Rocketing

I agree Windsor. As I said, I couldn't confirm the FL as I just couldn't find the aircraft. It was just behind a hill at an angle that I just didn't see until I drove out further a little while later. Then only did I have it confirmed. The other issue is that I then phoned 000 to ask if they are aware and they said no. (This is after discussing it with my fire brigade friend who confirmed they where not called out for any incident that morning). I realise now that I must have called 000 much earlier and just trusted my 'gut'. Shouldn't a pilot at least phone 000 if they landed safely? I would, just to give them an FYI call at least. I did call ATSB this evening to give them my details just in case and they said that as nobody was hurt the emergency services were not called out / notified. I am just wondering if they shouldn't at least put an FYI down for the emergency services. That said, after my call I had several phone calls from the Fire, Ambulance, Police and Search & Rescue in Canberra trying to confirm the details as they were not aware of anything. I have recorded the flight in my minds eye with as much detail as I can remember and am analysing it over and over. Feels like I was in it.

Hi, We were sitting on Werri Beach in Gerringong this morning just enjoying the fresh air when my son and I talked about a Cessna flying south and how nice it would be to go and fly today. A few short minutes later we observed the same airplane (I think it was a Cessna 172) tracking north very slowly coming straight for the beach. When it came over us I wondered what was going on as their flaps were out and they where flying really slowly and descending. I didn't hear any engine sound and saw them make a base turn for what I was now assuming to be a forced landing on the marshland just behind the Werri Beach built up area. Then I saw something that looked like them trying to prevent / recover from a stall and the next moment after that I saw a sharp turn and it looked like a left wing stall. Then they disappeared behind the trees. We went looking for them and I drove up and down the streets onto high ground etc to see if I could see them but didn't. At this stage they still could have flown away low without me noticing and I didn't want to call 000. After a while I kept on feeling I have to look around as I didn't have a radio or could find out what happened and went home to fetch my phone (usually don't go to beach with phone) and called a local Fire brigade volunteer asking if they had any report of a forced landing and he said no. I called 000 and the Rural Fire Service went out to investigate. Turns out both pilots walked away safely and 'are from a local flying school' but nobody phoned 000 apart from me which was a fair while after the incident. I have no idea if they made a mayday call or not. All is well that ends well and I must say I have learnt a LOT from what I observed from the ground. I am assuming they changed their minds at the last moment to a different paddock (I am only guessing) and that caused the last (what seemed) aggressive maneuvers. I would love to talk to the pilot to collaborate what I saw so if anybody knows them, please ask them to contact me. Cheerio

Welcome WWL, I joined the RAA in October and received my shining new Pilot Certificate in the mail this morning. I cut up my student card immediately :) What a great 3 months it has been and I can't wait to see what 2013 holds in place. Just ask when you need info. Wayne

Thanks Phil, I am planning to spend a lot of time around 1000'AGL Cheerio Wayne

Thank you all. I took my wife for a quick scenic flight this morning. What a treat! Thanks Gentreau, Wayne is good Cheers, Wayne

Wow, everything worked out really well this week. I flew plenty of hours and completed my pilot certificate test flight and got the nod :) Looking forward to enjoy a lifetime in the clouds :) Thank you to all at SCRFC that played a part in my training. From TIF on 18 October to pilot certificate, pax endorsement and a heap of new experience 2 months later.

Hi TP, Sorry if I offended you by wearing a kevlar jacket. (I have handed them in for a refund ) Yes, I saw a lot of advise repeated. I also saw a lot of other stuff repeated. I also saw rumours grow and grow until it got confirmed that it was only a rumour without trying to 'fix the damage' with the same effort as feeding the rumours. I actually got my hands on some older financial details yes. No, I didn't pay the money to get the DOJ report. Will you please send me a copy? All I am saying is that as I have not been involved for the last 2-3 years I do have a viewpoint based on what I can find on the website, speaking to long term members and this forum and I have the luxury of still being able to be objective. I acknowledge your input and investment in the past but unfortunately the only solution now and next year will be to WORK TOGETHER not to try and blind-side one another. I am referring to both members and board members here. At the end of the day, not every Australian is going to stand up to be voted into government but we all have our opinion about how the government performs. (Please don't get me started on that now :) Friends? Rocketing

Hi Geoff, If you read the forum postings in general with an OBJECTIVE viewpoint you can come to no other conclusion than this forum is anti-RAA-Board as they stand at the moment. I don't have the time at the moment to go back and quote the numerous comments made in regard to sacking board members at the EGM meeting on 9 Feb. I will acknowledge that the majority of those comments keep calling on getting rid of the Board Executive and only a few comments lean toward the idea of sacking the whole board as such. (As I need to factor in the few board members that have posted here in recent weeks are now seen as 'friends' and it counts in their favour apart from John M as it seems whatever he says is accepted as fact without scrutiny and he has done a great job to try and keep forum posters in line with the truth and correct anything when it was miss-quoted or turned out to be different to his first thought) What work is going on in the background? Per that definition I am unable to be aware of it as it is not exposed to the public. You talking about the board trying to clean up the registration issues and organise the RAA better or you talking about a bunch of members building a case to put toward the board at the EGM? I think we all anticipate a heated EGM and am looking forward to it. The scary bit to me is the following :".................. and the final outcome will be up to the members that attend and who send their proxies. The interested members will be the ones that make the final decisions at that meeting." From what I have seen on this forum the proxies at the moment are mainly going to be all in favour of the anti-establishment group (working in the background?) as I was considering to send in a proxy form but decided to attend it in person. This scares me as we all know that the 'interested' members mostly refer to the active group here on the forum where the main viewpoint is "we will show them" and it is very difficult to get people who are actually just enjoying their flying and not really social media types (as that is all that a forum is) to get involved. (Sometimes referred to as the lazy, ignorant etc members) Please note that from what I have seen so far the majority of members are - how shall I state it - well experienced in life. That also translates to "Not as active on the internet and other social media / forum communities" as the 'younger' members. At this moment I am scared that there will be a few emotional people walking around with a bunch of proxies at the EGM to make decisions that could potentially have a real negative impact on the RAA. Now, please don't just go by this single post. Please read my previous post together with this one. I am IN FAVOUR of change where and when it is needed. If there are any CRIMINAL evidence, bring it out otherwise lets start working together instead of just accusing left and right. Rocketing

Hi TurboPlanner Well, I may be new on the forum and only joined the RAA this year but I have been part of the aviation world since I was born (my Dad was a fighter pilot and qualified accident investigator) and I actually work in the aviation (safety) industry and understand aviation safety governance and governing bodies fairly well. I have studied the accounts - and not only the ones sent out with the latest magazine - as much as I could. I actually did real searches to find out as much as I could. Read the info around the "Ian issue" that so many refer to and agree there are issues to be discussed and resolved. As a new member I wanted to make sure I understand what is going on and I actually did many many many hours of research. I have read through hundreds - wait, make that thousands as the CASA audit posting itself has more than a 1159 comments at the moment and I have read every signle one of them - of posts on this forum to gain insight into the current state of affairs as I am actually concerned about the future of the RAA as I will be a part of this for a long time. (My son will also be starting his flying lessons in the next 2 years so I am really invested for the long term) Maybe you could have asked me about my intentions privately :) I did not attempt to gag anybody. Just asking people to actually take a breath before they just start blurting out a bunch of assumptions, accusations, allegations etc just for the hell of it. How about starting to work together. It will be painful for US AND THE BOARD. What I can say is that I have looked at everything from an objective point of view and I have noticed that there are issues to be sorted out by the board. (Obviously) I have also noticed that there are not many people willing to put themselves forward to be voted onto the board. You and many other people claim that this forum is the "unofficial RA-Aus" forum and I must be honest that I only see a 1-way attack on anything that is said if it is not anti-board and if somebody wants to give a potentially pro-board comment or even suggest potential solutions they are seen and labeled as uninformed, ignorant lazy members. I understand there are many many issues to be sorted out. There is a meeting on 9 Feb and YES, I am going to attend it. Obviously there will be a heated discussion and that is what it should be. I don't live in Canberra so will have to spend some $ and time to get there. Are you attending the meeting TP? Maybe we can have an in-depth discussion then. Maybe if we allow people to actually feel safe in trying to voice their opinions in a manner where they want to see us working toward a working solution and NOT a dogfight with a winner takes all mentality we will get more people involved. I know that the official RA-Aus forum is not up yet and that is also part of the issue but maybe this forum can change its tone slightly and you will see some more pro-active communications. This is only worth 2 cents as that is all I had left after spending my real dollars on a box full of kevlar jackets :) Rocketing

Hi AR, Just asking, what is your financial management experience? To say something like "...You can forgive errors but not fraud - if that's what it is..." reads to me like "I think they committed fraud and are trying to cover it up" Like Dodo said in the original post, it can be ANYTHING regarding procedural etc and they are trying to find out the impact and how to correct it. Now that they have mentioned it, don't you think they will feel they will have to inform the people of the result when they have it? Obviously people will ask them about it at the next meeting if they don't

Hi Tom, Just click on the "Reply" link at the right hand bottom corner of the post you would like to quote.

Well, the way I see it is everybody has been asking the board to be more informative and in the process of cleaning up shop after everything that happened the last few months they are getting there and I see this as a positive step in that direction. I truly hope there won't be another open attack because they are doing what has been asked of them as well as required of them. (Putting on my kevlar vest now)

Hi Tom, You can also consider the South Coast Recreational Flying Club. I did my TIF there on 18 October and will hopefully be getting my certificate this weekend. :) They are located at Jaspers Brush Airfield just 4 km south of Berry and 2o minutes south of Kiama. I use to live in the Baulkham Hills district and if you come down for flying over the weekend the family will have a great time at all the beaches and great towns like Kiama, Gerringong, Berry & Jamberoo water action park. Really scenic and a plus is that they also fly from Wollongong Airport now and then. That helps you to get both grass strip and big airport experience. I have had a great time there the last few months.

Well, I asked my instructor to take my wife and son up for a quick 0.4 flight each before I did my solo. It is amazing to see how this helped them to become more involved in my training experience as well as actually looking forward to fly with me as before they were not sure what to expect. It will be up to my wife to complete a course if she wishes to do so but my son will definitely do so when he is old enough. (Another 2 years) What will be easier though is that they will become use to the correct "look and feel" when we need to land and if I keep them informed with what I am doing I am sure they will eventually 'get the picture'. It doesn't mean that they will be able to execute it the same way but that will give them a better than nothing chance. Also, just the mindset that an instructor showed them the basics makes it so much easier to discuss as there are no arguments / confusion. Just my 2c and way of approaching this.

Update: I had my first solo on 14 Dec. If the stars, sun, planets, wind, waves, bank managers, vacation time, clouds, traffic, mechanical stuff and a whole lot of other things align over the next week I hope to put in a decent amount of time to get that certificate soon. :)

Hi FT. Just wondering what your definitions of dobbers and do gooders are?

Cakes delivered. Both kinds, edible & cleansing.

Well, Motz is the CFI and Super King Air (SI) is my instructor who took me all the way from my TIF in October to my solo. (With Motz lurking in the background) Nope, I would have bounced even if Motz trained me all the way. The nerves had a big part in that go-around decision and you need to be ready to focus on anything unforeseen. It just felt the safest thing to do then.

Not much to say other than the time just flew past me. Seriously, circuit felt 20 times faster :) Had a little bounce on my first attempt and I initiated a go-around just to calm the nerves. 2nd attempt was great with "3 touch and goes in 2 seconds" (quoting Motzartmerv here) and made a decent full stop landing. Still grinning, baking, and smiling at the moment :) I have the next 10 days available for flying so should be able to get my certificate soon.

Just switched on the oven. See you tomorrow :)

I agree with you Sapphire.

Just want to say a big thank you to all at Jaspers Brush Airfield and the South Coast Recreational Flying Club for making my lifelong dream become a reality and getting closer to that certificate! It would be difficult to be in better company.

Hi all, I flew my FIRST SOLO today !! Thank you for all the comments and feedback. Yes, Gentreau's image a few posts up sums it up. Maybe just show that the Jabiru also finished his finals turn as that image shows he only turned base but I think people should be able to understand it. I agree 100% with Motz (not because he is my CFI, but he hit the nail on the head there) and I don't need to report it as I knew / know they did it ASAP . I have learned from that experience and the feedback here has given me some viewpoints which only helps me to learn more. Anyway, that is now behind me as I know that we have done all we can / need to in an official sense and I have learned in practical demonstration how to manage my situational awareness and its impact. I flew my FIRST SOLO today !!

Thank you all. I have learned from all the replies and highlighted a few notes in the ERSA. Studying the ATSB requirements. The CFI and SI are definitely on top of it all and I have enjoyed their feedback and trust them completely. (Please note the pilot was not from our club. )

EDIT: I don't know how to remove the words "and how to report?" from the post Title :) Hi, I was involved in a near miss yesterday when a RAA pilot cut me off and joined me on finals at around 400ft. The problem here is that it started when he started to taxi to the runway. He chose the opposite direction (Runway 16 instead of 34) of the 'established' circuits by all that were flying earlier. When asking for his intentions he replied with "taking off" and it was clear that he was receiving radio calls. From that point forward he just ignored everybody. Didn't give any departure call even after asking for intention. We constantly kept an eye open for him. There were several aircraft operating either in the circuit or doing airwork. At a stage we heard that he was flying around / through a parachute dropzone without explaining his intentions after calls were made. The next call was "turning crosswind Runway 34" just after I made a "turning base runway 16" call. Once again we tried to get things sorted and he replied that he will change to Runway 16 (This is after HE decided to change to Runway 16) I completed the Touch and Go and did another circuit. I made downind, base & final calls for a full stop. After turning onto finals and aligned with the runway we did not see any other planes nor were there any calls of downwind or base. Between 350-400ft we suddenly saw the Jabiru coming straight at us about 20 ft above us and about 30 ft to our left while he was still drifting closer to us trying to align with the runway. We immediately turned to the dead side and got out of his way and after several calls on the radio to get his intentions or any response he just calmly went about his own business to land. Afterwards we did speak to the club he hired the aircraft from and they indicated they will take retraining steps. My question is this. How do we report such a systemic and blatant ignorance of aviation safety to make sure a follow up takes place. I am still a student pilot and I know my SI and CFI are doing what they have to but I would like to get a wider range of feedback to learn from this experience. Thanks EDIT: I would like to confirm, as I mentioned in the original post that I know my CFI and SI were reporting it that I don't have to and I would like to confirm that YES, THEY DID - just to make it clear for any discussion. EDIT 2: Just for clarity. I am learning at the FTF at Jaspers Brush and we sometimes also fly at Wollongong. The other pilot was NOT from the same school / club as us.