirement of course. And it has always been the case that you should wear (not just carry, but wear) life jackets on V1. On ditching, I can't believe the number of people who don't get taught ditching during forced landing training. Whether you land into wind or along the swell depends on the size of the swell. (Make sure someone shows you how to judge which way the waves are going, and the wind.) If you have time, try to land near land or a boat. Always unlatch the door/canopy, and some advocate putting something in there (a shoe etc) to stop it from closing/jamming. Keep your thumb on the same side as your fingers and don't hang on, if you break your fingers and thumbs you might not be able to get out. Remember the best glide speed is for distance, not for low rate of descent, if you want to minimise that you need to be slower than best glide. Land slow, tail down, be prepared for more than one impact, and it may flip over so be prepared to work out how to get out inverted.

Ditching can be incorporated in the general forced landing briefing. One thing a ferry pilot told me was to make sure you keep your thumbs alongside your fingers, not around the yoke/stick, and fly carefully with those fingers, because if you break your thumbs/fingers you might not be able to get out.

No, you could be the instructor!

I understand some people swear by ginger, maybe there is something in it or maybe it is a placebo effect, but why not give that a try too, and make sure you tell him it is a failsafe way, ginger always helps. Maybe ginger beer. He'll feel more confident then, because right now he's talking himself into being sick. He thinks "I get airsick", so he does get airsick. So he needs to really believe "Flying used to affect me but it doesn't anymore, now I love it, I can't wait to get airborne, it makes me feel euphoric." (Maybe whisper that into his ear every night until he believes it!) :big_grin: Either that or say flying is actually a girl's thing, you totally understand if he can't handle it. That's OK, he can stay home and bake some scones for you for when you return.

Has anyone listened on live ATC? If I knew how to do it I'd go in there. I believe you can see it on WebTrak at 10.10 (according to PPRuNe).

PPRuNe is reporting it as a Lightwing?

I haven't flown into Emu Park yet, another one on the wish list, but I do know it was the saviour airstrip during the floods, the Rocky aircraft went there. I also believe the local Council is planning to build a housing estate on the strip and there is a battle going on, so I would certainly encourage everyone to use it and maybe thank the Council for such an awesome facility! :big_grin: This really is the BEST thread, keep them coming!

It's no great mystery, his former identity was Sharp End. :big_grin: We'll catch up next time Tomo!

I'm not sure what is in it, but the principles would be the same, and the ASA produces really good training material, if you have a look on the website you might be able to download information for free. The John and Martha King training material is good too. Just be aware that (at the moment, anyway) our rules differ and our airspace requirements are different. It is another reason why we really do need to lift our game here in Oz and harmonise with leading aviation nations!

LOL, Sharp End is from the fast side of town and he's been around for a while. He doesn't pop in all that often but he's a wealth of knowledge!

There is one guy who seems to do most of it in Sydney and Brisbane. Another guy has been trying to get a dot matrix type skywriting business going for ages using a warbird formation. Problem is he is one aircraft short! Hopefully that will be resolved at some time.

Good job JG3, what a great map! If just talking food and drinks, I can think of a few more, some a bit obvious and not all that 'country' so maybe not in the spirit of it, but good for a stop. Comeroo Camel Station, NSW Now this one is an outback place. I haven't been here, it's on my wish list. They have a strip, bar, accommodation, and camels. Wilpena Pound, SA There is a strip at the resort. Unsealed and quite short from memory. Temora, NSW It is such an aviation friendly town, just about anyone (on the airport, or the motel owners) will take you to town. Of course there is an aviation museum there, and the flying days are great. It doesn't have to be a flying day though, just have a look at the museum and enjoy the town. Looooong sealed runways, fuel. Wollongong, NSW There is a great little restaurant/cafe right on the airport, looking over the runway. It is (or was) open day and night and was a popular night flying spot. If there during the day, drop into HARS to see the Connie, Catalina and Hunter. Sealed runways, fuel. Cessnock, NSW In the heart of the Hunter Valley. There is a cafe at the airport, I haven't been in there. There is a basic motel on the airport grounds, just tie down and walk over, you can see your aircraft from your motel room. There are buses from the airport. You can visit the wineries, do the tours, stay somewhere flash or right on the airport. Also the manager of Hunter Valley tourism is a private pilot if you need local advice. Sealed runway. Toowoomba, QLD The aero club has a bar which is only open on Friday nights, but it is still a bar! There is a motel (not a very good one) in walking distance, a bit further away is cholesterol corner with every type of fast food, supermarket, and a pub with a Pitts tail in the wall. The pub has good food and cheap motel rooms. Sealed and grass runway, fuel. Kingaroy, QLD There was a cafe on the side of the airport, just through the fence, a good place for lunch. (But someone said it had closed? Does anyone know? Has it re-opened?) Sealed runway, fuel. Kooralbyn, QLD The strip is right near the shops and walking distance to the resort and golf course, but do check before you go because the resort was closed for some time, I believe it was being reopened. Pot-holed sealed runway, no fuel, although there is a service station next to the airport if you use car fuel. Caboolture, QLD The aero club building did have food and a bar but it is currently closed due to a fire. Not to worry, there is a pub in walking distance on the same road as the airport. Not a country pub, just a suburban type one. It has good food and quite modern motel rooms (spa rooms etc). You can also get a bus from near the pub to the railway station if you need to go anywhere. Grass runways, fuel. Merimbula, NSW It's not that far to walk into town from the airport. I've done it, but you might not want to do it lugging bags. Sealed strip, fuel. It's a beautiful coastal town. Stating the obvious now: Bankstown, NSW There is a big pub across the road. It's just a suburban pub though, not with the character of the country ones.

Great thread! I'll be reading this one with interest, I'm sure there are lots of places I don't know about yet that I'd love to see! Here are a few, I'll try to think of more. Ones I've been to: Arkaroola, SA You have to go here. It's a resort, not a pub, but it has a great bar. It is run by Doug and Marg Sprigg, whose Dad was a famous geologist. Doug runs a charter business out of there with a C207 and an Auster, and he loves pilots. Fly in there to be treated like a long-lost friend. Fly over the resort or use the radio at the strip for pick up. If you want a longer sealed strip try Balcanoona. There's a good restaurant, two huge and powerful proper observatories for watching the stars without city lights, pool, accommodation from camp sites to motel rooms, wildlife and rocks galore, yellow footed rock wallabies, crystals lying on the ground. Amazing place. Fly over Lake Frome, so white is is used to white balance satellites. Birdsville, QLD If you like beer cans piled feet high and people passed out on the streets, go for the races. Otherwise, choose another time! The pub is at the airport. Innamincka, SA You can walk down from the strip. It is a good pub, there's a local store (Trading Post), take your tent and camp on the banks of the beautiful Cooper Creek (an easy walk). Real Burke and Wills country. No pubs but must see places if you are in that area: The Corner Store, corner country (NSW/QLD/SA) Land on the strip then taxi along the public road, take the first right and taxi up to the car park. Pick up supplies in the store, taxi back down the road to the strip and off you go. Probably best to give way to cars, there are a few tourists not expecting to see aircraft on their road. There are bowsers for cars if you can use that fuel! The Dig Tree, QLD It's on the border with SA, there are two strips on Nappa Merrie, you want the one near the river. There's sure no pub, there's not much there at all, but it is a short easy walk to the real life Burke and Wills dig tree. Ones I want to go to: Cracow Hotel, QLD Run by the Fred and Sandy Brophy of boxing tent fame, there is a strip nearby. Dingo Roadhouse QLD (From the recommendations on this site!) Not really pubs: Lake Mungo NSW I would love to see that landscape. Not a pub, more like a motel, but they have a strip. Undara Lava Tubes, QLD Also not a pub so I'm stretching the definition, but there is a strip.

Frank you did a good job keeping control in that soup. The biggest concerns as far as I'm concerned would be separation from IFR aircraft (but if you had Scottish ATC looking after you they should have been able to provide separation) and freezing level/airframe icing/no pitot heat. I'd love to know how much time you have under the hood, whatever time you had on instruments probably saved you! My view is that the decision to 'scud run' under the clouds probably wasn't the wisest but you recognised the dangers and climbed to keep away from terrain. Good move. Our terrain here is pretty flat, but even so it is higher than yours so my first thought would be to get above lowest safe. Scud running kills people, losing control in IMC also kills people. That sure was a thick cloud layer, but I can't comment too much on how normal that is in your neck of the woods. If Sharp End pops in some time he might be able to offer suggestions there, he spent many years flying around that region making lots of noise and scaring the locals. Here in Oz we are not permitted to fly above 10,000 ft without oxygen, but in the US they can cruise up to 12,500 and can go higher for short periods of time so I don't think you will suffer any ill-effects!

I too felt an awful sinking feeling as I knew Gary Ticehurst. It is a very tragic loss. May they all rest in peace.

Yes, heavier means faster approach, and conversely lighter means a slower approach, and it is obvious on some types when solo, the 'normal' dual spee feels too fast. If you do feel like the 'plop' is coming, do add a trickle of power to cushion it. Also be aware of the effect of weight on take off and landing distance.

Yes, I realise Broome is D but the comment was about a UNICOM service, hence it would have been during the time of the CAGRO! Broome was well overdue for a tower, the previous Broome report was a bit of a farce!

Broome is a bit different, that's a CAGRO, the big brother to the UNICOM.

Yes, the Government was going to subsidise the cost of transponders, but that was before the SSRs were refurbished. They missed the ADS-B deadline and had to refurbish the SSRs, and the whole plan was abandoned. We've had a change of Government since then, who knows what will happen. I think a Labor Government will have a hard time explaining to its voters that taxpayers need to pay for transponders so we can fly our toys, let alone how they will explain it to the Greens!

Patrick, when we go to target resolution it will allow more options. One day.

Good grief there is a lot of misunderstanding in here. Firstly, UNICOMs are used extensively all over the world with safety. They are NOT air traffic controllers, they don't have to be. If you want air traffic controllers at every airport, for a start we can't afford it, secondly unless you are talking about IFR to IFR, you won't necessarily be separated anyway, thirdly RA-Aus won't be able to fly anywhere, and fourthly where on earth do we find all the controllers? There's a shortage already! And can we afford to train so many new ones and pay to relocate them to all those locations? Yes, we pay for that, ultimately, through cost recovery. Ardmore in NZ has what is basically a UNICOM at the equivalent of Bankstown. No controllers, they can't afford it. It is staffed by the university there. In the USA usually the baggage people or firies run the UNICOM, it isn't rocket science. I can think of one quite recent incident where a UNICOM operator in Australia gave advice which certainly prevented a conflict, I'm sure there are more. Once again, they are not providing ATC and they don't have to. They don't provide separation, they don't harp on about traffic once communication is established in the circuit. I keep thinking we must be stupid here in Australia because the UNICOM operators in the USA don't seem to have or cause any problems, they must be a super-intelligent race over there to be able to say "wind from the south, airline aircraft on straight in approach for runway 09," or for the pilots to elect to use that information. I am at a loss as to why you are all so against it! What is the disadvantage? There isn't one! So the UNICOM operator has to go to the bathroom, into town, refuel an aeroplane etc. Then it is a normal CTAF - but when the UNICOM operator is on frequency, you have the exta safety benefit, so why say oh, we can't have that because sometimes the operator isn't available! As long as they are there for RPT they can protect the pax. Mandating radio without a third party is worthless. Mandate 10 radios, 20 radios, 50 radios per aircraft, it makes no difference. Unless there is someone at the other end to verify that the radio is on frequency, working, volume up, it is not a fail safe system. Radios fail and people make mistakes all the time. Not all airline aircraft have TCAS. To ask recreational pilots to pay for transponders when the airlines don't all need TCAS seems silly. I wish I could afford a transponder too, but therein lies the problem! Patrick aren't you leaving something out about TSAD? It is not a separation tool is it? It is exactly what it says, a situational awareness tool. Poor man's radar indeed. Have you ever noticed that traffic increases or decreases, depending on lots of issues (like a mining boom for example) and the traffic mix can change, maybe an airline starts or ends a service to a location. That is why there is a tower establishment and disestablishment criteria, and that is what happened at Proserpine. When it was shut down, it no longer met the criteria. What wasn't expected was that the tower was removed. I think the idea was the tower was to be reactivated when required. Now it is harder to re-establish of course, because the infrastructure has gone. All towers are supposed to be reviewed to find out if they are still needed or if new ones are needed. People go on about affordable safety without understanding the concept. It is not saying we should reduce safety because of high costs, it is saying we only have so much money. That means society, or even you personally, only have a certain amount of money to spend. How is that money best spend to provide the highest level of safety? That is what it is about. What is the most likely risk? Is money best spent on flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders so the ATSB can prove that the aircraft had a controlled flight into terrain, or is it safer and cheaper for the pilot do do instrument training so it doesn't happen in the first place? Should we mandate radios and transponders for all aircraft when there is no third party confirmation, controllers do not necessarily use radar, and not all aircraft have TCAS? Or do we establish UNICOM operators to be the eyes on the ground and warn pilots of hazards?

They don't provide separation Motz, and for your information depending on the type of flight and airspace, controllers don't necessarily provide separation either. Think of it this way. If there is a separation service at every airport, for a start no one could afford it, and no RA-Aus could fly in anyway. A UNICOM operator responding to a radio call confirms the radio is working and on frequency. A UNICOM operator can say "There's a Cessna in the circuit which doesn't appear to be on frequency, it's base for 06", or "there's a glider to the south" or "there are showers to the east" or "The RPT just landed used runway 06 but the wind is favouring 24", "An aircraft just took off through the fog towards the north" (it happens) etc. You then know your radio is working and you gain a picture of what is going on. All of that, for free. As pilot in command, you can take the information or leave it. The alternative is to have nothing. A CTAF without even confirmation that your own radio is working and on frequency (even if there is an AFRU, it has limitations).

Patrick CASA does use tower establishment and disestablishment criteria, hence the changes over recent years. There is still work to do though. The intent of the CAGRO was a very low cost option but it was modified for operators to be controllers/FSOs which of course made it expensive. UNICOM is a zero cost option. There does not need to be any special person there, just the refueller, airline agent, groundsman, flying instructor etc. All they need to do is look out of the window and be on frequency around the time the RPTs come in. (PS: There is no such thing as a CTAF R!)

It is a strip of bitumen no more interesting than Goulburn, but it is a private strip, on private property, and not a convenient alternate to Canberra!

Goulburn would be the closest. Gundaroo is a private strip, like the other private strips (Collector etc) and there is no transport from there to Canberra anyway.