Geoff13

Hi all. Having recently moved to Perth does anyone know of any Drifters for hire nearby. I am south west of Perth. If there are no drifters, are there any RAA hire aircraft nearby.

I gave up on my 34th birthday so 28 years and 6 weeks ago.

I had a very good friend in 2008 make that same decision. He decided that life was short and he was not getting any younger. In a totally out of character move he cashed $80,000 worth of shares and bought 2 of his bucket list motorcycles. A HD Ultraglide and a Goldwing. 2 weeks later his shares would have been worth less than $10,000. His opinion is that he just got the best bargain of his life. Now he and I realise that long term his shares may have rebounded but in his words who cares that is 2 off the bucket list.

I am not convinced that lack of instructors are really the problem so much as lack of aircraft. A Drifter can actually become very expensive to fly in a school due to the very short (compared to 4 stroke) engine life. ie 300 hours to rebuild. If there was a school with one for hire within an hours drive of me, I would be there every weekend. Sadly there is not. I do however know of several instructor who are qualified to instruct on them. It does seem the in reality there are not enough people wanting to fly drifters and the like to make them economically viable to a school.

Of course if you mount two of these side by side (as in the Leopard tank TFCS) you can also tell the direction of the wind. However if mounted along the centre line of the vessel with the wind blowing from astern, it would not give a reading. Oh to live in a theoretical world. Sorry OME just playing.

Take your hearing aids out :) But seriously I turn my hearing aids right down and use EQ1 Noise Cancelling Headset. In my case it is a case of having enough noise to hear the engine. I hope to hear a problem before the gauges can tell me that I have one.

Different headsets lol. I bought the rec flying ones first then later on bought some EQ1's. I was cleaning out the shed last week and came across the RF ones so decided to move them on.

After grounding myself over 2 years ago for medical reasons, and only having flown 2.5 hours in the last half of 2018 and 1.6 hours last year accompanied by an instructor and having sold my plane. With no recurrence of my medical condition for over 18 months, and the approval of my Doctor, I decided that it was time to try again. In the last 4 weeks I have flown 5.8 hours in 2 different aircraft and am feeling confident in both my health and my flying. It is wonderful to get back up there a do what I love doing. I do not regret grounding myself or selling my plane, as both were done for the right reasons, but I did not realise how much I missed flying. But I am back now and looking forward to the next chapter of my flying journey.

Fact:- We have lost more Afganistan Vets to suicide since they came home than we lost during the whole conflict.

Freight traveling North is Prime freight. There is no such thing as backload freight, have you ever seen a truck driving backwards up the highway?

Interestingly my first job tomorrow is to collect a container of surgical gloves ex China and deliver to a medical supply company. So stuff is still coming in from China.

OK after further research the Qld Police commissioner has stated the fines will be revoked. Essentially if a business can stay open under the rules then people can use that business so long as the follow social distancing guidelines. ie We had an over zealous copper which as I see it is the biggest risk in all of this, some bullies using this crisis to flex muscle that they have no right to flex.

Not as funny as it sounds, the Willawong Tip in Brisbane is still open to the public, however a man was fined yesterday for going there.

450,000 sq klms against our 7.62 million sq klms. Sorry but not a valid comparison.

That looks like a genuine Cavalry Saddle, could you show a photo of the other side please. Circa early 1900's If it is what I think it is then it is truly a collectors item. I have actually ridden on one, a truly uncomfortable piece of equipment if ever there was one.

I did see a directive from the Qld Chief Medical Officer where he stated that riding motorcycles was a form of exercise and that fishing was a form of passive exercise, and as such both were permissible under the current regulations. Social distancing still to be adhered to at all times. I can't find it atm, but I have seen them both. I wonder if recreational flying could come under the same rules. Either way under social distancing I would translate that to mean only 1 person permitted in a recreational aircraft.

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So after all that, did he buy it? :)

Actually it is exactly like driving a truck. I have been sacked for refusing to run out of hours. I have also been sacked for refusing to run overweight and then whilst I was collecting my gear out of the trailer tool box I have had someone come and hurry me up so he could hook onto the trailer and go. As a PIC you are trained to, and paid to make correct safe decisions. That's why there are so many rules, regulations and training. If every pilot did what they were paid and trained to do then your point would be invalid. Pressure is something we allow other people to apply to us. Our job be it truckie, coach captain, Pilot or Skipper is to do our job 1. safely and 2 legally. If you can't do that then get a job in a different industry where the pressure is not so tough. There is always a choice. No job is better than an unsafe job. It just needs more people to stand up and be counted. The transport industry is changing, COR rules are not enforced anywhere near enough yet but we are getting there slowly.

It has nothing to do with what the business is it is about right and wrong. I was simply highlighting that commercial considerations affect all business and there is absolutely no reason to swap commercial decisions for safety.

I have this argument every day. Drivers complaining about being forced to do stuff they are not comfortable with. My answer is always the same, just don't do it. There are no buts or what ifs, if it is not legal or not safe do not do it. If enough people stand up for what is right we all win. And before anyone says it is easier said than done, it is easy to do. I have lost so many customers because I refused to run overweight or over hours etc, but the customers that I keep are bloody good ones. I have what I call the Grandfather test, when I do something with a truck or any vehicle, I ask myself this question, "Would I drive this down the street where my Daughter is dropping my Grandkids at school?" If the answer is no then it simply does not move.

Are you sure it was The Queen Elizabeth because a week ago in Brisbane it was the Queen Mary 2?

I drove past Archerfield Wednesday 11 Dec 19. There was a single engine high wing aircraft just to the edge of the northernmost runway. From the distance I was it appeared to have a collapsed nose wheel. It was surrounded by emergency services. Does anyone know what happened?

I would have been happy to deliver your container for you, I could have helped unpack it and taken the empty away. I would have only charged you a joy flight in the finished product. ?

Welcome home Mike, did you receive my last PM? I hope to be down that way late Jan or Early Feb next year.