KRviator

I guess the big question is "What's your route length?" - the reason for asking is, for anything less than 10mins or so at 8,500 or 9,500, I will climb as high as I can and stay there as long as I can. That being so, overflying airports is not as risky as doing so at lower altitudes and I routinely overfly enroute airports at high altitude. Doing so is beneficial in that you both have good glide options, , better VHF & ADS-B coverage, ATC knows exactly where you're aiming for (instead of a random dam or HV powerline intersection on the VTC - and assuming you actually have a plan in the system...) and barring any traffic inbound to those airports, there's little to no conflicting traffic. So if you're going a fair way, go high and go over airports if they won't take you too far out of your way.

If you have to stay low, for cloud or CTA, then planning around airfields is sensible to avoid traffic, so long as you still have a decent forced landing option within glide range.

On 24/05/2020 at 7:02 AM, planesmaker said:

I have a 914 j400, and love it. Balance wise it is really good, actually better than a std j400 that a friend built at the same time as me.

@planesmakerA bit of a delayed post but where did you rustle up the engine mount for your Jab, Tom? Off the shelf from South Africa or the US or custom done here? 

On 06/01/2023 at 8:00 PM, trailer said:

Airpark development seems to have stopped. Are there vacant hangar blocks available in NSW? Do you know of any future council release plans for airparks? Narromine, Temora, Holbrook and Tocumwal are some I know about that seem to have gone quiet.

Scone has a new residential estate going in on the south side of the airport, with 2 or 4 (depending if they sell all or part upfront) of the blocks going to back on to the airport fenceline - you can see the earthworks in the weathercam image below (it's actually facing West, not SE, ignore the overlay). No prices are available yet, but I wouldn't mind buying either or both as an investment!

Council is receptive to adjoining residents having through-the-fence access to the airport for a reasonable annual fee. I know the family who put this camera up and they have the right idea!

MCG-KURRAJONG-FIELDS-MASTER-A4-130722[1].pdf

1 hour ago, BrendAn said:

Technically they haven't really touched down yet. It's still in the air.😁

Gonna be one hell of a logbook entry!

It's interesting to note the following commentary on Bigrigs.com.au

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Finemores are conducting an investigation on the incident....It appears the super single tyre on the centre axle failed.....The driver identified that and due to the fact he wasn’t in a safe area to pull over also given the recent wet weather he was reluctant to move off the road, a decision I can understand, he decided to continue until he had good phone service and a safe stopping place....In the process of doing that he unfortunately had another tyre fail. The driver did also identify that. He contacted his operations staff and reported the issues...

Note that there's no mention of the third tyre, eh? Having three tyres fail in the 120km from Goondiwindi (Southbound) or 20km from Gurley (Northbound) is beyond unlucky - and I call bullshit. But that also implies there's no truck bays between Goondi & Moree, and I'm sure there's at least two from the last time I drove that section...But anyway speaking of luck, there's also this pearler

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I feel, the driver has made a series of decisions that individually all make sense. His options are limited and he’s done what we’ve all done at one time or another, he’s pushed his luck. Unfortunately for him he hasn’t won. If he’d managed to get in with one blown tyre we wouldn’t even be talking about it.

You're in control of a what? 50-tonne B-double. You don't have the luxury of trusting in "luck" to operate safely. I'm privileged enough to operate some of the biggest trains on the planet but I don't rely on 'luck' to make sure I stop at a red signal or pull a coupler in half trying to lift the train from a standing start. I'm getting the brakes on early, or I'm mentally calculating the coupler forces based on traction HP & speed. I'm not relying on luck to do my job safely...🤬

Me getting lucky is making a smooth landing when there's someone watching...

6 hours ago, turboplanner said:

Just because it's a Beechcraft Baron doesn't mean it can't have problems. Rectractable undercarriage has a lot of components and a hydraulic hose is a hydraulic hose and can blow at any time. If the aircraft has been sitting for some time, pump seals dry out, oil leaks past the dried seal, and there's not enough oil or pressure to operate the hydraulics, parts can seize etc, but the big lesson for RA pilots is the aircraft is stillperfectly flyable and that's what this pilot did, eventually putting the aircraft down at its minimum speed, so doing very little damage. Patience pays.

Except the Bo and Baron don't have hydraulics in the gear system. It was a worm-drive motor turning a sector gear in turn linked by pushrods to the gear assemblies themselves. It's about as bulletproof an electro-mechanical system as you can get, in part for that reason, there's no hydraulics involved...

Fast forward 12 months and HO Notams are going to be filled with the following:
 

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WAC(PERTH) PRD R165 (Pearce) amended as follows:
YMMM/R165 PEARCE CONDITIONAL STATUS: RA2 MILITARY FLYING/NON-FLYING LATERAL LIMITS: 315246S 1152456E - 314830S 1144746E then along the clockwise arc of a circle radius 60.00NM centre 315642S 1155734E (PH/DME) - 310608S 1151935E then along the clockwise arc of a circle radius 60.00NM centre 315642S 1155734E (PH/DME) - 310405S 1152336E then along 2NM LAN & PARL TO COT - 314543S 1154602E 315246S 1152456E

WAC (Katherine) PRD R225C (Tindal) amended as follows:
YBBB/R225C TINDAL CONDITIONAL STATUS: RA2 MILITARY FLYING LATERAL LIMITS: 140000S 1301941E - 140000S 1310000E, 153359S 1310000E - 153210S 1304753E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 1 - 153712S 1304005E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 2 - 153513S 1303151E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 3 - 153545S 1302927E then along the counter clockwise arc of a circle radius 3.00NM centre 153714S 1302644E (YTBR/ALA) - 153615S 1302348E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 5 5 - 153136S 1302222E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 4 - 152159S 1301609E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 5 - 152224S 1301445E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 6 - 152326S 1301423E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 7 - 152416S 1300511E then along THE VICTORIA RIVER 15 - 152600S 1295820E then along the clockwise arc of a circle radius 150.00NM centre 143116S 1322240E (YPTN/AD) - 151520S 1295433E 150544S 1295421E - 140000S 1301941E

WAC (Gold Coast) PRD R638D Amended as follows: YBBB/R638D EVANS HEAD CONDITIONAL STATUS: RA2 MILITARY FLYING/NON-FLYING LATERAL LIMITS: 285621S 1533128E - 285213S 1534939E then along the clockwise arc of a circle radius 30.00NM centre 291151S 1532344E - 294139S 1531907E then along THE COAST 52 - 293441S 1532005E then along THE COAST 50 - 293146S 1532132E then along THE COAST 48 - 292628S 1532212E then along THE COAST 3001 - 291829S 1532028E then along THE COAST 3000 - 290741S 1532653E then along THE COAST 47 - 290655S 1532611E then along THE COAST 45 - 285621S 1533128E

Pilots are reminded to it is an offence of strict liability to have out-of-date or unamended copies of WAC, VTC or VNC, punishable by being hanged in the town common at high noon, or being forced to work for CAsA for a period of not less than 10 years, whichever is worse.

I can somewhat relate to @Bosi72 and the 'cruiser sale. I brought a new Cruiser in 2020, decked it out, drove it for a year and promptly sold it after being thoroughly unimpressed with pretty much everything about it, except its' performance off-road. Didn't make a killing, but we did break even on it. Put the $$ on the mortgage and used the balance to buy the KRviatrix a new Prado, and that's a keeper...

From what I've seen with these aircraft listings, there's little-to-no improvements in any panels or maintenance, with the exception of the Commander - that has had ADS-B fitted between sales so I can understand the $$ difference there. The Comanche's have had nothing done from what I can see. I just can't get my head around buying something so expensive before finding it doesn't suit your mission.

So I'm still actively hunting for a decent family 4-seater, and in my time I've noticed several aircraft that have been purchased, and then 6 months, maybe 12 months later, are re-advertised for from their new owners...

VH-PJO, a Rockwell Commander is one, now sold 4 times in 24 months, VH-PKZ, a Comanche 260 is another, she was sold last year and has now popped up again, and also in the Comanche lineup is Howard Reiss' beautiful Twinkie, that was sold for $160,000 at the beginning of this year, and is now for sale again, initially listed for $175K (PLUS GST!) and has now been dropped to $160K - still plus GST though! 

Is it the interest rate rises, or are people buying these and finding they're a lot more work than they first thought? In -HPR's case, she looks well cared for, but desperately needs a diet, but for a few others, I'm genuinely curious as to why someone would buy a well-over-6-figure airplane, and then sell it again less than a year later. Any suggestions?

I'd rather keep living beside the Council airport and let those buggers maintain it! Looks like that runway needs resurfacing too, so that won't be a cheap endeavour if you want to do it right!

1 hour ago, Garfly said:

d. for recreation-category aircraft, the aircraft type followed by the last 4 characters of the aircraft’s registration number (e.g. “JABIRU THIRTEEN FORTY SIX”).

 

All fun and games until BN CTR replies to your calls of "Brisbane Center, Good morning, RV Eighty-Five Nineteen" with "ARMY Eighty Five Nineteen Good morning Center?"

After the umpteenth time of that I resorted to using Romeo 85-19 as that's what they saw on TAAATS from my ADS-B squawk. Not strictly in compliance with the AIP true, but after spending several years in Army Aviation, I know they used callsigns prefixed with Army. Army 16, 24 and 26 for their Kingairs for example...

Of course, now the RV's VH- it's not a problem, but something to be aware of for other RAAus RVators out there if you want to routinely talk to ATC. 

9 hours ago, Ironpot said:

But I will find it unforgivable IF the pilot has conducted a Charter without filing a flight plan. The aircraft was down nearly 5 hours before the alarm was raised!?

Based solely on my experience with FlightAware and logging my flights, when I do submit a plan, it will capture and display that on FlightAware, showing among other things, the aircraft type and planned route. None of VH-EHM's recent tracked flights show that, suggesting, to me at least, no plans were filed for any of these flights, including the incident flight, though they have previously done so.

1 hour ago, Thruster88 said:

From the FlightAware data it looks like the cessna 340 making a straight in approach to runway 20 hit the cessna 152 on final for 20 at about 400-500 feet agl. The 340 was maintaining 190knots in a steady descent. 

190Kts at 500AGL? Must have bloody good speedbrakes! Or they were going to go missed. Makes me wonder if one of 'em was under the hood then?

Not me. Rostered to work that weekend. If I am off, I might nip over on the Saturday with Mini-Me II, but I'll be winging it if we can go. Pardon the pun...😛

I agree that "sounds" high for a Jab - I routinely use 25/H in the RV, with the O-340 and scooting along at 2,400RPM & 140KTAS.

The -160 and -120 share the same fundamental engine so the fuel burn shouldn't be significantly (50-75%) greater, though aircraft performance may be for the same power setting.

Which leads to the question - what prop did you have on the -120 and what RPM did you cruise at, vs the -160? Could it be it is pitched quite differently, giving a different cruise power setting and an inability to compare apples with Malus domestica?

Doesn't look like it...To me it reads like a MIL-specific program.

From Ronny's PR spiel:

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The Air Tattoo will give people a rare insight into the base, people, aircraft and military capabilities that call Amberley home. It is also a great opportunity for Defence to thank the people of Ipswich and surrounding communities for their support of RAAF Base Amberley and the Australian Defence Force members who serve at the base.
 
Air Force aircraft will conduct flypasts over RAAF Base Amberley during the two day event.  Aircraft will also be on static display on the ground as well as a range of military equipment on display showcasing the capabilities of a number of Australian Defence Force units and squadrons located at the base.

I live adjacent to a Council-owned airfield and pay an annual "access fee" for through-the-back-gate access. I'm also entitled to an annual landing fee, but the Council billing system doesn't seem to recognise that so they continue to bill me for each landing. Which I continue to ignore.

From the UK version of the NRMA I give you their average fuel prices:

That's $3.34 / $3.526 & $3.483 AUD a litre!

Good thing there's not too far to fly in the UK - you'd run out of money before you run out of fuel, flamin' eck! 

There was a 206 in a wirestrike up towards Hawkesbury River / Wisemans Ferry way the same day - though the WSPS served its' purpose and they landed safely with little to no damage beyond the pilot seat cushion. But of the two clips I've seen from the Maroota accident, I didn't see any wires or towers in either of them.. Not to say he didn't hit wires, but just that I didn't see any.

Typically the runway is preferred as should you drop in from more than a foot or two onto grass, there is a better-than-even chance of the fiberglass or sheet metal cowling folding up and allowing the firewall to act as a plough, scooping up dirt and bringing you to an uncomfortably rapid stop.

Landing on the runway avoids that, giving you a greater distance in which to decelerate - rendering the gear-up landing that much more survivable.

19 minutes ago, Student Pilot said:

Haven't done a flight plan in years, leave a flight note or make sure somebody knows where I'm going.
Do all you blokes put a road plan in when you go driving? Do you use a road tracker/recorder when driving? A car could disappear on any of the main roads and not be found for weeks or longer. Do any of you check/get weather for driving? 

Not even remotely similar to flying but to answer your questions:

1: Do I plan a road trip beyond, say, 50NM? Yes. Even if it is as simple as "Do I need to refuel first, or will the available fuel get me there and back?" Closely followed by "Which servo enroute has the cheapest fuel in FuelCheck?". Even at work, we are required to do a Journey Assessment for any road trip at night, or any trip beyond 50NM by day.

2: Yes. I'm going long-distance, or without the KRviatrix, I'll plan my trip on Google Maps for real-time delays and diversions, and then share that trip so she can track me and have a real-time ETA. If she's coming, then we'll usually call our rellies and give them an updated ETA when we're on the road. Insofar as tracking, incidentally, so does my employer on almost every vehicle in their fleet. I got a txt from my Supervisor just last week saying "KR, the tracker shows you stopped for over an hour, are you ok?" - I wasn't stopped, and hadn't stopped, but "the system" thought I had for some reason and he was checking on me.

3: If there's a chance of inclement weather, yes - I do check NSW LiveTraffic for weather-related issues, and enroute I use Google Maps for reeal-time traffic info.

1 hour ago, Flightrite said:

In 43 years driving planes I’ve had two flat tires, one on a twin turbo-prop the other an Airbus, I think I’ll not worry about a jack😂

I want your luck. I've had two in 200 hours with the RV. Both on the NLG, thankfully.

3 hours ago, flying dog said:

> My own Excel Navlog

 

That is a blank one which you then fill out with the new/up to date information - yes?

Not quite - It's one with a few formulas whereby you can enter things like FPT, distance and the winds, and it calculates ETI, HDG and the rest, along with fuel burn, TO & ZFWCG position and can give you warnings about fuel reserves or CG out-of-limits.

I discussed it a little in THIS post and you can download the spreadsheet HERE

In order of precedence:

• SkyVector's online flight planner the night before for the initial routing
• SkyVector's NavLog printed the morning of the flight to take with me to scribble on.
• OzRunways NavLog to crosscheck SV & allow the upload to the Dynon.
• My own Excel Navlog when I am told I can't use OzR or SV - such as in training or a flight review. 

Permanently in the aircraft is only my Rescue Swag first aid kit. That's clipped to two eye-bolts on the baggage bulkhead and is only ever removed for the annual, or to put something bulky in the baggage area.

But if I'm going anywhere beyond the circuit, even just an after-school local scenic with Mini-Me, I wear my survival vest, that's loaded with similar goodies to what you've listed.