flying dog

Thanks folks. As I said, Ultralights showed me his I-Phone and the APP. It was the complete ERSA. (Ok, check with him to be sure.) But it had all airports, runways, etc. Danger areas, Restricted areas, and so on. Just as the number of people with these kind of phones is increasing it would be nice to have something like that handy instead of needing the ERSA with you everywhere. Yes, I know that is opening a can of worms, but maybe the rules need to be looked at/reviewd. I shall check that link out. It may be worth bookmarking.

Sorry to be a "wet blanket" but this is 18+ months ago.

I have been three times. I stay in town with a family. Though it has been a while since I have been there now, getting in touch with them may not be possible. I really liked all three trips. I flew into Madison and drove. Yeah, the rant-a-car was a bit exy' (expensive) but it was all fun and worth it. I would love to go again. All my trips have been planned/booked by me with a bit of help from a travel agent in the actual bookings. I said the time/date and they did the rest. The frst time I got there it was on a wing and a prayer. NO ACCOMMODATION and it was after two trips from Madison to Oshkosh that I found the place I stayed. Yeah, with the dollar the way it is, if you have some spare money, it would be worth getting some things booked and paid for now.

Ultralights showed me his i-phone. It has an APP which is the ERSA. It has airport maps, everything. Does anyone know if there is such an APP for the android?

Yes it was, but Camden was more known to me. It has been asked before. I am only repeating the situation as it happened. Why it didn't come into the equation I don't know. Possibily because it was NOT a real emergency and I think at that time it was/still is PPR.

I write down all the "Radar"/"Centre" frequencies, en-route airports, etc. Yes. I don't bother with the weather etc. But any areas though which I am flying I write down the frequency. It is handy to listen and keep up the "Situational Awareness" as much as possible.

OK, Here are two of my stories. Way back when..... I was flying a Jab LSA back from Wagga to Hoxton Park - when it still existed. It was one of my first X-Country trips. I took an old boat GPS with me for the sake of fun. It worked getting there buy the return trip it kept "failing" to get a fix. This was "distracting" me from flying. I say distracting only that it was given a high priority at the time. My intended track from Wagga to YHOX was YSWG - YGLB - BIK - YHOX. In English: Wagga, Goulburn, Bindook, Hoxton. Goulburn to Bindook isn't too bad, but Bindook to Hoxton was over a lot of tigers. This didn't worry me as I was going to be high enough. I'd got past Goulburn and was going towards the start of the range heading for Bindook. The plane was flying nice and it was pretty well flying itself. Therefore I was looking at the GPS which kept "dropping out" of track. Just on a side to resolve this issue: It is a BOAT gps. I say again: BOAT. Two days earlier there was a SW wind and my GS was low. The GPS was happy. Coming home that SW wind made my GS too high and the GPS was not liking it. So: I had my paperwork on the seat, the GPS on the seat, my water bottle and other things needed for the flight. The rest was behind the tank. I am monitoring my height as I am near the northern part of the Canberra zone, but was ok. I looked at the GPS and saw it wasn't tracking again and picked it up - or something. Suddenly the plane dropped - ZOOM! Then went up just as fast. SUffice to say the GPS flew in the cabin - as did most other things. My attention immediatly went from the GPS to the plane. Hand on stick, throttle back a bit, check both wings were still there and a look at my feet. With this sudden change in attitude, I felt a "bump" on my foot. SOMETHING HAD FALLEN OFF AND LANDED ON MY FOOT! Luckily it was only a socket. Phew! But it was a bit of a worry. I had to work to keep it straight and level. Quick look at the chart, 2 O'Clock was Mittagong. Got onto Sydney Radar and explained the situation, as I was just about to get to the step and would have to go lower - where I didn't want to go. It was rought enough were I was. Lower would be worse. The person went thorugh the standard questions: "How many POB, How much fuel, Intended destination, etc" I answered and they got onto a couple of other planes near by. They cleared me through at 3,000 all the way to YHOX and the other plane "escorted me" there. A few weeks later I had to answer a few questions but I wasn't fined. The person at Sydney Radar was nice. It wasn't a worry for them. Well I guess a small plane with ONE person isn't as bad a a large Jet which has lots of people. The other time was flying back from down the coast (though Nowra) back to YHOX. I had passed YWOL and was getting near Appin. Alas it was bad weather and close to sunset. The cloudbase was lower than I expected and it looked like rain. Getting closer to Appin it started to rain and I didn't like this. I checked with Sydney Radar and they asked if I was going to continue to YHOX or divert. At that point the rain stopped and I thought it would be ok. I said I would continue, no problems. Thanks. About 30 seconds later the rain hit again - harder. "Sydney radar, the situation has changed. I think I had better go elsewhere. Is Camden ok?" Usually Camden is CTA of a weekend and I am not allowed to go there. Sydney Radar got back to me without a blink. "Camden is at your 10 O'Clock, 5 miles and the tower has just closed. Contact me again when on the ground. Camden frequency is ......." I went in and landed ok. Just as I did Camden tower called me checking I was ok. Sydney Radar had just called them. So all in all that was pretty interesting too. No letters from that event. Don't be affraid to ask for help.

Wow, GUYS! CHILL OUT! Step back.... Count to ten... Take a few more breaths.... Calm down - please. ;) We all have our methods and yes, some are more "problematic" than others. Sure, if we stepped back and looked, we could pick holes in just about ALL ways. That is good and it is bad. Trying to remember some of the (cough) rules I was told when flying an ULTRA-LIGHT. Wheels down...... Um, I hope so. It isn't a retractable. Mixture....... There isn't any adjustment. I have my own "system" and though it may not be prefect, there are enough "fail safes" built in, that I can say it is pretty good. Sure there are those things I don't know. I accept those and hope to learn of them and how they control my flights at some stage. But it takes time, practice and an open mind to learn things and do them without thinking. My flight plans I make on my spreadsheet - I'll have to upload the newer version one day too! - shows you a lot of detail to help prevent/minimise you running out of fuel because of excess winds. Throughout the flight it tells you how much fuel you should have at each point and if there is a large discrepancy, I start heading for the nearest airfield. Let's all hope that all of our flying is enjoyable, safe and legal.

David, I was stiring!

After the recent catastrophic failure of one of their engines, Airbus have released their solution to the problem. See picture.

This is mythical and deep. Truly beautiful... A man asked an American Indian what was his wife's name. The man said, "That's an unusual name for your wife. What does it mean?" The Old Indian answered, "It old Indian Name. It mean... NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG! ======================= He replied, "She called Five Horses".

And ofcourse it begs the question: Why would you be flying at FL300 anyway? But hey: What a great view!

I don't have time to read all the posts either. Here is my "two cents worth". And: Ok, I still haven't got my head around the 1/60 rule. People learn things because they use them often in their daily routines. By repeatedly doing the same thing it becomes familiar and so you understand what is happening when you see the "problem" presented to you. Time, speed and distance are all inter-related. Speed is GROUND speed - ofcourse. So knowing two of these you can determin the other one no worries. Learing the maths to do this is done with repetition and doing LOTS of examples where you are given situations and you need to "crunch the numbers". But looking at their "real" values, speed is not quite as simple as its name imples. Speed is varied by the wind and heading, so it is not that easily quantified. You draw you track on the map and mark 10 mile markers. Irrispective of you speed you time how long it takes to get between known points on the ground. This determins your speed. "Problem" with this is you need to be always looking out the cockpit, searching for these points. Irrispective of you speed these points stay fixed. So they can be used for all flights. If you mark 6 minute markers and your ground speed is different to what you calculated, the points are void. When flying the track, every 6 minutes you look out and get a "fix" on where you are. "Problem" with this is, if you ground speed is different to what you calculated, you won't be where you thought you would be. So when you look out the window and see where you are then you have to mentally find where you are. Then you have to find where you are on the map. Ok, there is a bit of "mental trickery" there but to me it is double work load. But: We are all different. Some do it one way, some do it another. I think distance is better as they are FIXED points. 6 minute markers are speed dependant, and so can't be trusted. But that is just my thoughts. Happy and safe flying.

See attached. And all I can say is: "Ouch!"

Well, I did a couple of circuits with my instructor - he didn't charge me for that - and I practiced cross wind landings. Nearly scared myself silly. I "enjoyed" it - as in I am not that scared I don't want to fly again - but I agree that I need to do some time in the circuit and practice the landings. I'll get the instructor up with me if he wants somewhere in there. I know some of my landings are shallow and some are steep. I have to re-learn the plane's characteristics. And! I need good weather! (Grumble) Where's all the good weather?

I'm talking about 3 months no flying. I am having serious withdrawal symptoms.

Ooops. ;)

I'll keep this non-specific only because I think it would be better to do so. It has been a LONG time since I have got any left seat ops done. I am worried that I am losing my mojo. I have 500+ hours up in a fairly short time but last time when I was up doing practice circuits, I could see I was not doing a good job. I have no problems booking and doing circuits for an hour to "get back in the groove", but I just thought I would discuss here - for everyone's edification/benefit - the problem of a long gap in flying. I am hoping it is like "riding a bike" in that when I do a few more hours, I will get back my confidence/ability to be happy with my flying, but does anyone have any stories/comments?

Yeah, I have kind of had this situation. I fully agree: The rules need to be clear and simple. Although the excuse is "there are exceptions"..... blah blah blah. Yeah, in the "real world" there are these situations. But they should NOT be included in the rules. It only makes things complicated. Hourly rates should be slightly more than the cost of fuel to cover other things so if you are not flying it a lot and there is a problem with a tyre you are not hit for the cost of replacing it. That isn't fair as you are not flying it as much as the others, so why should you pay. (Note "you" is used to mean ANY of the people in the syndicate and not specifically YOU.)

Nev, yes very good/funny. And I totally agree with Walter very much. In fact I was nearly going to suggest that too, but Walter beat me to it. They don't fix the problem because it suits them. They can pump it up, go flying and put it away before the tyre goes flat. To make them fix it, make it go flat quicker. Then they will have to do something about it. If that means they simply leave it in the hanger, move it to the back.

Ok, stupid question: "Turbo prop"... To me that means the prop is spun by exhaust gas. On that clip, the prop started to spin as soon as the motor turned. That - to me - is NOT a turbo prop. Where have I gone wrong?

Ok, for the village idiot: I don't get it. Please..... Some one....

Further details: Luskintyre Aviation Flying Museum Nov 27, 2010 — Luskintyre, NSW. Luskintyre Christmas Party. Luskintyre. The biggest event of our year when aviators, builders, neighbours and friends come together for a relaxed and casual afternoon and night. The action starts mid-afternoon when the Tiger Moths will be flying, followed by a BBQ and Christmas Party in the hangar. This event is organised by Ray Windred of rag and tube fame. By invitation. Contact: Jamie Campbell 0418 628-321, Email Nov 27, 2010 — Luskintyre, NSW. AAAA National Toy Run. Luskintyre. Combined event with Lunch with the Luskintyre Christmas Party. Charity Event - All aviators are welcome to fly in for the day and enjoy a BBQ lunch. Everyone who attends is asked to bring a childrens toy to be donated to Charity. We all get so much enjoyment from our flying this is our chance to give a little bit back. Contact: Jamie Campbell 0418 628-321, Email

Thanks for the replies. Had forgotten about the thread. Ooops. The 500D only does 3 FPS in "burst mode". The 300D does 2.4 so there is little gain there. I am only thinking of this because when I am at air shows, or at flyins, it is annoying putting the camera in burst mode and pressing the shutter button and hearing: "click click click........." And it stops. I have to wait while the camera shoves the data onto the card (CF) and gets ready. ITMT, things are happening and I am not getting the piccies. I have a NIKON "happy snap" camera (14.4 MP) and it does videos (HD) too. Nice, but I learnt on SLR, and when I am SERIOUS about taking piccies, I would have an SLR hands down. The "happy snap" is only so if I am going somewhere, and can't be bothered taking the SLR, but may want to take piccies, it is handy to have. Looking at the 1000D it is confusing about the "burst mode" taking piccies, it has two numbers: 3.0 fps/514 shots max burst (JPEG) What does that mean? I cant take 3 FPS to a maximum of 514 shots total? The 500D says: 3.4 fps But then nothing else.

Folks, Don't worry. Further research has shown it is not that good a camera. It will NOT be bought.