Butch

No problems Phil, probably a bit close to the bone for me. I know where you are coming from.......the press loves to beat up a story and it's always some innocent bystander they use to cover their arse in a report. It usually states some far fetched comment taken out of context to make the headlines stand out. Even at the inquest I was involved in there was an Insurance rep that repeatedly tried to coerce me into making statements about things I knew nothing about . It's a shame these reports give light sport flying the tag of being a risky , dangerous thing to do when it can be as safe as you want to make it, happy flying, cheer's Butch

I witnessed a plane accident that killed 5 people 150 metres from where I was standing . At the inquest because I had no Aeronautical experience I said that the plane crashed and it seemed like the pilot was giving it all he could . Now I realize what actually happened, a power stall. All of you experts need to realize people don't make things up, they just don't understand what has happened. Put you all in a situation where you haven't the faintest what has happened and you to might make a statement that sound ridiculous to the well informed, It is easy to be an expert , but it's hard to be humble , cheer,s Butch

HI 409, Welcome, like you I waited for the kids to grow up and pay all the debts. A few months ago passed my restricted RAA licence in a Tecnam P92. Just started Nav and should have that in a month or so. Good luck with your flying, I hope you enjoy as much as I have, cheers Butch. PS.... this forum is great....have learnt so much from reading all the posts.

You are probably right Ozzie! I think they were Mirages..... it was when Nasho Service was in full swing and most of the training was at Pucka

I lived on our farm North of Puckapunyal Military Range in the early 60's and remember the flight path for Fighter Jets on bombing runs when over the top of our house. They would pass over at about 100 to 150 feet just over the trees, so low we could see the 500lb bombs on the wings and the pilot in the cockpit. It would scare the shi.... out of you ...... they were so fast and low you didn't here there approach, just this black shadow above followed by a tremendous roar. I remember one day I was helping my Dad change plough points and I was lying on the ground under the plough when one came over low and fast.........I bolted as I thought someone had jumped on the tractor and was driving off or the tractor had blown up ! Those pilots must have a ton of guts ....100s of ks per hr just above the trees......I think they were F1 11s as they had the sweep back wings, cheers Butch

HI all, my farm is close to Nagambie parachute drop zone and I was under their flight path today. It has moved about 10 ks to the South West from it's original strip at Kirwins Bridge on Lake Nagambie to South of Baileston West of Nagambie. I have heard that there has been a few pilots that have strayed into the new area as it 's not common knowledge that they have moved, Butch

Go for it ! I'm 55 and passed my RA licence 2 months ago..........even if I never flew again it would be up there with the top experience's of my life so far. Relax and enjoy .....I actually miss my training instruction, every flight was a new challenge and a new skill to learn. Good luck , happy flying, cheer's Butch

I had the same scam when selling my car. A guy from an offshore rig wanted the car for his pregnant wife, he was going to buy it sight unseen and freight it to Perth from Victoria. The catch was that he couldn't send money to pay the freight company ( he was on a rig and couldn't transfer money for a week and his wife was due to give birth any day) and wanted me to pay money into an account for freight to Perth, he would add the freight cost to the price of the car when he paid me in a weeks time. The freight had to be paid in 3 days or the freight company wouldn't reserve a place on the truck going to Perth. The scam was that once you payed the freight cost there was no more contact from the buyer and the $500 dollar deposit payed into the bogus freight company account was lost with no trace. It was lucky I smelt a rat when I received another E-mail that was similar from a guy in the navy with a similar story, also a scam. Be aware it isn't always getting paid for what you are selling but a smaller amount for some other cost associated with the transaction that can get you scammed !!!!

Thank you all for the welcome. One of the things I like best about flying is that everyone involved in aviation are always there to encourage you. No one bags your mistakes or lack of knowledge, most are keen to help as all can relate back to when they were a naïve learner pilot like me, cheers Butch

HI all, Just passed my Restricted RA licence last Saturday so I thought it would be good to join in your Forum. Doing my training in Bendigo in a Tecnam P92 with BFC flying School. Have wanted to fly for years and when I turned 55 (midlife crisis) went for an introduction flight. Loved it so much I signed up last Fathers Day and have flown most Saturdays since. I really enjoy reading peoples comments and questions, there's always something to learn, cheers Butch