Happyflyer

I don't think the ops manual says you have to carry your log book at all. Happy to be corrected if wrong. When you give advice that something is compulsory it's always good to give a reference.

We have too much compulsory stuff at the moment, I don't think we need more of that. Make it compulsory for yourself by all means, but please leave me out of it.

Yes I agree. Once you cut through all the BS they have written the final call is made by the pilot. It is actually very much less restrictive than the requirements in the latest version of the RAAus ops manual. I hope RAAus adopt the same system.

Remember under 3000 ft there is no margin if you have a radio and in sight of ground. It's just best judgement. Don't over think it, there are no measuring sticks up there.

Do you have a reference for that? My reading is that if you have an RPL and a class 2 medical you can do aeros by yourself.

The ERSA (para 4.b) says all nav training flights need to be approved by the tower on 07 5448 7662. Give them a ring and I'm sure they will be only too happy to help with procedure.

And one pilot was told he would be doing something illegal if he left an expired map in his aircraft. But yes, they appear to have been trying to be nice. Let's hope it continues.

I wouldn't go that far. It's not a job that attracts the brightest or best, or even those that fly much for fun. Let's face it, you would probably lose a lot of your flying friends if you were a CASA inspector. They are pretty poorly trained and even the good ones are struggling to understand the rubbish coming out as law. I would say the guy out in the field is just repeating what he has learnt on the job from some other poorly trained official and it then becomes the law in his mind. Always ask for a reference.

When police or CASA or anyone says something that doesn't sound quite right, like it being illegal to have an out of date map in your aircraft even though you have a current map on your ipad, always ask which regulation says it's illegal. That way you can check. It also puts them on the back foot.

If you read the regulations (regs 78,233,234), they are quite vaguely written as to what should be carried in relation to Nav logs, weather and weight and balance. As an example, if I plan to fly 60 nm, land somewhere and return on the day I would check weight and balance but would not see the need to take the calculation with me. If I had carried the same load before and knew it was within limits I would not write it out every time I flew. If CASA wanted to prosecute me they would have to prove their case. My defence would be to recreate the calculation showing I was within limits. I would suggest they need reasonable suspicion of an offence (evidence) before they can start to impound or confiscate. The regs say the pilot has to make a careful study of weather. They do not say you have to carry the weather report. Logging on the NAIPS is recorded and in my opinion is evidence of having studied weather. By all means carry it. But for my hypothetical trip I would not bother. The reg in relation to nav log just says "The pilot in command of an aircraft shall keep a log of such navigational data as is required to enable him or her to determine the geographical position of the aircraft at any time while the aircraft is in flight." For my 60 nm flight which I have done dozens of times I would argue I could keep that log in my head and I have no doubt I could convince a magistrate that I would know where I was for every second of that flight. In my opinion CASA's stated ramp check requirements to carry W & B, weather, Nav Log etc are just to make it easy for the inspector. I would say that apart from name and address you are not required to answer questions. The regulations say what you have to do, they do not say how you have to do it. CASA have listed a way of showing evidence that you have followed the regs but in my opinion lack of evidence does not prove a crime. If you get the impression the inspector is the officious prick that some people seem to have met then the mobile phone video is your friend. Be reasonable but do not incriminate yourself. If you think you have done nothing wrong, don't do their work for them. Oh, and if you do get that video, post it for all of us to see please!

The commercial licence doesn't matter. The only way you can charge for flying in an RAAus registered plane is for flying training. The TIF is sometimes misused as a way of charging for a scenic flight. The pilot in all cases must have an RAAus instructor rating on his RAAus licence and it must be in a factory built RAAus aircraft.

Suggest you read the technical manual and then contact the Technical Manager for guidance. There is provision for continuing operation in the technical manual. See below. http://www.raa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Section-4.2.5-Piston-Engine-continuing-airworthiness-requirements.pdf

Pilot named on ABC news. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-12/air-crash-victim-geoff-arthur-remembered/6386712

ABC reports two people have died in a light plane crash near Glen Innes NSW today. PPRUNE poster says possibly a Jabiru. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-12/two-killed-as-plane-crashes-at-dundee-farmstay/6386690

That is the great thing Jabiru did for Australian aviation. It got more people flying! They may be even more affordable now.

27 if you key in Jabiru under 'manufactures' on the CASA registration search page.

I would suggest the best thing we could do about this article is to ignore it completely. It is such rubbish it will die a quick death. The media love a response to keep the article alive, any response, then they will get an "expert" to trash the response and get even more milage out of their rubbish.

Surely the idea of putting a non pilot crew member in with the remaining pilot is just to open the door and scream for help if he does something strange. I don't think anyone expected the hostie to fly the plane. The remaining pilot is in his seat with seat belt on. I would think he could not do anything to the hostie without sliding the seat back and taking of the belt.

So an aircraft is stuck in Bankstown because CASA say it's too dangerous to fly it out, it might have an engine failure. Then it flies out and has an engine failure. So if it did leave Bankstown without permission, CASA are onto it and proven right. Or it left Bankstown with CASA permission and had an engine failure. I so hope it's the latter!

I think you just set off some sort of alarm in the place in Canberra that they store all the meta data!

Why it is so hard to become a PPC pilot? It has a lot to do with the PPC itself I would have thought. It is very much more weather dependent than 3 axis. Therefore, many more cancelled lessons. The PPC instructor must really be doing it for the love of it and must be doing something else to earn a living. On top of that PPCs are not welcome at many airfields. They are very slow, quite noisy and the noise stays around longer. Many don't have radio. It would be hard for PPCs to fit into a busy 3 axis or GA airport. I agree that they should be looked at very differently to 3 axis. There is a very good case to simplify the training and instruction requirements. As others have said, this has to be driven by the PPC community. No one else is going to do it, many may support it however. I have been up a couple of times in a PPC and while it is fun it is far too restrictive for me, but I hope you guys can lobby RAAus to change things. Our country is probably too large to ever have enough PPC instructors within a couple of hours drive for everyone. Perhaps the answer could be for the PPC community to set up a central PPC flying school in the best area for the conditions required for PPC flying. One company has for their product. However you need the numbers to make it work.

Every flight is a scenic flight!

Bagging our ex service people again? It's the pollies who make the rules and we elect them. Who do you blame for the budget overruns in health, welfare, local council etc etc. Do they all have ex RAAF staff or is it perhaps an in built function of public service bureaucracy?

Sunset in Melbourne on 2nd April was 7.12 pm so not sure where you got last light as 17.39. Perhaps 19.39?

Firstly, make you year 12 your priority. If your target is solo by the end of the year, your only exam is the pre solo exam which is basically give way rules and airfield markings. If you have a passion for aviation, reading the theory books for an hour or two a week will be a pleasure and more than enough. Target 10 to 12 hours for solo. Most exams are multi choice and conducted in house. If you are after a Recreational Aviation Australia Pilot Certificate, you do not need a medical. Use the flying as your recreation in your last school year.