Aerochute Kev

When I got my pilot certificate the CFI covered very well maintenance on the Aerochute. Which is really just a pile of tubes bolted together with an engine. I also attended a level one workshop some time later at Serpentine run by Carol Richards (I think, it was a while ago) even had an RAAus certificate issued. Of course that will not be recognised. The course was pretty much useless to me as it centred around fixed wings and things i will never use. I did learn how to strip and re-build the Bing carby, so not a total waste of time. RAAus will continue to introduce crazy stuff until Members stop complying. I can see it now... Come February...... Look!! 95% of our members have complied. aren't we doing well!! ....BUT... If 95% of the members refused to do it, there would probably be some serious backpedaling at RAAus HQ if suddenly they had made 95% of their pilots non-compliant and unable to do what they had already been doing for years! As long as we keep going along with their crazy schemes, they will continue, and keep telling themselves how great they are doing. They won't listen when being told they got things wrong, maybe they need to be shown?

Well KP, The answer I got was; The RAAus CEO and Senior Staff (ably supported by the Chairman of the Board) will be determining what is best for all members. They will produce these documents with input from a restricted group of members. Rather than releasing the documents for general member consultation, they will have the documents approved by CASA under the guise that the document should be close to what the members want, and only need minor amendments after a 3-6 month consultation period. They have no intention of acting on any member input or amending the documents after member consultation. They will make any commitment to a member (in writing or otherwise) that they think will get them what they want, with no intention of actually keeping those commitments. If the problem of fees charged by CASA is real, it would have to be better to get it right with Member input BEFORE sending it to CASA. I am saddened that ELAAA is, at this stage, not to include PPC's.

I think it is wishfull thinking that many think they will have the opportunity to have changes made to the Tech Manual at the end of the consultation period. I had a written guarentee from the Ops Manager that would happen to the Ops Manual to correct glaringly obvious mistakes yet I got a phonecall from the CEO just over a week ago that they have now decided not to resubmit as CASA might charge them to do it and they consider it a waste of members money. Bet the same will happen to the tech manual.

I recently dealt with Telstra and soon after received an e-mail survey to see what i thought about Telstra and my dealings with them. It seems to be a common way of large businesses keeping track of how they are meeting their customers needs. Apart from some "Survey Monkey" items for specific things from RAAus I dont recall any time they have actually tried to survey the Membership to find out what they actually think about how RAAus are going and if they are meeting the needs of its membership, I don't think it would be too hard to do and at least give them a better idea of whether or not they are heading in the right direction rather than just relying on a vote at an AGM.or the views of a few Board Members (directors) who may not be consulting too widely with the members. Too much to expect??

I never knew Ross personally but when I contacted RAA to start the process of a review of the Op's Manual in regard to powered parachutes he contacted me personally stating if more members contacted the Board with their views they would have a better understanding of the needs of the members they represent, and pledged his support. Ross's passing will no doubt be felt far and wide in the aviation community and I would like to add my condolences to his family and friends..- Kev

The owner of the new 55's hasnt put them on yet but i have asked him to do some trust tests on his current 63 prop and again when he replaces with the 55's. If i get the results i will post them. They are the weirdest things i've seen, looking more like a Pizza turning paddle than a prop!! Kev

When I changed from the 58 Ivo to the 59 Bolly I did a ground thrust test before and after changing. The Ivo was 100kg of thrust and the Bolly 110kg at full power. the Ivo was set to max revs in flight of 6500. The Bolly has no adjustment but got it pretty right, as max revs in flight are 6450. The new 55 Bolly is available now direct from Bolly. There is one in WA already. It however is only suitable for the 582 Hummerchute i believe. Kev

Thanks Ada, it would appear the wrong section was quoted as that is only the definitions, but is still the case that as long as he can prove his hours they will count to his Australian PC and will only need to add onto his hours from there and pass a theory exam and flight test. It would seem from this it is not automatic a foreign pilot certificate is recognised and an Aust one issued. As RAA only recognise hours and not licences/certificates, as a minimum a flight test will be required, regardless of experience. Show you have done the work and prove you are capable. I'm sure that sounds fair to most people.

I Might be missing something but 1.1a recognises hours completed towards, and completed ratings/approvals. 1.2b and 1.2c recognises hours completed towards the pilot certificate if you have not yet attained that certificate/licence. Item 2 does the same for all classes other than group A and item 4 recognises the pilot certificate/licence and any endorsements once you have completed them. It might be a bit of confusing way of saying it all but i think it is all there. Unless i am reading it all wrong?

I like the face on the dial of that gauge. It appears to have a wider range of movement than most others and should be more accurate. If it could be disassembled to change the face I would think a new face actually marked in liters instead of 1/2, 1/4 etc would be fantastic. It appears there would be room for that which you would not get on a normal gauge with less movement showing from empty to full. Looks like the total cost landed for both sender and gauge is about $124. Pretty good value i think.

I like the face on the dial of that gauge. It appears to have a wider range of movement than most others and should be more accurate. If it could be disassembled to change the face I would think a new face actually marked in liters instead of 1/2, 1/4 etc would be fantastic. It appears there would be room for that which you would not get on a normal gauge with less movement showing from empty to full. Looks like the total cost landed for both sender and gauge is about $124. Pretty good value i think.

#3 has no relevance. Neither does anyone with so little common decency.

#3 has no relevance. Neither does anyone with so little common decency.

Didn't have a problem with the fart joke. but the references to "homo marriage" and "their mating calls" had absolutely nothing to do with the joke. I'm sure Gay/Lesbian people have a sense of humor the same as anyone else. That was simply not funny and was disrespectful for no reason. Kev

Didn't have a problem with the fart joke. but the references to "homo marriage" and "their mating calls" had absolutely nothing to do with the joke. I'm sure Gay/Lesbian people have a sense of humor the same as anyone else. That was simply not funny and was disrespectful for no reason. Kev

Hi Fred, I will presume you have the standard Aerochute tank from your previous descriptions. I will use my tank as an example as I know they did vary in size a little bit. As the tank is not square or rectangular, but more triangular the only times your gauge is accurate is when the tank is full or empty. My tank is 400mm high and full is 34lts. Down 1oomm (3/4 on the dial) is approx 29lts left in the tank, Half way on the dial is approx 21lts left in the tank, 1/4 on the dial is approx 13lts left in the tank. First 1/4 used is 5 lts Second 1/4 is 8 lts Third 1/4 is 8 lts last 1/4 is 13 lts By calibration I meant the gauge needs to be able to be calibrated at various levels to read correctly, and to date no one has found one that is suitable. As you can see, if you are flying and have used 1/2 a tank according to the fuel level the gauge reads, you have actually used 13 lts, and still have 21lts left, a lot more than half your fuel. Actually closer to 2/3. This is a big reason no one uses them. I would think however you could possibly remove the face of the dial and make a new one with the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 markings in the correct place. That would make it very reliable Cheers, Kev

Hi Fred, I will presume you have the standard Aerochute tank from your previous descriptions. I will use my tank as an example as I know they did vary in size a little bit. As the tank is not square or rectangular, but more triangular the only times your gauge is accurate is when the tank is full or empty. My tank is 400mm high and full is 34lts. Down 1oomm (3/4 on the dial) is approx 29lts left in the tank, Half way on the dial is approx 21lts left in the tank, 1/4 on the dial is approx 13lts left in the tank. First 1/4 used is 5 lts Second 1/4 is 8 lts Third 1/4 is 8 lts last 1/4 is 13 lts By calibration I meant the gauge needs to be able to be calibrated at various levels to read correctly, and to date no one has found one that is suitable. As you can see, if you are flying and have used 1/2 a tank according to the fuel level the gauge reads, you have actually used 13 lts, and still have 21lts left, a lot more than half your fuel. Actually closer to 2/3. This is a big reason no one uses them. I would think however you could possibly remove the face of the dial and make a new one with the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 markings in the correct place. That would make it very reliable Cheers, Kev

The post was quite funny, until your last comments. They may have been considered funny 30 years ago but we as a people have grown since then to have more tolerance and acceptance for others who may not be the same as us. Considering the number of people on this forum, chances are there will be a fair number who will consider it personally offensive. Gay/Lesbian people have been persecuted and ridiculed for most of their lives, do you really want that to continue? Does the way they live really affect you that much? I agree with Kaz, I think you have let yourself down on this one GG. If it's too late to do yourself, perhaps a request from you to the Mods to remove it for you might be in order, before they do it anyway. Kev

The post was quite funny, until your last comments. They may have been considered funny 30 years ago but we as a people have grown since then to have more tolerance and acceptance for others who may not be the same as us. Considering the number of people on this forum, chances are there will be a fair number who will consider it personally offensive. Gay/Lesbian people have been persecuted and ridiculed for most of their lives, do you really want that to continue? Does the way they live really affect you that much? I agree with Kaz, I think you have let yourself down on this one GG. If it's too late to do yourself, perhaps a request from you to the Mods to remove it for you might be in order, before they do it anyway. Kev

I forgot to ask if your gauge is able to be self calibrated. The reason being the shape of the tank will mean a big error on the gauge as for example, half the fuel capacity is probably less that 1/3 up the tank. What sender did you use, there was no e-bay link to that, just 2 links to the gauge itself. Kev

I forgot to ask if your gauge is able to be self calibrated. The reason being the shape of the tank will mean a big error on the gauge as for example, half the fuel capacity is probably less that 1/3 up the tank. What sender did you use, there was no e-bay link to that, just 2 links to the gauge itself. Kev

Hi Fred A good system by the look of it, at a reasonable price. The only problem for many is that the plug you used to install it, many of us already use that for the hook-up point for the reserve tank for longer trips. Not hard to drill and tap another hole though. Many of us have made mods to the Aerochute and have had no problem getting manufacture approval. I have never heard of the manufacturer refusing mods that did not make any modification to the structural framework. (Fuel sight tubes, Ali wheels, brakes, long range tanks, etc) In reality the Aerochute NEEDS the mods to make it safer and more comfortable for the pilot. Straight from the factory there is no way to have any idea of fuel use in flight, you just guess whats left based on the flight time. It is not even a factory optional extra. I can only assume this is for economic reasons. Many have used sight tubes on the side (I have) which do work well but a proper fuel gauge is better. I have however noticed that any request for mods by phone is no problem, but an email will most likely get no response. Not sure if that is a deliberate thing. Interested to hear if you got approval in writing? Kev

Hi Fred A good system by the look of it, at a reasonable price. The only problem for many is that the plug you used to install it, many of us already use that for the hook-up point for the reserve tank for longer trips. Not hard to drill and tap another hole though. Many of us have made mods to the Aerochute and have had no problem getting manufacture approval. I have never heard of the manufacturer refusing mods that did not make any modification to the structural framework. (Fuel sight tubes, Ali wheels, brakes, long range tanks, etc) In reality the Aerochute NEEDS the mods to make it safer and more comfortable for the pilot. Straight from the factory there is no way to have any idea of fuel use in flight, you just guess whats left based on the flight time. It is not even a factory optional extra. I can only assume this is for economic reasons. Many have used sight tubes on the side (I have) which do work well but a proper fuel gauge is better. I have however noticed that any request for mods by phone is no problem, but an email will most likely get no response. Not sure if that is a deliberate thing. Interested to hear if you got approval in writing? Kev

Aerochute used to always sell registered however one recent purchaser was told he had to register himself when he got it delivered. Maybe things have changed.

Several have expressed that RAA shouldn't waste time/resources on this matter. I would be interested in exactly what RAA's charter from CASA is. Is it to administer certain types of recreational aviation, or does it specify only if they are a member of that organisation. The fact that RAA has no authority whatsoever if not a member is problematic if our charter mandated by CASA does not stipulate members only. If it did not exclude non members, do RAA have the right to not investigate incidents just because they are not members?