DWF

There should be plenty of O-200 engines available come July when all those C150s fail their SIDs inspections.

And the same obligations AND PENALTIES apply whether you are a highly paid Director of a big company or a volunteer Board member of a (relatively) small company limited by guarantee! So we need to get it right. DWF

By that logic we are probably more likely to get vested interest groups such as Powered Parachutes or Rotax Owners or 95.10 enthusiasts than state based lobby/interest groups. As FT has says, how many isssues that are state specific have ever been identified? The state based model does not ensure anything except the likelyhood that we do not get (all) the best people available for the job AND many members do not have the opportunity to vote for these best people. DWF

That is only a marginal part of the problem and that part is also forced upon us by the current state based representative voting system. There are many reasons why people don't "put their hand up" for the Board and disinterest is often not the issue. Being a Board member is a big commitment and not one to be take lightly. I want people on the Board who will represent my interest as an ultralight aviator - not necessarily as a Western Australian. I have not yet encountered an RAAus board issue that is purely a WA problem. But more importantly I want Board members who have the skills, qualifications and experience to ensure good governance and run our association in an efficient, effective and professional manner. Parochialism should not come into it! Personally I would not have a problem if all the Board members came from the one area as long as they were the best people for the job. IMHO the way to achieve the best Board we can get is by having a field of suitably qualified candidates standing at elections where ALL members can vote to select the Board members for each and every currently vacant Board position. DWF

I live in one of the far flung corners of the Empire in outer WA about 500km from the next nearest RAAus Flying School. I feel disenfranchised by the current RAAus Board election process. Firstly, in WA, we only get to vote once every other year as we only have one representative and Board members (usually) have a 2 year term, and then, in recent times at least, there has only been one candidate (who is elected unopposed) so, in effect, I have not been able to vote in an RAAus Board election in over 5 years. I favour reducing the Board size to 7 and scrapping the state based representative system. Instead there should be a system whereby a pool of suitably qualified candidates offer themselves for election and EVERY member gets to vote to select ALL 7 of the Board positions. There should be published selection criteria for candidates and candidate suitability should be determined by a committee of the association . From what I can determine most of the current Board are doing a reasonable job (for free) but in future it may be necessary or desirable to remunerate Board members of the association/compay to get the quality of persons required to ensure RAAus is run properly, efficiently and in compliance with all the rules and regulations. An aero club style management committee is no longer appropriate for our organisation. It needs to be properly and professionally run. We have a bit of a dilema in that we are really two organisations - 1. one running the business of administering and regulating our sport; and 2. the other being an (ultralight) aviation advocate and running events and programs for the benefit of members. One solution may be to actually have a 2 tier system whereby we have a small Board to run the business of the association/company and then a member/club based system of advisory committees who can make recommendations to the Board on policy matters they feel strongly about but otherwise look after the social side of RAAus activiites. The main drawback to this arrangement is increased committee structure and almost inevitable increase in costs. What do you think? DWF

Looks like they might warrant a CASA Instrument.

Flyerme Do you have a better quality image of the poster so I can print it and put on our club notice board? DWF

Try John Walmsley at Coominya Flight Training. Near Atkinson Dam between Gatton and Esk. Contact and directions on the web site. http://www.coominyaflighttraining.com.au/contact_us DWF

SSCBD I think you may have the wrong end of the stick here. I took WayneL's "a shamless (sic) plug" as referring to his post - NOT yours. If that is the case (and I think it is) then you owe him an apology. ....And "Warrick" (in 2.) should be "Warwick". DWF

4. Leg go button.

Unless it was a very heavy landing!

Well, there you go, and I thought it was an Aardvark.

OK. My point was the FACT that spiral dive recognition and recovery is permitted (required) in the current RAAus syllabus. I was not referring to when YOU last looked at the syllabus, which must have been some time ago as Issue 7 has been there since October 2014 and "6.3.4 Recovery is made from spiral dive with due regard to low drag/higher inertia design." was in Issue 6 which was current for quite a number of years before that. I have owned and operated a Skyfox taildragger and 2 Gazelles and managed not to pull the wings off despite teaching steep turns and spiral dive recovery - given the caveats in my post #70 above. You are correct, however, in your assertion that it has to be done carefully and without overstressing the aircraft. DWF

My simple rule of thumb: If the Area forecast is more than 10 lines long - don't go! DWF

Spiral dive recognition and recovery is in the RAAus syllabus under "11.2 Other abnormal or emergency situations". Most RAAus aircraft (or at leaslt the LSAs mostly used for training) are approved for turns up to 60 degrees AoB. If you are going to teach steep turns to 60 deg you should also be teaching spiral dive recovery! Falling out of a steep turn is IMHO the most likely scenario to result in entry to a spiral dive. Technique: Power OFF, roll wings level, pull out of the dive (without pulling the wings off), nose high in the green arc - apply power to regain height. [Avoid roll and pitch changes at the same time to limit twisting stress on the airframe. The instructor has to be on the ball to prevent the situation going too far as in a slippery aircraft Vne approaches VERY quickly!] DWF

I flew and instructed in Tomahawks 20 or more years ago (~140 hours). The thing I remember most (apart from its' lack of performance) was the fact that the airframe would start shaking alarmingly approaching the stall (due, I think to the T tail) so there was never much doubt about what was happening. Never did spin it though DWF

The First Commandment for Pilots: Maintain thy airspeed lest the Earth arise and smite thee. DWF

Stop the world. I want to get off. Is that good or bad?

I did not know Ross apart from through his robust posts on this forum. It is sad to lose a fellow aviator whatever the circumstances. My condolances to his family and friends. There will be a sad (bad?) day for every aviator when either: They will climb into their aircraft knowing this will be their last flight; or They will climb into their aircraft NOT knowing this will be their last flight. It is difficult to decide which is the worst scenario. Safe and happy flying DWF

Kaz, I think that should be sun (or star) shots for latitude and the chronomoter for longitude. Until accurate chronometers became available sailors were never sure of their exact longitude and so often bumped into Australia before they expected to. DWF

Yes. Good fun. Most of my streamer cutting has been in C150 or C170. Start at 3000' and don't follow it below 1000' agl. Old style govt. issue toilet paper is best for streamers (but not particularly good for its' intended purpose). It was a bit like greaseproof paper and streams really well. Can you still get it? Had a bit of streamer cover the pitot tube once. No real problem.... power + attitude = performance. DWF

You weren't flying a taildragger in a crosswind then.

We have a brand new one of those here. And not daylight saving/summertime! Check out http://esperancestonehenge.com.au/

The attached document is from the Virus flight manual. HOW FAST IS TOO FAST An interesting read. DWF Virus - How fast is too fast.pdf Virus - How fast is too fast.pdf Virus - How fast is too fast.pdf

Used to be: Able Baker Charlie Dog Easy Freddie etc ......... Or you could use (well maybe not on the radio): A for orses B for mutton C for yourself D for dumb E fa brick F for vessent G fo police etc......