SDQDI

I'm pretty sure r559 was active when I was flying home this am, I heard something about it on area as well as saw the red shading on ozrunways. I didn't take any notice of any other areas but was only 5-10 nm off 559 so was watching it:private eyes:

A few good points already, as nev said a little bit wariness is good but too much lack of confidence can be detrimental. And as FT said confidence comes from experience and experience comes from practice. But all that said each of us will be less comfortable in some experience or another. In regards to the bumps, I hate bumps with a passion and really don't enjoy flying in them, I don't have a brs and every time I feel a little bump I worry about my wings falling off. Yes I know the hornet is built strong and yes I know what I call big bumps others call ripples but that's just how it is. I do know that the more I fly the better I get, I still don't like it but don't have the same level of fear. And flying with instructors that know the plane and getting taken out of my comfort zone has also helped tremendously but be careful that isn't overdone or that can be counter productive! In regards to the leaving the nest thing, what is it that worries you the most? Is it a worry of not finding your way back, or a worry of the unknown or something else? I know for myself when flying to a new airfield I get nervous and prefer to do it with another pilot on board (even if they haven't been there, just the moral boost of not being alone helps) and I think that would be a fairly normal thing. I still remember my first flight into Dubbo which was also my first time mixing it with qantas and doing that on my own had me sweating a fair bit. Also my first trip to the inlaws and realising just how far I was flying all by myself. I think a certain amount of uncomfortableness helps our flying standard and when we become too comfortable we can fall into bad and dangerous habits, but if we are too uncomfortable we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help or advice. So good on you for asking shafs and hopefully something from this thread can be a help.

Monday morning I got to fly up to a property 70 Ks west of Moree to help dad do a little contract harvesting. I got going at around 6:30 (later than I wanted but that's always the case:cool:), the forecast looked unfavourable with 20 knots from the NW (which was the direction I wanted to go:thumb down:) and not long after I took off I found that headwind. On the ground it had been calm but at 1000agl it was blowing 15 knots so I went back down to 500 agl and was happy to see my groundspeed and wind speed reading the same:thumb up:. So I stayed at 500 all the way past gunnedah, past boggabri and it wasn't until I was around 15 miles off Narrabri that the wind found me down there, I also got the urge for a nature stop so I climbed to circuit height and headed for Narrabri. The windsock seemed to be stuck horizontally but was lined up perfectly for a landing on 36 so I joined crosswind and had a near vertical final leg and a not too bad a landing. Taxiing was fun, with my airspeed indicating 20knots even though I was going nowhere, I kept my tail up and nose pinned to avoid taking off unintentionally and headed for the parking area (I kept the tHe tail down once off the runway!). After a quick break and a hello to some pilots (instructor and student I think) I was ready to go again. It was nearly a vertical takeoff and was unpleasantly bumpy on climb until I went through 3000amsl where it smoothed out and settled down. So it was an uneventful albeit steady flight at 4500 to the property where I did a quick recon and landed in the paddock they were harvesting in. Knowing the forecast was for storms I tied down the hornet with care and ensured I had a good few pulls at the tie downs to double check they were solid:nod:. And storm it did, after nearly a days worth of work at around fivish the wind came with a vengeance. I don't know what it got to but I was sitting in the header when it hit and it felt like it was going to flip, so I reckon that 80-90ks wouldn't have been far off the mark. So not being able to see the plane from where we were I was A bit concerned about how successful my tie downs would be but after the storm went through it was still all there so I was very happy:thumb up:. I had planned on staying up there until Wednesday but with the rain not much was happening today so I decided to fly back home this morning. Dad wanted to have a 'lookaround' flight so I left my gear in his ute and loaded him in to start with, it was muddy taking off from the paddock and I made it worse by backtracking to takeoff into the wind that seemed to be uncommonly strong for half past six in the morning but we got there and had a nice little flight. When we came back I landed on a nice little stretch of gravel which while a little wet didn't stick to the tires and make a mess:spot on:. So with dad out and gear in off I headed home and this time the wind was pushing my rudder:thumb up: So I got home in well under 2 hours instead of the 2 and a half of the morning before. This pic shows the homestead and the paddock I landed in was the one on the left. The kiddies knew I was coming home and were out watching for me. Yes I have a job to do getting that mud off of under the wings:whistling: It was muddy at home too and you can see even the gravel is sticking to the wheels here so no more flying today, although the wind is blowing a gale now so it's not even tempting:no way:

Poor visibility has never been a problem that the hornet is encumbered with:thumb up:. The door is fully clear and comes below his seat so even the littlies have an unencumbered view. I flew with my door off but am not game enough to let them have no door yet:no:

Had a little Sunday afternoon fly with the kids today. It was a bit bumpy with gusty winds and a few isolated stormy clouds but was really enjoyable. Mum took a pic of the little fella but missed out on the little princess as she got to go first today.

The trouble is the further away from your aircraft you use mr funnel the more chances there are for contamination, unless of course you use it twice.

I agree 100% Robbo. My 4 yr old girl wants daddy to fly her upside down! All I can think of is the expression on my dad's face when I first drove him around in a car and think how much worse will it be when she first straps me in to take me for an aerobatic flight?! Rank you are spot on, you can wrap them up in cotton wool but what does it benefit. For me I wasn't comfortable flying with my kids until they could half talk and follow basic instructions (don't touch that, move your foot over there) which for my young boy was around 2 years. If I was flying in a four seater with mum I wouldn't mind flying with them younger albeit with a bit more care. Can't stress enough the eardrum care, definitely don't take them if they are a bit blocked in the head and even when healthy still give them a dummy to chew for climb and descent. Baby muffs are available and well worth money spent. Congrats Tomo and hope you are getting some sleep:thumb up:

http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/flying-with-littles-ones.135675/#post-498796 Some good info in this thread Tomo:thumb up:

Exactly Nev, while I agree with bennyboy inasmuch as I don't mind handing over to someone more experienced when needed (I have some lazy bones in me) I still enjoy the privilege of being allowed to do it all myself if I so desire and wouldn't like to see that taken away for any reason.

Read your emails Dazza.............. The last one said something along the lines of 'expect delays not everyone will get their log on details at once, please be patient for a few days!) ok so that was paraphrasing but I think that was the general idea. I havnt got log in details yet so am not too worried about waiting a day or two

Remember though it is AOA to the wind not the horizon so in straight and level wind flow will be relatively horizontal but once power off and slowed down into the stall the airflow will be coming from a slight downward angle so calculating AOA off the visual horizon we have with the camera will be slightly off. Happy beat me lol but yes what he said ;-)

Thanks for all that work Rick, certainly interesting. As for heat treating my screens to avoid it, I'm not too worried and don't mind fitting new screens occasionally. I've found that after my first 150 hours my front screen was needing replacing due to scratches from bugs and cleaning anyway. The side screens don't get scratched as bad and since I've replaced the fuel damaged ones I've been more careful:whistling: So I'm hoping they will last a fair while. Knowing my skill level I'd heat it till it was hazy and then have to replace it anyway so I think keep the fuel away from them and all should be good:thumb up:

Rick did you try lesser bends than right in half? HITC you say polycarbonate is totally impervious to fuel, I am 95% sure my screens are polycarb and on my roof I have two slightly curved sheets for overhead viewing. On one of those I splashed a drop of Mogas which I wiped off instantly but it had already cracked, not right through like ricks experiment but similar in depth to Hasses pics. On my rear cargo door I also had a spill, it is basically flat, and it didn't instantly crack but was discoloured immediately and eventually I replaced it when cracks started (they were from the rivets but only where the fuel had spilt). If polycarb is affected like that when stressed then I would have thought around rivets would be a perfect environment for similar results? Seeing as unless bushes were used with the rivets they would have to put a little squeeze pressure on the screen. I don't have any scraps to test on but would love to see someone rivet some polycarb and then apply fuel or thinners.

I certainly appreciate the extra link between CASA and me, I don't mind paying my yearly dues for the exemptions that I get to fly under. IMHO if we lost Raa we would lose a lot of our freedoms very quickly. Just look at CASAs attempt at a drivers medical.

Jpman I think the reaction you have gotten while being a bit harsh should've been expected with the approach you took. Remember (well not literally remember as if you are a new member you wouldn't have known unless you did a little reading before you posted) that most of the members here are old fuddy duddies who have done their hard yards and they need approaching in a similar manner to grandparents, just fronting up with a 'gimme' attitude will only get you a clip under the ear but if you took the time to tell us your story and explain the work you are already doing and tell us what your dreams are your reception would have been a lot more pleasant. Ok maybe no one would've been digging in their wallets but at least they would be a little more amicable. After all what fuddy duddy doesn't appreciate a youngster with vision who is having a go?!

The trouble is the human link in the equation. If we have got ourselves inadvertently into IMC then we have obviously let ourselves get into the mindset of going a bit further than we should have so I would think if we still had the wings on we would be kidding ourselves that we might still get out of it.

No no, it is quite a 'feet'

Another late arvo flight with a different cousin (mark) (yes I have a lot of cousins). We headed east and flew around the hills at wallabadah, it was surprisingly smooth. I was expecting a bump or two as there had been a slight norwester all afternoon but we didn't find even a ripple:thumb up: A few photos from the iPhone but they don't do it justice. Both doors off for this flight:thumb up:

Only the 230 would be up around the 140 mark but surely schools would love a 160 or 170 size which going off jabs price list and not removing anything for their motor (not saying it's worthless, just saying I havnt deducted anything from the price) would end up around 120-130. Those sums are fairly conservative I would think the money saved from the jab engine would lower the price a bit more than that or you could option it up to that (options can add up quick!)

Learning in a tandem plane (an original j3 cub just in case I haven't mentioned it before:whistling:!) i didn't get exposed to the challenges of lining up the nose in a side by side plane until doing my cross country endo in a SportsStar. The dot on the windscreen certainly helps get your mind around the fact that the spinner is NOT what you need to line the runway up with:thumb up:. Also in the little ll training that I have done putting the dot at horizon level in straight and level flight helped me keep my steeper turns well balanced, it seems I was getting distracted by the ground and forgetting the spinner wasn't my 'aim' point:yes:. So I like the dot idea, just be careful what you mark it with as some markers can be harmful to our plasticky screens.

Gravity would be fine but I am mostly refuelling out of the back of the ute and not always at home. Also another note, take care if selecting a plastic fuel tank as most of the ones readily available are designed for diesel and will work for a time with unleaded before deteriorating and sending horrible deposits out with the fuel! A 200 litre avgas drum will be the best solution and is what I was aiming for until I got this tank. I've used washed out (with petrol not water!) 200litre oil drums and actually have one stored at Hillston but don't like recommending that. And no matter how much you intend to NOT use ethanol blend fuel make sure your hoses are designed for ethanol. Just saw apm's post and that looks neat:yes:, certainly makes economical and practical sense.

Andrew none of our bulk depots carry Mogas in 200l drums so filling them is the only option, seems silly filling 20litre jerrycans just to carry them around the corner to empty them into a 200 litre drum. Here is a couple of pics of my setup. Please note the 'not to be used to fuel aircraft' warning. I welded the frame up so that I could take it on and off the ute while full with the forks. It was originally a 200litre tank but a blocked breather reduced it to 160 litres now. I earth the frame to the ute and then use the earth lead to the plane.

CAO 20.4 seems to only talk about oxygen and protective breathing equipment? I think it is actually CAO 20.9 but not 100% sure Kyle that pump looks nearly identical to mine except mine is red and a different brand, when I bought it I was told there were very few if any others that were approved for unleaded use.

I'd have the filter on the outlet side of the pump as it would be easier to plumb into the hose there and it won't cause any hassles with losing prime (not that there should be any holes but it doesn't take much of a leak to lose suction.) Matt I will take some pictures tomorrow of my setup, I can't remember the brand off the top of my head but it was an expensive pump and probably over the top unless you were going to use a 200 litre drum and move a lot of fuel. It only takes me a couple of minutes to fuel my plane (120 litres) but I will check on the pump tomorrow for a flow rate, it is a bit over the top for what's needed though. I reckon a good facet pump set up properly could make an ideal jerry can size transfer pump and probably wouldn't be too different to a syphon hose time wise especially if you could source a larger diameter one.

Now now DWF, we have all been whining that we don't get told about anything until after it happens and now you say you don't want to know about it until after it happens? I think good on them for letting us know beforehand, imagine the shambles if it just got rolled out with no notice and everyone was wondering why some members had usernames and access while they didn't. I think they have done a reasonable job of informing us in a timely manner this time and certainly don't want to discourage them from keeping up the proactive comms.