bushpilot

I reckon great value: LSA registration; brand new - more of the bugs sorted out and detail enhancements; same 100kt cruise as big brother. Often the low hours, current spec Jabs are priced at around $10K under their RRP - so the 120 looks exceptionally good to me. Put it alongside a Cessna Skycatcher U/L at AU$120K (in the USA) - and it's half price. Cheers, Chris

Ordinary website aside - the basic info on the J120 sounds impressive - in the sense of great value, at least. Does anyone out there have access to fuller spec and performance data?? Cheers, Chris

I even sent them an email over a year ago suggesting that their website was a shocker. Got a reply a few days later saying they were too busy building a/c to worry about their website.... Strange notion, I thought, given that a website is the public face of any business....

Pretty neat T/O! In my hang gliding days we did a similar thing in the right conditions: moderate slope and wind over 20kts. Also great for nil ground speed top landings...or if u really tried - u could reverse up the slope, hovering at about 10 feet, then land; good for freaking out observers.. ;)

Dave - That's a real succinct description of the rules; thanks for putting it up... Cheers, Chris

Guys, The Cessna Skycatcher official blog http://www.cessnaskycatcher.com/ has 2 posts that I would appreciate comment on from those out there that are wiser then me; they are: Tuesday, 9 October 2007, 10:346 PM[/url] In response to Rory Moore, the Australian government will be recognising and adopting the new LSA rule (both in terms of Aircraft design limits and pilot certificate requirements... i.e. no medical). I recently found a press release on the internet from Federal Minister for Transportation stating this fact. Therefore the Cessna 162 (and other LSA) will qualify under the LSA rule and probably not the recreational aviation class. I don't know if recreational pilots can automatically fly LSA aircraft (although from my understanding they require a third class medical whereas LSA pilots do not). - Christopher ... Tuesday, 9 October 2007, 11:528 AM What is the stalling speed? There is a requirement in Australia for the stall speed (on landing) to be below 45 knots to qualify for the recreational aviation class. - Rory Moore Cheers, Chris

OK. It seems that the issue is that OH&S rules say that the bulk delivery guys are no longer allowed to fill 44s. So if you want fuel delivered, you have to have bulk tanks with a mechanism allowing filling from the bottom. (So the delivery guys dont have to climb..). Maybe 44s of AvGas can still be collected full from the supply depot, then swapped for full ones.. I dont know; but Im assuming someone on this forum can tell me. Otherwise I'll chase down the supplier to the local public airfield and see what I can find out there. Cheers, Chris

Us folks in the country can no longer get deliveries of fuel to the farm in '44s' (220 litre) drums.. So I'm assuming the same applied to AvGas deliveries; i.e. you cant get them; or at least you cant get them re-filled. So what are Jab owners and others that use AvGas doing about having fuel on their home-strips? Cheers, Chris

Giorgio, I own a Redback 503 - that I bought with 30hours TT including a trailer and full covers for $18K. It is a great learning a/c - and about as basic as you get in factory built trike. I love its 'bare' look and feel - a bit like my Ducati Monster Dark. For me anything more sophisticated in a trike is a waste of money; I would rather invest the extra $$$s in an enclosed 3-axis plane - which will be my next step. But even then I will keep the Redback - as it is the true motorcycle of the sky...;) Happy shopping. Cheers, Chris

Excuse the ignorance - but where do I find those daily NOTAMS?

Real good report and pics.... Thanks. I am located just 10NM from the Mount - and I thought about cruising over there early this morning - B4 the Westerlies kicked in - to take some pics from about 1000AGL. But wasnt sure about the temporary ATC protocol; i.e. I assume all those chopper movements (TV, VIP transport, etc.) are managed somehow; does anyone know how it works on race-days - and other similar major events - Melbourne Grand Prix, etc.? Cheers, Chris

Hey, all you private strip owners out there - you know who you are Let's hear your stories on how you turned a few hundred metres of paddock into your dream...

Guys - Update on this: I have done a lot of homework on the products out there. The best I have found is "NoFlat" from Canada. The best thing is it remains fluid in the tyre for its entire live and does not deteriorate the rubber or wheel in any way. Thus no impact on balance. A friend who is in the tyre wholesale business is bringing a few 25 litre drums in to Australia to test. I'll stick some in my trike and roll over some nails in planks. We are doing the same test on car and truck tyres. It it works out, we will talk to Ian about putting it in the Forum Shop. Cheers, Chris

Ian, Some related threads are out there already, but here are some thoughts based on my experience: * I decided I wanted a strip on our farm 3 years before actually building it. * At that time I put a temporary windsock in and observed its movements in various conditions. I also took wind speed measurements near the sock and other parts of the property. * 3 years later I had enough data to decide on the final location. (I was working overseas a lot at the time - which is why I took so long to get to this point; otherwise the homework could have been over just a few months). * I next cleared gum-trees that I had noted were causing a bit of turbulence; I used a stump grinder to make the stumps disappear. * My neighbour also dropped 2 huge trees on his land that were below my intended approach path. * I marked the outline of the strip with tomato stakes, then ploughed and harrowed the area: 700m long by 10m wide. * I then had a friend "borrow" a grader from local Council duty and he spent about 2 hours levelling and creating a spoon drain down one side - to stop water from crossing the strip and causing erosion. * I then bought a mix of couch and rye grass and sowed that down. * I built a hanger off to one side of one end of the strip - from a kit - but using a professional to erect it. * I then invited a friend to come and test it; he flew a Jabiru in without having seen the strip from the ground. * Then I bought an a/c to land on it and go in it :-) My a/c is a trike, but the hanger will hold a Jabiru or similar + the trike. The hanger / strip is almost 2 kms from our house - but I just ride one of the quad bikes up there - with a jerry can clipped on the back - filled from our on-farm bulk storage (Being careful not to use the diesel pump :-) What I love about this style of arrangement is I can be sitting on the back verandah having coffee and checking out the heavens - then note that conditions look good - and literally 10 mins later be in the air. No long trips to the airfield; no waiting for the a/c to return from another booking; no wasted trips due to conditions changing, no ASIC card...... Fly-boys (& girls) nirvana for sure... Pic shows house in the foreground and strip paddock circled.

Phil and Sam and ............, Well my strip is definitely a case of "flyer beware" - a reccie B 4 put-down is needed.. * Our farm is at the SE end of the O'Connell Valley that starts near Bathurst and runs SE for about 15 kms - ending at our back boundary. * Also on that boundary is a semi-circular ridge that rises to 300' to 500' AGL along its 1 NM length. * My strip runs NW to SE, uphill toward the SE - is 700m long, mown grass - avoid the ground-under-repair side which has a white sandy appearance. The SE end is about 500m from the foot of the ridge. * Prevailing wind is from the NW - and the valley modifies winds from the W and N to create a NW - which is straight on the strip. But beware of SE winds - with a rotor affect on our side of the ridge. * So - approach options are: From the NW - Straight in with no clearance problems - uphill landing - often with a bit of tail - 1m wire fence just before threshold - no real go-around options once below 100'. From the SE - do a base leg from the SW or NE - following the ridge line at about 400' AGL (ie 400' above the ridge base) - then turn onto final about 500m out from SE end of strip - approach over gum trees and down-hill landing - good go-around option. * Best to call ahead for wind check - farm number is 63375008. Look forward to seeing those of you that are OK with relatively STOL; Gazelle and Jabirus have been in and out OK.. and usually approach from the NW, even with some tail - I'm guessing up to about 10kts. [ATTACH]3641.vB[/ATTACH] Cheers, Chris & Julie

And what a great day it was! ;) Its amazing how supportive and inviting the flying fraternity is; with informal events like this happening all around the country... A great way to stay in touch and an excuse for another fly! Cheers, Chris

I have now replaced my BR8ESs. They (the old ones) had the aluminium caps but no signs of corrosion.. Maybe because the weather has been so dry - with low moisture content in the air. But I will keep an eye on the new ones. Thanks for the tip! Cheers, Chris

Ive already exchanged PMs with Zedman on this one.... I was away in Victoria that day - so missed them. But others at home reported our place being 'buzzed'.. Ive extended an invitation to them to try again - with detailed approach instructions so they can get in safely - and have a scone and tea... Cheers, Chris

Phew - I was left breathless from reading this without any full-stops as sentance enders... But fortunately is seems that you own full-stop was a safe one; thank goodness as that altercation with the wire could have been very terminal indeed! Safe flying. Chris

It's taken me a week to pluck up the courage to tell this story and seek some advice: A farmer pilot and his wife in our area invite 20 or so planes to their farm once a year for a barbque. They have a great set up - with a very good strip, just North of Wellington, NSW. The event was last weekend. It was a bit far for me to travel in my trike, so I hitched a lift with another local pilot / owner in his Storch. What a fabulous machine. We left at 0900 with an ETA of around 1015 cruising at 65kts. On the way to meet him (wont name him here - but he is well known to many on this forum) I had a half litre of flavoured milk, about an hour after having had breakfast. I thought about having a pee before climbing in the a/c, but thought "no need - did that an hour or so ago".... Well, you guessed it - 40 minutes into the flight I was busting; and the upright angle of the rear seat in the Storch didnt help. I finally announced that to the guy in the front seat, telling him that I would be struggling to go the distance... "No problem", he says - with me looking down on the mostly tiger country around us - "the Storch will go in anywhere..." And in we went; a smallish paddock on the top of a ridge, replete with stumps and heaps of rocks, and steep gorges on all sides.. He did one pass, then a 360 at an impossibly low speed - lined up on a bit of bare-ish dirt and plonked it down with the stall buzzer squealing; followed by a ground roll of about 20m! I leapt out - did my thing - took a quick photo. He turned the tail dragger around in its own length - gunned it under brakes and we were off in about 50m; bloody amazing.. But apart from experiencing the impressive STOL performance of the Storch - here I was, a pilot myself, creating risk and inconvenience to my friend and PIC. So what do others do? Is it as simple as pre-flight planning to limit ones fluid intake beforehand - and end up thirsty in flight - or are there pee-bottles, or what? If there are - it would be OK for us lads - but more difficult for the ladies...I'd imagine. Cheers, A contrite Chris

If u watch the movement in the bushes right in front of the camera - u can see there is tail wind happening as well.... Maybe it was a one-way strip??

That is at least 51% good! Very clever.... ;-)

Couldn't agree more! My 503 is bolted into an Airborne Redback - so not quite as basic as you describe the Windlass - but it is still a 'heavy' version of a powered hang-glider.. Just pull that cord and head for the sky. Like today - almost nil wind, 20oC at ground level; I stooged around the district (farming land mostly) for an hour - then practised power off (idle) landings onto my strip - 6 of them from different approach angles and heights. Then put it in the hanger and went and fed the cattle, right on sunset..... Sweeeeet.

Well 'office persons' maybe.....

No-flat sounds like the go! No OZ agent that I can see..... so there's an opportunity for Ian's shop!