biggles

" Go on Alan , go on........................ " Bob

Bill , You can waste a lot of time following well intended advice from others . The fault may or may not be in the radio. Try sending it back to Microair . I had a fault with mine recently and had the radio back in just over a week , and thats from Victoria .You can discuss to fault, and repair cost with the Technician , and then decide whether to go ahead or not . Bob

In the J160 S !! Bob

G'Day DJP, We book from year to year and this is our third . Usually get there a few days early and stay on a few more days after its finished . Strange she has never mentioned that . Guess she is just too busy these days being a mother and running a B&B . Nice girl Teresa ! Bob

Me and the girl will be there again in the Jab 160 and staying at the Patchwork Inn . Bob

G'Day Andrew , Thanks for that comprehensive reply . You certainly have done some work to it , and good to hear that all appears to be well now . Do you monitor all the cylinders or just the back two ?. My temps on 3 & 4 rarely go above 230 oF which is similar to yours. I have heard about people using that centre hole for temp monitoring and it sounds like a better way than under the spark plug , which is a bit of a pain when checking the plugs and re-torqueing . What do you use to keep the T/C wire in place ? . I spent a month in Bundy last year and had the through bolt nuts replaced . Always intended to check out 'aeroplane beach' but never seemed to get around to it . Will be back this year and will try again . Would'nt like to be there right now though ! Bob

G'day Ian, Thanks for that , but my nosewheel compression rubbers are red , so no problems , however anybody that has a yellow one , would be well advised to replace it asap . It is a fairly straight forward job , but you will need a strong vice to hold the forks and a long strong iron bar to use as a lever to compress the rubbers . It is really a two man job , so you are not too sure leave it to the experts . Bob

Andrew , Has the engine done 1000 hrs also ? Bob

Gidday once again rage83 , and apologies for the previous error. ( are finding it hard to get used to wearing specs full time , and still try to do without them to my detriment ) I think "Kaz" has answered most of your concerns in a comprehensive, easy to understand manner , however I would just like to say ,with regard to ......" Why should I have access to the register to find out if someone else's aircraft is registered. To me that's an invasion of privacy."...... essentially the the Commonwealth Privacy Act seeks to limit information "...... about an individual whose identity is apparent or can be ascertained from the information contained therein .......". In the case of our colleague in Cannonvale , alleged to have had two passengers on board , there appears to be nothing contained in the Register that would allow his identity to become known , hence it would appear not to be in contravention of any of the provisions contained in the Commonwealth or State Privacy laws . Personally I don't object to my aircraft details being published , there is nothing there to associate the entry to me , not that it would concern me . I do see another benefit however , the Register enables people to identify the aircraft , and also to independently verify , its make/model , date first registered etc., prior to purchase for example . Many consider ( cynically I might add ) that the only people that should be concerned about details such as this being published , are those with something to conceal . " There is only one person that needs to know if an aircraft is registered and that is the pilot and he can find all the information he needs when doing his daily walk around " - Mmmm , Certainly the pilot should ensure that the a/c is registered ,and yes he should be able to see the Rego. sticker , provided it is located where it can be seen during the 'walk around' . I have seen some located in strange places and certainly not visible from the outside. Personally , I have never seen a hirer take time to read the Registration label , I find that they are usually more concerned about other airworthyness/safety issues . I can also say that during my training , I assumed ( maybe naively ), that because I was learning with a registered training school , those administrative/ legal issues would have been taken care of . What you say should occur , but in actual fact I doubt it does . However I would hate to think that some recalcitrant owner/operator/instructor , knowing full well that his a/c was not registered , played on the naivety of some young pilot , or glossed over the issue - " cheques in the mail " sort of thing . "If the owner chooses not to register his aircraft that is his call " - Certainly 'his call' , but whether its a good one or not is another matter , particularly if an accident occurs involving personal injury or property damage, things will get a little messy . Bob

Oops sorry 'rage 83', I read it as "need to register" rather than " need the register " Bob

Interesting to note that of the 'cancelled registrations ', some 95% of non renewals have been since the year 2000 , with a significant increase around the time of the GFC . Does'nt this seem inordinately high ?. One does wonder how many of are still operating out of private/farm strips etc. Bob Table 2a. Registration cancellations since 1986 — year cancelled At 31 January 2011 a total of 1090 aircraft registrations have been cancelled in the RA-Aus database.The following table apportions the number according to the year when cancellation occurred. A listing of these aircraft is available. There is also a listing of these aircraft according to the date of initial registration. Year – aircraftYear – aircraftYear – aircraft 1986-99 – 53 2003 – 52 2007 – 99 2000 – 27 2004 – 73 2008 – 164 2001 – 40 2005 – 94 2009 – 180 2002 – 54 2006 – 115 2010 – 139

Gidday Ash , Forget Warrnambool , go to Bacchus Marsh instead and see Brian & Linda . Nice people . Jab people . Just trying to be helpful ! Bob

I'm another fence sitter also . Whatever you do will get no complaints from me . Bob

Sorry about the way that came out , but try this - Bob http://www.auf.asn.au/admin/registration_cancelled_date_registered_sequence.html

Iggy I think this shows that the register is not too far out of date ! Bob 31 January 2011 RA-Aus aircraft register cancellations in date of expiry sequence Registration numberManufacturerModelFirst registeredReg typeRegistration expired 19-4329 Icp Srl Bingo 20/10/2005 X 20/10/2008

How do you come to that conclusion FT ? Bob

Fuel starvation - Cessna 152 aircraft, VH-KKW, Mordialloc, Victoria, 7 August 2010 Summary At about 1545 Eastern Standard Time on 7 August 2010, while returning to Moorabbin Airport, Victoria after conducting aerial photography work, the pilot of a Cessna Aircraft Company 152 aircraft, registered VH-KKW, experienced a total loss of power that resulted in an emergency landing approximately 200 m short of the airport. The aircraft was significantly damaged. The pilot and single passenger sustained minor injuries. The investigation found that the pilot, when preparing for the flight, had misread the aircraft's initial fuel state and had subsequently uplifted a lesser quantity of fuel than required for the flight. Although the fuel remaining was greater than the manufacturer's stated unusable quantity, the investigation determined that the accident was the result of fuel starvation. The aircraft was prone to asymmetric fuel delivery allowing one tank to deplete quicker than the other. That action may have led to the aircraft unporting fuel from the low quantity tank during manoeuvring, which allowed air to be drawn into the engine. The investigation identified inconsistencies in the application of the operator's procedures for recording aircraft fuel states.

RAAus register shows a Savannah Bingo 19-4330 . Can't find an entry for 19-4329 ! Bob

Gidday F.T. Just in case you happen to be serious , here is my response - "Look how many idiots drive into the ocean because the GPS tells them too." - ???? "It certainly looks like the RAA pilot failed to calculate the fuel quantity " - Yes even G.A. pilots have been guilty of doing this "...... the RAA plane failed to highlight the low fuel." -the J170 and it's systems have been certified by the aviation authorities. The a/c would have indicated the fuel level in both tanks , the same as a G.A. aircraft , however did the pilot look at both indications , have sufficient knowledge of the systems , and do an independent test ? " Was that due to poor training and maintenance procedures? " - Some training facilities may tend to gloss over these issues , if the guages were indicating properly , then obviously not a maintenance issue either. " Either way it reinforces the idea that the RAA is dodgy " - It does nothing of the sort . Bob

It's well known to most aviators that good fuel management includes such things as , knowing your aircraft fuel tank/s capacity , establishing fuel already in the tanks , proposed flight time , reserve required , fuel burn at cruise/climb . As has aleady been stated here , the a/c in question , a Jabiru J170 , has long tanks (around 1300mm from memory), around 60mm high due to the low wing profile . Consequently the indication of fuel level in each wing can be significantly affected by the a/c not sitting on level ground . The error can be increased depending on the degree of 'out of level' . To minimise the error and establish the accurate quantity, it is important to ensure the a/c is on level ground ,check both indications and use a dip stick calibrated for that particular a/c . When fuelling en-route I always estimate what the tanks should contain , then dip them before as well as after refuelling. This confirms my fuel burn from time in the air, and the total remaining in the tank from the fuel flow indicator - if installed . As also indicated on this thread , issues such as unbalanced flight can have a significant affect on fuel flow . Like Andy it is not unusual for me to arrive , after a long leg , with one tank completely drained ,which may or may not be indicated in the sight glass . In summary use all resources available to you . As the pilot -in - command , responsibility for the fuel management is yours and yours alone ! Bob

I wondered the same thing about a year ago and was advised that it was mainly used for RFDS , Conservation and other emergencies (cyclones) etc. but it certainly looks to be well maintained and I would not hesitate to use it in an emergency. Some of our N.Q. members should be able to clarify its status . Bob

Jake Nice neat circuit and gentle touchdown ! Well done Bob

If you are hiring the aircraft , eg. from a flying school advise them of the situation . They may contact RAAus for confirmation . If the membership renewal takes effect from the previous expiry date , or within a short time of that date , then I would imagine it would be reasonable to assume you have ticked all the boxes. It may take some further time for the actual Pilot's Certificate plastic card to arrive, but that should'nt matter, as long as you have evidence of the renewal ,showing the dates it takes effect from/to. You could then reasonable expect that in the event of a mishap, that RAAus would stand by you . A similar situation occurs when applying for renewal of your ASIC . Many times I have entered security airports with only a receipt from RAAus , and that has been deemed O.K. by the philistines checking for terrorists . In summary , take all reasonable steps to ensure that you are complying with all the requirements expected of you as a responsible pilot . Bob

Well done Jake , I well remember the elation of my first solo at 62 years of age , (won't say how many years ago that was ) Bob