BlurE

[GALLERY=media, 3573]Capture2 by BlurE posted Oct 1, 2015 at 10:25 AM[/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 3572]Capture1 by BlurE posted Oct 1, 2015 at 10:25 AM[/GALLERY][GALLERY=media, 3571]Capture by BlurE posted Oct 1, 2015 at 10:25 AM[/GALLERY] Nice little early morning jolly along the Victorian Coast. Some persistent low cloud delayed our departure - which meant I didn't have enough time for the intended flight past the 12 Apostles. But you enjoy what you can and there is always next time.

So Nav endorsement in pocket I am looking to explore the world a bit. One thing I am not so clear on is landing fees. Many places seem to not have any, or at least they're not published in the ERSA. Some seem to charge commercial operations only, others for a full top only. And if they do apply to 'any movement' including touch and go what is the best way to affect payment? I don't like bothering people, but do you really need to call ahead to check? I get the impression RAA used to act as a collection service in the past but this has stopped. I don't mind paying to use facilities but I am not so clear on what is reasonable and expected. Advice appreciated.

Alpi Pioneer 300. Most my training had been in a P92 Tecnam and I like to think I would have put that down on the first go... Maybe.

Ok, I'll 'fess-up. I had an occasion 18 months ago as a newly certificated pilot where I struggled to get down. Others has been up flying, and I had assessed the wind strength at about 20kn and no worse that I had experienced before. So I went off for a nice local flight. I didn't have a lot of time in this particular hire-plane and was looking forward building some confidence. 30 minutes later rejoined the circuit, the wind sock was horizontal between the two runways so either way it was 45 degrees. So I chose the longer runway. On final set the aircraft with right wing low and a big boot full of left rudder. It was gusty and turbulent and I fought all the way down to maintain centre-line. Then at the moment I flared the runway shot off past the right wing. Went round. Tried again this time put the RH wheel down for a moment but I was drifting significantly off the the left. Power up went round. Tried a third time, and a fourth time. Starting to feel some pressure now and really concentrating, everything good until the flare and again the runway moved right. Dammed runway. Now mild panic is starting to set in. I had full tanks so hours of endurance, but I really had an appreciation of that saying about being up or down wishing for the other. At this point according to the original post I am at "4. Very worried, stressing, this is not going to end well. Wish I had a CFI or better with me to take over." So yes, a 30hr pilot, 5 of which in this aircraft, with a 12-15kn gusting crosswind component. It was clear at that moment that the skill required exceeded what I had available. I was dreading the embarrassment of diverting but I wasn't about to bend this lovely new plane either. I took a moment to consider my options and took a good long look at the windsock wishing for something different, and by now it had swung around almost (at least closer) in line with the shorter cross-runway. Which explains some of my difficulty, but also presented an opportunity. I changed to circuit the shorter runway and nailed a very nice landing first attempt. It was still a crosswind but nothing like what I had been fighting for the last 20 minutes. Oh the relief I felt at that moment when I turned off the runway. Lessons learnt. Well I have all this on my gopro and have reviewed it in detail, From a flying point of view my mistake was lifting the right wing through the flare and loosing centreline control. I am sure there was a psychological component being a low-wing that I didn't want to drag the wing tip on the runway. And yes with the inputs, gusting and turbulence this did feel like a real possibility. I don't think there was so much overconfidence, more not really knowing my limits and some poor judgment of what the actual conditions were. I am certainly more wind-shy now.

Mk I escort was my first car and I do have a bit of a (undeserved) soft spot for it. But the head is very prone to cracking between cylinders 2 and 3. And the ignition system is pretty awful. But thinking about it the 1300 was even worse, you can hardly remove the distributor cap it's that tight up under the inlet manifold. The Escort, didn't go, didn't stop, could't turn and sometimes wouldn't run. But I suppose that was 1970s British cars in general.

I nearly wet myself when, after this thread bogged down into the usual engine debate, - Shags announces he has purchased a Mk I Escort! By far the least reliable engine I have ever sat behind. The gods of irony are smiling today.

Been listening to a few of these interviews with Noel Kruse. Quite entertaining. https://player.fm/series/the-wings-over-new-zealand-show-aviation-podcast/episode-35-noel-kruse-part-three "In this third episode of the Noel Kruse interviews, Noel talks in detail of his period of conversion training onto the CAC Avon Sabre fighter jet to host Dave Homewood."

I don't know if anyone has seen this video. I am not sure that "aggressive" is the word I would use.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1rjoJKTHc4

I have recently seen exactly the scenario you describe. I'm no Rotax expert but - I'm thinking this is probably quite normal. When you 'burp' the engine, the slow turning creates an imbalance where the blow-by gasses force more oil out that the pump takes in. It winds up in the sump so we can check the level. At normal running speed I expect the blow-by is much less effective as a scavenging mechanism. (and in fact burping is best done slowly holding the compression stroke for as long as possible.) Then when you start the engine you return to a 'normal' state where the return oil in and oil out must reach some equilibrium. It might just take a few seconds for a full flow of pressurised oil to get from the sump through the oil pump up to the sensor. This may also depend on the length of the oil hoses in different installations. Two things you might try. A cold start without burping. See if the pressure comes up quick enough to miss the warning. (not suggesting you fly without checking the oil level :) ) After burping crank a few times with the magnetos off so the system is primed. See what happens.

I missed the AGM proper, but I did make the Q&A afterwards. I though that by-and-large the discussion was honest, intelligent, realistic and generally well considered. I walked away feeling that issues raised were acknowledged and mostly understood. I felt some reassurance that realistic actionable plans in place or being developed for at least some of these concerns. This was my first exposure to the RAAus executive/management team. There were a couple of times they honestly said that their comments were going to be limited either for confidentiality or legal reasons. But I think the way this was said showed recognition of the environment in which they and the organisation operates. Couple of things I do remember off the top of my head. - There was some discussion of working more with SAAA, HGFA and others where it made sense. - A change in direction to use email as a practical and quick way to communicate with members highlighting that 6-week lead-time in Sport Pilot was too slow. - More data collection (including surveys) that can be used as statistical evidence to make and support decisions and action were warranted. (remember the topic of the first survey) - New ops manual is now with CASA - Potential group buying to pass on benefit to members. - creating a non-blame reporting environment with a focus on education - future programs to attract the next generation of members. Discussion of the whole (future) social media thing, but very mindful that it needs to be managed and resourced. - Lots of positive comments about training standards. I am sure minutes will be published in due course. Overall, I haven't had the bad experiences that some forum members report, so I have nothing to compare this to. But it didn't seem like an organisation in "crisis".

This makes a drifter look well enclosed! https://gopro.com/channel/flight/open-air-glider

When you're burping you want to hold the compression stroke for as long as possible and let the charge pass by the rings rather than just compress and decompress. (Its the blow-by causing crank case pressure that forces the oil back to the reservoir) So you actually want to turn it quite slowly. But yes, always with great caution.

A GoPro is great investment for reviewing your performance good and bad and capturing exactly what your instructor is saying (with their permission) because you will find times when you are overloaded and not taking everything in. It can also help your to remember emergency procedures. I found if you set the camera up between you heads and just behind the camera view is very similar to yours. This helps to learn aircraft attitudes. For example you can see the exact moment you relaxed and let the nose drop in a spiral dive and depending on the instrument layout you can see how quickly your AIS and VAS increase. Overall I would suggest budget it in as part of your training. I do share the frequency and recency views of the other posters. When I was training I found a 3 week break due to horrid weather and I was feeling very rusty.

A few places are still selling last years very capable Nexus 7 32Gb for $199 and it has GPS. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-tablets/tablets/asus/google-nexus-7-7-32gb-wi-fi-tablet/91227/ Good value compared to a 16Gb 3G iPad Mini at $450+

I also found Noel Kruse's books very good. Maybe a bit more technical than some. Lots of graphs and diagrams - but an easy read all the same http://www.flybetter.com.au/ They are offered as four free (pdf) ebooks.

I suppose I am looking at it from a different perspective but I think it's worth some consideration if you bare with me. Stall is the issue. Possibly stall leading to spin. But stall firstly. Good and experienced pilots are not coming to grief because they glided in 300 ft short of the fence - it's because of the extreme nose down attitude and 1000+ft/min rate - resulting from trying to reach too far and stalling. Stall can occur at any speed, any attitude, any power setting - but at the same AoA. (We know bank angle + speed + load factor is a just clumsy process to get to an answer when you are not measuring AoA) But Stall is also directly linked to sick position. Had that drummed in to me too. Stick position is linked to elevator position so if to set the elevator (by trim) you just can't stall. Can't. (ok unless you CoG is way rearward- probably outside limits?) It's sort of an extension a technique I read about fighter pilots that set an elevator position (by trim)and then that gives them the tightest maneuver - turn, climb, whatever. That's the curvy boundary of the flight envelope. By trimming the point is - that the glide you achieve won't be perfect for you exact configuration - and you might still land short, but at least you didn't end up like those rather disturbing videos earlier in the thread. I am trying to think of a way where even if distracted/terrified and not looking at your ASI or thinking am -am I at 35 or 45 degrees and how many g's and what is 1.4 times Vs anyway. Even if you are focused on the view outside - you don't get that stick back into you belly. You can focus on turns just turns to get you into that clear field, or road of edge of the strip of whatever. You can even change your mind when its clear that you can't reach. But as soon as you get that stick back trying to reach - it gets dangerous. To be clear I am not advocating do any of this. As Nick says I am trying to simplify the whole thing. Maybe too much.

Firstly this is not coming from experience - I have far, far too little to suggest that. But I have been thinking about this a lot and wonder about a very simple 3 step technique. 1. Quickly get the nose down until your attitude visual looks like a final approach. 2. Trim full back - do not move the elevator from this position. (Not forward. Not backward. Not at all) 3. Do what ever turns are going to get you to the best landing option at this attitude. The logic for each point is as follows. 1 Obviously from a climb attitude we need to regain or at least maintain speed somewhere near best glide which is probably around where you were at Vx – Vy. But without power this will take a significant change in pitch. This is basic stuff. But the point is - without looking at your laggy ASI - pitch down until it looks like your approach attitude – something everyone even a low time student should recognise. This will be close to what you need. 2. I believe there is some reg which prevents any trim condition that allows a stall - so this is safe. Importantly, full back trim can be set without looking. On power systems they cut out automatically. Full back trim will give you an attitude for “near to” best glide. Necessarily best glide at less than MTOW, not necessarily best glide for wind penetration but the best glide you have time to set at only a few hundred feet AGL. Even you you don't get to full back trim. keep that "final approach" attitude 3. Now you can focus on manoeuvring - safely. Just make turns - as steep as you need - but no pitch changes. Provided you don’t pull back any further you can’t stall. If you can’t stall you can’t enter a spin- no matter how messy you footwork is. The attitude set is going to give you the best practical and safe use of the energy you have. Because without power that’s all you have. The last thing to do flare to minimise contact angle and speed. But I think this is instinctive enough. This should be the only point you pull back. At no time in this process did you look down at your airspeed, altitude or anything else. Your eyes and mind were always outside flying the plane. Alright - I have put it out there - fire away...

Just revised theory, I have only done a few simple poweroff stalls. And they're ok because you know you have 3000ft of sky below you. I think Nickduncs84 is right. Some time at altitude really exploring flying slow would definitely help. I'll have a talk to my instructor.

Background; Student with 18hs inc 2 solo. I revisited some of my emergency procedures, engine failures in the circuit, EFATO, stall-spin etc etc, in the morning before I was due to fly. Went up with the intention of doing an hour of solo circuits and realised I had scared myself into being FAST. I really struggled and had to force myself to pitch up enough to set the appropriate 'slow' departure and glide speeds. (60-70kn) Every time I had to slow down felt so very uncomfortable. Has anyone else ever had this?

Sat my exam last week and had a little smile to myself when I saw this one come up. Thanks to Dr Zoos I knew which to pick - the visual of throwing the passenger out was a great memory aid.

I have found a Gopro very useful during my training. I allows me to review each lesson and really reinforce what I am doing well and not so well. I also have time to think about and absorb instructions outside of the busyness of doing. (It's patched in to the intercom with a cable from skyshop so I can hear intercom and radio.) I have it mounted to the cockpit roof on centreline at head level and just behind my ear (fore-aft) It's set to the wide, (but not the ultra wide FOV) From this position the camera basically sees what I see. Instruments, stick position, and attitude of the nose. You can read the larger analogue gauges Tacho, ATL VSI IAS but the small gauges and glass display detail is too fine. I have also put a stack of graduated neutral density filters in front of the lens. These slow the shutter speed and blur out the prop so you don't get those stupid strobe stripe effects, and also helps to balance the exposure of inside and outside. As will all digital cameras the dynamic (light) range is much less that the human eye. Suction mount is about 90% reliable. It's dropped once or twice. I would use an adhesive mount were it my aircraft. It's been a really good investment for training. Do I expect to use it as much outside of training. No, it's not great entertainment. But maybe if I was flying somewhere interesting.

Let me start by saying I don't know anything about Jabaru engines. In Automotive terms I would suggest the heart of the issue is the mixture reaching the cylinders is too lean. The best explanation I have heard for this is that a significant amount of fuel vapour condensates on the walls of the cold manifolds. Thus the actual mixture reaching the cylinders is much leaner than the carburetor is trying to achieve. To over come this in the old days we used 'choke' to over-richen the mixture (so it didn't matter that some fuel was 'lost') until temperatures stabilised. Kids who have grown up spoilt with EFI and wondering what I am talking about. Warm air may stop icing in the carby, but it may not heat the manifold as quickly. Again, I don't know anything about Jabaru engines. I am just suggesting a mechanism that may explain the issue.

I read this post with great interest, as it was only a few months back I started circuit training. I was failing miserably with the workload. If I did the radio call I missed the turn, (and often spoke jibbersih on the radio also) if I did downwind checks I overshot my height and I could just not keep on centreline, let along judge that flaring point. But slowly it has improved. Good Instruction helps. Entering my 6th hour in the circuit just this week I was starting to feel a bit more confident. Still every circuit had its own minor deficiencies, (bit high, little off centre, turned a little early/late) But I had got to the stage that I was unphased and simply applied the corrections to make a more or less acceptable standard. But it was totally unexpected when it came. "I'm going to hop-out and I want you to do one more yourself." In that moment I suddenly understood what you guys had all been talking about. Am I ready? I have to trust that my instructor trusts me. But still...? So I was a certainly bit nervous and very, very aware that there was an escalated level of responsibility and consequence. I am glad he didn't give me any warning or time to think too much about it. So off I went. Wow! Not my best circuit, but it is the one I am most proud of. Just about every moment for the rest of the week I have going through it it my mind wanting to do it again. It seems so surreal. Well done Chris, I hope you feel the extra boost of enthusiasm I feel. Good luck with the rest of your training!

Been lurking a while and found lots of interesting reading on the site, so I though I should say hi! Early in my training at the moment (circuts, circuts, circuits...) But finally started after 25 years of "I'll get around to it one day" Enjoying a Tecnam P92 out of Lethbridge- I'm sure a few of you know the plane. Heading down the ra-aus path to start, which seems like a great model for balancing privages with overheads. I'll see where it takes me from there.