Mazda

Yes Nev, it is quite a cute little trainer but it is no fighter!

Motz, in response to your comment that the training costs a small fortune, that depends entirely on how much you do of course. Personally I think every pilot would benefit from a briefing and one single flight with some time under the hood, and a flight with recovery from spiral dives and spins. I call it a good allocation of resources! You are suggesting a PIFR is a good idea, and that is more expensive than a couple of flights. The PIFR was a great idea thanks to a certain founder of an electronics chain. The great thing about the PIFR is that you can add to it and end up with a CIR, or if anyone is doing a CIR you can be signed off for a PIFR at the same time. In its basic form it can still get you over the mountains through IMC to clear skies in the west, a very good thing indeed. The other worthwhile training for VFR into IMC is EMT, because it expands on the recovery from unusual attitudes and the use of the vertical to turn in valleys. But yes, that is expensive training!

Yep! After 40+ hours of it you can have an instrument rating! :cheezy grin:Although that still means avoiding some bad weather as you know Motz.

You won't die if you fly through cloud if you are above LSALT (when you DO need one!), have an instrument rating and an IFR aircraft. Clouds don't kill, the terrain does. The problem is RA pilots have no instrument training generally (and I'm not talking about IFR, just time under the hood), PPLs only need 2 hours, CPLs only need 10 hours. The ATSB released a report today I think, about a commercial VFR helicopter pilot (with about 4000 hours) entering cloud and yes, he crashed within 70 seconds and killed his passenger. In the report the pilot says he didn't think he had sufficient training to be on instruments. This is not something to muck around with. Watch the weather! You can fly over the top if there is a gap, but you'd better make sure you can navigate properly on instruments, and that doesn't just mean following a line on a non-TSO GPS. The sensory illusions are very real when visual reference is lost and training is needed to know how to recognise them and recover. All GA pilots must demonstrate proficiency in recovery from spiral dives and incipient spins in visual conditions and recovery from unusual attitudes by instruments alone. Remember there are really only two unusual attitudes used, it isn't rocket science. Nose high, airspeed low/decreasing and probably some bank angle (could develop into stall/spin), or nose low, airspeed high/increasing, probably some bank angle (could become a spiral). Please ensure you do spiral dive recoveries as well as stalls, and have some awareness of rolling G. Yes Motz, the idea is that a pilot could make a 180 degree level turn and get out of cloud, that is what the 2 hours is for, it is not to encourage pilots to think they can do any more than that. What I don't get is that people keep going on about VFR LSALT, but now think that descending is the best option if you get into cloud! The cloud doesn't hurt, the ground does. The best option is to get on instruments and turn around, failing that, I would be climbing above IFR LSALT, considering the freezing level, and advising ATC so you don't run into an IFR aircraft in the cloud. If you don't have instrument training this would be very, very hard to do. Please consider keeping some money aside which might save your life, invest in some training under the hood, in recovery from spins and spiral dives. And until then, keep well clear of bad weather.

My suggestion is if you really want to raise money for charity, go ahead and raise it then hand it straight over, rather than spending money on flying which could go to the charity. Or donate the money you would spend on the flight directly to the charity. If you want to go flying, save up and do it. Or possibly do as Owen did, fund the flight yourself and have donations going directly to the charity concerned. Otherwise in effect the charity is paying for your flight and that is not a charitable thing to do.

The northbound and southbound lanes are not the same, be careful there. (Parramatta to Patonga vs Brooklyn Bridge to Prospect). Victor 1 is great but you do have to be over water at 500 feet. Bankstown and Camden are both Class D. Somersby is not the easiest place to go, I'm not sure what the story is there now, wasn't it sold to people operating trikes?

If you want to go GA, use the GA books. I used the ATC books and they will be familiar to you if you've used the ATC BAK book. There's not just one book, there are several subjects you need to study. In my view it is imperative to learn all you can, and learn thoroughly. BAK is not over the top at all, it is "Basic" Aeronautical knowledge and further down the track you might need to learn a fair bit more than BAK. One word of warning though. If you want to go on to do your CPL, there are two ways to go. You can do it in 150 hours (cheaper) using an integrated syllabus, or you can do it from 200 hours, without an integrated syllabus. If you think you will do CPL and are considering the 150 hour syllabus, there are specific times in your training when you can do theory exams. If you do them too early, you miss out on the 150 hour syllabus and have to do 200 hours. So make sure you talk to the GA school you want to fly with before you do the exams. If you just want to do PPL there's no problem about when you do the exams.

I believe they need to show their racing licence, such as a Motorcycling Australia racing licence for bikes. However, Shell seems to be going to credit card bowsers these days and anyone can wander in with a jerry can, which is not a good thing. It is my understanding that it is not legal to supply the fuel to people without appropriate licensing.

Use the most appropriate frequency. If you are in the approach or departure airspace to an aerodrome (which will depend on how high you are and how far away you are), monitor the aerodrome frequency. That is going to be way more important to you than the area frequency, which is primarily an IFR control frequency of little interest to you. In the USA they don't even have an area frequency for VFR. On the aerodrome frequency you may hear inbound traffic. You won't hear much of relevance on the area frequency, because VFR are not required to make reports, and IFR reports in that area are on radar and won't always say where they are. They might request traffic for descent, but you won't know where their descent point is. Monitoring two frequencies doesn't work effectively. Yes, you can have two radios on, but if two calls come in at once on different frequencies you might miss hearing both of those calls. You can fly IFR with one radio, you don't need two radios for VFR.

It is just the first of many theory exams as you go through your training so it is good for you to do. BAK may be "basic" but it isn't "simple". The thing is though that this aerodynamic stuff may not seem all that important, but it really is relevant to every flight you do. When you start with BAK it seems so hard, but by the time you go over and over and over it again and again and again with every exam that you do, it makes a lot of sense. So do persevere with it, even after your exam keep your books handy and keep reading over it until you do understand it. Passing the test is one thing, understanding the theory and how it applies to your flight is just as important! If in doubt, ask your instructor. You can ask on here too but it is a forum so don't take it all as gospel, check with your instructor if you are not sure.

It's misleading for them to say it is the first TAFE in Australia to offer such a course, at Ultimo TAFE in Sydney you could do BAK to ATPL about 15-20 years ago.

True Big Pete - if flying a fixed pitch aircraft anyway.

Your eyes should be outside nearly all the time, not 50% of the time. You can't look for traffic if your head is inside, let alone maintaining reference with the natural horizon. 20 degrees could lead to you being unsure of your position, and 400 feet could mean VCAs or traffic conflicts, so accuracy is imperative. When flying, just don't let it get away from you, and don't tolerate the inaccuracy, because testing officers won't. Do look for a visual reference and fly there S & L, just as you do in the training area. If there is that much variation, perhaps you are fixating on something (chart, plan, instruments?). Just think - when you are driving a car, do you look put your head down looking at the street directory 50% of the time, or do you watch the road and glance down every now and then? It might come down to a bit more preparation before you go flying. Do you have your chart maked up, your flight plan completed, a good kneeboard? Do you use markers? Can you estimate your markers with your thumb, pencil markers etc for diversions? It is surprisingly accurate, there's no usually little need to measure tracks exactly and get out your ruler. Do you have all the navaids, radio frequencies set before you take off? Do you have the next ones all written out on your plan so you don't have to look them up all the time? Have you marked up your ERSA with circuit direction, circuit height etc? Do you set a heading bug (if you have one) before you take off and on each leg? Do you do a pre-take off check including talking through your circuit departure and outbound heading? Do you have ground features within a few miles of departure/turning points to prevent basic errors? All you need to do is be well prepared, take off and mark your time, check your ground feature to make sure you are on track, and choose your reference point. Fly the aeroplane. When you are settled, you can do your clearo(f) checks, ETA and mile/minute markers. When doing those, no hurry. Fly the aeroplane, calculate a marker, fly the aeroplane, look out, scan, do another marker. From then on sit back, relax, and fly the aeroplane. If you hold your heading and height the navigation will generally take care of itself. Every now and then check your watch, check your map to see where you should be, then head out again while you fly the aeroplane and ensure you are on track. I wouldn't suggest going for your test until you can maintain your height and heading -not just for the sake of passing the test, but to ensure you are safe and effective when you have the licence.

There is plenty to see at Caboolture, from home builts to warbirds (including a Mustang). There are RAA aircraft, GA fixed wing, lots of helicopters, gliders and tugs, parachuting (AKA meat bombing) and a small aviation museum. There was a good aero club building with a large covered area looking over the field, but it was struck by lightning in one of the huge storms around Brisbane and is now damaged by fire.

Hi Jack and Patricia Unfortunately we don't have the number of airports that you have in the USA and transport will be a challenge, but here are a few suggestions. Heck Field (Jacobs Well), Caboolture and Boonah would be good places to visit. You can get a train to Caboolture and from there it is a short trip to the airport. It is a fair walk, you could go by taxi for about $12 though, or get a bus towards Bribie Island and get off at the Sundowner Hotel on Airport Drive, then walk down the road. The train trip from Manly is at least 1.5 hours each way, maybe more. Plus the taxi/bus. It takes about an hour to drive there from Manly. I can't think of any public transport to Heck Field (Jacobs Well) which is down towards the Gold Coast, you could drive there from Manly in about an hour or so. Boonah is a fair way out and that would be by car only. You might need to bite the bullet and hire a car! The Bay is looking a bit muddy after all that rain at the moment and the wind and chop has made boating interesting. PM me if you need any further info.

There is no requirement for VFR broadcasts in Class G. Do be aware of the skeds for over water flights though. Broadcasting on IFR ATS frequencies may prevent calls required for IFR separation so it is not encouraged if it is just for the sake of it. You can always broadcast a PAN or MAYDAY call if required. If operating in remote areas, HF and UHF could be considered. However you could lodge a flight plan, SARWATCH, or leave a flight note with a family member or flying school. You can SMS positions to people, use an iridium phone, use something like spider tracks, or a Satcom C inmarsat, and carry a beacon with GPS. Remember you don't need to have such things mandated to be able to use them, although of course it does depend on how much money is available. If it is your one big trip, you may not have the money (or payload, or fuel) available to be able to do it. Recreational Flying was never supposed to be the same level of safety as RPT, otherwise no one could afford to fly at all. The Bureau of Transport Economics has a lot of information about aviation stats, the ATSB has information, and CASA put out a brochure some years ago about the relative safety of adventure flights, private flights, single pilot charter, RPT, with the risk compared with that in a car. Private adventure flights were listed as being about the equivalent level of safety to being a pillion passenger on a motorcycle.

I think that is an over reaction. You may not be aware that Brisbane airport is a work in progress. The whole road system has been changed in recent times, a new car park has resulted in temporary parking and taxi areas, and it is far from complete. I'm not surprised at water innundation, Brisbane has had 6 months worth of rain in the last few weeks and much of QLD is underwater. The aircraft is surrounded by displays, and that glass is not just to stop people poking the aircraft, it is a completely climate controlled area to protect it. I know, because I was once offered the honour of going in there and boarding the Southern Cross. I climbed through the door in the back and sat in Smithy's seat. It was awe-inspiring. Since then I've visited the building numerous times and there have always been people there looking at the Southern Cross, so it gets plenty of attention. I do agree the signage is lacking now, it was much clearer using the old roads and I would hope this is upgraded when the airport work has been completed. The type of facility you are talking about would cost literally tens of millions of dollars. Who would pay? Should we pay more tax for it? Or which state or federal projects should be put on hold while a museum is built? Business donations in this time of financial crisis would be difficult to come by. Where would it go? Who would staff it and who would pay their wages? Would admission still be free as it is now? Could the aircraft be damaged in transit? Sharp End just said he thinks it is the most magnificent single aircraft display he has ever seen - and he's seen a few. At the moment the aircraft is accessible for all to see from every angle, free of charge, it has displays all around, copies of the hand written notes, audio presentations, it is in a dust free temperature/humitidy controlled area, and it is at a major airport where it belongs.

Crash lander you will need all relevant charts for each flight and they must be current. So if you are just starting out and only in the training area, use whichever chart covers that training area. You might just need one VTC only. When you start doing nav training you will again need the relevant charts. Depending on where you are, you might find you can do a nav all on one VTC, or VTC/VNC, but once you start needing to use WAC charts you will also need ERC (L) so you can see airspace boundaries. Plus a PCA for planning. You will only need the charts covering the areas in which you fly (and alternates). You will need an En Route Supplement Australia too. You can print out pages for free, but once you start doing navs and may need to divert, I'd recommend buying the book. If you use the AirNav VFR software you can print out pages of the current charts for each flight, but it does use paper/ink. For your nav training you will need original charts so you can draw your track etc.

There are a number of factors at work. The confusion arises I think because the CASA Day VFR Syllabus insists that Bernoulli is taught, but it does not include the other factors. So students may only be taught Bernoulli in accordance with the syllabus. The syllabus does not prevent instructors from mentioning the other factors though.

First you need to decide if you will fly general aviation (Cessnas, Pipers etc) or recreational aviation (AKA Ultralights). Keep in mind though that some recreational aircraft now are quite sophisticated things. This forum is generally recreational aviation based, but there are quite a few GA people on here (I'm GA). Recreational aviation is cheaper and less onerous, but has a number of limitations. General aviation flying has more theory and more onerous requirements, but if you want to fly at night, in cloud, upside down or get paid to fly passengers, eventually you will need to go to GA. You can start off in RA and the hours count for GA, so it is your choice. If you go GA yes, you will need a medical and a security check, get both done ASAP. For GA you only need a Class 2 medical for a private licence, you need a Class 1 for a commercial licence. Some people who want to go commercial get a Class 1 initially to make sure they can get the medical - before spending a fortune on training. I'm in SEQ and if you do go GA, I can recommend both the Darling Downs Aero Club, and Aerotec at Toowoomba. Fantastic dedicated people and good instruction. You won't go wrong there. I haven't flown at all the Archerfield schools so take this as a generalisation, but I have no recommendations there at all. The only experiences I've had there are bad ones, but others may have a different view. The landing fees there are expensive and you will have to pay for this. However you will gain valuable experience in flying at an airport with a control tower. Other places to try are Redcliffe and Caboolture. Redcliffe has an RA school and the aero club (GA). I haven't flown with them, they were not able to do the training I needed at the time. ADFA at Caboolture is run by a guy with a good reputation, Bryan Carpenter. It would be worthwhile going up there for a look as well. Keep in mind the airstrip there is grass and with all this rain they may not be flying until the strip dries out.

I might go if the weather is kind and the strip dries out, but I don't know at present.

Dangler is that at Dalby?

Yes, this appears to be an accidental shut down. It is not normal practise to shut down the engine of a twin in the circuit area - it is normally only set to zero thrust. It is shut down at altitude though. In a single, of course the normal thing is to pull the power back to idle. If you do aerobatics it is possible for the engine to stop in flight, so part of the training is to shut down the engine, then stop the prop, then restart. I've done this with Lycomings. Of course motor gliders shut down their single engine all the time and restart when required.

It sounds as if the student was the lucky one to have Rob on board. Rob used more than luck to recover. I've always respected Rob (he did my CPL test) and he's just proved the old adage about superior pilots using their knowledge to avoid situations which require superior skills. This time he had to use them. It also proves the other old adage of flying as far into the crash as you can. Freezing will only kill you. First and foremost, fly the aeroplane. Hats off to Mr Marshall.

Welcome! You do realise saying you are an avionics engineer is dangerous!! :big_grin: I was at Redcliffe last weekend. At least the ducks were happy.