wags

Have a look here.... Yuneec - Aircraft_Specification With extended battery pack it has about 3 hrs endurance.

Flightstar info. Thoroughly agree Nev. Both the Tiger and the Chipmunk sorted the boys out and you can give me a tail-dragger anyday. Always enjoyed the Maules I've owned. Unfortunately the buying public dictate what is offered these days so we seem to only get tricycle types, but there are some really good tail-draggers if you look hard enough. Maybe this coming year I'll invest in a tail-dragger as my last aircraft before I hang-up the wings - think I'll have to anyway 'cause that's what the little lady wants. For those that are following this thread, here is a link to the latest Flightstar info... Flightstar Sportplanes

Flight Design re-designing "Flightstar" I understand the "Flightstar" mentioned way back in this thread somewhere is being revamped and will be available through the Flight Design Australian Agent - Sports Aircraft Australia inside 12 months. I hear the price will most likely be under $30,000, but it needs confirming 'cause it's from memory. Also understand the revamp has improved all parameters of the performance envelope considerably, they might even have an electric version available. Imagine going down to Woolies in that! Keep an eye out for it. If Flight Design are doing it it means they see a growing market for that type of aircraft!

The nice thing is that you can have whatever you want burbles... all glass, all steam or a mixture of both. Haven't seen a Light Sport aircraft with stubby holders as standard but everything else you mention is catered for. Have a look at the storage trays below the panels... and there are more storage areas available... like in the floor between your feet. These floor areas take tie-down equipment, torch, polishing and cleaning requirements, water bottle, epirb etc etc. Door pockets hold maps and prayer wheel etc. On the shelf behind the seats you can carry WAC charts, VNC's, VTC's, ERSA, VFG... what more do you want? And every ultralight should have TCAS etc don't you think? HH gave you the right answer on that! Gibbo... it apparently performs very much the same as the CTLS except for top speed so guess 300 mtrs at 600 kgs is the answer you are looking for. The Ozzie distributor (Sports Aircraft Australia) is better equipped to answer that question than me. It is a little more expensive than a Jab, so that market will not be in its sights, unless of course the Jab was fitted to the same level of equipment. The quality of construction blew me away... like all vertical joins and gussets double blind riveted, moly steel cockpit cage is massive, undercarriage is straight off the CTLS (I can attest to its strength!) with Matco (US) wheels and brakes. This aircraft comes from the largest manufacturer of Light Sport Aircraft in the world... and the quality and research behind the product shows. Sadly, I am advised that it will not be flying until later this week, but stay tuned for a report as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Not my mates Geoff! Geoff, thankfully my mates that fly are far better educated than those two were! They were simply two guys who were looking at our aircraft on display at Temora and started conversation. I have to say I was somewhat startled by their comments and overall attitude. It is not the first time I have come across the "it doesn't apply to us" attitude with some Sport Pilots. Unfortunately, and we in RAAus have to accept this and move to fix the problem; there are those in the ranks who either don't want to do the right thing and simply don't prepare themselves properly or keep their knowledge at the right level. How they get through a BFR escapes me, but maybe they haven't faced that as yet in their flying careers. I have struck several newly certificated pilots over recent months that did not know about the existence of the VFG and although they said they have heard about ERSA they figured it was something for commercial operators only. I explained to them that it was akin to being a Christian without knowing of the existence of the Bible. Someone has been letting the side down badly. For your benefit Tomo - I felt Temora was a huge success given it was the first time at a new venue with just a few small easily rectified hiccups being evident. The best thing about Temora is we have room to grow the Fly-in. My only real concern is... why is everyone hell bent on leaving on Sunday when we could enjoy the place for another day?

They did Slarti... they are both reasonably new pilots and were under the impression that 129.9 was to be used over and above the normal Temora CTAF frequency (126.15) and had been set up by RAAus just for that reason - to cope with the heavy traffic. They commented that they thought it was strange that no aircraft were making "base" calls etc. Maybe they didn't read the briefing fully in the first place... don't really know. What they didn't understand was that "Temora Ground" was there purely to help when taxying and should only be used when clear of any/all active runways. There again, they apparently didn't ask anyone to clarify the confusion they had before taking to the air. Both pilots said they operate from remote strips normally and don't use radio on a regular basis - no need??? Communication is the best safety procedure we have. When they departed they had it right, but what might have occurred during the days of activity I don't want to consider... and purely because they didn't ask someone.

Thanks for the post Bill... I hope every user of this Forum reads the link you have posted. In fact I hope Ian Baker makes a point of bringing the paper to all Forum members attention. Can't help but feel there was a certain amount of confusion at Temora because many didn't understand the role that "Temora Unicom" was playing in the overall operation. I know some pilots flew circuits during the Fly-in with the Unicom frequency on their VHF and didn't tune in the CTAF frequency because they thought the Unicom frequency took priority. Education and more precise instructions/briefing would fix that problem. With 1000 aircraft in the area maybe it is time for a more "formal" form of control to be applied... eg designation of take-off and landing runways as suggested by "Modest Flyer". Anything to improve safety overall and let us get on with the job of enjoying our recreational flying.

Next pictures. Hopefully I can post some "ready-to-fly" pics by Sunday, RAAus can't supply permit to fly until Monday I would think... hope to fly it then! Hope to report on that too. Will try and get some firm prices for aircraft with options also... if I am allowed to post them.

Might be placing this in the wrong part of the Forum, but it is breaking aviation news. Had the pleasure today (Friday 9th April 2010) of helping to unload from the shipping container the first Flight Design CTMC to be brought to Australia by Sports Aircraft Australia. Apparently it was intended to be shown at Temora but shipping delays caused it to miss a wonderful show. Couldn't help but be impressed by a number of things such as... Quality/Standard of construction and finish - first class. Room in cockpit - a whopping 1.37 mtr (54") at shoulders. In comparison a C182 is listed as 1.67 mtr (42") cockpit width. Relatively cheap price for the basic aircraft fitted with a Rotax 912 (100 hp) and steam gauges. Fully adjustable seats fore & aft (also rake)... can accommodate a 120kg/6'6" person in comfort. The aircraft is fully test flown by the factory before shipping and arrives in a container as shown in the attached picture. Assembly takes around 2 to 3 hrs and the agent says it should be flying approx 24 hrs after taking delivery of the container. The aircraft arrives in virtually a "plug & play" condition. A full test flight report is given to the new owner. Cruise at 75% power is shown as 125 kts TAS, with a fuel capacity of 100 litres. It appears here is a really good option available for someone seeking a reasonably priced metal aircraft, not to mention those that want a genuine 120 kt+ touring aircraft with room to boot.

Had the pleasure today (Friday 9th April 2010) of unloading the first CTMC to be brought to Australia by Sports Aircraft Australia. Couldn't help but be impressed by a number of things such as... Quality/Standard of construction and finish. Room in cockpit - a whopping 1.37 mtr (54") at shoulders. In comparison a C182 is listed as 1.67 mtr (42") cockpit width. Relatively cheap price for the basic aircraft fitted with a Rotax 912 (100 hp) and steam gauges. Fully adjustable seats fore & aft also rake... can accommodate a 120kg/6'6" person in comfort. The aircraft is fully test flown by the factory before shipping and arrives in a container as shown in the attached picture. Assembly takes around 2 to 3 hrs and the agents should be flying only approx 24 hrs after taking delivery of the container. The aircraft arrives in virtually a "plug & play" condition. Cruise at 75% power is shown as 125 kts TAS, with a fuel capacity of 100 litres. It appears there really is a good option available for someone seeking a metal CT, not to mention those that want a genuine 120 kt+ touring aircraft with room to boot.

Big Cessna 150? John.... wait until you see the new Flight Design "CTMC"... all metal and the cockpit is a whopping 53" wide. That's nearly 6" wider than a Cessna 182! It also comes in at around $90,000 with all the goodies and a cruise speed of about 115 kts I am told. It is aimed directly at the training sector of the market. Unfortunately it will not be at Temora because the first one lands here (at Brisbane) on the Tuesday after Easter - German scheduling! But it will be coming to an airstrip near you (Gympie) around mid April.

Confidence is paramount. Thanks for the input guys... my wife doesn't seem to care too much ... it is me who thinks she has been dealt a big blow - to her confidence. Maybe I'm just "on edge" when it comes to the way CASA do things. After 40 years+ of dealing with them I am sick of their approach - to the back teeth and that's why I support RAAus. All we want to do is aviate for fun with a minimum of fuss and those that want to fly big time can join in the fun with CASA to their hearts content. Confidence that a student has in their instructor and their own ability is paramount to getting a good result and when it is 'squashed" (confidence) in a manner such as this I suggest the CASA guys who implemented this KDR crap should go and do a week of study on "Human Factors". It could have been handled confidentially between CASA and the instructor at the flying school and nobody gets damaged that way. I also used to quietly chat with students who made a meal of their exam, be it practical or written. A quiet discussion soon reveals if they have a weakness or not and then you can take steps to fix the deficiency without destroying their confidence in themselves. The good thing about all this is she knows she can fly OK... so it's downhill from here to get a PPL and therefore get through that pesky CTA when one needs to and not be forced to fly over tiger country. Now I've had my say I'm feeling a little better!

My wife recently sat her PPL exam paper and received a "KDR" from CASA as a result. I was somewhat interested to know about this "KDR" thingo... it's got to be the biggest destroyer of confidence for a pilot that CASA ever invented bless their hearts and souls! A "KDR" is a "Knowledge Deficiency Report". It states that you sat the exam and says whether or not you passed (she did easily) and what you scored.... BUT then it says although you have in essence passed the exam you have a hole in your knowledge base and therefore you cannot progress any further with your flying training until you have been questioned by a suitable examiner "to rectify your knowledge deficiency"! So when is a "Pass" not regarded as a "Pass"... when you sit the CASA PPL exam! I have never seen such a small piece of paper destroy confidence in one easy swipe! CASA really is living on another planet... or am I missing something in not understanding why a "Pass" is not really a "Pass"!

I received notification of this crash today. Please forgive me for this.

Dalby to Temora Tomo, What range do you have in the aircraft you will be flying? That seems to be the limiting factor in any planning you do. My guess-timation is your best bet is to go via Millmerran and Inglewood to Moree. Fuel is available at Moree. From Moree follow the road South over Narrabri, Coonabarabran, Gilgandra, Narromine or Dubbo. You can head out via Coonamble and Gilgandra if you want to avoid the higher ground around Coonabarabran. Fuel is available at both Narromine and Dubbo. Then down over Parkes and Forbes to Temora. Google Earth is a good place to start for getting orientated and finding the roads going where you want to go. ERSA will give you a guide to fuel availability at other airfields. We are planning on leaving Gympie on the 30th and overnighting in Dubbo (friends there) before continuing to Temora on the 31st. Our route will take us over Dalby then direct to Goondiwindi and Moree, after that basically as above. Look forward to seeing you, and no doubt, a host of others at Temora! Wags.

Do PPL exams if you want to go beyond RAAus licence

Why did we spend all that money when we could of had the same thing for $7.95?

Thought the aviators out there might get a laugh from this story, sorry about the length of the post but it is a good read. It came from a mate of mine and where he got it from I don't know... enjoy! Hi Mate, I am writing to you because I need your help to get me bloody pilot's license back. You keep telling me you got all the right contacts. Well now's your chance to make something happen for me because, mate, I'm bloody desperate. But first, I'd better tell you what happened during my last flight review with the CASA examiner. On the phone, Ron (that's the CASA guy) seemed a reasonable sort of bloke. He politely reminded me of the need to do a flight review every two years. He even offered to drive out, have a look over my property, and let me operate from my own strip. Naturally I agreed to that. Anyway, Ron turned up last Wednesday. First up, he said he was a bit surprised to see the plane on a small strip outside my homestead because the ALA (Authorized Landing Area) is about a mile away. I explained that because this strip was so close to the homestead it was more convenient than the ALA, and despite the power lines that cross about midway down the strip it's really not a problem to land and take-off because at the half-way point down the strip you're usually still on the ground. Anyway I said, there are so many kangaroos on the ALA that I haven’t used it for years. In fact the last time I used it I hit one, and the bugger bent the prop and smashed in the engine cowling. My mate from town who is a panel beater came out and after a B-B-Q and a few tinnies we straightened the prop and used some of the cans to cover the larger holes in the cowl. For some reason Ron – the CASA guy, seemed nervous. So although I had done the pre-flight inspection only four days earlier I decided to do it all over again. Because Ron was watching me carefully, I walked around the plane three times instead of my usual two. My effort was rewarded because the color finally returned to Ron's cheeks. In fact, they were a bright red. In view of Ron's obviously better mood, I told him that I was going to combine the test with some farm work as I had to deliver three poddy calves from the home paddock to the main herd. After a bit of a chase I finally caught the calves and threw them into the back of the ol' Cessna 172. We climbed aboard but Ron started getting on to me about weight and balance calculations and all that crap. Of course I knew that thing was a waste of time because calves like to move around a bit, particularly when they see themselves 500 feet off the ground. So it's bloody pointless trying to secure them as you know. However, I did tell Ron that he shouldn't worry as I always keep the trim wheel set on neutral to ensure that we remain pretty stable at all stages throughout the flight. Anyway, I started the engine and cleverly minimized the warm-up time by tramping hard on the brakes and gunned her to 2,500 rpm. I then discovered that Ron has very acute hearing because even though he was wearing a bloody headset through all that noise he detected a metallic rattle and demanded that I account for it. Actually it began about a month ago and was caused by a screwdriver that fell down a hole in the floor and lodged in the fuel selector mechanism. The selector can't be moved now but it doesn't matter because it's jammed on "All Tanks" so I suppose that's okay. However, as Ron was obviously a real nit-picker, I blamed the noise on a vibration from a steel thermos flask which I keep in a beaut possie between the windshield and the magnetic compass. My explanation seemed to relax Ron because he slumped back in the seat and kept looking up at the cockpit roof. I released the brakes to taxi out but unfortunately the plane gave a leap and spun to the right. "Hell", I thought, "not the starboard chock again!" The bump jolted Ron back to full alertness. He looked wildly around just in time to see a rock thrown by the prop-wash disappear completely through the windscreen of his brand new Commodore. While Ron was ranting about his car, I ignored his requirement that we taxi to the ALA and instead took off under the power lines. Ron didn't say a word, at least not until the engine started coughing right at the lift off point, then he bloody screamed his head off… "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!" These CASA guys must be deeply religious I thought. "Now take it easy, Ron" I told him firmly. "That often happens after take-off and there is a good reason for it." I explained patiently that I usually run the plane on standard MOGAS, but one day I accidentally put in a gallon or two of kerosene. To compensate for the low octane of the kerosene I siphoned in a few gallons of super MOGAS and shook the wings up and down a few times to mix it all up. Since then, the engine has been coughing a bit but in general it works just fine if you know how to coax it properly. Anyway, at this stage, Ron seemed to lose all interest in my flight test. He pulled out some rosary beads, closed his eyes and became lost in prayer. (I didn't think that anybody was a Catholic these days but now I knew these CASA guys were definitely religous.) I selected some nice music on the HF radio to help him relax. Meanwhile, I climbed to my normal cruising altitude of 10,500 feet. I don't normally put in a flight plan or get the weather because, as you know getting fax access out here is a friggin joke and the bloody weather is always 8/8 blue anyway. But since I had that near miss with a Saab 340 I might have to change my thinking on that. Anyhow, on levelling out I noticed some wild camels heading into my improved pasture. I hate bloody camels and always carry a loaded .303 clipped inside the door of the Cessna just in case I see any of the bastards. We were too high to hit them, but as a matter of principle, I decided to have a go through the open window. Mate, when I pulled the bloody rifle out the effect on Ron was friggin' electric! As I fired the first shot his neck lengthened by about six inches and his eyes bulged like a rabbit with myxo. He really looked as if he had been jabbed with an electric cattle prod on full power. In fact, Ron's reaction was so distracting that I lost concentration for a second and the next shot went straight through the port tyre. Ron was a bit upset about the shooting (probably one of those pinko animal lovers I guess) so I decided not to tell him about our little problem with the tyre. Shortly afterwards I located the main herd and decided to do my fighter pilot trick. Ron had gone back to praying when, in one smooth sequence, I pulled on full flaps, cut the power and started a sideslip from 10,500 feet down to 500 feet at 130 knots indicated (the last time I looked anyway) and the little needle rushing up to the red area on me ASI. What a buzz, mate! About half way through the descent I looked back in the cabin to see the calves suspended in mid air and mooing like crazy. I was going to comment on this unusual sight but Ron looked a bit green and had rolled himself into the fetal position and was screamin' his freaking head off. Mate, talk about being in a bloody zoo. You should have been there, it was so bloody funny. At about 500 feet I attempted to level out. For some reason we continued sinking. When we reached 50 feet I applied full power but nothing happened; no noise, no nothin’. Then, luckily, I heard me instructor's voice in me head saying "carby heat, carby heat". So I pulled carby heat on and that helped quite a lot, with the engine finally regaining full power. Whew, that was really close, let me tell you. Then mate, you'll never guess what happened next! As luck would have it, at that height we flew into a massive dust cloud caused by the cattle and suddenly went I.F. bloody R. You would've been bloody proud of me as I didn't panic once, not once, but I did make a mental note to consider an instrument rating as soon as me gyro is repaired. (Something I've been meaning to do for a while now.) Suddenly Ron's elongated neck and bulging eyes reappeared. His mouth opened wide, very wide, but no sound emerged. "Take it easy," I told him. "We'll be out of this in a minute." Sure enough, about a minute later we emerged from the dust; still straight and level and still at 50 feet. Admittedly, I was surprised to notice that we were upside down and I kept thinking to myself, "I hope Ron didn't notice that I had forgotten to set the QNH when we were taxiing". This minor tribulation forced me to fly to a nearby valley in which I had to do a half roll to get upright again. By now the main herd had divided into two groups leaving a narrow strip between them. "Ah!," I thought, "there's an omen. We'll land right there." Knowing that the tyre problem demanded a slow approach, I flew a couple of steep turns with full flap. Soon the stall warning horn was blaring so loud in me ear that I cut it's circuit breaker to shut it up, but by then I knew we were slow enough anyway. I turned steeply into a 75 foot final and put her down with a real thud. Strangely enough, I had always thought you could only ground loop in a tail dragger but, as usual, I was proved wrong again. Halfway through our third ground loop Ron at last recovered his sense of humor. Talk about laugh. I've never seen the likes of it. He couldn't stop. We finally rolled to a halt and I released the calves, who bolted out of the aircraft like there was no tomorrow. I then began picking clumps of dry grass. Between gut wrenching fits of laughter, Ron asked what I was doing. I explained that we had to stuff the port tyre with grass so we could fly back to the homestead. It was then that Ron really lost the plot and started running away from the aircraft. Can you believe it? The last time I saw him he was off into the distance, arms flailing in the air and still shrieking with laughter. I later heard that he had been confined to a psychiatric institution -- poor bugger. They make those CASA guys work too hard I guess. Anyhow, mate, that's enough about Ron. The problem is, I just got a letter from CASA withdrawing, as they put it, my privileges to fly; until I have undergone a complete pilot training course again and undertaken another flight proficiency test. Now I admit that I made a mistake in taxiing over the wheel chock and not setting the QNH using strip elevation, but I can't see what else I did that was so bloody bad that they have to withdraw me flamin' license. Can you?

And we also need... Thanks for reporting that Phil - it would be a good start here in Ozz to getting aviation onto a solid footing, but the pessimist in me says we will never see that happen - not in my lifetime anyway. We also need to separate the rule makers from the rule enforcers, this is not a new call as the argument has been around since Pontius was a pilot. CASA currently does both jobs and until we have an independent body that makes the rules for aviation and also have another body that polices those rules - perhaps CASA since they are so experienced at the task; we are stuck with the current state of affairs that is aviation under CASA. CASA will never obtain respect within the aviation community of this country until that happens and I don't believe they (CASA) will hand over either job without a big fight. Our politicians getting together to discuss the problems of Recreational and General aviation (just as they are in the US) would be a great start. I won't hold my breath waiting however!

Any aircraft damaged? In the process of making life very difficult for aviators at Childers, did they do any damage to aircraft? It's a worry cause we are only just South of Childers. We are somewhat lucky at Gympie in that the RAAus CFI lives on the airfield adjacent to the majority of the hangars. Still a big worry though.

Card swipe! Looks like they are moving the units they have removed on the East coast over to you guys.

Article coming Hi Greg, Next issue of the RAAus magazine (February) will have an article on a very similar trip to what you are proposing and the March issue should contain an article on how to plan etc. Hope they both help you cause it's a great trip to do and so much to see. Wags.

Have a look at this video of a new Russian aircraft. Beriev Be-200 Altair Multipurpose Amphibious Aircraft Need them here for fire fighting?

Gee Yenns... and you dodge that house in the middle of your strip all the time. Or don't you look at it?

One thing we all must remember... they are down there because we are up here!