NT5224

Yeah, this is absolutely right (the circling climb) and exactly what i do departing my strip. In another life we called it the 'Baghdad corkscrew'. Basically gain as much height as possible before striking out over tiger country.

Engaging topic! ? I guess im guilty of about five of the list, but have learnt from each stuff-up. Only yesterday I stupidly pushed back from bowser with fuel cap resting on wing after a distraction. I luckily remembered it before firing up, but the occaisional senior moment like that worries me! Funnily enough, the worst mistakes ive witnessed and worst airmanship (which make my own misdemeanours pale by comparison) have been made by very senior pilots and instructors. We're all human. Alan

Did the gallant aviator take off? ?

As somebody who's engine seized and destroyed itself in cruise over tiger country i share your concerns. However I now operate from my home strip which is deep in said tiger country, so heres my advice. As somebody wrote above, study google maps over you planned route and identify every possible site for a forced landing. Roads, property tracks, paddocks -anything you could side slip into. Then enter these as emergency 'go to' points in your EFB or GPS . Obviously altitude is your friend, but even if some legs of your flight are beyond gliding range to your emergency points, some of the flight will be -and having them will give you confidence. Alan

Personally, if i were looking for a reasonably priced 4 seater that actually lifts four adults plus fuel Id go Maule rather than Cessna. Just sayin'. And they come in all flavours now. Those that drag their tail feathers and shopping trolleys too.

OK Folks A dumb question from a technophobe luddite here. What do I need to link my telephone into my headset so that I can take/make phone calls while flying? Im not somebody who's joined at the hip with my phone, but on a long cruise It seems like a good time for a chat. Also, good for me to call ahead to the home base if incoming. Any link to the device I need would be much appreciated! Alan

I would recommend Grant Cerni at InsurePlanes. He bought out Gladys and Stuart Smith, I believe. Not the cheapest but straight talking and seems to genuinely want to find you the best deal. But if you're looking for a cheaper deal than you currently have, he may not be for you. Alan

Mi Loved that story! I spent 11 years on and off in Egypt and it made me chuckle. So true. I remember those Cairo Airport shenanigans like they were yesterday. I recall once hearing an airport announcement in English and Arabic at Cairo airport that went " Ladies and Gents we regret to inform you that flight 603 from Baghdad will not be arriving on time". PAUSE.... "We hope they are alright"

I recently renewed my VH rego-d tail dragger with QBE at $3500 with $1500 excess. I made a claim two years ago when my old engine seized in the cruise and we had to set down in a swamp. Gotta say QBE were excellent. Not the cheapest but there when you need them! Alan

Hey Folks! Something my wife and I have been dreaming of for years is an aerial tour across to the Torres Straits Islands. Our best mate has just moved across to Cairns and shes due a big birthday shortly, so we might have to go across for that. Seems a good opportunity for the Torres loop. So who's island hopped the Torres Strait before? Is it possible in a private aircraft? Im guessing there's biosecurity procedures coming back onto the mainland, but are individual islands set up to receive independent tourist visitors? Im guessing permits required. Im also aware we'll need a certain amount of safety gear for flying across water (jackets and dinghy) but are there any other procedures? More importantly, is it fun and worth doing? Or is it just too much hassle and horrendously expensive in your own aircraft? Id appreciate any thoughts or feedback, but particularly from anybody who has first hand experience of flying out there. We live in the Top End, and have flown into places around Arnhem land and Tiwi islands, so are not coming at this with rose tinted specs! Ivé been ripped off at the bowser a few times, and slept under my wing to discourage curious hands exploring my bird overnight ;) Cheers Alan

Huh?

As it says in the thread title, 'are Brumby's still offered with Lycoming engines? If not why?' I believe Brumbys were originally offered with a choice of Lycoming or Rotax. An all metal Brumby with a Lycoming sounds like a pretty serious combination to me . They have good interior space, and are rugged like a 152. Does any body on here have a Brumby with the Lycoming motor? If so, can you tell us how you find it? Cheers Alan

Sue. Thanks so much for sharing that great story. It speaks volumes about evolving social attitudes and our (male) minds . For myself, I was absolutely thrilled when my wife went through flight training, aged 50! To be honest it was not her gender that impressed me, but her achievement leaning to fly at that age, when our capacity to learn and physical coordination is reduced. Also, I have been an aviation enthusiast since I was a boy, reading Biggles and hearing my dads stories of flying Lancasters and Mosquitos over Germany. But my wife had absolutely no prior interest in aviation. We have an aircraft, so she decided she needed to be able to fly it herself. Flying was an entirely practical choice for her. I understand the cockpit competition that exists between you and your partner. In our case, I generally do the flying only because I have much more experience than my wife. Having said that, I will be deliberately be pushing her to get her hours up, and as she becomes more confident, regularly share the flying with her. She never flies alone, whereas I regularly do. But having our aircraft hangared at home, she will free to take off and do a few circuits and scenic flights whenever she wants, if she wishes to build her hours. I will of course come along if she wants a second pilot in the right seat. So, do you do your partners BFRs? Is that even allowed? :) Cheers Alan

Perhaps Im more fortunate than many. My wife loves flying! She hated spin training but other than that is very competent in many respects superior to me. Cockpit management (multi-tasking) for example, and her reactions and hand eye coordination is top notch. Luckily I have 15 years flying experience on her so usually get the left seat and retain the final word on matters aviation. But its really cool to have a supportive and engaged partner. Alan

Flying overseas eh? Over the years I've been based in seven different countries around the Middle East and Africa and for a private individual to fly (as opposed to a commercial or serving military pilot), its really tough to get clearance if you're on official duties. The closest i thought I was going to get was in Qatar, where there is a small private flying club mostly patronised by expatriates, but because of my status in the country, I just couldn't get the official approvals from local security. Then a few years ago I was based out of Beirut, and noticed there was a local AOPA flying club mainly patronised by wealthy Lebanese business men. Not much flying seemed to happen, it was mainly lavish dinners where the elite gathered to show off their flashy expensive aircraft and even flashier and more expensive female companions. So I called up and told them I owned an aircraft in Australia and would love to go for a fly. Funnily enough, there were absolutely no questions asked, no local security clearances, nothing. So I organised to go for what was effectively a trial flight with an instructor in a battered 172, and flew. Some context. Just offshore in the Med a US carrier strike force was launching their raids into Northern Syria. Across the other side of the Beqaa, the Russians were conducting their own combat operations, and the slither of airspace between the two was tiny. Lebanon is a small country! So I got to take the controls and fly around a bit (with the instructor keeping me out of trouble). It was wonderful with the snow-capped Mount Lebanon range rising from the shimmering blue waters of the Mediterranean. My primary concern was not of all the military operations and restricted areas around, but rather the complete absence of anywhere where a forced landing could be made. The Lebanese coastline is almost completely developed and overcrowded, and with the mountain slopes rising from the sea, if the engine on the ancient 172 died we were going swimming. Nevertheless, it was a memorable flight. Alan

Thanks Nev. Actually its Triclopyr for the suckers, not Glysophate. We're trying to get the roots and plants below ground or they'll just keep throwing up new suckers. Main reason I don't boom spray is its just too expensive with Triclopyr! But Im also a closet greenie and dont want to harm the environment and my woodlands more than i need to. But spot spraying is hard going. Its five hectares and each hectare takes 2-3 hours, two people. Hot sun too. As well as my aversion to broad scale use of herbicides, we want grasses and forbs to grow back to help bind the surface, so selective spraying is the best (although very labour intensive!) way to go. Triclopyr is selective for broad leafs. Alan

Further progress on the airstrip. Has had final rolling and surface preparation. All good for landing. My wife and I spent a couple of hot weekends spot spraying to suppress little suckers which are starting to poke up. We'll switch to boom spraying when we've finished the first pass. Oh, and the windsocks up. I had a thread on here a few months ago asking about windsocks... Its all coming along nicely and Im expecting to land in the next couple of weeks

Hi Folks back to the OP. Great question! Who doesn't keep an eye on the classifieds? Or Aviation Trader, my Sunday morning read. Obviously the market value of (recreational) aircraft fluctuates along with everything else. I recall a period about four or five years ago when prices plummeted for second hand aircraft, especially older designs. I wonder whether the influx of new LSAs and new aircraft designs had any influence on this? People trading up, and saturating the market for older models? The Aussie dollar was pretty strong then. Actually, i don't really recall prices every recovering after that, but perhaps somebody with greater knowledge can set me straight on that. As for the post COVID future, I agree flying may become an expensive hobby for many, and we may see some people divesting themselves of their birds. The other aspect of this is what i believe to be changing generational preferences. Has anybody noted that some young urban Aussies don't get driving licences? Back in the day it was a necessary right of passage for everybody, and out in the bush it was critical. But with increasing urbanization, changing public transport and new types of transport like push bikes and personal electric vehicles, some young people are opting out of driving altogether. Obviously the costs involved are part of that considered choice. Many could waiting for autonomous controlled vehicles to arrive on our streets. But I wonder whether a similar thing will happen with aviation? Fewer people choosing to go through flight training (unless for a career path). As on the roads, autonomously operating aerial vehicles are probably on the way soon, so choosing not to invest thousands of dollars in flight training might be the rational choice. How will that affect the market for light, privately operated aircraft? I can't see demand rising much as older generations of aviators hang up their wings and sell off their aircraft. Cheers Alan

Please forgive the provocatively titled post. Im not firing a broadside at anybody or intentionally poking the hornets nest. I've just renewed my RAA membership, principally because I want to receive the new Sport Pilot magazine. These days my aircraft is VH registered, so Im flying under the CASA system. Other than the possibility of jumping in a Jab or Foxbat and going for a spin, are there any other benefits of maintaining RAA financial membership (flying member) when I fly a VH registered aircraft? For example, does my RAA members liability insurance cover me in a VH registered aircraft? Anything else Im not thinking of? The privilege of voting in elections and shaping the course of the organisation? (Gotta chuckle at that one, my conscientious and considered voting over the last decade has been spectacularly unsuccessful in steering the organisation the way I believe to be in the best interest of members!) Cheers Alan

Hi folks When i first started flying ultralights (or what we now call LSA/recreational aircraft) it was not common to see these equipped with a yolk. Nobody talked about 'yolk and rudder flying'. However, now I notice that increasing numbers of LSAs come with fitted yolks to control roll and pitch. I have flown aircraft with yolks and find them quite different from sticks. My question is... What do you prefer? What do you consider the major differences between both control mechanisms and the relative advantages or disadvantages of each? Cheers Alan

NO!!!?

Im itching to get back into the air, have the added bonus of playing on my new landing strip, but I still cant! This week and next are our last opportunities to get our control burns done to protect our property. Ive been out grading firebreaks, lighting fires, monitoring control burns and calling in aerial incendiaries these last couple of weeks, all trying to head off the severe fire threats that will come later into the season. IF i get everything done Im hoping to get into the air next weekend, Queens birthday. And then, as soon as the state quarantine restrictions ease, it will be over to Kununurra for brekkie! Alan

Hi folks These days in aviation can be pretty bleak but then once in a while something quite unexpected comes along to pleasantly surprise us. I had a bit of a win myself today. As some of you may know I’ve been struggling to get my own airstrip in commission. I’m actually pretty much there but haven’t had time to raise my windsock ( I’m just itching to do it! ) and because final grading and rolling was done in dry conditions, the surface is still a touch dusty. Anyway a couple of weeks ago some nice bloke at Tindal RAAF camp gave me a call and said ‘Hey Alan, we got xxx gaziilion bucks to renovate the camp, and so are replacing all our runway markers.... Our old runway gables are going to the dump. Do you want them out at your place?’ Does Alan want the runway gables from RAAF Tindal? ? Unfortunately the COVID 19 lockdown delayed our transaction, but today I ran into town and collected the old gable markers from Tindal ( well only about a third of them), my strip is admittedly a bit smaller than theirs! So, this arvo the dog and I threw them out on the strip. How cool is that? Great to keep a little bit of aviation heritage alive in the Top End! Any passing aviator from now on will be getting the whole story with their cup of coffee and muffin. A huge thank you to the RAAF blokes who helped me out today! Cheers Alan.

Hi folks. I am an avid reader and collector of aviation related magazines. I prefer them in hard copy if possible, so I can read in bed. Now that Sport pilot is digital, is 'Australian Flying' the last Recreational and General Aviation publication standing? What happened to 'AOPA pilot Australia'? I have a hard copy from 2015, but cant seem to find out if its still traditionally printed (nobody answering the phone at AOPA!) What other magazines do people subscribe to? I also get Flight Safety, and am more interested in flying and aircraft than building, which tends to be the focus of some other periodicals Cheers Alan

Hi folks, With aircraft regularly swinging around and doing low level passes over my strip, I need to invest in a basic hand held transceiver to be able to communicate. I’m on a budget and have narrowed things down to the trusty icon A16E, or the Yaesu FTA 450. I’m slightly inclined towards the latter. I like the big screen and interface. What do you folks recommend? Have I missed something in the sub $500 price range? Which of the two above do your prefer? Anybody here already own one or the other? Cheers Alan