bushpilot

Cheers Alf - You will find lots of good people here; good advice sharing as well.. Do you fly out of Sale? Nice part of OZ. Hang around! Cheers, Chris

Re BLA: Would not terrain awareness (a la Garmin) have averted this disaster?

So, can anyone out there advise us all what the cost of insurance is for instructors? And are there different levels of cover required for different circumstances? I.e. here are some of the variables I can think of; I wonder how many of these impact insurance premiums: 1. Experience of the instructor, including type endorsements and other aviation experience (eg PPL) 2. Type of Rec. Av. instruction given - i.e. Jabiru style, rag & tube, 2-axis (trikes) 3. Number of instructors and aircraft in the school 4. The use of Junior instructors by the school 5. Location of the school 6. Associations with 'satellite' schools And, maybe there are other variables.. as insurance companies are all about making the premiums match their perception of risk.. Cheers Chris

Post pics! :star:

Now here's a Q for the space mathematicians out there; it's 'worried' me for many years: We were taught in Science class that if you fly away from any point in space in a straight line, you eventually come back to the point you started from.. i.e. if you start off going 'East' you will re-appear from the 'West' many light years later.. My quandry is, if this is so, wouldn't it be possible to calculate the inherent offset from 'straight ahead' that causes this effect and compensate for it, so as to actually go in a straight line - to the limits of space?? And, how hard is the concept of infinity to understand?! That is, something (space) that goes on forever.. That is weird. :confused:

I've just bought a Garmin 495. Still trawling thru the book ; will post impressions in time...

The advantage of 296 (or new 495, for not much extra) is they fit into the Jab 120 dash. Anything else wont fit - so has to be a hang-on.. Cheers, Chris

Looked pretty sweet to me; no thumping it down, no bounce and right on the centre line..

A bit scary that 'routine or memory only' is equal first at this stage.... (At least I think so).

Update: Police have released the names of the two men killed in a microlight crash in northern Hawkes Bay in the early hours of Sunday morning. They are Darren McNay, 39 and Anthony Bell, 30, both of Wairoa. Police search and rescue found the Airsea 601 at Wairoa just before 7.30am on Sunday. Police say the two took off for a look around the area at 3.15am on Sunday in poor weather conditions and the aircraft crashed about 400 metres from the runway. Inspector Ian Harris says the owner of the microlight was an experienced pilot but all the men had been drinking. An air accident team is investigating but Inspector Harris says alcohol is a possible factor. He says police are keen to hear from anyone who might have heard or spotted the aircraft. Wairoa aeroclub secretary Richard Tollison says he has no idea why the two men would have tried to fly at night. He says the 30-year-old man was the club's instructor and the 39-year-old, the president. Mr Tollison says the microlight they were using is more like a small plane, with navigational lighting, but he still can't believe they'd fly at night. He says the men were not excessive drinkers and they would have known they would need a lit runway to fly in the dark. Mr Tollison says he went to the aerodrome at about 5.20am on Sunday and the hangar doors were open and the plane wasn't there. He says the deaths of the men will leave a huge hole in the club. Enough said.

Like I said: "I know we shouldn't speculate until all the facts are known, but geez, how can you put any positive spin on this one?" No degree of crook reporting could get the facts completely wrong on this one, based on the aero club member interviewed in the video and pictures of conditions on the same morning..

What can we possibly make of this sort of news...??? The very type of incident that none of us want to happen nor see in the media: i.e. apparent stupidity by people who should know better... An aero club President and an experienced instructor. I know we shouldn't speculate until all the facts are known, but geez, how can you put any positive spin on this one? (With deep sympathy to the families, nevetheless): Extract from "One News" NZ: Alcohol possible factor in crash May 25, 2008 8:26 AM Police believe two Hawke's Bay men may have been drinking before taking off in a microlight aircraft early on Sunday morning. Wairoa Aero Club president Darren McNay and instructor Anthony Bell were killed when their Air Sea 601 crashed in the darkness in Wairoa. Alcohol will be one of the factors investigated following the fatal microlight crash. "I understand it was a private function, somewhere out of town but inquiries are still continuing as far as that goes," says Sergeant Chris Flood, Wairo Police. Inspector Ian Harris says the time of night McNay and Bell chose to get behind the controls could be an indicator of alcohol playing a part in the fatal crash. Both men were qualified - one was an instructor and the other a pilot. They took off from Wairoa Aerodrome at around 3.15 am Sunday. No emergency beacon was activated on the aircraft, but the alarm was raised at 4.30am by a third man at the base waiting for them to return. Police said weather conditions were especially atrocious at the time of takeoff. The aircraft with the bodies on board was found just 120 metres from the northern end of the runway. Video: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1796728

So, I guess if the 'old' printed & laminated checklist had have been used, then he would have checked the fuel tap.... I wonder how many 3-axis (GA-style) RAA pilots use the list every flight? I'm guessing not many. Might be an interesting subject for a poll..

Hey J430. Have you compared the new G495 with G296? Garmin claims faster processor and better terrain awareness.. But I dont know what that means in actual use.. Cheers, Chris

See my For Sale post at: SOLD - Bargain of the year!!... Trike - Recreational Flying Cheers, Chris

See my For Sale post at: SOLD - Bargain of the year!!... Trike - Recreational Flying Cheers, Chris

But for runway markers wouldnt they be a bit solid? I know the pilot shouldnt be out that wide - but if you were....

Hey Ian - Can you provide insight on making markers? They are damn expensive to buy... (From $28 ea, on the website below..) Cheers, Chris

However, with cheaper versions of the plastic fantastics now coming in under $60K, the price gap is closing... making it more difficult (I think) for some of the top end R & Ts to compete...

Hey J - I think D10 was just asking, for interest sake; not suggesting that he was gonna ignore the SB..

S. happens.. Slightly off topic, but I too think of safety all the time, but the one thing that seems to be somewhat out of our control - and worries me a lot - is weather - and specifically cloud. With the best planning in the world -weather checks and visual - the cloud situation will regularly change - literally before your very eyes - and against the forecast for that day. You can be flying over patchy cloud, which then starts to close in; you do a u-turn and it is still closed in; you fly along praying for a break - and usually find it. But one day the break will not come. Or you are flying 5000 ASL with cloud at 7000. As you travel along, cloud base comes down to 5000. You are only 2000 AGL, so you look for a way out or around or back. But one day there will be no out / around / back. (A common event in my neck of the woods - with my strip at 3000 ASL). So what do we do as Rec Aviation pilots - with little or no IFR experience? Sit on the ground and only fly on clear-to-the-horizon days? :confused:

Amazing how strong those Jabs are! :thumb_up: Will be interesting to see the damage report.. Bad luck tho..

Hey Rocko... Seeing as know a lot about specs generally - can you advise on straight-up sunnys? I have tried several pairs whilst flying - and prefer those with a very pale lense, but high UV filtering. But most seem to slightly blur the long distance - for me at least. Can you recommend a brand that provides good UV filtering that can be worn in all light conditions - i.e. not overly tinted? Cheers, Chris

I agree; cant hurt to share pics; rest will come out in time...

Guys - Thanks for all the remarks. As for the Qs: 1. I have a hangar already; but it will only fit a J160 or a trike - not both; so - 2. The Redback will have to go - unfortunately. I'll keep it til the last minute, then go for a quick sale at a 'give-way' price.. So alert anyone that wants a 'fresh' trike in June. 3. Mini-flyin sounds good! I'll have to tell Ma to plan the pumkin scones now ;) Cheers, Chris