DGL Fox

Well its sounds good Volksy...I think he said it will be upgraded with a Rotex 100hp if you want it and I think he said that the wings will be all metal.... not 100% sure but I think that is what he told me, I hope I am not letting the cat out of the bag here.. If I am I am sorry Rob ..just we are all looking forward to the news of the new version... David

I talked to Rob from Coastal Aviation a week or so ago, the manufacturers of the Gazelle from up here on the Sunshine Coast and he told me they were bringing out a new model Gazelle with new improvements this year, he also told me that you they can supply parts for the old model Gazelle if required. Looking forward to seeing new version. David

RA-AUS training we are talking about not GA, just because some flying schools can do it for $150 per hour don't just assume that you are getting below par aircraft and or training, maybe the schools that charge $200 per hour are way to expensive, like I have said before, everyone has to charge what they need to stay in business but I think some are in it to make money and others with lower overheads don't need to make that much...do your homework on the school and pick what you think fits your needs and budget and personality, maybe have a lesson or two with them and see how it goes.. David

Good value there no doubt David

There was another episode on last night about plastisine.. he got heaps of people to make flowers with it and entered it as a garden at the Chelsea flower show..interesting.. David

WOW great news...I will certainly be buying my copy.. Funny.. David

I love it...

Maybe looking for younger blood...I know over fifties are finding difficult to find a job no matter what your qualifications are sorry to say, I know I was in that position last year looking for a job.. David

I went to a state school Methusala, what have I speeltt wong in the title? David

Exactly my thinking FT, the cost of GA only 5 or 6 years ago when I looked at it was way to expensive for me and that's why RA-Aus was so appealing, this is my concern now if spiralling costs start to turn people away for flying. It's been said before here that recreational flying should be a cheaper option, cheaper aircraft etc, maybe we are going to far away now from out roots and what we set out to do, to make flying afforldable for everyone...

68 Volksy, Not once did I say I say reduce instructors pay, what I did say is like any other business, if your overheads increase try and look at other ways to maintain your costs without having to pass them on to your students and maybe instead of a 130K aircraft to train in maybe look at aircraft that are cheaper to buy which would be cheaper to lease etc so tha maybe you could offer something cheaper to students that don't have a bank roll to spend. I don't have to train in a Texan when I can just as easily and safely train in a Savannah, that's all I was saying. We all want goood training and safe aircraft and that does cost but I don't think we need the top shelf aircraft etc to do that in.. do we? I too have have mates that spend $100 or more on a Friday night on grog and pokies but at least they do have a win from time to time and that is what keeps them coming back... David

I would think that the majority of instructors would get more than $30 an hour if it is their primary job, the whole point of this thread is to determine if the cost of training RA-Aus is getting beyond the budget of the normal person that wants to fly for recreation purposes only, the money that is used is generally from disposable income and from what I have seen written here there are some very reasonable rates and then there are some much high rates. I think the owners of these flying schools have to bear in mind that we as recreational students/pilots have limited funds for our fun and have to be very careful not to raise their prices as to make the cost of training to high because like all businesses if you have no customers you have no income. I think if they feel that they need to increase a CFI and or their instructors pay, fine do that, but maybe they will need to look at other cost saving measures EG: cheaper aircraft to buy and maintain, try and find cheaper hangerage, insurance savings and the list goes on. I mean most of here don't have to fly to keep food in our mouths and our families mouths and if it gets to expensive the flying will probably be one of the first things that will be dropped (those of us that are married you know that it will probably not be our idea ) which is not good for me the student or the flying school. David

Maybe he is opening 2 schools? They are certainly a long way from each other.... David

Thanks for your imputs all, I am not here to judge any of the costs of flying schools they all have their overheads and profits that they need to maintain to stay in business, but it is interesting just looking at the different comments about training costs, there certainly are some differences in prices, so it really does come down to your budget and the quality of the training that your are recieving from your trainers and the aircraft your are training in and the general support for the owner of the school to the CFI and instructors. So to sum it up, I guess look at the cost per hour against the quality of the instructing that you are getting, the aircraft and I think also the personal feeling you get while there, do you feel like they welcome you as part of the school or are you treated just like another paying customer, I think that is very important. I guess you have to shop around your area and find a school that accomodates your budget and your personality and if all of this is there then it may well me worth spending more money to train there ... David

How long ago was that Hongie?

I thought I would start a post for all the students out there like me, it is a follow on from a post that was put up on the forum about flying expenses in general and where all the money goes. Well I got to thinking about that and I would like all the students that are taking duel lessons at the moment to tell us all what it is costing them for an hour of duel training from different flying school around Australia. I know when I started training I never considered GA because it was just to expensive for me, I have a concerns after reading other peoples views about how much money they spend on flying for recreation, is it to now getting to expensive? are we all going down the path of GA training that seems to be only for the retired and well healed people. Maybe we can all put our heads together and look where all the costs are and find ways to minimize these costs so that everyone can afford to be trained to fly, I fear that if we don't a lot flying schools will go the way of the dodo's in the not so distant future. I think that disposable income is getting less and less for everyone with the costs for living ever increasing and I hope that there is some way of reducing or keeping the costs of training at a reasonable level for everyone. Now Just to kick off this thread and just remember I am not wanting to get into the quality of the trainiing this all about the costs of duel training ...my costs for duel training is..$253 per hour in Tecnam..SE QLD David P.S Don't tell me which school it is maybe just the general area and or state.

Yes you make good money for 3 months and you think your doing ok...then WHAM..BAM..the BAS statement comes in...the bank balance goes from hero to zero in a flash.. start all over again.. David

Yes it might be fast to deploy but at 200 ft about the ground if the engine stops suddenly..your reaction to time to pull the handle..the time it takes to actually deploy and then slow you down enough not to hurt yourself..at 200 ft..is that really enough time for you to walk away unassisted..I don't think so? David

Ballistic chute wouldn't help at a couple of hundred feet I wouldn't think if the fan stopped..you would go splat on the footpath outside CASA's office...

Hello Harold..Welcome..

Yes that would be great MM2, they have done those sorts of trips on motor bikes like Ewan Mcgregor and the like, love to do something like that, you would need a lot of preparation to travel through the likes of Russia, my wife is Russian and I have been there a few times so I know what they are like with their paperwork...geeezzzzz

First RAA supersonic plane....Alan can you design one please Its hard enough at 100 kts let alone 800 kts there abouts..

Bump !!

Absolutely fantastic hour..loved it..thanks for posting this !!!

Very interesting video..amazing what they could do with out cranes etc.. Thanks for putting that up rgmwa.. David