bushpilot

Labour rates dont necessarily go down in times like this - particularly skilled labour.. Same with materials, especially specialist materials.. Let Jab make a decent margin so they can keep their best people on-board and we Jab owners (present and future) gain from having access to strong factory support.

Hmmm- Pity there wasnt a bit more focus on the menu here... (I'm in China right now - so it's one of those too long away from home things....)

Update on insurance for instructors and flying schools This is an old thread, but the discussion is still very relevant. I have completed 19 hours of my work toward instructors and in the process have been asking other instructors what insurance cover they have.. Some avoid the 'too expensive' problem by having limited insurance cover - relying on the RA-Aus 3rd party cover and maybe hull cover. I have not found one yet that has Professional Indemnity cover, to protect themselves from an unhappy or injured (or dead) student. I'm interested to know if any instructors out there have PI cover or have a view on having it?

So, P32, how does this Flightplanner 3000 thing work??

Or so the cry reads on the Foxbat Australia website - "30% off the price! The government is currently offering a 30% tax allowance to small businesses and primary producers, when they purchase equipment. Aircraft qualify for the tax rebate - so a $100,000 Foxbat really costs only $70,000. But be quick - orders must be placed before 30 June 2009". I'm not an accountant, but I dont think a 30% tax allowance reduces the effective buy price by 30%. Nonetheless, maybe this Rudd 'giveaway' may encourage a few schools and others (farmers etc.) to look at buying some new wings... Any bean-counters out there that can tell us how the tax calculation actually works? BTW: Meant to be flying today - but 50km/hr winds and rain scuds are keeping me on the computer...

Welcome Ray, I came into this Forum with an HGFA backgound - hang gliders and nano trikes. Then when I bought my Airborne Redback I decided I'd get more value out of the RA-Aus. This in turn rekindled my interest in 3 axis, so in time I moved on to a Jabiru. By my reckoning whilst the HGFA support trikes, their heart is still really in hang gliding. They are (or were) also more expensive to be a member of than RA-Aus, but I dont know why... As others have said, irrespective of who issues your licence, you are more than welcome here... BTW: Nice XT912.. The Tundra undercarriage gives you plenty of landing options! Cheers Chris

I dont really understand this: Why limit flap in turbulence? Isn't it better to still use flap but maintain IAS at the higher end of the full-flap range? Say 70kts approach and ease to 60kts late late final.. I use this approach in all conditions and never use more than 50% of my 640m one-way strip..And do not pound the undercarriage

My theory is that it's because many 'ultralights' are looking more like 'light aircraft', especially to those that dont know the difference... So the witnesses and reporters just lump em all together..

A buddy of mine has 16 hours logged as a student on Jabiru; but to accelerate completion he wants to do a 7 day intensive program with a school in our area. He asked about Jill Bailey and Alan Powlay at Temora, but I dont know much about them. Anyone out there been to their school or know of them?? Thanks Chris

I would be getting out today! Check this update: Water and the Land: Forecast Rainfall And select 'NSW', then 'today' to see immediate forecast, then select 'tomorrow'.. and compare. Ugly, with another 25mm predicted for Dubbo area.

This whole concept of a 'live' list of accomms and services with strips or near strips would be a very valuable tool... But to make it useful in needs a template (info fields) that contributors (clients or the establishment / service providor) can post basic information to. Maybe a dedicated page on this Forum? Admin.??

We also pulled out this morning; this rainfall predictive chart told it all: Water and the Land: Forecast Rainfall (select NSW & today) and the Obs coming in since support it; another 6mm at Dubbo since 9am today.. We couldn't afford to get stuck at Narromine, so cancelled. Bummer.. Hope all that are there can get out OK..

For me - man putting those first footprints on the moon surface... (Well - it's aviation... they fly there, not walk...)

3G or Next G... iPhone or other? I got tired of all the holes in the 3G network and went with Next G; I'm getting heaps better coverage.. I went to the Telstra Shop to sign up for a Next G iPhone - and when I got there I knew the guy serving me. He said that the return rate on iPhone (for repairs) was heaps higher than any other make - and iPhone is the only brand that does not give a phone-swap warranty in the first month. He put me into a HTC Touch-Flo instead; similar functionality and more robust (or so he says..). Time will tell.

Near Taralga The official opening of The Tablelands Way was held just North of Taralga on Saturday. (See pic.) In the lead up I enquired about strips on nearby farms, but none were described as currently serviceable.. So we flew over and flew back (to Oberon). There must surely be some around there - but locating friendly owners is the challenge..

Mostly power on for me; all the time on my farm strip - which is uphill and I often land with tail-wind. Power on helps me match the uphill slope in the roundout / flare and is kinder on the undercarriage (J160).

The 'old' threads on Brumby dont tell you much - but they have sold a few already - so owners are out there somewhere. I had a close look at them - as they are built near my farm.. But in the end decided Jabiru was better proven (around longer) and better value.. But if you prefer low-wing and metal construction, then Brumby is great value..

:thumb_up:

Do you know if Ian has Sim X in the shop? I cant get it to load tonight...

Another example of how silly the security measures are: The Council ran airfields generally have the access gate codes for the gate combination lock to be written on the inside of the gate - so that visiting pilots can note the code on their way out.. But a friend of mine arrived at Mudgee and forgot to note down the code... No problem - when he got back later, he just reached through the handle opening with his camera-phone, took a pic of the back of the plate - and presto, he has the code... (But I guess the 'terrorists' wont think of these things.. :-)

So, Brett, for people starting out in flying or SIMs, what is the best 'basic' Flt. SIM package to start with - demoing the basics of control inputs and outputs without scarying them off... ?

Bagging the use of forums to provide info on flying techniques is not productive... We should be encouraging everyone to put forward views, as this gives the less experienced readers some ideas to at least think about and then chat to their instructor about it.. Not all the views posted are going to be accurate (nor apply to all types of a/c), but at least they are thought starters - which is one of the reasons people use forums generally..

You can see here that the wing area is huge - and aspect ratio high. So the wing loading is very low and the handling can get rather interesting in Aussie conditions - particularly in Summer.. So best to start off with a lower-performance wing. I live inland and found that the most comfortable time to fly was early in the day in Summer - or still-air days in Winter. But they are a great way to learn to fly with power - and are relatively safe, provided you have plenty of foot-launch hang gliding experience first. (I always had a hand-deploy recovery parachute as well).

Being ran in a number of places around NSW over the next month... (RAA office would have the list)

Are these "non-standard" tyres legal?? Also, I wonder if mower tyres have been tested to 100km/hr!!??