Degrees

Flight sim is great especially for learning cockpits and FMS. There are some highly realistic ones out there. I know of people who have gone on type ratings and used FSX to practice at home. You need to buy an addon for the type of aircraft you want to fly. For Example: http://www.leveldsim.com/sevensix_home.asp Do not waste your time with the trash that comes with the game, it's been dummbed down for kids. You can get great addon scenery for Australia. Look for ORBX FTX. You need a really good computer.

Found out today from one of my instructors that the 225 was actually planned to come here but was cancelled at the last minute. Now I think of it, the 124 isn't even the second largest aeroplane. That would be the a380. Unless you count the Spruce Goose which isn't even a real aeroplane.

Where's the story? TV, Radio?

The media actually cared? Thats the second time I've seen that thing there in 3 months. My college is a few hangars down so I go past the freight terminal every day. Maybe those spotters I saw were actually from news channels. There are a fair few 124's in existance. It would be a big deal if the 225 came here, being that there's only one of them in the world.

Just drove past the freight terminal where DHL is at Brisbane YBBN, theres a big Antonov 124 over there if anyone is interested. Would recommend checking it out if you live close, its huge. Heaps of spotters over there with cameras and binoculars.

Silly pilots, can't do basic math. I heard they miscalculated fuel loading by some ridiculous amount.

Name your favourite Pre 80's commercial aircraft. Supposably the time of "real pilots", before fly by wire and pretty LCD screens. I nominate the B727. Any engineer or pilot who has had anything to do with it will rave about it. It's a true workhorse and continues to out perform other, more modern aircraft in its class. The only letdowns ofcourse being lousy fuel consumption and the huge noise it makes under power. Below is the one belonging to my school, It's doesn't fly anymore due to a compromised airframe it received upon decommission. :frown:

Contributing.

Don't forget the technical and industry specific questions. Q. What actions would you take to ensure maximum damage to the aircraft during only one flight without crashing? A. Miscalculate fuel loading causing an over rotation on takeoff, "accidentally" engage full flap at 300kt, fall asleep at controls and overfly the airport by 200nm, forget to retract the gear on landing ignoring aural warnings and make a belly landing with full fuel. Q. What is the most effective technique in proving to engineering staff that you're better than them? A. Ignore all marshalling signals during ground operations, complain about trivial problems and poorly describe significant ones (it's not like those grease monkies have anything better to do anyway), abuse them when they ground your aircraft, no matter how serious sounding that stuff is.

Sounds about right. If your parents drive a beamer, you're in.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to sit next to a Qantas 737 captain on my flight up to townsville to see the airshow there. At the time we were having a huge dust storm that affected most of the eastern coast. I asked him why flights were being delayed when they could just use ILS. He told me because the ILS systems in Australia arn't accurate enough for approaches with that level of visibility. Can someone clarify this? Are we cheaping out on navigational aids or something? I don't quite understand. Also, if anyone has pictures of the USAF Thunderbirds in Townsville, it would be much appreciated, as my 5MP camera phone doesn't do them justice.

Nice to see Jabiru getting some recognition.

I thought that might be the case. People seem to fear things that are "too different".

I wouldn't wear them unless you're in a full time flying academy, otherwise it just looks like you're trying too hard. Even then, most people will say you're not a real pilot until you're being paid for it. So probably wouldn't wear wings or bars until CPL.

After being in the industry the short time that I have, I'm sensing a lot of hate specifically from pilots for the Airbus. As someone who's training as an engineer, I view the Airbus family of aircraft to be engineering marvels; but this is no surprise because I say the same thing about just about everything that flies. The use of advanced composites, fly by wire and the highly integrated autoflight system make then a very high-tech aeroplane. Yet I'm trying to understand why my instructors refer to them as the "Scarebus". I’ve wasted a lot of time messing with the a320 on flight simulator. It's one of my favourite aeroplanes and one of the many heaps of metal that I dream of commanding one day.But just from that I can see how fly-by-wire can **** people off; the aeroplane has a mind of it's own. But I'm guessing it's more like "You can't like both Boeing and Airbus, you have to choose." Anyway, that’s just my thoughts. Discuss. Just realised I posted in the wrong section, move to commercial aviation if you wish. *Moved to Commercial Aviation - Glenn*

1 Stripe = Cadet 2 Stripes = Flight Engineer 3 Stripes = F/O 4 Stripes = Captain Thats my understanding anyway.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. The avatar is actually Bertie from the original Aeroplane Jelly commercial.

I'm new here, thought the introduction forum was seemingly appropriate place to make an introduction. Funny that. I'm a recreational pilot of around 35 hours, I hold an RAA certificate and all of my hours are on the Jabiru 170. Can't say I'm a big fan of the whole RAA thing, would much rather fly real aeroplanes, but I guess you've got to start somewhere and I don't have a lot of money. And as my instructor always says: it's the most fun you can have with your pants on. I'm thinking i would have to have close to 100 hours on microsoft flight simulator, not that that means anything in the real world, but it sure shows my aero-nerdiness. I'm currently studying to be an avionics AME, also known as a "Conehead" or "Queertrader" at Aviation Australia in Brisbane and will be for the next 11 months. I'm a self confessed aerosexual, I know far too much about aeroplanes and I believe the left hand seat in a heavy jet is my goal in life.