Nobody

Flying Binghi, Please go away. There are plenty of other forums on the internet to discuss climate change but can we please leave this one to flying. You clearly have no interest in actually flying over the affected area and looking for yourself as you suggested in your first post. You don't actually wish to engage in sensible debate but are using this forum for ranting and raving about the issue without actually responding to the points others make.

Flying Binghi, the alarmist sources are probably just being alarmist. That doesn't mean that there isn't a serious issue that needs worthy consideration. The GBRMPA did a report on the bleaching event that occurred during 2016. That report is available here: http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/11017/3206/1/Final-report-2016-coral-bleaching-GBR.pdf A few key observations: Page 34 lists by name the reefs that were sampled to give the results in the report. While there arn't detailed latitude and longitude coordinates the reef manes are generally given. Appendix B indicates through underwater time series photographs what bleaching looks like, with imaging showing before, during and after an event. Picking the difference while flying 1000 feet above might be difficult. It is much more accurate to take aerial photos and review after in an office and cross calibrate those photos with field sampling. The map on page 20 shows that the southern part of the reef was not affected as significantly as the northern part during that particular event. South of Cairns there was only local areas where the coral loss was graded worse than "medium" and all the areas graded "extreme" are north of cooktown. Pages 18 and 21 discuss the percentages of the "shallow water" coral that experienced mortality due to bleaching. In June 2016 it was 22% but increased to 29% but November 2016.

The issue with that layout is that the visiting aircraft parking and the performing aircraft area will have to be emptied of people when the airshow is on. You will need people to marshal the pilots and interested spectators out and it will be like herding cats. There will be threads on here complaining about not being let into the camping area during the display times and complaints about not having access to the visiting aircraft. It will also mean that the spectators, on the eastern side of the display, will be looking into the sun which makes for a poor airshow experience. Compare to the location for Oshkosh in the USA: Google Maps All the spectators and aircraft parking are on the one side(western) of the north south runways. They use the taxiway as a runway for the event and so in effect have 2 parallel runways allowing aircraft to be displaying while the next display is lining up to depart. The spectators are not looking into the western sun so the viewing is comfortable and the photography is great. Cessnock is a great place to fly into but the layout isnt the best for an air display....

I have thought about it but think that one of the folding electric scooters might be better. That way you can still push yourself back to the aircraft when the battery is flat....

That's poor form. I would of hoped that they responded.

About 1100 nm north east of New Zealand. Fiji - Wikipedia To the original question, there seemed to be a bit of amall aircraft activity there but not sure if any would be available for rent. The cost of petrol is highish and so the cost of hiring might not be cheep. The scenary is beautiful from the air though.

Here is the extract from ERSA, FAC for Bathurst.

There is a full stop in the middle so two separate sentences. RWY 17/35 NON-INDEPENDENT CONTRA CCTS. = There will be gliders doing circuits to the opposite side of the airstrip, that means that aircraft may be head to head on base/turning final to line up on the same runway so keep a very good lookout, especially for aircraft already on final!!!! PARL RWY OPS NOT PERMITTED = parallel runway operation not permitted ie 2 aircraft landing side by side, as might be common at a gliding location like Narromine where the grass runways are very wide. There is a phone number at the end of the NOTAM, I am sure they would appreciate a call in advance if you have any queries. Easier to sort out before hand while still on the ground.

Is it too cynical to suggest that they are adding the hours reported by pilots to the hours reported to aircraft? That way the 1 hour training flight you do gets counted in the books as 3 hours, one for each pilot and one for the aircraft....

If I pay double will they just give it to me. Yenn, This change will mean that if the DAME thinks you are good to go, then your medical is issued on the spot, there and then. It is basically handing the decision making back to the doctor who looks at you and takes it away from someone who never even sees you face to face. If it works as promised it will be a godsend for people who want to fly with the full privileges that a Class 2 medical allows. Eg flight at night, passengers, aerobatics. This should prevent people from getting referred for thousands of dollars worth of tests that aren't needed just to satisfy a faceless bureaucrat. This is here now as of 4th of April. It will be interesting to see how CASA do or don't stuff it up. Supposedly the RAMPC is going to be called the "Basic Class 2". The privileges will be similar to the current but will be more closely based on the Austroads Commercial Standard without the higher overlay of issues over the top. This is still under development. Both changes should be great for aviation in Australia!!!! I just hope that there isn't any underhanded shenanigans....

Because a lot of the current Australian Aviation Medical mess started under the previous principal medical officer who was also the previously medical officer in NZ. Ask an NZ pilot what they think of their medial regulations. As bad as ours.....http://www.aopa.co.nz/uploaded/file/News/AOPA%20NZ%20Pilot%20Medical%20Certification%20Policy%20May%202017.pdf

I suspect that the rescuers have had to cut the structure away to get the pilot out hence making the wreckage look worse than it was just after the accident....

It will only get worse as RAAus realise the power that part 149 gives them. If they make up a rule and add it to the operations manual, make compliance mandatory and then charge for help in complying.....

I wonder why the HKS 700e has not been more successful? They were about $10k a few years ago. Not sure now. While not cheap it seemed well developed...

The amazing thing in that set of numbers is how they reversed the general downward trend in hours flown to have an 83% increase in 2017!!!

The Rotax Installation manual has a bit of a description of the system as well as a graph showing the output with RPM. It also shows the optional external alternator .

The standard charging system on the rotax isn't an alternator in the conventional sense. It has magnets on the flywheel and coils around the outside. Some of these coils are used for the ignition system and some of them used for the charging system. The coils produce a fluctuating (like AC but more pulsy I believe) voltage of up to about 40v depending on rpm. There is a "regulator" that converts this fluctuating voltage to fixed DC voltage of about 14 volts. In some installations the regulator is prone to failure supposedly due to overheating. Rotax do sell a larger alternator driven off a belt as an option.

I have used this sort sucessfully ROLO-FLAIR FLARING TOOL 37° from Aircraft Spruce I think I found it cheaper than Aircraft spruce but cant remember where. I tried the type you linked to and it left a ridge on the outside of the flare where the 2 halves met. Not sure if it was just a dodgy tool I borrowed or that is what you get with that type.

Perhaps contact a maintenance facility or aeroclub at your destination and see if they have hangar space for visiting aircraft. When I was flying around the USA you could get overnight space at many airports for a few dollars( ~$20).

The web site clearly indicates that the VNE is IAS being indicated airspeed while the quoted cruise is true. If the density altitude is 8000 feet a indicated VNE airspeed of 117MPH is a true airspeed of about 132MPH which is above the cruise speed. It isn't that uncommon for aircraft to have a true cruise airspeed greater than their indicated VNE however for a low and slow STOL aircraft is a bit unusual. Note Edited to make sense....

The news article mentions catastrophic wing failure... Question - How many here fly gliders too?

I did back up in post number 6 in this thread. I don't want to get into a protracted argument with you. It is clear that nothing I will say will change your mind on this topic. I do want others who read the thread to know that there are people who disagree with you, hence the caution.

In advance, sorry for the long post and what to some will sound very simple.... It might be useful to explain some terms and how the different systems work first Primary Radar. You probably know this one but I will start by explaining how it works. A beam of radio waves is sent out from a ground station(or aircraft) and is reflected off a "target". It was developed in the second world war to detect enemy aircraft approaching. A radar beam sweeps around and the reflected radio waves are received. There is no active response from the target just the reflected radio waves. You can think of this as someone with a searchlight sweeping around the horizon, when they shine their light on an aircraft if the reflected light is bright enough you can see it. Secondary Radar. Primary radar was very useful but how do you know that the aircraft you have detected are friendly or enemy. Enter the transponder. By rebroadcasting a radio wave pulse from the aircraft when the beam of the primary radar passes over it. Going back to the searchlight example above you can think of the transponder as a strobe light that is triggered by the search light. Now you dont need to detect the weak reflected radio waves but get a bright pulse generated by the aircraft, the range of detection is increased but you can go one better. By encoding a short message in the return pulse you can sort and identify the targets. The short message is a 4 digit code but the digits run from (0 to 7) and so the system allows for approximately 4000 differing codes. The codes are entered by the pilot into the transponder and then broadcast as part of the radio message. This way you could say to the friendly pilots use code 4057 today. The enemy wouldn't know the code and so you could separate friend from foe. This system developed in to the system we have today called Mode A. Now these types of radar could give you distance to the target at the bearing but getting the altitude is harder. At 60mn away the difference between 5000 feet and 8000 feet is less than half a degree. Some wise cookie realized that if you had an electronic altimeter (called an encoder) in the aircraft you could have the transponder broadcast the aircraft altitude back to the ground station. The base station could work out the bearings and distance from the radar returns and the altitude from the encoder and give a fairy accurate 3D position for aircraft to keep them separated. This is termed Mode C It is important to note that a mode C transponder still broadcasts the code like a mode A transponder. The altitude is in addition to the code so sometimes you see these refereed to as Mode A/C. Also because the accuracy of the encoder is important for maintaining separation this is subject to regular checks and calibration. Now 4000 codes isnt a lot and when you reserve some for emergencies, VFR aircraft and decide that some sequences are likely to be confused you can end up running out of codes in a large airspace system. Also the system relies on pilots putting in the correct code and there have been instances where that hasn't happened correctly. Someone then worked out that you could expand the system to have approximately 16 million different codes by using a 24 digit binary number. Given that there are about 250,000 GA aircraft in the USA and so somewhere around 500,000 total aircraft world wide you can give each one a unique number that can be programmed into the transponder when it is installed. This is called Mode S A mode S transponder will still broadcast the mode A mode and the altitude and so it can be though of a node A,C and S. And finally someone else worked out that you can also add the GPS position onto the return broadcast. This is termed Mode S ES, the ES standing for "extended squitter" Now the next thing is that the transponder is responding to a sweep from a ground based radar system. What if the transponder just broadcast the output every say 2 seconds? You wouldn't need the radar to trigger the transponder. Then Airservices could have a system that gives separation and traffic control without the need for the expensive to maintain ground based radar systems. This is in essence ADS-B. So what does all this mean at the moment for Airspace users? To operate in Class E (and C) airspace you need a Mode C transponder as a minimum, if you have a mode S transponder you are good to go too. Mode A(or no transponder) wont cut it. To operate IFR you need ADS-B out in all classes of airspace, with some exceptions for private aircraft. Airservices would probably like to require ABS-B for VFR in these types of airspace too as it would save them some money. The USA is going down this path, requiring ABS-B out for all users in class C airspace from 2020(but they are also making the fitment of ADS-B to small aircraft as economical as possible) It is worth clarifying a few other points. If you never fly in controlled airspace does a transponder provide any benefit? TCAS is a system that is like airborne radar. It interrogates the transponders of aircraft that are around it and can predict collisions and what action might need to be taken to avoid. All RPT aircraft bigger than a certain size(19 Seats I think but not sure) are required to have it and so it is useful to have a transponder if you are in an areas where RPT operate regularly. They will see you on their screen and know your position and altitude. ADS-B out will improve on this situation by increasing the accuracy of the position and also allowing aircraft with ABS-B in to see you. TCAS is very expensive. ABS-b in can be had by anyone using ozrunways/Avplan for about $100.

There you go!!! It will give people ads-b in on the 1090 frequency which will work in Australia. Edit. I wish manufacturers would make it clear what their products do. In/Out and UAT and 1090ES shouldn't be hidden in the detail in the manual....

Unless I am mistaken I think that the Levil BOM is only ABS-B in and I suspect only on UAT, their website isnt clear. They do have their beacon product which is ABS-B out but that is UAT. If what I am saying sounds like gibberish... ABS-B out is like your mouth. You use your mouth to talk to someone. ABS-B out broadcasts GPS position data of your aircraft over radio waves to people on the ground and other aircraft. ABS-B In is like your ears. You use your ears to listen to others. ABS-B in is a receiver that takes the position data broadcast by others and lets you view it on a screen. Think of UAT and 1090ES like languages eg Chinese and English. 1090ES is used everywhere in the world. UAT is only used by General Aviation in the USA. 1090ES has some problems if there are a lot of aircraft in close proximity and that is one of the reasons why the US has UAT. UAT lets you send a lot more data over the airwaves and in the USA the FAA broadcast useful information like weather and NOTAMS over UAT to aircraft. The main point to remember when shopping for equipment for use in Australia is that UAT wont work and that it needs to be 1090ES. If you use Avplan or Ozrunways you can get ABS-b In with a Raspbery PI and a SDR dongle. The cost (in aeroplane terms) is minimal. Instructions below: AvPlan Omni ADS-Pi: Low-Cost ADS-B IN for OzRunways