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K-man

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Everything posted by K-man

  1. Just a question from someone who knows nothing about trikes. It would seem the rate of descent was more than 1000' per minute and the landing speed around 60mph. Would that be optimal in an engine out situation and what would be the rate of descent and approach speed normally? How much control do you have over speed and ROD without power?
  2. Interesting scenario but understandable when we read that the elevator was raised to allow loading, so it wouldn't be pulled right back, just part way. During checks the controls may still have had enough play to be considered 'full and free' which would enable rotation and initial climb. The feeling would then be that the nose needed to be lowered and because the controls felt as if they were fully forward it must be a trim problem. By the time that was worked out the plane has stalled.
  3. K-man

    How safe is the Jabiru?

    Just for interest, I've come across this article detailing crashes of LSA in the US. Health issues don't rate a mention. Mind you, Jabiru had no fatalities in this survey. Perhaps they are all younger Jabi pilots over there. http://jabiru.net.au/images/The%20Aviation%20Consumer%20-%20LSA%20Accidents.pdf
  4. K-man

    How safe is the Jabiru?

    You are making a lot of unsubstantiated statements. Where did you access the age details of Jabiru pilots who have died? The only research I have seen (not Jabiru) was that conducted in the US which showed nothing to substantiate your claim that older pilots are more likely to experience medical issues while flying. In fact very few pilots experience health issues while flying possibly because we are all aware of that danger and would not fly if we thought we were likely to have a heart attack or other problem. You believe Jabiru are the best ultralights and you are entitled to your opinion. I would suggest that Jabiru aircraft are popular because they are affordable, not because they are the best. I have quite a few hours in J160s and never had an issue. I have a number of friends who built their own J160s and again they haven't any problems, except of course they are all 'old' people. Unfortunately for Jabiru and Jabiru owners there have been many documented engine failures and the fallout from that had not been handled well from the manufacturer's end, nothing to do with the age of the pilots.
  5. K-man

    How safe is the Jabiru?

    I think if you look at American statistics which relate to the relevence of flying medicals you might find comparatively few pilots experience medical emergencies while flying. So, unless you are suggesting Jabiru pilots are, as a group, older and more infirm than the general flying population, I would suggest you are way off line. CASA took action against Jabiru because there were a lot of engine failures that may have been preventable if correct action was taken earlier. FWIW I think the Jabiru is safer than a lot of other aircraft out there and hopefully they have addressed the engine issues.
  6. According to channel 7 news the pilot was Ian Cook from Mt Evelyn and he had recently bought the trike from Peter McLean. Nothing to say anyone had done anything wrong but did mention that there were dust devils near the strip.
  7. True, but it's not on the current register. http://flysafe.raa.asn.au/admin/aircraft_database_registration.html
  8. Another search shows that number is not currently registered. It was removed from the register in 2010.
  9. Following the posting of the picture above I did a quick search for that rego. It's not the first time that Jabi has had problems. The following was posted nearly 9 years back. RIP.
  10. I didn't bother with an ASIC card until I applied for my RPL about eight months ago. My wife had an ASIC and that was sufficient for both of us. The only place we ever needed to produce it was Ayres Rock. Seriously, the guy there was obviously trained by Hitler's own security personal. Fly there without an ASIC at your peril. Spend more than 30 minutes refuelling and you will be charged. Good grief! They must be expecting terrorists to blow up The Rock.
  11. I think it is not just black and white. The regs state clearly that you must make whatever calls are necessary to ensure safety so as long as a call gives an accurate description of your position and is within the vocabulary of aviation, it's fair game. There are several mandatory calls but common sense dictates when you might add to those. If I were joining downwind from greater than normal distance I would call 'joining long downwind'. At the other end, if more separation was required I would be 'extending downwind'. Several times I've been on final when an aircraft has begun to enter the strip in front of me. On those occasions I have called 'xxx is late final' to warn them to stay where they are. At Lilydale we have parachuting operations so there are no midfield crosswind joins so 'joining crosswind' can be pretty vague. If there is traffic I would normally add 'north (or south) of the strip' to clarify. Now have the option of joining base and the 'turning final' call is no longer mandatory. If that call is not clear and there is downwind traffic there is potential for disaster. Couple this with the fact that many of us are sharing the skies with foreign students with limited English language skills, we need to be very clear when we broadcast our position and intentions.
  12. To be honest, if you just polished our Pioneer 300 and put it under the tree, I'd be more than happy. There are a number of beautiful aircraft out there but nothing I'd swap my 300 for.
  13. I'm saddened by this news. We always expect it to be inexperienced pilots coming down, yet over the last few years we have lost a lot of very experienced people. I think the take home message is, flying is inherently dangerous and we all fly knowing the risks. I'm sure that Ross understood the risks perfectly and as a result flew safely for decades. We don't yet know what went wrong here but it is a salient reminder that we must all be on our best game each time we fly and even then tragedies can still happen. This thread is a great tribute to a top guy. RIP.
  14. We had the absurd situation in Melbourne recently where the government released new land under the flight path at Melbourne Airport. Melbourne doesn't have the curfew that plagues Sydney and introducing one because of stupid government dealings will adversely affect the whole state.
  15. Different combinations of words mean different things to different people. If that were not the case we wouldn't need 501,000 solicitors in Australia. They make a fortune playing their game, arguing all sorts or abstract positions. That then involves the umpires (judges) who adjudicate and set a precedent for future games. Every piece of legislation follows that line as often there are unintentional meanings possible. To stop all the wheels grinding to a halt while legislation is amended or redrafted, both options that can again allow the same multiple interpretations, the law follow precedent, most often the intent of the legislation. I would suggest that rather than jump up and down over legalities people should just keep doing what is being done and shut up and fly. If you think something is wrong and changing it will provide a better outcome for everyone then by all means go for it but I fail to see that this conversation is doing that.
  16. Exactly, and the other 99.9% of people don't have a problem either. There is a difference between a problem and a hypothetical problem. I really don't have time to worry about hypotheticals. That really cuts into flying time.
  17. There is nothing to say you have to glide to an area for a safe landing. You are gliding clear of buildings. I know I could put our aircraft down safely in a very limited area (less than 50m) even though it would be a considerable time before it flew again. I have no idea of what aircraft have a 500' circuit apart from the fact that they are low speed variety. If they were flying into an airport like Moorabbin they would be directed in at 1000' anyway. I don't know of any uncontrolled airports in the middle of a town or city. So let's get real. How many times has it been a problem for you?
  18. If people are confused over something as simple as we have been discussing then I suggest they shouldn't be flying over a built up area in the first place. In the case at hand what is confusing? You fly over a built up area at a minimum 1000' AGL. That's pretty straight forward. You should also fly at a height that, in the event of an engine failure, you can glide to a clear area. If you are landing, circuit height for most aircraft likely to be flying over towns is 1000'. GA aircraft tend to drag themselves in with power on but most RA aircraft can start final at 1000' and still land easily, and yes we can fly below 1000' to land. What is so hard to follow? I am constantly amazed at how some people can manage to make relatively simple things complex. The advice given below is as good as it gets.
  19. Interesting comment. Years back when I first joined the ranks of RAA I felt that the members had the support of the organisation. Last year I contacted RAA over an issue I thought RA might be able to help and was made to feel like a leper by the RAA staff. Just by accident I was communicating with Michael Monk and he was most concerned to hear of what transpired. I felt that at least our representatives were on the side of the members. Then recently I had reason to once again contact staff and once again was made to feel that I wasn't in anyway worth helping. In fact it was totally the opposite. I could not believe the attitude. Now, I know that there is a tight budget and I know the workload has increased, but, wtf are we doing as an organisation employing people who do not want to help the members? I reckon I would have got a much better hearing from staff at CASA.
  20. I use the iPad and don't have to resize anything. Just upload the file which just asks for the photo to upload. You can only select one at a time.
  21. Anyone flying into Daly Waters on 14 will naturally be landing a little long due to the trees growing through the Tarmac at that end of the strip. A number of us landed there on a flyaway a couple of years back coming in over the top of a caravan and four wheel drive parked on the piano keys. The driver came over as we were tying down surprised that the strip was still in use when you have such serious shrubbery growing on it. He said, after the first plane came in he was too scared to move so just stayed where he was until we had all landed.
  22. Unfortunately all is not what it seems. I agree totally about the Jab and the protection it gives but the RV accident may have been totally different circumstances. I don't know what has been released about that accident so I won't comment further other than to say that in similar circumstances the result in the Jab would most likely have been the same.
  23. You might have noticed the sad incident where the RMIT student crashed at Ballarat recently. That was a GA aircraft. I'm not saying this to denigrate GA, just that from the photo it looks like she had a heavy landing that collapsed the undercarriage followed by a very long slide. A lighter aircraft would have less inertia. You may have read that no metal aircraft have survived ditching in Bass Straight. What you may not of read about was the Alpi Pioneer that came down in one of the waterways in Europe some years back. They picked it up the next day, still floating. If we are forced to land in rough terrain it is recommended that we land with the undercarriage up, again something you can't do in most VH registered light aircraft. As microman said, I'll also take my chances in the Alpi over the Cessna anytime.
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