Jump to content

KRviator

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,159

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    17

Everything posted by KRviator

  1. KRviator
    I dunno about that...The Seppo's lost 3000 people in the WTC attacks. They also lost somewhere near 42,000 people in road accidents that year - with nary a peep. Australia had more people killed on the roads last Christmas holidays than have been killed by terrorists in Australia since Federation...The security muppets at airports are there because we tolerate the Government telling everyone "Security to ensure your safety", when all it does is pass the risk elsewhere. Trains, public gatherings, etc...
  2. KRviator
    IT seems to be an extraordinary common belief that we need a flight plan and to get 'permission' whenever we fly. When I'm explaining to someone for the first time, they are usually quite surprised to hear the freedoms we do have in terms of where we can go.In saying that, I did file a pair of plans for a trip to Queensland and back a few days ago, then got a call from ASA and had to explain to the briefing officer that ASA told RAAus to tell US that if you are filing a notification, it has to have Rnnnn, and it has to match your ADS-B ident - or it screws up the flight plan auto-coupling in TAAATS and upsets the controllers when you request flight following. In the end, I emailed him both the ASA and RAAus reference documents.
  3. KRviator
    Ain't that the truth. Mind you, I always cringe when the insurance invoice arrives, but everything else is lots of smallish costs over the year, and definitely worth it for what I personally get out of it. Take yesterday for example, I flew from Somersby to Caloundra, a short local flight on arrival to scatter a mates ashes after his 'final flight', had lunch with his wife at the surf club then flew back to Somersby. All in less than 11 hours., with around 7.5 hours in the air. Short of hiring a PC-12 from Bankstown, it'd be damn hard to find a better, faster way to do it.Personally, I don't consider the engine replacement costs or anything else other than fuel as a direct/regular operating expense. I might buy a carton of oil every 18 months or so, and some plugs when I'm getting close to the 100-hourly but that's it, really. Tyres will be bought when needed, though I always carry a spare tube in the hangar. My engine is (was) brand-new, and everything else I simply replace when the time comes, but to do a 'proper' comparison, they do need to be included in the total operating cost.
  4. KRviator
    Similar to that, for my RV-9:$57 per hour for fuel at current prices ($2.30) if I run Avgas exclusively, $45 ($1.80) if I run Mogas. $15 per hour for engine replacement $4 per hour for oils & filters $1 per hour for tyres & ancillaries $2000 a year for insurance $3600 a year for hangarage $260 a year for RAA membership $165 a year for Registration $144 a year for a ASIC card $250 to $300 for my 100 hourly’s (oil & filters included above & not much else to change. 8 x automotive plugs are inexpensive) Summing that up, you get $6500/year in fixed costs and $75-ish in opreating costs. I probably fly 70 hours a year at present, so roughly $170 / flying hour total. Still much cheaper than hiring a school plane, but if you did that, you aren't out the $120K to build an RV, nor can you control the fit out and finish.
  5. KRviator

    Subsonex

    KRviator replied to scre80's topic in Sonex

    BD-5 kits come up every now and then, but you've gotta be keen. If you want turbine time, you're better off trying to build a Cri Cri, and running two JetCat turboprops or AMT (or equivalent) model jet's on it. TWIN-turbine time! And you don't need a multi-engine endorsement to fly it. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Qantas interview..."So, Mr Planenut, I see you have 1,500 hours twin turbine, but you only have a CPL but no MECIR, can you explain that?".
  6. KRviator
    And just for interests sake, the chair that he's on you can actually buy yourself, though shipping would be painful. They're made in the UK, though I note the manufacturer now has a US branch. David Ogilvie Engineering is the company.
  7. KRviator
    Yep, email came out this morning. Homework done & accommodation's booked, now just hoping the weather's good to turn a 6hr drive into a 70 minute flight.
  8. KRviator
    Good thing it's well-built. In my younger days, a mate and I built a zip-line from the top of his dad's 30' feed silo. Threaded an old steel shovel handle over it and pulled it tight with the tractor. First time we tried it, it snapped about 5m out and he dropped into the only stand of thick grass between the silo and the tractor. Other than a couple of beautiful bruises, none the worse for it...
  9. KRviator
    Anyone heard any information about the SAAA MPC that's going to be run out there the couple days before? I've registered & paid, but haven't got any info about when, where, who, etc etc.. I'll put a call into the SAAA tomorrow chasing it up but figured I'd ask here first...
  10. KRviator
    I'm reliably informed this accident led to the implementation of the GPWS Mode 4 warning. "Train, Train. Whoop, whoop, pull up" If you have a look through the ATSB Database last year, there was a Loss of Separation between a hot air balloon and a wheat train in WA. The PDF report
  11. KRviator
    Checking their FB page, answers that:
  12. KRviator
    That'll be a more scenic flight than going to Cessnock for fuel! Credit card or Carnet, or manually operated do you know?
  13. KRviator
    Easy solution. Fly PFL's and flapless approaches, etc, etc down to minimums. So long as you don't touch down, you haven't actually landed, so no PPR!
  14. KRviator
    Private? No. I agree, you should chip in a few bob, maybe $5/t MTOW? But council-owned? Most definitely I expect to use it for free. I pay my rates. The airfield is just another public facility in my eyes, no different to the footy oval I don't kick a ball around on, or the boat ramps I don't use.It would cost me nothing to launch a tinny at any of the dozens of council-owned-and-maintained boat ramps across the shire area, but fly into Warnervale for an hour of circuits and that's nearly $300 in landing fees for the privilege. You tell me how my 600Kg RAAus bird causes that much damage to the runway? Then it's another $100 for the 'privilege' of refuelling on council land. Now they've gone PPR to make sure they get their cut. IT works out cheaper to fly to Bankstown or even Archerfield than it is to go to Warnervale. Anyone want to buy an RV-9?
  15. KRviator
    We already get that with our railway Cat I medical exams. The whole 'do you feel suicidal?' etc etc...Yet we've had one successful and several attempts at it in the last couple of years in one depot...So no matter how good the psych profiles are, no amount of security cards or medical histories will prevent every possibility, every time.IIRC, we had a serving Qantas line pilot do something similar in a bug-smasher off Ballina a year or two ago, an Air Botswana pilot do it, the Germanwings Effo 2 years ago. This is only such big news because of the novelty of it - "Non-pilot baggage handler steals commercial airliner....". Were he to have done the same thing in a Pitts Special, we would be lucky to have heard of it in Australia. I don't mean to trivialise the event or its' repercussions - far from it - as an employees mental health is arguably more important than their physical health in both the flying, and railway, environments given the safety-critical nature of both. But I don't really see how this can have been prevented.
  16. KRviator
    Some bloke knocked off a Q400 from Seattle, Barrel-rolled the thing before crashing it. Sad as it is, kudos for A) Getting it airborne. B) Not injuring anyone else and; C) Putting every other Dash-8 pilot to shame!
  17. KRviator
    They've just followed in Warnervale's footsteps. It's now PPR, CTAF® and council charges like a wounded bull. No daily rate like, oh I dunno, Bankstown or Archerfield. Noooooo, the muppets at Warnervale (Central Coast Council) now charge per landing. $27.50/t MTOW for an itinerant aircraft. So, based on 1 circuit every 6 minutes (easily doable in the RV), that's nearly $300 in landing fees per hour!
  18. KRviator
    That's what no one can understand - How did they announce V1/Rotate?!?... My usual patter on brakes release in the RV is Power set, (oil) Pressure checked, Speed reads.
  19. KRviator
    No different to the iLevil BOM.
  20. KRviator
    But a spot tracker doesn't meet the requirements for a PLB/ELT for XC flying
  21. KRviator
    I noticed it in the latest ERSA - Warnervale on the NSW Central Coast is now PPR only. No doubt in an attempt to catch out those pesky ultralight pilots that Council can't charge their exorbitant landing fees too. Coming back to Somersby today, I heard someone calling themselves "Warnervale Base" request the contact details of a Gyro pilot who didn't contact them for permission beforehand on the CTAF, so if you aren't based there, get ready for a $27.50 landing fee for each movement - and there's no daily rate like you get elsewhere; even Bankstown has a daily charge, FFS! It'd be cheaper for me to fly to Brisbane Archerfield, do an hour of circuits there, refuel and then fly back to Somersby than it would be to fly the <5 minutes to Warnervale for an hour of circuits there and buy fuel from the aero club - By the way, that's another $110 just for the 'privilege' of refuelling on council land. FML... Another nail in the coffin for local GA, notwithstanding the flashy new website of the local aero club, unfortunately.
  22. KRviator
    If he's anything like me, he's done it inadvertently using an ipad and trying to scroll down. The 'Caution' is bloody easy to tap by accident.
  23. KRviator
    I wouldn't say "all" manufacturers pad out their performance claims... Vans is well-known for being accurate with their claims. For example, in my -9, I cruise at 2400RPM which works out to around 55% TAS'ing 143-145 KTAS. Vans does use SMPH for their performance figures, but after converting to knots, I am exactly where they say I should be for a lightweight RV-9 at 55%.166SMPH / 144.2KTAS. IF, however, you are looking at a brand-new/new-ish manufacturer, then yes, I would be somewhat sceptical. The internet is a wonderful tool for calling out BS claims, and when you get interested in a particular plane, a night or two with Google will usually produce enough meaningful performance data to show whether or not the manufacturers claims can be trusted. Ignore the 38LPH indicated fuel flow. This was during a fuel-flow sensor validation flight after installing the new Rotec TBI. After 2 hours flying laps around the Hunter, it was 24.5LPH, measured.
  24. KRviator
    You could always try booking under "B. O'neal" and if it's delayed, trot out the Don't you know who I am?!?!? line?
  25. KRviator
    Bugger...Well, it was worth a try. Thanks anyway John,until I hear back from the G3xpert's over on the VAF forums, looks like all an owner can add is an identifier, altitude and description. Better than nothing I suppose. Here's the plotted location of the waypoints in the test file, for posterity!
×
×
  • Create New...