bushpilot

Whoops - I've inadvertantly led this thread down a political path... so I figure it's now a case of 'enough said'.

Hey IFR Duck - Thanks for the detailed post; some really useful advice and observations there.. No, haven't heard of a 'calibrated jock strap'; the closest thing I know of is made of rubber with friction ribs a set distance apart - but I'm sure this is not what you are talking about .. Please explain..

I have a Vectrix for my city transport.. (Keep it in Sydney). They are way cool.. 42c per charge for 100kms, and top-speed over 100km/hr.

In a similar vein - any ideas on fly-in B&Bs or farm-stays or resorts in NSW?? Hard to find; really needs a dedicated website to aggregate them all....

Bank of Queensland will do it.. I know one of the managers if you get stuck..

All's well that ends well... Had a chat with RA-AUS CEO about this one.. He got onto it straight away and emailed me later to confirm that I was not at fault in requesting a specific rego number and the Board member that had raised the question had been spoken to. Good response and handled well, on his part... Cheers, Chris

Geez IFR Duck, you have gone to some effort here; you must have flat finger tips after that marathon.. ... Thanks! And it's a near text-book in itself. I have arranged to do a bit more IFR training (did 5 hours years ago in GA), just in case. Don't plan to go looking for trouble, but I like the option of having half a chance if things turn ugly (well, gloomy..). Have you ever tried working off the virtual instruments in Garmin 296? (I have a just released 495, which is similar but with more rapid refresh rate). There's one other aspect that I'd be interested in hearing your (or others) opinion on: If I am flying along at 5,000' with patchy cloud below, and it starts to close-in, what to do? Duck down through a hole and hope there is enough ceiling room underneath, or stay on top (illegally) and wait for it to break up? I'm assuming a few out there would have had the experience.. Thanks, Chris

Haven't had her in at home as yet; we lengthened (by 80m) and widened (by 10m) the strip in Autumn, sowed some grass seed - and now waiting for Spring to get it properly established.... I'll then move her out here from Bathurst aerodrome (Club hanger). Have had Jabs. in here before - in the shorter configuration - so should be fine.... See you around. Cheers, Chris

Me three!! And here are my reasons: http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/showthread.php?p=54564#post54564 ..

Big Brother is Watching... Now is this a coincidence, or a result of my comment below regarding my 24-5555 registration number??: Today I got a call on my mobile phone from a staffer at the RA-AUS office.. It went something like this - 'Sorry to call you like this, but one of our Board members has asked me to phone you to see if you would be prepared give up your registration number'... I was a bit taken aback, and working with colleagues at the time, so all I said was something like - 'No, why would I want to do that? I have good reason to want that number, which is why I asked for it in the first place'. She replied - 'Oh ok, I was just asked to ask you..' So, what's with that?!! Are 'they' worried that they will get a flood of requests for special numbers? Or did this Board member decide that my rego number would be cool on their aircraft? Do we have to be extra careful what we declare in these forums? Will they now write me a letter recalling my rego number?! :confused: Watch this space...

How about this baby: http://www.bladeschool.com.au/viewer.htm?stockimages/1935.gif 10kgs, pump-up tyres, carries 90kgs, $320.

Im interested Brent.. Just did the sums on my AirNav program for Bathurst to Perth in J160, and it says: 1701 NM 1058 minutes flying time 265 litres Avgas So, hmmm, yes, could be easier riding a Virgin..

Out of this thread comes something that I have struggled to get good information / advice on, over many years.. That is, how to judge when the weather is closing in, as against a bit of temporary fluff on the nose (No inuendo intended;)) that will clear.. The commonly used 'weather and aviation' books seem to step around this topic.. Can anyone out there help? Is there any written resource that deals with identifying (pre-flight or during flight) blue turning into poo..? Cheers, Chris

Thanks for the comments guys... Ref. the 'body language', yes, it's a bit hard to hide the 'proud father' posture... And ref. the cool rego, I'll let you in on a secret, Brent, but don't tell the others:exclamation:... The nice people at the RA-AUS office will actually let you choose a rego number for new a/c - provided it's a future sequence... So your favourite numbers, birthdate, or whatever, are possible, if it fits. I'm not sure exactly what the criteria is, but it's worth asking if you want something other than the next in the series. I just wanted something easy to remember (important at my age :confused:), so asked for 24-5555... (Maybe they will soon realise that an easy way to make extra $$$$s is to charge a premium for 'personalised' numbers..) Cheers, Chris

Ian's prompt for us to express a view on expansion of these Forums got me thinking about just how useful the Forum has been to me….leading to my final decision on the best aircraft for my needs. I have had my new J160C for a few weeks now, and haven’t had the time until today to post anything about it - but here are a couple of happy snaps.. I guess everyone knows what a Jab. looks like, but it’s a bit like new-born babies – they look more beautiful to the proud parents..:heart: But I want to acknowledge that the reason I ended up at Bundaberg collecting my baby, back in early July, was due to the plethora of information I gleaned from these pages. Forum members have been very responsive to any questions I have asked; I have been researching options for the past 18 months as to which 3-axis a/c to move into after my Trike.. I wont labour through the whole decision making process, but in the end it came down to a few main determinants: · Price, performance (fuel consumption, endurance and speed), strength, ease of maintenance and servicing / repairs · Supporting an Australian business (Jabiru) · A ‘community’ of information and support (This Forum and the number of Jab. owners) The last of these points is extremely important to me; I live on a farm and don’t have direct access to many a/c owners, especially RA-AUS. I am a member of a local aero club, but all bar 2 members are GA. So these Forums cover that gap; both from the learning perspective that helped me make my buy decision, and information exchange post-acquisition. So, a big thanks to Ian and moderators for making this service happen, and to the contributors who take the time to respond to all those general and technical enquiries. Cheers, Chris 24-5555

Now this sounds real sensible; if it that effective and cheap to buy, why aren't they more common? Sounds like a real lifesaver - to only have to worry about attitude. I mean, we are not going to plan to loose ground / horizon reference, but if you do....

Beat me to it - by 7 minutes...

Then there's XC: Planning (with Whirly-wheel) and execution - with instructor and solo. And the qualifying rules change end of July..

PM on its way..

Some interesting points are getting made - and questioned, here.. I have to say I wonder about the sense in relying on a GPS for GS, when the refresh rate on some can be a bit slow..and it's another in-the-office distraction.. But I also wonder about the "normal" approach to instructing, where for short landing roll practice in say a Jab160, the instructors insist on 65Kts on late final, using power if needed to make the keys.. I get nervous about getting under 70Kts until just before the flare (and over the threshold), as with my trike experience I have regularly found sudden sink on final. I know its not as likely in "heavy" RA-Aus a/c, but a reasonable margin over stall seems sensible to me..

Insurance companies view Insurance companies have a view on the risk that we represent to them: I recently took out insurance on my new Jabiru J160 - $80,000 cover, hangered at Bathurst, NSW, no un-specified pilots, no training allowed. Premium (best of 4 quotes) QBE = $3,600 (10% no claim bonus each year after 1 year) My BMW X5 is valued at $95,000, garaged near Bathurst, any driver of any age. Premium NRMAI = $670 And as premiums are determined by the underwriters claims:loss ratio, the assumption has to be that rec. aviation insurers expect a high ratio of claims. Only we, collectively, can make insurance cheaper over time.... and save a lot of damage and injury along the way...

Ditto.. Im in the market for 2.. Ian, are they available in the 'shop'? I just looked and cant see any.. In fact "Clear Prop" seems to be only partly functioning right now (?)

I also dont like speculation - but it is important that we all know about 'cause and affect' outcomes on as many incidents & accidents as possible. It's all about lessons learned. I dont think it's sensible to wait 18 months for results of 'official investigations'. As soon as verifiable facts are known, it is not wrong for them to be shared with the fraternity - by my reckoning.. And deep-felt condolences to the families impacted here; I think we can all relate to what they must be dealing with...

My J160C is insured with QBE for $85,000, plus $2mill 3rd party cover, for $2,650. 10% no claim, each year after 1st year. Cheers, Chris

Out of interest AS: Who supervised your test? ie where are being taught? What what was the specific task and what aids were you allowed to use? It seems different schools have very different approaches and standards.. Cheers, Chris